Finished Object Friday, 6/22/2012

So, I mentioned on Wednesday that even though I've been absentee, I have managed to make a FEW things in the last month or so. This is primarily been my spinning (and spinning and spinning) and a brief foray in to knitting - the majority of my crafting is actually still in progress, since so much of my time is going to prepping the fleece I talked about on Wednesday!

Dish Cloths
I've been trying to go green in whatever ways I can. For example, I bought two sort-of washcloths that I've been using and washing instead of paper towels for tasks like scrubbing the bathroom. This has been a raging success - the same two cloths have done the trick for several years now. Now, my dish sponges weren't quite as disposable as paper towels, but even so, the damn things fall apart within a few months, so I figured...I should give it a try! Make a couple dish cloths out of cotton and see if they last longer than sponges would have. And, because of Nerd Wars and my inestimable love for Supernatural, I made them aligned for the show.

The top one isn't too legible, so I'm gonna leave it that way, and the bottom one says "Jerk." (they are the two main characters nicknames for each other). Considering I've never done a chart like this before, I'm not at all unhappy with how they turned out. I didn't block them or weave in the ends; I figured they'd just get out of whack again when I used them. "Jerk" has been in service all week, and so far I'm pretty satisfied! In particular, they hold soap better than I thought they would. I'm being careful to extra-soak stuff, since of course I've lost all scouring ability. :)

Rainbow spinning
At Maryland Sheep and Wool I bought 16 ounces of black-base with rainbow colors in it to spin. I LOVE rainbows. My determination was to use this, once spun, to make myself a skirt (I'm aiming for around 600 yards). So far, I've done 12 ounces (but the last I only finished today, so no pictures yet). I also taught myself to Navajo ply in May, and have used this project to practice on. All in all I'm pretty happy with how it's going. Here are the two skeins that are done so far:

Oddly, even though the blend is supposedly the same, the top one (which is the one I did first) ended up way more orange, and the bottom one way more blue. So far the third one looks to be somewhere in between, which is good - if they look TOO different I'll end up with a pretty wonky looking skirt. Interesting, the close ups of the two skeins look so similar I can hardly tell them apart! Yet at a distance, they are clearly pretty different.

Either way, I'm more-or-less in love with how it's turning out, and looking forward to finishing the fourth skein so that I can make my skirt, probably in July. So far, I've got 180 yards in one skein and 120 yards in the other (yeah, I wasn't quite as consistent with thickness as I'd like) but both are hovering around DK (just one is kinda heavy DK and the other is pretty much right on...). I think the third is closer to DK, too, though I haven't checked yet.

So...that's me! Check out what everyone else is up to this Fabulous Friday! Finished Object Friday and Fiber Arts Friday are filled with awesome blogs!

Work In Progress Wednesday, 1/18/2012

Well, I've not crafted all that much the last couple weeks, but I've been doing so when I feel up for it, between everything else that's going on in my life.

I've been in the mood to cross stitch - well, I've been in that mood a lot for a long time, but because of other crafting commitments, I haven't done so, but I've decided that I don't care about that stuff any more. :)

I finally started the back stitching on this project, though there's still loads more to do. :)

I also pulled this out of storage, and ended up doing like four square inches (the lower bit, including almost that entire water lily down there).

Meanwhile, I played with the loom that my friend gave me for Christmas...

Lastly, I have a friend who is having a baby in weeks, and I wanted to design and make her a baby blanket. I sketched out the pattern, charted it, and then I started!

So, lots of different types of projects. I also spent some time on the socks that I've been making, but two more inches of plain knit sock is not terribly interesting to look at. :) My main goal right now is to just be laid back, and do whatever I FEEL like working on, and so for the moment that means non-monogamous crafting.

Check out what everyone else has been up to, over on Tami's Amigurumi and Other Crochet blog!

It's Friday!

The first Friday of the new year! A bout of stress-induced insomnia chased me out of bed at 4:30 this morning, but I didn't let that worry me - I immediately got to work on my personal goals for the year to come, in this case, poking through my closet. Why? Because today, I'm going to the Farmers Market, which I intend to make a regular weekly task of. I want to go Green, it's one of my main goals for the year in fact, so I wanted to quickly sew up some cotton cloth bags to shove produce in so that I won't have to keep taking plastic bags at the farmers market, grocery store, or any where else. While I was at it, I decided to pull out a few other things that reflect my current crafting goals - to craft what I want to craft, when I want to craft it.

