Animals for your head

It all started when I was thinking about things that I could make to sell, give as gifts, and/or donate. I wanted fun and cute and good looking without being too time intensive.

Meeting all of these criteria I found anthropomorphic crochet hats with ear flaps. I'm kinda loving them right now. I've been working almost but not really off of patterns as I take the inspiration but then just crochet away (this is the awesome part of crochet, for some reason I'm not comfortable doing this with knitting).

It all started with this Birdy hat that was donated and destined to be for a kid with cancer:

Naturally it only seemed appropriate to move on to a Penguinal hat:

Emboldened by my success I upped the anti with the more involved Sock Monkey Hat. The project was completely addicting and largely completed in one day:

The next weekend I churned out another hat, this time a puppy in just 2 days. Although the speed on that occasion was more because I was with Bran and he mocks the fact that I never seem to complete anything as I am constantly switching between projects (truth, but also largely because I tend to only work on simpler things when I'm with him so more juggling and less FO [finished object(s)] makes sense):

Up next I am totally making an Owl hat, which is actually the idea/pattern that started it all before I wandered off in my own directions. I am rather lacking the the crafting time/focus lately however so progress is slow (and sad). The new goal is to knock it out this weekend.

Also coming soon....an Etsy shop! I decided to branch out this year and along with having stuff at the gift shop have an actual shop online. The challenge is going to be what/how much to keep to ship if needed and what should stay with me to ship if needed.

Nerd Wars Tournament 5

What have I been up to? Well, lots of things. One of those rather time consuming and just as awesome things is Nerd Wars.

The basic premise of Nerd Wars is that you are on a team that centers around some kind of specific Nerdy-subject (sci-fi, science, books, all kinds of things). And over a period of 3 months you craft things to meet challenges which earn your team points.

I joined up with Club 33 which is the Disney team because Disney is awesome, it worked perfectly to build excitement for my trip, and it has so many great ways to connect projects back to the team (bonus points).

Here's what I made:

And one scarf particularly awesome lace scarf that I can't show here because its a gift for someone who may read this.

Today the next tournament started!

Shawl x3

I've been on a bit of a random Shawl kick lately.

I cast on my first ever Shawl on June 20 2011(thank you Ravelry project page). I liked the project but I am far from a monogamous crafter so the Shawl was lost in the bustle of many other projects. It probably didn't help that I was using basically the thinnest yarn ever. By the end each row was incredibly long. However I decided to bring it to the fore and finish the sucker sometime in February or March.

It may be the magic of blocking lace that makes me fall in love with it every time. Overnight my project went from this:

To this:

After a bit of concern about looking too matronly wearing it I've gotten over that as well and have quite enjoyed it on some of these cool spring days.

So fueled by that success I couldn't help but jump on the bandwagon for the Reddit Knit-Along of the Age of Brass and Steele. The pattern was super simple but delightful so I knew it should be a fast project. I found yarn that I was quite happy with at Michaels. It's a cashmere blend so super soft, but from Michaels so still affordable (particularly because I always use at least a 40% off coupon and have gift certificates). The color was was crocuses so I figured that was perfect as well and called the project April Showers.

Unfortunately it came out very much more stripey that I was hoping for which was disappointing. But lo and behold when I wear it everything blends together and gives me the look I was hoping for. Yay.

Now before starting the KAL I was unsure of what yarn to use and considered spinning up Kiwi's fleece as I thought it would be perfect for the pattern. However common sense prevailed when I figured given the month timeline maybe starting from raw wool was not the smartest.

But when I found that it was only a week into April and I had finished half of the knitting already. Plus it was a long Easter weekend made awesome by the fact that I opted not to drive home to my parents but instead enjoy some free time in my own home. So I figured I'd give the spinning a try.

After prepping it into roving on my hackle Kiwi's fleece spun so easily and perfectly into a wonderful DKish single it felt nearly like a miracle. Being a single it was of course twisty but I washed it "thwacked it" as I'd seen suggested. And hung it to dry under the tension of a spray bottle. The resulting yarn did have a bit of twist to it but for the most part seemed to be pretty stable.

