it's in the air

Apparently this week is the week of the craft blogging-catching-up. and i have quite a bit of catching up to do. . .

So i guess i'll go past to present.

first i have a bunch of calorimetry pieces that I've been working on. the piece goes well but ends up too big so I've been changing it bit by bit...

i finally have something i can wear.

i'm rather proud of it. . .I have another one that's a little larger for when it's colder:

I like the size and shape. . .It fits comfortably but isn't too floppy or big. i want to try it in a nice springy wool next cause i have to wash it to get the tightness back after i wear it once or twice. . .the price i pay ;]
And the next project...a scarf! this i did in a really nice cushy wool--lion brand wool-ease to be specific. it's a really nice wool/acrylic blend that feels a little coarse at first but when it's knit up it is oh so soft.
The pattern is a nice lacy leaf pattern that merges into stockinette in the center then back to the lace for the other end. the stockinette makes it curl in the middle so it hugs your neck even if you don't have it wrapped...mmmm warm and snuggly!
Lo and behold - another scarf!
this one is a baktus pattern if you don't know it already it's an interesting concept...the idea is to use exactly the amout of yarn you have, increasing to the middle of your length of yarn then decreasing so that you use the entire amount. it's a lot of fun, but the guess work will kill you if you don't know for sure how much you have.
it wasn't made for me but for a swap partner, so i'm hoping she'll enjoy it.

this tie i made for my mom after she came to me the night before a theme day at work: crazy tie/scarf day so i took a standard tie pattern (which calls for size 1 needles) and made it a little bigger...I used size 10 needles and double stranded some red heart acrylic in white with some sugar and cream cotton in purple. it came out really really large. . .but it was tons of fun to do...and i accomplished it in one night!

the crowning glory of my projects at the moment is this:
it's a crocheted purse. it's lined and the strap is black fabric with silver tinsel pin striping.
the lining isn't attached in the middle, just at the strap to provide a second pocket for larger items that won't slip out of the crochet work, and the lining is for pens and eye liner--stuffs like that.
more of the side of the purse
and the completely finished project.

i must say i feel pretty accomplished. i'm tired now. heading to bed. c ya later ;]

cracking the nut is harder than it seems

I thought I had cracked the entrelac nut finally. . .only to be disappointed. I'm no longer having trouble figuring out where to pick up stitches from, it's getting the diamonds into diamond shapes. mine always end up looking like rectangles. and I can't seem to figure out the timing to stop the diamond on the outside and start the outer triangle. whatever. since i'd ripped out my work so much the yarn was starting to unravel, and when i cast on half the time i'd split the yarn, so i decided to make a iPhone cozy for myself, since i've wanted to do one for a while now, and hadn't gotten around to it yet. . .So I finally made one. I really like it, although the bound off edge is a little bigger than the rest...i like the effect it creates. I'll post pictures later.

I also cross stitched a quote a friend of mine uses, which i am proud of, although i wish it had ended up a little bigger to frame, i think i'll choose something different to frame for him. . .but then again i might not. we'll see.

odd little update

well, its been a little weird crafting lately, I've slowed down a little bit on the knitting thing, and since i've re-set up my room and it's all crazy cramped I haven't really had the time, or inclination to really get my sewing going. But I have a few projects that I'm working on getting ready for sewing. One is a garter belt made from some scraps i had laying around. I have everything cut out and ready, I just need to sew everything together, which is easier said than done because i'm lining it so most stuff is going to be sewn on while it's inside out. . .eek! but it's not as daunting as it sounds, i'm being a bit of a whimp actually. I'm looking at trying to find either a good grommet inserter or somewhere i can find bulk grommet tape. I miss using grommets in everything. . .

The other exciting thing about this week is I've finally cracked the nut of entrelac knitting. I'm still on the rough side, and my pieces are going to need to be hella blocked, but so far i'm entirely pleased with myself. there's a headband pattern that I want to make for people for the holidays this year. . .which reminds me, i need to get started on the favors for the christmas party this year, maybe i can convince Sean to come with. . .although they don't live in vlaencia anymore. . .i'll have to find out where they moved to. . .

