Feb 28, 2007

Time for self

I've packaged up four swaps with notes today ... Now it's time to do something for me for a bit, before I work on creating some more swaps for others.

But the question is ... what to do for me? Eek.

Superfringe!



That's the second hairpin lace scarf, which is getting sent today for the "Anything you can do..." swap. More crazy crafting yet to come!

Feb 27, 2007

Accompanying illustrations

Here's that hairpin lace scarf I did the other day (not the latest one, of which I still need a good photo or two):



And here's that necklace I finished today as an extra goodie for a swap (and this one isn't even late ;)):



Woo!

Quicksilvery

I started another hairpin lace scarf yesterday in Blue Heather Wool-Ease, and finished it today. Woohoo! It came out pretty much the way I wanted it to, too. And I plied, skeined, and washed 30 yards of brown alpaca yesterday for knitting into a necklace I-cord today. I even worked a few inches of my second Mystery Skein Swap item, and plan on doing some more tonight.

So I also just gave in and bought Stitch Diva's Lotus Smock Dress and Camisole hairpin lace pattern (perversely neglecting the skirt pattern I've been ogling for months because it looks easier to figure out on my own -- and this is maybe a hint of the Can't Do Anything Easy rule kicking in again). I may have to go and buy some yarn for this one with my nonexistent money, since it requires double-knit weight yarn, of which I do have five skeins or so ... in different fibers and completely unmatching colors. ;) But I want to learn some more advanced hairpin lace techniques, and the patterns available on the Internet are pretty slim pickings.

Anyway, more spastic crafting today seems likely. I have a few swaps that are slightly overdue thanks to the energy sink that is FLaRF, with its Three-Day Weekends of Doom, and I Will Catch Up, thanks to my darling hairpin lace loom and a fit of general mild quicksilveriness.

Feb 23, 2007

Brian's shirt at last

I ended up fixing the thing with the hairpin lace by unraveling loops till I came to a point where I could put them back on the loom without the loom popping apart. Wheee, tension. ;D But I didn't feel like working on it after that, so I picked up Brian's much-abused pirate/fighting shirt and set to mending the re-tear and, so as to avoid a re-re-tear, finally putting in those gussets. I like gussets. ;)

As of right now I have one gusset set in, and I'm about to tear out the armpit of the other side so I can put in the second one. It must get done tonight, since Brian can't very well fight with a shirt with a giant hole in the armpit. ;D

Next shirt modifications: Actually put a patch behind the mend (I know, I should have done it before, but I figured the gusset would help keep it from happening again more than the patch ;)), and put drawstring casings on the sleeves. After that, when I have time, I ought to actually just put cuffs on, but that's probably not happening in the next couple of weeks, and the casing is a quicker, workable fix.

I should have known...

I've managed to finish one project on this hairpin lace loom and now it's acting funky. You'd think two pieces of metal and two bits of plastic with holes in them would be simple enough to manage, but the metal sticks keep wanting to warp even when I take some of the loops off the end of the loom. It's probably my tension, but I don't know how to fix this short of frogging the entire strip and starting over, and that's pretty disheartening considering how short on time I am today, and the fact that the swap this is for is already late. (Not that I'd be able to get it done today even if the loom weren't acting funky, but it'd be nice to feel I made progress. That's not too much to ask, is it?) I was so enjoying the feeling of actually getting something done quickly, too. Grumble.

Maybe this is why I never do anything easy. ;)

Picture bonanza

Things I made for the Slacker Homemade Gift swap:







The red thingie is my first bit of hairpin lace ever, and it's a scarf. Yayyyy. ;) I need to get a good photo of the scarfage, itself, so I can feel safe sending away my firstborn. ;D

This is my Things with Wings matchbox, too, which was sent a bit ago, but I didn't post photos immediately:







I also received my own Things with Wings matchbox a couple days ago from Australia, and should be a good swapper and post photos, shouldn't I?

