übercherry

modified bella's mitts

2010-08-20T02:02:00.004-04:00

so.....i started knitting a pair of bella's mitts (the pattern can be found here: http://subliminalrabbit.blogspot.com) for a co-worker waaaaaaaaay back last december. until i ran out of yarn. and then i spent MONTHS looking for that yarn and couldn't find it anywhere, which is not surprising since i bought it about 4 years ago originally. it was quite frustrating because i had one mitt done (except for the thumb), and i only had about another twenty rows to go on the second one (excluding the thumb again). so i kinda tucked the project away in a bag, stuffed it into my knitting bin, and ignored it. until now.....

so fast forward to last week, when i *finally* dragged this forsaken project out of hiding, and decided to unravel the top portion of the basically completed first mitt, and i bound it off. then, i took the "new" yarn that i'd reclaimed, and used it to do half thumbs on both. i also bound off the unfinished edge on the second mitt; and now instead of being full bella mitts, they are beautiful bella armwarmers.

and my co-worker loves them! :)

scrap stash sorting

2010-01-13T22:27:00.003-05:00

soooo....i don't know if i'm the only one who does this, but i totally save pretty much every scrap of yarn left over from a project that's over two centimetres long. up until now, i have just been stuffing them all away in a big ziplock bag, combined with some other ribbons etc.

well, last night i decided to go through that bag of scraps and sort it. finally! i have now sorted everything out into three separate bags:

1. short non-wool blend scraps that will be used for stuffing very small projects
2. longer non-wool blend scraps that i will start to ~~~SLLLLLOOOOOWWWWLLLLY~~~ knit into a blanket/throw for my bed
3. various sizes of wool scraps that i will felt into small squares, to be used in various ways in the future

i'm really excited, and actually quite surprised at how many more projects i have in mind now, just based on my scraps ends! awesome!!!

burberry inspired cowl

2010-01-10T21:20:00.004-05:00

as *soon* as i stumbled across this (http://juliannesmith.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/free-knitting-pattern-burberry-inspired-cowl-neck-scarf/) pattern on ravelry, i *knew* i had to knit it! i love the whole look of the slightly scattered cables, and it’s pretty mindless to knit - i blasted through it while watching two pvr’ed episodes of iron chef america - yes!

i used lion brand vanna's choice yarn in rust (the same yarn i used on my amelia hat), and it took *just* under a skein to do three repeats. it fits very nice and snug, which is exactly what i wanted, and it seems as though i knit it at just the right time because it was perfect for pulling up around my face while braving the *ultra* cold weather in toronto this weekend!

i decided not to do the provisional cast on (cuz i hate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it with a seething passion, as per my last post), and instead just did a quick seam job up the back, which i’m totally fine with. :)

shouting sooooo many expletives this weekend!

2009-11-02T16:34:00.002-05:00

i HATE/DETEST/CANNOT STAND the provisional cast on!!!! seriously. i'm not sure what on earth made me think it was a good idea to try it for the first time with MOHAIR on a CIRCULAR NEEDLE no less! frustrated.....

amelia earhart aviator cap

2009-10-20T22:26:00.003-04:00

pattern: http://www.headhuggers.org/patterns/kpatt07.htm
needles: US8
yarn: lion brand - vanna's choice in "rust" (i used about 3/4 of a skein)

i've been wanting to knit this pattern forEVER! and i finally got up the motivation after seeing a bunch of really well done ones over on ravelry. *unfortunately*, mine turned out a LOT larger than anticipated (which is extra odd due to the fact that i knit ULTRA tight, and usually have to go UP a needle size), but i'm still happy with the results overall as i now know that i need to go down at least two needles sizes the next time i make it!

since it's so big for my tiny little head, i've decided to wear it "milkmaid kerchief" style, as an homage to my half austrian heritage and i have to admit that i was inspired to do that by a fellow ravelry member (knave), who depicted this clever "make it work" strategy when her cap also turned out too large.

also, when seaming it up there is a little hole left at the top that i did seam, but i need to find a different method next time as it created a little point at the top of the hat, although perhaps if it fit a big snugger that point would settle down as it gets stretched across the crown...things to think about for next time....

i DO give a hoot!

2009-10-12T20:52:00.005-04:00

when my sister requested a pair of mittens for her next gift, this pattern instantly came to mind. i'd seen it ages ago on ravelry, and you can find the original pattern on the kelbourne woolens blog (http://www.kelbournewoolens.com/giveahoot.html)

this is what they looked like before i sewed on the eyes:

i used two small plastic beads instead of buttons, just cuz i thought they looked nice, *and* they were already something i had in my stash of stuff :)

i’d been wanting to knit these ever since i saw the pattern, and now i finally had the perfect motivation. i used some old red heart soft touch yarn that i had left over from other projects, and i used US8 dpns for the whole thing. this was a surprisingly simple and mindless knit, and i was so excited to make them that i cast on right after getting off the phone with my sister (around 11pm i suppose), and had anticipated only knitting the first few rounds, but ended up knitting the whole first mitten in one go! i think i finished up around 12:30am or so. the only mod i made to the pattern is that i knit 12 rounds for the thumb, because 9 didn't seem to be enough. however i also recognize that i tend to knit VERY tightly. i’m ultra happy with how these turned out, and my sister *totally* adored them! she didn't take them off for the first full hour after she got them. and we were indoors. :) i LOVE it when people appreciate handknit goods. which she totally does because she's quite the little knitter too!

bella's mittens

2009-10-04T21:55:00.003-04:00

ok, so i am always totally *ASTOUNDED* by the way that a quick 2-15 second shot of a knit item in a film or tv show will send knitters into a total flurry of geekasming followed by subsequent (and IMMEDIATE) attempts to suss out exactly how to re-create that item. case in point - bella's mittens from the twilight movie. i remember seeing these popping up all OVER the web shortly after the movie came out, and while i'm not really a fan of the whole twilight phenomenon, i do appreciate the fact that the movie inspired soooo many patterns for these lovely looking mittens.

the pattern i used was this one by subliminalrabbit

the only mod i made is that i used dpns the whole time. i totally loved knitting this pattern, and so far i only have one mitten done, but i plan to finish the other one this week. i am making them to be used as a raffle prize or an auction item for my office's united way fundraising campaign. the first mitten took prolly a total of 3 hours, but i was watching tv the whole time, so i was a bit distracted.

i am using some leftover red heart super saver, which is definitely not the nicest feeling yarn in the world, but will totally do for a freebie project. besides, the colour is actually really nice, despite being a colour that i would never personally wear. i'm not a neutrals kinda gal, can't you tell? ;)

hockey skate baby booties!

2009-09-09T20:57:00.003-04:00

these could be just about the most genius thing ever! i knit em for a couple friend of mine who live in ottawa cuz their new little guy is gonna *need* to keep his feet warm during those cooooooolllllld ottawa winter months! i used US7 dpns and used a pattern from craftster: click here for pattern

the only mod i made is that i CO 20 stitches for the skate part.

3 recycled t-shirt yarn dishcloths

2009-04-26T12:36:00.003-04:00

3 recycled t-shirt yarn dishcloths, originally uploaded by ubercherry.

i read about using old t-shirts as yarn aaaaaaaaaaaaages ago, but just never really got myself together and went through my closet to harvest material. well last night, i finally gathered up some old t-shirts, scissors and patience, and voila! these three dishcloths are the product of two small cotton t-shirts that i cut up into strips and tied together to form the yarn. on the white one i just did a plain stockinette stitch with a 2 stitch garter edge on the sides. for the beige one i did stockinette stitch with no edging. and for the two-toned one i did plain stockinette again. the whole thing took about two hours from start of cutting to completion of knitting. my one tip is to make sure then when you tie each strip together, you give it a nice yank first in order to stretch out the cotton. i’m totally going to make more of these as they are marvellous for wiping up excess water around the sink after dishes, face washing etc. i’m actually planning to use the plain white one as a shower puff substitute since it is a little bit stiffer and will provide good exfoliation while i suds up.

i can't believe this is my first dishcloth

2009-04-04T00:43:00.001-04:00

i have been knitting for over 4 years now, and have made many *MANY* projects, however this week i actually knit my first dishcloth. so weird that i never did it before, but here it is in all it's simple glory. i used bernat handicrafter cotton, double stranded it, and banged out four of these in less than 2 hours while watching tv. i gave two to a co-worker today, and saved two for myself. i have yet to actually use one and see how effective/ineffective it is, but i'm pretty excited about finding such pleasure in such a basic little project.

g is for gerbilize

2008-12-06T20:50:00.003-05:00

hello again!

i wanted to tell everyone about my newest adventure in blogging. i started a gerbil themed blog with a very good friend of mine and we are looking for creative creations to post pictures of and make comments about. don't worry, we won't write anything mean about what you've sent - the gerbilize gals are all about positively supporting all levels creativity and skill! your creation can be *anything* really…….just as long as it's somehow representative of gerbils. there's a much more detailed list of submission ideas on the front page of the blog. we've already had some spectacular submissions sent to us, but i'm still holding out for a gerbil robot rap song or some poetry about a gerbil in drag....so let your creativity flow and please check out the blog frequently to see what's new and make comments about all the stuff that people have sent in!

the blog link is: http://gerbilize.wordpress.com
and all submissions can be emailed to: gerbilize@gmail.com

so scurry over there right now!!!

my first attempt at wallet making....

2008-12-05T23:34:00.005-05:00

so i made this wallet for my boyfriend using pages from an old chemistry text book, an old piano music book, a map of the british postal code system and an advertisement for health food supplements from a punjabi newspaper. all in all it came together quite nicely, although the plastic was a TOTAL pain to put through the sewing machine and i had to basically cover the whole thing in paper, sew through that and then tear off the paper after the fact. ugh. and i broke two sewing needles in the process. double ugh. but overall i was SUPER pleased with how it turned out, especially since this was my first attempt at anything like this!

wallet interior open

this is where the money goes....

wallet exterior open

a slightly fuzzy shot of the interior again....

front and back

back closed

front closed

close up of the interior

i based it on this pattern for a tape wallet: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=9299.0

i also added some grommets so i could thread an elastic closure through it, but unfortunately i was so tired at the end of the day when i was making it that i accidentally hole punched through the inner layer of the wallet, so that's why there are some extra holes visible. fortunately my partner didn't mind!

another popcorn stitch hat

2008-12-03T19:22:00.004-05:00

so i made this one for my co-worker and i love the way it turned out! so nice and warm and should fit her like a glove since her head is as small as mine!

i used US 8 needles, and two strands of lion brand vanna's choice held together.

i CO 76 stitches on a circular US 8 for the body of the hat and did the finishing decrease rounds on the US 8 dpns.

check out my previous post about this hat for more pattern details: http://ubercherry.blogspot.com/2007/08/popcorn-stitch-hat.html#links

two recently completed hats

2008-02-15T23:44:00.005-05:00

ok, ok.....

so i haven't blogged in forEVER!

i know.

i'm sorry.

and while i *obviously* haven't been blogging, i *have* been knitting.

here's a couple of hats that i recently completed.....

first up is my aspen hat from twinkle's big city knits. this is the first project that i've actually tackled from the book and it was a PAIN in the ass to make since i can't find US 19 dpns anywhere!!! i ended up using a combo of one US 19 circular and two sets of US 19 straights, which meant that i had to keep taking stitches off the needles and putting them back on the needles the other way....ugh, what a friggin nightmare. in hindsight i really should have just gone out and got another circular set....but alas, lesson learned too late, lol. i used the Lupo yarn by Lang, which was a perfect substitute for this project.

i also saw this post over on craftster a little while ago and fell in love with how soft and lovely the hat looked, so i just had to make it right away!

i used some multicoloured handspun i had purchased ages ago from etsy seller handspun and dyed too (i am *so* in love with that lady's yarn!)

i used US 13 dpn's and had it done in no time.
unfortunately the colouring of the yarn somewhat distracts from the stitch pattern, but i still dig it.

and although it's a lil bit bigger than i usually like my hats to be, it's really working out great on days when i wear my hair curly cuz it doesn't squish my curls!

my first felted bowl

2007-08-31T11:38:00.000-04:00

so here are the final pix of that bowl i felted a little while back.
it's not the greatest felt job, but it's functional and pretty, so i don't really care, lol.
i just knit it cuz i had leftover yarn anyways and i'd never done a felted bowl before.

unfortunately the centre portion where all the yarn was gathered together didn't full felt :(

here's the underside of the bowl.

and here it is just sitting there being bowlish.

popcorn stitch hat

2007-08-29T23:46:00.000-04:00

so i saw this post over on craftster forEVER ago, and i finally got around to making this cute lil' number while working an overnight shift on saturday. i finished it up today and am pleased as puch with how it turned out!

i used bernat handicrafter cotton, which is like $1.50 at michael's (awesome), and i only used a skein and a bit, so the whole shabang prolly cost about $2.10 - woohoo! here's a close-up of the stitch pattern and prolly the truest representation of the colour.

the original post on craftster shows the hat knit using two strands of microspun hold together if i recall correctly, and i only used one strand of the cotton cuz i wanted to be able to wear it in the fall without my head melting. i think i may make another version in merino for the winter time because i really like the stitch pattern. i used the garnstudio pattern for the DROPS hat, but i totally did my own wonky decreasing pattern because i have a tiny head and i am never able to acurately anticipate just how much earlier i have to start decreasing. as you can see i also chose to do a 1x1 ribbed band instead of a garter stitch one.

i think i CO 76 or 80 stitches on US 7 dpns for the band, then switched to a circular US 8 for the body of the hat, and did the finishing decrease rounds on the US 7 dpns.

