Craft Fair

I have just booked myself in for a table at my first Artists/Craftspersons/Small Business Expo... and it's next Saturday! Yikes! I had been planning on doing one, but thought it would be later in the month. I am going to be busy!

Cupcakes

I really should post more often, shouldn't I? This Friday I went to the Distillery District in downtown Toronto. I happened to pick up some "vintage lucite" floral beads from a place called Tank. Normally I don't like plastic beads and think they're tacky, but somehow if you call them "vintage lucite" it makes it a cool plastic. :) Today I went to Michael's after church and picked up some freshwater pearls to make the blue bells and pink earrings above complete. The clear blue beads are ones a friend gave me for my birthday. In the end I wasn't satisfied with those fishhook wires and ended up swapping them out for some longer trendy wires... and didn't take a picture of the finished product before giving them away.

Be It Resolved

Usually I don't make new year's resolutions, but this year I wanted to make a sweater... and finished it by January 17th. I told my Mom I'd post these pictures a long time ago, but sometimes life gets in the way of things... but here they finally are. I don't have a picture of me wearing it so this is all you're getting for now (and they're not even good pictures). The pattern is called Rusted Root, although I did make some minor modifications to it (see my Ravelry link for info) Overall it was fairly easy to knit and a great first sweater pattern to work with. I chose a cheap yarn as I wasn't too sure how the whole project would turn out. Now I kind of wish I had used a better yarn after investing so much time into it, it's already quite a bit pilly and I've only worn it 3 or 4 times.

I started another sweater right after finishing this one, but was having some issues with the sizing and so it's currently sitting and possibly never being finished. We'll see. It was a lot of effort to get it to the point where it is now, and really wasn't fitting properly so have put it on hold.

Another resolution, or goal for the year, is to write and publish a knitting pattern. Most of the time I make up what I'm knitting anyway, thought it would be neat to write it down and have others be able to knit it too. Currently am working on a touque pattern. Have a few kinks to work out, but it is coming along nicely. Let me know if you'd like to be a test knitter before I publish it, would love someone to test it out first before I put it out there as a freebie.

Cabled Celtic Neckwarmer

I've been working on this Cabled Celtic Neckwarmer for a week or two now. This is a lovely soft “100% Baby Llama” yarn I got on sale at a yarnshop I stumbled upon in Aurora, Ontario. The photos don't show the colour very well, but it's a warm buttery yellow shade.

Made a mistake in the first repeat of the pattern, but kind of like the way it looks so am repeating it in every other repeat of the pattern to add a little more variety and length to the cable pattern.

This is the first time I’ve used a chart when knitting… not sure I like it! Much prefer knitting from written instructions.

Hope to finish up with this project this week. Only have a few rows left and the buttons to add, but have a busy week ahead so am not sure if I'll get it done or not.

Coming Along...

Claudia Progress

I decided to go with the pattern Claudia and make a toque with my lovely Cascade 220 wool. I've had the PDF of this pattern saved for awhile, and wanted to go with something cable-y for this yarn, so seemed like a good match. This yarn appears to be a little bit lighter and less itchy than the Briggs & Little wool that I am used to, although I haven't decided yet if I'll keep this when it's done or give it away as a gift (Christmas is just around the corner). Usually I can't wear wool toques, my forehead gets too itchy.

So far it is slow going, I've knit two afternoons and am only finished the band and opening "trellis" pattern. What's with boring afternoon television? How come there isn't anything good on? House Hunters, House Hunters International, Ellen, and a little bit of classic Party of Five is getting me through this one.

Autumn Knitting

All summer, while I was not looking forward to fall weather arriving, I looked forward to fall knitting. And the week after camp was over I wanted to go yarn shopping Monday, but every local yarn shop I found online seemed to be closed on Mondays. So I ended up going to Michael's and getting a few different kinds of yarn. I tried a few swatches of different stitches, but haven't yet ended up making anything out of any of those yarns yet.

Then this past Wednesday I ended up driving by Knitter's Attic (which it turns out is apparently open on Mondays as well) and picked up a few lovely yarns, including Cascade Yarns Cascade 220 Colour #8404, and Freedom Spirit by Twilleys of Stamford Colour #506.

And this weekend I believe the fall weather arrived. So far, I've knit one mitten out of the Freedom Spirit yarn. I tried to take some pictures tonight but it's just too dark in here to get the camera to focus so that will have to wait for daylight. And I think they shall be a Christmas gift.

I also started a sock with another yarn not pictured here. Am still contemplating what exactly to do with the Cascade yarn, was originally thinking perhaps a scarf (but am not sure about the itchy factor), then thought perhaps mittens, but then tonight I was thinking maybe a cabled toque of some sort. I'm off to look up patterns now.

Myrtle Socks

I'm procrastinating from doing things I should be doing (like, oh, you know, lesson planning, working on my resume, applying for jobs, figuring out my taxes, cleaning, going for a walk, etc.), but thought I'd post some pics of my Myrtle Socks.

