Stitch, Brinn, Stitch!

Wands, Brooms, and Chick Flicks

July 18, 2009 in life, Needlefelting | Tags: costumes, harry potter, Needlefelting, wool | 2 comments

So the other day, my sister and I went to a midnight screening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Because Harry Potter has been in our lives for so many years (and because I’m crafty and slightly obsessed), we dressed up. She went as Tonks and I went as Luna:

(The photo of me is terrible, I know. My brother took it in the crappy lighting of my kitchen.)

Siarra/Tonks costume was pretty simple and mostly consisted of found items: a black lacy shirt from the thrift store, a shawl of mine, black jeans, and purple hair spray, choker, and animal nose from party city.

Mine was considerably more crafty. I found a too-big v-neck at the thrift store and made it smaller to fit me. Also got the tie there. Black skirt, dowel wand behind the ear, and my favorite (and the most crafty) part:

Needlefelted radish earrings! Mine are slightly different from the ones Luna has in the movie, but we’ll say I was going from the book. : ) I recently took up needlefelting (I got a kit from a swap) and have already made a couple of things (a sheep and a butterfly). Pictures of those will happen… sometime. Maybe.

I’ve also started a new spinning/dyeing project and am knitting away on a couple of things. Plus another swap. You know, it’s the summer, and apart from work, what else am I going to do with my time besides craft? : )

A Plethora of Craftiness

July 17, 2009 in paper craft, spinning | Tags: cards, dyeing, paper craft, spinning, wool, yarn | 1 comment

Here’s a bunch of non-knitting things I’ve been working on lately:

I made a couple of notecards (the first one of which I sent off to the boyfriend) out of stuff around the house. I love cardmaking but sadly have few occasions to use them. At least I’ll have lots of lovely ones for including in swaps.

A little notebook out of a pad of post its and some cardboard. If anyone’s interested in a tutorial for this, let me know! It was pretty simple but I know I would have appreciated a tut for notebook making that didn’t require sewing or making signatures.

I made yarn! It’s about 30 yards, according to my rudimentary measuring system (find book about a foot tall, wind yarn around book, count strands on one side, multiply by two, divide by three). Two ply, pretty thick and thin but loads better than my previous attempts. It goes between a fingering weight to a bulky weight, though it mostly sticks to worsted-ish. I think I’m going to try to make a calorimetry or some sort of headband/earwarmer type thing.

I made more yarn! I dyed this with kool-aid as roving, then spun it as a fingering weight-ish single. It’s overspun, but that’ll get better the more I practice.

I’ve found I really enjoy spinning, so I will definitely be doing more of it. Now I just need to find a good place (probably online) to get roving, preferably already dyed and for a reasonable (read: cheap) price. Or maybe I’ll just dye it myself. Knit Picks has some nice dyes available…

Project Orgy!

July 15, 2009 in knitting | Tags: cold weather things, knitting, shawl, wip | Leave a comment

So I cast on for another project, even though I have yet to finish my Razor Cami. The baby cardi is done but still needs some sort of closure and possibly a blocking. And I really ought to start Christmas presents (or at least the birthday presents I’ve got coming up).

It’s a little shawl I started out of Red Heart Heart and Sole sock yarn. One skein likely won’t be enough, but I’ll work with what I have at the moment. It looks pretty basic now, I know, but I’m going to add a lace edging and I might even write up a pattern for it. : )

And I only started this because I needed something to knit while in lines at Busch Gardens. That picture was taken while I waited for Kansas to play (they did a show at the park). While I was waiting, I also played with the macro function on my camera and took some lovely artsy yarn/knitting shots:

Okay, that last one is my Swallowtail Shawl, which I brought in case it got cold (it did).

So this will likely be a wip for a while, cast aside while I work on other, more pressing things. But it’ll be nice to have a simple stockinette project on the side in case I get sick of the other projects I need to do. Including a stranded colorwork pillow for someone’s birthday. By when I go back to school. I could do it in a week, but I really ought to get started. Meh. It’ll happen.

Post Secret Swap

July 14, 2009 in paper craft, swap | Tags: art, paper craft, secrets, swap | Leave a comment

Sorry for the radio silence, people. My hard drive crashed and I needed to install a new one, so I’ve been without a computer since… Thursday? Friday? Something like that. Anyway, on to crafts:

I recently tried my hand at swap organizing! I put together and organized (with co-organizer edwards1) a Post Secret swap. If you don’t know about Post Secret, check out the official website here. The basic premise is that people write their secrets (normally with an artsy element) and send them to Frank and he puts some of them on the blog. He’s also done several books of Post Secret cards.