amanda's squatty sidekick from knitting daily (interweave)

2007-08-05T18:00:00.000-04:00

so i get those "knitting daily" emails from interweave, and when this pattern showed itself in the midst of my inbox a few weeks ago i *knew* i was in love! i've been wanting to try felting for a while and figured this was a nice small first project.

http://www.knittingdaily.com/freepatterns/felted_items/45-1.html

i used patons merino wool in peacock blue, if i recall correctly.
i held two strands together and the only mod i made to the pattern was extending the icord bit in the middle of the handle to an extra two inches to ensure that it would fit under my arm. i'm *really* not a hand-held purse kind of gal.

here's a pre-felting pic:

i should warn you - the claim that this can be knit in one day and in use the next is a *LIE*!!!! granted, i was able to knit it over the course of a 12 hour overnight shift at work, but it took at least two days for my bag to dry out after felting, so be warned. otherwise, it really is a simple little knit that yields lovely results.

here's a post-felting shot. it took two runs through the machine to be fully felted. i used bunched up plastic bags to help mold the shape. i realize this may be why it took so long to dry, but even afer i removed the bags on day two, it *still* took another two days for everything to be 100% bone dry.

and here's the end result!

how friggin CUTE is that thing?!?!
i'm soooo in love.

the closure is a yarn wrapped bead that i bought from http://relishdress.etsy.com a while back. i think it works quite nicely and once again this is yet *another* project featuring my favourite colour combination of blue and green!

for my NEXT felting project i have a little bowl i knit up with some leftover handspun/hand-dyed stuff from a previous project.

check out the pre-felting pix:

this is yet *another* project i've had knit up for months that's just been lying around waiting to be completed. hopefully i'll actually get around to felting it this week and i'll have pix up next weekend.

completed cable ready bag

2007-08-04T12:35:00.001-04:00

wow. so i *REALLY* suck at posting pictures in a timely manner. ok, i finally finished this puppy a few weeks ago. i had the body done forEVER ago, but i just couldn't muster up the motivation to make the handle. as you can see, i opted not to go with store bought handles and instead just did one medium sized seed stitch one. i also did a seed stitch border around the top and am VERY pleased with how it all turned out.

i already use it all the time and love it. however, i chose not to line it, therefore i always have a little pouch in there to keep keys and other pokey things in.

cable ready bag pt. 2

2007-02-04T23:34:00.000-05:00

ok, so i decided that i couldn't wait until tomorrow and i went and bought some more yarn this afternoon. a few hours of blissful knitting whilst listening to music later......and lookit! i'm almost done!

i know the two pieces look like they're different sizes/shapes, but that's just cuz of how they're bunched onto the stitch holders....

here's the front piece....

i just need to seam up the sides, line it, and add the handles.

yay!

cable ready bag (work in progress)

2007-02-04T12:08:00.000-05:00

this is the cable ready bag from lion brand wool. i bought this pattern a little while ago and i decided to start it last night. i'm using yarn left over from a previous project, and of course i promptly ran out of yarn and will need to go buy some more tomorrow, but here is my progress so far....

i'm using bernat softee chunky yarn and i'm holding two strands together in order to get the proper gauge. i'm loving how it's turned out so far.

i started a knit-along for this bag over on craftster if anyone is interested in joining me.....
cable ready bag knit-along

for kurt's eyes only........

2007-01-31T16:45:00.000-05:00

this is yet another post to show a customer pictures of yarn options for a hat i'm making him. if you would like a hat of your very own, please feel free to contact me :)

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KURT:

here are the three yarns i chose for you. please let me know if you hate the colours. the blue is actually MUCH more navy-toned than the pictures indicate. in fact, most of the pictures make the yarn look slightly lighter, and definitely more shiny than it actually is. the first picture is the truest depiction of all three colours. here is a link to the product website so you can see other images of the colours: Lion Brand Wool

the colours are:

#111 - Midnight Blue
#132 - Lemongrass
#125 - Cocoa

the blue is DEFINITELY NOT this royal blue looking. it's more navy dark blue.

i will indeed be doing something slightly stripey, so let me know if these colours are to your liking. :)

for berkley's eyes only....

2007-01-31T15:49:00.000-05:00

this is a post to show one of my customers some yarn options for a scarflette i'm making her. if you would like a scarflette of your very own, please feel free to contact me :)

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BERKLEY:

unfortunately i took the pictures very quickly, and in slightly bad lighting, sorry bout that :(
but i just wanted to give you a basic idea of your options so i can start making this for you as soon as possible. i have two yarns for you to choose from at the moment. if you don't like either one, that's totally fine, i can go get something different for you. there was a third one i saw at the store that felt realllllly soft, but it was wispy and curly and kinda reminded me of pubic hair....so i opted not to even bother with that one, lol. so here are the two i picked out and you can tell me which one, if any, you prefer. click on the names of the yarn to see the manufacturer descriptions of them....

option #1 - Moda Dea: Dream - 57% nylon, 43% acrylic

this stuff is *soooooo* very soft. it feels soft like mohair, but without all the annyoing shedding. seriously, you won't be able to stop petting this stuff.

option #2 - Patons: Brilliant - 69% acrylic, 31% polyester

this one is not necessarily super soft, but it's definitely not scratchy or anything either cuz it's a synthetic. it's not wispy, it's more like a rope style, but it doesn't feel like rope, lol. it caught my eye because it's a little shiny, and i do love shiny things. i'm not sure if you do though. there is a strand of reflective black nylon thread woven through it that makes it look like it's glimmering. i know it kind of looks like silver glitter, but it's black.

there was also another yarn that looked kinda cool, but it will cost almost double the price because the quantity per ball of yarn is so small :( but here's a link so you can check it out....Patons: Pooch

also, with regard to the button closure, there are a few options to pick from:

#1 - you could have a 1-inch pinback button that can be swapped out whenever you want for any other buttons you may own. this is a nice option if you have lots of band buttons or other cute buttons that you want to show off in places other than on a backpack/purse. here's an example of what i mean......

#2 - you could have a typical plastic button closure. just let me know what colour button you would prefer and i'll see if i have one. i can also get some novelty buttons, like carrots or bees or flowers etc.

#3 - if you go with the plastic button option, would you like one button or two? i can do two vertical buttons and the end of the scarflette would be a straight line, or just one button with the end of the scarflette narrowing to a point. if you want two buttons, here are my *VERY* awful drawings of the button placement options. seriously, feel free to laugh. i did these in about a minute - does it show??? ;)

ugh, the text is a little small, but it says that it closes in a v-shape at the base of your neck

this one says it closes like a circle around your neck

"it's never too late to bring sexy back"

2007-01-24T00:47:00.000-05:00

a friend of mine just started her own pilates company in the greater toronto area, and i've added a link to her website in my sidebar, but i'm gonna plug her here in a post as well. :)

her website is: Pump Pilates

what is "pump pilates" you ask? well.....

Pump Pilates is an invigorating new workout that will tone, strengthen, and energize. Using powerful core-building techniques from pilates, Pump Pilates builds on those movements to give you the ultimate core/abdominal and full-body workout. Pump Pilates offers several different forms of classes to suit your individual needs, allowing both beginners and fitness enthousiasts to benefit.

Benefits include:

building your core/abdominal muscles
toning your entire body
strengthening your back
building endurance
gaining flexibility
overall fitness and health benefits

she is an amazingly energetic, friendly, and encouraging person.
if anyone can get you motivated to *stay* on a workout plan, it's her.
so contact her and tell all your friends!

another new item in the shop!

2007-01-22T00:31:00.000-05:00

i just added yet another item to the shop. i made knit this baby up sometime last week but just finally had the time to list it.

it's a scarflette, a scarf, and a stole all in one!

#1 - double wrap it around your neck as a scarflette for maximum protection against cold chills creeping their way down your collar!

#2 - drape it around your neck for a casual scarf look, and to prevent yourself from overheating when indoors.

#3 - pull it down over your shoulders as a stole when you are wearing short sleeves, or when you just want to slightly glam up your long-sleeved look.

the colours in this uberversatile loop include: peach, coral, fuchsia, pink, beige, and light brown. It also has a strand of metallic gold thread running through it that adds some glitter without being garish.

there's one vertical handknit seam on this item, and the whole thing is fairly stretchy.

the yarn is 75% wool, 22% acrylic and 3% polyester.

WIDTH: 18 cm (7.1 inches)
CIRCUMFERENCE (unstretched): 90 cm (35.4 inches)

Click here to buy it now.....

what's cooler than a melted box of crayons?

2007-01-21T11:54:00.000-05:00

a melted box of crayons that you can wrap around your neck!

check out the latest addition to the shop....

*melted crayons scarflette* (click here to buy now)

this scarflette reminds me of a time when as a kid I left some crayons out on my balcony, only to find a big colourful blob of wax much MUCH later that day. but the blob was *very* pretty to look at, and this scarflette is too!

a scarflette is the perfect alternative to a bulky long scarf as it provides the same type of protection, but can easily be whipped off and tucked into a pocket or small bag when you step indoors. that kind of convenience just can't be beat when you're popping in and out of shops all day, or don't want to worry about losing your scarf when you leave your outerwear in a coat check booth or thrown across a chair at a party or restaurant.

it's knit from a combination of super soft yarns courtesy of fellow Etsy seller Hand Spun and Dyed Too. the centre portion is a multicoloured blend of orange, green, pale teal, dark teal and violet. the ends are knit with a lovely light teal colour, and the closure is a bright orange plastic button.

the yarn is 100% handspun and hand-dyed merino wool. this yarn feels like velour, and in my opinion it is definitely next-to-skin soft assuming you have no allergies to wool.

WIDTH: 9 cm (3.5 inches)
LENGTH FROM END TO END: 47 cm (18.5 inches)
LENGTH FROM BUTTON TO BUTTONHOLE: 37 cm (14.6 inches)
BUTTON DIAMETRE: 2 cm (0.8 inches)

knitting for a local cause

2007-01-21T11:42:00.000-05:00

a good friend of mine just sent me an email about this cuz she thought i'd be interested, and i'm really glad that she did. with the recent drop in temperature this past week i think it's especially important to do whatever we can to help and support these types of causes. please take some time to read this and pass it on to other knitters in your life that might be willing to make a donation. check out the post on their blog about a woman named Vera - what an awesome lady!

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For Immediate Release: StreetKnit Wants Your Knitted Goods To Help Homeless

With the first fallen snow officially powdering u(T.O.)pia, we should be doubly reminded of the state of homelessness in our communities.

Every year people in Toronto freeze to death because they have nowhere to come in from the cold. In winter 2004/2005 there were 15 extreme cold weather warnings in Toronto. While we at Streetknit cannot (yet . . . we’re working on it) knit shelter for people, we are rousing the knitting communities of Toronto, hobbyists, s’n'bs, society yarn-darlings, needle-clackers of all ages and walks of life to provide the next best thing.

We’re asking knitters to put needles together and spend some time knitting some warmth into an extra scarf, maybe some toques with affectionate or somber colours, mitts, blankets, socks, even a sweater and see it reach those without home. These can be dropped off at local yarn-knit shops Knit-O-Matic (1378 Bathurst St.), The Naked Sheep (2144 A Queen St. E.) and The Knit Cafe (1050 Queen W.).

Let this year be the year Toronto started knitting herself up a terrible storm, wrapping up our communities fair and beleaguered in one big loving scarf with matching mitt-lets and a toque.

Depending on how many fresh woolly goods thier winter drives see, Streetknit will be distributing to homeless outreach programs all over the city including Windfall Clothing and Ve’ahavta so far, as well as need expressed by future friends Scott Mission,St. Francis Table and Out of the Cold. If you are a homelessness service-provider interested in this project, please contact streetknit@gmail.com .

In the knitting community and want to help? Please post this request to your own blog, list-serve, events group, and forward this request to all your woolly-minded friends. How about organizing your own knitting party for streetknit’s winter drive? Need help publicising it or representation on our site? Any Questions? Don’t hesitate to contact us at:

streetknit@gmail.com.

Thank you in advance for your kind wooliness and effort.

Yours,

Ryan Kamstra (Media/Outreach)

Sadie Lewis (Founder/Director)

http://www.streetknit.ca/

Media Inquiries

streetknit@gmail.com

the saga of the "beret-that-never-was"...

