c r a f t s o n t o a s t

FOs in Action!

2011-03-25T18:43:00.000-07:00

Baby booties in action! (via DP)
Well, as close to action as a 21-days old baby can get.

DP kindly posted a photo of his sweet girl, MMP, wearing the baby booties I made for her right after she was born. So, I was working on the second bootie in the lunchroom at work and one of the ladies asked if I was selling them. I shook my head apologetically and said no. As much as I love knitting as my primary hobby once it turns, for lack of a better word, job-y my focus starts heading downhill. Hobbies satisfy a a personal interest that is totally under your own control; not a time limit or a requirement, or a dollar amount or use value--it's always about what ever satisfaction you get from it.

My nephew playing with his Little Teddy Bear. (via LM)

My sister sent me some photos of my nephew playing with the Little Bear I gave him when they visited in February. According to the email, he put it in his shoe and began driving him around eventually parking him in the laundry basket. As you can see, I did knit a sweater for the Bear. On a side note, I love his fatty baby hands.

This to That

2011-03-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

Remember Longina/Trigoria? It was a hybrid of the Trina Cardigan and another pattern written after a sweater that Eva Longoria was photographed wearing in, like, 2008. Well, I was really close to being done. REALLY close. The sleeves were still live but everything else had been bound off or woven in and I had a nice wooden button ready. I'd even gone as far as washing and blocking just to see how much the yarn blossomed. But that was it. While it did satisfy what I'd originally planned for and desired as a knitting project way back when, the physical result just did not hit the mark. The pockets weren't as deep as I would have liked, the sleeves weren't quite long enough, the collar was itchy and didn't stand up too well, and I felt it was overall too baggy and schleppy and very much something you would throw on to take out the trash.

It was last September that I sent the cardi to the frog pond. I pulled out my SUPER AMAZING YARNBALL WINDER and started cranking. It was a lot of yarn; I mean, I was cranking that handle for daaaays. Since I started with a basic raglan, I frogged up to the armpits and went with simple cap sleeves. With the left and right bands, I made a neckline placket (which is now oh so slightly off-centered now, but I have plans), then knit so many inches of plain stockinette plus waist shaping, and closed it out with an easy 1x1 bottom rib. The neck stitches were picked up for a squat foldover collar a la mock turtleneckish-bateau. The collar was tacked down by crochet over sewn-in method, and then I made some loops down the neckline placket which is ready for some buttons.

I'm quite pleased with it now. It's feels much better, it has an actual shape and a bit of visual interest. I was really hoping to have enough yarn for a sweater tunic with two flat front pockets, alas it was not destined to be.

After a nice soak to straighten out those frog wrinkles, we're now on the second day of drying. With this dreary gray weather I'm banking around some time next weekend for it to be totally dry. Do you know what that means? I can't try it on and fudge and fidget. It's just going to lay there atop the towel and drying board mocking me.

I did discover something funny last night.

The last two inches of the sweater is from a different dye lot because there is a very clear demarcation of two different blacks. I'm glad it's at the bottom.

Fry

2011-03-12T21:01:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago my friend, TJ, requested a Bender doll which I happily knitted for him. To continue with the trend of his love for all that is Futurama, I knitted a companion: Philip J. Fry.

Since I love making toys Fry was another easy knit-out-as-you-go sort of patterns where I started at the head with CO 4 sts and took it from there so, unfortunately, I can't offer a pattern. I was in a time crunch since Fry had to be mailed to Hollywood in time for TJ's birthday (which is today).

Bender and Fry (via TJM)

My least favorite part of this was Fry's hair. I ended up knitting a separate wig-like piece that I sewed on afterward. I couldn't quite figure out how to knit that cowlick-fauxhawk as in the animated version so I settled for a sort of half cable-half bobble turned into itself. I know, it's totally confusing, but it is exactly what it sounds like.

A couple of my favorite things about Fry: instead of fiberfill, his legs are stuffed with thick leftover cotton yarn that I wound in mini 4" hanks so he can sort of stand upright; and his jacket is removable. I was worried that when TJ opened his gift, he might think, "Cool! Conan O'Brien!" so I added the pizza box accessory. That was easy with a bit of cardstock folded in half, a Panucci's Pizza image via Google image search, and a pizza pie clipart (which you can't see it because it's on the inside!) were printed on 2" Avery mailing labels.

Oh Baby!

2011-02-06T13:20:00.000-08:00

These are for MMP who was born just 2 weeks ago.

Oh, Baby! Baby Booties pattern from Empty Knitster
Takumi #3/3.25mm
BMFA STR Medium in "Jewel of the Nile"

Amigurumi

2011-02-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

^_________^

I did it. I crocheted something that is neither a granny square nor a flower but a thing! An actual! Real! Thing!

Yesterday, I was on a cleaning kick and decided to rearrange all my crap. It ended up being a really good thing because I rediscovered FOUR craft books that I had pretty much forgotten existed. One was how to knit with beads, one was on general knits for family and home, and the last two were knitted toys and Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts!: Amigurumi that my little cousins gifted me two years ago, either for Christmas or my birthday.

I've seen amigurumi, I love it, and I've read tutorials but I could never completely wrap my head around it because, c'mon, it's crochet and crocheting is weird. Even the word "crochet" is weird--it looks like "crotchet." Suffice it to say I'll always be a knitter first, a hooker second. But the designer makes it super easy with simplified illustrations, step-by-step instructions and minimal blather.

My first amigurumi, a gift for my nephew, is the Little Teddy Bear. He is a wee bear at 5 inches tall. The only mod I made was to crochet the head and body together instead of two separate pieces, but everything else I followed to the number. Now, to knit some clothes for the little bear.

Sickly. Betterly.

2010-11-22T12:41:00.000-08:00

After dealing with a stomach bug yesterday that sent me home from work after only an hour, I'm finally feeling good enough to get out of bed. And, since today is one of those cold, Is going to rain? Is it going to stay sunny? kind of days, I'm just going to stay indoors and play more with my YARN BALL WINDER. YARN BALL WINDER! Thanks J and A. Seriously, how did I manage to go this long without one.

I'm running madly around my room unearthing a bunch of unfinished projects; ones that sat totally abandoned for years, and others that I've found better use for the yarn. Woo! Frog and ball party! With my yarn ball winder!

Here is one project that I am particularly excited about. The mittens-part, not so much. But look at that design and colorwork! Giggity. I spent part of the morning reworking the pattern so it's all one piece. What it's going to be exactly, I don't know. But I know it'll be enjoyable because it's not for anyone or for any occasion; it's simply because I like knitting.

Getting back to my Frog and ball party, the two yarns I want to knit with are being used in two different projects that have sat in bags waiting for their completion or demise. Now that I have a winder, the yarn bag is going to be looking a little bit different.

Back to Normal

2010-11-18T18:06:00.000-08:00

I love caaaashmere.

Hi.

I have not been crafty in fooorrrevverrrr. I don't know if you'd call six-plus months of not knitting, crocheting or scrapbooking that significant of an absence, but for someone who doesn't have time for many other hobbies, it has felt like forever. In that time, I had a milestone birthday--one that I'm still getting used to, quite honestly. Aside from that, thanks to some friends who gave me a gift certificate to KnitPicks, I fell back on the craftywagon.

