Surprise flax for the fiber garden

Fiber garden. Does the idea make you drool? It excites me. I love gardening (though I've never had a true place of my own to do it), and I love the fiber arts. Not much is cooler than the marriage of two loves, and a fiber garden would definitely be that.

A few weeks ago I started collecting seeds in anticipation of planting season — although since I live in Florida, our growing season is completely wonky compared to the "normal" one that all advertisements and nearly all magazines seem to target. I'm actually a LOT late on some of the things I'm going to try to grow, but on the other hand, a few years back I tried to grow radishes, and they worked better "out of season" than in, even working with Florida's seasons. What can I say? I'm weird, and it affects my world. ;)

Anyway, I have some lovely Japanese indigo seeds from Light in the Forest Wools and Textiles, and there are some colorgrown cotton bolls with seeds still attached coming my way from Dew Dance Farm. My flax seeds from last year, however, were a casualty of the messy tiny porch situation; the bag fell on the ground near the hose at some point during the winter and a passing bug appears to have chewed its way in, kindly letting in the hose moisture. The seeds may still be viable, but then, maybe not. So I started looking for other sources for flax seeds. Seeds aren't terribly expensive, after all. I sent out a few Etsy messages, and one seller offered to send me a sample of a few seeds to try to sprout, as he sells/uses flax for non-gardening purposes and he wasn't sure whether they would work. I said, "Sure, I'll test a few! Thanks a bunch!" They came today.

And there are more than a few.


An entire package of flax seeds is rather more than I expected as a tester
Suffice it to say "whoa."

So. Big shout-out to The Dream Weaver Shop for their kindness and generosity. Bob at Dream Weaver even sent me a link to a shop that DOES sell flax specifically for growing in case these seeds don't work — what a super-friggin'-nice thing to do. Pop on by their shop and browse a little, 'kay? They've got tea, jewelry and incense resins — and lots of Nice. ;D

Oddly enough, though, their supplier appears to be right in my area:


Hurray, I need a camera that actually does macro!
See where it says "Port Richey, Fl"? That's virtually down the street from me. Small world? ;)

Starting fresh for spring: continuing to be creative in the second quarter

Flowering sunshine mimosa plant in the front "yard"
Now seems like a good time to post about fresh starts. It's a time of beginnings: of the year's second quarter, of spring. Of celebratory tax return spending. ;) And it's wedding season, too. Lots of freshness floating around, almost like at the new year.

Except we're far enough into the year to have had a chance to slip away from our 2010 resolutions — or intentions, or goals, or whatever you want to call them that seems most positive to you. ;) But it's still early enough in the year that we have time to catch up. HA!

I do have a bit of a peeve about failing to meet my goals, and bleep if I'm living peevefully this year.

One goal I really want to meet is to continue being creative. And "create" contains the idea of "fresh start" inherently, so that goal is a bit paradoxical (in a good, mind-stretching way). I want to continue creating regularly, so the act of creating itself isn't a fresh start, but I want to keep the feeling of constant newness that makes creativity so invigorating.

After all, creativity is by nature a series of fresh starts, or little discoveries. Forgetting that can stick us creative people in a rut where we feel pressured (by our own chosen identity, by others, by the need to finish a project, whatever) to keep doing the same creative thing(s) we've been working on, even if that isn't fulfilling us any more. At least, I have that problem sometimes. ;) Of course, I've also had the problem of not even feeling like I CAN create on a regular basis, much less be truly creative.

But Craft or Bust has utterly kicked that idea's butt. I absolutely can be creative on a regular basis (and apparently the formula for that has a lot to do with creating safe space, something I Really Am going to write about more later. Really! Later.) And now that I no longer have any excuse for thinking I can't output craftiness on a regular basis, the next step in being Truly Creative is to grow into my creative identity.

Which ties back into the fresh start thing. One of the things people do when the new year starts is think about who they were in the past year and who they want to be in this coming year. Being who you reeeeeally want to be isn't always simple or easy, of course. For one thing, you have to KNOW who you want to be, and then you have to be ready to be that person. I have a pretty good idea of who I want to be, but I was nowhere near ready to be that person when 2010 opened.

Now, I'm much more ready.

:D

So this spring I'm refreshing the "be who I want to be" idea. I'm not inventing a new me this season, though; I'm aiming to be more me, more fully me, more true to myself. I want to create, and sink into, a solid sense of personal artistry and crafty identity.

Thus! the theme of 2010, Quarter the Second, will be: Discovering and Deepening My (Creative) Identity.

And that means iiiiiiit's EXERCISE TIME!

Not exercise like jogging ;) — exercise like "for homework, answer these three reflection questions in at least one paragraph each." (I like that sort of homework, and maybe that makes me a nerd. A nerd with claws and pointy sticks! ;) Anyway...)

This spring, I assign myself to list Core Identity Traits: themes and ideas, personality traits and characteristics, that I think of as part of who I really am and want to be. Things I'm happy to be and have (when I am and I do), or that I would be happy to grow into. For example, I am/want to be/would be happy to be more:

• inspired
• artistic
• colorful
• natural
• quirky
• wild
• instinctive
• intuitive
• centered
• brave
• independent

Therefore, these are themes I can draw from and on as I become more myself.

Further, I assign myself this project: To design and create an art/craft object that shows my creative personality.

It need not be practical. It doesn't even need to be understandable to anyone outside my head. It may express me at an extreme, or use obscure symbols that mean nothing to most people. If I do it right, said project will fulfill one important requirement: It will resonate with me, as a designer, a crafter, an artist, a creative person, a human being with an identity and a place in the world.

This sort of project is absolutely essential to my creative growth, because even if it's completely nonsensical to people who aren't me and don't know me, it will give me a blueprint from which to build creative pieces that DO speak to other people in a way they can understand. Before I can speak to others truly, I need to know how to express my own truth to myself.

Barbara Bowen wrote in a blog post on the SmARTist Career Blog, "Authentic style is a combination of communicating an emotional truth and mastery of your chosen materials. The more you acknowledge and feel the emotional truths in your life, the more they infuse your art. Distinctive style emerges when you tell the truth about life, using materials that are so familiar that they’re like a language you learned as a child."

And so, to really come into my own as a creative person, to remember what it's like to be me and to be truly creative, I need to learn/remember how to convey my personal truth in my creative work. I need, after this long desert winter of the creative soul, to regrow my awareness of who I am and what I have to offer, so that when I create, live, and act, I do it distinctly as me.

The fun bit about that is that I also get to explore and do crazy things and indulge in creative projects completely for fun (something it's DEFINITELY easy to lose track of when building a business of your creative work — again, in my experience ;)). To make sure what I love, think, live and enjoy infuses my work, I need to give myself permission to rediscover what's fun and inspiring, even if it doesn't produce anything marketable right away. The investment in my creativity is bound to make me and my work more appealing in the future.

Exploring and having fun and rediscovering me will also help me look at my 2010 goals afresh, so I can refocus or even let go of goals that won't help me get where I want to go or grow into who I want to be.

Please feel welcome to share your own Core Identity Traits, if you want. Or talk about your own 2010 goals and explorations. I'd love to hear about everyone else's spring growth. :D

Craft or Bust First Quarter Project of the Quarter Nominations!

Craft or Bust Quarterly Awards: First Quarter Nominations

WE DID IT! We've all worked our crafty butts off this quarter — and even those of us who have crafted less than we'd like have at least dared to challenge themselves! You all deserve to be recognized ... so next week I'll post a big hullaballoo for everyone, in honor of your crafty awesomeness. This week I present to you, after our slightly extended nomination period ;), the honorary nominees for project of the quarter!

If you didn't have a project nominated this quarter, no worries ... you are still much loved! Maybe you'll have something nominated next quarter ... and you can always nominate your own projects. ;) Just remember that to be nominated, your project needs to be in the CoB Flickr pool, so I can post a photo of it up for everyone to see. :D

On to this quarter's nominations! The following projects were nominated for creativity and for showcasing the best work of the CoBer who created said project. I present to you ... the nominees! Taaaa-daaaa!


Color is a Lifestyle Socks by Velma


glam-15 by Helen


Lily of the Valley Pearl Necklace by Sarah


Monster TwitKAL yarn by Me! (Crystal)


Bobbins by Anna


Citron WIP by Elabeth


3/05/10 craft or bust by Carmen
VIEW PHOTO ON FLICKR HERE

DSCN0824 by Meredith C


first two-ply evah! by Michelle/halloweentango


Handmade journal with watercolor paper by Michelle/halloweentango



And now, the POLL!




