Knitting a rainbow

First of all, I've been a busy, busy lady. I may not have documented my hobbies here for posterity, but I have done many things. I've completed a dozen more knitting projects, invented and tried out new recipes, and our queue of home projects are slowly getting completed. Right now I'm drooling over the yarn I have sitting in my stash, I can't wait to make more lovely things.

My current WIP is a shawl I'm making for myself (and another three or so things I'll write about later). I used to think that shawls were something only old ladies wore, just like knitting is supposed to be a pastime for the female members of the retirement community. Since I joined Ravelry over a year ago, well, all that changed. Now I think they are artistic and refined, a means of self expression and a manner of warming oneself in a stylish way.

The first shawl I tried to make was a lovely lacy purple one, but my gauge was too large for the amount of yarn I had in that color. Since I love my Plum Pudding  colored yarn, I bought a little more in the same dye lot, and now I can make more purple things. Anyway, I have this soft fingering weight rainbow yarn, called Serenity Garden by Deborah Norville. The colorway is Gems.

I fell in love with the color but had no idea what I was going to make of it. I've seen other Ravelers make lovely lacy shawls with this, but the sad part is that in the pictures at least, the intricate lace is not as aesthetically appreciated because the Gems outshines the actual pattern. My eye is drawn toward the color changes, not the pattern itself. So, I found a simple shawl that would be the vessel for this beautiful, bright yarn.

I chose a pattern that is worked from side to side so that the stripes are vertical (rather than the typical top-down shawl that has horizontal stripes). I chose this for two reasons. The first reason is that toward the beginning of a top-down pattern, the stripes are visible, but as the stitch count grows, the stripes start melting together in a weird variegated pattern. I guess that the colors are pretty regardless, but I prefer the neat transitions.

Second, I just like the stripes better vertical. I added two pattern repeats because the pattern calls for worsted and a larger needle, but it seems to be plenty large with the way it's coming out. I can't wait to wear it, and be shameless about fashion faux pas in public. I will update again when I'm done!

Books: Bigger on the inside

After catching up with Doctor Who, my husband and I decided that we, too, are huge nerd fans for the show. I admit that during the first few episodes I was getting used to the campyness of some of these villains... only to find even campier ones to come. I think the climactic moment of campiness was when the Daleks and the Cybermen headed toward each other in a hostile manner crying, "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" and "DELETE! DELETE!" respectively. Perpetually seeking ways to incorporate my geek passion with my crafty passions and live up to the title of this blog, I leapt at the opportunity to knit a Tardis. Yes. Ravelry is a treasure trove of patterns that one would not have imagined possible... So, without further ado, view this nifty kindle cozy that fits the kindle inside the leather cover from amazon. When you think of it, the Tardis is not the only thing bigger on the inside!

Amigurumi Cupcake

It's really hard to stop once you start. Knitting, that is. It's addictive. When you see the things you can make with two needles and some yarn, it feels like some sort of magic. When you see what you can make with five needles at once, the possibilities are endless! You can make 3-dimensional objects with a bunch of wooden stitcks and some string!

This cupcake was the first thing I ever knit with DPNs (Double Pointed Needles). I finished it before I finished my mermaid, and between the acquisition of Knitting Mochimochi and Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi. You can guess what that means. I will be making so many things now. Bwahahahaha.... (does it sound like an evil laugh when I'm talking about such adorable things?)

Here's what it looked like coming together. I always think I should take more pics but never do. Huh.

This is the same yarn I used for the flesh tone of Mermaid # 2. I added extra height to the base, deviating slightly from the pattern.

I added cardboard to the bottom and picot edges.

I cross-referenced many different patterns and ended up using some tips from other Ravelry users here and there, like the decreases at the top and the picot edges. One of the many great things about Ravelry.

There you go. What will I make next, hmmmmmm?

My first finished Amigurumi Mermaid

So, the Mermaid (1 of 2) I posted about before is finished! All she needs is a name and maybe some jewelry.

It was a bit of a pain to put together, and the pattern was confusing in a couple parts, but that's probably because of my lack of experience more than anything else. She looks pretty cute. I thought I might not be keeping her, so I started to make another because I wanted one of my own. That one is almost finished except for her ears and one hand. I was a little frustrated with this yarn (Caron One Pound) at first, but it's not as bad as I expected. The Vanna's choice I used for the skin tone of Mermaid #2 is infuriatingly splitty, though. She looks worse just for the splitting! More on that eventually. For now, here are the photos of my first amigurumi project!

