Golf Club Cover

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

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.

Waldo's Puzzle

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

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

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

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

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.

S is for Swarovski Crystals

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.

Pumpkin Purse

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.

Berry Hill Fingerless Mitts

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

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.

Etsy Advice?

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

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??

Beaded Flower

I made a beaded flower!! I tried to make one of these a long, long time ago and only managed to get halfway through one petal before completely giving up. Well, now, years later, I sat down with the intention of finishing a complete beaded flower.....and voila, here it is, beaded in my sister's wedding colors. The center of the flower has three of the yellow-green pearls used in the bridesmaid's jewelry and the silver seed beads are also from that jewelry.
Here is a side view with the wires ends still exposed. I will attach the flower to a pin back and use it as part of a final wedding day gift for my sister. I'll post pics as I progress with the flower and gift.
I am just so excited with how well it worked out. And you'll never believe it, but when I went to JoAnn's to buy some pin backs, all jewelry making supplies were 50% off. I was able to contain myself and only buy what I needed (the pin backs), although it was tempting.

I <3 Craigslist!

So, my fiance is a little obsessed with Craigslist. Since he knows how much I love to knit and bead and stuff, he always keeps his eyes open for good crafty deals. Recently, he found me this amazing deal.

A bunch of free knitting needles of varying sizes (and some wooden crochet needles, not pictured)....

And a whole box of free needlecraft books and magazines from the 50s through the 90s (2 pictured below).
I am just a little excited about my new stash :) And its even better because my honey found it all for me and encouraged me to get it. If that is not love, I don't know what is.

Remote Control Caddy

Here is my remote control caddy. I am not sure what to call it, so I am calling it a caddy. After the felting this past weekend, I sewed the main pouch into three compartments for my three main remote controls.

I just knit an extra wide scarf. I reversed the stockinette stitch for the bottom part, so that the folded pouch would have a right side out also. Then I felted. The other end just folds over the side of the chair and under the seat cushion. And voila!!

I am so happy I did a felted gauge swatch. It worked out perfectly, and my measurements and estimated change in size due to felting were also perfect. It fits all three remotes, and the felting makes it sturdy enough to hold their weight.

You can see my kitty got into the picture, too. She just can't resist a photo opp. :)

Wonderful Knitting Weekend!!

A few weeks ago, my honey asked me if I would knit him some gloves. I answered, "Of course," although I was very nervous about the prospect. I had never knit gloves before. I did knit mittens once. They did not turn out so well. They are so large that they slip off my hands, and one of them is considerably larger than the other. Yeah, you could say I was nervous about knitting gloves....I mean gloves with five whole fingers!!

But, apparently I have gotten better at knitting since I tried those mittens. I mean, these gloves turned out awesome. I used a yarn from JoAnn Fabrics. My sister gave it to me as a gift. Debbie Mumm Traditions yarn in Chocolate Raspberry. The yarn knit up really nicely. It is so soft and the color change is really neat. And, perhaps the most surprising of all.....the gloves are both the same size, and they fit. Success :)


This weekend was also felting weekend. I threw all my felting projects in the washer with some awesome Kookaburra soap and off we went.....Here are all my felting projects drying in the sun. Well, actually there was no sun, but they dried outside.

There's 4 cat toys waiting to be stuffed with stuffing and catnip, a small purse that needs to be shaved a little, a remote control holder pouch thingy of my own design, and a bright green frog waiting to be stuffed.

Hopefully, he will look more like a frog when he is finished. I plan to use some felt to make his bulging eyes look more like eyes. He obviously needs to be stuffed, and I plan to sew his feet and hands so that they look more webbed-like.

Altogether, it was a wonderful knitting weekend :P

Felted Cat Toy

This is one of my favorite things to knit. I created the pattern myself. Its super easy, and I can knit a bunch of them in one night. Basically the toy is carrot-shaped. It was originally supposed to look like a mouse, and the first one I knit had an attempt at embroidered eyes and mouth. I even knit little ears. Then I realized that my cat doesn't care if the toy really looks like a mouse or not. She just wants it stuffed with catnip, so I stuff with a mixture of polyfil and really good catnip.



Man, does she love this toy!!!

She prefers natural yarns, and she really likes when I felt the toys, so that's what I do. I knit the toy on straight needles and just sew up the seam before felting, leaving a little spot for stuffing. Then after felting, I stuff with polyfil and catnip, sew it up and leave the ends of the yarn dangling like a tail. Those ends can also be used when playing with the toy, making it much more fun.

Maybe I did use a little too much catnip. Kitty looks wasted!!! :P

Ribbon Yarn Purse is Complete :)

Ta Da!! I finished my ribbon yarn purse. It was knit in Lion Brand Incredible ribbon yarn. The color is Autumn Leaves. I like the color a lot and I like how the purse knit. The pattern was really easy to follow and it was easy to shape. I got it from the book Knitting with Ribbon Yarn by Tracy Chapman.

I used different size needles than the pattern called for. I used size 8 and 10 aluminum needles. There is something about metal needles that I really like. I think it is because I used them when I was younger.

I'm not sure that I like the twisted cord handles on the purse. They seem wimpy for the purse. If I ever knit this style again, I would change the handles to something more substantial.

This is a fun book...some really fun accessory projects. There is a cool flower pattern pillow I would like to try sometime. And, surprisingly, ribbon yarn was fun and easy to knit with (I was not expecting that).

My first blog

This is my first blog. I wanted a place where I can share my various creations with friends and strangers around the world. I knit, I bead, and occassionally I sew. Accessories are my passion.

I guess I have been knitting since the second grade. I grew up in Ireland and learned to knit at school. But I stopped knitting for many years and only recently picked up my knitting needles again. Now I am addicted. I remember in fifth grade I knit a sweater with pretty cables going down the sleeves. Now I am nervous to even try knitting a cable, but I did receive the Vogue Stitchionary Cable volume for Christmas, and I am eager to test it out. I'm sure I'll let you know how that turns out when I try. Right now I am attempting to knit a stuffed frog...because I had a lot of green yarn :) Pictures will follow.

I have also been beading for many years....since high school. I love bead weaving of every kind. The smaller the beads, the happier I am :) If I ever lose my eyesight, I might go insane. Recently, however, my knitting has taken over. Knitting is a lot more portable than teeny tiny seed bead projects....and I am a lot less likely to lose a ball of yarn.

I do some macrame and some sewing, although I don't have a sewing machine right now, which frustrates me often. I have started to really like working with sculpey clay. I'd like to learn more. I am always looking for a new way to use my creativity. And that is me and my crafts in a nutshell.