FO: Malabrigo Abalone

Project: Abalone by Beata Jezek

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Polar Morn

Needles: US8

I am so proud of this cardigan! I've already worn it a few times and it is so nice and cozy. I do worry a little bit about the pilling but so far it doesn't seem too bad. I made quite a few modifications to the pattern so that it covers more in the front, all of which are recorded on my project page. I really loved how simple this pattern was and how easy it was to modify. This is the first project that I've done major modifications to and it didn't end up in a complete disaster - yay!

The End of 30 for 30

Yesterday was the last day for my 30 for 30 challenge. I had to extend it by a day because I was sick for a day and stayed home in my pjs...But 30 days of wearing 30 different outfits from just 30 pieces! Here's what I chose for my 30 items:

Pants (4)
Black "skinny" pants
Black slacks
Pinstripe pants
Jeans

Skirts (2)
Blue skirt
Snake skin print skirt

Dress (1)
floral-y print dress

Tops (16)
turquoise jacket
cream polka-dot sheer blouse
long black cardigan
cream floral lace blouse
long black cardigan
black knotted sheer blouse
open gray cardigan
black striped tank
pink/coral top
grey 3/4 sleeve
new knit cardi
white cowl tank
purple plaid button up
grey ModCloth jacket
dark grey cowl sweater
white 3/4 sleeve tunic

Shoes (7)
grey button boots
grey suede boots
peep toe flats
black wedges
chucks
brown wedge boots
red peep toe wedges

I kind of cheated in that I didn't pick out all 30 at once. I had a rough idea of what I wanted, then I would swap out some stuff if I decided I wanted to include one thing instead of another. I didn't realize I had picked out so many tops. But I guess that makes sense if I'm going to be layering. I wish I had more skirts, but it's a lot easier to wear pants to work, so I stuck with those. I also think I chose a lot of shoes, but they're all a bit different, so that's not terrible. Now for the outfits:

Day 1: Black "skinny" pants, (grey tank), turquoise jacket, peep toe flats

Day 2: Black slacks, cream polka-dot sheer blouse, long black cardigan, black wedges

Day 3: Black "skinny" pants, cream floral lace blouse, long black cardigan, peep toe flats

Day 4: Jeans, black knotted sheer blouse, open gray cardigan, grey button boots

Day 5: Jeans, black striped tank, Chucks

Day 6: Floral-y print dress, grey tights, grey suede boots

Day 7: Pinstripe pants, pink/coral top, open grey cardigan, peep toe flats

Day 8: Jeans, grey 3/4 sleeve, new knit cardi, grey suede boots

Day 9: Blue skirt, (sweater tights), white cowl tank, (khaki coat), brown wedge boots

Day 10: Jeans, purple plaid button up, grey suede boots

Day 11: Jeans, black striped tank, grey heather jacket, Chucks

Day 12: Jeans, dark grey cowl sweater, red peep toe wedges

Day 13: Jeans, white 3/4 sleeve tunic, Chucks

Day 14: Black "skinny" pants, dark grey cowl sweater, grey suede boots

Day 15: Pinstripe pants, black knotted sheer blouse, new knit cardi, peep toe flats

Day 16: 

Day 17: Jeans, purple plaid shirt, grey ModCloth jacket, grey suede boots

Day 18: Jeans, black knotted sheer blouse, new knit cardi, grey suede boots

Day 19: Jeans, purple plaid shirt, grey ModCloth jacket, grey button boots

Day 20: Jeans, (black tank), grey ModCloth jacket, Chucks

Day 21: Jeans, black knotted sheer blouse, open gray cardigan, peep toe flats

Day 22: Floral-y print dress, grey tights, open gray cardigan, black wedges

Day 23 (2/24): Snake skin print skirt, dark grey cowl sweater, (long plum socks), grey suede boots

Day 24 (2/25): Jeans, turquoise jacket, grey suede boots

Day 25 (2/26): Jeans, (black tank), new knit cardi, peep toe flats

Day 26 (2/27): Jeans, (white tank), ModCloth jacket, peep toe flats

Day 27 (2/28): Jeans, black striped tank, long black cardigan, peep toe flats

Day 28 (3/1): Black slacks, white cowl tank, (green jacket), black wedges

Day 29 (3/2): Pinstripe pants, black knotted sheer blouse, long black cardigan, peep toe flats

Day 30 (3/3): Black "skinny" pants, (grey tank), turquoise jacket, grey button boots

Notice that Day 16 is blank. I could not for the life of me remember what I wore on that day. It was right in the middle of the week, so it was a work day. I went back either the day after or 2 days after to write down what I wore and I drew a complete blank. But I'm pretty sure it was different than the other outfits. Hopefully.

