Quick Craft - Suede "Chain" Bracelet

nother cute project on Craft:'s blog, I knew I had to make one for myself. The only question was, leather or suede? And then, what color??? I have bunches of scraps in some very delicious colors, so the choices were tough.

After it was all said and done, the magenta pig suede was the winner. I had a bunch of small pieces of it, and in suede - it was an experiment to see if this would even work! The real issue is, that the original links in the pattern are 3" long, but I knew I wanted something smaller; I wanted to make a bracelet, and I have freakishly tiny wrists. So, I re-sized the links to 2" long total (meaning they'd be 1" after folding.)



At first, they seemed much too floppy to hold up. Not nearly enough structure for this project, I thought. So, I put it down for a few weeks. And then, I had the thought that after folding they should have more structure than they seem to! And I was right! A few links later I was finished, and that makes this one of the easiest jewelry pieces I've made in a long time! I used a doll-sized belt buckle to anchor the top, and it finished much prettier looking than the bottom (with no anchor.)



It was mentioned one can finish this project in one evening, but I'll give you this caveat; if you're using really sharp shears, like Gingher's - that I did - you'll probably want to space this one out a little more. I have a death grip on mine for some strange reason, and so I can only cut so much before my right thumb gets a dent in it from the scissor handle, and hurts - alot!

I love easy and quick projects, so I'm going to try and showcase more of the ones that inspire me the most! I'm also planning on more leather chain projects, this was so fun & easy I couldn't stop at one! Haha! Stay tuned in April for more of this same project, as well as a few of my own twists on it!

What are your favorite easy projects? They can be just fun or functional, and if they're both, I'll swoon. I love when form marries function!

*Fancy lettering from Daily Drop Cap - so fun & addictive!

WIP - Bauhaus Throw Blanket

When I caught the Ravelympic bug, I knew I wanted to pick a large project... and I'd been kicking around this idea for a beach-ey, by-the-sea version of this Bauhaus blanket for a couple of weeks. So, I decided I was going to knit a whole blanket, 4 pieces with seaming and all, in 16 days. 

I know, you're sitting there saying to yourself, "Kari, why on Earth would you think of such a thing?"

It's because I'm a masochist, or at least that's as close I've been able to come to an answer on that one! Theoretically speaking, it would have been accomplish-able... that is, until I decided to dye my yarn, and didn't bother getting around to it until halfway through the Games - whoops!

Ok, so now I'm going to try a new approach - I'm going to keep posting about this one until it's finished, and hopefully I'll want the damn thing done so bad that'll be enough! Haha! It is an easy enough project, I just need to keep at it, and I hope my fellow bloggers can help keep me motivated!

Right now, I'm a quarter done with it... only knit one square. I really hope I have more to show off next week! Cross your fingers for me!

Ravelympics 2010 - Wrap Up

To be blunt folks, I'm a great big loser. 

But, I'm alright with it this time... I knew the project I'd picked was a large one, and throwing the dyeing into the mix really messed my game up. This time, I'm just a participant, but I'm still determined to work on, and finish my Bauhaus Throw. (And hopefully, soon!)

So, to wrap it all up, I've knitted one square of four, and dyed 2/3 of my contrast yarn to the right color. I was really hoping I would get the dye part right on the first try, but alas, I must over-dye one skein to match the intensity of the other 2. 

Theoretically, the knitting part is easy-peasy - it's just a garter blanket, so I could get it done quickly; just not today. And, although I'm a little disappointed to not have met my goal this time; I'm really happy to have at least participated - we can't all win every time, right?

So, did you meet your own Ravelympics goals?

Ravelympics 2010 - Update

I was so set on not joining in this round of the Ravelympics, but of course I got myself sucked in! And naturally, I had to pick a much bigger project, because I finished so much in 08... 

This time around it was to be a Bauhaus Throw, from Craft; zine's blog. I didn't have the recommended yarn, but I did have a ton of Elann Silken Kydd hanging around since I let the deadline for my Milkweed project lapse without finishing it. 

I had to go up in needle size to get gauge, but that's really nothing new for me. These days, it's only a needle size or two, but when I first started knitting, I had a stranglehold on my yarn, and would regularly go up 4 or more sizes! Tension counts, folks - take it from me!

And, to make it that much more difficult, I decided to dye half of my ivory yarn into a seafoam blue green for the contrast color. Which, really wouldn't have been that hard, except I totally procrastinated it, like entirely! And then, to make matters even more complicated, I managed to dye all 3 skeins a slightly different shade of blue, even though I really tried to get them the same shade. Meh...

So, I'm 25% done, and the Olympics close in 3 days... I don't think I'll make it to get my own gold medal, but I hope I can still finish my new blanket. Even though it's kinda static-ey, it's very soft, and SUPER light weight - so I hope it will be a good knit to have spent time on for my home. 

Better late than never, eh? :)