With my gift, I got a yarn ball winder, which I broke in not even half an hour after it arrived in the mail with two-year old hank of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool; two KP lint shavers; two Clover hooks in H and J; and two beautiful bouncy balls of KP Capra cashmere/merino in Admiral (a plummy navy) and Fairy Tale (a deep fuchsia).

That yarn ball winder is so much fun. I dug through some of my stash and wound everything that needed to be more yarn ball-y. With the Capra, I just CO for a new winter cowl. Only 9 rows in and it's already so soft and smooshy. And, I think having two essential hook sizes will get me into the crochet thing again since zigzags and non-granny granny squares have been on the brain all summer.

I'm glad it's winter.

Upcycled Storage

2010-03-25T18:22:00.000-07:00

A few months back, I bought a sleeping pillow (The Khaki Collection by Calvin Klein Home) which came in a nice, big zippered bag that I just couldn't throw away. It hung around my room, moved around some, eventually got a bit dusty, but I knew I could upcycle it for something. I finally found a use: yarn storage!

Since it's zippered, those wayward yarn strings can't escape. Because it's flat, I can't stack the yarn. That's a big bonus because stacking can sometimes lead to more disorganization--having to always shift yarns or getting lazy about having to rearrange everything once I've dug one ball out. Also, the flatness is perfect for discreet sliding under the bed. I've managed to comfortably store about 2/3 of my stash into this one bag and freed up four of my cute, reusable shopping bags.

He Likes It!

2010-03-21T09:58:00.001-07:00

Batman hat on NU.

Mega and Muno

2010-03-07T16:51:00.000-08:00

In February, I was commissioned for two new projects. One was the Megaman helmet which I loved making. It is a full adaptation of the Amelia Earhart Aviator pattern that is uniquely constructed with a ton of easy W&Ts. It was a fun knit because it's not your traditional top-down or bottom-up hat, it's a side-to-side! I was excited to watch it come together.

The only thing I would've done differently, had I known how the helmet was designed, was to knit the helmet peak in pattern instead of adding it afterwards. It would've been a VERY easy addition consisting of a few rows of increases and then decreases, and bam, helmet peak. By the time I realized how easy it would be, though, I was almost done and I did not want to rip out 2/3 of the hat. Instead of following the garter peak as in TrinKnitty's pattern, I picked up stitches and knitted the peak on as I would as a perpendicular border.

The second project, Muno from Yo Gabba Gabba, was a little less exciting since all he was was a red tube with legs, i-cord arms, one giant eye and a duplicate-stitched mouth. I left the bumps off because 1) that would've been too meticulous--even for me--to do the math in order to distribute bumps evenly and 2) I don't like bobbles in thin weights. Cute, chunky bobbles are one thing, but aran/worsted weight bobbles would make him look contagious. He came out nicely overall. I love working out one-piece toys because I like figuring out attached limbs over the sewn-on method.

MMM 2010

2010-03-01T17:07:00.001-08:00

Here, it's March Mending Month or, as I like to say it in my head, Mmmmmm 2010. Since this weekend was a busy one full of doing NOTHING, I pulled out some things that needed a little sprucing up and/or finishing up.

The elastic smocking on a dress started coming apart at the side seam. Fixed! See where it goes all crooked? Yeah, that's my handy work. Since it's a side seam, I wasn't too concerned about aesthetics.

Not one, but two holes in my fishnet stockings. Fixed! Well, fixed enough since I usually layer the fishnets over black opaque stockings.

Remember the purple and tweed cowl I was making à la Cosmicpluto's Attabi Cowl (née woven stitch wrap)? Despite loving everything about it--color, stitch pattern, everything!--I just couldn't finish it. I did find myself hankering for a hat, though so I frogged it and knitted a tweed slouchy hat. To add a dash of me to the very simple design, I duplicate-stitched a single neon pink heart on the side. Don't you absolutely love my elephant refrigerator magnets?

All that is left is for MMM is to rework the sleeves on my basic black cardigan (remember Longina/Trigoria?) and put on a cute faux wooden button on the tab collar. I want to make the sleeves a tiny bit longer. We'll see how that goes since there is only a medium-sized ball of black yarn left after knitting N's Batman hat.

Onto the finishing, I have two commissioned projects to finish up within the next couple of weeks. One is a Megaman helmet and the other is Muno from Yo Gabba Gabba, both which I'll talk about later.

Na na na na na na na na, Batman!

2010-02-01T14:38:00.000-08:00

NU's Batman hat at his request because it's cold in NYC.

The hat was a simple CO 90 with a thick 2x1 ribbing. The free knitting chart is by Elizabeth Thomas and is so well done. Were it not for other priorities, I'm pretty sure I would have completed the chart in about a day just because I wanted to see the outcome. The black, which I didn't want to cut, is stranded with the grey which only runs the length of the chart and not the circumference of the whole hat making it a stranded intarsia-like combination. Or something. I don't really know. I just didn't want to weave it any ends.

A good wash and blocking is all that is left before I send it East.

Next up: Batman hat WITH eyemask and ears. SO BADASS!

Mr. Oogie Boogie

2009-11-23T13:32:00.000-08:00

This is Mr. Oogie Boogie from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. He's for my coworker, JS, who is freakishly obsessed with the movie and this particular character.

The green yarn (which should be a more saturated lime green than pictured--thanks to impatience and phonecam) is Reynolds French Floss, quadruply stranded to be knit on US8 dpns. The rest is scrap yarn. To make the bedbugs leeching from his belly I single-crocheted some ugly, self-striping sock yarn into French knots. The pair of red dice are plain, medium seed beads from the stash.

He's about 6 inches tall from tip to toe, and while I would've liked to knit him a little taller, frankly, I got bored with it. He's ugly (being the boogieman and all) and shapeless (he's a potato sack). The only fun thing was figuring how to create his face, the bedbugs and the dice. I guess I'm all about the details.

November Knitting

2009-11-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

I normally love the summertime; warm weather, sunshine, cool drinks and good bbqs. But, as a knitter, I eagerly await the fall and winter weather and I get really excited when the seasons turn and the days become chilly and gray. Hello, knitting!!!

The project on top is a woven stitch cowl inspired by Cosmicpluto's Woven Stitch Wrap which, by the way, she hasn't even posted a pattern for yet but I was completely awestruck by the design and the colors that I immediately wanted one for myself in cowl-form. The yarn, which I inherited several skeins from my aunt's massive de-stashing, is vintage Aarlen Royal Tweed in a gorgeous heather gray-brown with flecks of green, orange and burgundy. The purple yarn is some boring Vanna's Choice acrylic that was an impulse buy at Michaels for a mere $1.49, and all's I can say is you get what you pay for. Aside from my dislike of the huge acrylic content, it's knitting up fairly quickly and I'm excited with each row. I continue to wonder how scratchy it will be, but I kind of don't care because it's going to look amazing.