Voting ends on Saturday night next week, so get your votes in! :D BIG HULLABALLOO for all you great crafters next week! :D

Craft or Bust Week 14 Check-In and Roundup (April 4-10)

Notes & Announcements

We do indeed have a new member, Helen, a.k.a., helen-style. Welcome, Helen. :D Here's her Livejournal, and her CoB goal is to keep crafting! ;)

Also, QUARTERLY AWARDS! :D :D :D .... are today, but later today. I know. I wanted to do them as part of this post. Buuuuut we only have one nomination for Project of the Quarter, and I'm thinking maybe some of you thought nominations were due today, as opposed to before today so I could post the poll today...? ;)

So I'll give you guys until, oh, 4 p.m. to get in your nominations, and then I'll come back and put up the awards/voting post in the evening. If I still have just one nomination by this evening, then I guess that one nomination will win by default! :D See last week's post for nomination info (that post is right below this one ... since I haven't written any other posts this week ... mumblemumble...).

Do me a favor and e-mail me the nominations. The comment system is currently acting funky, and I don't want to miss something. (If I leave someone off the roundup this week, or if someone other than Michelle nominated a project, also drop me an e-mail, since the comment moderation issues could have kept the comments from getting through. Thanks.)

Onward...

Roundup of Week 13: What We Crafted From March 28-April 3

• Jessica nearly finished the legs of her socks, and went on an adventure on Wednesday with two of her friends to the Ben & Jerry's factory, where she took some great photos!
• Halloweentango (Michelle) entered a photography competition (ooooh! Good LUCK! Your photos are lovely, so I know you have a great chance!), worked on a second handmade journal, repaired an old (and much-loved?) skirt, took photos of things to put in her Artfire shop, worked on an acrylic painting that has lain abandoned since last fall (nice!), and made some projects with handspun. Wow! Good week! Read about it on her blog.
• Velma spun more yarn, did a blog facelift for her seventh blogiversary (hurrah!), finished knitting her socks, and started knitting a vest. Read about it on her blog.

Check-in for Week 14: What Have You Done Lately? (April 4-10)

What I did this week:

Sunday was Easter. No craftiness that day. Monday, I washed some handspun. (That sort of counts? ;)) Tuesday, I listed six handspun yarns in my Etsy shop. Yayyy! My first yarn update of 2010! I also spun and Navajo-plied a skein of mohair (I think) that I got in a grab bag at the Florida Fiber-In auction last year. Wednesday, I started spinning some Corriedale batts I carded a long time ago, took advantage of the still-cool evening to knit on my Silken Scabbard, and wove a little bit of the scarf on my Cricket. Thursday ... no crafting. Friday, I finished spinning the Corriedale and spun a bunch of mini skeins. Saturday, I spun some more mini skeins and dyed them.

What did you craft this week?

(Don't forget to use the standard check-in format on the rules page! ... and don't forget to NOMINATE! something — or more than one thing — for Project of the Quarter! And post your achievements summary, if you wrote one. ;))

Craft or Bust Week 13 Check-In and Roundup (March 28-April 3)

Notes & Announcements

Woohoo. Welcome to the second quarter of Craft or Bust 2010! Inspirationalesque post coming soon, when I'm not so sleep-deprived and can edit it with more than 5% of my brain.

So now that the first quarter of the year is officially over, let's do some awards! I'll try to make this as simple as possible, and as always, if you have a better idea for something, feel free to drop me a line and let me know. Without further ado, I give you ... how the First Quarter CoB Awards will work:

• The period from now through Saturday, April 10 will be the gathering-of-info period for the awards ceremonies. Nominations and achievement summaries are "due" on this post or in my inbox by the end of Saturday, April 10.
• During the next week, write your achievement summary: Meditate on your CoB achievements, write a little self-pimpage for the Special Awards Ceremony Roundup. Tell us what you're most proud of doing during CoB so far, whether you feel you're on track, whether you want to adjust your goals, etc. You don't have to submit an achievement summary, of course, but it might be a positive thing to think back over the entire quarter so far, and I'd love to feature everybody's personal reflections in the awards roundup. :D
• Please send in your "CoB project of the quarter" nominations by the end of Saturday, April 10. We'll have ONE generalized award for this quarter, but there might be more categories next quarter, or I may invent some award categories on the spur of the moment if I see useful trends in the nominations. ;) Look through the photos in the Flickr pool and choose the projects you think deserve an award. Then send me this information (you can e-mail it to me or leave it as a comment on this post ... I don't care which ;)):
  
  • The name of the project you're nominating
  • The name OR Flickr ID of the person the project belongs to
  • The reason you're nominating the project to be recognized
  • The URL of the Flickr page with the photo you want to use to nominate the project
• You may make as many nominations as you want. Make sure you send in all of the above info for each nomination.
• The nomination information and the poll will go up next Sunday. (This is why I need the info by the end of Saturday. ;)) Voting will close at the end of the Saturday after that.

Please note when looking through the Flickr pool that I'm not sure yet whether Helen Volkova is planning on officially joining us, so if you do choose to nominate something she put in the pool, you may want to include another nomination, too, in case she doesn't sign up. :D

Did I leave out any vital info?

Roundup of Week 12: What We Crafted From March 21-27

• Jessica finished a glove for Yong, made muffins for her Russian class, worked on a slightly abandoned pair of socks again, and expanded her six degrees of separation board, which is slowly annexing a living room wall. ;)
• Elabeth dyed yarn, put iron-ons on baby shirts, and shared her secret to eternal youth. That's in last week's comments, but you can read about the rest on her blog.
• Halloweentango (Michelle) had a slightly problematic week (like me and Luna ... maybe it really was a virus! ;)) but rescued it by making a handmade fabric journal! Yay! Read about it on her blog.
• Velma spun oodles of art yarn. Read about it on her blog.
• Meredith C is back with us again (no worries about intermittent checking in — you can check in whenever, remember? ;D). In Week 11 she finished her Dropped Rib Vest (ooo), and in Week 12 she worked a bunch on her Leafy Lagoon tank (that sounds cute). Read about it on her blog.

Check-in for Week 13: What Have You Done Lately? (March 28-April 3)

What I did this week:

Sunday, I read some more of the Mary Thomas knitting book and plotted future designs. Monday, I knitted on my Silken Scabbard. Tuesday, I photographed some handspun, finished some art yarn, knit a couple of rows of the TwitKAL shawl, wove a square on my 10-inch frame loom, and spun a bit of a Spazzy Yarn batt. Wednesday, I took more yarn pics and started spinning another yarn for the shop. Thursday, the Internet went out (eek ;)), so I did lots of laundry and washed some yarn. Friday, there was still no Internet, so I did a butt-load more laundry, finished the yarn I started Wednesday, hemstitched the weaving that's been on my Cricket for a couple of months, spun yarn samples, and spun some of the wool/silk top I've been nursing for a while. Saturday, I finished spinning the wool/silk, took yarn pics, measured and weighed yarn, spun yarn samples, and played with the template designer on Blogger in Draft.

What did you craft this week?

(Don't forget to use the standard check-in format on the rules page!)

Better Than Ramen Almost-Instant Noodles

Don't tell anyone, but I like ramen. I like ramen a lot. The same stuff college kids are supposed to subsist on, except with tofu and bok choy and chilis (and I don't drain the broth — that's the good stuff!). That said, I know there are better ways to make the same thing — and to make it better.

Sooo ... This isn't strictly crafty, but I did make it, and I did NOM it:


And it IS much better than cheap flavoring-packet-type ramen. Om nom nom nom. Why did I wait so long to finally make my own Asian noodle soup? It takes the same amount of time as "normal" ramen and it's uber-better. Want some? Here's how to make your own. It's darn easy. :D The hardest part might be finding the ingredients — if you have a local Asian market, you should be able to find all of them there.