But first, my cotton bags! They took just over an hour to make. I made 2 big ones (like, to hold a whole head of romaine lettuce), 4 medium ones (like to hold a couple pounds of potatoes), and 8 small ones (like, to hold an apple or two).

I started with this muslin I got a few years ago to make curtains for an apartment I don't live in any more. It was plain, simple stuff - the same stuff I use as my photo backdrop, in fact.



Then, I cut it into 6 strips roughly the same width. Two of these, I left "as is," two of them, I cut along the center fold, and two of them, I cut along the center fold and then folded in half and cut again. This was all very approximate, but it got the job done.



To make them in to bags, I just sewed a flap along the top edge (so I could put in a draw string) then sewed up the sides. I used some random old scrap trim I had and some yarn bits to insert the draw strings, and then I was done, and ready to go!



At the same time, I pulled out a few things I want to work on. I've been loving Nerd Wars, and I'm not quitting, but it's caused me to focus almost exclusively on knitting and crocheting and spinning for the past year. I miss my other crafts. I miss sewing. I really miss cross stitching. It's time for me to start making better crafting choices. NW will manage, especially since I bet I'll be more productive across the board if I just relax and do what I want to do, when I want to do it.

So, what's in the pipeline?

Socks!
I started these socks in September. One is done (more or less) and this is the second. It's a great project for my purse - small, time consuming, and not too likely to fall off the hooks while I'm traipsing about town.

Sorceress Crochet!
Remember this project? It was what I was JUST finishing up when I stared this blog in August, 2010. I worked on it all that summer, and got it to this point...and then stalled before I finished the detailing work. I really want to get it done. It's so close. So out it comes, lets see how this goes. :)

Lap Loom!
One of my good friends sent me a lap loom for Christmas, with a note that I should use it to play with my homespun. She's BRILLIANT. So I'm gonna play with the loom, and see what I can do with the rainbow yarn I spun in November.

Cross Stitch Design
Lastly, I'm going through some rough personal stuff, and have felt pretty low for a few days, but last night I reached an epiphany point, and really finally absorbed (rather than just hearing and having it bounce off) that if I don't love me, no one else will either. While I was waiting to fall asleep, I thought about a strategy my step-mom uses, and that a friend of mine also suggested - leaving notes to myself. The one I was thinking about leaving was "I Am Beautiful," to help with my self-image. But then I thought...I should do this like I would do this. I wouldn't write a note. I'd MAKE something! So I'm gonna design and make myself a very simple cross stitch that says that, I already know how I want it to look. I feel really good about this project, and already have a few ideas for more.

All in all, for the first time in ages, I kinda feel like I have my crafting mojo back. I was excited to put all this together. I was excited to write this blog post. I'm excited to be about to cross stitch, and learn to weave, and to go back to designing things. I'm excited that I think that two of these ideas - the produce bags and the self-inspirational cross stitch - actually have some marketability potential, as I think about building this business more. It's a little hard to ignore the things that theoretically I HAVE to finish, but I'm just making myself relax. I have to love this again, first.


Read what everyone else is thinking this first Friday of the New Year, over on Wisdom Begins in Wonder and Tami's Ami and Other Crochet Blog.

Free Pattern for Winter! The Diamond Scarf

In September, I took a chance on designing my very first knitting pattern. My goal was to do something so simple that even I could make it, and design a scarf that would look nice and yet highlight my pretty homespun. The result was my Diamond Scarf!



Well, it's now been written up, and tested, and I'm ready to release it to all of you, for free! It's my first pattern release since, er, the spring, I think, so I'm pretty excited about it!

Materials:
Worsted Weight Yarn (at least 150 yards)
Size 9 Knitting Needles

Finished Size:
Width: 11”
Length: 50”

The scarf can be easily shortened or lengthened as desired by using more or less yardage.

Gauge:
Approximately four stitches to the inch.

Abbreviations: Note that this pattern uses US definitions.
CO: Cast On
K: Knit
K2tog: Knit 2 together
YO: Yarn over

Directions:

You can modify the width of this pattern in intervals of five. Each interval of five increases or reduces the size by 1 and ¼ inch. Thus, if you want a scarf of 9 and ½ inches wide, only CO 33; or for a scarf of 13 and ½ inches wide, cast on 53; etc. To get a scarf approximate 11” wide, use the below instructions.

