9 posts tagged “crafts”
In case you were wondering, I am still crafting away like a madwoman. It's just that most of my projects right now are top secret. I've got a good friend's baby to make goodies for and since she intermittently reads my blog, I don't want to post anything. One of the projects is up on Ravelry, so if you're so inclined, look me up over there and check out what's going down.
Luckily, she's pretty much about to pop probably tomorrow and then, I'll be able to show you. I could show you an extreme-close-up-artsy-teaser-type photo, but remember, my camera is dead. So I won't.
More crafty fun stuff will follow shortly. I keep forgetting to snap photos of my swap packages before I send them out. They're most of the stuff that I've been crafting lately.
This is the third time I've tried to write this post. It's quite annoying that my Firefox keeps crashing before I can remember to save the post. I've figured out that if I set the post to save as hidden, I can edit it as many times as I like until I'm ready to publish publicly. Kind of like a "save draft" function that Vox doesn't have. Try it! You'll like it!
Awhile back, I finally finished the Chanson en Crochet capelet from Interweave's Wrap Style. I kept forgetting to ask someone to take a pic of me, so I finally did it myself. I hate taking self-portaits. I really, really need to suck it up and buy a Gorillapod. Since the Iceman just handed me a $20 giftcard to Best Buy, you can be sure of what I'm going to be purchasing tomorrow!
I need to change out the closure because the button currently on it is a drop-style button and the metal post at the bottom keeps snagging on the capelet! I purchased these to change it to, but have not yet committed 100%, so that's why I haven't changed it yet. What do you think?
Overall, I'm pleased with the results. I did this one in TLC Baby in sky blue. I love that stuff! However, after seeing a Crafty Cohort's WIP today, I think I will probably make it up again in a nicer yarn. Her capelet in a pretty buttercup mohair was the bee's knees!
I'm trying hard to cultivate my inner yarn snob. I tend to do most things in acrylic because of pricing and I live within walking distance to one of those Joann superstores. Plus, I always think I'll make a mock-up in the cheapie yarn before committing to dropping the dough on something more expensive like the Tahki New Tweed used in the pattern. After all, what if I don't like the pattern when I'm done. Frog the whole thing? I don't think so! Let's do the math. Four skeins of the Tahki at $9US a skein = $36US. One skein of TLC Baby at $3US a skein on sale at Joann = well, $3US! TLC Baby wins!
So I went to the LYS the other day to try out some vegan yarns...bamboo, soy, milk, etc. I got a pattern for this really cute shawl pattern from Fiber Trends. I ended up with some Southwest Trading Company Bamboo in the Parrot colorway. Although it's a bit thin for gauge, I'm going to try to make it work, anyway. It's a shawl! Does gauge really matter too much if it's just a smidge too small? (spoken like a true newbie!)
It's out! Alicia released the tiramisu baby blanket pattern that I tested for her and blogged about last week! Yay! It's so easy, if you can single crochet, half-double crochet and double crochet, you, too, can be the lucky producer of this gorgeous blanket! And one of the best things...the pattern is absolutely free! Alicia is such a creative, generous person, if you don't follow her blog, you should cause it's just filled with yummy, pretty goodness!
And remember how I was going to make a matching hat? Well, one of my other favorite crochet designers has the very cutest little buttercup baby hat pattern. Here it is! Matching yarn is TLC Baby. Yes, I know that ties can be dangerous for babies, and ribbons too. Not to worry...when I send off the blanket and hat to the parents-to-be, I will be sure to put on my care instructions card a warning about ties and ribbons. (Never leave baby unattended with something tied round their head, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah) I still need to block it so that the waves and edging lie a bit better. I know, most peeps don't block acrylic, but it makes it look so much better. My hat as modeled by a ball of purple yarn. What do you think?
Don't you just love that little leaf at the top? Too cute! I did this in the car on the way down to my parents house for Easter. No, no embroidery got done, but when I get a chance, I'll share what else I was able to finish.
Our handy craftster-about-town Quornflower has posted the April craft challenge. I'm gonna try like heck to be better about updating, but let's be frank here...I do have a life, too!
So here's the 411 for the month of April: · find a craft that inspires you or others or is somehow new to you · try something new: technique, a craft you keep meaning to try · Spend a minimum of 3 hours per week of crafting, be it all in one day or spread over the week · turn your television off and spend time crafting that would otherwise be spent watching it · eat some chocolate
I also like the monsterbubbles collection and her cute little "read" between the lines sampler.
I've mentioned Jenny Hart and Sublime Stitching before and she now has featured artists contributing, like Kurt Halsey. His "forever and ever, hopelessly so" is just so damn cute!
