"thanks" never felt so good!

for any and all familiar with the “opera” stuff i’ve been knitting on for ages…  

hubs shipped them out and i just got an e-mail the other day from the buyer letting me know they had arrived and that they were absolutely PERFECT!  what a wonderful, weight lifting, beautiful relief.  she thanked me again and even sent me a little bonus for my efforts!

for those unfamiliar with the project, it was a commissioned work from the sydney opera house.  they sent me the wardrobe designer’s drawings of a bonnet and scarf with measurements.  i then created patterns and knitted them to their specifications.  writing the pattern was the trickiest bit of the bonnet project - the pure scale was the trickiest part of the scarf project!  it was a monumental 9” by 80”!!!

i work in the front lines 40 hours a week - retail that is - and i witness first hand how terrible people can be - how horrifyingly unappreciative and nasty they REALLY can be!  and i see it with the hubs and his clients day in and day out… i spent months stitching away worried to death that something wouldn’t be right, so to have the client be absolutely satisfied and thankful seems like such a blessing!  

COMPLETION!

PHEW!  i finally have the opera scarf & bonnet done and ready to go.

when alizah gets home sunday i’ll take pics of the bonnet - as for now, please enjoy this pic of hubs in the opera scarf…

MAN, what a great feeling to have those ready to ship.

i have one etsy order i’m working on (intarsia = crazy court) then it’s back to the chemo caps, then friend and family orders.  sorry friends and family.  

the chemo turban for my mom’s friend is still coming along nicely.  the cap portion is finished, now i’m on the turban portion.  trying to decipherer vintage patterns is like reading hieroglyphs!  LORD!  who would-a thunk?

i love this color, and i think it’s going to be lovely.  the other blue is AMAZING, but i’d truly hate to give her something she felt was too loud…

this is my last entry for 2010!!!

i hope everyone has a VERY safe and AWESOME new year’s!

oh sunday.

another knitting-filled sunday has come and gone.  more special orders in the box!?  this is getting serious!  i got a TON done today though (this does NOT include the laundry LOL)

one special order DONE!

this little darling was kettle dyed with 2:1 bright blue & black acid dye.  while it was in the pot i sprinkled a little bit of black on the surface to give it some deeper spots.  i think it turned out amazing.  i hope the buyer loves it!

opera bonnet is SO CLOSE! once the i-cord is done, it’s time to block and ship!  WHHHOOOOOOT

got alizah’s elfish hat dyed, too.  she was thrilled when she got home this afternoon.  her one complaint?  it stinks.  vinegar and wet wool do NOT smell good.  this is a fact.

specs: kettle dyed with silver gray jaquard - LOVELY!

new designs!  i’ve been working on some ideas for the lucy & the bird shop.  one is a collection of pocket pals.  this is a sneak peek of harold.  he’s a pocket octo.  he needs eyes though…..

the girls have requested spiders next - an easy progression from harold.

now it’s time for me to veg out and be completely unproductive for at least an hour!

good morning, saturday!

good morning!  it’s one of the (two???) saturdays a year i know i’m not going into work and i stayed in bed til 10.  there.  i said it.  mae doesn’t mind wasting away the morning with mama!  we both had birthdays recently… do we look older?

NAH!  not really.  alizah came in to crash our mid morning snuggle session, but she wasn’t too keen on getting in on the photo fun

oh well!  i finally made my way downstairs to get back to work.  mae and the hubs went birthday present shopping for her little friend colton’s 4th birthday party today and picked up some starbucks on the way back mmmmmmm yum which let mama get back on the needles - at least for a little while without interruptions.  i DID get two stockings completed yesterday - YAY

and only got this far on the 4th (and final) stocking

meh.  i need to dye a bit more red to button it up.  THAT will have to wait until tomorrow night.

of course, i can’t just tidy up the house, wrap birthday gifts, and pack for our crazy trip to chicago tonight, i had to start another project.

our dear friend trevor is expecting a little girl so i thought i’d knit them an elf-ish hat from the brown and blue yarn i dyed and spun this week.  so far so good!

i don’t think they’re the pink and purple types… i hope they LOVE it!

i can’t believe it’s almost time for me to go back to work.  BOO!  at least i’ve gotten nearly everything checked off my list for the week.  i’ll bring the opera bonnet with me to chicago and get some needle time in while the hubs is at the wheel.

back to packing….