the incredible hulk: part 2

hallowe'en is over! now we are all about ready to throw up from eating too much candy!

anyway, i finished off the hulk costume today: sewed up the green outer layer, inserted the muscled under layer, and quilted the two together.

here's a close-up of the pecs and abs. i used embroidery floss to do a bit of hand quilting to make the muscles really pop.

and a close up of the shorts. i started with a basic pyjama bottom pattern, and basically made two identical pairs of shorts, zig-zagged them together at the bottom, and then turned rightside out to get a neat and tidy torn/shredded look.

he is already talking about wearing them as shorts next summer!

he was thrilled with the costume over all, and started his hulky poses as soon as he tried it on.

must find a photo with the make-up!

meanwhile, i finished my annis shawl and am currently blocking!

it used exactly one half (i weighed) of a skein of wollemeise. which means i need to find a project for the other half. this was supposed to be a stashbuster, dammit!

a couple of projects, finished

i had so many things that i "should" have been working on on friday, but it was my first actual day off (well, almost - i ended up having to pop in at the office at the end of day for a client) in such a long time that instead, i did something for me.

over a year ago, i cut out fabric for four shirts. i pinned everything nicely, got one shirt done, and the rest... just didn't happen. now? i am wearing shirt number two!

and the cardigan is a newly-finished project as well - it's girl friday from knitty, in berocco ultra alpaca, got from destash. i was destashing as well, so it doesn't "count" as getting new yarn (since i am meant to be on a yarn diet this year).

also, i got our (boring and shabby) hallowe'en decorations up. and i bought hallowe'en candy. and i wrapped a few xmas gifts.

now, i really need to get to work finishing the kid's hulk costume. and all of my committee homework. sigh.

the incredible hulk: part 1

who doesn't love ang lee, director of such thoughtful films as the wedding banquet, pushing hands, the ice storm, and... hulk?

you can guess which film inspired the kid's choice for hallowe'en costume this year.

it's tempting to just feed the kid steroids and paint him green. tempting, and perhaps illegal. so instead, i decided to start with some kind of basic bodysuit, build a physique on top soft-sculpture style, and upholster it with green fabric.

here's the base i chose: classic stanfield pyjamas. "these look like underwear," complained the kid (he's used to tailored jim jams).

i made him put them on and sketched roughly where the muscles should go. sort of like a plastic surgeon might.

now i'm in the process of bulking him up. here i've got the biceps, pecs, and abs basted in place.

you can see a bit of the green fabric in that shot, too. once i get some shoulder padding in place, i can start putting it together and see how it looks!

thanksgiving baking

just got back from our annual thanksgiving trip to the cottage! i made my usual desserts (pumpkin pie and sticky toffee pudding), by popular demand.

and since we were at the cottage, i took the opportunity to get a snap of the embroidered tea towel i entered in the fair! i sketched the oak leaf based on illustrations in a book on identifying trees. from getting started to getting finished was over a year. which reminds me, if i intend to enter that category next year, i ought to start now.

and because you can never have too many (or even enough!) cookies, here's a snap of some snickerdoodles i made the other day.

cardigan season has arrived!

cardigan season is here at last! it's a great time of year to be a knitter.

one cardigan i am happily getting a lot of wear out of is my maple leaf forever cardigan. can't believe how long it took me to get around to starting this one. i am making up for lost time now!

also getting a lot of wear out of the double-leaf saroyan in re-dyed merino et soie. love this scarf.

i have plans for the leftover dye, too. the raspberry pink baby alpaca/silk blend that's been collecting dust for nigh on a decade? that orange cashmere pullover that is so very soft and so very orange? hmm...

also in the spirit of the season, there has been baking going on.

there have been snickerdoodles, and wowbutter cookies, and there is pastry resting in the fridge, just waiting to be a pie. next up: the hallowe'en costume for the kid. he wants to be the hulk.

pardon the poor-quality photos, but if i wait to take the time to take decent ones, i'll never get around to posting anything!