I finally finished a knitting project! I haven't done any knitting for a long time. I think it was a combination of having a stupid amount of hats, mittens and scarves and also too many failed or unsatisfactory sweaters that made me tired of it. I think baby things will be fun and easier to make. Baby stuff knits up quickly and babies don't complain if the seam of the sweater looks a little funky.
As I was browsing Ravelry for patterns I couldn't really decide what I wanted to make. Stuffed animal? Cardigan? Bunting? Instead of committing to a pattern I thought I should probably check out the yarn situation first. Turns out I don't have much yarn in my stash that is soft enough for a baby! Lame. I headed to Joann Fabric to see my options. Is it just me or are most baby yarn colors hideous? There was the typical blue/pink stuff and the most awful shade of teal I've ever seen. Come on, Joann, get with it. Order the new colorways already. This has to have been from 20 years ago. I finally spotted some Bernat Pipsqueak that looked cute enough. It was a very fuzzy and soft yarn in the color "Chocolate." It looks like the perfect yarn for a bear cub!
I chose a Lion's Brand pattern called Blanket Buddy but I changed the pattern to look like a bear head instead of a bunny. It took less than one ball of yarn to make! I like how it came out and it was an easy pattern. Good for someone who likes instant gratification.
I have a cute horse print shirt that I don't wear very often because I hate the unflattering neckline. It really needed a cute collar to make it more interesting. I found this pattern on Ravelry and made a cute new collar in about 45 minutes.
I'm not a huge fan of the string ties, but I couldn't find my button jar! I still like how it came out and I will have no problem wearing it out.
We had a fun weekend hanging out at Barnes and Noble, reading H.P. Lovecraft and getting lattes. I'm planning on making fish and chips for dinner (sweet potato chips, actually) MAYBE I'll bake a cake too?
Since I'm stuck sitting at a desk for the next 24 hours I decided to pass the time making toys for our new fur-ball baby.
The size hook doesn't really matter as long as it is small enough to make tight stitches for the Diyyarn weight you are using.
Create magic loop or chain 3 and join.
Rnd 1: SC 8 into loop.
Rnd 2: SC 2 into each SC for 16 sts.
Rnd 3: *SC 1 into next SC, SC 2 into following SC* Repeat for 24 sts.
Rnd 4-8: SC in 24 sts.
Rnd 9: *1 SC, SC2TOG* Repeat for 16 sts.
Rnd 10: SC2TOG for 8 sts.
Begin stuffing the ball with Polyfil. Don't forget to add the capnip! You can add a bell or squeaky things inside too.
Rnd 11: SC2TOG for 4 sts.
Cut the working end of yarn off leaving a tail. With a yarn needle stitch the ball together at the end and pull tight to close the ball. Weave in ends!
Add bells or feathers to the toy, tie the tail end to a stick or leave it as a plain ball.
I've been interested in textile design for quite a while now, from classes in college, internships at textile wholesalers, learning to knit and to crochet. However I have never tried my hand at weaving, that is, until I read this DIY Wood Frame Weaving Tutorial by The Darling Ewe. I had to try it! I set two work removing the fabric off of a canvas to use the wooden frame. I got myself a hammer and some nails and embarked on my weaving adventure. Although I weaved too tightly, I think my first try is coming out pretty nicely.
I stopped in the library and picked up a book on textiles for inspiration. There are so many great pieces of work and styles out there. Many textiles look like they are telling stories. Check out the very bottom photo... I'd love to know what that story was!
I haven't been feeling very inspired lately to do any scrapbooks or knitting. I came across this video while searching for inspiration and it's really incredible!
When I was younger my mother built me a dollhouse. I wanted to have all kinds of dollhouse furniture for it, but of course those things are expensive, so my father bought me an xacto knife set and balsa wood so I could build miniature furniture. I used to really love it. I remember being very proud of a grandfather clock I made. I have no idea if any of the pieces I created are still around, but the dollhouse sure is! I have fond memories of miniatures, which is why I was so inspired by this video. However I can't see myself picking up knitting needles THAT small anytime soon. I thought size 0 was small!