You need:

• Asian noodles — Whatever kind you want should work; I used Vietnamese wheat noodles, but at some point I'll try it with soba. However much you'd like to eat is the correct amount. ;) I used about 4 oz of noodles, but I'm a bit of a noodle pig.
• A soup base — Chicken, beef, fish or vegetable bouillon would all work, or you can use something fancier, like miso paste (though actually, you'd have to add the miso paste later in the recipe than I say to below, after the boiling is over, because boiling it kills the flavor quite a bit). I used tom yum (Thai hot and sour soup) paste, because I am obsessed with tom yum. You could also use pre-made stock or broth of whatever kind you favor.
• Vegetables — I like to use leafy greens, particularly bok choy/joi choi. You could probably use spinach or kale or even watercress. I used joi choi for the noodles in the photo.
• Tofu (cubed) — or you could use pre-cooked meat or a meaty thing that cooks quickly, like shrimp.
• A smallish cooking pot with a lid (mine probably holds about four cups of water at best), a bowl, an eating utensil (fork or chop sticks), a stove, and maybe a hot pad to rest the burning hot bowl on. ;)

Make it so:

1. Put water (or stock/broth) in pot. I use two cups or a little less, which is what fits comfortably in the type of bowl I use; your mileage probably varies. If you're not going to keep the broth, you just need enough to cook the noodles.
2. Put noodles in pot, and pot on stove. Turn burner on high setting; you want the contents of the pot to reach a boil quickly.
3. If using a bouillon or soup paste, stir the desired amount into the water. (Yes, before it boils.) If you care to know, I used two big spoonfuls of tom yum paste. Your chosen additive should have directions on the container. Any other seasonings you want to add (salt, pepper, herbs) should go in now.
4. Put cubed tofu into pot. Cover pot and leave to reach a boil.
5. In the meantime, prep your veggies. Wash and chop your greens.
6. If your stove is like mine, the pot will boil probably before you're done washing and chopping. When you can pause in what you're doing, open the lid and stir the pot a bit, making sure everything is evenly distributed in the water so it cooks and seasons evenly. Turn the heat setting down to medium and put the lid back on.
7. When veggies are ready, throw them into the pot and put the lid back on.
8. When the veggies are cooked to your liking, your noodle bowl is done. I usually limit the vegetable cooking time to 2-3 minutes so they and the noodles don't get soggy/mushy.
9. If you're draining the broth off (Noooooo! Well, okay, if you must ... but that is the good stuff...), do it now, and serve. If you're not draining the broth, carefully pour the contents of the pot into your bowl. I usually use the "put the bowl in the (clean) sink and pour quickly while guiding food with fork" method, then move the bowl to the hot pad. You could probably use a spaghetti ladle for the noodles and then a soup ladle for the rest, too.
10. Eat, enjoy, live, be happy. NOM.

Pink and white and everything light

Still shaking off the effects of last week's craft malaise, at least as far as mood goes. All hail Silver Grumpyhead. ;) Grumpy or no, I made myself craft yesterday. There's another art yarn off the wheel and waiting to be photographed; I started spinning a new yarn with the last of a batt from Spazzy Yarns; I knit a couple of rows on the Wandering Woman/TwitKAL shawl; and I wove a square on the long-abandoned SharpTooth frame loom. (We really need to file down the nails on that thing. The Brian snipped the heads off them thinking that would make it easier for me to slip the yarn off the loom ... but it also makes it easier for me to scratch the crap out of my hands. Yayyy.)





For some reason, I have a pastel thing going on right now, hence the title of this post. I'm not really a pastel person, which is probably why that stuff accumulates in my stash — what pastels do enter my crafty sphere of existence stay there because I don't really want to use them. DOH. Then when I'm experimenting or practicing, I DO use them, since I don't care about it if I mess them up a bit ... so my practice stuff all looks insipid. I need to not do that. ;) Note to self: Put pastels with brights, not with other pastels.

At least it's spring, so my pastels are in season.

By the way, for those who do like pastels, rock on and power to you. I'm not saying they're Morally Degraded or Soulless. They're just not very me. Maybe I should donate my pastels to people who like them?

Craft or Bust Week 12 Check-In and Roundup (March 21-27)

Notes & Announcements

Quarterly CoB awards ceremony poll officially over, "tally of achievements where everyone wins" and "tally of achievements PLUS nominated and voted-on awards" are tied, so we'll try both this quarter and see how it goes. Details on that to come in the next update, when the quarter will officially be over.

In the meantime, you can prep your stuff! It'd make sense to nominate projects that show up in the Flickr pool, so that I can access the photos to post them here on the blog, and so people can see photos of what they're voting on. Meaning, make sure you go over and put photos of anything you want to potentially be nominated for a quarterly CoB award into the Flickr pool. :D If anyone has some objection to that, drop me a line and let me know!

Also, I'm not thinking of limiting the number of nominations one person can make, you can absolutely nominate stuff you made yourself (though it would be nice if you nominated other people's stuff, too ;)), and even if you've never checked in, if you're on the roster, you can feel free to nominate something.

If you have an idea for an awards category, either leave it in your comment or e-mail it to me. :D

Roundup of Week 11: What We Crafted From March 14-20

• Elabeth put up gobs of paper flowers and stuff for her shop sale, took pictures of the grandbaby, made bobby pin button-things button and talked about my circle punch too much. (Hee. ;)) She also shares with us the secret of how she has a grandson at 37, but not the secret of her eternal youth (dang ;)). Read about it on her blog.
• Jessica made a washcloth from a pattern stitch in her stitch-a-day calendar, was inspired by food-named patterns in said calendar to do a Knitting Linguist Cooks series with patterns plus recipes on her blog (so cool!), made peach and oatmeal cookies (which sound interesting, and better than oatmeal raisin ;D), started making mini Weasley sweaters for Christas ornaments, bought her cap and gown, made more oatmeal cookies and posted the recipe on her blog, bought yarn for some fingerless gloves for her "son" Yong (is this something else that might prompt secret sharing? ;)), and mostly finished her Harry Potter bag.
• Sarah made 3 new necklaces and a bracelet, improved her brass patina-izing technique, and discovered that a sketch pad and persistence make good weapons in banishing her creative blocks (awesome! You should do a blog post! ;)) and the resulting bald patches. ;)
Velma made "the world's hawtest SOCK" using her own hand-dyed yarn. Read about it on her blog.
• Halloweentango (Michelle) worked on her inspiration book/journaled, and worked on a crocheted hat from her very own handspun! Read about it on her blog.

Check-in for Week 12: What Have You Done Lately? (March 21-27)

What I did this week:

This has been the year's most appalling week. Five out of the seven days have been marked by people being amazingly rude, insulting and irrational toward me — several different people, even. It's like it was all stored up to unleash on me this week. ;) The rest of my time has been filled in with finishing my final projects for two out of the last three classes for my Web design diploma. So I literally didn't get any crafting done except for a tiny, tiny bit that I squeezed in at the last second on Saturday: I knit a single row of my TwitKAL Wandering Woman shawl. I've been reading a little bit of a book that arrived this week, too: Mary Thomas's Book of Knitting Patterns, which is great for neat knitting stitch patterns and their behaviors. I think I'll be drawing on it a lot in my future pattern designs, but I haven't worked on any of them this week ... so Saturday stands alone as my crafting day this week. Serious ugh this week. (At least I'll know which week was the crappiest this year if it comes up on a quiz, unless there's another waiting for me out there. ;))

What did you craft this week?

(Don't forget to use the standard check-in format on the rules page! And don't forget to post any awards category ideas you have for the quarterly CoB awards!)

Safe space and creativity: a little taste of a big idea

Funny how just when I was thinking Hey, this Craft or Bust thing has really been working out for me, surprisingly well! I hit a wall. This week has been probably my least productive of the year. And it has a lot to do with something else I can't get out of my head this week — the recurring theme of safe space being connected to creativity. Because I'm not feeling so mentally hot right now, I won't try to go into great detail. I'll just say this: For me, if for no one else, and I think probably it isn't just me, being truly creative requires safe space. Not a space that's insipid and sheltered, but a space where I feel comfortable expressing what's truly me. Sometimes this space has to be created through rebellious acts — defying convention and taking that safe space, come hell or high water, no matter what anyone thinks of you — and sometimes safe space is a gentle thing, a retreat, like an obscure clearing in the woods with a little brook and softly falling leaves.

The bottom line, though, is that I can't create well without a safe space. I can create haphazardly, in a way that doesn't satisfy me, in a way that I look back on and see the holes in where I didn't fill in everything that I was thinking or feeling at the time, that make the piece feel incomplete or false. But to create anything that resonates with me, I need safe space.

And this week my safe space has been pretty nonexistent. No gory details, I promise. Just that little note, as an explanation of why I have been largely silent and unamusing on virtually all counts.

On the other hand, before my creative lines went dead, I was brewing a few new ideas that should help my rock my shadow artist to sleep, if I ever get out of this shattered-safe-space-induced funk. More on all those things later. For now, send positive vibes. Send geeky ideas. Send your belief in me and my creativity and intrinsic creative weirdness. My safe space is now under reconstruction. (And I will get my weekly craftiness in. I know I can work on just one thing before Sunday. And that's the beauty of Craft or Bust.)

