re: the $60

Incidentally, i also spent my money on Christmas presents. But me trying to not knit (or crochet now it seems) is nearly impossible. I enjoy working on projects in class or while listening to books on tape. I'm going to have to start bringing my work while on carpool. And i can't believe that i'm becoming such a yarn snob!

I never thought i'd see the day that i'd become a crocheter, though. I'm still highly selective about which projects i'd like to do, but then, i'm that way about knitting, too, aren't i?

crocheting again (yes, you read that right!)

Yesterday (was it only yeterday? it seems so far away) i finished crocheting a lacy hat that i just happened to find in a book at the library. See, on Monday i sold my books back and instantly had $60 burning a whole in my pocket. I headed over to the new knitting store in town (the Cozy Knit & Purl) for the bamboo needles that i know i can't buy anywhere else and while i'm there i stumble upon some Rowan yarn that is just beautiful and the perfect color. It matches Arwen's chase jacket. And as soon as i had seen this hat pattern i thought it looked elvish. So i splurged on the yarn and now have a completed pattern. Not only that, but i'm currently working on an advanced pattern that's in the newest Knit 1 magazine.

Of the Rowan yarn: i really wasn't happy with the quality of it. I think this is the same color that i got, but it seems a bit greyer in person. It's a very pale color. Just a bit more turquoise in it than Arwen's chase outfit.



Of the Lion Brand suede that i'm currently using for two different hat patterns i am fairly happy. It's a bit difficult to cast on with but it crochets like a dream. I'm crocheting with Ecru and knitting with Coffee.



Hopefully i can post pics soon, but Brinna is on the road again... rather, she's in Korea seeing her husband for the first time since May.

PoA scarf: finished!

I just finished putting on the fringe. I think i might add more, but for all intents and purposes the project is finally done. (: I didn't get my GoF cloak done, but i will be wearing my school uniform costume to the movie tonight (or, as the theater's recording says, "at 12:01 am, a special advance viewing"). I have a little leftover yarn that i'm considering using for a hat (not sure it will be enough) or a head scarf/headband like the one my sister made. Not sure what my next HP related project will be, yet, maybe a hat like the twins' or Ron's in PoA.

Happy Harry Potter Day!

i wore my PoA inspired skirt today (along with a white shirt and marroon tie) and was pleased with the response i got (no one could tell that i sewed the skirt myself). i didn't get my scarf done (i just hit the 3/4's mark), but i worked on it during certain classes (per usual), something which really cracked up my Women's Chorus professor (i was knitting during warmups and "wearing the scarf at the same time"). My next project is going to be to finish the GoF cloak i've been working on, after that i haven't decided.

my PoA scarf

I'm halfway through! I wish i could post a picture, but i can't. It's not going to be as long as i wanted but i don't have the money to buy more yarn. I'm so short that it probably wouldn't be wise to make it the same length as in the movies, anyway. I mean, i may be 5'5", but Dan, Rupert, and Tom are all around 6' tall now, right?

camera update

No luck... I downloaded a driver from the brand's website and now the computer will register that i have a camera but it keeps saying there are no photos on the camera. I don't expect any better results.

Harry Potter Day costumes (gasp)

I've got two new projects! I'm sewing two pleated skirts, one for Harry Potter Day, the other possibly for the Harvest Fest at our church the night before. Work on my GoF cloak will resume soon, and i plan to sew one skirt (a charcoal with subtle burgundy stripes that are perfect) to wear with the cloak (to the premiere of GoF as well) and the other is a turquoise and orange polyester plaid that i'm considering wearing to the Harvest Fest clad as Kitty from That '70's Show. Pics will hopefully be forthcoming.

digital camera woes

I've finally found my digital camera, but now i can't download the images onto the computer. ): Will keep trying!

punk wristwarmer conversion

The more time i wait to do this, the less i want to do it. It would be really easy to do, in fact i could type up the pattern in ten minutes, but i don't think i want to make another pair of those wristwarmers. I didn't really like them that well once i finished them. My tension when crocheting is a whole lot better, but i'm still no crocheter. I'm not sure what i'll do.