After seaming her together and stuffing her, I had to make a yarn and straw contraption to assist in holding her head up. Lots of glue was involved.

This is the little hole where the other end of the straw goes.

Then I had to sew on her neck to cover the ugly straw. Also, the seaming wasn't done in a proper "mattress stitch" which hides the seams better. Will try that next time...

At this point I was thinking that she wasn't too pretty, and too pasty for a mermaid, but she had a nice shapely fin going on.

Attaching her hair: I added a bit more than the directions required, and I made her hair about 8 inches longer than it said (because she was bigger overall). I then unraveled each strand of the vanilla-scented yarn to make her hair look more like hair, and less like a rag doll's yarn hair. It gave a crimped look, which reminds me of the character Madison from "Splash".

She turned out pretty cute after adding her shells, hair, and face. She looks more lively now (and less pasty).

I totally didn't follow the directions for making her face. I mean, I used them as guidelines, but her eyes were tiny in the pattern. Much better now. She's got a doll face but is cool enough for grown ups to want one (me).

After unraveling about 150 strands of yarn, I had to sew on her long, beautiful, 80's style hair. How do mermaids crimp their hair? Do they use tiny clams?

I crochet chains directly into her shells to make it look like bikini ties.

So, there she sits decorating our library. I'm going to make more sea creatures eventually, like an Octopus and Nessie!

Ribbed Shrug

Whenever I see a skein of yarn, it gives me the warm fuzzies and I get excited about the potential that it has. The more I knit, the more addicting it becomes. There is something so tremendously satisfying about turning yarn into something beautiful, giving it shape and purpose, watching it transform in your hands. December 2010, I started knitting again and there was no stopping me. Without considering what my skill level was, I started saving patterns and buying yarn to plan new projects. You saw my mom's scarf, now I was going to go one step further and make something fashionable for my sister.

I was confident that I'd figure it out. I finished college. I learned how to juggle. I can drive a car. I can use a computer. Therefore, I can learn to knit harder patterns. The old adage "if there's a will, there's a way" rings so true when you see how much power there is in human will. The human brain has amazing abilities to learn new tasks, so next time you think something is too hard, trust in your brain and give it a try! We're so good at learning things, sometimes we don't give ourselves credit. I'm not giving myself credit for anything more than being a moderately intelligent human being. So, like so many other tasks, I became determined to do it and saw it through. I'm no master knitter, but this was easier than it looks to the non-knitter. There were very few steps to follow in this pattern that I found on Ravelry. This was a milestone in my knitting abilities. I bought a set of circulars just to make this! It was a success, and made me want to try more difficult projects (and believe me, I already have as you will see soon).

I started one end with the cuffs in a 1x1 rib.

The bulk of it was the 2x3 rib for the sleeves and back (one long piece). I just had to measure for length when I was getting close, that's it. The transition between the cuffs and the sleeves were the only part here that really had any increase/decrease for shape. The last step was to sew the sleeves, but leave the hole in the middle, and pick up stitches with the circulars to knit in the round. If you crochet, it's just like going around and around in spirals but with needles. Same concept, different method. I would argue that this was the hardest part. When working with circulars, always use a smaller length than the circumference (unless you're doing Magic Loop, but that's another story). You need slack or you'll stretch the end product trying to make it.

There were parts were I had to really pay attention to what I was doing (and with other projects, where I had to re-read and research to make sure I was doing it right) and it all came together just fine. I'm teaching myself the harder stuff, I don't have a more experienced knitter to defer to for advice. Soon I will post about the first finished mermaid, and the second one I'm working on... soon...

Constitution Stitch

So, I've apparently been so busy making things that I haven't kept up with the blog. Sorry. I've not only been cooking up lots of fun stuff, but have been planning craft projects, too. I'm planning out future knitting projects so I can adhere to the old addage "A stitch in time saves nine". I like to stitch while I'm doing just about anything else that occupies my ears. I could be (listening to a podcast and) keeping my hands busy while I wait for something, while I ride as a passenger in the car, or when conversing with someone. Pretty soon nine stitches in time will save 81!

