Another beginning

I survived! The deed is done, the battle is fought, and the brave soldier has come marching home. My test is done, and now the third year of medical school begins.

I realize in my head that it's a little silly to wait "until a good time" to start on new goals, or even to think that beginnings (like New Year's, or the beginning of a school year) are necessarily "the time" to set new goals. But I guess at times like these, we're really looking to the future, and that brings to mind all these things we want to change and accomplish. So, on the brink of starting a new year, I looked back, looked ahead, and came up with a little something that I hope I can use to guide me through the next year.

Things to Be in the Coming Year:

1) Loving 

As a girlfriend, daughter, sister, friend

2) Consistent

Maintain a journal for once!

3) Unplugged

Stop wasting so much time on the Internet

4) Creative!

Keep on crafting

5) Active

Try to get exercise

6) Healthy

(especially since I'll be guzzling so much heavily sugared and creamed coffee)

7) Frugal

Watch that budget

8) Kind

In the sense that I need to be kinder to myself and stop being so negative

9) Tidy

Actually maintain cleanliness, not just in big cleaning purges

10) Punctual

Professionalism matters even more this year

11) Studious

Because cramming is the worst thing ever

12) Engaged

Show interest, get involved, ask questions

What about you guys? Are there goals or resolutions you have set for yourself? How do you go about sticking to them? 

Thanks for reading!

-Annie

Tape and Smartphones

Hi all!

Test day will be upon me very very soon. At this stage it's reached the point where I really just want it to be over and done with. Soon!

Just a quick post to show off what I do with some of my breaks. 

I assume by now that most of you are familiar with washi tape. I thought it was cute, but kind of silly to blow money on...but really, this stuff is super fun. :D

First, in the course of studying, I wanted bookmarks. It just so happened that I had rediscovered How About Orange (super-fun blog, highly recommended!) and found this tutorial for a heart-shaped corner bookmark.

Whipped up two super-quick with some notebook paper I had on hand. Unpleasant surprise: they didn't stay flat and folded as well as I had hoped. And of course they weren't exactly pretty. But with a little tape to hold things together...

Cute! Far from perfect, you can even see the notebook paper lines on the chevron one, although I do think it's cool that the lines almost matched the peaks. :)

It just so happens that I had recently found this tutorial for a washi tape-covered box, and even had one of those white necklace boxes just laying around. So when I had a mini-meltdown around lunch, I did this to cool myself off:

Prettified!

The rest of my possessions had better watch out, they're about to get WASHI'ED, muahaha!

Final note before I toddle back to my flashcards: did everyone else already know that there's a Blogger smartphone app? All you have to do is search Blogger in your app store and it comes up!

To tell the truth, I could immediately tell that there would be some problems with it. You don't have a lot of freedom in formatting on the phone, and I find typing on my phone downright annoying sometimes. But the reason why I got the app was that now, I can take pictures on my cell phone and immediately upload them and save as a draft! No more excuses! No more waiting until I've charged my camera or found the energy to connect my phone to the computer and upload photos!

Maybe this will up my posting frequency, who knows? I love technology, guys. :)

Welp, that's it for now! Until after Step 1, my friends!

-Annie

Magic

Hi all!

Brief update on life: I'm currently immersed in cramming for USMLE Step 1, which any American medical student will tell you is one of the most (if not THE most) important standardized exams of my life.

Not only does it test pretty much ALL the knowledge I theoretically gathered over two years of medical school, but the score on this exam matters a ton for where I eventually do my residency (essentially my paid training years). For those of you who are unfamiliar with the system, I will literally be taking exams for the rest of my life, and they will arguably be harder than this one. But the kicker is that for those later exams, I only have to pass. I don't have to worry about elbowing my way through the percentiles amongst thousands of extremely intelligent peers for a score that could determine the future of my career.

So. A little stressed. I hope you all forgive me for the long hiatuses. Also, soon after, I will be beginning third year. Which is...sort of like an apprenticeship, is the best way it can be described. I'll be busy and tired, but I will have free time (I just don't really get to choose when that free time is...). Hopefully I'll be able to bang out a little more crafting time next year. We'll see. If all goes well, you might even get a short post about  my mom's Mother's Day gift within the next couple weeks!

