Curiously Crafted Creations

Friday, July 29, 2011

Finished Object Friday, 7/29/2011

I've FINALLY finished something! Man, I don't know what's going on with me this month. :(

Anyway! A couple weeks ago I posted a teaser pic of a project I was working on that drew from about 10 different skeins of yarn. I finally, finally got that project done on Tuesday!

The Dragon Banner
In Nerd Wars, one of the challenges this month was to make something inspired by a fandom other than the one for your team. I'm on the team for Supernatural, and there are a LOT of other teams who have fandoms that I adore - Babylon 5, Star Trek, video games, comic books/manga, MMORPGs, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and more. It was a really tough choice, but finally I decided to go with my original love: series fiction - specifically, in my case, series fantasy. I made a banner in honor of my favorite character in my (I guess it's my) favorite series of books - Rand al'Thor from Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time. Without giving away any spoilers, this is the banner of the Dragon, and it's described as follows in the book:

”Character 1 and Character 2 took the bundle of white cloth…and unfolded it between them. A long, white banner spread out, lifting on the air…the whole thing seemed of a piece, neither woven, nor dyed, nor painted. A figure like a serpent, scaled in scarlet and gold, ran the entire length, but it had scaled legs, and feet with five long, golden claws on each, and a great head with a golden mane and eyes like the sun. The stirring of the banner made it seem to move, scales glittering like precious metals and gems, alive, and he almost thought he could hear it roar defiance.

“‘What is it?’ Rand said.

“Moiraine answered slowly. ‘The banner of the Lord of the Morning when he led the forces of Light against the Shadow. The banner of Lews Therin Telamon. The banner of the Dragon.’”

Based on this description, and a similar-but-very-slightly-different-one in another of the books, I designed and made my own Dragon banner!

It's BIG - about as tall as I am!

I made the chart myself. It was so hard to keep track of where I was in the pattern that I carefully made a check mark every time I finished a row!

To make the face extra awesome, I used gold blending filament with the red:

And to accomplish the "shimmered like it was gems" look, I used iridescent blending filament mixed with the white:

All in all, it was a bitch to make - it was SO hard to keep all the threads straight, and then my dog got it all tangled and I almost cried, but I persevered, and I'm so proud of how the FO turned out!

See what every one else has been up to! Check out Fiber Arts Friday brought to us by Wonder Why Gal, and Finished Object Friday's organized by Tami!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

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

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Work in Progress Wednesday - 7/13/2011

I'll admit I'm rather ashamed at how infrequently I've been posting of late. I'm trying a different way of scheduling my work time, and I can't say that I think it's working yet - oh, I'm getting lots and lots of work done, but hardly anything else - and I'm still trying to figure out how best to change things so that I can maintain some kind of healthy balance.

Anyway, I've got two WIP this week. One I'm not going to share more than a teaser on, because I'm very happy with it and proud of the work I've done on it and I expect to be done by Friday, so I'll share it then. The other I haven't actually started yet, so I guess the shot I have is a teaser as well. :)

Mystery WIP 1

So that's my project. Yes, it's connected to ALL of the balls of yarn sitting on the table (except the yellow one that's barely visible in the background, and the two on toilet paper rolls on the right). Yes, this has been a nightmare. Especially when my dog got excited when I got home one day and got herself tangled in it and then dragged it across my apartment. I lost two hours of crocheting time to fixing that particular mess. However, it's turning out just how I wanted. Heck, I think it's going better than I thought it would. So I'm excited. :) Should be finished by Friday if all goes as planned and the dog doesn't knock it over again...

When Yarn Ain't Yarn...
One of the Nerd Wars challenges this month is "alternate yarnality" - the idea is to craft using things that aren't yarn. Here are the materials for what I'm planning to make:

I can't wait to get started, but I have to finish the other first...

Check out everyone else's progress over on Tami's Ami and Other Creations blog!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Finished Object Friday, 7/1/2011

For yet another week, a super quick post! I had no WIP worth sharing, but I come to Friday with two FO to show!