Speaking of swaps ... I wonder where my Spin to Knit handspun swap is? ;) My partner did say she procrastinates, but I hope she doesn't procrastinate herself completely out of sending me my skeins. ;) (I seem to have this problem acquiring handspun from other people...) I also need to finish and send my own skein for this month, actually. This FLaRF thing is kicking my butt in terms of time to craft 'n' swap.

Feb 22, 2007

Every fiber chick...

...should have a boyfriend like this.

;D

Feb 16, 2007

Tra-la-la.

Working on a Lacy Round Washcloth today, potentially for a swap. It's a day late as of today, but hey, it's a slacker swap, so they should expect that sort of thing, right? ;) I'll send on Monday or Tuesday, really...

Almost done with Piggle. I got maybe a third of the way into the crown decreases last night before my brain zonked out and I reached the point where I know I shouldn't knit lace any more because I'll end up ripping it out anyway ... especially annoying if it's lace with decreases. ;)

Huuuungry. Why must my luck run so that people eat my food the day I splurge to buy it, after they've ignored my food for months on end? Siiiigh. It makes me sad, but then, I have a theory that I'm small enough that eating my food is a little like eating a starving person's food; I don't have enough of it, and I need what little I eat badly enough, that I'm justly territorial. Depriving me of my food is pushing me (further?) into the fat-burning reserves, and y'know, I don't have a lot of fat left to burn. I'm trying to get back to 100 pounds, guys -- as in, up. Don't eat my food. ;)

Feb 13, 2007

Fibery miniblather

Working on Paisley's Piggle today; it would be loverly if I could have it done by this weekend, so she could wear it at FLARF. I'm just about at the end of the third lace pattern repeat.

In a completely random but also fiber-related thought, I think it's sweet that Brian now asks his northern friends about fiber things. ;) Someone called him yesterday and mentioned some herd animal in Colorado, and Brian asked about sheep and alpaca for me. His friend said something like, "*snicker* I know why you want to know about sheep," and much to his friend's surprise, Brian totally went, "No, seriously. My girlfriend spins..."

Now I wish I could remember if Brian bought me five balls of cashmere blend yarn, or four. I can only find four of them, but what with all the moving around of bags of projects, it's possible that one jumped out somewhere and is just waiting to be found. Oh, well; that's all right, since I don't know what I'm going to make with that yet, anyway. ;)

RAK week!

According to the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, it's RAK week! Which means I'm going to attempt to send out some RAKky goodness, if not this week, then at least inspired by this week.

And in an UberLate Swap Update, I started my UberLate Fabric Scrap Craft swap item yesterday. As usual, I'm too lazy to go take a good photo, so you'll get to see it when it's done. ;)

Feb 6, 2007

Quick! Quick!

My stuff for the "Just Do It, Swap It Quick!" swap on Swapbot c'est la:







Hurray. ;D

Feb 5, 2007

Grand List of WIPs

Knitting:

Nearly done
*Crane on Knit Not War pattern (still unfelted)

Largish projects

*Black alpaca lace shawl - Beth
*”Garden” Mystery Pi shawl - me
*Licorice vest - me
*Purple lace shawl - ? {frog and make socks from the yarn, using the shawl pattern for some other yarn?}
*Moonlight Mohair cape - me
*Yellow square-neck tank top - Mom
*Black and white lacy sweater - me {frog and turn into a Coco jacket?}
*Brian's Duel sweater

Mediumish projects

*Sahara (sleeveless) for Sexy Knitters' Club knitalong
*Cabled chenille scarf - Virginia
*Eyelet spiral socks - (It's a gift!)
*Branching Out scarf - Shari (whose birthday gift for this year just arrived today :D)
*Furry magic scarf - me {frog and turn into a lacy shawl on large needles?}
*SFS Big Black Socks
*SFS leisure socks - yet to start
*Paige's Tinker shawl

Smallish projects

*Fingerless gloves for a trade with kiakiali
*Chenille fingerless gloves - me

Fiber/spinning

*Spin to Knit Orphans Handspun Swap - 120 yards of something, anything :D
*Birthday gift for me: laceweight/cobweb Colonial in "teal green" type color
*Red Merino DK or sportweight (not sure which ;))
*Hand-painted "Spring Misty" Merino DK or sportweight
*Basket of Columbia - hand combing
*Plankton, hand-dyed Merino from Neauveau - partly drum-carded early April 2007, the rest possibly to be combed?