And now for the title. In the years that this blog has existed, I have always regretted that I couldn't directly reply to comments, especially when publicity on my infinity scarf took off and people kept coming back with questions. I tried to the edit the post itself to answer their questions, but many of those people never got direct answers because I couldn't figure out how to enable the "Reply" function.

It shames me as a member of the generation that grew up alongside Google that it took me this long to simply look up how to do it. And I found it. It was so easy. Straight from Blogger Help itself, this is how you enable the Reply  function in your comments section. Freaking magic.

I hope that helps someone else as much as it helped me. And now, back to studying.

-Annie

A Braided Scarf with Extra Glitz

Hi guys! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season! I had a fun break, and I'm doing my best to stay on track with schoolwork and working out this year. To those of you who make New Year's resolutions, or who (like me) are constantly trying to turn over a new leaf and change for the better, I read this interesting article about how to stick to your goals. I don't know how well it works, but it's certainly worth a try!

So for this block of classes, one of my goals was to maintain attendance at my lectures. They aren't required, but my theory is that if I go to them instead of watching the video recordings afterward, I might manage my studying a bit better. Going along with that, I have also been trying to dress nicely for my classes. Some days I really only have time for the T-shirt, sweater, and jeans routine, but most days I have more time for a more "special" outfit, and it's part of today's outfit that I wanted to share with you.

This braided scarf concept has been circulating around the internet for quite a while. I really love wearing it this way and have shown it to a lot of my friends. I won't bother with a tutorial since the link already explains it perfectly well, but I just wanted to share a some inspiration for jazzing it up a little.

So today, I was planning on tying a brown silk scarf in a braid, but it lacked something. I realized that I was wearing these gold hoop earrings (they are not in the photos, as by the end of the day my allergies had started acting up and necessitated removing them), and I really needed a little more sparkle for a cohesive look.

And what did I reach for? A simple gold necklace. A little weaving and ta-dah!

(One of these days, my room will be clean and I will not be ashamed to have a wider frame in my photos. >_>)

It came out looking pretty darn cool, and it was very easy to do.

I simply unclasped the necklace and fed most of the chain through a loop at the very bottom of the braid. Leaving a very short portion dangling, I wove the chain through the braid, looped it behind the braid at the top, and wove it back down again along a different strand. Then all I had to do was refasten the chain at the back of the bottom of the brain and pow! Instant glitz!

So for those of you who find that the fancy scarf braid isn't fancy enough, give this a shot! Use a pretty chain, or maybe a string of beads or pearls. And of course, try this with other scarf-tying methods, too! It could really turn your scarf into something extra-special.

This braid and a mock men's tie (as shown above) are probably the ways I most commonly wear "fashion" scarves as opposed to scarves worn for warmth.

How do you guys like to wear your scarves? Would you try what I did with my braided scarf?

Thanks for reading!

-Annie

Day 27: Calling it

This is Day 27 of my 30 Days of Commitment (see the other days here), and, sadly, it will be the last.

You may have noticed that there was a laaaaarge gap between this and my last post, and that was (mostly) intentional.

The original purpose of this series was for me to try just committing to something, as part of my experiment in learning how to be an adult. While it didn't quite work out, I've still learned from this experience. In the end, I have things that I prioritize more highly. Sadly, some things that aren't even a high priority for me (like window-shopping the internet for crafting inspiration, as I mentioned in this post) I end up doing before more important things anyways, due to a variety of reasons ranging from laziness to the conviction that "I'll have more time later."

I'm glad I decided to do this series, because it's helped me start figuring out how to make time for the things that really matter. Over Thanksgiving break, I spent hours playing video games and computer games with my brother and shopping with my mother. I could have spent that time blogging, or crafting, or even studying, but in the end, spending time with my family for the first time in three and a half months mattered much, much more.

So, sadly, I won't be able to see this series through. But ultimately, it did serve its purpose. Thanks to those of you who followed me on this short journey.

However, while I won't be posting daily anymore, I will try to make sure to update more frequently. Three months hiatuses are a bit long, don't you think? Let's see if I can at least check in with y'all every week or so.