But let us not forget Subversive Cross Stitch. Say what's really on your mind, in thread! I particularly like this sampler.
I definitely craft more than three hours a week. More like 1-2 hours a day, if I can. And I don't really watch TV except for late-nite and the occasional DVD and most of the time, I'm crafting while watching anyway. As for chocolate, well, that's a given! Tis the season! For Cadbury Mini-eggs, that is! I've been known to scarf an entire bag down myself without sharing.
So on the cusp of this holiday/holy-day weekend, I'm going on a road trip which usually allows me to craft in the car. If I get my butt in gear, I will actually be able to accomplish some embroidery over the weekend. Either that, or finish my chanson en crochet capelet that I've been working on the past couple of days. Here's a taste! Doesn't this blue look yummy? I can't help that I've been cheap and going with acrylic lately, but I figure these are like mock-ups or trial runs. When I go to do a good one, I'll splurge for the expensive stuff. Until then, I'm happy with the cheapies. This is TLC Baby yarn.
So have a terrific bunny day guys! I'm outtie to pack!
I knew it! Earlier this week, when I had my car serviced, I was killing time at the mall where the shuttle dropped me off. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Here's S riding one of the lions at the mall.
She really is the biggest ham in the world. Anyway, we were there and I was at B&N looking through the sewing books because I'm due for a couple of Amazon gift certificates pretty soon and was looking at what I might buy with them. Some of you might know that my new year's resolution this year was to teach myself to sew. It's going okay, I'm certainly no expert seamstress, but I'm working on it slowly but surely. I've had my eye on a few books, one of which is Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing book. I got to thinking about my last post after Clippedwings was so sweet to look up pics for me from my earlier brainfart and thought maybe I had seen the bag in one of the books I was looking at. Sure as sh*t, I found it! Look! Isn't it cute?
So to complete randomness of this post, I leave you with a picture of a very silly VW beetle the Iceman and I saw the other day. It was stopped at a light in the opposite direction right next to us. It was so very, very cute! I can't remember exactly, but I think it had a little curly tail in the back, too!
Although I did sign up for the craft challenge, I have not been very good at keeping up, although I have been crafting pretty much everyday, a little bit here, a little bit there, so I thought I'd post some of my finished objects.
I'm totally addicted to embroidery. I used to do cross-stitch when I was younger, but something about the very precise nature of it left me a little cold. So now, I've taken up with embroidery. I started with a few things, like a couple of needle cases and as soon as I figured out french knots, boy, I was ready to have a good old time. This is the one I made for myself. It's already seen scads of action. I made another one for Jane of Art with a cute little skull and glittery red bow, but forgot to take a pic of it! I just love Jenny Hart's patterns, so kicky and cute! I ordered her Stitch-It Kit to get me started.
Next up, I finished up another Sweet Magnolia Scarflette. I just love these things. I've already made two and given them away as gifts for others. It's one of Jennifer's patterns from Fable Handmade Goods. She's freakin' brilliant! Have you seen her crocheted Marie Antoinette wig? Yes, it is crocheted! I also bought her poinsetta bunting pattern and she has some of the best free patterns. So cute and definitely not retro. I have my eye on the Might Oak Scarflette for autumn as my next purchase. I totally chintzed out and used Caron's Simply Soft for the neck part, and Bernat Softee Chunkee for the magnolia and some left-over Lion Brand Suede for the flower center.
So the choices are between a gold and green that are scraps. The gold floral fabric is a little fabric memo from an interior design source. The pink and bright floral fabric are from Joann. There's no competition really, because the green and gold are really too small to work with unless I do some sort of serious rig job to make a belt. No thanks. My sewing skills are shoddy as is without that kind of foolishness going on. I'm off to pack my sewing machine and crafty bag and going to crafty girls just as soon as I change my clothes.
Inspired by this beautiful falling garden by Gerda Steiner and Joer Lenzlinger via the Free People Clothing Boutique Blog
and Sally Shim's cute Valentine's Day decorations,
we were able to come up with these fun little mobiles. I used wire coat hangers to make the base and since I'm not the strongest person in the world, this was the closest I could come to making a spiral with getting hurt. I wanted to make one too, but since, like Joan Crawford, our house has "no more wire hangers!", there was only enough for two. They had fun, but once they found the ready made tags with strings attached, they became quite enamored of using those instead of coming up with other things. I helped the 3 year old (okay, I mostly made hers), but it was fun anyway!
Lesson learned for the day. Hot glue dripped from the hot glue gun directly onto fingertip hurts like the dickens and leaves small blisters. Pooh! Luckily since I was the one with the glue gun, it's my finger with the blisters and not the little ones. Whew!
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