Spinning!
I'm calling this 100% wool that I actually got a little where I wanted it on the thickness scale "antique rose."

8 ounces in all; no idea how many yards cause I haven't counted yet.

The Colt
It's been AGES since I designed an ami. I went in to yesterday with one Nerd Wars challenge yet, knowledge of exactly what I wanted to make, and conviction that I didn't have time. I went for it anyway - and managed to finish!

I'm really, really happy with how it turned out. The coolest part is that the bullets can be unloaded and loaded into the chamber, which turns.

Yeah, I'm proud. :)

Now I just have to make it again and figure out how to describe some of the weird crap I did to make it look that way... :)

Have a great Fourth of July weekend, to everyone who might care about such things! :)

See all the awesomeness at Finished Object Friday on Tamis Ami and Other Creations Blog and Fiber Arts Friday on Wisdom Begins in Wonder!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Finished Object Friday - 6-24-2011

Well, thanks to a crazy work schedule that had me running all over NYC, I actually have a LOT of FO cause I always get tons done on the train and bus. :) However, I'm also in a hurry, so I'm gonna try to pack a lot in to a short time in this post. Warning in advance, loads of pictures ahoy!

Spinning
This is the only one of these projects I actually finished last week, but I was too busy last Friday to get it up. I finished the spinning for my Nerd Wars dissertation - 600 yards of fingering weight.

Long-ish story short, I'm really happy with out it turned out.

Come on, Let's Pimp My Ride!
I guess I should note that all of but one of this weeks FO is for Nerd Wars. :) Anyway, my team decided to do a team unity project, the theme of which was "Pimp My Ride!" This made sense since our team is actually named after a car (Impala). For my car, I decided to make a steering wheel cover and a set of fuzzy dice.

I was pretty happy with how it turned out, but after the road trip I took on Wednesday night (9 hours of driving) I've seen a few deficiencies and will have to secure the cover to the wheel a bit better when I get home. :)

I decided to embroider the sides of the fuzzy dice with various symbols of importance in the Supernatural world. Specifically, one is covered with anti-angel symbols and the other with anti-demon symbols.

I'm very happy with how they turned out.

I thought that the fuzzy dice would be really distracting when I drive, to the extent that I might have to take them down, but as it turned out I hardly noticed them at all (though they were slightly problematic when we hit the crazy rain storms and I had to really concentrate on driving).

Bleeding Heart Lace
I finished all 12 yards of the lace I was making!

I also blocked about 2 yards of it before deciding it was just too time consuming and not worth it. The top heart is unblocked, the bottom blocked. I'd never blocked anything before, so I'm glad I got to learn how to do this!

The lace was made for my regency-style dress.

Dress!

This is the dress for my crazy (literally) character in the LARP I'm playing at Origins Gaming Convention tonight. I sewed it all together, then I stained it with tea to make it look gross and beat up.

I can't tell if it really shows, though. I have to wear this dress tonight, and if I get the time I'll be ripping it up and destroying it a bunch more between now and then, and hopefully sewing on the trim (but if I don't get the time, life will go on and I'll use the trim for something else.

And finally, last but not least...

Baby Hats for Charity!
There's always a charity challenge in Nerd Wars, and this time it's making things for babies! I had really crazy days on Monday and Tuesday of this week, so I set myself a mini-challenge: Using random scraps I stuffed in my purse, make as many baby hats in two days as I can. However many I finish, I'll donate to a local hospital. Turns out in two days and about 10 hours on various forms of public transit, I can make 9 baby hats!

True story: I started to make the red and yellow hat just cause I liked the colors, then it dawned on me that it was Gryffindor colors, and that I had the scraps necessary to make hats in all the other house colors, too, so I just went ahead and did so. :)

And that's "all." Busy, busy week!! :)

Check out the beautiful work that others have done over on Tami's Ami and Other Creations and Wisdom Begins in Wonder!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Work in Progress Wednesday - 6/22/2011

This past week has been crazy for my job, but because I've spent a lot of time crafting. This means I have almost no WIP to share, but I have lots of FO for Friday, including the dress I talked about last week!

