Update on Wedding Shrug

Here's an update on my knitting for the shrug that I plan on wearing for the wedding. Thank god for LionBrand Yarn's current knitalong of this project! I decided to veer away from the original pattern and not do the stripes across the back and sleeves so it's just a straight knit/purl with a seed stitch detail on the edges of the sleeves to match the seed stitch that will be on the collar. Still need to finish the left sleeve before I pick up the whole round to do the rest of the back and the collar.

New Camera!

Oh so happy. After several weeks research, we got me a new digital camera and it came in on Friday. An early birthday present for me and much needed as sharing a camera was not working well for either of us. I did some research on Consumer Reports and PCWorld and some online review sites and decided on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55. It consistently got great reviews for the compact digitals in the price range that I wanted. It came really fast through the mail and I've been playing with it since. Now we just need to get me a new lappie so that I don't need to wait until Ron's done with his to download the photos!

Too long

Oh it's been too long since I posted anything. One might think that I hadn't been doing anything, but in fact I've been quite busy. I've been crafting - knitting the wedding shrug, made a new stuffed animal pattern & made a mock-up and sold a custom order, been berry picking and made several batches of jam. I just got my own digital camera so no more sharing one camera between both Ron and I. That means that I should be able to post more photos more frequently.

In the meantime, I'll let you know that while sitting at the reference desk for a Sunday afternoon shift I just finished reading "The Collected Works of T.S. Spivet" by Reif Larson and it was absolutely fantastic. It was so good that I think that I'll buy my own personal copy so that I can read it again and mark it up. Highly recommended.

CBS Radio - The Librarian

From 1938-1940 CBS Radio ran a program called "Americans at Work." A radio script for "The Librarian" segment from circa 1939 proves that we've always been attempted to combat the stereotypical image of the old maid.

It's fascinating that some of the aspects of the job remain exactly the same - problematic patrons, the need for subject experts, the frustrating fact that it's mostly men in management positions, limited funds for acquisitions, scheduling. Technology and training may change, but fundamentally the same skills are required of the job.

Custom Order

So after my Etsy account laying dormant for the past several months with very few new listings and even fewer orders, I got an order for a custom alphabet garland. Finished it up this weekend and mailing it out today. It's got me reinvigorated to make a few more new items.

Bouquet Trial

I got to spend an afternoon with my Mom and sister (also the Matron of Honor) trying to see how difficult it is to make my own bouquets and boutinieres for the wedding. I'm planning on getting local flowers that are in season the week of the wedding at a nearby organic farm.

We picked up a number of flowers from the local market. They aren't what will be in season in the fall, but I just wanted to get a sense of how hard it is to make a bouquet and tie it with ribbon. It's not that it's too hard really, but it was somewhat time-consuming. The boutinieres were actually really easy and those I can definitely plan on making up for the men. My sister is of the opinion that if I'm already making the table arrangements, it would be far easier to just have the bouquets professionally done. There's something to that, but I do like the idea of working on it with some family members and having the memories of that.

Cake Tasting

Two weeks ago we went home for a wedding planning trip and had a number of tastings at caterers and bakers. We had planned on trying to take pictures of all the food as it came out, but we dug in so fast that this is all we got a photo of! Needless to say, it was awesome. We'll definitely be using this baker.

Planned dessert buffet menu: Red Velvet Cake with cream cheese frosting, Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting, Chocolate Espresso Vegan Cupcakes, Apple Cranberry Pie, Honey Pumpkin Pie, Vegan Fruit Crumble, Apple Cider Donuts.

YUMMMMM.....