DIY.

It's finished! This capelet (version 2.0) is possibly one of the quickest things I have ever knit (in part because I sort of screwed up the measurements, and it is a little bit on the small side...). I love the color and the yarn is super soft. Plus, I only ended up having to use one skein, which means this teensy garment only cost me one measly dollar to make! Take that, inflated retail store prices! After I had separated the sleeves from the body, I thought it looked a little on the short side, so I actually added extra rows to the length. I am kidding myself thinking I can actually sport this is public, so it might end up in a box FedEx'ed to Cinci for my lovely skinny beautiful friends :) But, as I have proven before on this blog, I have no shame and will show you a picture of the capelet desperately trying to reach around my back and clinging to my body for dear life. Paired with the proper outfit, it might just work, but we all know I am an impulsive photo snapper ("Deane! Get the camera! I'm binding off my last ten stitches!") and this particular shot is right after the Colts blew past the Patriots, so I had quickly stripped my Anthony Gonzalez jersey and was wearing my Colts blue Gapper tank loud and proud (if you look closely, you can even see my rhinestone horseshoe necklace). You can pick up the (free!) pattern for this charming little piece here. On the first attempt, I had attached a button at the top to close it up. That's quite obviously not needed for little grey, but if you needed to (or knit in the proper dimensions, or took time to check your gauge, EVER, like smart knitters are *supposed* to do) you can even get a cool pin and clasp it together at the top. I'm quite certain I'll be trying to knit this beauty up at least one more time before winter is over.

In the spirit of homemade crafts, I thought it would be fun to post some pictures from Halloween. We had a "costume contest" at work, and, per usual, I didn't really think about my costume until Thursday (October 30th). I had to close that night at work, and I had to open the next day, so unless I felt like braving insane crowds of cranky procrastinators at a 24 hour supercenter between my off time of 10pm and my on-again time on 7am, I had to think fast. I picked up a yellow tunic tube top on clearance at work ($2.70, WITH tax) and stopped in Walgreens on my lunch break to purchase (the last) pair of wings, a pack of pipe cleaners, and a roll of black electrical tape. When I got home that night, I quickly fashioned a homemade costume worthy of kindergarten opponents (props to the boyfriend for making the stripes, assisting in legging choice, and being the creative inspiration behind the pipe cleaner "boppers", as I kept calling them). Here's a tiny pic of the finished product:

Lots of my employees participated, which I secretly loved, and we all voted on our favorites. The winner was Jessica, who dressed up as Austin Powers. I loved hers the most because she only spent a few dollars on an "Austin Accessory Pack" (she had a seasonal job at Party City) and found the velvet suit and frilly shirt on her own. She is super crafty, and I did not know *who* it was when she walked in to work on Friday. Groovy, Jess!

Friday night, we had zero Trick-or-Treaters, but we still carved some pumpkins and put them out on the porch. Mine is the cat; Deane's is the pirate:

A curious kitten swatted at the candle inside, making for an eerie photo:

And THAT is some picture-perfect DIY! Casting on the Chain Chomp hat tonight, and hope to finish him quickly, as Joey claims he has "lots of holiday parties to attend". In work-related news, direct relatives of mine will be happy to learn that they are now entitled to an Urban/Anthro discount. You can thank me via awesome Christmas gifts. :)