2007-01-09T00:50:00.000-05:00

ok, so i told you i would share the story of the beret that was causing me *SO* much frustration lately. well, here it is......

first of all, i bought this *gorgeous* (and kind of insanely expensive) hank of yarn a long while ago because i simply COULD NOT resist the gorgeous colourway. it was shades of teal, turquoise, orange, brown and milk chocolate - delicious to look at. PLUS it was a german yarn brand that i knew (Opal Pullover & Sockenwolle) because i have some lovely socks that a family member in austria made for me. and this yarn was handpainted and i just had to have it. i'm sure you know how it is when you see some yarn that tempts and will not let you leave without it. so anyways, i paid waaaay too much for this yarn with no real idea of what to make with it and i promptly placed it in my stash and waited for the day that inspiration would hit.

well, that day came about two weeks ago when i decided to make a hat out of that yarn. i've been *very* into slightly floppy beret/tams lately, and this yarn was gonna make a gorgeous eyelet patterned beret in my mind's eye.

since this yarn is *such* a fine weight, but has about 425 m in the hank, i decided to double strand it and figured i would be good to go. AND i actually swatched the ribbing for the band, because i have such a small head and i hate making hats that are too big.

well......i'm sure you can see where this is going....sigh....

off i went, merrily knitting along and loving the way things were looking when i realized that i still had another 1/4 of the hat left to make but i was rapidly running out of yarn and would prolly only make it another 2 inches or so. GAH!~ plus i had a bad feeling that the hat was looking a little bit too big and perhaps my swatching had not worked out as intended....

i was so sad.

so i decided to try to obtain some more yarn because i figured that was step one. but when i went to the yarn store i bought it from they didn't have any more at all. not only that, but for some reason the label on THIS particular hank had NO COLOUR CODE or ANY colour information on it for that matter! so when the lovely yarn shop owner called the supplier to suss out whether she could get me another skein, there was no real way to identify the yarn. the lady on the other end only had a computer into which she could enter codes, and no actual yarn anywhere near her. so even describing the colourway etc. was to no avail.

i was sosoSO sad by this point. so i bought a skein of some complimentary milk chocolate yarn and i figured i would start from scratch again and this time do one strand of each yarn, and would therefore have enough of the opal yarn to make the full hat.

but when i got home and started to swatch it i didn't really like the way it looked. it wasn't ugly or anything, but i just wasn't diggin it. it wasn't the hat i had seen in my head.

so.....i decided to re-evaluate the hat as it was. i was knitting it on 16" 5mm circulars, and i transferred it to a 29" pair of circulars that i had so i could actually try the hat on and see what was what so far.

well, as you can see below i came to the *VERY* obvious conclusion that the hat was WAAAAAY too big! which totally confirms my instinctual dislike of swatching. it never friggin works for me. the band was about 50 stitches too big, and therefore the rest of it was just a total mess. friggin awful!

so what i decided to do was indeed frog the whole thing and start again from scratch. but this time i'm gonna make it MUCH smaller, so i should (hopefully) end up having just enough yarn to finish the hat and therefore have it turn out exactly the way i wanted it to look with no compromises. this is a shot of how it will hopefully fit the second time around. i used some bobby pins and hair clips to gather up alllll the excess hat at the back of my head, lol.

much better, non?

below is a shot of the what the hat looks like now. frogging things makes me so sad and frustrated. going from an almost finished object to this again just sucks. :(

before i tackle it again i've decided that i need a little distance from that particular project, hence the baby booties i made the other night, and tonight i whipped up a lovely scarflette using some leftover yarn i had from handspun and dyed too. the centre portion is a delicious multicoloured yarn and the ends are a sea foamy colour. please note, i *know* how crappy these pictures are, but it's late i just wanted to show it to you. so please excuse the awful photography. :)

this picture depicts the sea foamy colour the truest.

this picture shows the truest depiction of the centre portion colour.

i still need to weave in a few ends, but this will prolly be up for sale in the shop either tomorrow or wednesday.

and just before i finish off, allow me to make a plea to those of you out there in blog land:

if ANYONE knows where i can purchase older stock of opal yarn in the greater toronto area OR knows that they have access to older stock of this yarn, please contact me. here are the specs off the label of yarn that i have:

OPAL Pullover & Sockenwolle
Handegefarbt
100g Strange ca. 425 m
75% Schurwolle - 25% Polyamid

and just to remind you, it's a teal, turquoise, orange, milk chocolate and brown multicoloured yarn. i've seen a similar looking yarn in the Opal "Smoke" collection, however it is not the same yarn. now that's just a tease! :(

check out my first pair of baby booties!

2007-01-08T01:01:00.000-05:00

omigolly are these not *the* most awesome things you've ever seen?
i made them last night while watching hockey and i just put them up for sale in the shop.

they're handknit from a bulky weight fuchsia yarn, and are accented with a contrasting lime green crocheted strap and edging.

the strap features a loop at the end that fits over a small plastic flower button that is pink with a purple border.

the fuchsia yarn is 100% acrylic, and the green yarn is 100% wool that has been dyed with kool-aid.

LENGTH OF THE SOLE: 9.5 cm (3.4 inches)
WIDTH OF THE SOLE (at widest point): 8 cm (3.1 inches)
LENGTH OF STRAP FROM END TO LOOP: 6.5 cm (2.6 inches)

for anyone in need of a baby shower gift, i think these booties combined with my *felicia purse* would be an excellent present for someone who isn't afraid of colour. and i mean really, what mother doesn't love to have her daughter be the centre of attention???

CLICK HERE TO BUY THESE BOOTIES NOW...

in case you haven't noticed, i've been very into making baby sized items as of late. i find them intensely satisfying because they are so quick to whip up and therefore feed my need for instant knitting gratification.

they also provide a much needed boost after being forced to frog a nearly complete beret that i've been working on for the past week or so.

{{......le sigh}}

i'll post some pix and the saga of the *beret-that-never-was* tomorrow.
it's late and i'm tired and i'm going to sleep now.
:)

jaunty pompom beret and scarf set

2007-01-07T13:03:00.000-05:00

thank you to everyone who left comments in my last post. unfortunately i didn't have enough yarn left over to make mittens, so i opted to make a matching scarf instead.

first, i finished off the beret with a pompom on the top...

and then i decided to make a scarf with matching pompoms on the ends...

here's all the item details:

The hat is sized to fit a child of 18-24 months and the ribbed band is very stretchy. It's knit in garter stitch and is topped off with a pompom. There is one seam at the back.

WIDTH OF HAT BAND: 2.5 cm (1 inch)
CIRCUMFERENCE OF HAT BAND (unstretched): 25 cm (9.8 inches)
CIRCUMFERENCE OF HAT (when flat): 62 cm (24.4 inches)
DIAMETRE OF HAT (when flat): 20.5 cm (8.1 inches)

The scarf is not intended to wrap around the child's neck, but rather it should drape around and be folded over in front "just so". This is also knit in garter stitch, and each end narrows to a point where it is finished with a pompom.

SCARF LENGTH (unstretched): 58 cm (22.8 inches)
SCARF WIDTH: 8.5 cm (3.3 inches)

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THIS JAUNTY LITTLE SET...

a baby beret

2006-12-27T12:34:00.000-05:00

technically this is my first beret, and even though i still need to put a pompom on the top, i just couldn't wait to share!

you may recognize the yarn...it's knit from the same acrylic stuff that i used for some mittens a while back. i'm gonna list this for sale (since i don't really know that many people with little ones), and i'm just wondering if i should sell it solo, or perhaps make some matching booties or socks and sell them as a set. any suggestions? do parents like to buy matchy-matchy stuff like that?

also, do you think i should bother adding a pompom? or just leave it as is?

my final christmas gift post

2006-12-26T00:49:00.000-05:00

so Christmas has arrived and is now over, and all the gifts have been handed out and (thankfully) very much appreciated. here are pictures of the things i've made over the past few weeks but couldn't post for fear that the recipients would see them before they were officially received.

first off, these are the things i knitted for my sister. first, there's a panta made from this wonderful handspun/hand-dyed wool. it's a little big, but she has short hair and lives in ottawa, so some extra coverage isn't necessarily a bad thing!

i also made her a scarflette with some yummy orange fuzzy yarn held together with a lovely olive green mohair strand.

next, i also made a pant for my best friend. it's knit from teal merino wool.

for my mom i made a green scarflette using this AMAZING wool/silk blend, where the silk component comes from recycled saris. i have some orange/magenta skeins for myself that i'm gonna make a shawl with - yay!

next, i knit up two hats for two little toddlers i know. the first one is a bonnet style cap with earflaps, braided ties, and a vintage 1970's strawberry applique that i handsewed on in contrasting green thread.

here's a close-up of the strawberry...

and finally i knit another ribbed cap with that awesome multicoloured merino my opa's hat was knit from. this one features my *very* first pompom attempt, which turned out quite delightful methinks! :)

ok, that's all for now. i'm currently working on two new projects, so i'll show you pix of those once i'm done. hope you all had a lovely holiday! :)

übercherry is going on yet another vacation

2006-12-12T12:57:00.000-05:00

***** übercherry WILL BE ON VACATION FROM DECEMBER 13-18. ANY ORDERS PLACED DURING THAT TIME WILL BE ADDRESSED ON, OR SHORTLY AFTER, DECEMBER 19. *****

i'm going on yet *another* mini-vacation - and this time it's to go visit my best friend. we'll be in montreal for the final half of this week, and in ottawa for the weekend. i am *very* excited! and when i get back i'll have a bunch of photos to show you of all the stuff i've been knitting for the past couple of weeks. and really, it's kind of a lot of stuff so i'm pretty proud. i hope that everyone has an übercheery week/weekend!

feel free to ignore

2006-12-07T00:31:00.000-05:00

i need to host these images so i can use em on myspace. therefore please ignore this post, but do feel free to check out my myspace page: ubercherry on myspace

and check back here in a couple of days as i have new knit goodies to share once i take some pix! :)

added another finished item to the gift pile

2006-12-01T13:06:00.000-05:00

ok, so i've had the original sn'b book since it came out, and i have knit many many hats in my knitting career, but for some reason never made this one, until last night. i wanted to bust out a supaquick knit to send my opa for christmas (he lives in europe, so those packages need to be sent out, like *now*).

it's knit with Patons Classic Wool Merino in "harvest". because this is a medium weight yarn, i knit it holding two strands together working from both ends of the skein. i also cast on 80 stitches because my opa has a slightly biggish head.

i followed the instructions for the large size, but it's still not big enough in my opinion. as you can see, the hat fits me with very minimal use of the stretch afforded by the ribs, but i have a TINY head. i'm sure that with time it'll stretch out enough for his head, especially since it's ribbed, but i was quite surprised with how small it came out. oh well, know i know for next time. oh yeah, i only ended up using one skein and still had a few yards left over, so this is a great one skein pattern for this particular yarn. i actually like this yarn so much i'll prolly make this exact same hat again for myself!

the christmas gifties are a-flowin'!

2006-11-30T00:40:00.000-05:00

i've been on a crazy knitting spree lately in an attempt to get holiday gifts made and sent to europe in time. i can't post all the pictures i want to right now, because some of the people i made gifts for actually check out this blog from time to time (i think.....) anyways, here are the pictures that i *can* show you thus far, and there will be many more to come in the new year after everyone has opened their gifts and no surprises will be ruined :)

first up, we have two scarflettes that i whipped up while watching hockey last week (HOW canadian cliche am i right now? knitting wintery items while watching hockey!!! hahaha!). i made them using some yummy handspun/hand-dyed yarn from this new-to-me seller i found on etsy: hand spun and dyed too. it was ~*lovely*~ to knit with and i'm very excited to knit something for myself in the new year with a skein i saved!

and now, on to the great mitten mission - i FINALLY finished those mittens i started forEVER ago using the yarn i bought from kristie haynes. so, the 3-needle bind-off wasn't nearly as hard as i thought it would be......at first.......

the left mitten went just fine. swimmingly even. no mistakes, no hassles, just good. here's a picture:

i was skipping around my house waving my mitten-clad left hand around like a magic wand or something for at least 20 minutes. i was *so* proud of myself for having completed my first full top-down mitten AND mastering the 3-needle bind-off without a hitch! silly silly me.........

cuz theeeeeen i got to the right mitten 3-needle bind-off and WHAM! BIG EFFING PROBLEMS!!!! for some reason my brain just *could not* suss out what to do with all the thumb stitches and how to divide them across the needles after the bind off and how many stitches to pick-up etc. ugh! it was AWFUL! i actually had to detach and ultimately frog the right thumb FOUR FRIGGIN TIMES before i got it right! can you believe that???? it had absolutely nothing to do with the pattern though - the pattern was great. i think it prolly just didn't help that i always seemed to be working on these in the ridiculously weeee hours of the morning when my insomnia just wouldn't take a break. that'll learn me to knit after 2am. BUT i finally conquered it and the right mitten was completed with minimal hassle after that. check it out:

note how i'm kind of covering my face in shame because i can't believe how strugglin i was with this one.....yeesh! really, the only issue after that stupid thumb thing was trying to disentagle the yarn while working on the cuffs, cuz i worked from both ends of the skein so as to have an even amount of yarn left for the right and left cuff. oh yeah, AND i almost forgot to allow myself enough yarn for the final bind off. yup.....i'm a pro-star sometimes *grins*

welcome to the universe...

2006-11-20T14:23:00.000-05:00

i just wanted to post a flyer for a cd release party that's happening this thursday in toronto, ontario, canada. jugular is one of my dearest friends, so if you are in the area, and can make it to the show, you should come. his music is delicious, and i promise that the show will be marvellous! :)

Beat Sherpa Recordings is proud to present the Debut Album from renowned vocalist / producer / musician Jugular. Welcome to the Universe has been described as "Mood music for the passionate soul". The album is a beautiful blend of RnB-Soul and Hip Hop set to a highly erotic space theme. The sensual revolution has landed.
This album is completely produced, arranged, written, and composed by the one man band himself. In addition, all the percussion sounds heard on this album are made by the human mouth in an art form known as "beatboxing".

On Nov.23rd, 2006, in his debut solo performance, Jugular will be re-creating selected pieces from the album, live on stage! The night will be hosted by the multi-talented spoken word artist Anne-Marie Woods (aka Amani). There will be a bumpin' after party to follow with DJ L'oqenz (Toronto) and DJ Ashwin (Pittsburgh). Come and celebrate this once in a lifetime event as we go through a musically journey like no other. We welcome you to the Universe, feel free to explore.

who's afraid of the 3 needle bind-off?