Craft or Bust Week 11 Check-In and Roundup (March 14-20)

Notes & Announcements

We're nearing the end of the first quarter of the year! We should do something to mark the milestone, and I have a couple of thoughts (uh-oh ;)). Take my little poll here and let me know what yours are, okay?




The poll will close at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern time) Saturday, so I can work with the results in next week's CoB update. :D As far as I'm concerned, anyone on the roster can vote (and nominate projects, if we end up doing that), regardless of whether they've checked in at all so far this year.

Roundup of Week 10: What We Crafted From March 7-13

• Meredith M posted to her lonely blog after two weeks — hurrah! — about mixed goodness and not-so-goodness. (Welcome back, too. ;)) Knitting Olympics = not-so-goodness, but she made some awesome baby stuff to make up for it, and cast on a bright aqua lacy vest. Read about it on her blog.
• Jessica finished the good Mr. Richard's hat (fanfare!) and knit some more of the Harry Potter bag, built a blanket fort (now I want to, too), wrote a Harry Potter fan fiction, made a buttermilk cake (mmmm), and invented a new recipe for muffins with strawberry yogurt in them. (That reminds me that I need to try the muffins-with-yogurt recipe I have stuck on the fridge with a magnet...)
• Halloweentango (Michelle) did more yarn-spinning (obYay!). And that's enough. ;D Read about it on her blog. (BTW, glad you like the CoB tab. Still haven't figured out how to get it to be colored, obviously...)
• Velma made art yarn, recapped her Ravelympics, started and abandoned socks (yay/awww), stashed lots of yarn, did a shop update (woo!), and started yet more socks (more??? ;)). Read about it on her blog.
• Elabeth made a ton of paper flowers to decorate her yarn store (ooOoooo — photo here), put together shelves for the shop (photo), taught a dye class (oooOOoo!), got a circle punch, which is not as painful as it sounds and in fact warranted great excitement ;), and took a photo of her grandson as the Bubble Pope. LOL! Photo here. Although the "grandson" part has me stymied. Elabeth. You look like a 21-year-old friend of mine. Seriously.

Check-in for Week 11: What Have You Done Lately? (March 14-20)

What I did this week:

Sunday, I started spinning the recently-carded bright blue Texel wool with silver BOMBits from Velma's shop, learned how to make custom brushes and swoosh graphics in Illustrator, and created some side-of-logo graphics to keep the white space from looking so friggin' white on the Star & Crossbones Web site. Monday was last week's off day. Tuesday, I created a resources page for my hairpin lace group on Ravelry, photographed two custom chain mail bracelets Brian made, finished spinning the Texel/BOMBits, rescued a UFO handspun, i.e., started spinning it again (a some-wool-breed/Bombyx silk blend that was gifted to me), weighed out fiber for a new handspun yarn, wound off some singles remnants that were occupying a bobbin for no particular reason, and spun two yarn samples to send to some test-knitters. Wednesday, I photographed some handspun for the Etsy shop and worked on redesigning the crafty biz Web site. Thursday, I took some arguably lame computer-cam photos of myself for the bio page on the Web site, photographed some more handspun for the shop, spun a little more of the rescued wool/silk fiber, and worked a little bit on my semi-abandoned TwitKAL shawl in hopes of preventing it from taking on true UFO status. Friday, I sorted through a random pile of craft supplies taking up space in the craft room, created some databases for behind-the-scenes admin functionality on the S&C site and hid the admin pages behind a password wall, and wrote a super-rough draft of a blog post containing thoughts on CoB so far. Saturday, I did some final tinkering on the Web site and finally got it uploaded. I also spun another whole skein of yarn (gasp!) for the shop, started spinning a new art yarn, sketched some ideas for knitting patterns, and knitted a little on the Silken Scabbard sweater, also in hopes of keeping it from getting sucked into the UFO pile.

I guess I did okay. ;D

What did you craft this week?

(Don't forget to use the standard check-in format on the rules page!)

What peeves you off as a customer?

Spelling errors. Crappy coupons. Slow customer service.

What are your customer peeves?

Everyone has them. We're all consumers (unless we're hermits with self-sustaining farms, to whom, if they exist, I say: power to you!), so we've all had less-than-sterling customer experiences. And while some people use their peeves to get goodies out of big corporations (dear, dear book store customers who complain when special-ordered books can't arrive next-day...), the rest of us, we nurture our secret annoyances, share them with select family and friends, maybe write a blog post or two — or tweet — about it, and just try to avoid putting ourselves in a place where we have to deal with that crap.

For myself, I have a few mini-peeves that don't really count — things that I notice, but that don't make me avoid doing business with a person, place or thing again. You know. Typos on product packaging. Useless, placeholder Web sites with nowhere to click and not even a pretty picture to look at. Offering an e-mail link but never answering my (admittedly usually non-imperative) e-mails.

And then there are the Real Peeves. Things that make me avoid a business — things that inspire me to complain about that business when people mention it in my presence. Like treating your employees badly. Blatantly caring more about sales numbers than about customer satisfaction. Using cheap, non-sustainable, toxic or unhealthy materials just because it increases the immediate profit margin. Acting friendly to lure customers to your site, but then hitting them with promotional pitches as soon as they get there. Using gimmicks that follow the latest trend, without actually believing in the values behind the trend (e.g., selling products labeled "organic" just because they're popular, or using pop-culture words or names just because it will garner more search engine hits). Wasting people's time and devaluing their business by inviting everyone to your party (i.e., Web site, shop, whatever) just to increase visits, and then catering mostly to a select group of customers that could easily have been targeted in the original advertising.

Basically, I'm willing to forgive unintentional human flaw. (Nobody's perfect!) Heck, I welcome the occasional minor human flaw in a business, as long as it isn't unethical. Seeing the flaws keeps the business looking like it's run by humans. A business can even earn bonus points with me by noticing a flaw or mistake and fixing it — that shows goodwill and a desire to make improvements, and if it's based on customer feedback, all the better. If a business is willing to learn from mistakes and take real action toward positive change, they get points, and enough points translates to my support and/or my business. Simple and positive. :D (And it even holds true for big mistakes.)

But I am so NOT willing to forgive purposeful disrespect of humans or resources. I hate it when people and businesses behave selfishly, not out of fear or ignorance, but purely for personal benefit, and I especially hate it when they think they can be fake and fool people into trusting them anyway. Ugh. That's an easy way to lose me as a customer and gain me as an outspoken detractor.

...You aren't me, though, and now I'm curious. Since everyone's different, I'm sure you have different peeves than I do. I'd love to hear your snark — so tell me, if you will! I'm not talking lawsuit material here — those are stories for another campfire ;) — although if you have a juicy story about a major mishap that you needed to haul out the lawyers for, and you're just dying to share it — have at! Otherwise, burn a few brain bytes and share: What annoying business practices make you avoid giving a business your money?

To those who are about to comment, thanks for speaking out. Together we can make the business world a less annoying place. ;)

Wool, transformed: from locks to roving, by hand

Anyone remember this wool?



I started carding it in Week 7 of Craft or Bust. When I bought it last October, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it — you know. It was one of those fibery impulse buys. I liked the colors, I wanted to give the shop owner a sale ... and that planning thing is overrated. ;) (Some of science's most famous discoveries were accidental! And there's a story about how the therapeutic qualities of lavender were discovered, too. But anyway.)

After it aged in the stash a little, I decided I wanted to separate the colors. Of course, since the wool wasn't dyed in a way that produces neat, orderly little packets of color, there's a lot of variation and color overlap even within a single lock of wool. (This is fine with me, since it will produce yarn with a depth of color rather than one with a flat, even color.) There were only 2.2 ounces of it, and that's almost the amount I get out of one batt on my drum carder, so out came the hand carders. And voila:



Each little ball was carded as a batch (a tiny batt, if you will) on the carders, then removed, rolled into a rolag, and pulled into roving. Looks a lot neater now, doesn't it? :D There's still some texture in the roving, a few slubs here and there, because honestly, I wasn't in the mood to make obsessively smooth spinning fiber. Some days, with some wool, it seems like too much effort. And I don't mind texture. The yarn that comes out of this will definitely have some personality. :D

Can you guess what the finished yarn will look like? ;)

Craft or Bust Week 10 check-in and roundup (March 7-March 13)

Notes & Announcements

No announcements this week. :D

Roundup of Week 9: What We Crafted From Feb 28-Mar 6

• Jessica started a new pair of socks, almost finished Richard's hat, knit a few rows of the Harry Potter bag, did the light plot for a play she's lighting (cool!), made buttermilk cookies and buttermilk raspberry cake (whoa), and translated a Beatles song into Russian (funny ;)).
• Halloweentango (Michelle) is still working on the Pine Forest Baby Blanket, spun some yarn for the VERY FIRST TIME!, joined the Colorbombers spin-along, worked on her Artfire shop, and made greeting cards with her artwork on them. Read about it on her blog.
• Velma checked in for Week 8 AND Week 9 by saying she did a lot of Ravelympicing in Week 8, and a lot of dyeing in Week 9. Read about it on her blog.
• LunabudKnits aka Stephanie Stratton finally finished her turquoise shawl — neverending no longer! It went with her Mom to Japan as a gift for her sister-in-law as she waits to have her baby. She also spun another skein of BFL and got ready to dye two skeins of alpaca yarn.
• Elabeth used her Silhouette machine to make sale signs for the yarn store, worked on her February Lady sweater (see blog post here), and went to Hobby Lobby for RAK supplies (oooOOooo).

