Presents!

Shirley, from Warm Fuzzies, is such a sweetheart! (You SO are!) She sent an awesome apple cozy for my Mom, and a sock pup and Shiba Inu card for me! She left the pup's face for me, and I think he's probably going to be a sleepy guy! I LOVE lazy stuffies! LOL Here's the lovelies!

Thanks again Shirley! I'm a little late mailing your card, I hope you don't mind!

Time Flies!

Jeez... I haven't updated since the middle of last month! I really can't believe July went that fast! I knew I had been procrastinating getting good pictures of what I finished, but now I really feel like a lazy bum! Ok, self! Get it together! LOL

Hopefully, pictures will follow this afternoon; I've finished the black & white floral memo board, the microspun dream wrap and a new knitting needle roll for me (of course it's Tiffany blue!) I'm making good headway on my Craftster Tiny Challenge entry - thanks very much to Shirley's wonderful words of encouragement! She has a great blog - go check out Warm Fuzzies! Thanks girl - you rock! I hope your linen shows up soon, it sucks to be waiting on materials. I mostly wait on my lazy ass procrastinating things I have control over! LOL

WIP Weekend!

After much internal debate (about what I could/couldn't cut out, to realistically finish,) I've made my July - To Finish list. On it are only 5 things, but I think I can finish them, and dammit I'm gonna try!

• Black & White Floral Memo Board - Just needs buttons tufted on, felt backing attached and mounting hardware.
• Black Microspun Dream Wrap - Finish knitting 2nd ball, weave in ends, block & add fringe.
• Craftster Challenge Entry - One Tiny Thing - This one's gonna stay a suprise for now!
• Boucle Knitting Tote - The most work left, by far. Ironically, I was just thinking matching ballet slippers would go great with this bag - that I haven't even made yet!!!
• Open Etsy Store - Photography, packaging and inventory.

The Memo board is mostly done, with the wrap a close second. I just hope I have enough time to finish the bag, it's the biggest challenge of all! The inventory for the store is a small issue, but I do need to get better pics of what I have. Wish me luck!

Heatwave Knitting Needle Roll

Over the last couple of months I've made a few knitting needle rolls. These are giant rolls, with 50 pockets! I found the pattern (on Craftster,) here. For the latest one I made significant changes to the design, so I hope nobody thinks I'm trying to steal her pattern; I just thought it was a great place to start, and want to give her credit for it. So, I give you - Heatwave Knitting Needle Roll - for the Fancy category of July's Whiplash challenge.

The fancy touch is the attached stitch marker holder(s), complete with Swarovski beaded stitch markers! There's 10 stitch markers total, and they're each different. My Mom like her earrings like
that, so I'm hoping that she'll appreciate their unique qualities. I also think the color combo is very nice too! The print is cotton quilting, the orange & pink solids are both cotton/ lycra blends & I used fuchsia ribbon for the ties. The stitch marker holders (as well as the needle guard flap at the top) are secured with snaps & decorative buttons. The neat thing about them is that I sewed opposite snaps on each end, so they'll hold together on a keychain or wherever!

My Mom and I found the fabrics (which actually were all remnants) at Vogue Fabrics in Evanston - which was a really fun trip a couple weeks ago. I'm really looking forward to going back with her, there's just so many fabrics, trims & anything else you could think of! This is a present for her birthday, and I even had some yarn made for her (Thanks SOO much Fuzzy Bunny! Go see her shop)! I know she's going to be so happy with everything!


If we're allowed a second entry I'd love to enter my Sushi Needle Roll - for the Skill category (if it's eligible, of course… this one was straight off of Alexandra's pattern.) It was also made with remnants, from pajama, quilting & curtain projects! The outside embroidery was the real challenge for me, it's been years since I've done it, but I'm relatively happy with it. The spacing could have been more even, but that's the Monk in me! I made the sushi patches by gluing the sushi fabric to white denim (all of the sushi fabric is lined, it was quite transparent against the black), and then embroidering them onto black felt with fancy cotton embroidery thread. I've never sewn so many layers of fabric together before (the outside edges, I mean)! At one point it was 9, so I'm happy I could still keep the tension nice & even for all of it. It was a gift for my sister, and I'm happy to report she likes it very much!

The real story is this - my Mom & sister are packrats when it comes to knitting! So I just knew I had to help them to organize their giant collection of needles! Only a GIANT needle roll would do! The outside dimensions of both are 17½" tall by 20½" wide when unrolled, with 30 pockets that are 1" wide, 15 that are 2" wide, and 5 that are 5" wide. Now if only I could help them with their GIANT yarn stashes…. wait a minute! You guys could just donate some of it to me, my yarn stash is only 1 bin big! Hint, hint!!! ;P

I just wanted to note that I tried really hard to photograph the needle rolls better, but they're just so big, it had to be plain-jane-straight-on. I tried to incoporate some more fun angles, I hope you like them!

