Loca for Crafts

2012-02-05T22:02:00.001-08:00

So I recently received my invitation to Pinterest. If you have not yet joined this website, proceed with caution. Pinterest is basically a website that allows you to create virtual pinboards. I was immediately intrigued at the possibilities. I saw some great potential for using this website to organize all the craft projects I had bookmarked on my computer, and I quickly discovered that this is a great use for Pinterest. I now have all my crafty inspiration and ideas and plans in one place. Organization is a new thing for me, so I was understandably excited.

I decided to get even more organized. I really like to read and keep lists of books that are recommended to me or that sound interesting. Recently I wanted to read a particular book that I recalled writing on one of my many lists, but I couldn't remember the title. I searched everywhere I could to find that list, but alas, it was nowhere to be found. Aha! Why not use Pinterest to organize all these ideas too. A whole virtual pinboard to help me remember all the books I want to read. Another wonderful use for Pinterest.
Then, I found myself looking at other people's pins to find new inspiration, and all of a sudden, I am excited about things like nail art. I just have to wait for two of my nails to grow a little bit more and then I can start trying all of these creative designs. Who knew that I even cared about nail art? Not me, but now I am excited about buying some nail polish and going for it :)
So if you are a Pinterest addict like me, check out my boards and follow my progress as I organize my current projects and search for new inspiration.

If you haven't tried Pinterest yet, proceed with caution. It is addicting, very, very addicting. Make sure you have lots of free time to dedicate to your new obsession: pinning!

Marian Cowl Complete :)

2012-01-15T15:49:00.000-08:00

Pattern: Marian Cowl

Knit for: My sister

Needles: Size 19, 29 inch circular

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick in Grey Marble (1 skein)

Modifications: I used a longer circular needle than the pattern called for and added 6 extra stitches. I also knit a little longer than the pattern called for, since I still had yarn :)

I love this cowl. I might have to knit one for myself :)

Marian Cowl

2012-01-09T20:33:00.000-08:00

I am currently knitting the Marian Cowl for my sister. It knits so quickly with the super bulky yarn and large needles. It is my first time knitting with this size yarn and needle, and I l♥ve it.

The seed stitch looks really nice in this yarn. This cowl has a neat twist in it. I can't wait to finish it and post final pics before I mail it off to her.
Back to my knitting :)

Swirl without the Sleeves

2012-01-03T21:16:00.000-08:00

The swirl is now almost complete. All that is missing are some sleeves. The only problem.... I don't have enough of any one of the four colors to make two sleeves. I can make two different colored sleeves, and I think that is what I am leaning towards. I also need something to use as a closure, maybe a red button. Anyway, here is a picture of the front. My hubby agreed to help with the photo shoot, but only if our friend Woody was in the pictures too :)

And here is a picture of the back, and the swirl :)

I am really loving this cardigan, and it fits really well. Yay!!

Books I Read in 2011

2012-01-02T19:11:00.000-08:00

January

Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA by Maryn Mckenna
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

February

The Corrections by Johnathan Franzen
Bogeyman by Gayle Wilson
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

March

It was the Best of Sentences, it was the Worst of Sentences by June Casagrande
The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larson

May

The Giver by Lois Lowry
Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (Annotated by Martin Gardner)
Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

June

The Priest by Gerard O’Donovan
Year of the Dog by Grace Lin

July

The Weird Sisiters by Eleanor Brown
Sphere by Michael Crichton
Pop Goes the Weasel by James Patterson

September

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Always Time to Die

October

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (I want a sequel)
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I spent the last two months of the year plodding my way through The Long Night of the White Chickens, and I still have not finished it. It really hurt my count :) The good news is that I totally enjoyed every book I read this year.

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-02T19:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! It's time to review my resolutions from last year and make some new/similar ones for this year

Resolutions for 2011
1. Complete a sweater

I have completed all of my swirl sweater except for the sleeves. Post with more details and pictures to follow.
2. Read more than 33 books

I managed to read 22 books. Post with more details to follow.
3. Keep my craft room organized

I actually did this one!!! I organized my craft room this year. It's beautiful :)
4. Get my craft business going

I'm going to try again on this one.
5. Stick with my diet and exercise

This was my biggest failure this year. I ended the year by skipping almost all my yoga classes :(
6. Enjoy life everyday

This was the easy one, but I did not enjoy everyday,not even close :(

Resolutions for 2012

1. Read more than 33 books

2. Start my Etsy shop

3. Finish my novel

4. Complete my sweater (only needs sleeves :) should be easy)

5. Diet and exercise

6. Try new things

7. Start playing the guitar again

8. Blog more frequently

Hopefully I will do better this year. I do like to have goals and projects; I am just not always great at seeing them through :)

Snowflakes

2011-12-20T23:02:00.000-08:00

So recently, I have been noticing snowflakes everywhere, and there is not even any snow on the ground :) That's because I am talking about paper snowflakes. I made these 3-D snowflakes with my students.

This picture is from http://www.wikihow.com/images/c/c6/74621550_44bb79776f.jpg where you can also find great instructions on how to create these awesome snowflakes.

If you prefer the 2-D snowflake, you should check out this link where you can find folding and cutting instructions for super detailed snowflakes. Finally, and this may be my absolute favorite, the Star Wars snowflakes. I see some Darth Vader snowflakes in my future. Much better than actual snow :)

Cat Toys!

2011-06-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

I made this cat toy for my cat a couple years ago. She was playful today, so I took the toy out to see if she still likes it. It turns out she still loves it! From her immediate reaction, I would guess that the catnip inside still smells fresh and yummy :)

The toy is knit in wool and then felted. The felted wool makes it very durable, although my cat does tend to be gentle on her toys anyway.

Isn't she cute?

Angry Cardinal

2011-06-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

My hubby's assistant loves to play the game Angry Birds, so when I saw this pattern I immediately thought of her. He needed an end-of-the-school-year-gift, and I took out my yarn and crochet hook :)

Hook size: F
Yarn: mostly acrylic with some white cotton
Pattern: Angry Cardinal by Itsy Bitsy Spider

Ths pattern was really fun to make. It was easy overall, just a lot of little fiddly bits that had to be sewn on. I used black felt and hot glue for the centers of the eyes.

My hubby's assistant loved it! That's the important thing :)

And it goes round and round...

2011-05-16T20:50:00.001-07:00

In December I started a sweater, the swirl. I entered it in a WIP challenge this April to try to finish it up, and I failed miserably :( This afternoon, before yoga class, I finally completed all four wedges, pinned it together and ran to the mirror to try it on.
Surprise, surprise, it is too small. I have to admit that I had my suspicions. Every time I picked it up to work on it, I thought to myselft, "Wow, this looks kinda small." But did that stop me? Of course not. I prefer "delusional thoughts from Fantasy Island." Oh well. Tonight I will be doing a little frogging, so I can add more rounds to the spiral. Then I can start the wedges again and hopefully be more realistic about my size as it compares to the size of the sweater.

Pretty in Pink Headband

2011-03-24T20:14:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, I finally got tired of my hair falling in my eyes during yoga class every time I did a forward bend. I began to search wildly for a headband, but could not find one anywhere. Obviously, it was time for me to make myself a headband. I found this pattern online(Ravelry link), pulled out some coordinating embroidery floss and my tiny crochet hook and off I went. It took me a little longer than it should have, because my finger is still stiff from my surgery last summer, but it turned out great.
Modifications: I did one less repeat of the pattern and added scallops to the flat side. I also crocheted the straps directly to the pattern band, instead of making them separately and attaching. Color changes were made as each hank of floss ran out :)

The headband works really well for yoga class, and I think I might even wear it out and about sometimes. I think if I were to make the pattern again, I would do one repeat of the pattern, then turn around and do the second repeat on the flat side, so it would be more symmetrical.

Amigurumi Video

2011-03-07T13:19:00.000-08:00

I found this on a blog recently, can't remember where, but I think it was one of the Blogs of Note. It's a video of an amigurumi bear crocheting itself. Enjoy.