Check-in for Week 10: What Have You Done Lately? (Mar 7-Mar 13)

What I did this week:

Sunday appears to have been my day off crafting. ;) Monday, I weighed and separated some dyed BFL top for spinning yarn samples, finished laying out the Princess in the Wilds fingerless gloves knitting pattern, and put up the pattern for sale on Ravelry (yayyyyy!). Tuesday, I listed Princess in the Wilds in my Etsy shop, played with beadmaking supplies, and made six sets of stitch markers. Wednesday, I photographed the stitch markers and listed some of them on Etsy, and spun a tiny test skein of the Merino wool I've been carding. Thursday, I spun a BFL sample skein. Friday, I worked on the Star and Crossbones Web site redesign, listed some chain mail jewelry on Etsy, and spun one ply of a new yarn for the shop. Saturday, I entered a spinning fiber giveaway on the Spin Knit and Life blog (go check it out!), finished spinning and plying the new yarn for the shop, picked and carded the remaining blue Texel wool I started a while ago, and worked a little more on the site redesign.

(And it's another one of those weeks where, looking back at it from the end, I did a lot more than I thought I did...)

What did you craft this week?

(Don't forget to use the standard check-in format on the rules page!)

New Help for Haiti knitting pattern available

My first for-sale pattern is up in the Etsy shop, and you can also buy it through Ravelry from my knitting patterns page (no need to be a Ravelry member, either)! Woohoo!


Princess in the Wilds
(a Help for Haiti pattern)


75% of the price of any purchases of the pattern will be donated to Haiti disaster relief. I know I'm a little late to the game, but they still have a lot of cleaning up to do, and many groups are still taking donations, so I'll be donating most of the proceeds from this pattern indefinitely. I wanted to help more than I did, and hopefully I can do it through this pattern. If you didn't get a chance to donate before, or you missed out on most of the Help for Haiti knitting pattern stuff in January/February, well, here's another little thing you can do. :D Feel free to tell your friends, too, of course. I'd love to be able to make a sizable donation.

Craft or Bust week 9 check-in and roundup (Feb 28-Mar 6)

Notes & Announcements

Welcome to Month 3 of Craft or Bust. Onward...

Roundup of Week 8: What We Crafted From Feb 21-27

• Halloweentango (Michelle) worked on the Pine Forest Baby Blanket for the Ravelympics. (Did you get your massages-and-wine reward?) Read about it on her blog.
• Sarah had a sniffle delay, but still managed to work on greenifying her craftiness by taking apart flea market treasures. She made jewelry, started studying up on soldering, tried a new cookie recipe, and created a Twitter account. Hurrah! Let's everyone follow her! (As for the Craft or Bust presence on Twitter that you mentioned in your check-in comment, it's mostly my check-in announcements, but you can always use the hash-tag #craftorbust on anything you want to show off as part of the CoB effort!)
• Elabeth has been working on her Shalom cardigan (link to her Ravelry project page), and it just needs a teeny bit of finishing. She finished a novelty yarn sample scarf for her shop (that stuff really sells like hotcakes still? For some reason I thought the knitting world was over that ... or maybe I'm thinking of a specific subset of it ... and hey, power to you. ;D) She also got a Silhouette die cutter and made a YARN ZOMBIE STICKER! OMG. So ridiculous. In a good way, of course. Totally make t-shirts.
• Jessica finished her Ravelympics socks, made a Black Forest cake, and worked some more on finishing Mr. Richard's hat (I think I keep calling him that because I don't know him personally, or maybe I'm in a Regencyish mood ;)).

And that's it for last week. Where the heck did everyone go? Maybe everyone's fingers were frozen and you were hoping March would thaw you out? ;)

On the off chance that there's something wrong with my blog keeping people from checking in, do e-mail me at crystal@starncrossbones.com and let me know. Thanks, dear CoBers. :D

Update: Thanks to Elabeth and Jessica, I unearthed the two check-ins from last week that were languishing in my inbox. Duhhhh. I should have checked my moderation page before asking where everyone was. I just had this crazy idea that because I was actually watching my inbox for check-ins last week, I hadn't missed any. (I know, what was I thinking?? ;))

Check-in for Week 8: What Have You Done Lately? (Feb 28-Mar 6)

What I did this week:

Sunday, I wrapped up some test-knitting stuff for Princess in the Wilds and finished my Scrapilicious Mini Tote UFO (my final Ravelypics medal). Monday, I bought a digital copy of Interweave Knits Fall 2009 (which will become notable later in the week) and knit on my Silken Scabbard sweater (must ... finish ... before it gets permanently warm...). Tuesday, I tested and adjusted a new teeny tiny pattern, finished reading a book (creativity recharge!), and knitted more Silken Scabbard. Wednesday, I fixed the test-knitter registration form. Yayyy! I also did some of the writing exercises in Book in a Month and worked yet more on the sweater. Thursday, more writing exercises, more sweater. Friday, I bought some supplies for a new stitch marker project (shh, it's a secret for now ;)), spun a test skein of yarn, carded a bit of Merino wool, and knitted a buttload on the Silken Scabbard.

What did you craft this week?

(Don't forget to use the standard check-in format on the rules page!)

And on the last day of the Olympics

I finished a long-time UFO.


Yes, those are the closing ceremonies in the background, and as the Olympics ended, as the Ravelympics draw to a close on their last day, I got in one last project: I finished my long-abandoned Scrapilicious Mini Tote, transforming it forever into the Olympic-licious Mini Tote. Hurrah.

Congratulations to Canada, to every Olympian in Vancouver this year, and to all this year's Ravelympians. May your courage and your tools of choice never fail. ;D

Craft or Bust Week 8 check-in and roundup (Feb 21-27)

Notes & Announcements

Happy last day of the Ravelympics/2010 Winter Olympics! If I miss something in this week's check-in and round-up, just let me know ... My brain has been all wrapped up in the crazy sports and knitting events of the past couple of weeks. ;)

Roundup of Week 7: What We Crafted From Feb 14-20

• Velma was a multi-medalist in the Ravelympics with 3 WIPs finished, a hat knitted, and 3 UFOs frogged. Woohoo! She also took her required daily photos and read two books. Read about it on her blog.
• Jessica cast on some socks for the Ravelympics, tried to make a lemon meringue pie and experienced epic failage (but hey, at least she tried ;)), made oatmeal cookies that did not fail, put together a Lego car, and watched a metric ton of hockey (which, er, teaches creativity, even if it isn't a craft, right?).
• Sarah made more shiny things and oxidized them, ate marshmallows, made an attack on a flea market and got away with more trinkets, felt pressured by my CoB updates to be funny (oops ;)), and resolved to make a light bulb terrarium (which I'm sure we'll get to see when it happens ... right?).
• Halloweentango (Michelle) finished sorting photographs (and light shone down from above), uploaded sunsets to an online gallery, studied lace knitting, made yummy chocolate cake, started knitting some new lace, and won two Ravelympics medals. Read about it on her blog.
• ThisGoodLife (Anna) was back with us last week after a little hiatus ... Send her and her family positive thoughts, because her grandmother just died, and she found out while she was crafting newspaper and phone book pots. Erk. She and her father made a picture show, which certainly counts as crafty ... Read about it on her blog (and leave nice comments!).
• LunabudKnits aka Stephanie Stratton finished some more of her neverending turquoise shawl (which I'm sure will be lovely :D), started carding some alpaca, shared her puni method, and carded some BFL (hey, I was dyeing BFL this week — maybe it's contagious! ;)).

