so, i'm not really sure or not if i'm the only person who does this, but, i don't know...it seems that i can spend hours on end, going through links from one person's blog to another. it's amazing to see what other people are crafting, and what they are knitting, and ultimately, what everything comes down to is, is that i get ideas for *more* projects that i just *need* to start. for example:

today, while i was cleaning, i decided that i needed to take a break. so blog-surfing i went, and, i came across this knitting tote that i just *have* to make. i *have* to make it so much, so much so that i even bought fabric for it, off of eBay:



isn't it *perfect*? i just absolutely love it. i originally came across the same fabric with a red background, but, when i saw this green one, i just fell in love. i'm currently inquiring about a pink "stockinette" print to line it with. i think it'll be absolutely fabulous!

in my last post, i had mentioned that i had joined a montly dishcloth knit-a-long group. last sunday, i was going through some of the new messages, and and there were several people who had made mention of the $1.00 sugar & cream yarn on sale at michael's last week. i was kinda bummed, because there is not a michael's store in the city. and anyway, i rationalized that i still have a *ton* of cotton yarn all over the place. but, luck had its way, and, i ended up having to go out to the suburbs last night. and where did i go? michael's, of course! (see evidence below.)



so, what else this week... oh, i know! i'm sending my sp8 her 3rd package pretty soon, and, i thought it'd be cute to make a little bag to contain it all. (actually, i got the little "bag" idea from etsy; i was like, 'i can make that!') in retrospect, i should've had a pattern to follow, because apparently, i'm not very logical when it comes to sewing order. (ie., i sewed the sides and bottom first, before i added the handles.) it's not very fancy, and it's not lined, but, i thought it was really cute, and it turned out pretty okay. it'll be *perfect* for going to the library with her kids, i think!



i'm also very excited that i was able to find a lining to make my betty shopper:



doesn't it look just fabulous together? and to think that the lining only cost like $3.50 a yard! yay!

that evening i went to joann's was a pretty productive one. not only was i able to get my lining for my purse and the fabric for the snail bag, i was also able to get my halloween costume pattern (on sale! yay!):



i'm going to try my hand at making my own halloween costume this year. i'll be making the pilgrim costume on the top right-hand side.

and, if everything above wasn't enough crafty stuff for one week, i present to you my newest creation:



my fall wreath. now that i'm looking at the photo, it's in some need of some minor adjustments, but, overall, i'm really happy at how it came out. it's finally replacing my christmas wreath that i still had up (i know, i know), but couldn't bear to take down, because it was just *so* gorgeous and just *so* me. but - my christmas wreath will be up soon enough - it's almost august! yay!

so i joined this monthly dishcloth knit-a-long group because, even though there are a plethora of dishcloth patterns out there, I keep on knitting "c" initial dishcloths as well as my commuting-friendly "grandma's favorite dishcloth". (commuter-friendly meaning that it's a very simple pattern that is easy to keep track of.) so anyways. i just thought i'd check it out.

so, what happens is, on the 1st and 16th day of the month, the group moderator sends like seven or eight lines of the pattern, and, the following day, the next eight lines, and so on. i joined right when they were starting the mid-month knit-a-long on the 16th, and, quickly knitted up my first eight rows or so. but me, with my knitting obsession, and not being able to just stop a project when it's not the middle of the night, found myself thinking, "i need the next few rows!" turned out i made a mistake, and, ended up having to rip the thing back anyways, and then re-knit again, and ended up being a few days behind in the end. the mid-month dishcloths are usually more involved stitches; stitches that people probably wouldn't just try out on their own, so, in that aspect, it's very cool. i'm trying out this new stitch pattern, and i'm not using expensive yarn, so, i don't feel bad when there's a few minor mistakes. my completed project ended up being this cabley-looking/holey (yarn-over) dishcloth, which i will take a photo of as soon as i charge my camera's battery. i think it's actually very cool-looking.

so this past friday, i had to go back to my dentist's office, because despite having a few cavities filled two weeks prior, i was still in pain. and the weird thing was, was that the pain was increasing - it definitely got worse during that second week. anyways, after getting stuck in *major* traffic and him just recommending for me to go and have a consult with an endodontist (great!) i needed some much-needed shopping therapy. i ended up at closeknit in evanston, and, although i didn't buy anything really fancy this time around, geez - their inventory has increased tenfold since when i used to live around those parts. i ended up buying some malabrigo yarn in this beautiful salmon color, some plymouth encore for my green/white/orange st. patty's day scarves (yes, already!) some much-needed point protectors and a few yards of this gorgeous kaffe fasset lotus print fabric. (again, photos forthcoming.)