My only WIP this week is spinning:

This is 4 ounces of single ply that I'm working on. I'll spin the other four ounces on another bobbin, ply them, and be done! I was really aiming for a thicker draw this time, and over all I think it went well. :)

For the first time in a long while, really looking forward to FO Friday!

Don't miss out on how awesome everyone's work is over at WIP Wednesday on Tami's Ami and Other Crochet Blog!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Work In Progress Wednesday - 6/15/2011

Ugh. I've had the kind of day - and the kind of week - that leaves the gas tank on empty. So, short and sweet this week.

Nerd Wars Dissertation
I've finished the spinning for my Nerd Wars dissertation, and went on to the swatch. I got enough done to demonstrate what I have in mind for the "feather" part of it. It took a few tries to get it the way I wanted, and it's a slow construction process anyway, but I'm pretty happy with it. (reminder: I'm making a shawl inspired by angel (feathers) and demons (webs)).

Bleeding Hearts Trim
A week from today, I leave for Origins, a gaming convention in Columbus, Ohio. While there, I'll be participating in a LARP (live action role playing game) in which the characters are in an asylum in the 1840s. I have a whole plan for my character, so I'll be making the costume over the weekend - specifically, I'll be making this:

The one on the right. I've actually already made the one on the left, and I wore it for Halloween in 2006, along with my room mate we were Eleanor and Maryanne Dashwood, from Sense and Sensibility.

I'm on the right in this one. I <3 this costume, and still have it, but it's too nice to wear for the asylum game, so I'll be making it again out of cheap materials that I have around in the house. However, there was a Nerd Wars challenge that I wanted to make lace for, and I thought it would be nice to make trim for my dress. I had some thin yarn around that my mom bought literally before I was born (it's from sometime in the 70s as far as either of us know...though she might be misremembering...) and I have just about the right amount to make the 12 yards that I'll need to do the sleeves, neckline, and base of the skirt. I've made somewhere around 7 or 8 yards so far.

Hope to finish soon.

Don't miss everyone elses awesome work over on Tamis Ami and Other Crochet blog!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Finished Object Friday! 6/10/2011

Well, last week I only had 1 finished object, and a busy, exhausting week, but this week I've decided to take today off and work tomorrow instead, so I'm gettin' fun stuff done - and I have three finished objects (well the one from last week and two new ones)!

Handspun Yarn
The first two are skeins of handspun yarn.

The first is from the pound o' fiber I bought cheap online. It's white and black, and it spun up lovely. I plied it with itself.

I guess I'm getting thinner, because this is 360 yards of the stuff! I could hardly believe it when I counted. However, with both this and the other skein I've noticed that now that it's thin, I have to ply it more tightly; there are a few places where it's WAY under plied; on the other hands, there are places where it's over plied. I've definitely got to practice plying more! I really like how this yarn turned out, though, and I'm really looking forward to making something with it.

The second is destined to be used for my dissertation in Nerd Wars.

This is the red fiber I showed last week, plied with a wool/silk/angelina blend that I got from Little Barn when I was at Maryland Sheep and Wool. I was practicing just getting the silk blend as thin as I possibly could (which turns out to be pretty thin). After it was plied I realized how green the blend was reading (I wanted it to read as blue), and I'm a little worried that the mixture looks like Christmas, but I'm just going to go with it. With my efforts at thin-ness, I ended up with 380 yards of this stuff, which should be plenty for what I intend to make with it!

Pillow!
I finished my Funk-a-delic Sofa Cushion Cover! I had expected it to take 14 skeins, which was the number I thought I had, and that's how many it took - except that I actually had 16, so now I have two left and absolutely no idea what to do with them. However, other than that disappointment, I'm really happy with how it turned out. :)

(you can see a little of the black/angelina I'm spinning on the table, ha...)

