My Bad…

Sorry it has been ages since I’ve written. Life’s hectic. Last week I turned in my big assessed essay (the only thing I am graded on this term) and since then I’ve just been celebrating and doing nothing. I finished the essay rather early. It was due last thursday and I finished last tuesday, which earned me death stares from all the other MA students. Anyway, we handed them in on thursday and then promptly went for wine to celebrate. Here’s a picture of my friend Chelsea and I out at this really cool wine bar called Gordon’s:

 

Chelsea

Chelsea’s camera has a candlelight feature and we were trying it out. Gordon’s has an outside patio as well as an underground dungeon. I prefer the underground dungeon even though I can only sit in the outside seats because of my height. 

In other news, last wednesday my class went to Winchester. As a whole, the class has mixed feelings about Winchester. Some of the MA classes get to go on weeklong trips (like to Cuba) which are covered by tuition. We paid the same amount in tuition and my class got to go to Winchester, which is an hour outside of London, and we had to pay for the train ticket. Ridiculous. But we have to admit, it was a good time. The cathedral at Winchester is beautiful. It is an amalgamation of different styles, which is pretty cool because each part of the Cathedral looks a little different. Also, Jane Austen is buried under the floor. 

Photo courtesy of Google Images

The whole point of us going to Winchester was to see the famous Winchester Bible. My professor is a true big wig in the Medievalist community and by agreeing to speak at the boys school in Winchester, he negotiated for us to have a look at the Bible. I think it was just as much about him seeing it as it was about us seeing it. The Bible exists in three volumes, which was common in medieval churches, and we took one volume out of the case to examine. It was the first time any of the volumes have been out of the case since 1993. The Bible is full o really cool initials, done in gold leaf and lapis lazuli. 

Photo courtesy of Google Images. Sorry this picture is so small. 

Anyway, that was pretty cool. We were all total dorks about it, practically salivating on the Bible. Also, I’ve been knitting a lot. However, my camera is still broken, so nothing gets photographed until Christmas. But ti’s beautiful stuff, really.

 

Long Time Coming…

So I’ve started writing several posts over the last week only to abandon them. I have been crafting a lot since I last wrote. I’m going to post lots and lots of pictures of my new goodies. First, here are some pictures of the items in the package for my swap partner. 

The yarn:

 

Ella Rae Classic 100% wool yarn

The Knitted Item:

 

Generic Bag Pattern made out of Cascade Cotton Rich

The Needle Holders:

 

DPN holder

The Notebooks I made:

I didn’t get any photos of the tea, the DPNs, or the pattern I sent her, but I think that’s okay. The needle cases were made using these directions and some cotton fabric from Hancock Fabrics. I made three, one hand-sewn, two machine-sewn. The notebooks were made with four sheets of sketchbook paper each and some scrapbook paper from A.C. Moore. They are sewn together using a simple pamphlet stitch. The handles of the bag were made from two different types of ribbon. The lining is the same fabric from which I made the DPN holders. My swap partner likes to make socks from worsted weight yarn so I got her some worsted yarn, a pattern for a basic sock in three different gauges, and some size 7 needles. I really hope she likes it all; I had a blast putting it all together. 

Other than the swap, I have been making a lot of books.

That one is made with sketch paper, fabric-covered covers, and a coptic-stitch binding. I love coptic stitch binding. I bought this amazing book on how to make all different kinds of books. I love it because they give the basics first, guidelines for projects second. I think it’s really necessary to know the basic of any craft so that the mind isn’t limited to what it sees in the book. Here are some books I’ve made since reading How to Make Books:

 

Left: Accordion Book Right: Instabook

These books were made from one sheet of left over scrapbook paper each. Author Esther Smith suggests using leftover paper (i.e. computer paper, old flyers, anything without purpose) to practice making books to get the hang of it. 

As far as knitting goes, I have begun a second Two-Toned Shrug by Stefanie Japel. I am making it with navy and natural Cascade 220. I have finished the Navy part, which I have washed and blocked in hopes that it won’t bleed onto the natural color. I’d really like to get this done before Friday, because Friday is the start of the Olympics and therefore the Ravelympics. I am on Team KnitK and I am going to be making Hey Teach from Knitty Summer 2008 with Lion Brand Cotton Ease in Terra Cotta. I am having trouble getting gauge. The pattern calls for size 8 needles. I have knitted a swatch using size 8s and size 9s. I am gonna try size 10s now. Very frustrating. Oh well have a lovely week everyone!