Book Review: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

2011-03-07T12:57:00.000-08:00

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Science Fiction

This book follows the adventures of Richard Mayhew. At the beginning of the book, he is a typical businessman, engaged to be married and living a pretty normal life. One evening, while walking to a restaurant, Richard helps a girl whom he finds bleeding on the sidewalk. He takes her back to his apartment, and suddenly his life changes. The girl disappears and so does every trace of his normal life. He finds himself in a new world that he never knew existed, a world underneath London, a world full of interesting and weird people and places.

I read this book for one of my online book groups (Stitch and Book). I had read American Gods previously and really enjoyed it. Neil Gaiman's prose is amazing, and his ability to describe scenes and characters is engrossing. One of my favorite images describes a fight that takes place at the floating market. Fighters are trying out to get a job as a bodyguard. In this fight, a female comes forward to challenge the current champion, who had just defeated a number of dangerous guys. The female turns out to be a really great fighter: "Richard was thunderstruck: it had been like watching Emma Peel, Bruce Lee, and a particularly vicious tornado, all rolled into one and sprinkled with a generous helping of a mongoose killing a king cobra. That was how she had moved. That was how she had fought."

However, I was disappointed with the characters in this book. I found the villains, Croup and Vandemar, to be too cliché. They reminded me at times of Pinky and the Brain, as one of them is very intelligent and always knows what the plan is, while the other is trying to keep up. At other times, they made me think of that group of bad guys who are altogether evil and will go out of their way to do something cruel or disgusting. Many of the other characters in the book were very static. At first I thought this was because this book is Neil Gaiman's first solo novel, but then I learned that this book is based on a tv series. The may explain the type and depth of the characters portrayed.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and recommend it. It was an enjoyable and entertaining read.

Baby Blanket

2011-03-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

Hubby and I went for a walk downtown today. As we were walking along, he saw a blanket wrapped around a stop sign.
Hubby: Hey, do you think that post is cold?
Me: (looking where he is pointing) Hey, I knit that!
Hubby: What??
Me: That's the baby blanket I knit for our neighbors.
Turns out our neighbors had been walking downtown yesterday and lost the blanket. I returned it to them on my way home.

This is a reenactment, not the actual post we saw it on, because I didn't think of taking a picture until we had walked a little further.

It was actually a stroke of luck, because I had forgotten to take a picture of the blanket before I delivered it, so here it is.

Gigi's baby blanket

Knit in 100% cotton in alternating row of stockinette, revere stockinette and seed stitch.

First Polymer Clay Cane :(

2011-02-13T16:15:00.001-08:00

I recently started playing with my Sculpey polymer clay. I thought it would be good strengthening exercise for my finger. Well, playing with it was not enough, so I had to try making something.

And so I made a really bad heart and surounded it with purple. I think I had Valentine's Day crafts on my mind or something.

I proceeded to roll it out into a long cane, and voila...I give you the misshapen heart cane.

Not sure what i will use it for yet, but I will use it for something. It's kind of a neat shape, even if it's not very heartlike anymore :)

Buddha Necklace (100th post)

2011-02-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

I made this necklace about 2 months ago and just never got around to posting it until now. My hubby wanted a necklace and could never find the right one. He knew he wanted semi-precious gemstones, so I showed him all the gemstone beads I have, and he picked out his favorites. He chose cube-shaped lapis lazuli, jasper, labradorite, blue goldstone, 2 triangular garnet beads and a carnelian Buddha. I spaced the beads with gunpowder colored seed beads and strung them all on beading wire. I love how it turned out, and he wears it a lot.

Here is a closeup of the Buddha. You can see how sparkly the blue goldstone is. It's a manmade stone, but I love it so much.

Can you believe that after more than two years, I have finally made it to my 100th post. Now that is exciting :)

T-shirts, anyone?

2011-01-18T16:51:00.000-08:00

My cousin, Neil Butler also sells t-shirts that show off his artwork. Pick up yours here.

The Swirl Begins

2011-01-10T17:11:00.001-08:00

I recently started crocheting a sweater for myself. I am using yarn that I originally bought for an afghan, and I am loving the color combination. The sweater is called the Swirl, and it's really unusual. I hope it works out. Thi may be the first step to me completing a New Year's Resolution, but I probably shouldn't get ahead of myself :)

Irish Artwork Anyone?

2011-01-10T17:03:00.000-08:00

My cousin, Neil Butler, is having a sale at his store on bigcartel.com. He is an Irish artist and has some really cool prints for sale. Check it out here.

New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

Well, here are my resolutions from last year. I don't think I did very well :(

1. Knit a sweater. Fail. I did not knit a sweater. Again. That's two years in a row. I have, however, started crocheting a sweater this year, the swirl. Hopefully, this will be the year of the sweater.

2. Continue working on my diet and exercise routine. Fail. My husband and I had a difficult time with this one last year. We moved in December of 2009 and hubby threw out his back. It was really bad for months, so we stopped exercising. I had to stop too, so he wouldn't feel bad :) Since we were not exercising, it seemed silly to diet. Then I had my big MRSA thing this summer, and that stopped us again. Overall I gained back all the weight I had originally lost plus a few extra pounds. Major fail.

3. Continue working on my craft business. Fail. I bought a display case on Craigslist and started working on some jewelry displays. I will post pictures soon. Promise.

4. Try some new crafts, like fimo canes. Fail. I didn't really try anything new this year. I could blame the MRSA again, but I feel like I may be overusing that excuse :)

5. Write a novel in a month. I did start my novel, and in the month of November I wrote 12,000 words as a NaNoWriMo participant. I plan to keep working on the novel and to participate again this year. It was so much fun!

6. Do some charity knitting. Fail. Absolutely no charity knitting occurred.

7. Enjoy my life. I think I may have put this one in there so that I would have at least one resolution I could keep. I had a realy fun year, even though there was a lot of craziness. I have been working on my new house, I went to Oregon Country Fair and a few other shows, and have great friends and family. You can check it all out here.

8. Keep reading and keep a list of what I read. Yay, another one I accomplished, although I was disappointed with the number of books I read. You can see my list here.

Resolutions for 2011
1. Complete a sweater
2. Read more than 33 books
3. Keep my craft room organized
4. Get my craft business going
5. Stick with my diet and exercise
6. Enjoy life everyday

Let's see how well I do this year :)

Books I Read in 2010

2011-01-04T15:56:00.000-08:00

Well, here is the final list of books I read over the past year.

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
Waiting by Ha Jin
Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
NIce Girls Don't Live Forever by Molly Harper
Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men by Molly Harper
Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper
Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
The Twits by Roald Dahl
Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
Positive Discipline in the Classroom by Jane Nelson et al
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
A Wind in the Door by Madeline D'Engle
Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Crash by Jerry Spinelli
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
The Oath by Frank Peretti
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

27 total. Not so hot compared to the 33 I read last year :( I also started writing a book this year. I wrote about 12,000 words during the month of November as part of NaNoWriMo. It was so much fun, and I am definitely going to continue working on this book and try it again next year. I have already started my 2011 reading and recently made a little library in my craft room, so maybe I can beat 33 this year :)

I'm Back!

2010-12-28T16:48:00.000-08:00

I hve been gone from this blog and the crafting world for some time now, and I even have a good reason. This summer, I had to have hand surgery. I had a MRSA infection of the joints and tendons of my index finger. They had to make two incisions and drain/scrape out the infection. Pretty nasty stuff. I tried to stay upbeat about the whole thing, but they never really could tell me if my finger would return to normal or not.

This picture in pre-op. You can kind of see the finger at the bottom of the picture. At this time, it was really swollen and red and hurt. The doctors never did figure out how I got the infection. No obvious puncture or wound on my finger where it could enter. Scary, huh?