My next project that i'll post will most likely be the garter belt and may possibly be a "dorothy" dress that I found on craftster. Very excited.

gotta go study now.

new skirt, few dresses, knitting

I've made a few things over the last few months, none of which are photographed unfortunately. I made two pleated skirts, really cute, on made out of some nice printed cotton, and one out of a really light black linen. The linen i still have something like 10.5 yards of, i found it on sale for $1 a yard, and bought up all the fabric i could find.

I have also recently made a few halter dresses using a burda style pattern, and two night gowns out of this really nice silky almost leopard print fabric. those were fun to do. I also tried my hand at making a bathing suit top. gonna have to work at making those less wrinkly. but i have my hopes up!

I've also been knitting lately. working on a shawl that i started oh, maybe a month ago. i'm only half way through it said would be a one skein job, and has turned into two...luckily i had two on hand. just paused until i find where the second skein ran off to while we're cleaning up the house. I'm also working on those ten stitch blankets. might give the 'baby blanket' to alice, and the mulit blanket either to mommy or Eepie. not sure who yet. and want to make one for sean for the winter. maybe that'll be my winter present. re-usable bags and blankets. the ten stitch ones are actually pretty easy to punch out once you get them started. oooh! excited!!

new scarf

i believe i'm making a new scarf.  It should be good.  then i think i'll be working on another blanket.  with lion brand jiffy yarn on size 11.  fun!

death by smurf!

ah! a meme!!

Bold for stuff you’ve done/are doing.

Italics for stuff you intend to do one day.

Normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.

Afghan/Blanket 

I-cord/I-cord edging

Garter stitch

Knitting with metal wire

Shawl

Stockinette stitch

Socks: top-down

Socks: toe-up

Knitting with yarn made of camel, yak, alpaca, synthetic, sheep's wool, recycled, vintage, silk, soy, bamboo, banana (??), plastic bags, cut up fabric, cashmere, hemp, linen, wire, cotton

Mittens cuff up

Mittens fingers down

Hat

Moebius band knitting

Participating in a KAL

Sweater

Drop stitch patterns

Slip stitch patterns

Domino knitting (modular knitting)

Twisted stitch patterns

Two end knitting

Charity knitting

Cardigan

Toy/doll clothing

Knitting with circular needles

Knitting with your own handspun yarn

Slippers

Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)

Continental Knitting

Designing knitted garments

Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)

Lace patterns

Publishing a knitting book (I can only hope!)

Scarf

American/English knitting (vs. continental)

Knitting to make money

Knitting for a living

Button holes

Fair Isle knitting

Norwegian knitting

Dying with plant colors

Knitting items for a wedding

Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)

Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars

Olympic knitting

Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn

Knitting with DPNs

Holiday related knitting

Teaching a male how to knit

Bobbles

Knitting smocking

Dying yarn

Steeks

Knitting art

Fulling/felting

Textured knitting

Kitchener BO

Purses/bags

Knitting with beads

Swatching

Long Tail CO

Entrelac

Knitting and purling backwards (??)

Machine knitting

Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn

Stuffed toys

Baby items

Darning

Writing a pattern

Gloves

Intarsia

Knitting for preemies

Tubular CO

Freeform knitting

Short rows

Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers

Pillows

Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine

Rugs

Knitting on a loom

Thrummed knitting

Knitting a gift

Knitting for pets

Shrug/bolero/poncho

Knitting with dog/cat hair

Hair accessories

Knitting in public

Knit a vintage pattern (over 40 yrs old)

Crochet

Cross stitch/Embroidery/Needlepoint

Sew - like on a machine

this was interesting, learned a bit about my self :D

so,another accomplishment, i've managed to figure out square bottom bags.  so this year for christmas every one's getting green bags with little lip balm cozies.  that'll be a cute merry christmas.  maybe i'll put hot cocoa or something in them too. . .