2006-11-13T00:34:00.000-05:00

*ME*!!!!!
but more about that later.......

i'm in the middle of making my *first* ever pair of top-down mittens, and i gotta say, i am in looooove! i found this wonderful tutorial on the net: click here for the pattern, and be sure to read that beginning bit about why mittens are so marvy......i especially enjoy the part about how mittens "immediately increase the cuteness of any girl who is spotted wearing them", lol!

anyways, because i wanted to use this pattern (remember the MUCH too small mitten fiasco i blogged about a little while back?), i was forced to look up what the heck a "figure 8 cast-on" is.....and now that i've discovered it (click here for instructions), i may never knit anything from the bottom up again! well, that's prolly not true, but still.....it's totally opened up a whole new world of nifty knitting possibilities.

i've always been the type of gal who never swatches or gauges anything before i start.
i prefer to just dive in needles first, and frog later if necessary.
has this resulted in many wasted hours of knitting?
yes.
does that stop me from doing it?
nope.

but now that i've learned how to do this top-down thing, my refusal to prepare before i knit no longer matters. now i can just increase as needed and measure it against my head, hand, foot etc. as i go.
sweeeeeeeeeet!

here's a picture of my mitten progress so far:

i've finished the top half of one side, and the thumb...here's another picture which makes it look a little more "mitteny"....

i'm using the hand-spun, hand-dyed yarn i bought from kristie haynes a while back (click here to see a previous post with pictures). it's that lovely luscious green/aqua stuff, and i'm really enjoying the way it's knitting up thus far!

but now i've gotten to the part where i have to attach the thumb to the palm, and use the "3 needle bind-off" method, which totally scares me. i've decided to leave well enough alone for the night and attach this baby tomorrow when i'm well rested and slightly caffeinated ;)

wish me luck please!

knitting for a cause

2006-11-11T00:09:00.000-05:00

so you may notice that i've added a new little sidebar section called "knitting for a cause". i had the project linus one mixed in with the other knitting links for a while, but i just happened across the "knit a river" blog tonight and wow - the "river" looks pretty rad so far.

i've decided to try to knit something for both of these worthy causes within the next 6 months.
if there are any semi-local knitters who would like to contribute river squares, please get in touch with me and we can send in a group donation.

do any of you know of any other great canadian knitting-related charities and such?
if so, please leave a comment with a link and i'll add em to my sidebar.

in the meantime, please click on both of these links and read about how knitting can make a difference on a local and global scale :)

PROJECT LINUS

KNIT A RIVER

two new knits!

2006-11-10T12:17:00.000-05:00

wow! i can't believe it's been soooooo friggin long since i've blogged!
my apologies to you, my lovelies.
after returning home from my vacation in new york (wow, how much did i *adore* that city!?!?!) i was swamped by playing catch-up on school stuff.
then i finally got down to business and finished a waaaaaaaaaaaaay long overdue custom order for the marvy mr. bassdog, who has been *so* patient and understanding about the delays.

he wanted me to make him a customized toque with the word "bassdog" done in intarsia around the side. however the whole thing wouldn't fit, so we decided to go with the abbreviated "b-dog", which turned out quite well methinks!

i can't get a good picture of all four letters, so here's a few shots of the finished product. these first two pictures are NOT an accurate representation of the true colour of the hat. i brightened them up significantly so you could see the lettering more easily.

these final two pics are more true to the forreal colour. i am *so* please with how this turned out, and hopefully marco will be too!

the next thing i have to show you is a tiny little scarflette i whipped up last saturday night while watching hockey. i've had this nubbly novelty yarn hangin' around for a while so i finally sussed out what to do with it. i was going to a show the next day, and wanted a little something to keep my neck warm while waiting outside, but that could be easily stuffed into my pocket when it came time to check my coat.

the yarn is an olive green eyelash type thing, with these little yellow and lime green fuzzy bits scattered throughout.

i decided to use an adorable little octopus pin i had as a button just cuz i love octopodes!

p.s. the show i went to see was that of my much gushed-over schoolgurl crush object: ryan star. i won't go into too much obsessive detail, but the show was marvellous! that boy can friggin *sing*...he actually sounded better live than he does on the album, which i love. and he stuck around for well over an hour after the show to chat with people and take pictures and sign stuff. i was also uberpleased that he played my favourite song off his album, and that he played it well. i *hate* hearing my fave song played live, and being really disappointed by it....anyways, i'll stop now. but i really do strongly urge people to check this boy's music out. :)

p.p.s. check out my uberrad flickr badge in the sidebar.....wheeeeeeee!

übercherry is going on vacation!

2006-10-13T23:46:00.001-04:00

ok my cheery cherries, i'm going on a mini-vacation next week.
so any orders placed between October 16-22 will be shipped out on or after October 23.

where am i going you ask?
new york city, baby!
a buddy and i are going as a vacation/birthday celebration (it's his birthday today!).
i'm very excited and got even MORE excited this morning when i got a call from someone at the DAILY SHOW(!!!!!) informing me that we were gonna get tickets to a taping as per our request - hell ya!

so check out the tuesday october 17th show.
we have big plans to convince mr. stewart to let us do a little segment called "news from the north", lol.

i am *stoked*!

i hope everybody has an übercheery week! :)

my first mittens!

2006-10-10T01:11:00.000-04:00

oi!
i haven't blogged in what seems like forEVAH!
my apologies.
i've been reading like a champ and cranking out assignments because i'm going on vacation next week and i wanna get as much work outta the way as possible before i leave.
however i *did* manage to knit up this adorable little pair of mittens that i promptly gave to the grandaughter of a family friend.

i had originally intended to knit them as a cheap acrylic "test" of this pattern i'd found before i went ahead and used my uberexpensive wool.
well, am i *ever* glad that i did because that pattern was so NOT intended to make a women's medium mitten as stated at the top of it.
oh no my friends, these mittens were fit for kiddies. they barely reached my wrist and my hand was all mashed up and don't even get my started on the thumb......and i don't even have big hands!

well, in any case, this little project turned out to be a great first lesson in using double-pointed needles AND knitting mittens, so i was very pleased.
although i must admit that the first one turned out *much* more perfect looking than the second one.....which is odd....you would think that i would get better as i progressed, but i guess i'm all about the beginner's luck, lol.

the thumb turned out a little wonked-up on the second one (the one on the right in that first picture up there), but overall i was very pleased with them and the little girl who received them was quite delighted!

oceania for sale!

2006-09-29T00:14:00.000-04:00

so i made yet another one of those yummy teal and olive hipster hairnets and put it for sale in my etsy shop - check it out....

i decided to call it "oceania" as an homage to the fact that it reminds me of the sea AND it's the name of a bjork song (i waaaaay dig bjork, did ya know that? well now you do. i heart her lots!)

i've also been sloooooowly plugging along on knitting up this custom order hat for a very nice fellow who contacted me through myspace. thankfully he's uberdelightful and has been very patient and understanding about the fact that i'm not knitting as much as i should these days.

it's a pure wool yarn and the pictures don't really due the colours justice. i think that second one is prolly the most true colour match to the real deal. it's all going well so far and i'm about to start some heavy duty intarsia cuz he wants lettering along the side. hopefully it turns out ok even though it's a 1x1 rib pattern. has anyone done any serious lettering in this stitch pattern before? if so, how did it turn out? any tips for sizing etc. would be very much appreciated.

ok, i have to go now. today was a totally stressful day and i'm very happy that it is finally over.
good night. :)

hipster hairnets are hellasweet!

2006-09-20T00:06:00.000-04:00

check out the new hipster hairnet i just made for myself. remember how i mentioned last week that i splurged at the yarn shop on some yummy stuff for myself? well, here is the product of some of that splurge. it's knit with two strands, one of a merino/alpaca blend, the other a supersoft mohair......it's deliciously soft and i love it! this one is teal mixed with olive green.....

i also just whipped up another one in the teal colour and this deep coral colour. it's awesome!

this is yet another product that people just don't seem to be diggin online as much as they do in real life. my sister gets compliments on her hipster hairnet all the time, as do i on the ones i wear to work and such. yet no one has taken a chance on one from my shop yet. not sure why....but hopefully someone will soon.....trust me - they rock! ;)

kid power ice cream scarflette!!!

2006-09-13T14:38:00.000-04:00

ok, i finished this baby a while ago, but just *finally* took pictures and posted it in my shop.

i happen to think it's perfect for anyone who grew up eating ice cream in the 80's! read the description in the listing to find out why..... kid power ice cream scarflette

i had a funny little "photoshoot" on my deck the other day, complete with my fake head model (shaniqua) and my dressmaker dummy torso. my neighbour's children were giving me funny looks as they slyly watched me from their sandbox, lol.

look for some supplies and such to go on sale over the course of this next week.

i also put the charcoal man band up for sale in the shop. check it out!

i have so much other news to write about....

i just knit my first mitten the other day

i'm working on a custom order hat for this awesome client i met the other day

i bought some luscious new yarns yesterday

and other stuff too

but i should go do school work.

{{.....le sigh}}

i'll blog more later in the week!

questions for the boys........

2006-09-08T00:35:00.000-04:00

ok, so i am basically done with this super uberfunctional "man band" which is intended to hold back curly hair, long hair, dreads etc. or just keep your ears warm. :)

it's a nice charcoal grey colour, but my question for you is this: should i add a contrasting border? like maybe a nice red or orange edge on both sides? or should i leave it as is?

discuss..... :)

myspace images

2006-09-06T00:15:00.000-04:00

please ignore. i just need to repost these images cuz they keep breaking up when i link to them on myspace.

falling leaves scarflette is done!

2006-09-04T00:32:00.000-04:00

i finished this up yesterday morning and am thrilled with how it turned out! it's a touch big on me, but it should fit the lady i knit it for just fine. every year she sends me one or two pairs of handknit socks, so this is my small way of repaying her for her generosity. i think i actually have enough of this wool left over to make another one, so i might just make one for myself too because i love how this colourway knit up!

yay for new yarn!!!

2006-08-31T23:47:00.000-04:00

just as i was rushing out the door to work this morning, my mailman scared the poop outta me when i turned around after having put on my shoes and BAM there he was thrusting a package into my face! but boy was i glad to see him, and that package, because it meant that my recently purchased yarns had finally arrived!

last week i bought two skeins of handspun, hand-dyed yarn from kristie haynes's etsy shop and i've been eagerly awaiting their arrival because i was planning to use one to knit up a scarflette for a family friend that my mom will be visiting next week!

so after i got home from work tonight i ate some dinner, then got down to some knitting work and did up about 3/4 of the scarflette before i called it a night. here's my progress so far.....

and here's a closer view of the yarn for a more accurate representation of the colour (it's called falling leaves and it's a wool/mohair blend) ....

she's gonna love it!

and then i bought the other skein just for me because i CANNOT resist an aqua/lime green combo. this is yet *another* "bathroom colour scheme" item. i have a serious problem, lol.

kristie also threw in an extra sample hank which is over there on the left.
i strongly recommend purchasing yarn from this gal, because it is a ~dream~ to knit with, and she always has really great, very intensely saturated colourways, which i love. you know i'm all about the colour.

and in other knitting news, i have those two other projects on the go which i mentioned yesterday. one is a hat that i'm designing from scratch, and i can't share pictures just yet, but i *will* share a picture of my other project, which is a "boy band" intended for boys with long, curly, or dreaded hair that wanna keep it outta their face sometimes. they can also be used as ear warmers i suppose. look for this to arrive in my shop sometime next week, and if you would like a customized one for a messy-maned man in your life, just let me know and we'll work it out!

i don't want to talk about it...

2006-08-31T00:08:00.000-04:00

i am veryveryvery sad tonight.

no longer will i receive my thrice weekly dose of ryan star :(
*sniffle*
i knew he had to go eventually, because i honestly don't think he's right for the supernova situation.
and based on his debut cd i know that will be just fine as a solo artist.
but still.....
he was so *purty*!
and that voice...it made me melty....

{{sigh}}............

if he ever comes to perform in toronto EVERYONE better let me know.
please :)

and in crafty related news (because this *is* still a craft blog, i swear) i've got two projects on the go, as per my progress bars over there on the right, and i anticipate finishing both of them by the end of the weekend so look for pictures on here sometime next week.

finally finished!

2006-08-28T00:36:00.000-04:00

*squealing-with-glee*

so i *finally* finished this baby last night! if you've been keeping tracking of my posts about this, then you'll know that i was really worried it wasn't gonna fit in certain areas, but everything ended up turning out just peachy, thank goodness.

it's a little baggier in some spots than i'd like. especially around the shoulders. but overall i love it!

i didn't seam it all the way down to the bottom so it has these nice little slits along the side that give it a more tunic-y feel.

i feel a tad silly for being so proud of it, but i really feel as though i'm ready to tackle sweaters now.

and i'd just like to brag a little about the fact that my side seams are to die for.

seriously, they're invisible.

AND i managed to conquer the dreaded DBO2 without going bonkers.

i *so* rock!

bungled up blog

2006-08-26T00:00:00.000-04:00

aaagggghhhh!
apparently i deleted a WHOLE CHUNK of my template the other day and didn't even notice!!!
i lost links.
i lost my cute little progress bars.
i lost ring codes (including the etsy sellers one, which is funny considering how much i complain about people not having the code on their blogs!).
AND i lost all of the links to my fellow crafty canucks!
i feel like such a bonehead.

:(

if you were one of the people i swapped links with, or if you happen to be reading this for the first time and are a fellow crafty canuck, please send me a message and i'll happily swap links again.

thank goodness i had the sense to save my blog template once a few months ago so at least *some* of the info was recovered...

has this ever happened to anyone else?

please tell me i'm not alone in my boneheadedness.

on the home stretch now.....