The project below is a pair of fingerless gloves in Reynolds Royale Crylor, also vintage and also from my aunt's de-stash. This is one of my favorite shades of blue; a sort of saturated light sky blue. I needed a pair of gloves for my morning commute but all I could find were my first pair of mittens I knitted for my first winter visit to NY. The lack of grip (hello, steering wheel) and some fingers (hello, radio), made me rethink my glove situation. I had intended to knit Toasty, but instead I forged ahead with my own pattern aka designing as I went along. I finished the first glove at work, and hopefully I can get the second one finished without too much second-sock/glove/sleeve syndrome.

Free Pattern: Bender

2009-10-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

Bender is started at the tip of his antenna and worked down to his body. His face, arms and legs are made separately and sewn on after. He was heavily improvised as I went along because that's just how I roll so if you're a seasoned knitter and comfortable with small diameter knits, you shouldn't have too much of a problem. The reason I say this is because I didn't keep track of specific stitch counts unless they are specified in the pattern. Also, this is my first written pattern, and I use "written" extremely loosely as you'll see when you read through the pattern.

YOUR TOOLBOX
Set of 5 US3/3.25mm DPNS
Sts markers to mark the beg of rnds
Blunt embroidery needle to weave in ends
Stuffing
Gray yarn for body
Yellow yarn for eyes and mouth
Bits of black yarn for pupils
Sewing needle
Matching gray thread
Crochet hook (to pick up sts)

THINGS YOU SHOULD BE COMFORTABLE WITH OR GOOGLE BEFOREHAND
inc
dec
m1
i-cord
cable cast on
knitting in the round
picking up stitches
making a bobble
sewing with a blunt embroidery needle and a sewing needle
small diameter knitting

HEAD
With gray yarn, CO 4-sts and begin i-cord for four rounds
Purl two rounds
Inc 1 in every stitch for top of head
Knit to mouth
BO 8-sts for top lip
Knit back and forth for two rows
Starting on RS, cable CO 8-sts for lower lip and join back in the round
Continue knitting in the round for four rnds
BO loosely
DO NOT break yarn

BODY
With same gray yarn still attached to his head, pick up stitches for body
K one rnd
Inc 1 in every other stitch
Knit two rnds
Inc 4-sts evenly around
Knit body until it's the same size as his head
Purl one rnd
Start decreasing evenly for the flat base of his shiny metal ass
Close up the hole
Break yarn

MOUTH
His mouth is basically a 9 sts/5 row rectangle with yellow yarn that I sewed into his face with matching gray thread. You can knit it into place via intarsia or fair isle method but I wanted his mouth to be dimensional. Also, if you choose the sewn in route, you'll want to knit this BEFORE you close up his body so you can sew it in without having to make any crazy dexterous maneuvers.

ARMS & LEGS (2 of each )
With gray yarn, starting at the base of his foot CO 3
Inc one st on each end until 7 sts
Dec back to 3 sts
Pick up stitches all the way around the base
Starting in the round, knit two rounds
Dec for however many rnds required until you have 5 or 6 sts left (it took me two rounds, dec every sts)
Begin 5 or 6-sts i-cord as same length as body
Break a tail of yarn enough to run yarn through the leftover sts and sew top of leg to the base of body

EYES & EYE CASING
For his Eyes, with yellow yarn, knit a 12 sts/5 row rectangle and sew in or knit in the small amount of black yarn to make his pupils. As you sew his eyes to his face, take a bit of stuffing to make his eyes dimensional.

For his Eye Casing, with gray yarn, cast on 30 sts and knit 2 rounds, BO. Sew the casing around his Eyes.

STOMACH DOOR
With gray yarn, CO 12
Knit back and forth for 4 rows
K3, make bobble, knit remaining sts
Knit for 4 rows
BO and leave a long tail
Sew door to stomach with the long tail

Please note that I chose not to stripe his arms and legs to simulate the sections of metal plates that make his limbs because I didn't like the VVVVVV looking stripe as is typical with single rows. I used only one shade of gray yarn throughout because this Bender is only 11 inches tall and I felt that less is more. But, you know, feel free to stripe if you please. Hey, feel free to modify this pattern as you go along... just don't be a jerk and claim it as your own or do something jerk-y.

"Oh. Your. God."

2009-09-30T19:53:00.000-07:00

STATUS REPORT:

Bender is nearing completion. I love how his eyes came out, and his belly door actually opens. However, his stomach isn't hollow. All that's left are his arms, and maybe a stogie and a bottle of booze!

Next up on the list: Mr. Oogie Boogie from Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas for my coworker, JS. Her right arm is sleeved with a Nightmare Before Christmas tattoos with a giant, green Mr. Oogie Boogie at the top of her shoulder so I know she'll dig him PLUS I can use up one of the many skeins of green yarn I rescued a few months ago.

"I'm Bender, baby, please insert liquor!"

2009-09-27T22:24:00.000-07:00

My friend, Teej, is a big fan of Futurama. It's one of those things he can't live without. Recently, he asked if I would knit Bender for him one day.

Bender Bending Rodriquez? Lover of insults, hookers and all things alcoholic? GLADLY!

I jumped on the Ravelry search engine about five seconds after I read his email and found only two. They were inspiring to say the least. One was a knitted Bender toilet paper cover and the other was a crochet Bender amigurumi, something I haven't tried yet which is quite baffling because amigurumi is FRICKING AWESOME and the possible toys are endless...but I digress. As per my norm, I ended up constructing a loose pattern in my head, and knitted top-down and in the round because I like everything to be as seamless as possible.

Head. Check! Body. Check! I only just finished attaching his legs and eyeballs a few minutes ago and all that is left to make are his arms and the casing that surrounds his eyes. Can I tell you? Once I attached his eyes, I got all excited because he was all, like, real. I also remembered why I wouldn't want to do this for a living: the tiny knitting would cripple my fingers in no time.

A free pattern will be available, however it will be extremely rudimentary considering I made it up as I went along and I never write the specifics down.

For now: more Bender quotes!

Spare the Air

2009-09-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

Who would've thought another Spare the Air day would be a good thing?

I really wanted to take advantage of today's unseasonably hot weather by washing and blocking my Longina/Trigoria. Here, you can see I've laid it out on a towel over an upturned laundry basket and it has been barbequeing nicely in the sun for the last couple of hours. It is super hot today, I would be shocked if it's not completely dry by this evening.

After a 10 or 15 minute soak in cold water and a bit of Dreft (baby laundry detergent), the stitches evened out and the wool softened up. A lot of black dye leeched out during the soak, but so I haven't noticed any fading--something I'm not worried about much anyway, this yarn is Black with a capital B.

So, the last element I had to decide on was the collar. If you can see the collar in that photo, I followed Miriam Felton's tutorial for a knitted on border. (Collar, border, same thing.) That technique was brand new to me and it took a few tries before I was satisfied. One thing I ended up modifying--of course!--was I didn't slip any of the stitches. I really liked this knitted on border business; I think it added to the shape of the neckline, the structure of the yoke, plus it just looks pretty damn good.

