Every since the very first iPod came out waaaaay back in 2001, I wanted it. I laughed at and loved watching the commercial of the dorky dancing guy bounce around his apartment which this new fangled contraption. And of course, back then being in grad school, there was no way I could afford one. I lived most of my grad school lifetime locked up in the computer lab or in my office plugging away on the computer. And what lived in my backpack aside from books, readers, yellow pads of paper and pens of various colors, but a set of headphones and a wallet of CDs. My "don't-bother-me-I'm-hard-at-work" and "y'all fools are being way too loud! don't you have some regressions to run?" tactics at blocking out the rest of the world. And of course it's a way for me to enjoy my music since the older I get, the less I can relate to any music played on the radio (Gosh, it seriously is scary for me to say I can barely relate to what's on the radio now.. and also scary for me to listen to the old school mixes at noon and realize that all the songs they're playing are all the songs I grew up with!). But I digress..

This lovely thing landed in my hands this past weekend. In all it's orange glory. I love it. I know the new iPods just came out this week, but I'm lucky I got this when I did. Orange is no longer in the shuffle rotation. So what took me so long? And why didn't I get a full size or nano? Honestly, the main thing holding me back was the money. I got the shuffle mainly because I want to use this when I work out and an armband holding a nano or full size was just too fussy for me. Plus for $80? It was just a no brainer, that and using my phone to sub as a music player just wasn't cuttin' it.

So do you want to hear the funny thing about this whole iPod business? I'm totally obsessed with podcasts right now. It's not even about the music for me anymore because aside from all the crafty/knitting/sewing podcasts, I've discovered that I can get NPR podcasts and listen on the way to work (very cool because I'm too lazy to switch my clock radio from the sports talk/giants flagship station to NPR in the morning). And my other best podcast discovery is the free language podcasts! I've been all over Coffee Break Spanish and Japanese Pod 101. So for the past week, I've been listening to NPR and trying to learn Spanish and Japanese on the way to and from work. So now I'm a bit addicted to finding cool new podcasts. Aside from these, do you have any favorite podcasts you want to share?

I entered the weekend late Friday afternoon boarding the bus carrying a thick file folder. You know what that means, I'm supposed to spend the weekend doing some work. The plan on Saturday was to start the day of with yoga, then get some work done and work on some crafty projects. The sewing bug bit me nice and early Saturday morning. So what did I do?

Skipped yoga, traced patterns, washed fabric. Clearly I have my priorities straight. But I was productive this weekend. I have two new FO's to show! And I also have a lot of "old" FOs to show, too. I have at least 10 FOs I haven't blogged about. I really wouldn't be such a back-logged blogger if I wasn't so anal about my FO photos. But of course it also helps to be patient during my self-timer photo shoots, take way more photos than I think I need, have a patient photographer (when available) and also a good background. I just can't stand to just post an FO only photo (with the exception of socks). I like to include modeled "action" shots as well. Ugh, but that's the part I get anal about. Care to share any tips on how I can reduce my anal-ness?

In the meantime, here are some sneak previews of FOs to come.

Something red ...

and something brown ...

.. and some other colors as well. Oh, and before you think I've completely quit knitting, I can assure you that there are knitted items as well. Now pardon me as I get back to my weekend work.

After a long unintentional hiatus from yoga (me losing my yoga pass and being too darn lazy to get a new one), B and I finally started up again (There's nothing like having 20 prepaid classes that expire in November to get yourself motivated). At our first class back I saw this woman with this really cute yoga mat bag that I've never seen before. She carried it sling style across her body yet there was no strap. At the end of class I asked her to see it and it was nothing more than a tube of fabric with the ends tied into a knot to form a sling! Instant lightbulb. So me, not having a proper yoga mat bag decided that I could make that very same bag. So guess what.

So instead of going to yoga this past Saturday, I decided to finally make my bag. And let me tell you, it was easy as pie. I literally sewed a tube, keeping the ends open. Then I stitched the middle of the bag closed making one side longer than the other and that was it!

Grab your yoga gear.

Put your yoga mat in the longer of the two halves.

Put your other items in the other half.

Grab the ends of the bag with the mat half against your back and hold them up to your collarbone.

Tie ends into a knot.

Now you're read to go sweat your ass off at yoga.

Easy, right? Right!