...so that's one Nerd Wars challenge done, anyway. And last night, I started making some lace trim for a dress I have to sew - only my second time doing lace, and I've never made my own trim before, so I'm excited about it - hopefully it'll be done before next Wednesday, but either way it'll either be a WIP or FO next week. :)

Take a peak at what every one else has accomplished over on Tami's Ami and Other Crochet blog FO Friday and Wonder Why Gal's Wisdom Begins in Wonder Fiber Arts Friday!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Work in Progress Wednesday - 6/8/2011

Phew, I'm exhausted. What a week I'm having! I'm going to keep this short and sweet. I have two WIP this week that are worth sharing!

Couch Cushion Cover
It's the new round of Nerd Wars, which means new challenges! The first challenge I'm going to meet is one where we have to tie in the concept of lightning and electricity. I'm not going to go in to full detail - yet - for this project does so, but I think ya'll will get a kick out of it when I do.

Anyway, I had all this stash yarn that I bought about 5 years ago at the dollar store with the idea that I'd make skirts for my belly dancing friends, but that never happened, so now it's getting used to cover one of the ugly cushions that came with my couch!

I was a little under halfway done when I took these pictures this morning; I'm farther along now. :) Now I just have to figure out what to cover the other cushion with. :)

Dissertation Progress: Spin, Spin, Spin
Last week, I presented my "dissertation", a project for Nerd Wars that I expect to take me a full three months to complete. Unfortunately, I got denied approval pending making a swatch, and I don't feel comfortable designing the swatch until I've got an idea how thick the yarn is going to be, so I've been spinning like crazy all week. I finished one skein, which I'll share on Friday, and in the meantime I've carded all of and spun a little over half of the main black yarn with red, blue, and angelina that I shared last week. Here's the first bobbin, which is holding about 4 ounces.

That? Took me all day Saturday. Man, my hand hurt!! But I think it was worth it...can't wait to see it plied...

Check out the wonderful WIP of everyone else over at Tamis Amis and Other Crochet blog!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Work in Progress Wednesday - 6/1/2011

Today has been a long, exhausting day of non-stop pushing, so I'm going to keep this brief. I've got a current spinning project on the wheel that I want to finish, but it's not the big deal.

Ya see, it's the first day of the new round of the new tournament of Nerd Wars today! Yeah, I'm pretty excited. One of the components of this game is the opportunity to do a "dissertation" - a project of a large enough scale that you anticipate that it'll take all three months of the competition. Last tournament, I didn't want to commit to one, but I decided that this time, I would. I've been planning it since early May. It started at Maryland Sheep and Wool, where I hunted high and low for a fiber that reminded me of Supernatural. I finally selected this merino blend:

But to add pizzazz, I'm going to card in that shiny Angelina.

Then, I'm also going to continue to spin this red:

And use the blue that I shared last Friday (or possibly a different blue, that's still undecided)...

Once I've got ALL the spinning done, I'm going to make my very first shawl, of my own design, using the very first sketch I've ever done for a project! And here it is...

(if you steal my design, I will hunt you down. Legally, I mean. Just saying.)
This is the Angels and Demons Shawl that I’m going to attempt to make. The motif is thick areas of crochet meant to resemble feathers, and void areas with a web motif that evokes an idea of ensnarement. The two together - to me - represent the contrast between the angels and the demons in the show. The overall dimensions are 5 feet wide along the top and 2 1/2 feet long (down the back), and it’ll be basically a semi-circle. It will be done in crochet, and most of the motif will be done in chains; the rest in sc. The feathers and the webbing will both be done in the black homespun; and then the shafts of the feathers will be done in blue homespun and the lines along the webbing in red, OR I’ll do both in red/blue plied together (haven’t decided yet).

I'm very excited about this project. It's going to be a TON of work, but it's nifty, and inspired by one of my favorite characters in one of my favorite shows:

And all in all? It's going to keep me busy. And this doesn't even count the other projects I'm planning for the new round, and the other stuff I have on my plate!

To see everyone else's awesome work, take a peak at WIP Wednesday over at Tamis Amis and Crochet blog!