Nautical Trial

I ordered some awesome nautical rubber stamps for use somehow in my wedding decor.  The stamp designs are AWESOME, but they were sent as just a flat rubber pad.  You have to cut them out of the pad and mount them to something to stamp them.  Saturday, Marty and I tested them out.  We picked a stamp that was small and that we didn't love (in Marty's case, didn't know what the image even was) as a test.  I cut it out (per the instructions) and hot glued it to a water bottle cap (not per the instructions).  Marty wrote "Test 1" on a notecard, which was totally cute.  Here is Test 1 in blue ink:

There wasn't a Test 2 haha.  JK JK there were a few other tests, but I don't want to share them here bc it could give away an awesome wedding craft idea that someone might steal and use before I get to, and I am not really very good at sharing.

Finally, I will leave you with the image that I was left with as I headed out for brunch Sunday morning:

Future hubs/cat baby totem pole.  I am a fan.

Bottoms Up

Arghhh I spent so HOURS trying to follow this one part of the crochet swimsuit pattern that said, "inc. at ends 1 st. every 2 rows 21 times."  How to interpret??  Literally (1 stitch), that turns the work into a triangle instead of a trapezoid.  So after many an hour, I have finally decided to increase 1 stitch every two rows on BOTH outside ends (which would, in fact, make a trapezoid).

Anyways, at least I got to watch that new Zooey show & Workaholics, neither of which disappointed.


Love
Katiebeans

The Endless Summer

I am trying to be very focused this year.  I only want to tackle one project at a time, patiently & thoughtfully, without becoming overwhelmed by all the hundreds of things I want to make.  That way hopefully I can enjoy crochet, and also make some quality projects.  So here is a sneak peak of the bathing suit I am "patiently & thoughtfully" working on.  Right now I only have a couple of cups, but I have a bunch of good patterns to cobble together, and some awesome inspiration.  Pattern & pics to come...

Side note, I am reading Marty's book The Answer is Never, which so far feels like a history textbook on skateboarding.  I guess there is a surfboarding movie called The Endless Summer, which the author references.  Also he references 70s chicks in crochet bikinis.  Also, some of those pics I snagged are from Free People's site in a section called "Endless Summer."  So, full circle.

Big Bouncing Babies

I mentioned in my last post that I was working on two super secret projects, and here is one of them!  Two of my most favorite people are having a little bebe boy.  Some of us lady friends of Christine combined our crafting powers to make a congrats baby blanket.  Brooke, Kristin, and Kate knitted strips of brown & blue, and I crocheted a cream-colored border, using this border pattern.  Here is a close up:

Before the crochet edge, the knitting piece was 151 stitches x 240.  I did a rough measure, and if I recall correctly, the full blanket is about 5 ft by 3.5 ft.  Big for a baby, but perfect for a winter snugging up with your newborn!

Here is a pic of the lovely future baby-mama opening the blanket at her shower!  The yarn was Lion Brand Nature's Choice Organic Cotton.  The knitters used size 9 needles, recommended by the yarn.  I tried using a J/10, which was recommended, but it made too big of stitches so I switched to I/9.

And here is a pic of Brooke, Christine, and me!  We all unintentionally dressed to match the blanket.  

I had fun at the shower and was also grateful I didn't have to suffer through the Steeler game.  I hope everyone had a good Sunday, and maybe took a minute to remember those who died ten years ago today, especially the heros of flight 93.  

xo

Katiebeans

OK Computer

OK Computer, let's blog.  First off, I don't have anything crochet to show you, but I feel obligated to have a pic.  So here is a funny pic of me & Marty surf-fishing.  The jacket I have on is a Nike customized N98 so that feels kinda crafty??  Also, I just wanted to brag that I caught a fish surf fishing. Yes I probably could have found a more flattering picture of both of us but this isn't a fashion blog so you just shut up.

Anywho,  it's finally getting all fall-like, which is excellent because it is putting me in the mood to crochet.  I got some good ideas and patterns ready, but before I can start those, I have to finish two hush-hush projects that I can't talk about right now!  In the meantime, I figured I would let you know those were in the pipeline (I know you are just hanging on the edge of your seat, refreshing TeaBeans over and over).  I also wanted to tell you about Pinterest, which is my new favorite thing ever, if you haven't heard of it already.  Now, instead of copying & pasting & saving & uploading & boring my readers with "inspiration" posts which are really just "reminder" posts for me, I can save all that stuff on Pinerest!  Check out mine at Pinterest.com/Katiebeans!

Ok... chat you later!

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

Mister crawled into my bag bc he finally realized he is too fat to fit into our shoes.

I started with the gauge on a hideous bathing suit pattern.

I had a big beer and painted my nails to some TLC & Bravo.

Hahaha can you imagine!  NO I did not spend my summer watching on-demand of NYInk, Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta, and Platinum Hit.  But I would if I could, friends.  There just aren't enough episodes to fill more than a few days.

Hot Weather Hot Trend

So, according to this article and (every single shop you go to), crochet is one of this summer's hottest trends.  The article goes on to tell you ways to wear the hot trend.  I guess I picked a poor time to take a break from crochet!

Anyways, I thought I would post some crochet inspiration as I sit inside with AC & fan blasting on the 2nd hottest day in NYC history.

1) Crochet accents.  This top reminds me of this one I made a couple years ago.  

2 & 3) I still would LOVE to make a crochet bikini.  These are pretty hideous, but good inspiration and helpful to look at the detail since I can't find an intelligible pattern.

4) Crochet headband.  That is all.

Happy summer!
Source for all images: UrbanOutfitters.com