So I quickly knit up a little sample and lo and behold there were some places where I could see the stitches starting to lean but for the most part it was smooth sailing. And the color and texture were just wonderful.

I proceed with much sorting, washing, flicking, hackling, spinning, winding, washing, drying, winding, and knitting. And in the end had this wonderful shawl.

Its impossible to really capture the colors of it as they seem to change even every time I look at it. But I'd say they speak mostly as gray to me with hints of brown at times. The single adds so much character to the knitting that I am now certain I'll be doing a good bit more of this type of spinning.

Hooray for new things!

I think I have too many things to do.

As is too often the case I have one again neglected to post anything here for quite some time. Fail. The past few months have felt just insanely busy. Tis the season!

First and foremost work really really gets in the way of all of the things I really want to do. And to make matters worse my work doesn't stop at 40 hours a week. Every time we have a concert or special event there goes any "free time". The spring is definitely the worst. And just looking at the calendar May is the most ridiculous month. Between April 30 and May 25 the only non-work day is the 12th. Ouch. Although I do plan on taking a few other days off. Now if I could just get someone to do my job when I'm not in the office things would be rather more dandy.

So it whatever time is left to me I have all of the following things to do:

• House work: The cat is not pulling his weight around the house and I have to do it all. The little jerk.
• Yard work:  I think I had to start mowing a full month earlier with the weather so warm. And I've expanded my veggie garden. Here's hoping I keep more than just cucumbers alive this time.
• Friends: After years of being largely, but not entirely, anti-social it seems that I've recently managed to re-connect much more with some old friends. And I've even found new ones - whoa.
• Band: The music is kinda bad all too often, but I could never give up playing so i'm glad for the outlet.
• Video games: Bran got me hooked on World of Warcraft and now he's dragging me into Diablo as well. I try not to admit it but they can be fun. I just wish they took less time and or I could knit and play!
• Biking: Exercise is healthy and can even be fun, I should do more of it.
• Photography: My photos really are getting better I think. But as with all learning/improvement more time is always a sure way to better results.
• Reading: I really don't know how I did it but as a youth I would fly through books sometimes to the tune of multiple books in a week. I've been doing a bit more lately but sometimes it feels like I'm just slogging through them. And the library deadlines come up so quickly!
• Knitting/Crochet: Aside from the perpetual desire to be working on dozens of projects of my own I even have the opportunity right now to work on growing a bit of my own crafty business. Maybe I should learn lever knitting or whatever the supposed current fastest knitting method may be.
• Spinning: I am totally getting better at spinning. Latest discover is an awesome DKish single. Knit up so wonderfully.
• Other Crafts: My awesome sewing machine is practically begging me to use it more often. And wouldn't it be wonderful to work at sketching/doodling/zentangling. Oh and what about the sweatshirt that I've wanted to paint for myself for over a year.
• Relax: Eh, overrated!

Valentines

I have this idea for a super cute Valentines postcard with a fiber twist. And I thought it would be a perfect project to share with you all as a little diy project. But then I got distracted by life (happens quite a bit I'm afraid) and I've not yet actually made any myself yet. So today I'll figure I can still share with you my ideas and what I intend to create, and well maybe it will spur some ideas of your own!

My fascination with fiber post cards started two years ago when I participated in a post card swap. My fun knitted post cards are still one of my favorite crazy bits of crafting. And as a bonus they were wonderful valentines as well. When I participated in the same swap last year I wanted to be sure and once again include fiber. And I came up with my little crochet flower postcards. Another successful bit of mail-art.

So putting these past experiences together when I thought about making valentines this year I quickly came up with the idea of putting crochet hearts onto a postcard.