Oh, and sorry about the lack of pictures: hopefully i'll be posting some real soon... really!

beanie hats galore

I have finished my beanie visor, am nearly done with brinna's, and am finally posting this image that i saw shortly after Star Wars 3 came out: they're crocheted but i think it's a great idea. As an R2-D2 fan i may have to make one of these myself.

brinna's hat

I worked on the hat over the weekend and it's almost completed. I'm not sure we're going to be adding a visor to it (there might not be enough yarn left) so we should be posting pics (and the pattern) soon.

brinna's beanie bupdate

ha ha ha, i'm so witty that i amaze myself d:

I'm doing this cable pattern for Brinna's hat using size 10 1/2 needles. It's a rectangle that will wrap around, i'll add the cap and brim afterwards with size 10 circular or dpn. So far i've done the chart twice; i'll have to do it twice more to reach around her head. Hopefully i'll have some pics soon.

Btw, i love this hoodie and may have to buy the pattern. I'm planning to knit my hat with size 8 circulars which will be a much tighter stitch.

our boards

In case you're curious, Brinna and i both got Lamar snowboards. Hers is Ainjel, mine is Fascination.

beanie visor

The newest knitting project i'm going to take on is some beanie visors. I can't find patterns for them anywhere on the internet so i'm going to have to modify beanie patterns and add the visor. I'm going to knit one for Megan with celtic cables and i think mine is going to be double knit with a wing pattern. We're using craft foam for the visor that's probably about four millimeters thick. Both of these hats are meant to match our new snowboards and will be quick to knit up because we've purchased Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Claret for her and Sky Blue and Charcoal for me. I'm sure we'll have plenty left over for mittens or scarves, etc.

I plan to make more than one beanie visor this winter. My inspiration was a Fox beanie visor at PacSun but the whole collection is lovely but expensive. Our projects are quite a bit cheaper.

Punk Wristwarmers

made by Luinel
based on Midnight Knitter's Punk Crochet Wrist-Warmers

It used to be that i couldn't crochet a square shaped object. Because of this project my tension and ability have vastly improved when it comes to crocheting. I'm still a knitter by choice, but it's nice to know that i can now crochet something if i need to or choose to.

I made a couple of modifications to this pattern: i only crocheted 24 rows before joining the wrist and i extended the top of the pattern a couple of rows so it would reach my knuckles. Nothing fancy. I'm getting ready to swear off Bernat, though: the brand's yarn worked great for Alice's Sweater, but the camo yarn didn't do as well. I wore one wristwarmer two nights and the other one night on a campout and they're both already getting stretched out and messed up.

Luinel's Chase outfit

based on Arwen's Chase outfit in FotR

I've been dreaming about making this outfit since i saw Fellowship of the Ring the second or third time. I don't know why, but i've never been as gung ho about Arwen's outfits in LotR as many that i've met or conversed with online. I loved Liv Tyler in the part and i loved Ngila Dickson's work, but truth be told i am much better suited to a hobbit's way of dressing than an elf's. Even if i do lose weight (God willing) i know i'll never be as thin and lithe as an elf. I'm a klutz that throws a softball very hard.

But even as i was working on my Hobbit lass costume i was secretly pining after a blueish grey microsuede that i had seen while purchasing my cloak fabric at Mary Jo's fabric in Gastonia, North Carolina. When i first saw and felt it i had no idea what i would use it for but i very much wanted to buy it. Shortly afterwards i realized that i was a very good match to the Chase outfit in some photos at Alley Cat's LotR Costumes. In the movie the film has been modified to make her jacket look darker and purpler, but according to all the photos i've seen my suede is a very good match.

I bought the fabric over a year ago, along with the pattern and notions, but i haven't gotten up the nerve to cut into the suede yet. Truth be told, this wasn't a very practical purchase, and i'm going to be so upset if i botch this project up. I'm sure i do fine, but right now i'm using the Gof duster as a dry run. There are definitely differences, but that project isn't quite as expensive. Stay tuned for updates as i'm soon i'll begin construction on this project soon.

images appear courtesy of Alley Cat's LotR Costumes

Padme's choking tunic and armwarmers

might be sewn by Luinel
based on the outfit in Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith



During my first viewing of SW3 this was one of the only outfit that i really liked. Most of Padme's outfits in this movie were overly ornate: they would have been incredibly uncomfortable to wear and did little to cover her condition. The only other outfits that appealed to me at all were the brown and purple velvet dress and the waterfall burial dress.