My hand was wrapped up and splinted for about a month, and after that I still had a lot of recovery to do. My finger is still not the same. It is swollen, and I can't straighten it out fully. The wounds had to stay open to allow the infection to fully drain out, so one of the scars is pretty nasty looking, but I am content because finally I can knit and crochet again :)

Here is my latest project: Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo from South Park

Crochet hook: F

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in coffee, Sugar and Cream in white, and red acrylic

Pattern: found here on Craftster
I made the Santa hat myself, and the eyes and mouth were cut out of felt, then hot glued on.
Made for: Hubby as a Christmas gift.

I really need to add teeth or a tongue to the mouth, so that it is more visible. It's hard to see against the dark yarn. I have also been working on some more projects that I will post soon. You would not believe the computer problems I have been having :)

Spring Break Hacky Sacks

2010-03-28T21:41:00.001-07:00

New Project

2010-02-28T21:24:00.000-08:00

I have started a new project that I have been thinking about for a while now. I will be trying at least one new recipe every week and blogging about the experience here. I may also end up sharing some of my favorite, tried-and -true recipes. I am a vegetarian, so all recipes will be vegetarian friendly. Check it out.

Tree Dishcloth

2010-02-28T20:06:00.000-08:00

So, I've been wanting to knit a cloth for cleaning veggies, like potatoes and mushrooms. I thought a potato would end up looking like a blob on the cloth, so I decided to use a mushroom as the graphic. Unfortunately, I decided to try knitting without graphing the design.... and it ended up looking like a tree instead. Not very mushroomy at all :) Last time I knit without a graph. The cloth is knit with Red Heart yarn. It gets really nice and soft after some use as a dishcloth. Knit on size 8 needles.

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

2010-02-26T12:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I finished reading Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. My sister gave me the book as a Christmas gift a couple of Christmases ago. I am not sure why I hadn't read it yet. I think I thought it was going to be more of a biographical non fiction book and I thought it was going to be boring. Boy was I surprised! This book pulled me in immediately, and I found it hard to put down at times. The writing is so beautiful, and the story is compelling. The book is a work of fiction based on the real life of Frank Lloyd Wright and a woman with whom he had an affair. I will not give much away, but the ending was so emotional; I was very close to tears (and I am not a crier when it comes to books and movies). I highly recommend it.

Plarn Progress

2010-02-21T20:28:00.000-08:00

I decided to try knitting the plarn with size 50 needles. One reason for the big needles is that the plarn is pretty bulky, even after spinning. Also, it is painter's plastic, so it is stiffer than plastic bag plarn. The larger needles make it easier to handle. I am knitting a market bag, so knitting with the larger needles will allow it to stretch nicely. I used up the bigger ball of plarn with the body of the bag and now plan to use the smaller balls to make the strap. Then I want to use a different color plarn to attach the strap to the body. So far I am pretty pleased with my progress :)

Cubs Golf Club Covers

2010-02-14T21:43:00.001-08:00

My brother in law saw the Packers golf club covers that I knit for my mom and requested some Chicago Cubs golf club covers. I made them for him as a birthday gift. He has received them now, so I can finally post my pics. The covers are knit in a solid color and then the logo is added with duplicate stitch. This logo was a little more complex because it spelled out the whole word, but I was able to graph it and work it out. Here is a picture of the duplicate stitch in progress. You might notice that my knitting needle is a little bent. I don't know what happened, but somehow during this project, the needle bent :P

End that need to be woven in from the striping.

Finished golf club covers photographed with the envelope they were mailed in.

Close-up of the logo.

Aren't they pretty??

Spinning Plarn

2010-02-07T21:08:00.000-08:00

This summer, I started working on some plarn. I began with a large sheet of painter's plastic that I got on Craigslist. I cleaned and dried it (you can see it drying on the clothesline here). Later in the summer, I cut the plastic into strips. I have temporarily lost the pictures, but hope to find them and post them here soon. Anyway, today I started thinking about the large ball of plastic strips that I had just sitting in my craft room and decided to do something about it. I searched online for information about handspinning yarn and ended up making a drop spindle out of junk I found around my house. It's made from a towel rod, a lid from a cheese dip jar and a cup hook. Here it is with my first attempt at spinning my plarn. I think it's working pretty well.

Books I Read 2009

2010-01-01T17:43:00.001-08:00

I read 33 books this year!! I could have read more, but I have been taking an online class that has eaten up reading time. Oh well, there is always next year :) Here are all 33 books.

The Moor by Laurie King
A Letter of Mary by Laurie King
No Plot? No Problem by Chris Baty
A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie King
A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L'Engle
The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos
Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher's First Year by Esme Raji Codell
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Unnatural Exposure by Patricia Cornwell
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Ultimate Weight Solution by Dr. Phil McGraw
DarkTower I: The Gusnslinger by Stephen King
Sleeping with Fear by Kay Hooper
Replay by Ken Grimwood
Thr Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Bellwether by Connie Willis
Nancy Drew and the Kachina Mystery by Carolyn Keene
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Bestiary by Nicholas Christopher
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Leguin
Bruiser by Ian Chorao
The Pilgramage by Paulo Coehlo
The Mummy or Ramses the Damned by Anne Rice
Blackwood Farm by Anne Rice
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Cross by James Patterson
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Looking Back at 2009

2010-01-01T17:23:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

It's the beginning of another year. Time to look back at resolutions from last year and make some new ones :)

Here are my resolutions from 2009. Wonder how I did......

1. Keep my checkbook balanced. I did pretty well with this one. I kept track of my spending all year :)

2. Continue the diet and exercise regimen I started in the summer. This resolution went really well until I started the whole house-buying process (which was around the same time that I started neglecting this blog). I am starting up again on Monday, January 4.

3. Knit myself a sweater. Ok, this is where it goes bad. I have made very little progress on the sweater. I am a little bit furher than when I posted here in March. I also noticed that I made a mistake back in the first few rows. I'm not sure how noticeable it is, but I may frog the whole thing and start over :(

4. Keep up with the block-a-month crochetalong that I joined on Ravelry. This one did not go well at all. I think I am currently working on the May blocks :(

5. Go to the local knitting group more often. They meet at a wine bar once a week; you just can't beat that :) I went twice :(

6. Do some charity knitting. I knit one hat, but have not donated it yet :(

7. Practice some new knitting and crocheting techniques. I tried cables. They are fun. Also I started crocheting with embroidery floss. I have been practicing lots of different patterns with the CAL blocks. :)

8. Make my crafts into a business, either throught Etsy, craft fairs, Saturday Market, or some combination. I participated in my first craft fair. Can't wait to do more :)

9. Find a second income to fund my crafts until they become a more viable business. I did find a second income by getting a job teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages in the evenings, although the original motivation was because of a layoff. Now that I have my first job back, I can actually use the second income to fund some crafting :)

10. Be happy with my life :) This one is easy. Just bought the house of my dreams :)

11. Almost forgot: Project 365. I will take a picture every day and post it to my second blog. This resolution went really well. Visit the blog and you will see all the great pictures my fiance and I took. However, in the last month, we fell behind. Our computer died; we moved; we missed about a month, so we will continue the project into the new year.

Overall, not too bad. Here are my resolutions for this year.
1. Knit a sweater.
2. Continue working on my diet and exercie routine.
3. Continue working on my craft business.
4. Try some new crafts, like fimo canes for example.
5. Write a novel in a month.
6. Do some charity knitting.
7. Enjoy my life.
8. Keep reading and keep a list of what I read.

First Craft Fair :)

2009-09-10T22:53:00.001-07:00

I have been busy lately, building up my stock for my first craft fair. It took place on Labor Day weekend at Edgewater Resort and Marina on Foster Lake. It rained all weekend.
I was extremely cold, but that just gave me a reason to show off one of my cool hand-knit scarves. It also helped me to sell a scarf, which I did not get a photo of.

This was the view across the lake from the booth. I did not have a canopy, but luckily the people running the event did have an extra. Unfortunately, I ended up sharing it with another crafter. It was a little crowded.
Here is a view of my table on one half of the booth.
My scarves and stuffed animals.