Happy Halloween everyone! This year I went as Alex from A Clockwork Orange. I didn't get any fabulous pictures of my costume, but I snapped a few of my makeup, which is the best part of the costume anyway! I've been messing with some iPhone photo apps lately. So far I'm loving Labelbox and Pic Stitch. I tried out Spooky Pics for my Halloween photos...
I made some orange and purple Halloween cupcakes for the party. They got eaten up really fast! I'm not an expert at baking yet, but I was pretty happy with these. The frosting is the hardest part. I had to resist buying the cupcake icing kits from Target and settled on using ziplock bags for piping the icing.
I also snapped a bunch of photos with my Instax. I'll be putting together my Zombie Mini Album soon! The party was full of zombies, pirates, 80's metal rockers, 70's coke heads, serial killer butchers, and of course a bit of the old 'ultra violence.'
On another note, last Wednesday I got my tattoo! It was drawn by Mindy Massacre at Primal Instincts Tattoo in Anchorage AK. I made an appointment to get it colored in two weeks. I love how it turned out! I heard that she and another female artist were fighting over who would get to do my tattoo, because they both loved the idea of the dress form. The sewing stuff is dedicated to my maternal grandmother, who left me her sewing room when she passed away. She always made tons of great stuff! I have a purse she made and I carry it everywhere. The butterfly on the dress-form's shoulder is for my paternal grandmother, who used to do a butterfly census at the UCSC Arboretum in Santa Cruz, CA. She would walk around and see how many butterflies were in the gardens and figure out what types they were. I'm going to get some flowers in the background for her too... Maybe some from this book that my aunt made of her artwork after she passed away. She did some wonderful drawings! Anywhere she went she would draw, she didn't bother taking photos.
Last but not least is an update on my knitting progress... I had 24 hour duty the morning after the Halloween party, which sucked, but at least I had some time to catch up on my knitting. It started snowing yesterday morning and I thought to myself, "You'd better get that sweater done!" I started it last year but I kept putting it down to work on other projects. Now that it's cold out I'll need it!
The Fall 2010 issue of Vogue Knitting is still the best issue I've seen. They were on point with the London Calling collection. I may even make two of these pullovers!
I chose a grey yarn that was too dark in comparison to the original pattern, but I like how it is turning out.
That's all for now! Thanks to everyone who stopped by for the October Followers Fest! I'll leave you with a video for the lovely song "Dear Darkness" by PJ Harvey. She's a wonderful singer/songwriter and very "goth". Perfect for this time of year.
I made a strawberry rhubarb pie! Pies are fun to make and I seem to be getting better at them. Pies themselves are pretty easy, all you basically need is water, flour, butter, sugar and fruit. The fillings usually can't go wrong. The crust however, is tricky. In the past I've overworked the dough and it was tough instead of flaky. But this time I've discovered the trick! All it is is frozen butter and a food processor. Cut up your butter into cubes and freeze them. When they are good and cold put them in a food processor with the dry ingredients and pulse, adding ice water as necessary. Keep the dough cold until you put it in the oven. Pretty much just make sure those butter chunks don't melt into the dough and you'll be good.
Yum!
My second weekend accomplishment is a finished baby coat for my friends daughter...
I love to knit/crochet baby things for my friends. I especially love it when they give me a picture of the little one wearing or using the item. It makes me so happy! Luckily, everyone seems to be having babies around here! My friend and his wife just had a baby while I was on leave. A few months ago I crocheted a 7 legged octopus (heptapus, technically...) for the little guy before he was born. Now the baby is here!
How CUTE is he?? (The baby, of course!)
Here's the original guy.
I'm working on another baby project for a friend way down in the lower 48. It's the Lino's Coat pattern I found on Ravelry. I'm almost done! It's coming out a lot bigger than I thought. She's looks like a tiny girl according to the pictures. I guess she'll grow into it.