I've started brainstorming for original designs for cross stitch, too. I tend to get carried away with one thing at a time to the neglect of all the other projects I have going on. I used to spend at least 20 minutes a day with my plants, but not so much. I'll update on that later. So. This was a project I undertook two years ago. I wanted to make a present for my mom's birthday, and saw a shirt I saw from Mental_Floss that I thought she would like (she's very patriotic, and I thought she'd love the cleverness). But I couldn't imagine her wearing a t-shirt like that a lot, and what if I got the wrong size?  I frayed the edges and attached some cardboard to the back to make it keep its shape.  

Yeah, so not the most impressive thing I've made (you'll see that coming up later). I just like the idea of capturing words like that in such a crafty way... it was an inexpensive handmade gift, can't beat that, right?

Mom's scarf

I've been so productive lately! Last weekend we exhausted ourselves with yard work, and it seems to go back to chaos again in no time. Those weeds... My tomatoes are not doing well. I can't give up now, though. Must try again after the rainy season is up. The hurricane decided to veer east, so that's not a problem at the moment, but who knows what storms September will bring.
I also cooked a lot this past weekend. Coming up: a breakfast, an Americanized version of a Russian dish, an Americanized version of a Thai dish, and an ad-libbed (and Americanized) version of and Indian dish. They each turned out to be a huge success, and were pretty simple when all was said and done. More on that soon!

Back to the scarf: I made this for my mom back in January. It was a late Christmas gift, but in time for her trip in February. I will pretty much have to post gift items after the recipient gets it in case they might be tipped off by the blog :/
It was the second scarf I ever made, and it was the first time I made anything lacy (using YO, K2tog to create the holes).The pattern is very easy! I would recommend it for beginners who want to show off some skill. It took me all of 5 days to finish.  I could have planned it out better, as far as the colors were concerned. The yarn was so soft and beautiful but the beginning end of the scarf was all fuzzed by the time I finished the whole thing. I used Bernat Roving yarn (an acrylic/wool blend), and 8mm (size 11) needles. The finished size was 6' x 64". It is incredibly soft and comfy!

The pictures are pretty awful and don't do the color and texture justice.

That's my mom in her native MN in February wearing the scarf. I love the pattern and would probably try it again in a thinner yarn (it's hard to say because there are so many patterns calling my name, but only so many materials available). The pattern for this (as for most of the stuff I've made so far) is from Ravelry. Check it out!

Jorge's scarf

So, we may live in Miami, but apparently there are like 14 days of the year we need warm clothing! Not now, of course. I can't imagine wearing anything resembling a scarf now. However, I'm in knitting mode and want to go back to the first recent project that brought me to be the fanatic I've become. Last December (2010) I decided to pick up knitting again. Now that you've seen the mermaid I'm working on, this won't seem so special, but this was the project that rekindled my love for knitting. It was almost 2 years since I finished this blanket, and I wanted to do something planned this time. I asked him what he liked more or less, but I knew I was pretty much going to make it like this.

His grandmother lent him a scarf she made for his grandfather, and I wanted to imitate it. Here's a picture of me freezing in the March rain in NYC wearing that scarf:

Yes, that's right. She lent him the scarf and I ended up wearing it. That's love for you!

I cast on 39 stitches and used the basic moss/seed stitch on 5.5mm (size 9) needles. Here's a close-up of the stitch:

It feels very spongy and flexible. I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease, which is an acrylic/wool blend. Yeah, I know that there are people out there who swear against using any yarn you can buy at Joann Fabrics, etc. but let me just say this: I would indeed like to have my cake and eat it too. I cannot afford to spend $100 on yarn for each project, so I will fund my hobby with what I can afford. I don't want to give it up entirely rather than compromise on acrylic blends (or acrylic yarn). I know it won't last forever, but I'm gaining valuable experience!

If I were making the dimensions to wear myself, I’d cast on only 25-30 stitches and make it longer. I definitely don't mind a long scarf! I think it's better for two reasons: One, it's less heavy for when you don't want to be completely enveloped; and two, it's easier to wrap around.

Jorge loved it, though. He was so impressed that I made it for him that now he wants me to teach him to knit. Here he is enjoying the scarf I made for him:

By the way, my darling husband has created a Ravelry gadget where you can preview all of my projects!  Look to your right. Until next time folks, keep calm and knit on.