The funny thing about this whole thing is I'm not even done yet. Like I said, I really wanted to take advantage of the hot weather so I just transferred the live bottom hem stitches to some spare yarn and went forth.

And We Have Pockets

2009-09-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

Pockets! Pockets pockets pockets! I used the instructions from Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book which were clear enough to get the basic constructional gist, but when it comes right down to it, I'm a visual learner so I ended up sketching out my own version using different colored pens to indicate what went where.

The pockets required a bit of sewing (and I haven't found directions for seamless slash pocket). I hate sewing knitted pieces together; something about a pointy needle, a long string of wool yarn that can get tangled or, worse, shredded, and the meticulousness of corresponding loops with that pointy needle and loose yarn just turns me off. However, I discovered that I could crochet the pieces together! On crochet hooks, the end that goes through the loop is super blunt so it was easy to slip it into a loop while keeping the yarn as loose as needed. If I missed a loop, a quick pull of the previous stitch and readjustment was all I had to do. With sewing, I'd have to take off the needle, pull out the yarn from the offending loop, re-adjust the loops, re-thread my needle and sew it up again; it doesn't sound like it but it's a lot of work especially when you knit exclusively seamless, no-sew patterns.

In the end, my pockets worked out very well and I'm already like 80% finished. All that is left is the bottom ribbing, the left sleeve ribbing, and the collar (still have to figure that one out) and then Longina/Trigoria will be finished!

Longina Progress

2009-09-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago, I was trying to figure out what to make to get back into the knitting game. I can safely say my Trina/Longoria (aka Longina) Cardi is coming out pretty swell and has followed all protocol to a T.

Is it portable? Yes, it fits snugly into my knitting bag which fits snugly into my messenger bag along with my lunch box and my other crap.
Is it smushable? Yes, I love working something all in one piece on circs.
Does it keep me interested? Yes, it's been about a year since I've knitted a major piece and since I'm modifying not one but two patterns pretty much on the fly, I'm being extra anal about everything and it has to be Perfect.

I've gotten into the habit of taking it to work and knitting during my lunch break. A few people have questioned the oddly shaped black mass crumpled in my lap and I've learned a some are also crafters; knit, crochet, sew, or some combo of the three. Someone on my team is also a knitter whose grandmother in Mexico used spin her own yarn--ZOMG!--and she was making fun of my knitting style, English/Throw. Hopefully she can teach me how to properly knit Continental/Pick because, from what I hear, it makes the stockinette go exponentially faster, but I really suck at it.

Sad Panda

2009-09-01T21:24:00.000-07:00

Pictured above is my now useless 16 inch cord.

I think it's 16 inches. Whatever. It's the second longest cord in my Denise kit and, as it turns out, my favorite of them all since I overused to the point that the black connector thingy broke off. I'm really not too bummed, aside from it no longer being a functional cord, because I'm sure I'll find other uses for it like trying on WIPs or a spare stitch holder...Yeah, that's about it.

With that said, I'm finding that Trina is slowly morphing into Katarzyna's Longoria Pattern. They're very similar in style; the A-line style and all, and it's been easy to modify everything to my own liking. So far I'm working top-down which is neither of the two patterns. It has raglan sleeves which is more Trina, but it has detail on the L and R fronts like Longoria. Well, "detail" is a bit of a stretch; Longoria calls for a pretty cabled design on the fronts and mine is a quick 10-stitch 2x2 rib tbl to combat the stockinette curl. I have finished the yoke, connected the underarms and am about 3 rows into the rest of the body. It's probably going to get boring now, what with the endless stockinette, but I still have to figure out some interesting waist shaping AND I might try making slash pockets.

A WIP photo to come...

Barbie Knits

2009-08-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

That black mass oozing from the secret storage compartment of my niece's Barbie Princess Tough Trike* is four, massive, 275yd skeins of vintage wool Spinnerin. It's from the collection of yarn I rescued a few months ago and looking at the yardage and density of the weight, I am confident that I will have plenty for my Trina Cardi and then some.

It felt good not having to make the trip to the yarn store for this project. I wouldn't say I'm on a yarn diet per se, but there's really no point in buying anything when I have a crapton of quality stuff right in front of me that I got totally for free. Surprisingly, I had more yarn to choose from than I thought, but since Trina is going to be a layer instead of a statement piece, I settled on the plain black. Also, digging through my rescued yarn was fun because it made me think about a lot of other knits to consider making later; a list of things I'll post another time since my fingers are itching to knit TC.

*I couldn't find anything better to display plain ol' black yarn for a perspective shot so I settled for this.

Knit Something!

2009-08-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

I honestly can't remember the last time I picked up the knitting needles for myself. Sure I make little things here and there. I made a Little Something over the weekend, but that was crochet (a flower to accessorize an outfit for a wedding at the end of the month.) But I haven't made a Big Something. Last year, I knitted a cute sweater. This year, I think I've been feeling cardigan-y but I've been stuck on the idea of some regular old grandma cardigan

Over time, I finally came up with what I'd like. I can picture it in my head and all that, but it's always nice to see if there is a pattern to save me from doing all the requisite measuring and calculating. The closest I could find, via Rav, was the Trina Cardigan, a lovely pattern by Hillary of The Yarniad. It's exactly up my alley; the stand-up collar, the raglan shaping, the 3/4 sleeves, and 3 buttons at the top only. Plus, it's free! There are some other details I want to work out to my own preferences, but so far this one is hitting the spot.

Next up, yarn for Trina.

In Which We are Photoless

2009-07-10T22:33:00.000-07:00

- Knitted Hat. It's the Snow Bear Fair Isle hat. It's grey with yellow fair isle, and Jenny the Designer was right: ears make everything cuter. This is for my niece or nephew who is due to be born in late August. I think it came out rather big so s/he will likely have to wait a winter or two before s/he fits into it properly. I really hope the baby is a hat-wearer and not a hat-flinger-offer because that kid is going to be swimming in my handknits!

- Baby Scrapbook. It's for my expectant sister and brother-in-law and I'm halfway finished! I'm not sure when I'll finish the last half, though. I think I've momentarily lost my scrapbook mojo. I picked up a giant slab of fancy paper on clearance for like $5 and the pages are totally my sister's style. I need to use it up, mang.

- Blue Shawl. I started working on it during lunch at work because it was a really relaxing way to break up the day. It was coming along well. Notice the past tense. I think I've recently lost the crochet mojo as well.

I think I want to get back into full-time knitting, but the question is what to make that is a) portable, it has to fit into my messenger bag along with all the other crap I "need" to carry; b) smushable, meaning it should probably be worked on circulars because I really don't want (myself or anyone else) to get stabbed by or, worse yet, lose a needle; and c) something easy. "Easy" is the subjective word here. I don't want to make something mindless scarf, but I don't want to do something fiddly like fair isle that requires carrying multiple strands of yarn.

P.S. Grey and yellow is my new favorite color combination.

Which Ewe are You?

2009-06-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

Take the quiz (via Cosymakes)

I Got French Yarn!

2009-06-08T14:28:00.000-07:00

I got French yarn! I got French yarn! So excited, I am!