During my second viewing of SW3 this outfit really stood out to me, particularly because of the shot on the left. I suddenly realized that Padme wasn't wearing a long sleeved tunic but one that's practically sleeveless (there's about half of a cap sleeve there) and some really cool armwarmers.

I don't usually go for Star Wars costumes because i don't care about the series that much anymore. I loved watching it when i was a kid, it was my favorite, but such is no longer the case. Despite that i've fallen in love with this tunic and armwarmers would like to make them sometime. It looks like the upper bodice is cut in one piece with the collar, sleeves, and itself, and its only seams are the front and the one connecting it to the lower bodice. I think i could make this in a way that doesn't look like a tent (;. What's really cool is that there doesn't appear to be any hem on the collar, and if i use microsuede i don't think i need to sew a bottom hem or hems on the sleeves, either. I'm not certain, but i think this project may be lined, which would account for some of this. I'm most likely will not be including the brown straps if i make this.

images appear courtesy of the Padawan's Guide

update (finally!)

We've been a bit busy with a new baby in the home. I've finally found the chance to upload some new stuff that i was working on before the birth day event. Dealing with computer problems: more to (hopefully) come soon with pictures.

ETA: This post originally contained links to my webpage, but those pages no long exist as i have moved all meaningful content to this blog or my Ravelry projects.

progress

Started working on filling up Brinna's sidebar. She doesn't have as much time to work on content as myself, nor as much html know-how, but we'll get there. I'm still working on my side, too.

Twilight blouse

inspired by Stacie Orrico's tunic on her album Stacie Orrico

i wore this for Easter, but have never been happy with the lay of the neckline (the fabric is really too thick for the proper drape). Pictures should be forthcoming soon.

patterns
Vogue 7800 A for tunic (modified = sleeves)

fabric
100% (Kona?) cotton in dark purple

notions
silver eyelets
silver embroidery floss

Hobbit Lass outfit

made and designed by Luinel
inspired by Danielle's work dress in Ever After

As a child, we never celebrated Halloween. I never went trick or treating. There was one harvest fest at are church where i dressed up (i think as Laura from Little House on the Prarie) and one homeschool book report (with other homeschoolers where we dressed up as our favorite character) where i dressed up as Abigail from Ten Kids No Pets. Until i was over eighteen i never wore costumes. That sort of changed when we moved to Colorado and began helping with the Harvest Festivals at our church. The first year i threw together a Hobbit costume that was decidedly lacking (but pretty good for two hours planning). When i joined the NC Fellowship i knew that would no longer make the cut.

So i decided to make myself a costume. Unlike most of my peers i didn't have anyone i wanted to emulate. I only knew that i am mainly a Frodo and Gandalf fan (and i didn't want to dress like them, particularly because our mod already had a good Frodo outfit). Luinel was only beginning to be born deep in my mind and, at this point, was only the alias i used in the group. I didn't have much time to make a costume. I decided to watch Ever After for inspiration (one of my favorite Drew Barrymore films). Almost instantly, my Hobbit lass outfit was born.

Danielle's work dress is the inspiration, but as i have no one to lace me up nor the budget for the fabric to make so many layers i found a pattern that was slightly similar but not identical and used it. I wanted to use all natural fibers (the obvious exception is my cloak) so i scrounged for 100% cotton (i shopped at Mary Jo's Fabrics, Wal-Mart, and Hancock Fabrics), and dyed the overdress blue myself. For the undershirt i was sort of inspired by Eowyn and made a v-neck, for the colors i was inspired by Gandalf and chose a dark grey courderoy. I always intended to sew arm bands or wear cotton yarn wrapped around my sleeves (like Dannielle and Eowyn respectively) but never got around to sewing the cuffs or braiding some cotton. The shirt's fabric is a natural linen instead of strongly bleached, the overdress' less finely woven and even more natural with brown flecks. The skirt was only a yard of fabric: i cut it with a slight A-line shape, designed my own button flap, and used these beautiful grey buttons that i found at Hancock (plastic, but beautiful).