Check-in for Week 8: What Have You Done Lately? (Feb 21-27)

What I did this week:

Sunday, I sent out some more test-knitting packages, bought a set of dedicated measuring spoons for dyeing with, bought a new display item for craft shows, organized my Ravelry queue (made sure everything was in a category findable in a tab, and deleted some old things that weren't available any more or that I've grown beyond wanting to knit). Monday, I wrote my CoB RAK wish list and finally sent the consolidated wish list file to everyone who sent one in (e-mail me and let me know if you want a copy but didn't send in a wish list yourself), started dyeing a bunch of BFL roving to make into yarn for the Etsy shop, received my first feedback from a test knitter, organized my test-knitting files, worked on updating the test-knitting form but didn't get it working the way I wanted so it isn't uploaded yet, sent some more test-knitting packages, and knitted on the second Filey sock for the Ravelympics. Tuesday, I made hot and sour soup, picked out some beads for making a test-knitter's compensatory stitch markers, finished knitting the Filey socks FINALLY!, made a page on the blog for my knitting patterns (see the little link at the top? ;)), picked up some abandoned Colonial wool and my neglected drop spindle and spun a little yarn to test the product of my wrist distaff pattern, packaged up a RAK, and wrote drafts of two more tiny knitting patterns. Wednesday, I got hooked up as a Ravelry designer, sent my RAK, picked up a cross-stitching project from B's mom, bought more vinegar to dye with, re-started knitting on my Scrapilicious Mini Tote UFO for the Ravelympics and then had to stop and wash a ball of yarn that had escaped and gotten dirty, started writing out some detailed gusset instructions for my pattern being tested, and spun a little more Colonial wool on the drop spindle. Thursday, I talked to a friend of mine about an artsy collaboration for his company, dyed some more BFL top, and ... did my taxes, which isn't crafty, but involves my crafty business. ;) Friday, I dyed some more BFL top and worked on my Silken Scabbard UFO for the Ravelympics. Saturday, I finished the detailed gusset instructions and sent them to the test knitting group, wrote myself a writing pep talk, did some plot work for the Ancient Book Project, and ripped out and re-knitted a bit of the Silken Scabbard that I messed up while watching Apolo Ohno skate.

HOLY CRAP. The Ravelympics have apparently inspired me. ;) So.

What did you craft this week?

(Don't forget to use the standard check-in format on the rules page!)

Ravelry is for Designers!

First, the hug monster pattern that I tested a couple of weeks ago is up on Ravelry for purchase — yayyy! Check it out! (It's worth it just to see the pirate version. ;))

Also, momentous news! I. Have. Been. Hooked up as a designer on Ravelry.

Behold, my profile now shows that I Design Patterns:



(The blue arrow points to the hug monster I made with that pattern I just mentioned.)

My official designer page is here, but I haven't done anything special to it yet, so it's just an echo of my personal profile ... with my designs attached at the bottom.

HURRAH.

:D

Craft or Bust Week 7 check-in and roundup (Feb 14-20)

It feels like it's been a year since the last check-in, for me. Can't tell what's going on with my sense of time, there. Anyway, this week we're joined in Craft or Bust by Courtney! Woohoo! No links to her online presence at the moment, though ... booo. ;) Her CoB goals are:

1) Complete six quilts in 2010.
2) Experiment with new bag patterns. Complete at least one a month.
3) Get creative with knitting projects. Don't just stick with favorites even though patterns are comforting.
4) Create a new meal every Sunday
5) Start a window garden.

Also, I have been a slacker on getting the RAK lists out. I'll send them today, though, to those of you who have expressed interest, and maybe I'll even put them into a post. ;)

And did you notice the link at the top of the blog to the page with all the CoB stuff on it? :D I haven't figured out yet how to make the tabs show up as a color instead of creepily floating little links, but anyway, CoB stuff should be easier to find now.

/announcements DONE!

Roundup of Week 6: What We Crafted From Feb 7-13]

• Velma summed up her Week 6 thusly: "Ravelympics + 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse book signing + Valentine's Day embroidery." Read about it on her blog.
• Jessica finished her bat shawl, despite the necessity of frogging, and blocked it — go, knitter, go! There was a convenient snow day, on which she baked bread, roasted a chicken, and made Rice Krispies treats. (Geez, you should come visit my house on snow days — not that we have them here...) She also made a vanilla pudding pie and knit about 6 inches of a hat for the dear Mr. Richard. Nice!
• Sarah made and photographed a bunch of new jewelry, "prodded my new webpage hopefully, but found no signs of an emerging blog," (I just had to quote that because she keeps saying the funniest things in her check-ins ;)), and made French marshmallows. (To which I would like to say: OMG.) Even if she also "learned a valuable lesson. Rose syrup is not the same thing as rose water. Rose syrup is like the vanilla syrup you'd pour in your latte, and rose water is like vanilla extract, and if you use the same amount of rose water in a recipe that called for rose syrup, what you get are marshmallows that taste like rubbing alcohol and potpourri, but that keep your home smelling rosy for days." (I feel like a lazy bum quoting so much, but seriously, Sarah is Teh Funny. And also lives near enough that I should go steal some of her chocolate marshmallows, or the coconut rum(!!) ones.)
• Meredith C posted twice to her blog (woo!), finished and blocked a stole, made mole and fresh tortillas (you guys are seriously kicking my butt on the foodiness), swatched her alpaca/silk handspun, joined the knitting Olympics, and cast on a shrug and a baby onesie. Holy whoa. Read about her productive week on her blog here and here.
• Halloweentango (Michelle) finished her first lace piece (AWESOME!) and learned some new stitches doing so (MORE AWESOME!), worked on the TwitKAL shawl, finished a pen drawing, and continued sorting through photographs. Read about it on her blog.
• Lunabudknits, a.k.a. Stephanie Stratton flicked, carded, and spun a skein of yarn from a fleece. (Which I also need to do. ::looks guiltily at bags of fleece piling up in craft room::) She also worked on her turquoise shawl, persevering against the apparent lack of progress that happens in the last part when you're knitting like a million stitches in a row. She also picked an alpaca fleece so she could start carding it. Mmm. Alpaca.

Check-in for Week 7: What Have You Done Lately? (Feb 14-20)

What I did this week:

Sunday, I had B do a photo shoot with me so I could finally test the fingerless gloves pattern, knitted on the TwitKAL shawl, turned the heel and powered through the gussets of Filey sock 1, and wrote up some documentation for prospective test-knitters. Monday I worked more on the test-knitter files and did a ton of work on building database-driven content for the Web site redesign (although I'm nowhere near finished). Tuesday I finished Filey sock 1, cast on Filey sock 2, and knit 2/3 inch of cuff ribbing (so THERE, Second Sock Syndrome!). And to throw in some food stuff because I'm feeling left out, I made Chinese longevity noodle soup with joi choi, enoki mushrooms and Thai hot peppers. :D Wednesday, I worked more on the test-knitter documents (I can hear you yawning ;)), posted my call to test knitters for the fingerless gloves, sent out the first test-knitting packages, sorted and started hand-carding some hand-dyed Merino clouds, and knit a few rows on Filey sock 2. Thursday, I finished writing a knit wrist distaff pattern, knit two wrist distaffs, photographed them, and posted the pattern here on the blog and in the Ravelympics finish line thread, thereby earning my first Ravelympics medal EVER! :D I also put in my request on Ravelry to be hooked up as a designer so I can edit my own pattern listings. Friday, I sent some more test-knitting packages to new testers and worked on Filey sock 2. Saturday, I looked up some steeking information with fixing my mom's tank top in mind, did some math in preparation for dyeing a big (big for me...) batch of fiber, and knit what felt like a ton on Filey sock 2 (from halfway through the leg all the way through the beginning of the gussets).

WHEW. I guess it feels like a year since the last check-in since I've done almost as much in one week as I did in all of last year. ;) Sooo...

What did you craft this week?

(Don't forget to use the standard check-in format on the rules page!)

Writing a book with a published author!

That sounds all fancy, doesn't it? ;) And of course I'm full of crap — but not completely.

What's up: I just discovered Holly Lisle's Write a Book With Me project, which reminds me of Craft or Bust, in a way. In Write a Book With Me, you...

• Work on any project you choose.
• Join any time.
• Check in any time.
• Try to write a little bit on a regular basis.
• Don't worry about missing a day, a month, or more.
• Have fun; no guilt.
• Aim to finish your book.

And in CoB, you:

• Join whenever.
• Stay as long as you like.
• Have fun; be inspired; show off your achievements.
• Try to check in every week, but if you don't, no worries.
• Try to craft regularly, even if it's only a little bit.
• Work on any project or projects you choose.
• Set your own goal(s).