SR and MP (not S and MP) came back state-side to attend our friend's wedding. They also brought back some more Plassard Pop 3 so now I can finish the crocheted mini-shawl.

On an unrelated note...

I've been applying for new jobs since February**. There were many reasons why I decided to look for a new job, the reasons I won't detail here of course, but throughout that nearly-half a year search I also dove into the world of DIY. When I found myself in that uncomfortable gray area at the beginning of the year questioning my job security, worrying about student loans and overthinking the "what ifs" of otherwise beyond-my-control factors I had to quickly shift my mindset and find small victories. The act of self-teaching requires a lot of focus, a lot of research and the desire to keep practicing and perfecting--sometimes weekly, sometimes daily. It felt good to accomplish something new during that period of uncertainty. Crafting is, and will likely allways be, my main hobby but it's also therapeutic.

** I got a job. It's not a fancy dream job or anything, but it's for a place I like. Vague enough? :)

Look What I Rescued!

2009-05-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

Red Heart, Heart & Sole in Razzle Dazzle.
It was the only one of its kind in the clearance bin. No label. Probably missing a couple yards. For a quarter.

Can't Sleep, Yarn'll Eat Me...

2009-05-28T11:35:00.000-07:00

Right after I got done saying that I don't like hording yarn, guess what ends up growing to three times its size?

I had dinner at my aunt's house on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. I came home with a full tummy, a bunch of dessert, and TWO industrial-size garbage bags stuffed with yarn. Now, two industrial bin bags may already sound like a lot, but not when there were originally five bags to dig through.

The Story: My aunt's mother passed away last year and in clearing out her house, my aunt salvaged the all of the yarn that would've otherwise gone to charity or, worse, the trash. It's all the good stuff too; vintage wools, alpaca, mohairs, and all of it is at least 30 years old because my SIL recognized a couple of colors from a sweater that been knit for her. The labels are awesome. There is no question I am keeping those. Most suprising is the acrylic manufactured back then looked AND felt just like real wool and since there are some mystery skeins that have lost their labels, I will have to do a burn test. You have no idea how excited I am to do that.

Top L: The top layer is mostly mystery yarn and the bottom layer are full skeins of Wintuk. OMG, remember Wintuk? And check out the knitting basket! I will have to make a better lining because the yarn is snagging like a mofo. At the moment, I only have a t-shirt lining the bottom and front side.

Top R: I've been looking for this robin's egg blue forever and it is finally mine. Also, a sweater's worth of Kermit green mini-boucle from France, and a sweater's worth of black Spinnerin. OMG, remember Spinnerin?

Bottom L: A sweater and a cardigan, both nearly complete. The sweater is in Jaeger Alpaca sportweight moss or seed stitch, and the cardi is a nubby tweed in a mystery cross-hatchy stitch. I was given the task of seaming them together. Can we say "ugh."

Bottom R: Assorted wools and alpacas tucked in a zippered flight bag. I don't live in the country or anything, but I'll take the extra step to protect my animal fibers from moths.

Everything was in bags and all of those bags were in bags which created a lot of air pockets. After I took off the plastic and got it all organized , I was able to smoosh everything down nice and compact so now it's back to a normal "yarn corner" instead of "yarn side of the room."

I Still Knit

2009-05-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hey, look at that. I still remember how to knit!

After teaching myself how to crochet and then becoming wildly obsessed with it in a matter of weeks, I've finally taken a step back from it to get back to what I really love: knitting. I think I'm coming down from the high of figuring out the whole crochet thing by myself. I continually challenged myself and I think I've strengthened these newfound skills, not to a very high degree, of course, but enough so that when I go back, I'll know what I'm doing... or at least pretend to know what I'm doing.

So, back to knitting with a crochet tangent. I'm a one skeiner: I find a pretty yarn and I only buy ONE skein of it. Personally, I don't like having a big stash; I don't like to horde yarn. And it's not a huge deal to have only one skein available when an idea for a project strikes. But the problem is when maybe you want to knit a cute summer top, which usually requires multiple skeins, and you only have the one skein or maybe multiple skeins but in different or non-coordinating colors. Or in this particular problem, when you're almost finished binding off and you've reached the end of your skein only to see that you've got a couple of inches left which won't be enough for those FIVE remaining stitches. Can you guess where I'm going?

The gorgeous blue neckerchief is done....for the most part. It came out at a good size and the pattern was perfect. The scallops look like crowns or brass knuckles depending on the angle (or just very, very late at night when you're deliriously tired). Like, I said, it's done for the most part as there are 5 stitches left and only a couple of inches of yarn. It's not noticeable and that part will be tied off in the back anyways. I'm hesitant to call it done though because, well, it's not.

To get my mind off it it, though, because it IS done (kind of), I broke out my one skein of Debbie Bliss Cathay (cotton/silk) in this awesome purpleish-reddish berry color, my knitting needles, and the Blue Jeans Lace Leaf pattern for another mini shawl. This is my third time knitting this pattern because the pattern is fricking easy to memorize and the shawl always comes out looking all masterful and complex. For this one, I mirrored the pattern on both sides just to split up the pattern a bit. It's coming out really big since Cathay is aran-wieght and I knit with #7 US, and holy crap is it so soft it almost feels creamy, and it's smooth and drapey! The only complaint is Cathay is made up of like 12 threads so it splits like crazy forcing me to knit slower than usual. And being part cotton, there is no stretch. Despite the silk upping its fanciness quotient, I probably wouldn't use this again. I'm glad I only have one skein of this.

Mon Crochet et Fil

2009-05-20T16:34:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow will mark a year that I visited Paris for the first time. It was easily one of the best trips, I think, ever. And even though I didn't get to visit all the Major Tourist Sites (gasp! I didn't see the Mona Lisa!) I still had fun spending time with friends, eating, drinking, taking in the city and of course shopping. For yarn!

I picked up a ball of Plassard Pop 3 at La Droguerie in Le Bon Marche. It's a sportweight superwash in this gorgeous shade of saturated blue that wasn't quite electric or royal blue, but too dark to be cyan and too light to be cerulean. Anyway, I'd never heard of Plassard, and after doing a Rav search when I got home, it seems it's only sold in France. I should've picked up more colors!

I didn't want to relegate the single ball to another boring scarf so in the stash it went.

The other day I pulled out a small triangular shawl I knitted out of recycled sweater yarn dyed with Kool-Aid over the winter. I've been seeing a lot of young knitters wearing beautifully knit shawls wrapped around the neck and tied in back in a sort of cowboy-handkerchief style (not over the shoulders-grandma style) so that fashion cue plus my current obssession with crocheted scallops means I'm making the prettiest blue neckerchief ever in the world. Ever.

Twinkle, Twinkle!

2009-05-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

Check out my Granny Star Afghan! Despite starting a good 6 or 7 times before I understood how the shaping was supposed to work--and, honestly, I still didn't get it all the way right--it still looks like a star. The points came out right but the concave parts were not so hot and I improvised as best I could to avoid making a big pentagon.