With that, I have a mountain of studying to get back to! Catch you later!

-Annie

Commitment Day 17: TV Shows I Love

A tangential note: A comment on my Youtube video for the Forever 21 Knock-Off Scarf brought an interesting point to my attention. The pattern I provide is much more a stitch pattern than it is an actual scarf pattern, at least in my eyes, yet I never named the pattern. I am proposing that we name this stitch the Crossed Clusters Stitch. What do you guys think? Do you have any suggestions for a better name?

Welcome to Day 17 of 30 Days of Commitment!

Today, some classmates and I are getting together to watch a few episodes of one of my favorite shows, Doctor Who. What better day to talk about some of my absolute favorite TV shows?

Read on if you'd like to see! :)

Commitment Day 12: Giving in

This is Day 12 of my 30 Days of Commitment series! See other posts here.

Seriously, you guys, my bad. Four days of posts, all missed! I'll do better for the rest of the month, promise. :)

Exam week ended with a rush of activity, as I packed up for the weekend to attend a medical conference. Now, a new block is starting, a big "cultural performance" of sorts is coming up at the end of the week, and my room is a jungle that needs to be tamed.

So I will continue to treat this posting series as an exercise in time management, and I am taking the following lesson from the past four days of non-posting:

There are just some days when you need to give in and let go of something. For me this past weekend, that was blogging.

Stay tuned...I'll be back tomorrow with something really nice!

-Annie

Commitment Day 7: Books I Love

Read the rest of my 30 Days of Commitment series here.

Hi guys. It's Day 7 of my series, and I have a terrible secret to share with you: I love reading.

Okay, so that's not terrible at all. Nor is it really a secret.

I've loved to read for as long as I am able to remember. Fun anecdote: my mother tells me that when I was three, she first found out that I was reading from my daycare teachers! I think they were worried about me sitting in a corner by myself, reading and not playing with the other kids? I'm not sure.

Anyways, I devoured books when I was a kid. I was very quiet and shy and probably kind of weird and oblivious, too (still am), so instead of horsing around with the other kids, I read books. It quickly became apparent that while I enjoyed reading of any kind (did anyone else grow up with the Charlie Brown 'Cyclopedia series???), my true love was fantasy. Wizards, fairy-tale kingdoms, strange creatures, magic...it all drew me in like a bee to honey.

I think the truly wonderful thing about fantasy is the worlds that the authors create. Entire cultures, rules for the properties and usage of magic, new lifeforms; all of these came to life for me in fantasy books. I loved imagining these worlds, recreating them, wanting to experience life in these worlds. It was just mesmerizing.

Now here's my problem: I am also a re-reader. I think this really started with the Harry Potter series. JK Rowling has this great knack for weaving together a complex storyline that suddenly brings together so many disparate elements scattered throughout the story. Nothing pleased me more than to read her books over and over, suddenly understanding her hidden clues, the not-yet-revealed backstory. It was intense stuff.

The only problem with this is that re-reading tends to leave me in a safety zone. I don't frequently go out and read new books, especially since college and med school have kept me busy. It's easier to relive a story you already know you love than venture forth and try to find a new one you will also love.

The point to all of this is that a lot of my favorite books, even now, are more young adult books. If you guys have any recommendations for more adult-oriented books, please feel free to mention them in the comments!

And so we begin... (click below to read my ridiculously huge list)

Commitment Day 3: Self-Taught, Self-Motivated

It's Day 3 of my 30 Days of Commitment series! See my other posts here.

When I talk about crocheting with my friends, they commonly ask me to teach them how to do it, or tell me it looks hard. My fellow crocheters, you know it's not all that hard, right?

I am a self-taught crocheter. I don't know how I stumbled upon it in the first place, but for years I have been in possession of a very old Crocheting for Beginners (not sure if that's quite the right title) book. I mean, this thing still had black and white printing. It was crazy.

My grandma taught me knitting when I was very young. I had a brief "knitting revival" in college (AKA a scarf that took me a year to finish), but it left me open to trying new things, and when that old book caught my eye, I decided to give crocheting a try.

