Practical Skills Application

So, on my honeymoon in Fargo, North Dakota (yeah, you read that right), I was able to talk my shiny new husband into dropping by Nordic Needle, an amazingly wonderful cross-stitch/hardanger store. (Yeah. He actually went WITH ME needlework shopping ON OUR HONEYMOON. I totally had to marry him.) I got a lovely little hardanger kit, a photograph of which continues to elude me. However, during the learning-of-hardanger, I also got really good at buttonhole stitch for the edging of things. Until last night, however, I had never used this skill on an ACTUAL BUTTONHOLE. But now, I have:


And, whilst trying to find a photo of the elusive First Hardanger Project, I went to my other craft blog (craftygryphon.livejournal) and looked at some of my lovely cross stitch finishes from the last few years. I really do finish stuff, and it really does turn out well. The thing that amazed me? Of the 12 things pictured on the first page, 5 were for other people. I don't think of myself as ever making things for other people, but I guess I do. Huh. (Anyway, there's more than just the first page there; hit "go earlier" at the bottom for more. Many pretties!)

My favorite is a thread doodle I did in 2004 - as in no chart, just sorta winging it as I went... it came out great, and if I find it again, I'm totally putting it in Woodlawn. It's in my house, somewhere...!


Also rediscovered, to my amusement, a 2003 post from a knitblog I was doing "for practice." (Of writing regularly? Of HTML? No clue.) I didn't actually get a blog for two more years, but I'd been practicing my code in advance, it seems. So, April-ish, 2003, is when I started becoming a Knitter. Neat! And in May, getting Kelly Clarkson's first album was, evidently, key. Man, that really doesn't scream "six years ago" to me - time is really flying!

Coolest find that I'd forgotten I had, though, was a pic of me and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, the Yarn Harlot, when she was on tour a few years back. She's holding Cup-o-Shawl, which eventually became the Lilly of the Valley shawl from Lace Style. Yay!


Actual knitting content will return shortly. Probably tomorrow. Thank you for your patience!!