Necklaces

More jewelry

Purses

Check out the record bowls that my honey made.

I ended up breaking even on the cost of the booth and the gas to get there. I was just glad that I was able to break even, considering it was raining all weekend. I definitely want to do it again :)

Educating Esme

2009-07-23T22:29:00.000-07:00

Today I read a book called Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher's First Year. I could not put it down. I even laughed out loud a few times while reading it. She was a lot more courageous than me in her first year of teaching, but the book did make me thankful for the teachers and principal I got to work with my first year of teaching. It was an inspiring book, and I recommend it to anyone.

Golf Club Cover

2009-07-19T19:08:00.001-07:00

I've been waiting to post this because it was a surprise. My mom asked if I could knit her a cover for her putter. I wanted to make her one to match her golf clubs, but I didn't have the right yarn, so I decided to knit in the colors of her favorite football team, the Green Bay Packers. I found a pattern on Ravelry (there were actually a number of free patterns). The pattern called for duplicate stitching an initial on the cover. There were charts provided, but none of them worked for what I wanted to do, since I wanted the Packers' logo, so I charted the design myself. It was really quite easy. I printed the logo. I then taped the logo to a window and taped graph paper over it. With the light coming through the papers, I could easily trace the logo onto the graph paper and chart it. Here is the G. It was my first time doing duplicate stitch.
I completed the duplicate stitch while the golf club cover was still on the knitting needle (size 5, by the way), even though the pattern stated that you should pull the yarn through all the stitches and gather the top of the cover first. I thought it would be easier to do if the cover was lying flat, especially since I had never tried it before. Here is what the back looks like.

Another new thing for me was making a pom pom. There are many sites on the web that explain different easy ways to make a pom pom. I always thought that you had to cut out one of those cardboard donuts, but I found out that you don't. I just wrapped the yarn around a coaster a bunch of times. Then I carefully slid the yarn off the coaster and tied another piece of yarn around the middle of my yarn loop. This holds the center of the pom pom together and works well for attaching the pom pom to the finished project. Then I had to cut the ends of the yarn loop, fluff, and voila a pom pom. I'm not sure if that description made any sense at all. Some day, I will have to do it again and take pictures of the steps as I go. It's really big and floppy. I think it's very "golfy".
Finally, here is the completed golf club cover. I put a wooden spoon in it so it would stand up straight for the photo. Isn't it pretty??

Ocean Rose

2009-07-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

I finally completed this necklace yesterday. It has two crocheted strands, two beaded strands, and a string of novelty yarn. I found the pendant at Goodwill and attached it with a coiled, beaded wire. Here is a closer picture:

And one without the flash, just for fun.

Market Bag is Complete :)

2009-07-14T16:01:00.001-07:00

I finished the market bag on July 9, but I have been lazy about posting it. I really love it. I think it would make a great purse if it were lined and had a little closure added to it, but at the same time, I keep picturing a long baguette sticking out of it. Not sure how I will actually use it yet. The pattern is from Lion Brand's website. I used an H hook and Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn in Cornflower Blue. I think I want to put an edging in a different color around the handles, but I'm not sure yet. I have also been trying some new and exciting stuff, like fused plastic and duplicate stitch. I will post some pictures as soon as I have them.

Market Bag Update

2009-07-07T15:52:00.001-07:00

Well, I have been making good progress on my market bag. Here is the body of the bag. Now all that is left is to crochet the handles.

Unfortunately, my supply of yarn has dwindled to this small little ball.
I was hoping that I would not have to tackle the untangling of the last part of the sweater. I started unraveling it in the dark and made a real mess of things. Note to self: playing with yarn around a campfire is not a good idea, for a number of reasons.
But I did it. I untangled that mess of yarn and now I have enough to complete the market bag.
I started the handle last night, and I love it so much, I might want to make it into a purse instead of a market bag. All it will take is some lining and a closure.

Arches Square

2009-07-05T13:53:00.000-07:00

I completed the Arches square, the second April square for the afghan CAL. This square was really easy and quick to crochet. I am very happy with it.

Crocheted with Accord acrylic yarn and an I hook. Now onto May's squares. I think I should be caught up by the end of the summer :)

Waldo's Puzzle Complete!

2009-06-30T13:48:00.001-07:00

Waldo's Puzzle square is complete. I finished it last night. It is crocheted in Accord acrylic yarn in three colors with an I hook. This one is definitely going to need some blocking, although since the yarn is acrylic, I am not sure how much it will help. I am happy with this square. Now to continue playing catch up and start the second April square.

Plarn Plans

2009-06-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

A while ago, I got some large sheets of plastic tarping free on Craigslist. They had been used while the previous owners painted their house. I planned to make some plarn with the plastic and knit/crochet it to my heart's content. I also found a cool tutorial online about how to make fused plastic and use it as a fabric (I will have to look for it again and will post a link when I do). However, it needed some cleaning first. So yesterday, I cut the plastic into manageable sheets and scrubbed it clean. Then I hung it on my line to dry. It scared all the birds away :)
Now, I am trying to decide what the best way to cut it into knittable strips might be. Anyone got a suggestion or a link to a tute?

2009-06-25T00:08:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a market bag. I decided that I would recycle some yarn in order to complete the project. The yarn was originally used in a vintage sweater that it was obvious that I was never going to wear. So, I unravelled the sweater and washed the yarn and here it is drying on my clothesline.....

And here is the yarn all rolled into usable balls.

Waldo's Puzzle

2009-06-21T00:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I know that I am a little behind, but tonight I started my first April afghan square, Waldo's puzzle. If you are a Ravelry member, here is a link to the pattern. You can also find it on crochetpatterncentral.com. This square has four interlocked rings in the center. Here are the first two rings.
As you can see, the rings are interlocked as they are crocheted. Here are the four rings completed.
So far I am loving the color combo. The outside of the square will be a variegated yarn that includes both the green and the red colors in it. I am looking forward to seeing the completed square.

Crochet mania

2009-06-07T20:49:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting very much lately because my internet is not very dependable right now, something I hope to remedy soon. Anyway, I have been in a crochet phase recently. I think it is because I am avoiding my sweater, and if I knit, I would have to work on the sweater :)

Anyway, I crocheted this hacky sack for my honey with embroidery floss and a really small crochet hook. I made up the pattern as I went and I think the size is pretty good.
I stuffed it with aquarium gravel, which gave it a really nice weight and feel.
Then I worked on the March Ravelry square for my afghan CAL. Ok, ok I am a little behind. Oh and by the way, I hate this square. It took me forever to get started. I kept making mistakes. I almost completely gave up, but made myself keep going. The square never actually looked square and now that it's finished, it doesn't sit flat. It's acrylic yarn, so blocking won't help much either. And the color combination is awful. I think I will use this square in the kitchen as a dishcloth :)
Finally, I have started a market bag as part of a CAL. Here is my progess so far, using Sugar and Cream cotton yarn and a size H hook. So far so good :)

Crocheted Necklace

2009-05-02T20:57:00.001-07:00

I like working with the embroidery floss and the teeny tiny crochet hook so much that I decided to crochet some jewelry. The plan is a multi-strand necklace with a pendant that I found at my local Goodwill. First, I crocheted a blue strand: just a long chain with glass beads inserted.

I then chained some brown floss with multi-colored glass seed beads.

I decided to add some novelty yarn for fun. This blue matches the color scheme perfectly.