It was hard at first. I had to squint at these old grayscale photos for long minutes, then squint and poke at my work, figuring out things as simple as how to count stitches and what on earth this whole turning chain business was.

The worst experience was probably learning to crochet in the round and in a spiral, which I first tackled making the Tiny Striped Turtle. Remember these guys? I don't know about you guys, but it was an absolute nightmare figuring out how to count stitches in the round. But I did it, and check out my success!

That little yellow turtle was my first true crocheting success! Not long after, I went to study abroad in China, armed with a couple hooks. After finding some yarn, I tackled the Swirls Cap pattern, which turned into yet another battle with round-counting, in which I finally mastered the art of keeping count of my stitches!

This is a very old project (like I said, one of my first). Maybe one day I'll do a post recapping my pre-blog projects.

The point of this is not just to tell you guys a boring story about myself. The point is to encourage all of you who read this to jump in and try new things. I would never have gained the confidence I have now if I hadn't picked up that book on a whim and given a new skill a shot. I would not be at this point if I had not picked patterns beyond my skill level and slowly battled my way through them.

If instead I had sat at my desk, admiring the work of others and not trying to surpass myself, I probably wouldn't be crocheting now. If you want to learn, learn! There are hundreds of great books out there to learn from, and probably thousands of instructional videos accessible with a few quick YouTube searches!

Sadly, given the limited time I've had in past years to really "pursue the craft", my skill level hasn't increased by much. However, I do have a few goals set for myself to accomplish in the coming years.

1. Make more amigurumi besides cute little turtles
2. Learn to design amigurumi
3. Crochet clothing
4. Give knitting another try
5. Learn to knit cables
6. Sew my own clothing

What do I have to spur me on? I have this giant collection of patterns and inspirations for amigurumi:

This is just for amigurumi...you don't want to see the massive collections of knitting and crocheting patterns and crafting  and sewing tutorials that I've amassed over the years.

I also have these books as motivation. On the left is a great collection of crochet stitches that I picked up at a used book store. In the middle is a present from a friend, a collection of gorgeous sweater patterns (all knitting patterns, all utilizing cables). On the right is an awesome book of sweater patterns. You can mix and match body, sleeve, neckline, and pocket styles. It's so freaking cool.

And, by browsing crafting sites and online stores like Modcloth and Anthropologie, I have accumulated hundreds of inspirations of clothes, accessories, and crafts I want to make.

It seems like a lot. What use do I have for all of these future ideas, with the finite time I have? How can I expect to master all these skills?

I mean, maybe I won't. I certainly won't recreate every single interesting dress or jacket that I saw on Modcloth. But the point is that I have collected all these things to motivate myself. When I look at my "hoard" of resources and inspiration, I see a goal I want to reach. I want to be that good. I want to be that skilled. I want to be able to devote that kind of time to hobbies I love.

So, inexperienced crafter that I am, this is the advice I offer:

- If you want to do it, do it, don't just sigh about how you aren't good enough.
- Challenge yourself. That's how you learn the fastest.
- Be brave enough to set unrealistic goals and acknowledge them as such.
- Collect your inspirations, and encourage yourself to keep moving forward

Now I want to hear from you! Share in the comments how you learned to sew/knit/crochet/whatever it is that you do! What is your advice to budding crafters?

-Annie

Committing

Hi everyone!

As ever, it's been quite a while since the last time I've posted. I'm amazed, despite the radio silence, I've still gained a few followers over the past months, and the number of views of my one video and followers of my Youtube channel just keep rising. Thanks to all of you for being patient and for believing that one day I would come back to this blog!

Also, food for thought, The Stingy Stitcher is already more than two years old! Hooray!

As far as an update on my life, I have begun my second year of medical school. Now that classes are no longer graded pass/fail, and the sheer amount of information has increased by so much, I've tried to put a lot more focus on my studies.

In fact, I've been trying to turn around a lot of things in my life recently. I have to-do lists everywhere reminding me of what I need to do, ranging from remembering to do the dishes to taking care of the handwashing to cleaning out my email inbox. Here is just a sampling of the things I've been trying to address in life:

1. Maintain a budget
2. Daily studying regimen
3. Cooking as often as possible
4. Keeping my room clean (you have no idea how difficult this is for me)
5. Keep crafting!
6. Updating my blog

Aha! Did you catch that? Essentially, as an exercise in responsibility, I am committing to updating this blog every day of November! Woo-hoo! Super-exciting, right?

