Latest goings-on

In the background: a blanket I completed for a friend's wedding this weekend. Well, it's more of a throw, perfect to sling over the back of the couch or put over your lap on a chilly evening. The yarn is a thick chenille, using up about 6 skeins of my out-of-control stash. And no, you're not seeing things--the bands of color are indeed of varying widths, according to the pattern. More or less. I did add one more repeat, which does throw off the proportions a bit, but eh. It's a perfectly serviceable blanket, and the chenille makes it drape so nicely--it feels like a real, substantial blanket on your lap.

In the foreground: a cup of herbal acai berry tea. I love drinking red tea in a clear mug--it's like sipping liquid rubies or something.

Also in the foreground: the latest installment of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. That's a signed copy too, I'll have you know; I waited two hours in line for that. Ahem. Anyway, I've said repeatedly that it's a rare series that gets better as it goes, and Dresden Files is rare indeed. The stakes go up a little more each book, and in this one, hoo boy, did they. The pressure begins on page one and is unrelenting. "Changes" is an apt title--by the time the dust has more or less cleared, readers are left wondering where the series can and will go next. Some of the curveballs I saw coming, but others were gut-wrenching. I almost want to go back and re-read the previous 11 books to see what things I missed. Sigh. So many books, so little time.

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Now playing: Hot Water Music - Paper Thin
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I needed to hear that

Most people who work at yarn and craft supply stores are the worst sorts of enablers. You could cynically argue that they're there to sell products, and yes, they are, but many have a passion for some craft.

"Are you storing your extra yarn in the freezer yet? No? Then you're still doing OK," one clerk told me at a yarn shop when I explained that a closet spilling over with yarn was exactly why I wasn't going to buy any that day.

When I relayed that story to a different clerk at a different store, she got a thoughtful look on her face and said, "Hmm... that's a good idea."

But a cashier at JoAnn's took a different approach. I was purchasing not yarn but a bin, in an attempt to bring better order to the chaos that is my yarn stash. When we were chatting and I explained my rationale for the bin, she said in all seriousness, "You know you're going to die one day, right? You need to use it up."

Taken a bit aback (and delighted by the unexpected bluntness of it), I defended myself: "But... I'm working on it, and I haven't bought any new yarn since December."

She was unimpressed. "That's only, what, a month and a half?"

Touche.


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Now playing: Metallica - The Unforgiven
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Frilly

I've tossed practicality to the wind if only for one crochet project: I made a doily.


Now it's back to more practical things. Still, it was an interesting experience and not a painful one as I half expected it to be.

My latest creative venture

A friend recently asked me about making some crocheted things for her kids. For her daughter, she thought a purse would go over well. I asked for color or style preferences; good thing I did, because like most girls, her style had shifted from my last knowledge. Pink is out, and bright colors and bohemian flair are in. I took it from there.

Bohemian made me think hippie. What might be hippie-ish? Hmm, how about something green or eco friendly. A plarn purse might be good. I used the Recycled Mini Shoulder Bag pattern over at My Recycled Bags. But most plarn is dull, and these bags were a boring white. Still needed work for that "bright colors" bit, so I had a skein of rough, scratchy, irritating Red Heart acrylic yarn that I got for a steal at a garage sale. Bingo, and it used up some of my stash yarn when I worked it along with the plastic bag yarn. For the flap of the purse, I also used yarn that was already on hand, a bit of eyelash novelty yarn that I picked up for no better reason than that it was on clearance, and it was very shiny. It now had a project. The last touch, the button, was also from my existing stash.

Here's the finished product:
I hope she likes it; I had fun making it.

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Bookmark *this*

So I have a couple potentially dangerous pastimes*: haunting thrift stores and crocheting. The two go surprisingly well together; namely, the former is a cheap way of gathering supplies for the latter.

One trip was quite successful: a bag of colorful cotton threads. Didn't quite have a plan for them, but hey, that'd come later. A bargain is a bargain. It turns out I had just the right pattern on hand to use the thread. I'll definitely be experimenting with more color combinations.

Here's what I have thus far:

Numero uno

Numero dos
I'm thinking the next will be a tri-color one--inside to outside, pink, orange, and yellow. So many possibilities. Hmm...

* - Hey, dangerous is a completely subjective term, OK?

Keeping busy

With a family member in the hospital this weekend, I've had a lot of time on my hands. Some of that time was spent grading papers, some was spent reading (including--within the span of a day--starting and finishing a book I'd been intending to read), and some was spent crocheting.