Pattern: "Knotty Yoga Sling", by me!
Fabric: random cotton from the sale section at Joanns

Notes: Making this bag really couldn't have been easier. It's cute and functional. What more can you ask for? Except that I already have a modification in mind that will make this bag even better. Stay tuned for a redux!

It's practically 1am and I'm still up despite the fact that work has been crunch crunch crunchy as hell this week and as a result, sleep has been lacking. So the deal is this. I'm waiting for my Plain Spoken quilt to complete its whirl in the washer so I can finish it up in the dryer. And why couldn't this wait til tomorrow? My friend's baby was born almost TWO months ago and the quilt has just been draped over the back of a chair waiting to be quilted. I finally picked it up on Tuesday and started quilting. I was almost done, but had to run off to dinner. Then today I decided to try to finish it off. I finished quilting, made the binding, attached the binding, and the next thing I know, it's midnight. I felt like I was on such a roll, that I just had to finish it. Do you ever get that way? It happens to me often, that urge to keep going despite the hour or presence of a deadline.

So here I am.. waiting for the quilt.. wondering if I should make a wedding quilt for my best friend who's getting married in two months .. thinking about the three other quilts I want to make for my three other friends that are expecting in the next 3-5 months.. realizing that I really want a quilt of my own now.. wondering if I really have time to do all of this, plus sew garments, plus knit. You ever have one of those days? Today is that day for me.

Hurray for crafting ADD. Have a great weekend y'all.

After taking a million pictures of your most recent FO, how do you choose which ones make the cut?

You've got the artsy, odd angle shot.

You've got the detail shots.

And you've got the shots look the same, but are oh so different.

So in the end, how do you decide which one best represents your finished product and how overjoyed you are without showing all of them? Your guess is as good as mine. Without further ado, I present to you my second dress.*

The "half superhero" pose

Pattern: Butterick 5040, View B
Size: S
Fabric: Majick Beads jersey from purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics

Process Notes:
This was my second time working with a knit (I'm overdue on posting about my first foray into knits, but that will come soon). Much like the first, it wasn't bad AT ALL. The sewing process is pretty much the same as sewing with wovens except that you have to adjust the type of stitch you use (just as Blossom told me, stretch stitch all the way). I also discovered that polyester matte jersey won't take a crease (for the experienced sewers out there, is this true for all jerseys?). This made ironing hems and such difficult, but I was able to work around that by sewing a "crease/fold line" where the crease/fold is to be made and pressed. Then I folded and pinned along the fold line, stitched down the work, then ripped out the fold line. A walking foot was also very handy in making sure that the top and bottom fabrics were advanced along at the same rate as well. (Oh, and the front "wave" from the yoke lining up with the "wave" on the body, TOTAL coincidence. I didn't plan for that at all.)

Pattern Notes:
I would have sewed a size M but I didn't want all that ease (and minimize the likelihood of anyone thinking I was pregnant) so I sewed a size S. I made no modifications at all and I think it fits perfectly. The pattern is labeled very easy and in my opinion (considering this is the second time I've worked with knits), it is. It's well written and I had no points of confusion. However, this dress took me longer than I thought because of all the gathering.

Verdict:
I LOVE the dress and I LOVE the fabric! It's too bad that the style of the dress and the fabric is so distinctive that I can't wear this more often. The fabric is so soft and comfortable, not to mention wrinkle resistant, that I want to make everything in it!

Style questions:
Is this dress work appropriate (I work at a non-profit where the dress code is business casual)? Do you have any ideas on what other shoes I can wear with this dress? I think the black pumps are okay, but I definitely think there's something that goes even better. I feel that the black stands out a bit too much but it works for the time being. I have some strappy camel shoes, but I think those may be too summery since we're moving into fall.

*I've blogged my FO's out of order, but will blog about my first dress soon. I was just able to get pictures of this dress first since an opportunity represented itself (my best friend's bridal shower).

I started Plain Spoken a full month before my friend was due and I was on track to finish and send the quilt off by her due date (scheduled c-section). babyG was born on July 17. It's been over two months. What have I been doing? Naturally working on other things, like dresses and tops and shirts.

Poor babyG has gone quilt-less for two months while I've been crafting away selfishly. I can name the reasons, but the amount of time to go from quilt top to quilt was less than 2 hours. I totally could have finished it and sent it on time. I'm definitely guilty of crafty negligence.