To these three strands, I will add some beaded strands. Then I will attach the pendant, a flower carved from shell. I can't wait til it is finished :)

Hacky Sack Turned Cat Toy

2009-05-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

I have been away for awhile, mostly because my current internet connection is extremely unreliable. Anyway, here is one of my latest projects. I wanted to make a hacky sack for my honey. I found a pattern on Ravelry, grabbed my embroidery floss, bought a teeny tiny crochet hook and started working. Here is a pic of the sack in progress. This was about the point where I needed to start stuffing it.
However, I quickly noticed that the hacky sack I had crocheted was a lot tinier than the old hacky sack we have had for many years. The pattern is a little on the small side.
So, instead of stuffing it with beans or frogging the whole thing, I decided to stuff it with catnip and make it into a cat toy instead. My kitty cat loves it and has actually become an expert at kicking her new hacky sack :)
I have already started my next attempt at crocheting a hacky sack. This time I am creating my own pattern, and so far, it looks pretty good. Wish me luck :)

Progress on my Sweater

2009-03-14T13:17:00.001-07:00

Well, I finally figured out the lace pattern of the sweater I am knitting and so, I am finally making progress on the sweater. I think it looks really pretty.

Here is a close-up of the pattern.

Blackwood Farm by Anne Rice

2009-03-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

I am a huge fan of the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice and I really thought that I had read every one of the books. I even own a number of them. So, imagine my surprise when I discovered two Vampire Chronicles that I had not read at my local library. Of course, I immediately borrowed one.

It was not a disappointment. Blackwood Farm tells the story of a new vampire, Tarquinn Blackwood. He sees ghosts and has one spirit in particular who has followed him throughout his life as his double. Once Tarquinn became a vampire, however, this ghost became dangerous and started attacking him. This is a typical Anne Rice story. I you don't like her writing, I would not recommend it, but if you are a fan, then this is a great read. Lestat and the Mayfair witches both appear in the book, so it's helpful to be familiar with both the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Witch books.

By the way, if you are interested in historical fiction, you might want to check out another book by Anne Rice, The Feast of All Saints. It is set in New Orleans and follows the story of a family of free blacks in the time of slavery. Not a vampire in sight, but a good book :)

Z is for Zen

2009-03-03T18:41:00.001-08:00

I am not sure why it took me so long to post the final picture of the alphabet challenge, but here it is. My cute little Buddha beads.

Y is for Yarn

2009-02-25T20:36:00.001-08:00

My crate of yarn. Yummy, yummy yarn :) The Jigsaw yarn in front was my prize for the Oddballs' sockapalooza. It's a really pretty sock yarn.

X is for X

2009-02-24T22:20:00.001-08:00

W is for Washcloths

2009-02-23T18:29:00.001-08:00

Knit in 100% cotton last summer.

V is for V-shaped Edging

2009-02-22T22:54:00.001-08:00

I have been messing up the lace pattern of my sweater so much that I decided to practice the pattern by knitting a scrubbie. Here is a section of the edging. It's actually a very pretty pattern. And I seem to be very successful knitting it over 40 stitches. If only I could make it work over 200 :)

T and U

2009-02-21T17:50:00.001-08:00

U is for Unfinished Objects (or UFOs as they are called in the knitting world.
This is just a small selection of my UFOs :)

T is for Tangled Strings.

S is for Swarovski Crystals

2009-02-19T20:03:00.000-08:00

I love these beads. I have had the snowflake bead for years. I love it so much that I can never find the perfect project for it :) I am a little over-protective of my pretty beads.

Howl's Moving Castle

2009-02-18T21:37:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading this book this morning. It is a children's book about a girl named Sophie. In the land where Sophie lives, the third-born child is considered to be the successful one. Since Sophie is an eldest child, she has no big hopes for her future. Nonetheless, she ends up living an exciting life filled with magic, wizards and witches.

This book was a really fun read. At times, I wished that the author would have gone into more detail. The story seemed shallow at times, like it was just brushing over events, giving an abridged version of the story. Still, maybe it's fun to get to fill in all the details yourself :) Anyway, now I really want to watch the movie.

Q and R

2009-02-18T21:17:00.001-08:00

R is for Round-Nose Pliers.
A great tool for working with wire, especially when making loops.

Q is for Quan Yin.
The Goddess of Mercy. She sits in my craft room and brings peace.

P is for Purse

2009-02-16T16:29:00.001-08:00

This is the first purse I ever felted. My mom gave me the yarns for a Christmas gift along with the book Pursenalities. The pattern for this purse came from the book. By the way, I love that book. It has a good variety of purse patterns and really great instructions on how to felt.

Anyway, I love this purse, and I use it all the time. It's nice and big, so I can carry my book and my knitting in my purse. And that is a dream come true for me. However, the large size also makes it difficult to find important things like my wallet, cell-phone, keys and lip balm, so I decided to make a lining. Now, my sewing skills are lacking, and I have not used a sewing machine in years, but I still decided to try. I actually bought myself a sewing machine with some of my Christmas money, and this was my first time using it. For the lining, I used an old dress, red and glittery. I even made a pocket for my important items to live in. It is not perfect by any means, but I am very happy with how it turned out.

Also, I finished my CAL square for February last night. Here it is, the two-tone square. It's crocheted in the same colors as the last two squares. I don't really like the second square this month, so I will have to find something myself. This square turned out a little bigger than the other two squares, but that can be fixed later.

O is for Oven

2009-02-15T20:16:00.001-08:00

This is the oven where I baked my Sculpey buttons and embellishments this weekend. The two eyes are buttons for a purse I knit with a boucle yarn a while ago. The yarn is blue and purple and that is also the color in the iris of the buttons. The pumpkin is a button for my pumpkin purse, and the leaves will dangle from the pumpkin as an embellishment. It's gonna be so cool.

N is for Necklaces

2009-02-14T17:02:00.001-08:00

A collection of some of the necklaces I have made over the years. The one with the wooden beads and the cross was one of the first necklaces I ever made. I wore it for my senior portraits in high school.

M is for Mittens

2009-02-13T20:15:00.001-08:00

The very first mittens I ever knit. One of them is perfect; the other is huge and has no shape. The yarn I used was very hard to work with, but it looks very pretty in the finished product.

L is for Loom Beadwork

2009-02-13T09:48:00.001-08:00

I have been working on this bracelet for a long time. It uses traditional Native American designs in size 14 black and blue beads. I started a gradual color change to add in a different blue and can't decide if I like it or not, and that's where I got stuck. I guess I am going to have to bead a little bit more in the new color before I really know if I like it or not :) I love loom beadwork, all the teeny tiny beads coming together to make something beautiful. And it's so easy.

The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer

2009-02-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

I finished the fourth book of the Twilight series yesterday, and I have to say that this series consumed me. While I was reading if, it took over my brain. It's not that the plot is amazing. It is actually quite predictable, but there is something about these books. Maybe it's the characters. I'm not quite sure.

I am very partial to vampire stories, but these books are not my favorite in the vampire genre. Stephenie Meyer plays with the traditional vampire myths in a way that I did not particularly like. I like the idea of vampires burning in sunlight and staying out at night mostly. In her books, they do not burn in sunlight, they shine and glisten. Annoying. Also the whole pregnancy thing still bothers me. How can an undead vampire have viable sperm??

On another note, the main couple in the book, Bella and Edward, bother me also. She has no self-confidence and blames herself for everything. She is not a role model I would choose for teenage girls. Edward is overly protective, almost to the point of being a stalker. This is not the type of boyfriend that teenagers to hope to be or find. Plus they fall in love way too quickly!

I started reading these books because I wanted to see why so many teenagers (even the ones who never read for fun) are suddenly reading all Twilight, all the time. There is something compelling about the story, but I worry that these teens could be getting a false impression of what love is. I would recommend the books, because they are entertaining. Just be aware, they may also be extremely frustrating.

I, J and K

2009-02-11T19:59:00.000-08:00

I is for I-cord.
Very useful for purse handles and for decoration.

J is for Jasper beads.

K is for Knitting Needles.

H is for Hemp

2009-02-08T18:45:00.000-08:00

H is for hemp.

I started making hemp jewelry when I was in high school. I still do some macrame once in a while, mostly in the summertime.

E, F and G

2009-02-07T19:08:00.001-08:00

Well, I have gotten a little behind in my posting, so here are E, F and G altogether.