Obviously, I can't promise every single post will be an in-depth tutorial or some kind of "Ta-da, I finished another project" type of post. Some might just be a collection of photos of my many WIPs, or collections of my inspirations. Some may have nothing to do with crafting at all. The purpose of this is for me to practice a little accountability.

I hope you guys join me in this step toward (maybe) becoming a little more mature, and I hope you enjoy it. I'm around that age when I really need to start acting like an adult. Or at least pretending I am one. ;)

See you soon!

-Annie

Necessary Evils

It seems that all the "important" things in life are always the more difficult and awkward to address.

Backstory: My school is hosting a silent auction, and I was considering making some items to donate. When I they asked for the estimated monetary value, I decided to do a quick search to see how much people are charging for handmade items.

Lo and behold, during my search, I found someone selling a product that, for all intents and purposes, looks exactly like something I've provided a pattern for. Which brings me to the topic of today's post.

I post patterns on this blog because I want people to know how to make the pretty scarves and hats they see online. I value my ability to say, "I could make that," and I want other people to be able to say the same thing when they see easily craftable items being sold for high prices.

As I say in my note (in the left column), you are all perfectly free to sell items you make from my patterns. It's fun to make money doing something you love. However, and this is very important, please provide a link to the pattern you used. I want your customers to have the same freedom you did in using a pattern I provided for free to make something for your own use (whether that be to keep, gift, or sell).

I know this is counterproductive to the seller. And I know the particular pattern in question is simple, and it is not impossible that this seller came up with it on her own. Also, as far as I know, I have no legal clout in this.

However, in the spirit of fair sharing and good faith that I have found are a huge part of the online crafting community, I hope that people will be honest.

Thanks for reading, guys.

-Annie

The New Year begins!

Hello everyone! As always, it's been a long time since I've posted, and yet again this will be more or less a quick in and out to update you guys and say hi. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

My first order of business is to give you guys a huge thank you! The video I posted on the stitch used in my Forever 21 scarf has over 7000 views, and I have more than 70 people subscribed to my channel after just 1 video! I know that's small potatoes in the YouTube world, but it makes me feel warm inside that people are interested by what I do. Stay tuned, YouTube viewers, as another video is (eventually) forthcoming, although this one is oriented toward fashion rather than crafting. I hope you all will like it!

Also, I wanted to submit some proof to you all that I have actually been crafting during my long silences. So here are a couple of the things that have been occupying my time.

Pictured above, a shirtdress I picked up at the thrift store. It was much longer before and made me look absolutely ridiculous, so I had to hack off several inches, and now it's stylin'! Action shots will come in the future.

At the top is my new tote bag, made using this tutorial. The gray is a suede fabric, and the print is blue and gray with black characters, cranes, and other very Oriental-looking designs.

Below it is a black infinity scarf made using a lacy pattern from the book The Harmony Guide to Crochet Stitches, called the Open Crescent stitch. It's a great book I picked up for just a few bucks from a resale shop. I used Caron Simply Soft Black yarn and a G hook.

The gray is a scarf I made for my boyfriend using the free Lion Brand Thermal Scarf pattern. It's super stretchy and warm, and I might end up making my own in a more colorful yarn. I used Caron Simply Soft Heather Gray and a J hook.

The two turtles I have there are the first of 7 turtles made as presents for some of the friends I've made here at med school. Clearly not as much crocheting got done over break as there should have been. >_>

The black hat is a (possibly) work in progress. I wanted to imitate the hat I wore in the photo below, but I can't figure out knit cables to save my life.

I used another pattern from the crochet stitches book to try to imitate cables, but it doesn't involve post stitches, but puff stitches instead. I say possibly a work in progress because my original intention was to add a brim, but I'm not sure if it's necessary. Also, the ribbing (which was added on using this tutorial) is just a tad tight, enough so that every time I put it on I need to fuss with my hair in order for it to look right. Still, I'd say it's already a pretty rocking success.

