2014 is going to be a busy year!

Ahem. I really, REALLY didn't want my first blog post of the new year to be yet ANOTHER update. But at least I'm still progressing rather than stagnant? Plus, it's the winter - aren't I allowed to hibernate for a bit?

So here we go. If you follow my twitter, you'll have noticed a few odd tweets here and there and yesterday I announced that I was the proud owner of two new blogs. And I am! I'm so excited!!


The first blog is called Crunchy in the City. You guys may not know this, but if you spend more than 10 minutes around me, you'll notice that I'm a bit different than most people who live in New York City (or most people in general). I try to cook all my meals from scratch. I ferment foods and talk about bacteria at alarmingly high rates. I also don't wash my hair with shampoo. Sometimes my pictures creep in on instagram, but I've tried not to post them here because this is a sewing/knitting/crafting blog. But, you know, I WANT to tell the world about what I'm doing with food and my life just as much as I want to tell everyone about the new dress I just made so I created a blog for it.

I'm sure you can't tell, but I was humming the song "Summer in the City" when the name just hit me. I had the whole thing set up less than an hour later. So, you know, if an all-natural, crunchy lifestyle appeals to you, maybe go follow me. Here's the link to BlogLovin'. I'm still tweaking it, but my first post is up! :-)

The second blog I'm even MORE EXCITED to tell you about, but I can't. It's so sad, but the website still needs some work. I also want to make videos for it so, you know, I need to brush up on my acting and editing skills. Maybe it'll be all ready in two weeks or so?

To prove that I've been sewing, here's a sneak preview of what I've been working on. Can you guess what it is?

I really hate when people leave "teasers" like that so I'll just tell you: it's a cape! I'm so pumped to finish the lining because it's kind of incredible.

I also participated in a sewing swap with ChiChi from ChiChi Loves (blog here!). This is a picture of the amazing goodies that ChiChi sent me - you can see the amazing vintage patterns and all the notions. Can you also see the hot pink jersey? When I first pulled it out I was like, whoa, so bright. But then I realized exactly what it needs to be and the second I finish my cape, I'm starting with the jersey.

Oh, so you know how I said I might have a new sweater to show you? So I started Tempting Fate because I absolutely adore it. I checked the guage, decided to add in some shaping to the sides, got quite a bit in before I tried it on and I realized, dammit, it's much too large. Like I need to take out 6" or so from the waist and another 2-3" in the bust. (Ravelry notes here.)

So now I feel stuck because I'm not sure if moving down one size will work (and there's only one more size to move down!) or if I should dust off my math skills and figure something else out. Maybe I'll do the gauge for the smaller size and then do math and see if it might fit and still add in the back/side decreases when I get there? Any tips from more experienced sweater knitters?

In sewing news, I've joined a RTW fast for the year. I'm sure a lot of people would be horrified, but I haven't bought clothes in a few years. In fact, the last time I bought RTW was in 2012 and I only bought 2 dresses. So I'm not thinking it will be much of a challenge for me - which is why I'm extending myself to stop buying lingerie, underwear, leggings, etc. I even found a shoe-making course that I want to take, but I don't have the time just yet.

Along that same note, I joined a Stashbusting Sewing as well. Last year I started buying fabric that I loved when it was a good price, but that means I have quite a stash. I have one box in my bookshelf dedicated to fabric and my fabric stash has overflown to 3 boxes and part of my couch. So I've taken another pledge to only sew from my stash for at least 6 months. If in 6 months I still have an enormous stash, I'll extend it, but hopefully that should be enough to make a nice dent.

And finally, remember my Memory Candles? I'm so pleased to say that someone at Good Housekeeping loved them too because they're featured over on the blog. Check it out, along with other great ideas for transforming candle holders.