2006-08-25T00:26:00.000-04:00

so i bound off the back piece of my drop stitch vest tonight.
all i have left to do is finish dropping the rest of the stitches and seam it up!
i'm *stoked*!
however i'm still unsure as to whether or not this is going to fit properly.
i knit the back piece on slightly bigger needles and tried to knit a bit more loosely (i have a notoriously tight gauge).
i'm hoping that it'll end up working with the side seams sitting just slightly more forward than they normally should.
please cross your fingers for me.
if this thing doesn't fit over my chest i will cry.

the knit hit the fan tonight

2006-08-22T00:17:00.000-04:00

i just spent two hours trying to suss out a new hat design and it did *not* go over well.

..............{{sigh}}

i don't really mind when stuff doesn't work out properly, but having to frog stuff is just so sad.
cuz then you have to wind all that yarn back up again.
and it's all kinky and will never be as smooth and supple as it was the first time.
plus it's just so anti-climactic to have to start something over again.
and it feels as though that time was just totally wasted; even though it really wasn't because i needed to make those mistakes in order to suss out how to do this thing properly.

it all sounds very much like a relationship, non?
it feels as though i just went out on a really bad blind date. ugh.

on an obsessive little sidenote, i can NOT stop listening to "the same when i'm alone" by r.star
seriously, throw down the $10+shipping and get the cd. it's putting me in *such* a hayden sort of mood. i'm sure that anyone who grew up in this area in the mid 90's can appreciate exactly what i'm talking about. i don't think i could have made it through high school without "everything i long for", and this ryan star cd is completely analogous to my current state of feeling these days.

what an awful week it's been...

2006-08-21T00:11:00.000-04:00

i'm so sorry that i haven't posted in so long, but it really has been a brutal past little while.
2 flat tires.
1 bungled up computer.
a night where i couldn't sleep at ALL due to carb overload + so-so espresso.
waaaaay too much school work.
not enough knitting.
and to top it all off i've just been having a sad week in general.

however there has been some sunshine sweetness in the form of the following:

lovely emails from lovely friends.

a most hilarious phone chat with my sister.

the arrival of my r. star cd. i *love* it! it completely recreates this very distinct mood that i remember from high school. it's somewhere between heartache and regrets with that dash of hesitant expectation mixed with serious contemplation. the first four songs are my new crack. plus it's giving me the urge to tip-toe up to my piano again, which is a nice feeling.

i also made a spotaneous knitting pattern purchase to cheer myself up yesterday as i was feeling paricularily blah-ish. check it out:

it's the "rusted root" pattern from zephyr style, which i was directed to by a lovely craftster member. i probably won't knit it until next year, but i love it and am excited by the purchase anyways. i think it will look *too* precious over a nice fitted dress shirt.
man...i wish i had way more time to knit.

anyways, i think that's it for now. i have to go approve 20 blogs for the etsy sellers ring!
please leave me some comments and let me know how *you* have been!

the front is finished!

2006-08-09T11:53:00.000-04:00

ok, so i was up until waaaaay too late last night finishing up this front piece, but it was worth it! i'm so excited with how well this turned out. unfortunately it's not quite as stretchy as i'd hoped it would be, which makes sense since it's cotton, so fitting it over my busty bust may be a slight issue. but hopefully some uberstretching during the blocking phase will help that out.

here is a close-up of the stitch pattern:

i actually had no problems with the dreaded DBO2 thanks to the lovely helpers throughout the craftster thread. however i DID have a heck of a time figuring out the neckline of the medium because i honestly think that some instructions are missing. a few of the rows tell you to start with a DBO2 when you don't have any stitches on the needle to bind off yet. again, thanks to the people in the craftster thread i was able to suss it out, but i *did* end up having to unravel the entire left side after i reached the final row and realized that i'd made an error waaaaay back on the second left side row - ugh! but at least i finally learned how to pick up dropped stitches! i'm still at a total loss for how to do it in a 1x1 ribbed pattern though...

anyways, i'm very excited to finish the back piece now and i'll post another picture when i'm done!

why????

2006-08-05T12:31:00.000-04:00

http://www.bananaguard.com

and why are there TWO places in ottawa that sell these?
you can even email them to suggest new colours.
i'm utterly in awe.

i must have at least three of these.

i must confess...

2006-08-02T01:12:00.000-04:00

this is not at all craft related, but i felt the need to post this anyways...
my amateur crush has just turned pro.

i ~*heart*~ ryan star.

i've been crushing on him from day one of the rockstar: supernova season and tonight just elevated my infatuation to a whole new level. it's the eyes i'm telling you...and the sweet piano-playing hands. yowzah!

is it wrong that i've even ordered his cd?
probably.
but i don't care.
i'm in school-gurl love and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
{{sigh}}

ubercherry is having an "ubersale"!

2006-07-31T23:54:00.000-04:00

in an effort to clear out the shop to make room for my fall line, i've put over half the items in my shop ON SALE!

hipster hairnets - $2.00 off!
uberversatile petals - $1.00 off!

plus i have commercial supplies on sale too!
check it out!

and as always i'm happy to combine shipping. just send me a convo and we'll work it out! :)

new knitting project!

2006-07-31T00:47:00.000-04:00

ok, so i couldn't resist playing with that new yarn i bought and i started a new project last night! i've decided to tackle "accidentally on purpose" from the stitch n' bitch nation book.

*note: this image is from the stitch n' bitch nation book via the knit happens website

it's a drop stitch vest and will be the first piece of clothing i have knit for myself other than scarves and arm warmers and shrugs and hats and such. i've got the accessory thing down, now i'm really for some real clothing. as soon as i started this project i knew i was gonna need some more yarn, so i convinced my lovely and wonderful mother to go get me as many as they had left at michael's, which turned out to be 8. sweet. that's enough for the vest and at least two other small projects. oh yeah, i forgot to say that i'm using the hot blue colour. i have waaaaaaay too many fuschia coloured items in my closet already {{blush}}

so far i am about 70 rows into it, and i would show you a picture, but really it's just a massive block of stockinette stitch and not very cool to look at. the only real benefit of showing you a picture would be so you can marvel at and appreciate how much progress 70 rows really is as this sucker is knit on 3.5mm needles. that's size 5 US people - tiny! it's going to take forever but it's super monotonous and easy to knit while watching tv and such. plus i'm excited to get to the part where i finally get to drop all those stitches!

there is actually a whole thread on craftster.org about peoples' experience knitting this vest which was a very helpful reference and the pictures of other people's finished vests is what inspired me to finally try it. check out the thread here: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=17155.0. miss debbie stoller herself even stopped by the thread to clarify a few of the finishing instructions. which reminds me - have i ever mentioned just how much i truly adore debbie stoller? a few years ago a friend of mine learned how to knit and was always raving about how much she loved it and sent me pictures of the cute things she made based on patterns found via knitty.com. i would often pour over all the lovely patterns on knitty and was quite jealous of my friend's ability to actually make those patterns a reality. then i read a review of stitch n' bitch in the metro and promptly decided that i wanted to learn how to knit too. so i went out and bought the book and read the first few chapters, then went out and bought myself a pair of 5mm bamboo needles and learned to knit. debbie's instruction style was perfect for me and made it so much easier to learn than i thought it would be. although i think the only project i ever actually knit from that book was the head scarf thingie, i still reference it all the time and am sososo happy that i happened across that metro review...

just bought some new supplies!

2006-07-29T18:24:00.000-04:00

as if i actually *NEED* any more yarn! i already have so much and yet i can't resist a good yarn deal. yesterday after work i went to michael's arts and crafts shop to look for some jewellery wire. well.....i am soooo not of the jewellery world and was in way over my head and just gave up and slinked off to the yarn aisle after having stared at the jewellery walls for a good 10 minutes in utter confusion. and lo and behold, there was a yarn sale! they were selling off some older stock for $1.00 per ball. ONE DOLLAR PEOPLE!!! eeks! i can't believe i restrained myself as well as i did....but really, most of the yarn was already gone and all that was left was the reject colours/textures that nobody wants to knit with. however i did manage to score 3 balls a piece of bernat handicrafter cotton yarn in hot blue and hot pink. not sure what i'm gonna make with them yet though....any suggestions?

i also bought a sweet set of 16" clover bamboo circular needles in size 10US. i'm very excited to make a hat or something with those babies....they're so cute! i know it's weird to call knitting needles cute, but really, they just are. and i am obsessed with bamboo needles and really refuse to knit with anything else now. i have all these neglected aluminum and {{shudder}} plastic needles from when i first started to knit and really didn't know any better. but now i'm bamboo or nothing and really need to place a bid on one of those lots of 16 pairs on ebay or something to fill out the sizes i'm missing.

and btw, i didn't sell any of my stuff at the bookshop yesterday :( but in all fairness, it was pretty much older adult people for the majority of the day. i left my stuff there and hopefully i'll make some sales over the weekend...we'll see.

out with the old and in with the new

2006-07-28T00:35:00.000-04:00

so i did end up finishing that new scarflette last night. here's an *awful* picture of me, but it's just to give you a little preview of what the thing looks like. this is a large size and *purrrrrfect* for gurls on the larger end of the neck spectrum. i haven't written up all the details yet, but i prolly won't list it in my shop until next month. it's just *too* friggin hot these days for people to even think about buying warm woolies yet. but i will tell you that it was knit using moda dea vixen yarn. if you are familiar with the yarn then you will know how scrumptious it is, but if you don't know, it's 100% nylon yet feels just like mohair. wonderful for those with allergies who still want to have supersoftness next to their skin. and it's got these lovely rainbow bobbles of chenille intertwined in it so it's sure to match any winter coat.

in other news, i'm taking my goods into work tomorrow! yup....dunno why i never did before, but it's midnight madness in port credit and i'm hoping to capitalize on the whole thing. i can be pretty charming when i'm trying to sell stuff, and i have a few "bookshop groupies" who i can prolly sweet-talk into supporting my knitting habit. but it could all be a horrible failure....who knows. i'll tell you know how it all turns out.

here's a picture of the cute little basket i set up for flogging my goods. i realized that i need to pick up a mirror from the dollar store though so people can actually see what the uberversatile petals and hipster hairnets look like when they're on.

here's a close-up of what's inside....

wish me luck! :)

books n' brooke

2006-07-26T17:27:00.000-04:00

wow, i'm having an UBERproductive day today! which is good considering how much procrastinating i've been doing lately....ugh. but i'm almost done with assignment #1 and then i have another one to finish up next week.

in between all of the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy anaylses i've been working on a great new winter item in hopes of launching a proper fall/winter 2006 line in my shop. i don't have any pictures yet but i'll try to remember to take some tonight. heck, it might even be finished by the time i'm done watching rockstar: supernova. yes, i have just officially "outed" myself as hopelessly addicted to the rockstar show. but really, i was the BIGGEST inxs fan growing up so how could i not watch that first season? and now i'm all into this second season because...well....because mark burnett really *is* the king of making compelling reality tv shows. plus it doesn't hurt that brooke burke is the host *rawr* ;)

ok, back to the assignment i go!
but before i leave i just wanna let you know that i've put a few of my supplies on sale in the shop.
yarn ends, yarn and fabric - all on sale! check it out...

a wonderful new tool for the geography challenged

2006-07-25T01:03:00.000-04:00

check out my lovely new visitor stats counter under the map in my sidebar - how friggin sweet is that? i saw it on http://artbynaomistudiotreats.blogspot.com and couldn't resist adding it here. now i don't have to feel so embarassed about not knowing where those red dots on my map are cuz this nifty new counter will just tell me! :)

in other news i got the BEST email from pinky today who gave those lone ranger coasters to her dad on sunday and apparently he loved them. her email was *so* lovely and made me feel really warm and fuzzy on the inside. forreal. here is a little excerpt:

"I gave my dad the coasters today and................He LOVED them!! I mean luvvved them. He opened the box and said, "hey, what is this?" and then the smile hit his face when he saw the Lone Ranger...And what is even better, my dad always drinks out of a BIG glass and they never fit on a regular size coaster, but since these were larger, his favorite mug fits perfectly!! Joy!" -pinky.etsy.com

i can't even express how amazing it feels to know that something i made with my own two hands and efforts made a total stranger so completely happy. wow!

and oh yeah...someone bought all THREE of my wisconsin themed cards - woohoo! what an awesome weekend/weekstart :)

a little experiment...

2006-07-22T13:09:00.000-04:00

so i started a little experiment on thursday evening/friday morning when i switched up my etsy avatar.
i decided to modify it to include a picture of me because i was wondering if having my face as a part of my "image" on etsy will make a difference at all...

what is your opinion?
do you hate it when people use their faces?
have you even been turned off of a product because you couldn't "relate" to the person based on their pic? (ie. the seller looked too young/old, unappealing to you in some way, out of focus, etc.)

personally i'm still a bit undecided...i don't really love putting my face on display online outside of this blog and a couple on myspace just so my real-life friends knew who they were adding.
however i've decided to make the switch across the board (etsy shop, blog, myspace, craftster etc.) just to keep my "brand image" consistent.

there have been a few threads in the etsy forums about people who like to put a face to a (shop)name; but i'm one of those people who completelyidentifies people based on their avatars and gets really confused when people switch up their avatars. i rarely look at the names when i'm skimming through a forum post, i just know certain sellers based on their avatar, so i'll stop to read what they've said when i see it.

with that in mind, i've tried to keep my uberumlaut as part of my avatar.

the first image i test drove was this:

it seemed to go over pretty well, and i actually gained two new "hearts" in my shop after the switch.

then i decided to switch it up because that one was too bland and i wasn't able to instantly spot myself amid a sea of posts in a forum thread. also, the u was blurry and i couldn't seem to fix it cuz of the small size. so here is the second *very* bright new avatar i made:

but i eventually settled on this one below because the picture was more in focus:

since making the switch i have received lots of positive feedback (including some comments from my current etsy crush...shhh.....don't tell anyone i'm in love) and have gained 6 new hearts in my shop - wow!
i guess the results so far indicate that people like seeing a face.
however it could just be due to the fact that i've been so active in the forums lately....hmmm.....

lots of news!