Art

Nothing, at the moment!

Swaps, exchanges, and trades

*Private trade for fiber
*Batt comparison swap on thefibergoddess

Finished Projects of 2007

In the effort to keep organized tabs on my creative insanity, I'm making a Grand List of Finished Projects of 2007, to be accompanied by a Grand List of Projects in Progress, a Grand List of UFOs to Resurrect, and a Grand List of Future Projects. Then I can list just the numbers on my blog index page (e.g., "Hats Knit: 3," etc.). Soooo...

Here's my running list of finished knits of 2007:

*Ben's mismatched mittens
*Calorimetry
*Mystery Skein Swap item 1 - a hat from One Skein Wonders
*Spiral Rib hat for Caps for a Cure
*Paisley's Piggle hat
*Felted summer hat - made from cream-colored wool donated by Ben's grandmother, my first felted project :D
*Mystery Skein Swap item 2 - ribbed wristwarmers from the 2006 pattern-a-day knitting calendar
*"Simple Yet Effective" shawl variation - pink and orange stashbuster for April Fool's Fun swap [finished in early March]
*Eyelet skirt from Knitty [finally finished, seams, tails, and all, on March 16]
*Jamaica bag from One Skein Wonders [March 25]
*Funky Purl McBigBottom for a semi-angel for April Fool's Fun swap
*Cabled cozy socks from Handknit Holidays, for Brian in gray Merino wool (Patons Classic, I think)
*A scalloped edging for the much-delayed Fabric Scrap Craft
*Tropical Island shawl (for trade with kiakiali)
*Ball band washcloth (from Mason-Dixon Knitting) in purple and black for SBS Teas Secret Spring Genie 2007
*Ball band washcloth in pink and purple for Earth Mother's Day Swap-bot swap [April 27, 2007]
*Star Stitch hanging towel with joined loop at top instead of button [June 25, 2007]
*Warm Up America afghan square in white acrylic yarn (finished for Ben) [August 28, 2007]
*Sunday Market Shawl [early September]
*Bronwyn's square-bottom dice bag in Mainstays variegated blue acrylic [September 14, 2007]
*Loom-knit hat - two strands of acrylic worsted weight yarn, size smallish [September 26, 2007]

Finished spinning/fiber projects:

*Spin to Knit secret pals skein 1 // 2-ply Columbia fingering weight - yardage?
*Hand carded mini-batts from raw Columbia fleece // mission: failed ;) - weight?
*Birthday gift for me: .9 oz Merino/Tussah in blue colorway, sport or possibly DK weight - ~240 yards
*Spin to Knit secret pals skein 2 // 2-ply alpaca, 30.3 yards, .9 oz bulky weight (10 wpi)
*Brown alpaca - from sample sent with destash purchase of cotton and wool, hand carded into batts before spun - singles, 44.7 yards, .3 oz lace to fingering weight?
*Blue-green mohair/Merino blend done on hand carders as per Knitty instructions - .6 ounces
*2 drum-carded batts from gray spinning bell [some leftovers of lighter gray spinning bell]
*Gray-blue Columbia/mystery wool fiber blending experiment - hand carded, .2 oz
*3 batts of drum-carded blue Columbia/gray mystery wool [April 12, 2007]
*Yarn: 1 skein silvery gray mystery wool, sample from fiber shop at Bay Area Renaissance Festival - .4 oz [yardage?] [WPI?]
*Yarn: dark gray spinning bell wool singles - 75 yards, .4 oz - about sport or fingering weight [to be plied with something]
*Yarn: 54 yards (.2 oz) gray/blue Columbia/spinning bell (from first fiber blending experiment) singles, about fingering weight
*Yarn: 92 yards singles white fingering weight Columbia (from commercially-processed roving) to be plied with something for the Orphan Handspun Swap
*Yarn: 40 yards yellow-white mystery wool two-ply sport weightish - Anne's custom embellishment yarn (to be dyed); dyed blue, green, and mauve!
*Yarn: 80 yards gray variegated Jacob singles fingering weight to be plied with something for Orphan Handspun Swap (possibly to be overdyed)
*Yarn: mini-skein two-ply dark dyed alpaca and a tiny bit of silver wool
*Yarn: 70.8 yards two-ply dark purple/white Jacob/Columbia fingering to sport weight (for Orphan Handspun Swap) [May 04, 2007]
*Woven belt: worsted-weight cotton with blue flecks, to go with my silk robe
*Weaving: rigid heddle test project (short woven band, worsted-weight cotton)