CO 43
Rows 1 – 8: Knit across

This pattern is constructed using a repeating 5 stitch motif.

Repeat the following pattern:
Row 1: K4, (K2tog, YO, K3) across, K4
Row 2: K4, purl across, K4
Row 3: K4, (K1, K2tog, YO, K2) across, K4
Row 4: K4, purl across, K4
Row 5: K4, (K2, K2tog, YO, K) across, K4
Row 6: K4, purl across, K4
Row 7: K4, (K3, K2tog, YO) across, K4
Row 8: K4, purl across, K4

Continue to desired length. Each repeat of this pattern adds approximately 2” in length. When you have repeated the pattern to the length that you would like, knit 8 rows, then bind off and finish.

Weave in ends. Block.

...And now you’re done!!

You can also download this pattern as a PDF from Ravelry by clicking this link!

Feel free to get in touch with me any time on his blog or on Ravelry if you have any questions!

Back on Track, Step by Step

It's funny, no matter how many times I go through this process, it's always so easy to forget that getting things done is a matter of taking it one step at a time. As soon as I let things accumulate - oh, I'm so far behind! oh, I have so much to do! oh, how could I have let so much time pass! - it gets overwhelming so fast, yet in the end, it's always as simple as just doing one thing.

One blog post, earlier this week, to own up to how far behind I've gotten.

One pattern, that I know is ready to go and be tested, now up in Free Pattern Testers here. I went with something recent - the scarf I made in September - but it's still a bit ambitious. I'm pretty busy, and it's my first knit pattern, and I'm really a crappy knitter still (though I'm getting better - I'm actually working on two knit projects right now!)



Once the testing is done on this, I'll be distributing this pattern for free, which gets me back on track in the area of releasing free patterns.

One day at a time, one thing at a time, I'm NOT going to give up on the dream of pulling off a craft business!

Finished Object Friday, 9/9/2011

Hey, I finished another project!

Beginner's Diamond Scarf
I've had this mental block about using my own homespun to make a project. The time had come to overcome this bit of ludicrousness, so I grabbed a hank of my spun yarn, and figured I'd use it to knit, cause knitting uses so much less yarn than crocheting and I wanted to make sure I ended up with something, ya know, usable. Anyway, while I was making the Gull Lace "Shawl," I realized that using those principles, it'd be pretty easy to design something similar, so I gave it ago. This scarf was the result!




I kept it very, very simple. I hoped that it would form a diagonal pattern, but instead it looks much more like diamonds. Ah well, it was a good first effort none-the-less. :) And it shows off my lovely Cathedral spun yarn, and will, I think be an excellent winter scarf for the coming season. So, er, small squee, I guess. :)

See the fine work of my fellow craft-bloggers over at Finished Object Friday (at the time of writing, her post isn't up yet! How unusual...) and over at Fiber Arts Friday!

Finished Object Friday, 9/2/2011

Well, I've missed an entire month of FO Friday, which means I've got an entire month of Finish Objects to share! And I did make a lot in that month...all of which were Nerd Wars submissions. Oy vey. It's definitely time for me to make something not NW related - and do a post about just what Nerd Wars is, so I can just link to that every time I talk about it. The super short version is...it's a Ravelry group for geeks. We're put on teams based on things that we are fans of, then compete to win points for our teams by making awesome FO inspired by our fandoms.

SO!

Under Arrest!
I made a little clutch for when I get arrested...




The Impala
My most ambitious FO of the past month, we were challenged in NW to make something out of non-traditional materials, so I used electrical tape, fishing line and wire to design a car.





I'm pretty proud of my little car, the wheels even turn and the doors open!

Gull Lace "Shawl"
I finally finished that "shawl"/blanket that I was knitting...

...only to discover that I seriously screwed up on my dye lots, and that my third spool was a flagrantly different shade. Fortunately, it doesn't actually show nearly as bad as in that picture!! I didn't even NOTICE til I took the shot...

Crochet Zouave Jacket
I also finally finished the crocheted zouave jacket I started in the spring.

As a reminder, I was making this based on a pattern from a fall edition of the Godey's Lady's Book published in 1862, but I discovered not long after starting that part of the pattern was actually completely incomprehensible, so I improvised like two thirds of it. It'd been like 4 hours from being finished for three months, so I'm glad to have finally FINISHED it, and I can wear it in the fall. :) The expensive, lovely fingering weight I used is soft as butta'.