2006-07-22T12:17:00.000-04:00

wow! lots has been going on in the past couple of days! mostly because i'm procrastinating from studying by focusing on my etsy shop instead. good for the shop, but BAD for my brain...

first things first - i had a few listings expire which means i've just celebrated my 6 month anniversary of officially selling ubercherry goodies to the world!!!! eeks! happy half-birthday to me :)

i've decided to go ahead and relist most of the expired items as i'm sure someone will love them eventually...

here are a few of the lovely RElisted items available:

ruby: the 3-way purse/wristlet/clutch
(it looks uneven in the pic, but i assure you it's totally symetrical in the other pictures)

wish you were here blank card

with love from wisconsin blank card

(these cards were cut n' pasted by my own two hands and feature pieces of a wisconsin state map)

secondly, i have passed another mini-milestone: i officially hit double-digit sales!!! woowoo! {{grins-from-ear-to-ear}}

i've been doing some major, *hardcore*, ubershameless pimping lately in the etsy forums and over on crafster.
BUT it finally paid off (literally!) when craft_t_chic scooped up one of the sweet valley high blank handbound journals! i've decided to send her a nice little bonus as a thank you for being buyer #10!

i still have one journal available and it would be a great gift for any young lady in high school, or any graduated gurl who wants to remember how undramatic her high school years were compared to the gals in the valley!

check it out...

third (and last for the moment), pinky received her customized lone ranger coasters the other day and left me a GLOWING feedback post! her dad's birthday is coming up this week so i should hear a full report on her first impression of them once they finally come out of the sealed package. i'm very excited as she seems to love them so much already - yay!

ok that's it for the moment.
i have some other news but i'll put it in another post so this one doesn't get *too* long.

3000 views - woohoo!

2006-07-20T23:23:00.000-04:00

i just got my 3000th viewer according to the newly-revived etsy shop counters! in honour of this fact i am offering everyone who reads this post 10% your next purchase - simply enter "3000=10%" in the note to seller box and i'll send you an updated invoice from paypal!

hopefully this will help me reach my next milestone of double-digit items sold. i've been sitting at 9 forevah!

in other news, i have a few listings that are going to expire soon - one of which expires in the next half hour (eep!)
i'm not sure if i should bother relisting them as they obviously weren't really loved the first time around...
any thoughts on this subject?
i have relisted 4 items so far, and it's not the extra $0.10 that worries me, it's the fact that nobody seems to be digging my stuff. i'm not sure how else to improve my current inventory - do i need new descriptions? are my prices way off track?

hrmph....time to do some re-evaluation...

and just because i'm bored i'm going to post this (not-so) little thing i found on http://paperandyarn.blogspot.com:

Bold the ones you've done..(i'm gonna make em white just to make it easier to see)

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly could
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites - it depends on your definition of ancient
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Gone white water rafting
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived.
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi - but i only eat the veggie kind
128. Had your picture in the newspaper - does a school newspaper count?
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life - possibly

feel free to ask me about any of my answers :)

felicia for sale!

2006-07-17T23:57:00.000-04:00

ok, i just listed Felicia in my shop...check it out!

AND i just noticed that i have acquired a few more red dots on my clustrmap, and a few them are even those highly-coveted fellow canucks!

who's that reader up there near the canadian shield?

and what's with all the hits in east asia.....?

i'm gonna have to bust out an atlas soon....have i mentioned how horrible my geography is?
{{blushes}}
it's really *very* shameful :(

mystery yarn grab bag

2006-07-16T23:40:00.000-04:00

i just listed this bundle of yarn ends in my shop for those who are always looking for little scraps of yarn to pretty up a knit or crocheted piece!

CLICK TO BUY NOW...

i've grouped them into 6 colour categories:

1. blues
2. oranges

3. greens
4. neutrals (white, grey, multicoloured earth tones)

5. pink-to-purples

6. reds

there is a mixture of textures here including wool, alpaca, mohair, acrylic, cotton, novelty yarn and skinny ribbon.
most of the pieces range from 3-15 cm (1-6 inches) and would only be suitable for adding some fun fringe to a poncho or scarf.

some pieces are much longer, upwards of 30 cm, especially those in the red and orange groups. these could easily be used to add a stripe or two to a multicoloured scarf or coin pouch.

OR you could just tie them all together and start a mystery BALL of yarn!
the subsequent multicoloured, multitextured scarf possibilities are endless...

and just a reminder, this is your LAST CHANCE to take advantage of my blog presale on the Felicia purse listed in the previous post. i'll be listing it in my shop when i come home from work tomorrow night, so if you've had your eye on it, hurry up and send me that email!

BLOG PRE-SALE!!!

2006-07-15T13:07:00.000-04:00

hello everyone! do you remember that *almost finished* purse i posted about FOREVER AGO and then never got around to finishing? well, last night i bit the bullet and finally got her all seamed and ready to go! i decided not to line her because she was quite sturdy without it and the lining concept didn't gel properly with my handle. and speaking of the handle - do you love it? i'm sure i'm not the first one to think of using fake pearls as a handle, but i know that this was the first time *I* actually used them and i lovelovelove the way it turned out!

FELICIA
This purse is handknit in garter stitch, so it's very sturdy and maintains its structure and shape well.
HEIGHT/DEPTH: 12 cm (4.7 inches)
LENGTH: 20.5 cm (8.1 inches)
HANDLE LENGTH: 34.5 cm (13.6 inches)
YARN CONTENT: 100% acrylic, so it can be washed if necessary. Handwash and lay flat to dry.
BUTTONS: 2 small plastic flowers that are purple with a blue border.

felicia can also be used as a clutch - simply tuck the handle into the bag and you're good to go!

here she is hanging off a doorknob so you can get a sense of the handle length. it's short enough to be handheld with ease, yet long enough to fit snugly under your arm if you prefer.

i am going to list felicia in my shop on monday evening for $30 US + shipping.
however, those of you who are lovely enough to read my blog can acquire felicia via my BLOG PRESALE offer of $25 US + shipping! simply send an email to: ubercherry@gmail.com and let me know!

and be sure to check out the other uberversatile knit purse in my shop: RUBY - she can be used as a clutch, a wristlet OR a shoulder bag. wow!

the finished product...

2006-07-15T12:39:00.001-04:00

ok, so i sent off pinky's customized lone ranger coasters a few days ago, but i just finally got all the photos edited all pretty so you can see them and ooooh and aaaaah and swoon over my talent ;) i think i'll list a set of 4 of these in *my shop* because they turned out so well (in my opinion) and i'm sure there are other people out there who might dig em!

please excuse the flash reflecting off the plastic...there's really no good way to get around it :(

so i ended up making a set of 8 for pinky, due to the errors described in the previous post about these. i have close-up shots of each individual coaster if anyone is interested - just leave me a comment and i'll put em up!

done, done and (almost) done!

2006-07-12T00:37:00.000-04:00

wow. i've been a busy uberproductive gurl!
check out all those 100% progress bars on the right!

i just finished up pinky's coasters, and i'll have some pix tomorrow when the sun is available for lighting....

but for now here is one pic of how the final product looks. unfortunately the red foam backing was a *disaster* so i had to resort to my back-up plan and use this lovely green cord fabric that i had. i actually think it looks much better this way, and luckily pinky was *VERY* understanding about it all and dug the green plan as well. she rocks! btw, these are going to be given to her dad as a birthday gift - how cool! :)

i also finished up the book i was reading: the holy blood and the holy grail - it was really interesting, although i'm not *hugely* interested in history/geneology etc. so it didn't really get too juicy for me until near the end. but i'm glad i read it. lots of interesting points to think about...

and all i have left to finish in the next couple of weeks is two huge assignments for school and registering for my new courses...piece of cake? ugh. i'm afraid it prolly won't be. i haven't done ANY readings yet, except for one measly little article, and these are both *final* assignments, so i guess i should put some moderate effort into them. even though i still love what i'm studying, these two courses are prerequisites and are therefore a little less captivating than i'd hoped they would be.

in other news, i'd love it if i could get some feedback on my shop items please...i haven't sold anything other than custom order stuff for a while now, and it's VERY disheartening....are my wares ugly? you can be honest...i just don't understand why no one wants my stuff....{{whinewhinewhine}} i don't mean to be so self-pitiful, but i just don't wanna put any more effort into making new stuff if no one likes the stuff i make. i'm honestly looking for some constructive criticism here, so please don't just tell me i suck, tell me *why* and *what* sucks. thanks! :)

RE: Alchemy request from Pinky - PART 2

2006-07-10T23:57:00.000-04:00

the following post is in regards to a custom order i am doing for Pinky. this is a set of 6 coasters featuring Lone Ranger trading cards. if you like what you see and are interested in having me create some coasters for you, please feel free to contact me! :)

here they are in all of their UN-laminated glory...

i went with the "hold on" card instead of the one you had originally chosen because it looked better in person and "fit" with the overall "feel" of the other coasters. i hope that's ok! :)

once i get a response from you i'll pop them in the post! :)

i'm baaaaack!

2006-07-10T00:04:00.000-04:00

wow! i had the *BEST* time during my mini-vacation in ottawa. there aren't too many craft-related stories, but i did have a noteworthy knitting moment on the bus ride up: there was this really nice boy sitting next to me (he was in the window seat, i was on the aisle), and about an hour into the trip he fell asleep...so i decided that now was the perfect time to bust out the needles and finish up the hipster hairnet i'd started at the bus station. so i was happily knitting along for a while, and then he woke up! uh-oh! my needles were 13" long and a lil' bit up in his personal space, which was fine while he was sleeping, but i didn't want to bug him while he was awake. but he didn't mind at all, in fact he started telling me about how he has an aunt that knits, and how he can never "figure out how it works". many many boys i've met have expressed the same sentiment...they all have a female friend/relative/etc. that knits, and they are fascinated by it, but never actually try to learn how to do it. i know that there are many male knitters out there, but i have yet to meet one :( i'd really kinda like to...

the only other crafty episode during my time in ottawa was when my best friend and i went to this wonderful bead shop to make a necklace for my mom's birthday. the place is called The Sassy Bead Co. and it turns out they also have a location in toronto that i didn't know about. i ended up making a necklace for my mom, one for me, and purchasing an extra awesome large bead that will be used as a pendant in a future project. i don't have any pix right now of the necklaces i made, but i'll hopefully post a few later in the week.

in the mean time, here are some pictures of the canada day festivities/concerts on parliment hill:

this was the crowd to our left...

and this was the crowd to our right...

here is a picture of the stage...

here is part of the fireworks finale...

and this was what rideau street looked like for the next hour after the fireworks were over. it's a CRAZY bottleneck situation with everyone going in the exact same direction. it's nuts!

being in ottawa for canada day really is an experience that everyone should have at least once...the streets are completely flooded, there are so many amazing anglophone, francophone and first nations peoples performances, and the fireworks display is just marvellous! unfortunately it was raining on and off throughout the whole concert, but i did get to see/hear the six string nation guitar, which was so cool cuz i remembered seeing a piece about it on the cbc a few months ago!

and just to end on a COMPLETELY unrelated, yet crafty, note, i just got the new jimmy beans wool newsletter and read about THESE: Clover Knit Lite needles

eeks! i want these sooooooo bad! not every size...i'm not a greedy gurl...just maybe a pair of size 8 and/or 10.
pretty please?
does anyone love me enough to support my habit, lol?
i promise i won't become one of those people who knits at the movies...i love watching movies far too much for that!
but i would like them for when i'm working with really dark yarns, or when i experience another power outtage, or when....when....well....i dunno....i just kinda want them cuz they're hellasweet!
pretty pretty please??? :)

ON VACATION!!!

2006-06-30T00:31:00.000-04:00

i will be out of town from June 30 - July 5.

any orders / inquiries / etc. will be addressed after July 6th.

happy canada day everyone!
i hope you enjoy the long weekend! :)

woohoo! 1000 views!