E is for eleven rows of swatching.
I knit my first gauge swatch for the sweater on size 8 circulars. The results are not good. I will need to buy new needles, size 9 I think. I will try straights before I go to the store.

F is for felting.

I love to felt my knitting. Felting uses hot water and agitation to alter the fiber. You have to use animal fiber in order to felt something. This purse is knit in wool. Here it is stuffed with plastic bags to maintain its cool shape as it dries. I think it looks a little like a pumpkin. What do you think?

Here is the purse before felting. You may notice the little leaves attached to the end of the strap vine that are no longer attached to the felted version. They fell off during felting. Oh well, I will reattach them.

Here are the big pumpkin leaves I knit. They look really weird after felting. Not sure what I will do with them.

G is for Gauge.

This is a neat tool that helps with gauge. Gauge is so important in knitting, especially if you want anything to fit correctly. This tool measures needle gauge and knitting gauge. I love it.

D is for Doodle

2009-02-04T19:09:00.000-08:00

Here is a doodle that I drew. I do love to doodle.

C is for Circular Needles

2009-02-04T19:07:00.001-08:00

My new circular needles. As soon as I finish my purse, I will use these to knit my sweater :)

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

2009-02-03T19:21:00.000-08:00

American Gods by Neil Gaiman is a very interesting book with a rich storyline. It tells the story of a man named Shadow, who has just been released from jail. He is offered a job by Wednesday. Wednesday wants Shadow to help him with a battle: the battle between the old gods and the new gods. The old gods are gods from the ancient pantheons who were brought to America in the minds and beliefs of immigrants. Some of the pantheons included in the book are Norse, Egyptian, Hindu, Native American, Celtic. There are also some folk figures included. Gaiman does not name all the gods explicitly, and some of them I could not figure out by myself. The new gods are the gods of tv, the internet, media, and other modern phenomena. The new gods are gaining worshippers, while the old gods are losing their power. Hence the battle.

Throughout the book, the main storyline is interrupted by short stories. These stories tell how the different gods were brought to America in the first place. These short stories are a fascinating addition to the book.

I really liked this book, and I would definitely recommend it The whole story was very imaginative, and the characters were well-developed. There was a little twist at the end that surprised me, but it fit perfectly with the storyline and characters. Overall, a good read.

B is for Bead Table

2009-02-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo of the inside of my bead table. Every little baggy and container is filled with beads. I also have all of my other beading supplies in my table.

I should bead more :)

A is for Amigurumi

2009-02-01T15:24:00.000-08:00

Amigurumi is a Japanese style of crochet. Instead of joining at the end of each round, the items are crocheted more in a spiral. Amigurumi are small stuffed toys, usually animals but also can be inanimate ojects that are given human features. Here is my amigurumi chicken.
If you have been reading this blog, you have probably seen this little guy before. But you have not seen the painting that inspired me to make a chicken. Here is my honey's chicken painting.I am often inspired by his paintings and hope to do more knitting, crochet and beadwork inspired by his paitings. He creates such awesome creatures :)

Alphabet Challenge

2009-01-26T20:00:00.000-08:00

In February, I will be attempting the alphabet challenge on both of my blogs. Basically, this means that I will be taking a picture each day to represent a different letter of the alphabet. February 1 will be "A is for...", February 2 will be "B is for..." and so on. Charlie from the Laughter Minute blog brought the challenge to my attention, and you can find more information here. You can also see his past attempt at this challenge. I will attempt the challenge on my Project 365 blog and I will attempt a crafty version on this blog. If you are interested in joining the challenge, you should visit the Laughter Minute blog and see what it's all about. I think it will be fun :)

Esther's Square

2009-01-24T08:57:00.001-08:00

Here is the second square in my 2009 CAL afghan. I am really digging this color combination. It actually came out to the same size as the first square, which is excellent. This square was so easy. The pattern repeats were easy to memorize, and it went really quickly. It is called Esther's square.
Now I can't wait until February.

Mandala Square

2009-01-21T19:30:00.001-08:00

Well, here is the first square of my 2009 Afghan CAL. It is crocheted with an H hook in Accord acrylic yarn. The final afghan will have four colors, including the two seen below. The square was supposed to be 12 inches, but came out a little small. I am going to see how the other squares turn out before I decide if I want to add extra rounds or not. Overall, I am really happy with how the square looks and I am excited to see the whole afghan come together over the course of the year. Tonight I will be starting the second January square.

Without further ado.....I give you the mandala square......

Pumpkin Purse

2009-01-14T19:05:00.001-08:00

Wow! I have been away for longer than I wanted to be. My computer had a virus. We fought valiantly, and I think we beat it. Yay!!

Anyway, here is the purse that I have been working on recently. I have all of this orange-ish wool and green wool, and looking at the two of them sitting together in my stash made me think of pumpkins. I decided that I wanted to make a felted pumpkin purse. The only tricky part in my mind was making the different sections of the pumpkin actually plump out like they do on real pumpkins. I started and frogged at least three times before finding the magic solution. This purse was knit in sections: six to be exact. Each section incorporates short rows to create the necessary shaping. Then the six sections were joined together to form this:

Time to bring in the green. I decided to knit a green strip to go around the rim of the purse. It will hopefully simulate the green top of the pumkin while also helping the purse to maintain its plump shape which I love so much.Here are the two parts pinned together. I think it looks pretty awesome so far. When I have them sewn together, I want to add some leaves and vines. I was thinking about trying to make the handle look like a leafy vine also, but I have not quite figured out how to make that happen yet.
Oh well, time to put on the thinking hat (and maybe the frogging hat) again.

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T12:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I rang in the new year playing Wii. It is very hard to take a picture of the tv, but here is my best attempt. That's Mario from Mariokart, bouncing around on some mushrooms :) I decided to make some New Year's Resolutions this year:
1. Keep my checkbook balanced.
2. Continue the diet and exercise regimen I started in the summer.
3. Knit myself a sweater.
4. Keep up with the block-a-month crochetalong that I joined on Ravelry.
5. Go to the local knitting group more often. They meet at a wine bar once a week; you just can't beat that :)
6. Do some charity knitting.
7. Practice some new knitting and crocheting techniques.
8. Make my crafts into a business, either throught Etsy, craft fairs, Saturday Market, or some combination.
9. Find a second income to fund my crafts until they become a more viable business.
10. Be happy with my life :)
11. Almost forgot: Project 365. I will take a picture every day and post it to my second blog.

When Life Gives You Apples.... Make Applesauce

2008-12-28T18:22:00.000-08:00

Recently, I was given a lot of apples. And by a lot of apples, I mean a garbage bag full of them. Here is a picture of some of the apples. Mmmmmmm. I was racking my brains about what to do with all of these apples. I figured I would have to freeze some of them. I will make an apple crisp for New Year's Eve. But I wanted to try something new, so I searched the internet for applesauce recipes and found one that used pretty basic ingredients. Then I modified the recipe a little bit. Here's what I ended up with:

16 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 cups of water
3/4 cup of white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of cinamon

Put all the ingredients in a large pot and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes or until apples are soft. Mash the apples (I used a potato masher, but I really think a handheld blender thingy would have worked really well. My mom raves about hers. ). Voila! You have applesauce. Yummy :)
By the way, that applesauce is posing in one of my new Pyrex bowls, which I got as a Christmas gift from my almost sister-in-law. They have lids and are great for food storage.

So Much for Goals....

2008-12-26T17:52:00.000-08:00

Back in November, I wrote a post about my new goal of finishing all of my UFOs before starting anything new. Well, I finished my baby gift for Sarah, and I started to finish my granny square purse and stuffed frog, but still working on both projects. Just the fact that I said "started to finish" makes me realize what a lofty goal it is for me to complete all of my UFOs. Anyway, so much for goals. Yesterday, I cast on for a new felted purse. I am creating my own pattern for this one; it has been living in my head for a long time, and I am finally letting it out. I also picked out a sweater pattern, and today I bought some yarn to knit the sweater. Yes, I am officially starting two new projects while at least 4 others sit on the sidelines in various stages of completion :P I will post pictures of all new projects as soon as there is something worth posting :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays. I know I am; I got a Wii for Christmas, and I can barely stop playing long enough to get any knitting done :D Its so much fun!