This swap was similar. I put everyone into groups and gave everyone some addresses. Each person made five secrets and sent them to five different people and got five secrets, one from each person. Here are the secrets that I received:

My secret still secret

For 15 years, my stepfather and I didn’t get along. For one 1 year, we didn’t speak. The last 5 years have been great. All it took was 120 miles.

I may not cry in front of other people but that doesn’t mean I don’t cry.

I would say yes in a heartbeat.

Back:

We’re not even dating… He knows I have feelings for him… He doesn’t know I’m in LOVE him!

I think Harry Potter sucks!!

Mine were also quite crafty, but I’m not going to post them here (because they’re secret). If you want to see the rest of the secrets in the swap (including mine), the gallery is located here.

Ongoing Wish Swap (IT NEVER ENDS!!!!1!!!1!!!eleven!!11!!)

July 9, 2009 in knitting, swap | Tags: cold weather things, cowl, FO, knitting, lace, wool, yarn | Leave a comment

It does, actually. I think this might be my last claim for a while (though not the last post–there’s this one and then what I got from the person that claimed me). I want to do some regular swaps and maybe even organize one. Or perhaps just get started on my Christmas knitting. Anyway.

I claimed lapoli for a cowl and acrylic yarn. Here’s what I came up with for the cowl:

(Modeled by my sister)

Pattern: A Noble Cowl, available as a free Ravelry download
Yarn: Almost a skein and a half of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes (left over from Climbing Vines)
Needles: Knit Picks 16″ US 7/4.5 mm circ.
Modifications: Only cast on 105 (though that was still waaaay too big), only did two repeats of the pattern instead of 2.5.

I think this came out rather nicely, actually. It’s big but still warm and it can always be pinned with a shawl pin or something similar. And in any case, she loved the drape of it. Turns out she hates things that are tight around her neck. Win.

I also sent her a bunch of acrylic yarn that has been marinating in my stash:

Some Red Heart Super Saver, some Vanna’s Choice, and some unlabeled stuff. She said it’s perfect for her charity knitting. So hopefully it’ll keep someone warm and make someone happy–more than it was doing in my stash.

I’m still working on the baby sweater and the cami. They’re sort of slow-going (well, compared with my usual rate of progress), but hopefully I’ll get Colin’s sweater finished by the time his family gets here. It’s getting there. It’s a bottom-up raglan, and I’m almost at the sleeves. Exciting!

A Progression of Progress

July 7, 2009 in knitting, paper craft | Tags: baby things, knitting, paper craft, sweater, tank top, wip | Leave a comment

No new FO’s to report (shocking, I know), but I have certainly been knitting and crafting. I’ve been working on a tank top:

(Razor Cami in Caron Simply Soft cause it’s what I’ve got onhand and I want it out of the stash)

and a little cardigan for my littlest cousin:

It’s in some random sport-weight acrylic I got from my grandmother ages ago (it’s been in my stash basically since I started knitting). The cardigan is the 24 months size, so I hope it will fit him during the winter. He’s not even a year and according to my sister (according to the baby’s sister), he’s already in 18 month size clothes. We’ll see.

In non-knitting news, my sister and I spent an afternoon being crafty, resulting in this:

We made paper! Ground up newspaper and magazine pages in a blender, dumped everything in the sink with a bunch of water, then strained the pulp and let it all dry. It’s thick and some of it’s quite fragile, and it’s a strange grey color, but I like it, and I’ll definitely use it in some paper crafts. And there’s glitter in it!

So that’s what I’ve been up to lately. I did another round of the Ongoing Wish Swap, so that will be happening soon. And there might also be a little tutorial type of thing… Stay tuned!

FO: Snowball Fight

July 4, 2009 in knitting | Tags: cold weather things, FO, gloves, knitting, purple, wool, yarn | Leave a comment

(Modeled by my sister. more pictures can be found on this project’s Ravelry Page.)

Pattern: None, really. I read over Cigar from Knitty, but glove construction is pretty simple. I used my basic mitten pattern for the base, then when I got to the fingers, I used four stitches from the hand for each finger, plus two that I cast on and three that I picked up from the previous finger (more or less). It’s the basic construction used in Cigar, but I did a bunch of things different and I never referred to the pattern.
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool in Purple
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm dpn’s.