2006-06-29T00:14:00.000-04:00

thank you thank you thank you to all my cheery cherries who take the time to read my blog! it is MUCH appreciated and i'm very excited to have reached this mini-milestone!

in honour of this wonderful news i am offering you lovely readers a 15% discount on anything in *my etsy shop* from now until JULY 8, 2006.

just enter coupon code: ucblog1000 in the "note to seller" box and wait for an updated PayPal invoice from me.

thanks again everyone! :)
*mwah*

no need to knit

2006-06-28T00:23:00.000-04:00

i knit.
i love to knit.
i normally can't watch tv without having some needles and yarn in my hand.
however i've noticed lately that i haven't been knitting...

i think i stopped knitting around the time when i stopped having overwhelming amounts of schoolwork to do.
my last assignment was due june 15 and i have nothing else due until august 1.
so for the past few weeks i've just been relaxing and enjoying my free time, and as such i no longer feel compelled to knit...it's so weird....

i guess knitting is my mental therapy when i'm bogged down by schoolwork, and now that i'm not as stressed my brain is finally starting to unwind and my hands are taking a little break too.

however i'm sure i'll be back at it again soon.

i'm in the midst of sussing out a custom touque order with a wonderful person i met through myspace.
i'm sure he thinks i'm a total freak because i bombarded him with this huge list of questions that i need him to answer, but i just like to be thorough and ensure that people are going to be happy with what they get.
in my opinion, the whole point of customized work is for that person to truly *LOVE* that one special piece that was made just for them and everybody wants that one special thing to be just perfect, non?

i know *i* love it when something turns out just exactly as i'd hoped, or even better!

i'm also working on a custom order for pinky that i haven't really been blogging about but it's happening and i'll post stuff about it later. it's really cool to be doing something different and i'm liking how it's turned out thus far.

ok, that's it for now. i'm going to ottawa for the long weekend so i won't be blogging until late next week.
happy canada day to everyone!

my repeat summer love affair

2006-06-18T23:09:00.000-04:00

so i recently dug out this dearly beloved clutch that i made for myself last summer. i loved it so much back then and used it alllllllllll the time. it even went to ottawa with me a few times. but then fall and winter came and this cute clutch went into hibernation because colder weather requires slightly roomier bags in which one can stash a touque when necessary. but now the summer is back in full force and so is this bag!

i just wanted to show it off to you because i was *überproud* when i made it and i'm so happy to be using it again. it was my first attempt at making a fully lined purse WITH a zipper; and even though there were many struggles during its construction i was thrilled with how well it turned out! i think the most time consuming part was rethreading the machine each time i added an embellishment to the exterior because i wanted the threads to blend, not contrast. so i needed white thread for the white parts, baby blue and navy blue for the blue parts, green for the green parts, and so on and so on. ugh. and the handle was a PAIN to turn inside out because i made it too thin and there was a big chunky seam in the middle from the original jean leg inseam. oh yeah...did i mention that this purse was once a pair of jeans, some scrap ribbons, and a lace curtain? yup. :)

well actually, there's a bit more to it than that. this purse is actually constructed from the scraps of a few other reconstruction projects. the orange plaid stuff in the bottom left corner was once a pair of pants that i recon'd into the middle panel of a jean skirt (made from actual jeans, not new denim). the green stripe under the blue houndstooth was once a pair of cords that i recon'd into a skirt. the blue and white houdstooth was a pair of pants given to me by my best friend in juniour high which i also recon'd into the middle panel of *another* jean skirt (do you detect a trend yet?). and the green ribbon was once wrapped around a gift someone gave to me. i think...in any case, the only "new" elements were the lining and the rose. i lovelovelove making new stuff out of old stuff that i used to love and being able to love it in a new way all over again!

here is the front. that orange thing near the top right corner is a satin orange rose.

here is the back.

here is the interior pocket, which was actually one of the back pockets of the jeans.

here is a close-up of the lining. you can't really tell but it's a bunch of green bubbles, and they actually look a bit 3-D in real life because of the way they are layered. it's cool.

and here it is "in action"!

out of darkness came light...

2006-06-14T22:51:00.000-04:00

hahaha!!! how *überkäsig* is that title???

but forreal, today was a totally frustrating day with moments of actual darkness. i was finishing up an assignment for school when all of a sudden, the power went out. i was, of course, using my computer at the time. so not only did i potentially lose all my work (cuz i couldn't remember when i'd last saved), but i also couldn't really continue since i had no other record of all the stuff i'd already written. ugh! (side note: in case you're wondering, i actually only lost about a paragraph of what i'd written, which sucked, but was manageable)

so, what to do with an unknown amount of time to kill, no power to be had, and slowly dwindling sunlight?

knit a new cell phone cozy of course!
the power ended up coming back on after about an hour and a bit, but still...no power and no computer made übercherry a grumpy (yet still oddly productive) girl.

i knit it using this awesome handdyed cotton yarn that i bought a few months back from lemonade. i love it cuz the colour combo matches the colours in my bathroom, and for those of you who know me through craftster, you won't be surprised by yet *another* bathroom-colour-scheme-inspired project {{blush}} just look at the hat i made this past winter...

here are some pix of my former cell cozy. it was too big to begin with, and starting to get realllly nubbly and such. but i've loved and used it dearly for a few years now (and it shows!) because it was the first thing that i ever knit for myself.

ok that's it for now.
hopefully the power gods were nice to *you* today!

finished custom order #1!

2006-06-10T12:13:00.000-04:00

remember a little while ago when i showed you the customized knit business card holder that i was making for tomate d'épingles? well, it's done, it's been shipped, and i'm awaiting her reaction....

the card holder is actually a gift for her sister, who also has a crafty e-shop by the name of me n my. however, this card holder is a secret birthday gift, so please don't go spoiling the surprise, ok?

when tomate first approached me about making this we'd agreed to have ME on one side and MY on the other, since "me n my" wouldn't all fit on one side. but as i was knitting along i decided to improvise and i did end up including the "n" part in the middle so that it lies across the fold...i hope she likes it!

there's a matching pale pink star button and pale pink ribbon loop for the closure. the interior flaps are nice and deep so they should easily accomodate about 15 cards each - how übersweet is that???

comments are welcome, as always, and if you would like a customized knit business card holder of your own (or perhaps a coin pouch or even a clutch style purse???), just go to *my etsy shop* and check out the listing!

where my fellow canucks at?

2006-06-04T23:12:00.000-04:00

so if you look at my lovely little world map over in the sidebar you'll notice that there are a LOT of red dots on the south side of the canada/u.s. border, but only *one* dot up north in a location other than where i reside. what's up with that??? why no love from the canadian bloggers? obviously i love allllll my viewers, however i'm a little disappointed with all that blank territory up north, so i'm wondering how i can remedy that...any suggestions? are there any fellow canadian bloggers that would like to trade blog links? you can see that i already have links to crafty toronto area blogs...would you like to join that list? or shall i create a whole new list for you entitled "crafty canucks"??? and even if you're not crafty, if you're a canadian who reads my blog and you would like to trade links please leave me a comment and we'll see if we can work something out! :)

.....i feel like such a hoser....{{sigh}}

it's "the food" baby!

2006-06-01T23:42:00.000-04:00

eeks! i *just* got my hat from aknitimi and it is *too* good!

this knit hat is her recreation of a hat that common wore on the dave chapelle show when he appeared with kanye west to perform "the food" (which is one of my favourite songs on his latest album). i don't have any pictures of the hat, but i can assure you that it's a fairly accurate replication! i must say that i was thrilled to support a fellow etsy knitter, and this girl can do *wonders* with the sticks my friends! this hat totally exceeded my expectations...and it fits like a ~*dream*~, which is pretty incredible considering i have such a tiny noggin. she managed to gauge it just right and she's never even seen my head before! :) aknitimi is not currently accepting any custom orders because she's so swamped, but as soon as she is you all should enlist her skills because they are *mad* and she is very friendly, communicative, and willing to go out of her way to accomodate any request. thank you for the amazing custom order aknitimi! :)

two great views!

2006-06-01T01:04:00.000-04:00

uok, now the clustermap over in the sidebar is pretty tiny, and the "bigger" version that it links to isn't all that huge either. however i *do* believe that i have officially been viewed at least once in both austria and india which means that both sides of my ethnic heritage are now bursting with pride! :) if you are a viewer from either of those countries please leave me a comment and confirm that i should indeed be so happy! and of course i want to thank all my other blog viewers, you are all important and much appreciated. :)

another rave review!

2006-05-30T23:39:00.000-04:00

and this time it means even more because she actually has the goodies in her hands!
remember when i told you about the card holder i made for perchance to knit?
there's pictures and such a few posts back, but i'd rather you go look at the post she made in *her* blog: http://toknitperchancetodream.net/?p=261
seriously, how amazing is that?
a satisfied customer's words are the best kind of words!
and for those of you who've never bought from Susan, i must say that she is a total joy to interact with, i really can't stress that enough. so if you ever need hand-dyed and/or handspun yarns (i mean really, who doesn't???) then be sure to go to her etsy shop (Perchance To Knit) because her yarn is the best yarn around. seriously. the best.
this was my first trade through etsy, and it was a completely perfect interaction in every possible way. thanks again to Susan for everything and i'm *SO* happy that you like your übercherry goodies! :)

a good day for knitting

2006-05-30T00:32:00.000-04:00

well, truth be told, these items were worked on over the course of this past weekend. i just finally finished the baby navy hipster hairnet today and i got a few more rows of the card holder knit up while watching project catwalk.

i just put this in the shop.

Click To Buy Now

WIDTH: 7 cm (2.8 inches) unstretched
LENGTH OF HAIRNET: 40 cm (15.8 inches) unstretched
LENGTH OF TIES: 40 cm (15.8 inches) each

and here is a glimpse at my progress on the customized knit business card holder that i am making for tomate d'épingles. i hope she likes it so far!

i also made another hipster hairnet for myself that turned out much skinnier than planned, but it's ok for me cuz my head is *so small*!
here is it being modeled by my much beloved fake head.
her name is Shaniqua, just in case you were ever curious.
i know her lips are a creepy shade of lilac/pink.
and i know that she's merely a plastic face adhered to a styrofoam form with a wig added to minimize the creepiness facter.
but i love her.
:)

another custom order begins...

2006-05-28T13:06:00.000-04:00

i bought the yarn for tomate d'épingles's custom knit business card holder the other day, and i just got the go ahead from her that she's happy with the colours and such. :)

here is a picture of the yarns that i'm going to use.

i'll probably cast on for this tonight and hopefully be finished by the end of the week!
you can track my progess via the little metre in the sidebar...the custom coasters for pinky are next on my list!

public progress!

2006-05-24T00:48:00.000-04:00

thanks to fellow esty seller and blogger *aknitimi* i was able to install a brand new PROGRESS METRE into my sidebar so people can keep track of how their custom orders are coming along! although aknitimi provided a wonderful little tutorial in a comment here on my blog, i ended up using the link she provided me with as it was slightly less work (i love to cut n' paste code): http://www.davidanaxagoras.com/2005/04/16/track-your-progress-or-lack-thereof/

i ended up modifying the colours to suit my blog, and i somehow got my percentage text to properly align with the percentage of the progress bar (which you can't swoon over just yet cuz both progress bars are currently at 0%) but don't ask me how i did it because i have NO IDEA, lol!

and speaking of aknitimi - *what* a sweetheart of a seller! not only did she do a custom order for me, but she bought my preferred yarn colour and didn't charge me extra for it AND she refunded me some of the shipping cost because she was able to ship it for less than she thought it would cost. WOW! check out her "sold items" link in her etsy shop to see the fabulous hat she made for me. i can't access the direct link right now cuz etsy is down for maintenance, but i'll be sure to post pix when it finally arrives!

another nifty feature i've added to my side bar is a world map that depicts where in the world my daily views come from. i read about it on doodles & kaboodles' blog and thought it was just *so* rad. i also put one on the other blog since there are a few international blogs in the ring.

and yet another personal accomplishment of the past few days is that i sent out my second newsletter. i'm oddly proud of it, even though it's no big deal i guess. it's just that i like to put a great deal of effort and thought into my text and it feels nice to know that i have a representation of myself and my art that i'm proud of. i'm also looking to trade links with other etsy sellers who have mailing lists, ie. i'll put a link to your shop in my newsletter if you put a link to my shop in yours! send me an email or leave me a comment here if you'd be interested.

hipster hairnet hysteria!

2006-05-21T23:30:00.000-04:00

here's a sneak preview of the hipster hairnets that will be listed in my shop throughout the week...as always, if you wish to pre-order one of these babies simply send me an email! :) and if you desire a hipster hairnet of your own but haven't yet seen one in a colour you like, email me with your colour preference and i'll let you know if i have any yarn in stock!

this one is already on sale
Click To Buy Now

this hairnet is a SMALL, although the lengthy braided ties and slight stretchiness of the knit allows it to be sized for almost any head. also available in MEDIUM and LARGE - email me for size specs.

to fasten, simply tie a bow or a knot.

this particular hairnet is knit with a 100% wool that was dyed with green kool-aid by Tala.

WIDTH: 5.5 cm (2.2 inches) unstretched
LENGTH OF HAIRNET: 36 cm (14.2 inches) unstretched
LENGTH OF TIES: 30 cm (11.8 inches) each

this one is a personal fave...it's a sumptuous double strand of a soft magenta mohair and a skinny fuchsia acrylic yarn. this is also a small size.

Click To Buy Now

WIDTH: 5.5 cm (2.2 inches) unstretched
LENGTH OF HAIRNET: 36 cm (14.2 inches) unstretched
LENGTH OF TIES: 30 cm (11.8 inches) each

this is another tropical hipster hairnet, but this is a LARGE size.

Click To Buy Now

WIDTH: 8.5 cm (3.5 inches) unstretched
LENGTH OF HAIRNET: 44 cm (17.3 inches) unstretched
LENGTH OF TIES: 24 cm (9.4 inches) each

i also made this gorgeous grey one that has a slight lilac undertone to it.
this hairnet is a one-of-a-kind creation and it has already been spoken for - sorry!

RE: Alchemy request from Pinky

2006-05-20T12:48:00.000-04:00

The following post is in regards to a custom order I am doing for a fellow Etsy seller: Pinky. This will be a set of 6 coasters featuring Lone Ranger trading cards, and if you like what you see and are interested in having me create some coasters for you, please contact me!

The rest of the info in this post is directed at Pinky:

Here is the first set of images from you to choose from. The bottom card is one of my faves, the Lone Ranger is saying "Hold on" and the girl is thinking "Willingly!". *Too* funny!