To start I needed a crochet heart. Alas I have yet to try any kind of patterning on my own so it was off to the interwebs. Happy I came across this perfect tutorial for a simple little heart on pinterest (which by the way is highly addicting and highly recommended). I made probably 20 of these little guys quite quickly one evening. The only modification that I made to the tutorial was to use the magic ring as my center instead of the first chain. This kept the heart neat and tidy with a solid center. My first attempt following the directions exactly was a bit wonky as that first chain stretched way too much.

This is as far as I've gotten thus far so bear with me and make a picture in your head.

My plan is to sew them onto a piece of card stock. Now sewing into the heavyish stock really isn't so easy, in fact I found it to be pretty darn painful/ineffective when last I tried. The solution is to poke holes wherever you'll be brining the thread up. I plan to hold the heart on the cardstock on a piece of corkboard and then poke holes just inside of the shape. This way I can invisibly stitch the heart securely down onto the postcard. I will also tie off the thread in a number of different places so that if the thread breaks in any one location the damage will be localized and the heart will stay securely on the card.

Now unfortunately all of the card stock that I've managed to find and purchase really isn't a particularly heavyweight. And so in order to give my postcards a better chance of surviving the mail I add a second piece. This also serves to hide the backside of the sewing. Last year when I was doing this with the flowers I was thinking glue but knew that glue would probably not survive the journey still completely glued. I then had the brainchild of sewing the cards together!

It really is amazing how one can take tools that seem so geared towards a specific craft and morph them into the perfect tool for something a bit less obvious. Stitching around the edges of the cards fastens them securely together quickly, simply and cleanly.

Now if you don't have a sewing machine there is also the option to do something more like my first knitted post card. In that instance I placed (well I poked, but a hole punch would be easier) holes around the outside of the cards and then just sewed loops around the outside. This method adds its own decorative element as well.

Once everything is together you really can mail them just like a regular post card. Albeit at a higher rate. The postcard is too thick to fit in the postcard rate so you can use a regular letter stamp $0.45 now and then you need to add a $0.20 non-machinable charge.

I can only hope that the friends and family who will be receiving these Valentines enjoy them as much as I think I would. Snail mail really is so much fun!

366 Project

Since receiving my new camera for Christmas (many thanks and much love to Bran) I challenged myself to take a photo every day.

So far so good!

Weekly Goal Wrapup, 1/29

Ooops never clicked publish....

I must confess that alot of this was powered out on Sunday evening, but I accomplished everything. Go me!

1. Finish 1.5 Special Olympics scarves -This was the perfect project to have along with me while working the concerts this weekend. Even so I barely managed to pick it up given the ridiculousness that is two sold out concerts. Still, I am so fast with these now that it was a breeze.

2. Prep all fiber for Marled Yarn -Much of the work was already done. And when I went to hackle the colored fiber it just didn't hold together as it was actually too light and airy. So the plan is to spin all the colored fiber from the lock. I would really like to get good at lock spinning anyways and this project for myself is perfectly suited I think.

3. Knit 2nd "Quick and Easy" Sock - Thank goodness this project really is super quick and easy because I just wasn't feeling it and put it off until late Sunday. But I finished and lo and behold they actually fit way better than I thought. Now I want to make more!

4. Sew convertible wallet to tote bag -Went from start (well a few pieces were already cut) to finish in one night. I'm getting better at these as well, thank goodness. I actually sewed the zipper without using pins. I was nervous but it totally worked. Yay.

5. Finish flower chart repeats on shawl - Before I could actually 'finish' I had to figure out where 'finish' would be located (how many repeats). I did many maths and I'm still not quite certain of the outcome. Crazy lace and its ability to grow. But I'm calling it good and managed to finish 2 full pattern repeats and now its on to the boarder charts. And even more excitedly I really got into a groove with the knitting. So much so that I'm rather anxious to work on the boarder.

So hooray for sucess. There is a bit of a downside however. Getting this stuff done felt rather overwhelming again, even with my 5 item limit. Next week is my birthday week so I think I may just do whatever :-)