I like these a lot, actually. I called them Snowball Fight because they will be perfect for hurling snowballs (if it ever freakin’ snows) at school in Fredericksburg. I had mittens this past winter, but I think gloves will work better (plus they allow for laced fingers with that special someone). They fit quite well too. The gauge is pretty loose, but they’re wool so they should be plenty warm. I don’t find I have a lot of friction when I’m wearing gloves so they shouldn’t wear out too quickly either.

I’m not sure how much I like making gloves though. I much prefer mittens; I know that. Much faster to just go around and around. Knitting the individual fingers is a bit tedious. Regardless, I’m glad I made these because like I said, I think I’ll get a fair bit of use out of them come winter.

Ongoing Wish Swap (on and on and on and on)

July 2, 2009 in other people's crafts/cool things, swap | Tags: beading, green, jewelry, purple, swap, tree | Leave a comment

(If you could sing the part in parentheses like “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey, that would be great.)

Anyway, my Ongoing Wish Swap package from PhoenixFireDesigns arrived at my house while I was out of town, but I’ve gotten it now and snapped a photo:

She claimed me for stitch markers and a “wisty surprise” (which I knew was a Tree of Life pendant). I love both things, but the tree is particularly lovely. Yesterday I went to Michael’s to get a chain to hang it on. : ) I don’t wear jewelry much, but I’m sure I can find and occasion to wear my lovely Tree of Life.

In knitting news: I’ve just started a project for the Ongoing Wish Swap (I know, again), and I’m also working on a tank top. And I have a FO that I never posted. Never fear, THERE WILL BE POSTS. : )

FO: Swallowtail Shawl

June 30, 2009 in knitting | Tags: FO, knitting, lace, purple, shawl, wool, yarn | 2 comments

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl Evelyn Clark (free on Knitting Daily)
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette, about a skein and a half in Huckleberry Heather
Needles: Knit Picks Options US 6/4 mm
Modifications: I only did 12 repeats of the bud lace pattern cause I got bored.

For my first major lace project in a fingering weight yarn, I’d say this went pretty smoothly. I messed up the lace a couple of times, but all in all, I’d say it came out well. The color is very pretty and though I don’t really have a HUGE need for shawls, I think I’ll wear it in the fall when it’s cool but not cold enough for a real scarf/cowl. Very pretty. Very drapey. Blocking is like magic. : )

The yarn is also lovely, and I will definitely be ordering from Knit Picks again, as I’ve said. Probably some lace weight. Possibly some chunky-weight wool for a sweater. *shrug* We’ll see.

COMING SOON TO A BLOG NEAR YOU (meaning this one): Stuff from the Ongoing Wish Swap. Another (different swap). A knitted thing. Possibly some in-progress stuff. We shall see.

FO: Tank Top

June 28, 2009 in knitting | Tags: acrylic yarn, bamboo, FO, knitting, tank top, yarn | 2 comments

Pattern: Tank Girl by Vickie Howell, from a summer issue of Knitty
Yarn: NaturallyCaron.com Spa (75% microfiber acrylic, 25% bamboo) in Ocean Spray, about a skein and a half.
Needles: US 6/4 mm Knit Picks Options circular needle
Modifications: Knit in the round, left out the color change and the drop stitches, didn’t continue the ribbing up the back, didn’t bother with the lingerie rings (just did an eye cord and fastened it to the back of the tank). I probably also fiddled with the length– I basically just knit the bottom until I ran out of yarn in that skein then did the other part.

So I’m a huge fan of this tank top. It came out amazingly. It fits perfectly (well, the straps might be a leeeetle long), and I will definitely be making more in other colors. Possibly in other fibers. I like making tank tops cause they’re quick to make and I don’t have to knit sleeves, so that’s fun.

The yarn: I would definitely use this yarn again. The bamboo makes it nice and drapey and soft and lovely, while the acrylic makes it more hard-wearing. It’s hella splitty, so if you don’t like that, stay away, but I only had slight problems with it (splittyness is never really an issue for me). Also, ya know, big box craft store and all that. But I bought the two skeins separately, each with a 40% off coupon so the tank was probably $3.50 total? SCORE.

Coming up: That swap thing, some more knitted things. If you’re good, there might even be a wip post somewhere sometime.