I bought the yarn at Wal*Mart in Myrtle Beach, it's Bernat Baby Jaquards yarn in the colour "Boo Berries". I'd always wanted to try a self-striping yarn, and this was a real cheapo. I made up the pattern, using size 3 needles. Checking Ravelry there are a few others who've made socks with the same yarn in various colourways. I had thought about making another pair with the yarn I still have left, for a Christmas present, but I think I'll wait a bit as I'm wondering how they'll hold up to regular wear.

And, in case you were wondering, oh yeah, it's totally cool to knit socks while you're on vacation.

Juliet

I originally bought this orange cotton print with the idea of using it in a quilt, but had a lot of trouble finding any other suitable prints to match it. Some websurfing has led me to the fact that is is part of the Marie Osmond - Blanc et Noir Companions collection from Quilting Treasures, fabric "20468-O".

For this version of my favourite baby dress pattern, I lengthened the dress overall, and added a bird motif. Originally I was going to applique a brown calico print, however, I was advised by a housemate that white would look better... and I quite like the way it turned out. It took me a few sample tries to get the zigzag stitching to work satisfactorily, luckily I tried it out on some extra fabric before attacking the actual dress.

The buttons on the back are some from my Gramma's attic. The orange one was just perfect, however, I only had one of them. Wonderful that I found two similar-sized pearly numbers to go with it!

Pink and Brown

When I was housemates with my friend Rachel in college, she invented a wardrobe concept, that, if I recall correctly, went something to the effect of each year (or perhaps each season) was going to have an overriding colour palette that she would name. So she called the first one "Neopolitan Thrift," which consisted of a heavily brown/tan/pink palette. Not too long after she decided though that she liked the colour scheme too much to change it so kept it for the next year at least (or is it still going strong Rachel?).

Last fall when Rachel was expecting, I made her a dress for the wee one, and I quite liked the way it turned out. This year, with the thousand million bajillion babies expected, I've been plugging away at various projects. So far, Juliet and Reagan have started things off right and are both little girls. Which is good, because I like making dresses. I'm not sure who'll get the one above yet, but I think it turned out lovely. I love the pink piping, slightly different than the lace I used for Rachel's dress for wee Nora.

I've continued to tweak the pattern as time goes on... I've made I think 10 from the same pattern base, no two the same. Yesterday I drafted a new neckline and sleeves. Only problem is, I don't have any babies around here to try it on and make sure it fits!

Owls

So, I decided that at some point this year I would knit a sweater. I figure it is the next big accomplishment that would be logical in knitting, as I've mastered scarves and touques and mitts and such. Even though sometime late last year I told a couple of my housemates that I thought people who knit their own sweaters are crazy because a) they take forever and b) you can buy something cheaper.

I found this sweater that I'd really like to make (see it here too). I've been waiting since last week to go out and buy the yarn and get the required needles, however, stupid Michael's was out of at least half of their circular needles and didn't have the right lengths nor sizes. So I'm either going to have to track down a knitting store or get the needles online. Blah.

Assorted

My housemate Rachelle got me these brads last weekend from Michaels. There's some info on the brads here. I find it kind of humourous that the webpage says "They are so adorable you’ll wonder how you’ve lived without them!"

I'm not really sure what to do with them, but they are cute. And there are squirrels!

January Scarf

I'd been wanting to knit a lace-patterned scarf for awhile, something that would be light and airy and quick to knit. I was going to draft my own pattern, but then I took on Ravelry for lace patterns and found this Leaf Lace Scarf pattern. One of my New Year's resolutions was to knit something that would take a lot of patience... but I didn't know this would be it.

a) I had been a member of Ravelry for awhile, but had never posted anything nor used any patterns.
b)Ravelry is fantastic. You can find all sorts of good patterns on there. And lots for free. And you can see the same project knit by a bazillion different people so you can get more of an idea of what it looks like in different sizes, colours, variations, etc.
c) This scarf took forever. Probably at least 25 hours of knitting... I counted it up just before I completed it.
d) I knit it on 3mm needles, with some thin ivory yarn I bought at a thrift store a few years ago.
e) Unfortunately in it's finished state it curls over on itself, I think perhaps blocking it might help, but I have never blocked anything and haven't gotten around to it.
f) Overall, I do like the way it looks, but I wouldn't make another one. I would draft my own pattern and do something not quite so intense.

First Baby Quilt

I have a file on my computer desktop entitled "People Who Are Pregnant". There are currently 17 people listed (well, one gave birth today, so I suppose I can take her off the list!). Those remaining include good friends, college friends, and church friends. I won't be giving all of them gifts, but I have decided to make a few things to give as gifts over the next few months.

This is a baby quilt I designed, did the sewing of, and quilted in an evening (minus the binding I did on a second day because I did it by hand). The fabrics were all ones that I already had on hand, and the batting was some I had leftover from a Christmas project I had made late last year.