Vine Bracelet and Wire Ring

2008-12-16T18:34:00.001-08:00

Saturday night, I was inspired in my sleep. I dreamed of a bracelet that looked like a flowering vine. When I woke up, I realized that I had some green floral wire, colorful leaf beads and flower beads. I immediately cut some wire and started twisting. Here's what I ended up with:

Here's an action shot of the bracelet. Just ignore my dazzling tan :)
With the leftover wire, I made a ring, kind of a bird's nest ring.

Snow Day

2008-12-15T21:01:00.000-08:00

Sunday night, it snowed; it looked like about an inch of accumulation. Here in the Willamette Valley, that means a snow day. No school. It always seems weird to me, since I used to live in Wisconsin, where we never had a snow day. In my four years of high school, I had one snow day, because with the wind chill it was 60 below zero outside. I hated the snow when I lived in Wisconsin. Now, it's such a novelty, I don't mind it so much. Usually, on a snow day, I will make a snowman. However, today the snow would not cooperate, so I am posting a picture of the snowman I made 2 years ago, on a very mild snow day.

Notice how little snow is left in the yard after making a little snowman. He looks happy to hear that I had a snow day today :)

Berry Hill Fingerless Mitts

2008-12-14T18:31:00.000-08:00

So, my classroom is really, really cold. The heat comes on in the morning, and then for the remainder of the day, the fan blows cold air through the room. It actually creates a breeze in the room. Needless to say, I am always bundled up in extra clothes. I wear sweaters, scarves, gloves and sometimes even my coat. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to hand out papers when wearing gloves, so I decided to knit some fingerless mittens to keep my poor little hands warm at school. I found the pattern on Ravelry, and I love the pattern stitch in these mitts. It was very easy and it looks really cool. I used Red Heart acrylic yarn. My aunt gave me a bunch of it that she couldn't fit in her suitcase last time she visited. I guess even yarn is cheaper in the States :) The yarn is a dark green color. I knit in the round with size 3 dpns. And here are the pictures.......the right hand mitt......

And the left hand mitt.......

When I started the increases for the thumb, I followed the pattern exactly, but discovered that the method for increasing used in the pattern created little holes in the fabric (as seen below). After two increases like that, I changed the way I increased. In order to create a more solid fabric, I increased by putting the needle between the two stitches and making a stitch. This worked much better than the way outlined in the pattern.
This was my first time using a sewn bind off technique. I really like it and think I will use it more often. It allows the bind off edge more give. I usually bind off much tighter than my cast on edge, but this bind off edge is really comfortable. All in all, I love my new fingerless mitts. They allow me to do everything I need to do while keeping my little hands nice and warm :)

Gift for Sarah's Baby Aaron

2008-12-10T18:06:00.000-08:00

My cousin Sarah gave birth to her first baby just a few days ago. I really can't believe it, because I remember babysitting for Sarah when I was younger. Time flies. When I first found out she was pregnant, I immediately started knitting a blanket. I didn't know Aaron was going to be a boy, so I chose a nice shade of green to knit. After the blanket was finished, I crocheted a hat to match. Then I knit some booties. It was harder than I thought to knit two matching booties, so I now have an extra bootie. Finally, I bought some blue yarn, after Aaron was born, and I knit a little teddy bear. He has a grommet in his ear, with a ribbon passed through it. The ribbon has a snap closure, so the bear can be secured to a stroller or a car seat and not get lost. Cute, huh?

All of the items were knit in Cottontots, 100% cotton. It is so soft :). I found the patterns for the blanket and the bear on knittingpatterncentral.com. The hat is from 24 Hour Crochet, and the booties are from an issue of a knitting magazine I randomly bought myself. I can't wait to mail it to her.

What a cute face!

2008-11-29T17:18:00.000-08:00

My frog finally has a face. The features are all made from i-cord knit in acrylic. I think he looks great :)

A Relaxing Day

2008-11-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

I had the day off work today, and I had a wonderful day. I picked up the house in the morning, then spent the remainder of the day reading, crocheting and watching decorating shows. I finished my book The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coehlo. Awesome book, it sucked me in. Overall a perfect day :)

My New Goals...

2008-11-16T21:12:00.000-08:00

My new goal is to finish some of the many projects I have started. I also decided to do some charity knitting.

Here is my first chemo cap. It is knit from a really soft and fuzzy green acrylic yarn, with black eyelash yarn accent. I used a diamond lace pattern that you can't see very clearly.

Here is a close-up of the lace pattern. Not a great picture.

I have decided that the first project I want to complete is my granny square purse. I completed the body of the purse tonight. Here is one side of purse.

Here is the other side. Note the opposite colors in the squares.

Now I just have to make a strap, make a lining, and weave in all the thread ends!!

Whew!! There are a lot of ends to weave in.

Ayer, vi a un gato morir :(

2008-11-09T12:33:00.000-08:00

Warning: this story is a little graphic, but I have to get it out.

Yesterday, as I was driving to the store, I saw a cat get hit by the car in front of me. The driver did not stop, and the cat flopped and twitched around the road in front of me. I had to stop to see if I could do something, at least check for a tag and call the pet owner. Well, the kitten had no tags. He lay on the road twitching silently, one eyeball hanging out, his mouth filled with blood. I sat with him 'til he died, and then I cried. I got back in my car and left the little kitten, not knowing what else I could do. His image now haunts my thoughts.

Congratulations!

2008-11-08T14:29:00.000-08:00

Congratulations, President Elect Barack Obama. Keep on inspiring this nation.

Birthday Girl

2008-10-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

It's my birthday today.....32. My honey took me out for dinner to a chinese restaurant and bought me some dishes that I have wanted for a long time. He's so sweet :) I had an awesome day :)

Etsy Advice?

2008-10-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about the possibility of selling my crafts for a long time now. Since I started knitting again, I have been building up a huge amount of random finished objects, and I can't possibly use them all or give all away to friends/family. There is a large outdoor craft market here in Oregon, The Saturday Market, and I thought about selling there. There is a membership fee and a selling fee, but they are both pretty reasonable. But since the fee is annual and runs March to March, I don't think I want to even try it until next Spring. That brings me to Etsy. I hear a lot about Etsy on the blogs I read and on Craftster and Ravelry. I even found this cool advice book, The Etsy Seller's Handbook, which is a little overwhelming because it has so much information (found on Sew You Want To's blog). I just don't know if Etsy is for me. What I really want to know is this: Is Etsy worth it? Can you sell items at a price that is fair to the crafter? Do you have to put more money in than you get back? Does updating your Etsy page become like a second job? Any help or advice is welcome.

2 Bags and a Snake

2008-10-13T18:53:00.000-07:00

Here is some of my latest work. I have been busy :) First, my market bag. I crochetd this bag using used plastic grocery bags. I cut the bags into strips and then crocheted them together. I based the bag shape on a paper grocery bag shape. It really does not photograph well, unfortunately.
Here is another shot, filled with groceries. Still did not photograph well :) I do like the colors that came through from the different grocery bags. I will definitely do this again, but will try a different bag shape.
Here is my progress on my granny square purse. I call it autumn sunflowers. This is most of one side of the bag, all sewn together. I am about halfway through the other side and am excited to see how it all turns out when finished.
I am also working on a stuffed rainbow snake. It started out as a skinny scarf with a ruffle on the end. I started knitting with an unidentified yarn that I inherited from a friend of a friend's grandma's stash. Whooh, that's a mouthful :) The yarn didn't look great as a scarf, and my fiancee suggested that I try making it into a snake. So I extended the ruffle to become the head, and I decreased the other end to become the tail. I started stuffing it with polyfil, but it doesn't have the feel that I want, so I think I will add some beans?
Anyway, what do you think of my creations??