I made a couple of bookmarks from crochetroo's Fan Bookmark pattern, which was easy to master and had beautiful results with my rainbow thread, which practically patterned itself:

I'm definitely going to try this one in other colors, too. I made one for myself, and a second just to keep busy. Now I need to find someone to foist a bookmark upon :).

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Now playing: Chuck Ragan - Geraldine
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Industrious hooking

Spring break's here, and I'm headed off for a visit with a friend. I put off making the arrangements for a few weeks, then found a decent deal for a four-day getaway. I'll be crashing with said friend, and I wanted to make her something as a token of gratitude for the hospitality.

See?

And closer. I hope you can see a bit of the cerulean in the center portion:

Start to finish, it took one week. Yes, I work best with deadlines :).

Also, if the pattern looks mildly familiar, well, you've seen it before.

Multimedia Friday: Artsy fartsy

So I was messing around with pictures of my crocheted projects, trying to salvage some overexposed shots to get my things up for sale on etsy. I saved some with some tinkering. Others...? We-ellll...

Know how they say that if is ain't broke, don't fix it? What about when it's broke? What do you do? Isn't that license to screw it up further? Please tell me yes, 'cause that's what I did.

I present a crochet project turned abstract art.

The splashes of blue convinced me that this had potential. Is it frameworthy? Eh. Probably not. It sure was fun, though.

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Now playing: Rocky Votolato - Makers
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Hooking for pleasure and possibly profit

One thing I enjoyed over winter break was diving in to crafting, especially crocheting. I've made a vow to myself to try to keep that a regular part of my life even when the semester is in swing. One week in, and I'm managing to do so. (Hey, I'm trying to be optimistic here!)

Here are a couple recently completed projects. Both bookmarks came from Quick-Stitch Crochet, a book I got from the library and may end up racking up late fines on until I photocopy all the patterns I want!

I've been longing for spring these days, so I enjoyed making this butterfly.
And then I stared at the page of bookmark designs, skimmed over the heart one, then remembered some pink thread that I found at an "antique" mall/bazaar, remembered that the pink and red and hearts holiday is coming up, and figured I might whip up a few of these and try selling them, see what comes of it.
The way I see it, it's not crass commercialism. I just ought to support my two costly habits: teaching and crocheting. It'll help fund the latter, at any rate.

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Now playing: Tim Barry - Exit Wounds
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Mad domestic skills

One tradition that has evolved over several of my aunt's visits is a trip to a ceramic shop to paint some pottery. One year a coffee mug, another a decorative plate, and once a soup bowl.

My most recent project is the one I'm proudest of, though. Is this not the world's most kick-ass soapdish?

I think it earns me at least 100 nerd points.

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Now playing: Muse - Blackout
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Progress

I've a habit of starting ten projects at once and finishing few of them in a timely manner. However, I have actually been finishing things on break. I sold off all the scarves I was crocheting, or else I'd post them here to show off.

Lemme show you my bag instead.


Closer:
It came out a little differently than planned, but I'm pleased nonetheless. I used the pattern for Inga's bag, but made a few adjustments: I used Hobby Lobby's Love This Yarn in a striping pattern. I was running very short on the color I was using by the time I got to the handle and edging, so I made a spontaneous decision to hit my grandma up for some similar yarn (what an ungrateful granddaughter I am :D), and that's the slightly lighter blue on the handle and along the edge. I also made the handle a little wider and a little longer, and with the help of my visiting crafty aunt, lined it in navy blue fabric for added sturdiness. Total, it took me two skeins, working out to a bit over five bucks for materials. Note, though, that I extended the yarn I had in the handle, and I also used some blue scrap yarn I had on hand for the joining of the squares; if you want to go for this in all one color, it'd probably be best to grab three skeins. The fabric was also scrap, so no cost there, really.

I've no intention of being a '50s housewife, but I value being able to make things that are both functional and fun and perhaps even thrifty in the process.

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Now playing: Ani DiFranco - Joyful Girl
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Define "problem"

I knew I had a lot of yarn; shoot, I haven't seen the closet floor in months. The system of organization I had was "meh" at best--lots and lots of craft store bags with different types of yarn. So I bought a bin. A big bin. A 95 quart bin.

Ayup. That's about most of it. (Minus about 10 skeins, a bunch of odd balls, and 5-7 started projects.)

Keeping busy

I may not be doing much as far as generating words goes lately, but I've been keeping busy in other ways, creating other things. I'm on (or was on) a recycling kick, and I was trying to reduce my stash.