The center was the rest of my beautiful BMFA STR in "Jewel of the Nile" that I used to make my first and last ever pair of socks. The border is Muench Tessin, black with bright rainbow slubs, that matched enough with the STR. The Tessin is a true stashbuster as that was the first yarn I put my hands on when I re-discovered knitting almost seven years ago and thus catapulted to the top of my interests, became my primary hobby, and was the gateway to all other handicrafts--a story I'll probably post about another day. I've knit with the Tessin, frogged, debated between keeping and swapping, loved it and hated it, but finally--finally!--found a use for it.

Some other random things:
- This is another example of how yarn colors definitely look different in skein or ball than when it's all worked up.

- I used a 9mm/N hook with sock (STR) and aran (Tessin) so it's very smushy and snuggly and warm. Hello, wool.
- It's pretty small, maybe 18 inches across, so it's safe to say this is still a WIP.
- The rainbow theme was unintentional, and although the black looks a little jarring, the rainbow slubs will make it work. I do have some yarn ideas in mind to keep the stashbusting theme going.

More Girly Stuff

2009-05-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

Simmy B. of Echoes of Dream offers a free crochet flower tutorial with pictures and, naturally, I had to try it out. I love flowers--I'm named after one (well, unintentionally)--and I'm typically drawn to flowers, leaves and modern floral or "natural" motifs.

As usual, I never make anything to the correct gauge. Sigh. I need more hooks. I loved how the flower puffs came out though and given the correct gauge, they'd work well with almost anything: adorning a gift, pinned to a lapel, or popped over the bulbs of Christmas string lights.

Digg, Stumble, Whatever--Let's Promote It!

2009-05-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

I recently came across flickrer Sarah London Textiles who not only makes granny squares in totes cute colors and designs, but also provides an EXCELLENT photo tutorial on how to join your granny squares.

The way I intended to join my squares together was to lay them all out and sc them together in two-by-two clusters, then sc cluster by cluster, and continue sc-ing clusters exponentially. I'm sure it'd work out fine that way until I discovered SLT's tutorial. I'm completely new to everything crochet so I don't know if there is an official name for this particular join the way it is with knitting, but the basic idea is to simultaneously connect the squares to each other on their final rounds. What?! Yes, so it's pretty obvious that I came across her tutorial after my individual squares were already bound off. No problem though: I picked apart the sewn-in end of my working square and pulled until I got to the start of where my join was supposed to go. As always, only ONE loop to pick up--I love it. If you're someone who doesn't read directions (me), you'll find her step-by-step pictures are really clear and easy to understand.

Pros:
After making so many squares, I'd feel overwhelmed at having to then sew them all together. But with SLT's method, there's no extra seaming; you are simultaneously finishing your working square and attaching it to the previous square . I think everything works up so much faster.

The methods seems to use less yarn (or I'm making my loops tighter) as I've found after pulling apart the last rounds and re-working/attaching, I now have all of these straggly ends to weave in.

Unless you encounter some 5th dimension time-shift, there is no way you can lose any of your diligently-crocheted squares. Ahem.

Cons:
There really weren't any cons. It was a little fiddly at first, orienting myself with this method, but that's probably how it is for every first-timer.

Thursday Night Pick-me-up

2009-05-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

After a rough-ish day of work, or whatever today's workday was supposed to be, I felt I needed to pick myself up with a personal project.

This is my scrapbooking workspace: it's just the floor of my room. There really isn't anywhere else I'd rather work since the dining room table is overrun with plants, the mail, baby paraphernalia and assorted "stuff;" and most nights my dad is reading in the kitchen plus the ceiling light in there is an atrocious yellow that badly needs to be switched out which, now that I think of it, will be my Father's Day gift. Check! So, anyway, unless the house is empty and I have daytime light, I prefer crouching on my floor with all of my scrap stuff spread semi-circle around me.

Scrapbooking felt like a good pick-me-up project to help me re-energize and re-focus. What better way to re-energize than by playing with all of my funky papers, ribbons and stickers; and re-focus by thinking about somebody else. I'm making a unisex baby scrapbook/album which is a little more involved than I originally thought. I have to think about the parents' personal tastes, whether they'd actually want to use it. Plus, it's been a little difficult finding unisex baby scrapbook stuff. It's either pink bunnies or blue dumptrucks (which, sociologically, this does not sit well with me at all) so I end up picking up "boy" things as they tend toward primary colors and less bells and whistles. But, I digress. The point is, I LOVE making and giving presents especially when people deserve them and will appreciate them. After a work day like today, I can quickly get over it by making something for someone else, and that is going to be the new baby in the family so I really work hard to make it look juuuust right for him or her.

I hope it's a "him."

Done and Done

2009-05-06T15:08:00.000-07:00

LOOK WHAT I DID!

Last night, I debated on adding another section of color but I don't have any more baby pastels or anything else that is also machine washable so I went ahead with the final scalloped/shell edging using up those odd remaining strands. You can see the places where I ran out before I made it to the end of the round, but that's what made this the BEST stashbuster project ever.

I would definitely do this again. Just like knitting, sewing or any other sort of creative hobby, it's the best way (at least for me) to relax. With granny squares, you can make them as big or as little as you want. There isn't much to think about. It was surprisingly portable even as it grew to blanketing proportions and I took it with me to the park once. I simply stuck a bobby pin through the loop, rolled up the whole thing with the yarn inside, and tossed the hook in my bag. And anytime I needed to pause to do something, or if I pulled a a few chains out by accident, there was always only ONE stitch to look for.

If I was going to make a gift next time, I'd use the correct hook size and matching yarn weights. Since the green and purple blanket was a stashbuster I didn't really care what it looked like. I only own three hooks which were shared between my mom and grandma and now me: a 1mm which was too tiny; the one I used, the 3.75mm/F; or the gargantuan 9mm/N. As you can tell in the pictures, the white center which was a worsted/heavy worsted tends to skews a little bit and is also slightly stiffer, while the purple sport flares out more and is more drapey.

I loved the making the scalloped edging. I used the pattern from Woolcrafting and as helpful as it was I'm a visual learner so a quick Flickr search later, I found IamSusie's photo of her granny square coasters and improvised a pattern:

*5 dc in the first loop, ch 1, sc in the next loop, ch 1*

My corners got kind of sketchy because I didn't do the math at all. I had an uneven number of loops so only two of my corners have the 5 dc scallop, the other two are only sc.

For corners: (when I got to them) end on sc, ch 1, 7 dc in the corner, ch 1, continue as normal.

867-5309... Today's Date!

2009-05-03T22:56:00.000-07:00

I'm going to catch so much flak for my little box of ribbons. "But it's only a box of ribbon," you say. Oh, it's much more than that because it's proof that the unthinkable has started: the beginning of scrapbook obsession. It's actually been, like, 2 years in the making.

But I didn't start this alone. Two of my friends are really into scrapbooking. Like, REALLY into it. They go to this annual scrapbook convention, take a once-a-year daytrip around Northern California to hit all the major specialty scrapbook stores, parts of their homes have become dedicated to scrapbook space , and they've edged out some of their husband's or boyfriend's belongings in favor of scrapbook storage. I don't think I'll get to THAT point but so far I've already outgrown the Green Organizer (the one S passed down to J and she passed down to me) and had to find a separate box solely to hold ribbons, I have two accordian-style organizers for papers, corner punches, special acid-free pens, and more than one type of adhesive (sticky squares and snot dots), and more than two books going at once.