Yippee!

2008-10-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

I was chosen as one of the winners in the Oddballs' sock challenge on Ravelry. I'm not sure what my prize will be or when it will arrive (its coming all the way from Australia), but I am very excited and proud :)

Beautiful Socks

2008-09-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

I finished my socks last night, and I love them. They are so warm and comfy. I cannot wait for the cooler weather, so I can wear them. And the colors are fabulous. Some of the stripes even match up perfectly, completely by accident :)

I used the Hedera pattern from Knitty. The lace pattern was pretty easy to memorize. I did drop a few stitches and have a few difficulties, but I think I fixed all the mistakes. I knit the socks with Read Heart Heart and Sole sock yarn in Congo. I was really pleasantly surprised by the yarn, considering it is Red Heart, but really I would have a hard time justifying buying some of the sock yarn I see in stores. $20 a ball....that's a little more than I want to spend on a pair of socks! I used size 3 dpns to knit the socks.

These were really fun to knit and so portable. I am really proud of my first socks.

Cool Movies

2008-09-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

I love to watch movies, but I always wait to rent them on dvd, as I cannot justify the outrageous prices at the theater. This weekend, I saw The Forbidden Kingdom. I love Jackie Chan and Jet Li, so this movie was an obvious choice for me. It was awesome. I really enjoyed it. Great fight scenes, interesting storyline. Love it!

The week before, I saw The Fall. Wow!! This movie is so visually stimulating. I loved it. The storyline is great, and the characters are all so interesting. I tried to knit while watching, but I could not. So much visual interest....the colors....the effects.....the optical illusions. Love it!!

The Beginning of the Sock

2008-09-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

I officially started my sock the day before yesterday. Here is my progress so far. I love the colors!! And the lace pattern is really cool, although you cannot see it in this picture :)

Pissed Off!!!

2008-09-06T19:26:00.001-07:00

So I am getting ready to knit a pair of socks for a Ravelry challenge. I bought the yarn, I printed out the pattern, and I thought I was ready to go. Unfortunately, the dpns I have are the wrong size. My two local knitting supply stores are Fred Meyer and JoAnn's. No LYS. Neither of them carry the size needle that I need! I am pissed off once again. This town is a very annoying place to live as a knitter. I have a very limited selection of yarns and a very limited selection of needles. The closest LYS is over a half an hour away in another town!! Urgh!!! Now I don't know when I will start my socks :(

Exhausted!!

2008-09-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I have completed my first week at school, and I am exhausted. But I love it. :) I am excited about the year ahead.

I have decided to try a sock challenge on Ravelry, and I will be beginning my first sock tomorrow. I am assured that it will be easy, fun, and possibly addicting. Like I am not already addicted to knitting!

This school year, I will be doing some charity knitting, and I am encouraging my students to join me. I am hoping to get some of them to participate and help me knit/crochet squares for a blanket for Project Linus. I am also hoping to start a local craft circle. This week, I will be making a flier to post around town. I hope that there are like-minded people in town who will join me at a cafe once a week to knit, crochet, bead, or whatever. Fun, fun, fun :)

Crochet Success

2008-09-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

Ta da!!! My amigurumi chicken is finished. Here is a picture of him sitting with his little chicky friends. The pattern called for pipe cleaner legs, but I crocheted his little feet. I used felt for his eyes and bill.

The crochet is a little loose. He is by no means perfect. I think I may have used too big of a hook? But I still think he is very cute :) He is my first completed crochet project. Yippee!!

Then, I decided to try some granny squares. I call them Autumn Sunflowers. I got the pattern from a Better Homes and Gardens book. I think they will end up as a very cool project when they are assembled into something. Right now I am thinking of a granny square bag. Hmmm....

Trying to Crochet :)

2008-08-21T21:25:00.001-07:00

So, I decided I wanted to try to crochet again. I started last night. I found a pattern for an amigurumi chicken to make for my honey. Why would I make him a chicken you may ask? Well, he is an artist and he recently painted a picture of a chicken. Also, he recently found a package of small, fuzzy, easter chicks and placed them all around my craft room. So, I thought it would be funny if I made him a chicken :)

Anyway, I pulled out my Complete Guide to Needlework and opened to the crochet chapter. I picked up my yarn and my crochet hook and started following the diagrams. Unfortunately, every time I made more than one stitch, they all became just one big loop. I stared at those diagrams all night. Nothing worked.

Today, I decided to give it another shot. I pulled out the book, my yarn and my hook, and started over. This time, something clicked. OMG!! I was crocheting!! I didn't want to stop in case I would forget how to do it again. It all seemed so magical. This is a picture of how far I got. The body is complete. It took me about 2 hours. I still have to make wings, feet and beak, but my chicken is almost complete.If you look closely, you can see that my stitches start out very loose and get tighter as I continued :) That is, if you can focus clearly on my horrible photo ;P I will try to take a better pic tomorrow when it is brighter. I was just so excited that I crocheted something that I had to post immediately. I can't wait to finish all the details. Hopefully, it will look a little like a chicken :D

More about the purse

2008-08-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

I realize that I may have told a story about why I made the purse for my sister, but I never wrote about the details of how the purse was made. I will reveal those details now. I used Sugar n Cream cotton yarn in white and size 6 needles. The purse is about 9 inches wide. I used three different stitches to create the texture: garter, simple seed, and a basic lace pattern that I then threaded the ribbon through. I experimented with pre-made handles, because I was running out of time (I stayed up til 1am the night before the wedding putting finishing touches on this creation). I always work best when I am racing against a deadline :D I had also considered wide ribbon handles and knitted i-cord handles. Anyway, I am proud of the purse. I did not use a pattern and I made it up as I went. It served its purpose well, too.

Bridal Emergency Kit

2008-08-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I just got back from a little vacation. I drove from Oregon to Illinois for my sister's wedding. It was a busy vacation, and that is why I have not been posting recently. But now, I am back. My fiance and I were both in the wedding. I was the maid of honor, and he was an usher. Our cat traveled with us in the car. Here is a picture of her sitting under the car seat. Her head is sticking out. Isn't she cute?

She was a pretty good passenger, all things considered.

Anyway, my mom found this list of things to include in a bridal emergency kit online and suggested that I put one together for my sister. So I decided to go one step further and I knit a small purse for the kit. I chose white, since she was wearing white, and green, since that was the color of the bridesmaid dresses. I also made the bridesmaids' jewelry, which you can see in an earlier post (http://loca-for-crafts.blogspot.com/2008/07/beaded-flower.html). Here is the bridal emergency kit......

I attached the beaded flower that I had made earlier. Read about that here: http://loca-for-crafts.blogspot.com/2008/07/bridesmaid-jewelry.html
And here is a picture of all the goodies inside. Some of the items are harispray, tissues, hairpins, sewing kit, breathmints, hand wipes, chapstick, hand lotion........ It was pretty stuffed. If I had to do it again, I would make sure to include band-aids. The possibilities are endless.Anyway, the wedding was great. I am originally from Ireland, and a lot of family made the trip to Illinois from Ireland. It was fun to see them all, but I am glad to be home :)

Magazine Storage Boxes (and bookends) :)

2008-07-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to organize my craft room all summer long. I found this great project on Craftster, and I used it as a guide. Here is the link: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=177297.0 Here is my version. The first two pictures are of the storage box for my knitting and crochet magazines. It is painted and has a decoupaged picture on each side; one for crochet and one for knitting. Here is the crochet side:
Here is the knit side:
I also made a storage box for my beading magazines. For this one, I tore out pages from my favorite bead catalog, Fire Mountain Gems, and decoupaged them on the box. Voila....
I really like how they turned out. My craft room should be organized by the end of summer :)