People know I've been playing with "plarn" ("yarn" made of grocery bags) and as a result, I have become a bag lady of sorts--people give me bags of bags (to be made into bags, ironically), and the stash is getting out of hand. I just can't seem to say no, so plugging away at the crocheting seems to be the way to go. Lucky for me, I found a new project. Novelty helps with an attention span like mine. So does partaking of smaller projects--this one is only about 4" x 4". This one's a wee bit lumpy because I was toying with the pattern as I went. For future bags, I plan to toy with using bands of different color bags, or even a row worked with eyelash yarn for trim.

Still, even unadorned, it's pretty frickin' cute.
Pretty simple and straightforward. However, my out-of-control stash isn't all plastic--the yarn is getting out of hand, too. Most of the yarns have designated projects I haven't gotten to yet. Other yarns are scraps, though--partial skeins remaining after prjoects. Solution?

An even smaller project--rosettes! I've already made a bunch of these things, in different colors, textures and sizes. I figured they could be used as accessorie. Or gift bows.
I'm toying with other patterns for rosettes, but this one has been the best so far. I'm trying to figure out how to fasten them in a re-usable manner; this one is just tied on with a strand of yarn. In time, I'll figure it... assuming I haven't wandered off to a new project in the meantime.

I can quit whenever I want to.

I'm not addicted to crocheting, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not! I mean, it's not like I went and finished another blanket, then proceeded to crochet two scarves from the leftover yarn within two days, and then set off to renew the search for the perfect poncho pattern to go with the really cool yarn I bought a few months ago. Nope, you must be thinking of some other blogger.

I was quite pleased with this blanket (pattern here), all around. It took all of three weeks to make, but then again, I work in fits and spurts--a more consistent "hooker" probably could've wrapped it up in a few evenings. I love the colors and texture, and actually giving it up will cause the briefest of twinges.

Closer up:
And one last shot, so you can see the colors a bit better. The green and cerulean really can be found in the base color; the texture just makes it a bit harder to spot.

And, that's it for friends' wedding-gift blankets. Luckily, none of the other umpteen million folks I know who are taking the matrimonial plunge are close acquaintances; my poor hand might just revolt on me.

More crafty goodness

It's fitting that the last post was about books, 'cause this one's about bookmarks.

Every reader needs bookmarks.

Never mind that in spite of numerous snarky or flowery or coffee-related bookmarks around the place, I still tend to grab a corner of a magazine page or a piece of napkin to mark the place in whichever of any given five books I happen to be reading. Nooooo, if you're the hoarding type like me, it's not enough to have said plethora of bookmarks. If you're the hoarding type and the crafty type and the type who's just this short of casting aside current crochet projects in a fit of boredom, your next logical step is to look up patterns to make more bookmarks.

And, if you're the crafty, hoarding, attention-challenged, always-in-search-of-a-new-diversion type, you will not be content to print off just one pattern. Or two patterns. Or even patterns for completely different projects that you will keep in mind for when there happens to be a really good yarn sale. However, your mission for the afternoon is bookmarks, and you eventually find, out of the scores of patterns on teh interwebs, a few that pique your interest and look both elegant and not overly time-consuming.

I only made one today. Second is in the works. But isn't this one purty?

I got the pattern here, if anyone reading this is into crocheting. There seemed to be a couple little glitches to the pattern, but I figured how it was supposed to go.

(No, this won't turn into a craft blog, I promise. It's just a phase.)

Crafty

Because I am in the mood to show off, I'll post pictures of one of my current (and most ambitious) projects. Previously, the biggest thing I've crocheted was my cape, which hits my shins and has about a 5-foot width by the bottom. My other projects were smaller things--baby blankets (the great thing about them is that I can start out with no intended recipient, and someone will be preggers by the time they're done), scarves (small, portable, funky yarns, and fast to work up), potholders and dishcloths (simple and functional, but boring), a recycled plastic bag tote (great way to recycle and start conversation, but harder on the hands)... I think that about covers it all. I'm only talking about crochet projects here.

This project, though, is more ambitious.

I'm making a blanket for a friend who's getting hitched this summer (one of 'em, anyway... must be something in the water). I figure the colors are common enough in decorating for it to be both functional and perhaps even fit with whatever decor they may have.

A closer shot; sorry for not thinking in putting a beige blanket against a beige couch. Oh well. Heh. View the pic in full size and you can see the few cat hairs my cat contributed, and I believe, one of mine.
I think I'm about 20 rows from being done with the thing. Lucky for me it's still cool enough in the evenings, 'cause this sucker's warm.

Next on the agenda: a video tape tote bag (my co-workers thought I was joking about finally putting those exercise tapes to use), a latch hook rug, learning to tat, and if I get desperate, I can always pull out the cross stitch project that I haven't completed in over 10 years...

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