Amigurumi Mermaid

I've loved mermaids ever since I was young. I used to believe I could become one after watching the movie "Splash" (which after seeing recently, I have concluded that Disney imitated bigtime). Well, I noticed a little amigurumi mermaid I had favorited on Ravelry, and sought a better one. Like my quilt, I wouldn't just start with something easy- I had to start with my ideal even if it was beyond my skill level. My husband says that I jump right into things. Unfortunately, sometimes I get ahead of myself and take a long time to finish. Here's how I started.

I bought the pattern here and went over the abbreviations. I watched videos on youtube to help me learn each technique. If I can learn algebra, I can learn this! It's not so hard, it's just foreign. Once you learn how to do the different stitches, it's as simple as keeping track of where you are. A post-it and a pencil help. This project spurred me to buy a stitch marker which is a life saver. I started making quick progress the first day and could see the tail taking shape! I started it on August 2nd.  A week later I was almost done, but the hands were a little slow-going. I messed up on one arm and had to frog it (which means unravel the progress I made). With some tenacity, I may finish this weekend (or in a few days) and I'll post the finished product and the stages of finishing her: stuffing her, sewing her, attaching her hair and embroidering her features. It took a lot longer than I thought just to start stuffing her! It's turning out great, though.

Having these disembodied limbs laying about make me feel like the Ice Truck Killer.

 I have this itch to make more things that my fingers can't keep up with. I want to go knit ALL the amigurumi now.

The cake is a lie

In early 2009, my darling husband acquired the game Portal and promptly played through the brief game. I sat and worked on my blanket while I watched, and we both greatly appreciated the dry sense of humor woven throughout the game. The ending song Still Alive was one that he really liked, enough to acquire the entire discography of its author, Jonathan Coulton. I listened to it all before he did and to this day it has been one of our most loved musicians. We saw him twice, and one of those occasions we had front row seats when we saw him on our honeymoon! 

Back on topic, he is a huge Portal fan, like I imagine anyone would be after playing the game. For his birthday, I made this for him:

It's a little funny because it say "The cake is a lie" and it shows a chocolate cake, and I gave this to him for his birthday... and in a sense the cake was a lie, because he hates chocolate. It's a cake he will never have.

Tiny quilt-to-go

During a time before my wedding, I would scour etsy for little bridal accessories. I was working on my quilt at the same time, and thought of looking for some way to "represent" my love for the craft. I found some sellers on etsy that were selling tiny quilts, and I thought I'd give it a try. It's not as perfected as this, but it feels like such a warm and comforting accompaniment to a keychain. It's like a piece of home wherever you go. Maybe it's not good enough to sell, but I'd like to make some to give away. They're quick, easy, and handmade. The back is made of the yellow flower print fabric.

 

  

Link has come to town

Ok, I'm a huge Legend of Zelda fan, but I've only really played 3  4 of the games and never finished one. The farthest I ever got was in The Ocarina of Time for N64, and in Link's Awakening on my gameboy color. I've tried Majora's Mask and the classic A Link to the Past but never got too far. I loved playing OoT, though. I would play it again in a heartbeat. I love the exploration, the characters, Epona, the Ocarina... I love that you can go fishing and swim in the lake. It's a classic adventure game. You can even say it's Legendary. I have two different versions of the soundtrack, and currently when I get a text message on my phone, it plays the sound effect that plays when you acquire a new item!

Anyway, I acquired a pattern years ago of Link in Wind Waker style, even though I never played the game. I thought he looks kawaii and chibi and all that. I never got far, but I started again after unpacking my craft supplies from our recent move. I love mindless crafts, why not multitask and make something cute (instead of being put off by crafting altogether because it is a "time commitment")? Besides, just sitting there and stitching string into holes is kind of boring because my mind will wander and itch for some other stimulation. I like letting my mind wander, too... but I like listening to podcasts or watching The X Files or Dexter while I stitch (right now it's Doctor Who). If I don't have any other stimulation, chances are I'll have the Hyrule field theme playing on loop in my head while I stare at Link. About 2 weeks ago he didn't have a head or color. I expect to finish him in another week or two, and then I'll move onto my first attempt at amigurumi.