Okay babyG, this ones for you.

Pattern: Plain Spoken, The Modern Quilt Workshop
Fabric: Country Cotton Solids and Symphony Broadcloth
Size: Approximately 38" x 40"

Notes:
This was a fun quilt to make. I followed the string piecing method as instructed in the book. The hardest part of the quilt was the layout. As I mentioned in a previous post, it will probably be easier to use more than 4 colors (the book, I believe, recommends at least 7). Other than that it was easy as pie. I quilted it using this "rolling pin" motif crisscrossed with a bead type motif rather than the nice stiple/free motion style they show in the book (I'm not versed in free motion, yet).

Love those ripples and rumples

I also attached the binding by machine instead of half by machine and half by hand like I did on the Charlie Brown quilt. Sewing it on by machine gives you a visible stitch on both sides whereas attaching one side by machine and slip stitching the remainder by hand gives you an invisible finish. It is more time consuming to do it by hand, but I prefer the invisible finish over saving time.

The quilt back is nothing more than a coordinating polka dot print. I was lucky to find one that pretty much matched the greens I chose for the top.

I hope they like it as much as I do!

And for those of you who want the full shots of the quilt, here's the front and the back.

Here's an overview to the state of things at bahn yaiAnn..

Number of FOs to be blogged: 10
Number of knitting projects in progress: 1
Number of knits planned: 0
Number of sewing projects in progress: 2
Number of sewing projects planned: 5+
Number of quilts planned: 5
Number of sewing patterns purchased in the last 2 months: too many to count
Amount of fabric purchased in the last two months: My wallet just hurts thinking about it

So yes, it seems that mamaFasu's dream has, for the time being, come true. Sewing is starting to take a huge chunk of my attention and knitting is getting pushed to the back burner (For those of you who are unfamiliar with mamaFasu, she made half of her living in Thailand as a seamstress. When I started knitting, she saw it as a waste of time and expressed to me how much more efficient and useful sewing is). So yes. Here I am, spending most of my days thinking about sewing, patterns and fabric. I watch the time and wait for 5 o'clock to come so I can head home, trace patterns and just feel the soothing hum of my sewing machine against my hands. Gosh, it sounds like I'm turning into a sicko!

So what's the immediate happs in terms of projects and such? The wedding of the year is happening in less that two weeks and I haven't even cut fabric for the dress I was planning on sewing, Vogue 8386. I did, however, make a muslin and am currently working through some pattern modifications. But something happened this weekend and yesterday that stopped me dead in my tracks. I found fabulous fall fabrics that are just calling me out to sew pieces for some new fall clothes. I snagged some black cotton twill, mini black and white houndstooth, creamy taupe wool, and brown tweedy wool. Here are the pieces I'm thinking about.

McCall 5480

Vogue 8413

Design 118, capelet from BWOF 9/2007

Design 117, dress from BWOF 9/2007

Design 116, skirt from BWOF 9/2007

I feel like I'm asking for trouble by even just THINKING about sewing from BWOF. My original intent was to try the "one dot" patterns. But out of the three issues I have, NONE of them have a single "one dot" pattern. I guess I'll give a go at the "two dots" and just take my time.

As for my dress for the wedding of the year, who knows now. But I do have a back-up, so I'm prepared. And as far as knitting goes, don't give up on me yet because I haven't given up on knitting. I can't drag my sewing machine on the bus, so the knitting will continue to live on.

And I'm still at work! Yes, your eyes do not deceive. I'm now done with my work for the week and fortunately B will be here shortly to sweep me away into the weekend (gosh that sounded romantic, but there's nothing romantic planned for the weekend at all -- getting me out of work is plenty romantic for me right now). So what's in store for this blog post, a meme.

Katie from katie sews tagged me so here goes.

Eight things you probably don't know about me:
1. I can speak German (it's rusty)
2. I was in a Thai Classical dance and music troop
3. I was in a hip hop dance troop
4. I was in a sorority and was also the president of my chapter (don't ask, cuz I won't tell)
5. I secretly wish I was a DJ (DJ Neta is my all time favorite female DJ)
6. I secretly wish I was a b-girl

and B's here, so you get jipped.. I'll continue in another post.. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!