Finished hairpin lace:

*Triple Threat scarf in red Lion Cotton Solid
*Superfringe scarf in Blue Heather Wool-Ease

Finished art-type projects:

*Brian's pocket heart
*Valentine's hearts
*Mini-ATC: "Smitten 1"
*Things With Wings matchbox fill
*ATC: "Love That Coat"
*ATC: "Knit Love"
*2 sets of wish stones: 1 stamped glass marbles (hearts), 1 stamped polymer clay (purple, silver, and translucent marbled)
*Purple postcards, set of 3 (for a Swapbot swap) - cut from a Dr. Pepper Berries & Cream box
*Old Box ATCs, series of 10 (for a Swapbot swap) - cut from various cardboard boxes
*I (heart) books bookmarks - 2
*"Why I Swap"/Happy Spring postcards (2) - blue and yellow, plants and flowers, simple Gel Pen embellishment
*"Orient" puzzle piece for Robin's charity "Destinations" art puzzle [April 06, 2007]
*2 fat book pages for Robin's charity, "Nature" and "Tea"
*Old Box ATCs, series of 9, for Old Box ATCs #3 Swap-bot swap
*ATC: "Zetti Vacation" for Secret Spring Bunny Swap
*"Courage" matchbox shrine for Personalized Value Matchbox Shrine [April 12, 2007]
*Postcards: 3 yellow postcards for Swap-bot swap [April 16, 2007]
*Altered journal (blue and green naturey) for Creative Journal Swap
*3 bookmarks (April 27, 2007): one Old Box bookmark (Thai Kitchen noodle bowl) for Earth Mother's Day swap, one vintagey flowery bookmark, one kitty bookmark, the second two for "newbie/changing bad ratings" swap on Swap-bot
*ATCs: 3 Old Box ATCs for re-send to Mary Rousseaux (downtown painter) {May 01, 2007}
*Altered toy animal (voodoo war pig) for Eccentric Pastiche swap [May 09, 2007]
*Hand-bound tea book for Eccentric Pastiche swap [May 09, 2007]
*Blue postcards (3) for Etsy swap [May 17, 2007]
*ATC: "Rainforest Frogs" for Surf the Net with Me Etsy swap [May 21, 2007]
*Wall art: "Le Coq" 4x4 for Mini Wishlist 2
*Polymer clay good luck charm for Mini Wishlist 2
*Purple and green bookmark for Tiny Box of Joy [May 29, 2007]
*3 ATCs for "Things I Wish I Said" swap": "Lovely Friends," "Immature," "Thoughtful Gift" [June 12, 2007]

Jewelry of 2007:

*Surfer Girl ring
*Simple ear cuff design
*Dangly ear cuff design
*Current 1 ring
*Polymer clay beaded beads - 1 barrel bead and 1 disc bead in Valentine's colors
*Little birdie necklace
*Phoenix Flame necklace - handspun alpaca I-cord with hand-made polymer clay pendant (red, brown, yellow)
*Diamond pendant-charms (flat top-drilled bead things) from the same cane as Phoenix Flame necklace, plus one more pendant
*Pink and black swirl pendant-charms from a cane used for buttons
*Earrings for nktigger of Swapbot: blue-green crackle glass tube beads over black spirals, silver-plated ear wires
*Necklace: polymer clay disc embedded with seed beads on I-cord, red, white, and cream, 17.5 inches long, with copper wire hook on yarn loop
*Ring: size 8 re-do of Surfer Girl for Flory
*Ring: size 6.5 copper ring, Bright Bubbles
*Earrings: black and silver for Mini Wishlist 2