My first FO post - Dream Swatch Headwrap

I'm very happy to post my finished Dream Swatch Headwrap. The pattern is free, and you can find it at Knit & Tonic. Thanks Wendy for such a great pattern!

The yarn is Classic Elite Premiere 50%/50% Pima Cotton/Tencel blend; color is seafoam, I'll have to check for the number. It photographed a little bluer than it really is, the wall is robin's egg blue (behind the chair.) I used size 6 needles, one (leftover) skein of yarn, and had it finished in over a week of (very!) lazy knitting. Have I mentioned I've been knitting for almost 4 years now! And this was my first cable... sort of makes me think I need to learn a little more!

I modified the pattern slightly, by using only 3 repeats of the modified-dropped-cable, instead of four; I wanted it skinny! I liked the pattern so much - I had it memorized after only one cable! - that I've already started another one! The second is black microspun with 10 cable repeats, and I'm hoping to make it at least 36" before fringe, although with only 2 balls, we'll see if it makes it there!

June's over...?!?!?!

Alright, so I admit, I'm terrible at keeping track of time. On every scale, from minutes to days, they have a tendency to get away from me! I was totally into Finish What You Have month, and I'm going to have to continue to keep finishing projects in July because it feels so good to finish something that's stagnated for a while! I'll recap because I didn't do a very good job of posting my finished objects (FO's) -

• Pointy Kitty's finished, and you can check him out via the Flickr badge to the right.
• Sushi Needle Roll for Jenn is done, and she's using it!
  
• Bias "Race" Scarf is completed, I was just too lazy to weave in the ends!
• Aqua Memo Board is also done, although I have yet to take pictures. It turned out beautifully though!

I've also finished a few things that weren't on my original June list. They include a few birthday suprises for my Mom, a Dream Swatch Headwrap for me, as well as organizing my craft room closet. I should have a July - To Finish list soon, it's so good to get the old cleared out. I didn't get a chance to open my Etsy store last month like I wanted, but hopefully I can get it done this month!

Sweat Shoppe Swap... the goods!

I received some awesome stuff in round 2 of Craftster's Sweat Shoppe Swap!

Unfortunately, there were a few flakers, but I think it turned out ok! From Bitibis there was 2 skeins of handspun, hand-dyed yarn in two gorgeous colorways! The one on top is soft blues and purples, the photo really doesn't do the colors justice, it reminds me of a Monet! The lower one is beautiful too! It has aqua, coral & pink, and it's amazing! She said it was a mystery skein, but I love it!

From Devilninny I received a set of wonderful cherry blossom cards. They're all different, and so pretty!

I also received a set of amigurumi patterns from RubyTuesday, they're not pictured, but it was almost 20 pages worth!

From Night_Owl there was a set of mini cards, and they're really mini! they're so much fun, and they're all different!

From Blueblyth I received a mini-shrine. It's small and so cute!

From Madchandler (who wasn't my partner, and just sent me extra incense - what a sweetie!), I received awesome incense in Bright Eyes, Lemon Pucker, and Banana Nut Bread! It was such a nice suprise - Thank you so much!

From Cinderly I received a wonderful gingko leaf coaster - sorry, no pics though - it's a suprise gift for a special person in my life! Can't say who quite yet, though!

I'm still waiting for a few items, but I'll update this post when they show up! I hope everybody liked they're kanzashi flower snap wristlets!

::Red Friday::

The last installment of neutral colorweek - I decided to use a pic I had - Ginger!

::Blue Thursday::

So I must admit, when I saw the colorweek theme, and saw Thursday was blue, I had no idea what I was going to do. Then, it dawned on me - my "nuetral" blue just happens to be Robin's Egg!!! I hope you like it - this was my first project post on Craftster!

::belated Grey Wednesday::

I had kind of a bad day yesterday, and didn't finish Pointy Kitty, or post my Grey colorweek photo. Better late than never though, eh?

...an introduction to Crafty Ginger

A lot of crafters have a specific craft that they do on a consistent basis. I've always felt a little different from most people, as I love trying new methods/materials. I knit, but don't consider myself a knitter. I design, but have never thought of myself as a designer. I sew, but as I haven't managed to sew anything I can actually wear, I don't think of myself as a seamstress. I find this basic concept very interesting, as I have spent some time recently trying to define what kind of crafter I am.

What I came up with, actually surprised me; I believe I am a Craft Theorist. That is to say, I'm never satisfied doing the same thing over again, or the same way as everybody else. I HAVE to change up some detail, or add my "spin", or I become disinterested quite quickly and lose heart. It's those crafts that I have no idea how they'll turn out that I enjoy the most. Even through the failures, it's those projects that didn't have a targeted finish point (an aesthetic I'm working towards, or any visual constraints), that I've been most pleased with. I was really struggling trying to decide what one craft to define myself by, but I really can't. So here's my favorites!

Serendipity pendant:
This is one of the last pieces I made while I had access to a jewelry lab. It's one of my MOST favorite pieces my hands have ever created. I am more proud of this piece, than the one I designed the Mokume Gane billets for, funnily enough - and that's why I named it Serendipity. It was really hard to get a good picture, it's got a high polish to it, but it's beautiful in person! The rectangle rotates on the copper ring, it's not soldered onto it.