Here is the second set (middle row).

Here is the third set of images to choose from. You can also see another image peeking out from the top right corner, but those cards feature a more comic/graphic novel rendition of the Lone Ranger, and don't have the same nostalgic appeal as I'm sure the cards I've selected will have for your dad. In addition, I have several cards that feature "foreign language" images and text, so those are also available to choose from, I just don't have any pictures at the moment. I also have other images if you are not satisfied with any of these.

This picture depicts your first option for the layout of the coaster. I've decided that the best way to do this is to have one card with the image face up, and a second card with some "fun facts and info" depicted, although not every fact will match the image it's paired with since I only have one copy of some of the cards. If you wish to only have matching images/info, that can be done, but it will limit your image options. This option features the cards with a cardstock border. I've shown it in red here, but I also think that orange, yellow or blue would work well.

The second option is to have the cards bordered with this great black pleather I had in my stash. The border is much larger here in the picture than it would be if you were to choose this option, I just didn't want to cut the fabric unecessarily. I quite like the black border as it has a slight sheen to it which mimics the sheen of the cards.

After you decide on a border, I am going to laminate that layer so as it make the whole thing waterproof. I will then attach it to a foam backing, so that the coasters won't slip and slide all over the surface they're on.

For the backing I have three foam colour options for you to choose from:

Right to left: Navy blue, Royal/Primary blue, Primary red

The price I've quoted you is based on using two pieces of foam, so you can either have 3 with one colour and 3 with another colour, or all 6 the same colour.

The coasters will measure approximately 13 cm x 13 cm (5.1 inch x 5.1 inch).
Cards that have a vertical image will have a border along the top and bottom as opposed to the sides.
Please contact me with any questions, comments or suggestions for change.
I look forward to your response!

perfect personalized promotion

2006-05-18T01:04:00.000-04:00

based on the success of the personalized card holder i knit for Perchance To Knit, i've decided to offer customized knit business card holders in my shop!

Click To Buy One Now...

The listing is for a personalized knit business card holder with your choice of up to FOUR letters on the front, and a small decorative pattern on the back.

This fold-over style business card holder features a rib pattern on the interior flaps so that the cards stay snug.

It closes with a small elastic loop that slips over a coordinating star or heart shaped plastic button from my stash.

It is knit to accommodate 3.5 X 2 inch cards; and fits approximately 10-15 cards in each flap without becoming too bulky when closed.

This card holder can be knit using your choice of yarn from my stash OR you can send me some yarn of your own. You may also send a button of your choice.

It will be knit up and in the mail within one week of your purchase date, unless you order multiples, in which case it will take a bit longer.
Please contact me with any further inquiries.

she likes it! she really likes it!

2006-05-17T01:20:00.000-04:00

wow! i just got the most FABULOUS review on Perchance To Knit's blog. check out her kind words here: http://toknitperchancetodream.net/?p=251
like i said on her blog, i couldn’t have better words spoken about me if i was *paying* for them! :)
in other news i finished up two more green hipster hairnets tonight (a small and a medium), look for them in the shop later this week...

what a trade!

2006-05-15T21:23:00.000-04:00

so, in my last post i mentioned that i was knitting up a custom order for the lovely Perchance To Knit...and i'm finally done! here's the process as documented through pix and words:

a while ago i posted a message in the etsy forums asking if anyone had a copy of the holiday issue of vogue knitting magazine.

i had seen it in a store and there was a pattern for a cowl neck tunic thing in there that i fell in love with.

for some reason beyond my current comprehension, i didn't buy the mag right away. and then - poof! - it was gone from stores. i was sooooo sad and i hunted through various local yarn shops to see if they had any copies, but to no avail. :(

so along came Perchance To Knit who saw my post in the forum and sent me a message that said she had the mag and would be willing to do a trade if i knit her up a customized business card holder (similar to my etsy beta business card holder v1-2) using some of her handspun/hand-dyed yarn. of course i said yes, and was delighted to have the mag *and* see the gorgeous yarn that she sent me to work with. WOW! this lady can SPIN! the reddish yarn especially was a total ~*dream*~ to work with - so soft and colourful, i loved it!

we had agreed that i would use her store initials for the front of the holder, and i decided to jazz up the back by adding a little checkered pattern. i used this cute little red star button and an elastic for the closure (which is much more efficient that the little yarn loop i was using on previous versions of this card holder). here's a pic of it open and flat, but it is obviously supposed to fold over in the middle.

here's a view of the inside where the cards go. the flaps are ribbed so the cards stay snug!

Perchance To Knit graciously offered me the remaining yarn as a bonus goodie type thing, and i am *so* excited, because i really do LOVELOVELOVE this yarn. so, as a thank you i knit her up an extra little goodie in return - a hipster hairnet! i really have no clue as to whether or not Perchance To Knit will wear it, but i hope she likes it all the same!

i am always willing to do custom orders, so if you like the business card holder and want one of your own just contact me, and i can knit one using your own yarn of choice or something from my personal stash! :)

hipster hairnet

2006-05-15T01:27:00.000-04:00

i just put this tropical triumph up for sale in the shop!

CLICK TO BUY NOW...

here's a close-up of the knit pattern...

and here's how it closes. tie a pretty bow or a knot. the ties are nice and long so this should fit all heads!

more hairnets coming soon...

what a crafty week it's been!

2006-05-12T01:33:00.000-04:00

wow! i made an effort to commit myself to some serious crafting this week, and boy has it paid off! and now here are some words to accompany those random pix i threw up here yesterday.

first of all, here is some yummy yarn from austria that i simply have no use for, so i've decided to put it up for sale in my shop. it's super soft and really very pretty (much like lolita herself, according to nabokov's h.h.! wow...i'm *such* a book geek sometimes, lol). i just happen to not be a huge fan of purple, so...any purple lovers out there - this one's for you!

next, a very very close friend of mine celebrated his birthday earlier this week. he's currently in korea, so i needed to create a nice *LIGHT* present so i wouldn't have to spend my whole paycheque on the shipping charges. what i settled on is actually a concept that i developed with him a few years ago and just now decided to make a reality. i call these "celebrity cases" (they're pillow cases if you can't tell), and while i would love to sell these in my shop, i think that the copyright issues are far too abounding. however, i may offer them as a customized item for people who want to put pix of their significant other on em. that way you can still sleep cheek-to-cheek with your hunny even when you're thousands of kilometres apart! for my friend i decided to give him the option of sleeping with milla jovovich whispering into each ear, and alyssa milano giving him a fabulous "come hither" stare.

next, i knit up a cute green headband to give to a friend. i love the way this thing turned out and i plan on making more and offering them in my shop. what colours do you recommend? i'm already thinking orange, baby blue, more green, and fuchsia. any others you can think of? this one is about 5 cm wide, but thins out a bit as it stretches across my head. i'm going to make a few wider ones as well for people whose heads are larger than mine (which means that they are of a normal size. my head is the size of a pea!)

this next picture is *insanely* bright, and i apologize. the flash was going all wacky and this was the best pic out of the bunch. i just wanted a shot of one of my uberversatile petals in action! i have a bunch of these listed in my shop, and for some reason only one has sold. i don't understand why they don't seem to appeal to people online; i wear mine all the time and get many compliments on them. perhaps it's something that needs to be seen in person, but i'ma keep on making em and hope that they start to "hit". i think i'm going to make more of the combo versions, perhaps those will capture more attention. of course the ones online are brand new, never been worn etc. whenever i make one for the shop i make an extra for myself because i love em just that much! my current faves are the green and pale pink ones :) i wore my pale pink one to the clothing show and had lots of people inquire about/compliment it!

and lastly, i finished the panta for my mom's mother's day present! it turned out even better than the one i made for me, and i think she's gonna love it! these things are so awesome and they knit up fairly quickly. i like to do a section per day, and then it's done in like 8 days and only requires about 15 minutes per section (except for the middle section which is doubled)!

ok, that's it for now. i have some more stuff in the works though. i *just* finished up a customized knit business card holder (similar to the etsy beta business card holder v1-2) for Perchance To Knit using some delicious yarn she sent me. i'll blog about it in more detail later, cuz it all really does deserve it's own post. but for now, go check out her shop because i'm telling you, her yarn is to die for! and i'm also in the midst of trying to make some custom order coasters for another etsy seller using lone ranger trading cards. i'll post about that later...

the new blog is a hit!

2006-05-06T22:02:00.000-04:00

wow...more people have visited the other blog in three days than have visited this blog in three months! :(
i'm kidding about the pouting (sorta), cuz it's actually super satisfying to know that people are loving the whole ring thing, and i've had tonnes of lovely comments and offers to help and general appreciation thrown my way. i've also discovered many other great etsy sellers and it's cool to see how diverse, creative and talented we all are.

in other news, i'm going to the clothing show tomorrow with some friends, and it turns out that a fellow etsy seller is gonna have a booth there! her company's name is sour kitten and she'll be at booth # 336. i'm pretty excited to meet a fellow etsy seller in the flesh and i'm just plain excited about the clothing show in general! i'm gonna bring some business cards and hopefully be able to network a bit. i have a sneaking suspicion though that i'll do far more spending than networking...{{le sigh}}

in crafty news, i'm in the midst of a new project, but i have yet to take any pix of it "on the needles" for all you people who (don't) read my blog ;) it's a panta for my mom (for mamma's day) and it's knit using a pattern found over on craftster : the panta (the pattern i used is the one found on page 4 of the thread, posted by melosond) the one i'm making my mom is from this self-striping cotton yarn that's shades of blue, beige, rose, and brown. she bought it for me cuz she thought it was nice, and now i'm making something nice out of it for her! :)

here is a picture of the first panta i made and i totally friggin love it. i wore it all the time last winter. this winter wasn't very cold though, so i had very infrequent need for use of it :( please ignore the crazy squirrely-ness of my eyes...i swear they're both the same size in real life, lol.

Etsy Sellers Who Blog blog ring

2006-05-05T14:25:00.000-04:00

so i've started another blog...which is pretty funny given how frustrating it was to set up *this* one! however, the new blog is strictly a place to host info about the new blog ring that i started for "etsy sellers who blog".

the new blog can be found here: etsy sellers who blog

i even made a cute little button for it, which was my first attempt and came out ubercool, if i may toot my own horn ;)

you can read all about the reasoning behind why i created the ring here: etsy forum post

and please do click on the ring links over in my right sidebar to discover what other talented artisans and wares etsy has to offer!

don't mind this post...

2006-05-02T12:12:00.000-04:00

i just need a place to host these pix so i can use them on myspace
feel free to send me a friend request over there if you want :)

last call!

2006-04-27T23:05:00.000-04:00

only two more days to use that blogger discount code in my shop: http://ubercherry.etsy.com! see post below for details.

someone already scooped up the superman supercards, and i'm sure that a few of the uberversatile petals will go soon too!

don't delay, check out the goodies today! :)

holy blog views batman!

2006-04-22T18:19:00.000-04:00

yowzah! i can't *believe* how many hits my blog has received in the past two days! last night was especially nuts - perhaps because i did so much posting. i guess i got bumped to the top of the "recently updated" listing or something. in any case, i'm shocked.

in honour of this, i'm going to offer another blog reader discount:

*********************************************************************************
from now until April 30, 2006 i will give you a 15% discount on any übercherry item!
simply enter this code: ucblog150 in the "note to seller" box when you make your purchase. do not pay the automatically generated invoice from Etsy. *I* will send you an updated PayPal invoice reflecting your new, discounted total.
*********************************************************************************

thanks again for checking out the blog, and please leave some comments! i know that people are obviously reading this, and i'd love to know what you think and have to say! :)

RE: "Fabric, buttons, notions, accessories, patterns" at Kijiji

2006-04-21T22:02:00.000-04:00

*** PLEASE NOTE ***

all of this fabric is now eligible for sale. i've posted the last three in my etsy shop already, and will post the others soon. if you are interested in any of the ones that aren't yet listed, please contact me for a quote. thanks! :)

all of the fabric comes from a smoke and pet free home, and has been stored in airtight plastic containers.

HEIGHT: 1.5 m
WIDTH: 1.5 m

This is a woven fabric, as opposed to just being a cotton print.

HEIGHT: 0.635 m
WIDTH: 1.5 m

This is also a woven cloth, and it is a remnant from a previous project, so there is some extra material in one spot, but these dimensions are for the biggest possible rectangle.

HEIGHT: 1.5 m
WIDTH: just over 2 m

A woven cloth, not just a cotton print.

HEIGHT: 0.44 m
WIDTH: 0.54 m

This is a small square of cotton print.
Could be used to make (or line) a small purse or coin purse.

HEIGHT: 0.44 m
WIDTH: 0.54 m

I have TWO of these squares of cotton print.

HEIGHT: 0.75 m
WIDTH: just over 2 m

This is also a cotton print.

in addition, i have some zippers that i am willing to part with. they are not new - they have been removed from old jeans, jackets, etc. but they are all functional and of various sizes, so i'm sure i'll have something that meets your zipper needs.

snakey scarf

2006-04-21T21:23:00.000-04:00

so i just finished a brand new scarf for my mom that i am in love with! it's made from this spectacular green nylon yarn with these green square gem shaped thingies in it. i'm not sure how to explain it any better - sorry! here's some close-ups of it:

and here is a pic of me wearing it:

i *ADORE* the way this thing drapes! i just kinda hangs all snakey and net like. i'm gonna make another one for myself, and perhaps one more to put in the shop. i think it'll make a fantastic spring/summer accessory!

if you would like to pre-order one, just send me an email and let me know what colour you would like! :)