I designed the quilt in Microsoft Excel... good for more than just spreadsheets! I quite like it for designing layouts, especially since I don't really have any good graphics programs. Originally I was planning to do a log cabin type of design, but eventually settled on straight rows, and I really like how it turned out.

The fabrics I used were as follows:

- old white sheet
- the brown with white floral was a vintage duvet cover I purchased a few years ago, it has made a few appearances in other crafts of mine in the past including a few purse linings and a shirt
- the white with brown and blue floral was also a vintage duvet cover purchased at the same time as the brown one. It's been repurposed into a purse, some purse linings, and a skirt.
- plain brown broadcloth
- blue with brown print is actually a home decor print I bought originally to make this baby dress a couple of summers ago.



You can click on any of the photos for a closer look.

Christmas Ornament Exchange 2008

I've been trying to take pictures for awhile but my camera is on the fritz... finally got it to work today. I wanted to post this awhile ago, but one ornament only came this past week and better late than never. :)

This is the second time I've participated in the cake & pie and Freshly Blended Holiday Ornament Swap, the previous time was in 2006. I still have two of the ornaments from that swap up on my wall, one a screenprinted-on-felt pinecone, the other a little bumble bee pink and linen circle from joybucket. I just checked back in my archives to see if I had some pictures posted from that swap, and here they are. Some of the ornaments I don't have any more, the rest are with my Christmas things packed away. I still like the knitted tree from Sarah.

One of the great things about that swap was the people you sent to also sent to you. This year, the people you sent to weren't necessarily the people that you received from.

You can click on the picture to make it bigger. I have to admit, some of these ornaments I've forgotten who they are from, as most did not include a blog address or shop address, and some didn't even include a return address!

Top Left chihuahua is from the Shops@FunkyFinds. The little knitted owl next to it was from Scandinavia. The "M" is a wooden piece with some puff glued on and then the fabric over top, with a little bit of snow drizzle of some sort. On the right, the rotating heart ornament was one of the last to arrive. The little flag says "Open Your Heart" on one side and "It's Christmas" on the other. Came nicely packaged.

In the second row, embroidered hoop. Two bottle caps (one Coke, one Sprite) hotglued together with a ribbon hanger. Ribbon tree from Kate in the UK.

Bottom row left is a snowman head made from a styrofoam ball covered in I think Model Magic, with a sock hat? Came really nicely packaged in a coordinating box filled with tinsel. To the right, a screen-printed deer ornament from Shanna Murray. Bottom right is the first ornament to arrive (actually, very thoughtfully two were included), from Michael McDowell. The deer and little owls are hanging on my wall now.

Also got a mitten from my sister, but at the moment, I can't find it.

The ornaments I made this year were little red knitted touques... only have this poor photo taken in December.

The ornaments you receive are a real mixed bag... some good, some completely odd. Some I love though, so I think I'll participate again this next December. It's fun too to track down people you'd like to trade with.

Crafty Blogs

The following is a short list of some of the crafty blogs I happen to frequent on a regular basis, in no particular order:

Ysolda: A young knitter somewhere in the UK, have been reading this one for awhile but am not sure how I stumbled across it. Hers was the first knitting blog I can remember reading.

Princess Lasertron: A blog I ran across last year sometime from a link off of a design blog talking about the Princess' wedding dress. Her blog is an interesting look at a new business getting it's feet firmly planted.

wikstenmade: An independent clothing designer.

wise craft: The crafting pursuits of a mother and her family.

sugar city journal: Two sisters share childrens' clothing designs.

Philigry: Just discovered this one the other day, this woman is an intense sweater knitter.

pretty sketchy: I pretty much check Natty's blog every day. We went to college together.

soulemama: Another blog about the crafting exploits of a mother and her family.

Inside a Black Apple: Found this one off of Etsy. I like to follow Emily's crafting pursuits (over her painting ones), and it's been neat to see her business flourish on Etsy and beyond.

whipup.net: Whipup offers a great review of the crafting going on out there, mostly tutorials.

Progress

I've been doing a lot more knitting this fall, trying to get a few Christmas gifts taken care of.

I never much cared for fingerless gloves or mitts before, but saw a few neat pairs on Etsy and Ravelry and thought I'd give them a try.

natty

When I was going to college at Briercrest, my last year in dorm there were a few crazy girls on the first floor, one of them being Natasha . Now she is all grown up and has her first art show currently up and happening at the Sugarbowl in Edmonton. I wish wish wish I was closer so I could go and see everything in person, but for those others who aren't able to stop by, check out her website and her blog to see more.

Holiday Ornament Swap

Two years ago I participated in the 1st Annual Cake and Pie/Freshly Blended Holiday Ornament Swap. Unfortunately last Christmas I simply didn't have the time to participate. But this year, I've just signed up again.

I've already started working on my ornaments... can't wait to see what comes in the mail in return.