Mystery Spot Pillow Case
Lastly, I made this pillow case (it's the both on both sides).

I finished this in 6 hours on Wednesday night, I've never crocheted so fast in my life, my hand wasn't hurting but it was getting crazy stiff. Unfortunately, it's much too big for the only pillow I've got, so it'll be a bit before I get a pillow that actually fits it.

Rainforest Worsted Weight
For good measure, I did some spinning! 8 ounces of pure wool, to be exact. I had four ounces each of blue and I had green, so I thought it'd be fun to mix them all together.

I just boiled it today, and once it's done, I think it's screaming "winter hat" - my old hat was made two years ago and has gotten so beat up that it's partly felted, just from all the snow it's been smothered in over the past couple winters.

Phew! It seems like a lot when I stack it all together like this, though in truth I spent most of the month feeling like a total slacker. Funny how perception is like that...

Go see all the awesome! Fiber Arts Friday! FO Friday! Wisdom Begins in Wonder and Tamis Amis and Other Creations blog - be there, or be...square? How about not-crafty?

Work in Progress Wednesday, 7-20-2011

Still busy, still having trouble getting back in to good, regular blog posting habits, and this time I'm writing while traveling! This week is the 150th anniversary of the battle of Bull Run, the first major battle of the American Civil War, so I'm crashing with a friend who lives in Silver Springs (same friend I stayed with for Maryland Sheep and Wool...), cause from here I can get to the battlefield in 45 - 60 min, depending on traffic (ok, apparently 90 min in really bad traffic...stupid Beltway...). The actual anniversary of the battle is tomorrow, but I'll be visiting the battlefield today to scout it out (it's one of the only big battlefields of the war I haven't been to...okay, just as I was writing that I actually thought about it and realized I still haven't been to a handful of other important ones - Vicksburg, Murfreesboro, Chattanooga, Atlanta, any of the Seven Days...so I amend the statement, it's the only battle that anyone who isn't a Civil War buff has heard of that I haven't been to. :) ) It's the first stop on my "as many major battlefields on 150th anniversaries as possible" tour, which will be over the next 4 years, and I'll write more about it over the next couple days, complete with pictures, just as soon as I figure out what to say. :)

ANYWAY! That doesn't mean no crafting! Last week's WIP is a couple hours procrastination from being finished, so I'll hold off on posting it. However, I needed a commute project for earlier this week (ie, something small and easily portable that only required one or two balls of yarn) and so I, wonder of wonders, started knitting something! I haven't knit anything in a year, and this is the most complex knitting project I've followed since I was about 12 years old (I briefly knit more than I crocheted for a little while when I was a kid because my mom got this great book of knit stuffed toys and showed me how to make them. I learned a bunch very quickly and then have forgotten all of it in the 15 years since then.) The pattern is very simple, which is good, because when it said to ssk I not only had to look up what that meant and watch a video on how to do it, I also had to look up how to slip a stitch. That's how novice I am at knitting (before this project, I could cast on, knit, purl, and YO, and that's it. :) ) Anyway, here it is!



I'm in the second of three balls of yarn. I don't know if that'll be big enough, but I only have three, so it'll have to be good enough. I'm very happy with this yarn - it's Paton's "Classic Wool" and I bought it on clearance at Michael's, it's soft and warm and 100% wool and the color is great. As to the pattern, I really wanted to make a shawl but when I looked even at very easy patterns I was intimidated by making a triangle or circular shape, so I decided to make something square until I felt more comfortable. This is technically a baby blanket pattern, but I'm hoping it'll be big enough to wrap around my shoulders and pretend it's a shrug. :)



I've made SO MANY mistakes that it's kind of hilarious. However, the pattern is pretty forgiving, and I don't think any of them show unless you know what you are looking for (That said, when you do know what you are looking for they show really bad, so few of my pattern rows are lining up). However, I'm making it work, and I'm getting much better at knitting, so all in all I'm calling it a win. :) Some day I'm sure I'll look back on it and think it's terrible, but that's fine. Best of all, even just with this simple project I feel like I'm getting a better grasp on how knitting works. One or two more and I think I could design something like this pretty easily. Which is awesome. :)

Check out all of the awesome by others over on