Finished sewn objects of 2007:

*Pin cushion for Fabric Scrap Craft [April 17, 2007]

Things that don't fit anywhere else of 2007:

*A coiled fabric scrap basket for me
*Polymer clay buttons: 2 sets
*Pom pom scarf (acrylic) for "Different Scarf" swap [April 09, 2007]
*Purple and black two-strand basketweave mini tote for Secret Spring Genie on SBSTeas.com [April 24, 2007]
*Pink, cream, and orange three-strand basketweave tote for Earth Mother's Day swap on Swap-bot [April 26, 2007]

Trades of 2007:

*2 oz. Columbia roving for a hairpin lace loom

"Tools" made in 2007:

*Stitch markers: 2 sets
*Polymer clay spindles: 1
*Point protectors: blue and green stars, 1 set
*Point protectors: blue and green discs plus crackle glass bead, 1 set

Next up, the Grand List of WIPs...

Swaps sent

One small shrine went out superlate today, but at last sent ;D, along with my Valentine's Handmade Hearts swap. The "send it quick" swap should go out tomorrow.

And I'm going to make it through some of my UFO list soon, dangit. I will I will. ;)

Scary fiber thoughts

Someone has offered me a super-awesome deal on a Louet roving carder ... and I think I may take her up on it, since I've had drum carders on the brain recently, and I know that having a drum carder will make me process those fleeces I have sitting around. The processing part of making yarn is what takes the longest, and I was so annoyed with the crappy job I did of hand carding that (admittedly VMy) Columbia the other day, I probably won't try that method again any time soon. (I'm sure I will try it again someday, and it'll turn out fine after my requisite sinking-in waiting period, but I don't want to wait any longer to turn my fleeces into spinnable fluffies. ;))

So yeah. I may have a drum carder soon, and that's kind of scary. ;D Imagine me with all that fiber-processing power, dyeing and carding up a fluffy storm...

Feb 2, 2007

Make your own needle felting tool!

This is super cool. :D I love making me own stuffage ... hurrah. ;D

Feb 1, 2007

More V-Day art and That Shrine

One of the UberLate swaps was for a shrine, and a shrine there is at last, with some decent photos.





And here's a mini ATC I'm including with the Valentine's Handmade Heart swap:



As usual, the funny-colored stamped bit is metallic in real life. ;) And my gold leaf pens are hiding somewhere in a bag, so I had to resort to the funky greenish gold gel pen for the outline around the flower. Hmph. There are also glitter bits in the red tissue paper that forms the background.

Random polymer clay

ObPersonalBlether: Poor Brian got shot down this morning, as he called it. He's looking for a new job, and our friend Paul works at a tool company where there's a job opening. He made it sound like an easy in, so we went by to drop off a resume before work this morning ... where they made him fill out an application because they don't take resumes, then interviewed him immediately, apparently with the attitude that he was wasting their time because there were three other more experienced applicants in line for the position. On top of that, the interviewer made Brian late for work at his current job, which I find absolutely idiotic. That sort of behavior is completely inappropriate in someone holding a management position. If I had known the man was in the process of not only making Brian late, but also making Brian feel bad for no good reason, I would have hunted them down in the building and interrupted the interview to insist that Brian not be late. Just goes to show I should feel free to break rules and be crazy; if he's not going to get that job anyway, why should Brian waste his time with someone who thinks he has better things to do?

Grr. Anyway. ;) It'd be nice if I could make Brian feel better without making myself feel worse (and I mean both of those things generally, as in, he ought to feel better in general without my feeling worse in general, 'cause what's the use in that?), and one way to do that would be by bringing in more income with things that I already like doing. Must come up with a good craftiness business plan.

The requisite photos for today are of a) a heart I made for a Valentine's swap, and b) some extra goodies I made while I was playing with clay, namely a heart for me (that's the one with the curl on one side, sans beadies), plus two beads with beads in them. ;)



And the backs of the hearts:

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