The new rug, Cat Power and Ben Lee

This is what our new bathroom rug is going to look like! It's a bunch of bullion crochet stitches in the round. Progress posts are to follow.

Sunday we went down to Richard's on Richard's for the Cat Power concert. She is very, unique. She was in a good mood though and was sounding great. I hear that going to a show of hers can be kind of hit or miss but this one was a hit! Then the day after we went back to Richard's on Richard's for the Ben Lee concert, which was kick ass. We had seen him open for Sam Roberts Band but this time he brought his whole band. It's too bad though that Lara Meyerratken
wasn't there like last time. (She's currently in the studio recording her own stuff!) Concerts on the horizon are Amy Millan and the ever-wonderful Hawksley Workman.

New Neutral Bathroom

My Fella and I just finished fixing up and painting out bathroom last weekend and I thought it suited the neutral theme for Project Spectrum August. Ta-da!

Below is a shot of the bathroom before the makeover. I know the change doesn't look very drastic in the pictures but you can sure feel it when you're in the room. The original paint job was absolutely heinous, complete with drip marks, bits of hair, staples, holes and wallpaper. It was also a crazy, shiny oil based paint that wasn't quite white and it looked like the painters tried to slop it all on in one coat, which they probably did.

Here are also some 'before and after' pictures of the wall between the toilet and the bathtub, and behind the mirror.

I also wanted to share this little bit of our neighborhood animal encounter. Now, I've seen raccoons in the area before, but I have never seen one up in a tree. (I didn't know they could!) So I was pretty surprised to see a family of 5 raccoons, clambering up the two trees directly in front of our apartment!(Which is on the top/3rd floor.) It was funny and strange. They kept peeking over at us and getting tangled in small twigs/branches. They went up as far as they could, hung out for about an hour and left.

I realize that there is no knitting or fiber content in this post. I've been experimenting with some crochet patterns and I think I will be crocheting a new rug for our new bathroom soon.

New buttons and my love for alpaca

This is the final month of Project Spectrum! Such a unique and original idea, thanks to Lolly! I really loved it, even though I didn't always have the greatest pictures or projects. Seeing what other people were up to was really fun. The yarns I got from Mama E were great too.

Yesterday My fella, his sister and I went on an impromptu shopping rampage downtown. We hit up Dressew, a plethora of shoe stores and Button Button (<-- See #4), where I found the perfect buttons to put on my red cropped cardi. The larger purse at the top of the picture above is one of two purses I bought on our shopping spree. The smaller clutch shown next to the buttons is a gift from my mom while she was in town just a couple weeks ago.

I don't know how long I will have Angela's spinning wheel at my place, so I am trying to spin up as much as I can. Shown here is some lovely alpaca fleece I bought while I was in Australia. I have been dying to spin this up! Let me tell you, alpaca spins up so nice and easy! I am discovering that my love for alpaca knows no bounds.

Skivvies

I think I must be the only one that feels the need to sew her own underwear. It's cheap, accessible and comes in a variety of stlyes and colors. But lately I have been very unsatisfied with the state of store-bought skivvies. They don't really fit right, they are uncomfortable, and they aren't very well made. On top of that, all the underwear I've shopped through are made in sweatshops. So with a good idea of what my ideal pair of underwear would be I have sewn my own! I have to say I am very pleased with what I've got here. They are definitely the most comfortable pair of underwear I have ever worn, and they're cute! And they cost me the same price as they would in the store. I know almost everyone will think that it's way too much effort for something as trivial as underwear but let me say this. Underwear is not trivial to me. I love underwear and now I am making my own.

Co-ordinated

I love how co-ordinating colors are drawn to each other. Or it could be some sort of subliminal thing that I am doing. Over a month ago when I bought yarn for my Fella, I also bought yarn for my own sweater. A really lovely deep red. The color of the sweater shown in the picture by the model is green. A few days ago I cast on for the sweater with needles I already have in my quickly growing selection. I needed 2 sizes and the colors of the needles just happened to be red and green. Then two days ago I picked up a new clear vinyl bag with a cherry print in red and green. And yesterday I got a new duvet cover in a wicked two-toned swirly green. All of these shades of green and red are really similar. It is really weird, and looks very cool if not a bit overboard. Anyway, I am almost done the back piece and will casting on one of the front pieces. I love the color. It's just the right shade of red.

On a side note, it is my sister's 22nd birthday today! Happy Birthday to Diane! She is here visiting with my mom (both from Calgary).