The result is what you see before you. Very little modification, buttonholes for the laces (which i swore never to do again, particularly because the buttonholer was broken on the machine i was using and i had to do it myself with zigzag and a four point turn), and a quick costume in time for the Renaissance Faire in Huntersville, NC. All in all: looking back i would have done things differently, but i learned a lot, and now have no desire to stop costuming.

patterns
Simplicity 7756 B overdress (modification = buttonholes instead of eyelets)
a pattern of my aunt's for the top (an old one that i borrowed and would not recommend to anyone)
no pattern for skirt
the cloak was made from a pattern / tutorial at Alley Cat's LotR Costumes

fabric
100% cotton muslin, loosely woven, with brown flecks throughout
100% cotton muslin, natural
100% cotton courderoy, dark grey (not historically accurate from a Renaissance pov, but pretty, none the less)
i don't remember what kind of fabric i made the cloak from, though it was definitely artificial in origin and semi-melted when ironed; it has a rough texture on one side and is soft on the other side and is very warm

notions
light blue thread
white thread
white cotton cord for lacing
four dark grey buttons (for skirt closure)
non-fusible interfacing (for lacing reinforcement)

under construction

As i'm sure you can see, this blog isn't exactly all here yet. We're still working out the kinks and uploading content to our sites, but rest assured we'll be blogging soon. Hope you enjoy what you see so far and please come back soon for more.

first post

I've been wanting to write more about my knitting and sewing designs for a couple of years now. It started when i began designing my Hobbit Lass costume shortly after joining the NC Fellowship. After I was done I found that i couldn't stop designing and dreaming up new things to make. It's amazing to me that i moved to Charlotte, NC, in August of 2003, joined the group, attended a viewing of the Two Towers at our fearless leader's home, and i designed and completed a costume before October 31st when the group attended the Renn Faire in Huntersville. This was of course months before attending Trilogy Tuesday in Raleigh--in costume--with a lot of other kindred spirits (thanks so much to King Cardlothien who organized it for us).

Since then i've taken knitting up again and am sewing both projects that have been on the backburner for a couple of years and new ones. The NC Fellowship was a good place for me to become passionate about both or the above because so many of the people there were just as crazy as me (if not crazier) and wanted to have costumes just like i did. I learned a lot there and miss belonging to a group like that.

I have found that i still greatly want to share the entire experience with others. Because my focus has switched to blogging since then it seems natural to me to start sharing my ideas here. I'm all fired up from reading other peoples' knitting blogs and have been inspired by a lot of movies lately (as well as spoiler images for upcoming movies). I think that knitting and sewing will always be a part of my life... i don't know about costuming. It's important to me that, if i sew a costume, i can wear it in real life, too. Parts of my Hobbit lass outfit got a lot of wear for quite a while. If i'm going to make a costume i have to be comfortable wearing it in public or what's the point?

The name for this blog came from a strange but perfectly natural place... My sister and i have had a secret syntax for a long time; it's not that we've made up a language, it's just that we know each other so well and are passionate about so many of the same things that we can talk to each other kind of in code. You wouldn't want to play Taboo with us while we are on the same team (we slaughtered the other team at a New Years party a couple of years ago)! We spent last spring break in Yuma and i quickly got fed up trying to find a single swimsuit that would modestly and attractively fit a young woman who has DD or DDD breasts. I finally said that i'd just have to design my own suit and market it to the public along with a line of clothes and lingerie. That evening we came up with a name for such a store: Big Tracts of Land.

Fans of Monty Python and the Holy Grail may understand the reference: at one point in the film a young man is being coerced into marrying a woman with "big tracts of land" by his father. When you see the bride it's obvious that land isn't the only thing she's well endowed with. It was just a joke but i fell in love with the idea. The funny thing is that my sis is pregnant and now having the same trouble finding stuff that fits because of her new size. Now i'm not planning to sell anything here, but i just thought it would still be a good title for showing off the stuff my sister and i have made. Who knows how long this site will last or where it will go, i'm just full of tmi on the subject to comfortably stay quiet.