Anyway, if you've checked it out at all (or even if you haven't), the subtitle to my blog reads "One little pirate chick spins yarn, knits, weaves, sews, writes, babbles, runs a crafty business, talks about speculative fiction and reality, and chases dreams."

You may have noticed I haven't done much of the speculative fiction or writing bits, even though they're a large part of why I changed the blog from plain old "Quicksilver Crafter" to "Quicksilver Crafter 2.0." But! I have a Cunning Plan. I just signed up for Holly Lisle's "Crash Revisions" mini-workshop on SavvyAuthors.com, to learn how to revise a novel in seven days — even though I don't have a finished novel. Ha, ha. ;D (Three halves of unrelated novels do not a finished book make.) Can you see my thinking? The mini-workshop is March 28. I have over 50,000 words written already. And if I write every day from now through March 27, I'll be at least 8,000 words closer to finishing my novel. Maybe I'll even be finished.

And that's however much closer to that elusive, decades-old goal: having a novel written! :D :D :D

BTW, I have NaNoWriMo to thank for what I have written so far, but also to thank for the multiple book projects, since I wasn't sure, the first time I did NaNoWriMo, whether I would end up writing complete drivel, so I started a new project rather than work on the one I had going, which I didn't want to derail with drivel. ;)

More later, after I ponder whether I'll really be joining Write a Book With Me. Regardless, I need an attack plan to get That Darn Book (or any one of them) finished. Finally.

To steek, or not to steek?

Once upon a time, I knit a tank top for my mom in under a week. It was Christmas, and I was determined. Held my own little endurance-knitting contest. WIN! It was finished in time. It was beautiful. I gave it to her. DONE.

But there was one flaw in the performance: The top was knit in the round from bottom to top, and although I bound off reeaaaaallly loosely for the neckline, as my mom puts it, her head is too big for the hole. ;) (It does fit over her head, but I take it she doesn't like how it feels when she pulls it on.) The neckline in question:



So I took the thing back and told her I'd fix it. I don't want it just sitting in her clothing pile, wasting away for lack of attention. I could just undo the bind-off (little though I relished that idea) and re-bind-off with a much stretchier method. Right? Sure ... As I tried to make off with it, she asked me one of those questions that non-knitters ask with such nonchalance, but that make knitters cringe: "Can you just put a slit in the front?"

I told her that would probably be a little bit beyond me, but because my brain works like this, the idea keeps popping back into my head. I hate to think a thing is impossible, and the more I think about it, the more I remember that to give a good gift, one should give what's wanted and not what one wants to give ... and I'm one of those people who gets crazy ideas, and likes the idea of doing the crazy thing just to show it can be done, never mind whether it's the most practical thing. I could do any number of other things to make the neckline looser; I could even undo part of it and reknit it back-and-forth to make a slit in the front. But like I said, I'm a little crazy. So here I am, thinking of steeking the thing. And I've never steeked before.

I looked up some steeking resources this afternoon. Kristin Nicholas waxes poetic about steeking on her blog, and over some sweaters that look totally worth it. Mary Ann Stevens wrote a nice, thorough tutorial on how to steek, including her fancy (and currently incomprehensible to me, but still very attractive) covered steeking method. The more I read about steeking, the more I want to try it. Those colorwork sweaters are so pretty (and so impractical for the semitropical Floridian clime), and it looks like it'd be fun to knit a tube sweater and then cut holes for the sleeves (never mind that I'm not sure what that style of sweater looks like on me) ... but none of that answers the question of whether a steek will easily solve my mom's tank top problem, or whether it will be more likely to make me want to stab myself with my knitting needles because I have now created a completely mucked-up tangle of yarn that dreams of the days when it was a tank top.

Maybe I'm ahead of myself. Maybe there are people reading along who are like What the F is a steek???? and/or Why are steeks so scary, already??

Well, this is what a steek is: It's a place where you cut a big hole in your knitting and try to force the thing not to unravel. It's a little like purposefully putting a huuuge run in your stockings because you want them to button up the front — or really, a little worse, because a run is more like a dropped stitch, not a big fat wad of cut ends. (Want to see some scary scissors + knitting photos? Check out the unreinforced steek portion of Eunny Jang's Steeking Chronicles.)

I'm dramatizing it, of course. ;) Apparently, steeking with self-loving, felty-in-a-good-way Shetland wool is virtually a breeze. But my mother's top, being a tank top, being knit for Florida weather, is not made of Shetland wool. It's not even made of wool. It's made of cotton. Slippery, smooth, cool-wearing cotton. Which is probably one of the worst things it could be in terms of steeking potential. And I'd have to put the steek in right at the shaping decreases.

Which means I should probably not try it. But still. The thought won't go away. Maybe the answer is to practice steeking ... to practice steeking a lot ... before I make the final decision. And in the meantime, I'll sneak in a new bind-off on the neckline. ;D If it works, then maybe I won't have to worry any more about steeking this particular top.

But the steeking bug has bitten. And now it's only a matter of time...

Free Knitting Pattern: Fiber Helper/Wrist Distaff

It's the week of the knitting pattern! This one's free and quick, and takes 10 or fewer yards of yarn. Of course, it won't be much use if you aren't a spinner or don't know one — but there's always room for a new craft, right? ;) Anyway, this pattern is for a wrist distaff. I'll probably make a PDF out of it later, but I wanted to post the pattern before I lost my nerve. Here 'tis.

Fiber Helper/Wrist Distaff
Design and Pattern by Crystal Calhoun
A Star & Crossbones Knitting Pattern



A tiny bit lacy, a tiny bit cabley, and they only take a tiny bit of yarn. Ta-da! A stashbuster knitting project for spinners or friends of spinners. For those of you who haven't used a wrist distaff before, there's a nice short demo video here.

Designer's notes: pattern structure

The wristband is knit flat, then joined together to become I-cord, which ends in a little bell or circle to help keep the fiber from slipping off. The "stopper" at the end is knit in the round — so you get a lot of technique for the tiny yardage. ;)

Added August 26, 2010: At least one person has also gotten a ruffled stopper using these directions. I think if you use a heavier yarn than recommended, or knit at a larger gauge than I did for some other reason, you'll probably end up with ruffles rather than a circle or a bell. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know if you end up with ruffles, or some other unexpected result, too!

Materials

• Around 10 yds of worsted-weight yarn
• Size 6 double-pointed needles

Stitch Patterns

Crossed Stitch (crs): Insert right ndl into 2nd st on left ndl, and knit. Knit 1st st on left ndl (st closest to edge of ndl). Slip both sts off left ndl at once.

And now, the knitting!

CO 4 sts. (Designer used the long-tail cast-on.) Purl one row.

Row 1 (RS): k1, crs, k1
Row 2 (WS): sl1 purlwise, p2, sl1 as if to purl tbl

Rep these two rows for 7 inches or until wristband is long enough to fit comfortably around your wrist with ease (it will need to slip on and off easily, but not be so loose that it will fall off while you're spinning). End by knitting a WS row, ready to start a RS row.

Next row, join wristband into a circle: Hold CO edge behind live stitches and, for all sts of row, knit into one live stitch and one stitch of CO edge at the same time.

Tip: If you find that easier read than done, try this technique for the wristband join row: Knit each CO/live st pair in two steps. Put the right needle tip into both the live st and the CO edge st. Hold the CO edge firmly with left hand, and draw the working yarn through the CO edge st. Then, holding the left needle as usual, draw working yarn through live st on needle. (Whew!)

Begin I-cord: Knit one row. * Without turning work, slide live sts to right end of dpn and bring working yarn to right edge of knitting; knit all sts. Rep from * until I-cord measures 4 inches, or desired length of wrist distaff.

Increase for bottom stopper and join to knit in the round:

Row/Rnd 1 (inc): kfb into all sts. (Divide sts over at least 3 dpns after the first rep of this inc row, and continue knitting stopper in the round.)
Rnd 2: Purl.

Rep these two rnds 1-3 times depending on how big a stopper you want. Knit one round. Bind off. Weave in ends. (I like to "weave in" the yarn dangling off the wristband by running it into the hollow space inside the I-cord, then bringing the needle out near the bottom of the I-cord and clipping it close to the I-cord — but not so close I cut the I-cord.)

Your fiber helper/wrist distaff is ready to help you enjoy making more yarn!