It was also made with Caron Simply Soft Black yarn and an H hook.

This white hat was made using the famous Pretty Puffs slouchy hat pattern. I learned a lot from this hat. I was not using the same weight of yarn as she did or the same hook size, so I couldn't be sure that following her pattern exactly would get me the results I wanted. I was using DK weight yarn (sorry, don't remember the brand) and (I believe) a J hook. I ended up only needing to add an extra row of increases to get the hat to fit right, but it took me three tries and lots and lots of frogging to figure that out.

So that's what I've been up to! For 2012, I have so many projects I want to tackle, and I'm really really excited for the new year! Did you guys make any New Year's resolutions? Do you also have a massive list of crafty things to accomplish?

Thanks for sticking around! I will see you next time!

-Annie

Just popping in!

Hello everyone! I've been in China for the past three weeks, and apparently they block blogspot sites, hence the lack of posting for a while.

I'm afraid I'm at a very busy time in my life; I have to pack up for school this week and next week is days and days of orientation activities. Therefore, posting activity will still be low and will likely remain low for a long, long time, given the workload of medical school.

However, fear not! I still intend to squeeze in what crafting I can, as it's a great way to maintain sanity if properly managed, and I will be sure to share it with you in time.

I'd like to give a shout-out to Rachel of One Pretty Thing. A few weeks ago she featured my blue infinity scarf on her Crochet Round-Up, and I have to say, I was so excited about it. If you haven't done so yet, add One Pretty Thing to your daily routine of web prowling, because the tutorials and projects she features are gold, and I have found so many great blogs through Rachel's site. Thank you, Rachel, for all your hard work and for featuring me!

I'll be seeing you around, folks! Wish me luck as I adjust to the newest phase of my life, and keep an eye out for me on your GFC reading lists! ;) I'll keep you updated on the latest news on the crafting front!

-Annie

I liiiiiiive!

Well, hello there everyone! I must apologize for the long, long hiatus, but schoolwork does not wait for anyone. *sigh* That, and my life has been thrown in all manner of directions since I graduated (heck yeah, I GRADUATED). I will be a medical student this fall (XD YES), which I predict means I will have even less time to craft than I have in the past few years. It's a sad thing, but, eh, the sacrifices we make for our futures, yes?

Anyways, a good bit has been happening on the crafting front in the past (almost three!) months, and I'm super-excited to share it with you. However, although I'm sure you're all on the edges of your seats, today's post isn't really about anything crafty. I thought I'd share a little something and just let you all know that I am, in fact, alive.

There is a second-hand store near my school called The Bottomline, and they have a fabulous mission to provide lightly used, work-appropriate clothing at great prices. I've found a couple great things there, but nothing (NOTHING) compares to what I found at the end of my finals week.

That jacket? Isn't it gorgeous? Sorry for the awkward photo, a clotheshanger did not wish to make itself available. However, the jacket itself is not the awesome part. Are you ready?

WHAAAAAT???

My dear friends, I paid less than 5% of this beautiful, NEVER-USED jacket's retail value. $9.00 for a Michael jacket. Let me tell you right now, I am the person who prowls the clearance racks at clothing stores. I cringe when I pay more than $20.00 for just about any wearable item. It boggles my mind that I own this. No, it's not a vintage Chanel dress I found for a dollar or something nuts like that, but it's so exciting, especially with the expensive thrift stores in my area. >.<

Ah, don't you love thrifting?

So the story goes that a hotel chain (I can't remember which) used to have this as a part of their uniform. They changed their uniform, and, lo, The Bottomline is inundated with boxes and boxes of these lovely jackets. And, lucky me, who hadn't gone thrifting in months, I walked into the store when only three or four were left, saw this hanging on a display, and instantly snagged it.

It's fate.

I'll be back periodically in the coming weeks with more crafty posts. Much crocheting and sewing has taken place, and more is taking place and is planned for the summer. Here is just a teaser of the many things I have to share with you.

Mad photoshopping (AKA Paint.net) skillzzzz

Thank you for stopping by!

-Annie

Excitement! I've been featured!

