Monday, June 22, 2009

Beach knitting...


We can knit anywhere, including Torrey Pines beach in San Diego, Calif.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Strands of bliss, really...


I feel giddy/fuzzy/sparkling/bubbly for ribbon. It is a timeless adornment that has the ability to embellish and compliment any project. Even with ribbon wound in its spool, my fingers like to rub along its surface in happy anticipation.

Unintended consequences, part II


I've taken up knitting! The girl who learned her crochet craft from her mother as a wee child has crossed over to the double-stick'd side. And...I like it.

I think that for a new first-time-doing-this-craft project, sans pattern, I came out fairly well.

At my friend Eunice's instruction: I used a simple knit-purl-knit-purl (stockinette stitch, for you experts) repetition, and then decreased the number of stitches, first slowly, then dramatically, as I made my way to what would be top of the head. (Think a Hershey-kiss shape). Then, with just about half a dozen loops left on the needle, I strung a single piece of yarn through the top and created the crown.

A few oversights: the hat was a bit small. An understatement: pint-sized. But who wears pint-sized clothing? BABIES! And I have just the baby in mind, my friend's daughter who is just about to turn one years old this year.

Luckily, I used berry-colored yarn (leftover from the bolero shrug), which struck up another inspirational thought: a berry hat! For a baby! So cute! Babies wearing berries! I was nearly beside myself.

A crochet embroidery needle helped stitch small, X-shaped black dots that I hope resemble strawberry seeds. A crochet hook made triangles of single crochet stitches that I hope resemble a strawberry's leafy crown.

I almost never post photos up of gifts that I haven't sent yet, but I thought, well, if this baby is smart enough to find my blog and look at her gift beforehand...let her be. Her daddy just better keep mum.

Baker's hat...


This hat came from the bottom of a sweater I've had since freshman year in college, and various fabric scraps. I followed the pattern from this tutorial I found on Craftster.org, one of my favorite crafting blogs. I decided to forgo making the brim after a few unsuccessful attempts; cutting out a moon-shaped cardboard piece without an X-Acto knife or patience gives you some pretty rugged brims, even if it is going to be fabric-covered.

Unintended consequences, part I

When I first picked up crochet a few years ago, I wanted to make my friend fingerless gloves. The pattern came from "Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker," but I was not happy about the manipulation of the pattern around the hand. I ripped out several rows, several times, until I was ready to give in.

But the fishnet-like stitch gave me inspiration to keep going. And for the longest time, I had two rectangular swaths of black, lacy crochet that kept getting squashed between the ugly balls of yarn I know I'm never going to use.

And then along came a cold, wintry day...and AH-HAH! Leggings that cover my calves, giving me a few more inches of warmth when I want to wear boots and a skirt.

Modeling in front of a mirror on your own is not fun. And, I still owe my friend a gift, since I never made those fingerless gloves, and I can't bear to part with these leggings.

My digs...

This is my first opportunity to give an update on my crafts, even though the completion dates on these projects span the last few months.
I live in a cozy, one-bedroom apartment in a 1950s-era apartment building. With mostly 1950s-era folk. So I like to have a little bit of mod, little bit of throwback, in my decorating mix.
On my living room wall:

The embroidery hoops are from an antique store in Roseburg, Ore. The fabric comes from Cool Cottons in Portland.
In my bathroom:

During college, I spent a summer in Duluth, Minn. A kid's-size T-shirt from one of my favorite Duluthian stores makes a great memento wall hanging. Just a tip: I ended up nailing the fabric into the border of the canvas; I'm sure a staple gun would have been much more efficient.
And near the kitchen:

I love snail mail!

My first fully-crafted garment: the bolero



A round trip worth of flights with layovers on each end helped me accomplish this little shrug in one week. As I recall, the yarn is a Vanna brand.

The pattern for this comes from "Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker: Debbie Stoller." It's become my crochet Bible.