License/copyright: This pattern and items created from it are intended for personal, noncommercial use only. Please do not reproduce and/or redistribute this pattern without the designer's permission. If you're interested in using this pattern or the products of this pattern for commercial purposes, please contact the designer at crystal@starncrossbones.com. :D

Call to test-knitters: fingerless gloves are ready!

It's officially time. My first wristwarmers/fingerless gloves pattern — yes, the one I've been blathering about since late last year ;), the revised version of the gray wristwarmers design you may have seen — is ready for someone other than me to test-knit it. Dum-dum-da-DUM!


As mentioned before, I'll be giving out goodies for this test knit (and you'll probably get to choose between a couple of options). I'll also need a pretty quick turnaround — I'd like feedback by February 24. I knit one fingerless glove in one night, though, and they only take a little over 100 yards of yarn, so the deadline shouldn't be too difficult to meet. (These would probably make an easy Ravelympics medal ... wahahahaha. ;))

Vital stats for the pattern

• Yardage: 110 yards
• Yarn weight and type: smooth, evenly-spun, light worsted weight/DK to heavy worsted weight/aran (pattern includes information on two gauges)
• Yarn color (recommended): light to medium solid colors or long color repeats (like Noro yarn has) — texture will be obscured by dark colors or frequent color changes
• Recommended needles: size 7 double-pointed needles (set of 4)
• Gauge: for light worsted/DK weight yarn: 5 sts/inch; for heavy worsted/aran weight yarn: 4.5 sts/inch
• Difficulty level: beginner/advanced beginner
• Skills needed: CO, BO, knit, purl, decrease, using waste yarn, pick up and knit, reading simple charts, edited to add: knitting in the round
• Other required materials: 2 stitch markers, waste yarn (about 6 inches)

If you want to be in the Star & Crossbones test-knitting group, go to my shiny new test-knitter application form (I made it myself! OoooOOOooo!) and sign up! If you see anything wonked up about the form, BTW, email me and let me know. It's fresh off the keyboard, and I will much appreciate it if you point out anything ungood about it so I can fix it. :D The request for notification of wonked-up-ness applies across the board to the sign-up process, really.

And for the record, you absolutely do not need to be an expert knitter to test-knit. You just need to match or exceed the skill level required by the pattern, which is why I listed that tidbit of information above.

See you in the testing pool. ;D

Craft or Bust Week 6 check-in and roundup (Feb 7-13)

Notes and Announcements

Happy Chinese New Year, supercrafters! Oh, and happy Valentine's, too. ;)

New person!

This week we're joined by LunabudKnits AKA Steph, whose CoB goal(s) are: to finish all UFO's on my knitting needles; to clean, card, spin and knit a sweater out of the BFL fleece I bought last year; and to really hunker down and finish spinning my friend's alpaca fleeces so that her sister can crochet them into a blanket for her.

RAK List Update

I have currently have four RAK forms on file. If you're interested in sending/receiving crafty goodies, check out the information near the bottom of the rules page and send in your form. I'll be sending out the RAK forms by e-mail first, I think, and then maybe I'll post them somewhere around here...

Roundup of Week 5: What We Crafted From Jan 31-Feb 6

• Halloweentango (Michelle) finished a knitted RAK square, worked on her TwitKAL shawl, worked on her inspiration book (ooo, that sounds nice!), read about felting, and sorted photographs. Read about it on her blog!
• Velma spun a yarn called "Rosy Nipples" (ha, ha ;D), attended two stitch 'n bitch gatherings, and acquired new craft supplies. Read about it on her blog!
• Meredith C did a double check-in last week, in which she frogged her scarf+hood project (sniffle), worked on her stole (see the blog link for a photo!), finished her Veyla mitts, spun some yarn, swatched lace and swatched for a baby-gift project, and fought a spell of startitis. Read about it on her blog!
• Sarah bought a web domain and hosting and wished for a blog to emerge as a result ;), and learned about the need for gloves and a vise in metalworking as she was attacked repeatedly by a chasing hammer. ;)
• LunaTheFarmLady changed her blog banner, streamlined her blog's CSS, added some blog widgets, worked on her WordPress Web Shop, and started working with graphic software with the goal of putting together a flyer and brochure for her shop opening. She also finished her patternless mitt, started crocheting baby blanket squares for a friend who had a baby, got together supplies for making a Valentine garland with a friend, organized some non-fibery craft supplies with her new apprentice spinner ;D, went to Ikea for shop display supplies, put together a huge yarn order (and started working up the courage to send it in), and spun some more on her Valentine yarn. Wheeeeeew.
• Jessica finished the body of a shawl and picked up stitches for the border, cast on a Fair Isle Harry Potter bag, acquired yarn for a friend's hat, cast on the hat, made a banana cake, and started a game of six degrees of separation on her living room wall (which sounds really interesting...).
• Vickie worked on finishing her plaster shrines (blog post here), started a project for Art & Soul Vegas (blog post here), and learned to stuff arting into small moments by always having something going. Hurrah!
• Elabeth worked yet more on her knitting WIPs (so. much. knitting.) and finished a beaded bracelet WIP, with promised photos to come. ;D

Check-in for Week 6: What Have You Done Lately? (Feb 7-13)

What I did:

Sunday, I finally cast on the Hug Monster test knit (Rav link) for NattyKnits and knit the body. Monday, I finished the Hug Monster and sent my comments to the lovely designer; I also cast on Traveling Woman shawl very belatedly for the TwitKAL. Tuesday, I made a set of test lace stitch markers for me to try on TwitKAL shawl, and worked more on knitting the TwitKAL. Wednesday, I created a yards per ounce spreadsheet for my handspun yarn. (I'll be sharing it with you guys soon — as soon as it's not ugly any more. ;)) Thursday, I added a scrolling product widget to the Star and Crossbones Web site, worked on the Web site redesign (no peeking yet! ;)), converted my business logo from Photoshop to Illustrator, and prepped for the Ravelympics with a new Ravatar and some project tagging. Friday was Ravelympics Day 1! I cast on Brian's late-Christmas-gift Filey socks and knit the cuff of one sock during the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, and worked a little more on the Web site redesign. Saturday, Ravelympics Day 2, I knit to the end of the leg of Filey Sock 1, and finished one rep of Chart A on TwitKAL (actually, I made it to the beginning of the color change in the yarn — finally!).

What did you craft this week?

(Don't forget to use the standard check-in format on the rules page!)

Day 2 of the Ravelympics: Day of the Filey Sock Leg

Yesterday — Day 1 of the Ravelympics — I made it through the cuff ribbing of one of Brian's late Christmas socks, a while (I can't remember what that means; an hour? more?) after the opening ceremonies ended. Am I slow? I wasn't sure. There was one knitter who made it all the way through a pair of socks DURING the ceremonies. Sheesh. This is as far as I got:


Then, today (I'm using Baxil Standard Time, meaning even though it's technically the 14th as I write this, I haven't slept, so it's still the 13th BST), I made it through the leg of Sock 1:


And also as I type, there are eight people past the Sock Hockey finish line (Rav link). But I can see why most of them are there — most of them are knitting smallish socks, or knitting with largish yarn, or both, with one exception, who specifically noted that she knit aaaalllll day (another Rav link). The Sock Hockey progress thread (yet another Rav link) looks pretty promising, too — meaning that no one there looks like they're waaaay ahead of me.

So what gives with that one person who finished an entire pair of socks during the opening ceremonies?? Is she just the fastest knitter on the planet???

Oh.

Duh.

She used a knitting machine.

WHEW.

Guess I'm doing okay after all. :D

Of course, my poor TwitKAL has been sitting abandoned for two days, which I don't want to make a habit, or I really will end up with another UFO — and I'm right in the middle of a lace repeat, too, so if that turns into a UFO, I'll be pretty lost when I pick it up, not-terribly-complicated-pattern or not. Note to self: Finish that lace pattern repeat tonight or tomorrow.

Tomorrow's Ravelympics goal: Turn heel on Brian's Filey Sock 1, knit as much of foot as possible. If Sock 1 is finished, immediately cast on Sock 2 so as to avoid the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome.

And now, off for the night. Go teams!

O, Winter 2010 Ravelympics — let's begin!

The opening ceremonies for the Winter 2010 Olympics have begun — and so, I have cast on a new project in their honor, and as my beginning for the Ravelympics. (Yes, for once I'm not beginning late. Woooo!) I'm representing Team Hopelessly Overcommitted and Team COLORBOMBers this year, and my main event is WIPs Dancing. Yeah, if I get even two WIPs finished, I'll be satisfied.

This is my first Ravelympics, so here's hoping it's a good one. :D