I decided to start a little segment where I post some of my in-progress or finished knitting projects. This one is from a pattern I found at Susan B. Anderson's blog. Super cute! He's not quite finished yet. He still needs his back two feetsies and a tail ;)
It's been a while since I posted (not like anyone reads this, lol) I have a ton of crafts to post! This last month was busy. I spent over a week sleeping outside in tents and carrying around an M16. It was cold and miserable. On a sad note, last weekend a sergeant in my battalion played drunk Russian Roulette and shot himself in the stomach (and no, he's not ok, he's dead) That was pretty bad, and resulted in barracks inspections for all of us, and quite a few briefings on safety. But on a happier note, I've started applying to the University of Alaska and plan on getting my Bachelor of Arts in Art(!) AND... The best news EVER... my little brother is getting married!!! I'm so excited. I get to be a bridesmaid! My brothers fiance is the sweetest and SMARTEST chick ever (also a crafter!)
While I have plenty of new crafts to post, I'm going to update on an old post with some pictures of the pink baby hoodie on an actual baby! Watson's daughter looks so cute and puked on it right away during the photo shoot! Gotta break it in, right?
I'm so glad it fits!!
My second project is a cross stitch I did just for fun. I was thinking about payday, and I guess I felt a little gangster (haha)
Next is a collage I did with a frame I got at Target. I used some pictures my mom sent of my relatives.
Next is a super easy project. I had an old babydoll tee from Urban Outfitters I didn't like the fit of anymore. I just cut out the gra
phic and put it in an embroidery ring. I think it looks pretty clever, and it added some more interest to my BORING ASS barracks wall!
Now for some foodie updates... I can't help it, I love lemon desserts! I made lemon cupcakes with raspberry frosting, white trash truffles and lemon tarts. The truffles were SO easy and I brought some to my battle buddies when we had to work late. I think they enjoyed them.
The recipe is on the blog fresh365 I'm defiantly going to try some variations on the recipe!
Last is my latest project in the making... My first adult size sweater!! I went to the Library and took out a couple craft books, Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts, and Pretty in Punk (punk, goth and rock style knits) I'm using Pretty in Punks pattern for a super easy sweater called "The Swindle" and I'm using my special, fancy, expensive yarn that I was saving for a special project. It's a single ply, Peruvian Wool and Tencel blend yarn called Lustra by Berroco in the most beautiful cobalt blue. It's the same shade of blue that so many movie stars were wearing to the Oscars last year... I guess I like color trends.
I decided that since I'm super impatient and can't work on a large project for too long, I would have to start making baby clothes. There are only so many grown up hats, scarves and mittens I can make before I stop actually wearing them and just get annoyed when they fill up my room. Either that, or I start making strange and pointless knitting garments, like "shrugs" that I will NEVER wear because they are hideous. Who actually wears "shrugs"?? It looks like you shrunk your sweater and still tried to wear it!! ... Ahem... Where was I? Oh yea, babies. The problem with knitting baby clothes is that I don't have a baby. But my coworkers do. In fact, my coworkers pretty much have babies every week. Their wives just keep popping them out. I don't know how they do it. They're not even Mormons. It doesn't really matter... in fact it just gives me a lot of people to knit for.
It's not perfect, but it's pretty close! I have a bad habit of using patterns and then deciding to deviate and do my own thing. That's when I screw up. In this case the top of the hood is weird, it's possible it won't be able to fit on the babies head! Oh well. It's decorative :) This was my first full sweater, first attempt at attaching sleeves and first time using the Kitchener Stitch.
The pattern was from Knit Culture and was really fast and easy. I started Friday night and finished Sunday afternoon.
Recommended Listening: "When I was a Young Girl," by Feist
It's not perfect, but it's pretty close! I have a bad habit of using patterns and then deciding to deviate and do my own thing. That's when I screw up. In this case the top of the hood is weird, it's possible it won't be able to fit on the babies head! Oh well. It's decorative :)