I have some elaborate (and some simple) cross-stitch projects I have to post about soon. I have half a dozen ideas on designs that have yet to come to fruition. There is so much to stay tuned for, so stay tuned!

TV Watching Blanket

I call this my "TV watching blanket" because I made the entire thing while watching TV! I tend to do a lot of crafting while I'm doing other things. It's not uncommon to see me working on a cross-stitch or knitting while sitting and visiting with friends or family. It's a different kind of hobby- the multitasking craft, rather than the beautiful and challenging craft. You don't have to devote all your attention to keeping up with challenging steps or paying close attention to where you need to go next. It's more mechanical in nature, yet still handmade! This particular multitask project wasn't just fun to make, it's also practical- it's great for cuddling under, too. It's kind of ugly, though. I bought random colors of yarn years back because I liked them, but had no idea what in the world I was going to make of them. This is a habit of mine. I justify the purchase, thinking that I'll figure it out later. Well, I made three blankets way back when - yeah, like ten years ago (which is a long time ago if you're in your mid twenties) and gave them away to my closest friends.

Let me start by saying this blanket was not really planned out too well. I started out by using up some blue, then added the pretty green I picked out (my palate is very predictable) and decided that I was going to add some more texture than a simple garter stitch, which is knitting the same stitch every single row. Instead, I alternated stockinette and garter because that was the extent of my knowledge. It is very soft. I used Caron Simply Soft acrylic yarn (it would make true knitting fanatics cringe), but it was cheap yarn and super comfy. I used size 8 US circulars to accommodate the width.

I learned how to knit when I was so young (maybe 10 years old?) that it seemed like adding any new stitch patterns to my repertoire would be an insurmountable achievement. I'm sad to say that it took me until about six months ago to have enough confidence and curiosity to challenge myself to master the art of understanding patterns. And I found that it's not so hard (but still requires your brain!). So, hooray for learning, but also hooray for mindless crafts so we can socialize or watch movies and still be crafting with our hands. Gladly, I've added more stitches to my skill set, so I now have more mindless knitting that looks nicer, too. This is the blanket I finished about 2.5 years ago:

Featuring Agatha Christie's "A Body in the Library" and my phone. In the photo below (click to enlarge) you can see more of the texture pattern I made with alternating garter and stockinette stitches.

Only better things could come after this because I mastered many more stitch patterns! I even learned to do lace and knit in the round! If you're at all interested in finding me on Ravelry, my username is Craftstina, like the blog's name. Coming soon: more detailed mindless knitting projects!

Wallace & Gromit - closing chapter on ceramics

Since my last three posts were fresh material, I'm going to revisit my final ceramics project. At times I look at its flaws and think I would do so much better now, but we will never know. The closest thing I will ever get to ceramics after this point (January 2001) is modeling with polymer clay- something I will probably experiment with again sometime.

Before I get to the pictures, let me make this disclaimer- I was rushed into entering this into the "Youth Fair" that didn't think this was worth an honorable mention. I regret that because I was left with the loose characters and needed it to be one piece, forcing me to seek an alternative from my original design. I wanted to design their living room with tacky wallpaper, side table with cheese and tea, pictures on the wall, a rug on the floor, a lampshade, and all- something like this (not exactly):

The decision I was left with at the tender age of 16 was that I was to either enter the fair with a molded platform resembling a squashed barrel, or to not enter the fair and have a work of art. I chose the former, thinking I would inevitably make another, more superior version. I didn't. This is what I entered:

See the awful barrel thing? Ugh, I don't know what it's even supposed to be. At any rate, this old thing is riddled with errors, and I think ceramic clay is not the best for making cartoony clay characters like these- Wallace's sweater looks droopy, and his head kept tilting back (it was a balancing act trying to pose him with the soft clay) The end result looks like they are looking in two different directions. I assembled them in pieces (that's the key to making the whole thing look like what you want- there has to be a structure. For example, make the shape of the head, add the mouth, ears, nose; dimple the brow, add the eyes, etc.) Here are some pictures of the back:

Wallace's fingers fell off at some point and I had to struggle to get them to stay. All in all, for a project I finished 10 years ago- I was always quite proud of this, as I am with my quilt. There's a couple of other things that I enjoyed the end result of, so stay tuned for more of that. With the backside of W&G, I close the chapter on ceramics in this blog. It's like they're waving goodbye.