so, after my little excursion to my not-so-lys, and discovering that i hadn't taken my credit card along with me, i decided that i'd still go up to old orchard to buy some wedding presents for the two weddings i will be attending in august. (still a few weeks away, but still. i might as well!) *bad* decision. it ended up being this entire afternoon/eveing ordeal - and let me tell you - i was *totally* cranky by the end of it all. i ended up purchasing my favorite standby, a vera wang 'classic' vase for one couple (my coworker), and ended up buying a few things at field's for the other couple (one of whom i went to high school with), but ended up at target later that night, checking out whatever else they had on their registry. (target = bad idea. now i have all these miscellaneous boxes to wrap for them, and, well, i have no idea what i'm going to do. (and did i mention that i went to *three* different stores looking for gift wrap? i'm going to the container store to see if i see any wrap that strikes my fancy.

*but*, what i am *very* excited for is, is that i was able to get a copy of the marshall field's cookboook! i went to the state st. store last week, and, they were out. but old orchard had boatloads! yay! (now i can try to re-create my favorite oriental chicken pasta salad that they sell in the marketplace!) yay!

saturday, my boyfriend and i went to this surprise birthday party for one of his friend's best friend. (did that make sense?) it was a pretty good time, although smoky as anything in there (at the pool hall). oh well.

sunday, i spent procrastinating about cleaning, as usual, but managed to block my mid-month dishcloth. so now, considering that i did almost *nothing* yesterday, let me get at least a *little* done before i go into work today...

so now i understand what all the craze is about!

i can't believe how quickly it came, but, my boyfriend and i finally went to go and see "wicked" yesterday evening. i bought the tickets before his birthday, nearly three months ago, and had to wait until now in order to get decent seating! we had a very nice evening, starting with dinner at the ristorante we at the w hotel.

(total sidenote: i was late for dinner because i didn't go and *buy* something to wear to the performance - i actually wore something out of my closet! (in retrospect, it would've just been easier to go and buy something.) the most amazing thing is, though, is that we managed to walk approximately seven blocks, with me, in these totally uncomfortable, strappy heels? and when i took the shoes off, i didn't have one blister on my feet! unbelievable!)

but now i understand. what a spectacular performance! i just downloaded the soundtrack, and, geez, i just *love* it! i want to go again!

ok! i've been meaning and meaning to post these photos, but, well, you know how i am... here are my much-awaited photos from my last secret pal box! (and i'm really sorry, secret pal, for not posting them sooner!)

photo #1:
some absolutely gorgeous and *soft* blue sky alpacas yarn - this'll be absolutely perfect to knit up a panta with! and, a novel...with knitting patterns and recipes included as well! talk about all-inclusive! (of course, the first thing i flip to are the recipes...)

photo #2:
antibacterial soap and hand sanitizer from bath and body works, in my most favorite scent *ever*, warm vanilla sugar. (secret pal, you'd better have bought these during the sale! :) )

photo #3:
a maneki neko...from chicago! this is one of the most adorable ones that i own yet. i've never seen this size/color/style before! now *i* want to go to the store that's "on the main avenue (i'm assuming michigan) by the river (the chicago river) close to the park with the ampitheater (millenium park - somewhere south of lake)" to go and check it out!

so *thank you so much* again secret pal...you definitely made my day! (and i'm all excited about my presents again! yay!)

but now, for the real reason i haven't done *anything* lately:



ok, so maybe not the only reason, considering that i just picked this up at the ups facility last night, at 9:00 pm... (but it *does* give me another excuse...)

this wasn't a good idea.

i have a tendency to start a *lot* of projects. i also have a tendency to enjoy a *lot* of different types of crafts. these are the two main reasons that i never seem to accomplish anything, even though it seems like i'm always working on one project or another. so what did i do last night? i set my knitting aside (currently, *boatloads* of "c" initial dishcloths), and set up my sewing machine. i was up until nearly 1:00 am playing around with all the different stitches, and figuring the machine out. and then what did i do this morning? same thing. and the worst part? i was even late to work because of it. sigh. i'm obsessed, what can i say?