Some things I learned from this challenge:

1. It is hard to come up with different outfits. Maybe I've lost some of my creative juice, but I started just switching up the shoes in some of my more-liked outfits and calling that new. If you look at Kendi Everyday, her outfits looked completely different each day. I did tend to not plan out my outfits until the morning of, so some more advanced planning could have helped a bit.
2. I have a lot of clothes I don't wear. I usually have a few favorite pieces and then some more unique items that I can't/don't wear as much. In the future, I need to make sure I buy clothes that I really want to wear all the time. I bought that jacket from ModCloth right before 30for30 and that's all I wanted to wear, which is great. But then there is another sweater that I got from H&M that doesn't fit that great, and isn't that comfortable, so I don't wear it that often (and I didn't include it in my 30for30).
3. I don't have a lot of color in my wardrobe. Well, I do, but I don't wear it that much. I wear a lot of grey and black (I would have looked like I was going to a funeral when I went to the career fair on 3/2 if it weren't for the pink headband I was wearing). Don't get me wrong, I love colors. But I also don't think it's such a bad thing to have mostly neutrals in my closet. If that's what I wear most, and I'm drawn to them in the store, then so be it. But I think part of the reason I like neutrals (read: black and grey) so much is that I can make a colorful knitted cowl and wear it with no clashing problems. I think the crafter in my has influenced my taste in clothes so that I can make anything with any color yarn that I find gorgeous and not have to worry about what I can wear it with.
4. Working in an office makes this challenge more challenging. If I could wear jeans to work, I would have picked out more than just one pair for the challenge. I had mostly slacks I was wearing, which would be completely different from my style if I was back in school. I feel a bit like I have lost my style since I'm limited in my clothes during the week. I got 3 days (casual Friday plus weekends) of the week to wear anything I wanted, instead of the usual 7. Although now I'm working part time, so I will get 4-5 days of the week to wear anything I want. But working isn't really an excuse. I see cute work outfits all the time in stores and online, so there's no reason I can't wear something fashionable to work.

Boy, this is a long post. I shall end it here, but I do have to talk about that knit cardigan at some point and the new cowl I'm working on. Oh, and Miriam is here to visit, yay! So maybe I will have some adventures to talk about later.


Edit:
I forgot one more thing that I learned - laundry! I usually do my laundry every 2 weeks, or around then when I get a chance...but with this 30for30 thing, I felt like I had to do my laundry much more often! Especially those jeans - look how many times I wore them! It will definitely be nice to wear other clothes in my closet for a while, and give those recently worn items a rest.

One More Thing...

Yesterday I tried this brilliant recipe for Filet Mignon in Red Wine Balsamic Reduction. I was drawn to it because it seemed so simple. Normally I steer clear of cooking meat because I'm not a very good cook...I can't really tell when it's done and I tend to overcook it. But this recipe for filet mignon looked so easy and didn't require that many ingredients, so I thought, what the hell, why not?

It was delicious.

I got a little less than 2 lb of meat, substituted more shallots for the mushrooms (ick!) and used regular wine (Red Diamond 2008?) instead of cooking wine. I also didn't cook very consistently; for example, I had to take the pan off the heat for a sec while I cut up the shallots (oops...). But the meat turned out great nonetheless, and I had enough for about 4-5 servings (it was so good I had to eat two slices out of the eight). I cheated a bit and served it over pre-made garlic mashed potatoes, but really, I can only do so much cooking in a day.

I think this is a perfect recipe to make for dinner guests (or, even better, an indulgent meal for yourself). It's simple, quick, and turns out amazing results. Although make sure you have a corkscrew on hand if you're using a new bottle of wine...I had an interesting time trying to open a bottle of wine without one (it's possible, though not recommended).

Halfway There

It's day 15 of the 30 for 30 challenge and I seem to be going strong. I still have a few items that I haven't even worn yet, but I'm also starting to re-wear some things. Here are the days you missed:

Day 8: Jeans, grey 3/4 sleeve, new knit cardi, grey suede boots
Day 9: Blue skirt, (sweater tights), white cowl tank, (khaki coat), brown wedge boots
Day 10: Jeans, purple plaid button up, grey suede boots
Day 11: Jeans, black striped tank, grey heather jacket, Chucks
Day 12: Jeans, dark grey cowl sweater, red peep toe wedges
Day 13: Jeans, white 3/4 sleeve tunic, Chucks
Day 14: Black "skinny" pants, dark grey cowl sweater, grey suede boots
Day 15: Pinstripe pants, black knotted sheer blouse, new knit cardi, peep toe flats

I included some things in parentheses just so I could remember the full outfit, but they aren't part of the 30 items. I still have to talk about the cardigan I finished knitting, but I will save that for later.

On another related note, I made my first sale on Smashion! Yay!

30 for 30 Update

Day 1: Black "skinny" pants, gray tank, turquoise jacket, peep toe flats
Day 2: Black slacks, cream polka-dot sheer blouse, long black cardigan, black wedges
Day 3: Black "skinny" pants, cream floral lace blouse, long black cardigan, peep toe flats
Day 4: Jeans, black knotted sheer blouse, open gray cardigan, grey button boots
Day 5: Jeans, black striped tank, Chucks
Day 6: Floral-y print dress, grey tights, grey suede boots
Day 7: Pinstripe pants, pink/coral top, open grey cardigan, peep toe flats

Sorry, no pictures, but none of the outfits were that fabulous anyway...otherwise, so far so good, right? The only problem I've encountered so far is that Spring is coming early. I picked out clothes mainly for layering or wearing alone in relatively cold weather (Bay Area Winter). But it seems that Spring has decided to intrude on my fun and make things all sunshine-y (and pollen-y). I can make do with a light blouse and pants/skirt, but that allows for much fewer options for outfits. We'll see how this goes.