It's almost safe to say that this box of ribbon has signified my personal descent into the scrapbooking abyss. Or the light, if you're the enabler. Will this sickness ever end?

The End... Almost

2009-05-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

I pulled the mega granny square back out once the crazy weather made an about-face and turned all dreary and rainy. I don't know how big it measures right now, but it's definitely reached the blanket stage.

The soft colors look nice together and those 400 yards of purple boucle have quickly wittled themselves down to maybe less than 100 yards. I think. I don't really know; I'm really bad at estimating units (area, volume, distance, time, you name it). For the border, I'm going to try a fancy scallop/shell edging.

Almost at the end!

Fancy La La

2009-04-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

I've wandered into the fancy-la-la territory of crocheting and landed on Warm Fuzzies' free earring pattern. So pretty! However, a pain in the butt for a noob; it took several false starts and I've still only completed one so far. Also, I replaced all tr with dc.

This was made using good ol' DMC embroidery floss on a 3.5mm/E-4 hook. I think it was only hard since 1) embroidery floss is slippery and splitty, 2) I didn't have the recommended hook size, and 3) it was my first time making something this small (+ the floss, the hook, and the chains the hook made) so every part of making that earring required a lot of attention.

Would I use this pattern again (or at least complete the second earring)? YES. They're a good jumping off point to other designs, maybe use metallic cord and 3 scallops instead of 5.

They're Multiplying

2009-04-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

Sigh.

The mega granny square had to be put aside during this brief Bay Area heat wave. It's slowly becoming a granny square blanket, for sure, but with the +80F temps and a heavy project made of acrylics and wools on my lap it felt like a granny square oven. And with summer quickly looming in the foreground, it'll only get warmer so I don't see myself pulling it out anytime after November.

So...MINI SQUARES, IT IS! They're cute and fast, and I want to eat them. Color-coordination has become difficult though--shiny acrylics don't go with flat wools and cottons, sport doesn't go with heavy worsted, etc., etc.--I'm stuck, in manner of speaking. To solve that, I do intend on making single-color squares, but for the mix and match look I'm finding inspiration from TV/Film and popular holidays.

Here is my list so far:
Gryffindor (Harry Potter) - burgundy, gold
Jayne hat (Firefly) - red, orange, yellow
Browncoats (Firefly) - brown
Niners - red, gold
A's - green, yellow, white
Sharks - black, teal
St. Pat's Day - a bunch of greens
Christmas - red, green

Help! What combos can you think of? I may or may not have every yarn color in the spectrum, but I always appreciate new ideas to toss around in the brainpan.

"Just one more chain..."

2009-04-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

Holy yarn balls. This crochet thing? Getting a little too into it, I think. Yesterday, I sat in my room crocheting like mad while listening to good ol' Alice 97.3 for probably 8 hours. Sure I got up to take food, bathroom and stretch breaks, but I was totally into my granny square. I was in the groove, in the flow; it was quite meditative.

Then, as I was putting my stuff away for the night, my wrists and knuckles were clicking. They were clicking. CLICKING. Dude, my bones were CLICKING and it IS as disturbing as it sounds. To prevent (or at least reduce further) repetitive stress I immediately stopped what I was doing and did silly-looking wrist and shoulder rotations and jazz hands for a full 5 minutes to the get the blood flowing again. I owe full thanks to Mr. Volpa, my high school typing teacher, for getting me into that habit.

Today, the veins are less bulgy and progress on the blanket has slowed of course, but that is fine. I've got a full life of knitting and crafting ahead of me, I need to save my hands.

**I have run out of the green and white/white-ish yarns. After I posted this photo I started adding some purple boucle that has been sitting untouched for about 2 years . There is over 400 yards of that stuff... should be interesting.

***Boucle sucks.

What the fug?

2009-04-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

This is my very, very first crochet project from about a week ago. I'm not sure what to call it except the Beginner's Ugly Crochet Swatch. The green is Target boucle (remember Target's brief foray in yarn crafting?) and green Patons Grace held together, and the yellow is Target boucle held with white Bernat Sport. Those made up a worsted/heavy worsted yarn and since it was my first swatch, I wasn't sure how knit gauge translated to crochet gauge. This was on a N/9mm hook which was kind of like crocheting with a baseball bat--that hook is huge!--and also resulted in those gargantuan-sized holes.

Anyway, I intended on making a blanket inspired by Lindamade's big ass granny square blanket and that boucle is just so darn soft. Then I took another look at that awful swatch and began fearing the day said blanket would become sentient and try to eat me. Seriously, go look at it again. Another day, and without the yarn-doubling, maybe.

Oh no...

2009-04-15T22:49:00.001-07:00

What have I gotten myself into now.

It started with the Purl Bee and their incredibly well-written granny square tutorial. Crocheting hovered in the back of my mind for awhile and I'm not sure why I resisted for so long. Probably because I felt like it'd be traitorous to knitting. But then I kept reading about some crocheted potholder swap and when the pictures started popping up on Flickr and Rav--in all of these fun saturated colors like chartreuse, teal, and cherry-slurpee red; and paired with awesomely retro designs--I couldn't help but want to try it.

It's been 3 days and I've crocheted a 16" square. It's slow-goings (a 16" square in knitting time would take 1 hour at the most) but it's strangly calming and when you mess up, you can frog back as far as you want and you'll always have only have ONE stitch to pick up. HOLY EFFING MOLY.

I'm stashbusting some oldass acrylic baby yarn that I deemed unworthy for this new batch of 2009 babies. And my hook? It's one of those old school ones without that comfortgrip handle so I had to engineer my own with rubberbands.

Tentacles

2009-04-09T16:52:00.000-07:00

I'm as puzzled as you are.

CRAFT mag recently posted an article and an accompanying Instructables link to a beginner needle tatting pattern and I wanted to try it out. Tatting is an old and meticulous art that takes patience and time, dexterity, some math, and a really long-ass pointy needle to get it just right.

The beginner pattern on Instructables was for a 5-petal flower which is what that pink-tentacled thing you see above is supposed to look like. I used a #16 embroidery needle and some leftover sock-weight yarn which I'm pretty sure is the equivalent of tatting with a broomstick and a garden hose. It was hard at first because I'm not a patterns person; I'm a jump-right-in-and work at it until the yarn is shredded-person, but once I found my tatting groove, it felt very similar to ... futzing--that's the description that comes closest. You know, when you're playing around with a piece of string, wrapping it and re-wrapping it around your finger during a casual conversation. Here is my bastardized explanation of it: it's a series of small overhand/underhand loops and strategically-placed bigger loops (called picots) formed over a needle and pulled onto a string and when chained together form one giant piece of tatting. Something about a shuttle-tool is used but I'm not sure where or when. It sounds kind of simple and boring but have you SEEN the tatting out there? Really nice tatting is romantic, mysterious and reminds me of Moroccan tiles or fractals or the beauty of all things Classical European. You will be utterly blown away by it. Well, if you're a girl.

Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out RS and WS so my flower doesn't lay flat but rather rears up at certain point resembling a bug on a windshield. I'll try it again one day.

I ♥ Converse

2009-03-29T12:34:00.000-07:00

I totally crafted my face off this month. Mending my bigbag was just the tip of March Mending and Craft Month. I ended up mending a jacket, a shirt collar, and my interview slacks. Then I made kitty ears. And I finally, I made a pair of shoes for my sister's baby. Naturally, I wanted to knit them and I did complete one shoe. However, midway through knitting the second shoe, I was displeased at the overall construction and decided to hand-sew them out of felt. I reverse-engineered my own converse and combined it with a modified baby shoe sewing pattern from the 70s. My hand-sewing skills are far from perfect and they still need shoelaces, but I tell you they were truly a labor of love.

Meow!

2009-03-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

One down! I finished and gifted the first of five DIYs from a craft meme I joined via BOT. It ended up being a two-fer since it was also my friend J's birthday present. Kitty ears modeled after Penny, J and A's cat-baby.

March Mending Month

2009-03-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

My favorite bigbag, a fake Diesel messenger that I got in China for $5 USD two summers ago had begun to rip pretty badly. It wasn't all that noticeable at first. I was using two pinback buttons to hold the parts together while trying to keep the rip from going any further. However cheap materials, weak construction (it was made in China) and the fact that it's been permanently attached to my shoulder for the last couple years really added to the wear and tear.

Anyway, that huge rip in the seam of the main compartment was getting pretty out of hand so, in the spirit of March Mending Month, I mended her back to health. The fabric on the bottom section had completely frayed (where the blue line is) so I had to sew it all in a little deeper. I used a needle with a minuscule eye to prevent any further damage and made tiny, wittle stitches. It puckers here and there and I majorly screwed up towards the end--so much for diligence. The acorn squirrel and Ravelry buttons are hiding it now--but, all in all, not too shabby!

Hey Math Nerds, Today is 3-6-9

2009-03-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

Man, there are babies coming out of the wazoo! A friend of mine is due with her second bundle VERY soon and both my sister and my cousin-in-law are going to be first-time moms this year which means I must knit something for each of the little ones. My cousin is having a boy and I'm just going to go ahead and assume my sister is having a boy also (since even if it were a girl, that child would never know pink), so I've returned to the great tool that is Adobe Kuler. My color inspiration usually comes from kid's books, IKEA or cool websites. However, when those just aren't cutting it, I use the Kuler tool. You choose a dominant color and it automatically comes up with the complimentary colors for you.

Look ma, I'm all technical!

Ugh, what an ugly scheme. What was I thinking.

Warm

2009-02-24T01:02:00.000-08:00

Black Cherry Kool-Aid, Cognac Heather, Hot Pink, Melon, Natural Violet, Old Gold, Paprika, and Rustic Red.

On Sock-Knitting

2009-01-29T12:56:00.000-08:00

I have to confess the same mysterious pleasure other sock-knitters have is almost the equivalent to my displeasure. Seriously, I never thought I'd knit socks as I've tried and failed many times before. Also, I've never been very interested in them when there are so many other fun things to knit. My very first sock was ONE Pomatomus and it looked awesome, and I was proud of myself since it's such a daunting pattern, but I just couldn't quite get myself excited to make the other--Second Sock Syndrome, aaaaugh! However, socks are usually handy in pairs or so I've heard, so it sat useless in the yarn pile. Being Pomatomus, a beautiful and cleverly designed pattern itself, I couldn't bear to frog the whole sock so I frogged the foot, extended it 3 inches to make a long tube, made a second long tube and gave myself a pair of Pomatomus legwarmers. Much happier, am I.

So, socks are nice but legwarmers are better and to be fairly honest I doubt if I will knit socks again.

Sweater Goodness

2009-01-11T12:07:00.000-08:00

Here's a detail shot of a completed a sweater that I had not really planned on knitting. It's a hybrid of Mr Greenjeans and KSD's leaf tee, and took a total of 10 days from start to finish. This is in its finished, bumpy, and unblocked glory. I would have been done much, much sooner but because I can't follow directions I had to frog about 7 inches of the thing. Painful. After that, I said, "forget sleeves, you're gonna be a vest."

- Seamless top-down construction following Mr Greenjeans' CO and raglan shaping, joined at the center and then followed KSD's lace panel.
- Waist shaping at sides versus front/back darts.
-1x1 rib hems
- 3 balls Patons Classic Merino in Dark Grey Mix
- Denise #8US

C'est fini!

2008-11-24T19:07:00.000-08:00

A nice end to a rather Ugh...-day is that I finished my socks! Don't look directly at them. Your eyes will cross and you will subsequently go blind. I underestimated just how bright this yarn was. Oh well, they'll be perfect for those gray winter days.

Breaking into the Blue

2008-11-21T19:08:00.000-08:00

Currently knitting: Pretty socks!

LOOK!

I finally have the balls to use my skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts-Socks that Rock. This is pattern is from Silver's Sock Class. I'm starting both socks together, toe-up, from both ends of the skein so they eat up the yarn evenly. It caters to the perfectionist in me. The yarn is so soft and pretty (and really expensive), plus I've never knitted socks before so I had to practice on that crappy yarn first.

I'm really not a big sock-knitting fan but who know how it'll go.

Call it "Sock Barf"

2008-11-20T19:09:00.000-08:00

Currently knitting: An ugly sock.

Commercial self-striping yarn is always sort of tricky. It's self-striping which means the yarn does all the work itself; just knit knit knit, watch the stripes magically appear and there are no ends to weave in. The tricky part is that the colors usually look much more attractive in the skein (R) than when actually knitted up (L). As you can see, it's not until after you cast on, knit up a piece, and stand back before you can see the real offense. This one is like Christmas and Easter and some weird pink zebra thing threw up all over itself.

Hitting up Rav, I see I'm not alone on my opinion. Although, there are some totally adorable, non-sock knits that have been created with this colorway. Baby pixie hat, anyone? Garter baby booties?

One good thing I've learned about sock knitting: starting at the toe is so much faster than the cuff! In one night, I've already made it up to the heel. However , now I'm torn as whether to frog it now and make teeny tiny Christmas ornaments with the individual colors, or end up with one ugly sock--and I say ONE sock because I'm returning the second skein.

Hi, this is Craftsontoast

2008-08-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

^ Cowl in Lane Borgosesia Baruffa Bollicina, silk/cashmere in Gold and Charcoal.

Craftsontoast was started because I desired a space where I could separate my Regular Life from the Crafty Place in My Head; a place where I could detail the crafts I know and love and other DIYs I wanted to try out.

Domestically speaking, I grew up around sewing machines (mom), knitting needles (grandma) and home-cooking (dad). Cooking turned out to be a reccessive gene, sewing is about 80/20 on a good day, and knitting is what I truly love. I learned how to knit when I was 8, picked it up seriously when I was 22 and have been voraciously learning about knitting tools, fiber and other associated needlecrafts ever since.