after work, i found myself going to joann fabrics and then i made another pit stop at hancock fabrics as well. i decided that i would need to find myself a reasonably small project that i could sew up in an evening, to "test out" my new machine. and here is the fruit of my labor:



i found this fabric with some chihuahuas printed on it, so, i decided to make my sister a placemat for her dogs! (being the pseudo-perfectionist that i am, i *couldn't* make one for my cats just yet...) it didn't turn out perfect by any means, but, i do have to admit that i'm reasonably impressed that i was able to manage sewing the bias tape along the edges...

let me backtrack a little bit, and add one more photo...

after i got off of work, i ended up going shoppping down on state street, and, ended up taking a taxi back here so i could get to the ups facility to pick up my packages before they closed (at 9:15)... i get there, retrieve my packages, and stop over at target a few blocks away, and then head back home. i trudge up two flights up stairs with this massive, heavy box containing my sewing machine, and this is what i find hanging on my doorknob:



flowers from my boyfriend - in my favorite color, pink! such a nice thing to come home to! :)

more excitement next time. we'll see what other projects i can start (and hopefully finish) this week!

i thought fireworks (and i'm talking *big* fireworks) are illegal in illinois.

apparently, my "friendly neighbors" just to the north don't think that laws apply to them. no comment on that one. sigh. the good thing is, is that i didn't have to go down to navy pier to see the fireworks display tonight!

in any case, though, i thought i'd better get a move on my posting, as apparently, i've been a very naughty knitty. it's just one of those things that i'm always like, 'oh, i'll do it tomorrow.' then it's tomorrow. then it's the next day. then it's two-and-a-half weeks later. oh well.

i had a rather busy (non-relaxing) fourth of july weekend... my boyfriend and i went up to wisconsin dells friday morning, and, during that time, we actually were able to accomplish a lot... on friday, we went to "downtown dells" to check it out, and then ended up having dinner at this new-ish restauraunt called marley's, that has jamaican/american fusion cuisine... it was pretty okay (for wisconsin), although i've had much better jerk chicken around these parts - but then again, i do like the slightly sweet jerk taste rather than the salty jerk taste they use. we discovered they had $5.00 frozen margaritas, and, that was our first taste of the *cheap drinking* experience they have in wisconsin! we ended up staying for the dj/dance club thing they had going on there at 10:00 pm, and headed home, exhausted, about 11 pm.

saturday, we ended up going to the breafast buffet at the ho-chunk casino with my parents, and then, we spent a very windy afternoon on the lake. let me tell you, i will never go boating again... the last time i was in the dells, we ended up going for a nice afternoon canoe ride - so, i thought it'd be a nice idea to go again. i don't really think i could've been any more wrong. we ended up renting this little dinky fishing boat, because renting a paddleboat just would've been ridiculous considering we were on the river, and, b.), i don't think they rent canoes anymore. anyways, so, we're heading north up the river, which was a relatively calm ride, and, then we turned back south - where all the boat traffic was. boat tours, jet boats, jet skis - you name it, it was going on. we ended up catching some like 4' waves off of these other boats, and, let me tell you, i honestly thought that the boat was going to flip. it was terrifying! i don't think that i'll ride in a small boat for a very long time... we headed to baraboo after the "boat ride" and then to the wonder spot to check that out.

saturday also ended up being our 9-month anniversary, so, after going home and showering up, we ended up heading back to the dells to have a nice dinner and a few cocktails, had an old-time photo taken:



and even had a chance to have a few swigs with nig.

sunday was equally as productive, we went horseback riding at the ok corral, where i rode a beautiful apaloosa named 'vanity', and then ended up walking around downtown dells again, where we ended up going to the ripley's believe it or not museum. there's a lot of really weird, freaky stuff in there that i probably would've been better off not seeing...

this morning (monday) came a little too quickly, and we headed back home, and stopped for a brief outlet store shopping trip right before the border. now, it's 11:13, and despite an entire day full of walking, eating and mostly driving, i'm still awake. exhausted, yet awake.

i came home to discover a little package on my front doorstep - it was from my secret pal! *thank you, thank you!* i was so excited! and let me tell you, the gifts are absolutely *fabulous*...photos are forthcoming!

well, i'm off to bed...until next time!