Great news! So I should have done this ages ago, but I've been featured twice already! I feel somehow validated, knowing that people have taken notice of my work and thought it original enough to share. Thanks to them, and also to my awesome viewers. As I am writing this, I have already surpassed 3800 pageviews, and it's so exciting! Thank you all for reading, and I hope to keep seeing you coming back around to hang with the Stingy Stitcher!




Moving on: the first person to feature me was the awesome Amanda of Today's Top 20, a blog devoted to showcasing all the amazing crafters who are online these days. Do y'all remember those Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtle hats I posted a while back? She added those to her top 20 about a month ago, and it's taken me 'til now to remember to thank her in turn. ^_^;; Sorry, Amanda!

Please do check out her blog! Not only is it awesome in itself to see so many creative people spotlighted, but it is also an extension of my gratitude to her. Enjoy the craftiness!



Next up is the wondrous Wendy, Lord and Master of Copycat Crafts. Seriously guys, this blog is the best idea ever. No one who has been out and about in the crafting community could possibly miss how popular and prevalent knock-offs have become, and I can't believe no one else has thought to devote an entire website to these wonderful pretties.

Wendy was nice enough to showcase my Forever 21-inspired infinity scarf, which has rapidly become my favorite scarf. I mean, duh: if you wear lots of a particular color, make a scarf in that color. Only took two years to figure out. Anyways, thank you again to Wendy!

I absolutely must restate this as many times as possible. Visit. Their. Sites. Seriously, you will not regret it. Sites like Today's Top 20 and Copycat Crafts are just amazing for sharing knowledge and building up your electronic network. Don't miss out!

A fun quiz

So my life is absolutely crazy right now. I'm so preoccupied with my med school applications that I haven't done any crafting (SO SAD). So instead, I'm sharing a little quiz I found on your color personality. I think it's actually pretty accurate, at least for me. My color is green: modern, not trendy, social, yet introverted. I like it. :)

Happy birthday...

So my birthday was just this week! Thanks to my wonderful boyfriend...

Yo-yo madness!

...for getting me this deeelicious fudge brownie cheesecake!

Thank you also to my great friends who made the day so fun and special!

But now it's time to move on. My little brother's birthday is coming up soon, and although I already promised to buy him a watch (because he's obsessed with knowing what time it is when we drag him out shopping), I wanted to get him a little something else.

He's been needing a new backpack to keep his stuff in for Chinese school and AWANA.  I had a bit of extra time this week between studying for tests, so I whipped something up really quickly. And I mean quickly! This backpack took only two hours, and I don't know about you, but I am a sloooow worker. Here we go!

Sweetness...

Now if you're interested, I have a tutorial here, and I went a bit picture happy. Click on "Read more" to see it!

Hello!

Welcome, all, to the home of the Stingy Stitcher! My name is Annie, known as chineseathena on Craftster, and I decided to start this blog to chronicle the hobbies that have recently caught my interest. I love crocheting, I'm trying to start sewing, and I (would) like to dabble a little in things like fashion and jewelry making. I am in my last year of college and am currently applying to medical schools. I love biology and math (though I haven't taken math for three years now) and reading youth fantasy books and manga. ;) Another part of my purpose of making this blog was to challenge myself not to retreat into my usual hole under a rock. Blogging is a form of socialization right? Right???

Me! (from over a year ago, cuz I have no photos of myself!)

On The Stingy Stitcher, you can expect to see posts about my own projects, and also links to some of the things that inspire me and various tutorials I have found (y'all have no idea exactly how many bookmarks I have for "how-tos" and inspirations...it's quite sick, actually). I really wanted to become a part of the crafting community, so here goes!

I'd like to start out my blog with a little project I am particularly proud of. One of my best friends, KD, has a thing for Japan. She has absolutely no Asian blood, but she has been formally studying Japanese for the past three years. So for her birthday, I decided to give her something very Japanese.

My inspiration began with this, a lovely sakura (translation: cherry blossom) drawstring pouch by papilionette. I also ended up using the pattern she gave for the flowers. However, I wanted to make an actual purse. After perusing my aforementioned stockpile of patterns and tutorials, I found this gem at Bend Beanies. It's so cute!

Let's begin!