Kool-Aid dyed shoes for Craftster Challenge #11

I saw the challenge and immediately knew I wanted to participate, but struggled with what I'd do for it. Late one night, I was reading the Kool-Aid dyed yarn tutorial at Knitty, and had the EUREKA moment I was hoping for. I had a pair of dyable silk mules in my closet. They cost me 9$ - so if my experiment failed, I wouldn't be terribly upset. I knew they had to be aqua - it's my color of the season (only 5 or 6 seasons running now! LOL) and I thought it would compliment the white beading on the shoes (that I knew wouldn't take the dye.) I had no idea how my theory would progress, but I think they turned out fabulously! (I'd love to hear what anyone else might think!)

Bias Racing Stripe dropped-stitch scarf:
This was the first pattern I made for myself. I mostly winged it, but knew I wanted to try knitting on the bias, and not just a plain ol' garter stitch scarf (it's my favorite stitch though!) It's made with Classic Elite Premiere yarn (3 skeins) in color #5226 (I think it's called bluegrass?), on size 6's. The racing stripe repeats on both ends, although I wasn't really counting rows, just eyeballing the second end compared to the first. I'm really an "eyeball it" kind of woman, even though I'm somewhat a perfectionist LOL!

I hope you like my favorite projects, I certainly enjoyed making them! I'd LOVE some outside feedback, this craft blog-o-sphere is quite a new universe to me!

::Brown Tuesday::

For the second installment of Neutral Colorweek, I give you Brown. Not those silly package people LOL! This is an old cashmere sweater I'm planning on recycling - someday! :) I just love how soft it is!

::White Monday::

Here's my first foray into colorweek themes! I hope you like it, it's my favorite mid-century modern chair (in miniature!).

Port2Port & little birds worked on a Neutral theme this week, and I'm so excited I get to participate! It was so fun looking at what everyone did for the last themed colorweek!

The rest of the week will look like this -
Monday: White
Tuesday: Brown
Wednesday: Black/Grey (not a b/w shot)
Thursday: Blue
Friday: Red

Now, I'm not sure that I'd personally consider blue & red neutrals, although I'd probably put navy in that category; but I'm still excited to be part of the fun this time around!

June is Finish What You Have Month!

How terribly appropriate for me! I have so many unfinished projects, it will be good to clear some of them out of the craft room & my brain! I'm normally so behind the curve on these themed months, April was Use What You Have month, and while I did do some stashbusting, my stash just isn't that big yet! My Mom donated some awesome small-scaled prints for my tsumami kanzashi flowers, though! Thanks Mom!

My list of unfinished projects looks like this so far -

1. Pointy Kitty - needs eyes & nose
2. Jaeger dropped-stitch scarf - needs blocking, & ends woven in
3. Sushi knitting needle roll for Jenn - finish outside, seam to inside & add ties - this is what I'm working on now
4. Tiffany & Co themed kitting needle roll for me! - everything except design!
5. Aqua silk dupioni curtains - silk is cut, that's it...
6. Line aqua wool pinched pleat drape w/ muslin - the drape is installed, but sun-damaged & some water staining! seam hem, add to drape & stab in place w/ hooks
7. Denim boucle knitting tote - lining is sewn together, needs inner pockets, outer fabric & handle straps attached
8. Wine corkboard - find backing material, glue on?
9. Large ironing board - 48"x52" needs cotton batting & muslin
10. 2 Upholstered memo boards - finish ribbons, add tufted buttons & finish backs

I've also been thinking about making a quilted sewing machine cover, a leather yoga mat bag, and a blanket to match the sofa in my living room! It sounds a little much when I read through it all, though!

Sweat Shoppe Swap round 2

Here's a few sneak peeks of the items I'm making for the Sweat Shoppe Swap (rnd2) on Craftster! I'm so excited, it's basically a sampler swap - and I signed up to craft 10 items, which means I'll be recieving 10 packages back! If you happen to be one of my partners - please let me know if you really like anything pictured here, or have anything you wouldn't like; I'd REALLY appreciate it! And if you leave me a comment here, I'll LOVE you forever! I often feel like I'm the only one reading this silly little blog!

Anyhoo here are the pics I mentioned earlier! Tsumami kanzashi flower wristlets. The flowers snap on & off, so you can change them whenever you want! I'm really happy with the way these have turned out, & I can't wait to get them up on Etsy!

Swap partners - the flowers pictured here don't have buttons or snaps yet (with two exceptions, the top 2 far left are sewn to snaps already), if anyone is allergic to nickel, or other base metals, PLEASE let me know so I can use plastic snaps for you! The colors are just a jumping off point, what I have the most of, white, fuschia & turquoise. For the wristlets I just picked up the cutest hip cat felt, as well as some solids, so let me know what you like, and I'll see what I can do!