First Complete Scarf

I learned how to knit in 4th grade to make a pot holder and have tried numerous times to knit a scarf since then. I'd always end up stopping part way because it'd either take too long, I made it too thick, or I ran out of yarn. But this time, I finished! It took me a good week and a half, but some days I didn't even pick it up. And yesterday I just fit in a good 5 hours.

Specs.
Cast on: rougly 25
Size 13 US needles
1 skein

I hope I'm using the right terms!

As I knit, my yarn would get rather tangled so there are 2 sections that broke off and I had to reconnect my scarf to the yarn. Next time I hope this won't happen or if it does I need to learn a better way to reconnect to the yarn.

I was thinking about giving this scarf away but seeing as it's my first completed scarf & I spent SO MUCH TIME on it, I'm going to keep it. But, now that I have a hang of everything, I'm going to learn how to purl & then try to mix things up a bit.

What made it so easy to finish this time was that I could go on the internet so readily to look at videos when I was struggling, like when I forgot how to bind-off. So yes, utilize the world wide web!

Oakland

So I went to go have dim sum in Oakland. It was really cheap & really good. It's located somewhere on E. 12th Ave. and I think it's called King of Kings. I really liked the pork bun and the shrimp stuff we ate. The waitresses just walk around with carts and you just pick the dishes you want. If I was starving I would've just grabbed whatever looked good. The custard tart was also good which motivated us to find Chinatown to go to more pastry shops and order more custard tarts. The custards in Chinatown had the flakiest crust. The layers just melted in my mouth.



King Of King
Oakland, CA

Price Range: $1.80-$3.00 per dim sum dish (not sure about actual meal prices); spent less than $25 for 3 people
Service: fast & very friendly
Food quality: exceptionally good for the price
Environment: nice & spacious; beware of tiny parking area or else you'll have to park on the street
Rating: 4

QT with the mom

I decided to go out with my mom and my grandpa and this is what she wanted to watch. The amusing part was watching the 80's music video and their mockery of pop stars. The not so amusing part was the acting. Drew Barrymore is cool and all but she cannot act. Her trying to seem upset and sad is not believable at all. It's just a typical feel-good movie. Something cute to watch when it gets aired on TBS as you're falling asleep.

Another amusing part was hearing a lady behind me get scolded for talking on the phone by 2 other women sitting by her.

At least it wasn't so bad that I had to get a refund for my tickets like with THE HITCHER! Seems like a lot of horror movies these days are just an advertisement for bad rock music & short skirts.

For dinner we ate at Sushi Tandy because my mom got a coupon and everything was really cheap: obento dinner for less than $8. After eating there I understand why it was so cheap. The vegetables in the salad tasted old. They skimped out on the meat portions. The gyoza was overfried and had a bitter taste from some unknown green vegetable. The good part was the tempura, but when can you ever really screw that up? So if you're on N. Texas in Fairfield, I wouldn't recommend eating there.

Sushi Tandy
Fairfield, CA

Price Range: Obento (3 choices) - lunch around $5, dinner around $8; sushi as low as $3-4
Service: friendly
Food quality: not amazing; I'd rather pay up the extra few dollars for more quality food
Environment: seats were uncomfortable; I felt like I was too far from my table & it made it hard to eat; also pretty tiny & in a ratty shopping area of N. Texas
Rating: 2

Not Drano.. DraYES!

My sink & tub have been clogged for quite some time. I decided to buy DRANO instead of just doing what I usually do, which is trying to pull up the hair using a broken wire hanger. So, I poured in 1/2 a bottle for each, let it sit for about 15 min., and flushed it out with hot water. I was sceptical at first so I brought out the wire hanger. I shoved it down & tried to pull out what I could, which wasn't much. But to my surprise, after letting the water clear out all foam and bubbles from the Drano, it worked! The clog was gone.

I'm not used to buying into products because my mom never liked using them either, especially since she doesn't like spending the money on it. But I guess it's popular for a reason.

Aud's Clutch

I finally gave Aud her X-mas gift last weekend: a clutch. I got the pattern from In Stitches but I failed at following the instructions the first time so this time I just pieced it together the way that made sense to me. Instead of using cotton batting for thickness I used heavyweight interfacing. The inside is lined with maroon cotton fabric. My divider was a little off & you could see the raw edges on the inside but it turned out much better than my first attempt. Oh, and I didn't put a flower on there because it was already flowery. But, now that I think about it, I could've made one using the maroon fabric and it would've stood out... hmm...

One thing that always helps me when I sew is to cut the fabric way before I start sewing that way I don't get too tired and flustered (because I don't have much space to cut & sew). It makes sewing go by much smoother.

Here are some pictures we took today at Jimboy's Tacos to celebrate my liberation from V.I.P. Studios:

Photos taken with my beau's Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8 sweet-ass lens. *SIGH*

Emergency & I

Photo taken by Nosyt.

D70, Tamron 80-210mm

I'm very pleased with this photo since I'm always getting blurry shots when I shake even just slightly w/ this lens. This was taken while I was driving.

I think I'm going to add some Photoshop tips on here when I get the chance.

"Dwigt"

BBMAK got me the best present evar! Now I feel like I'm truly part of The Office! It's really heavy & durable. That's some good quality bobble head action going on.

"My middle name is Kurt, not fart!"

Pilipino Time

I went to Bridge's annual showcase, Pilipino Time. This year's proceeds go towards a scholarship fund for a HS/transfer student. Finally took my D70 out & about. Wish I had brought my Tamron lens because I couldn't really get good shots until I moved to the front.

ISO: 800
Lens: Nikkor 18-70mm

Reorganization

Instead of going back to sleep after my interview, I had an urge to clean. I cleaned the bathroom, did my laundry, and reorganized my room (mainly my desk & craft supplies).

Here's a pic of one section I was able to clean up. My mom bought me this rolling cubby from Costco & I tried to keep things organized with purpose, but over time I just started throwing anything anywhere.

So in order to keep myself in check & to locate things more quickly, I labeled each drawer! And I also have bigger cubbies in my closet where I divided all my fabric out according to type & one for scraps & labeled those as well.

I used to keep a lot of supplies at my desk so I could just whip out a card or make something whenever I felt like it. But, everything got cluttered so I put them back on that roll-o-cubby. Instead, I cleared everything out and left my file trays for 1. Current Orders (so I know what I'm supposed to make for the week) 2. Incoming mail 3. Outgoing paper mail.

Now I feel like I'm organized enough to run The Donut Lounge.

I ALSO cut out all my fave sewing articles and took the advice of some lovely Craftistas on GetCrafty.com and put them & my patterns in a huge binder & divided them accordingly. I have a section for general sewing tips, embroidery, home decor, clothes, & bags and then a section for all my custom-made patterns.

PHEW! And now it's almost 5PM. If you're like me and can't work around clutter, then I hope this post is influential.

FINALLY

So, I finally figured out how to run my blog through my site. This is where I'll be posting all the trials & experiences of The Donut Lounge. There will be everything from my weekly goals, to crafting tips & lessons, to struggles from trying to start this business. Enjoy!