julia makes stuff

Grampa's Legacy Lamp

2011-04-18T19:58:00.001-06:00

Well, I should be knitting an i-cord to finish a baby gift I need to get in the mail tomorrow, but instead I'm posting on my craftyblog.

Here's a recent finished crafty which I really love. Many years ago, my dad gave my daughter (who was probably 3 or 4 at the time) a globe that he had had for years. Now, this globe is not really all that helpful, since it's so old it has the USSR and some of the countries in Africa or Asia have since changed names, but it was a lovely tan, old-world-looking globe. It was on a pedestal and had a light inside. Sadly, my dad passed away New Year's Day 2003, but my daughter has kept his globe as a reminder of the time they had together. Flash forward to the last holiday season. . Over New Year's holiday my daughter was cleaning her room, trying to find a place for all her stuff. This globe was sitting on her dresser, taking up space, but not really serviing a purpose. She said she didn't want to get rid of it, because it was given to her by her Grandpa, and made her think of him, but she also really wanted to have some space on her dresser freed up. She also really needed a reading light over her bed. So I took the globe into my craft room, and removed it from the stand, and removed the inner light workings (they would only hold up to a 15w bulb), drilled the hole in the top of the globe bigger so that I could drop an IKEA hanging light into the hole and voila...

Grampa's Legacy Lamp

Now Grampa's Legacy Lamp can light her way. This solved both problems, how to keep a gift from a loved one who is no longer with us, but have something useful, too. I love the warmth that it exudes, and it makes me smile whenever I see it.

And now I keep looking for other things around the house to turn into a lamp or shade...

Finally, a crafty post!

2011-03-28T06:43:00.000-06:00

When last I wrote, I was feverishly trying to finish two items for donation at the March Project linus meeting. I joined one of the local chapters of Project Linus in February. We meet the second Saturday of each month at the Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center. At that first meeting I started a grannyghan with yarn leftover from a baby gift I gave in January. Below is the finished grannyghan, which was done in time to donate at the March meeting. These grannryghans are a great way to use up leftover yarn, I basically just go with one colorway until that ball runs out then start the next colorway, even if it's in the middle of the round. It still comes out looking like it was planned that way all along.

March 2011 Project Linus Donation - Grannyghan

In my last post I showed a 20" x 24" rectangle that looked more like a flag than a baby blanket. Someone else donated it to Linus the day I attended my first meeting, and I offered to take it home and make it at least baby, if not toddler sized. I wove in ends the night before the March meeting, and below is the finished blankie, which basically was enlarged by at least 6" on all sides.

March 2011 Project Linus Donation - "Operation Make-it-bigger"

I told the ladies at the March meeting not to expect 2 blankets from me every month, the only reason I finished two this month is because I had a major head start on the "Operation Make it Bigger" one.

I've got some more finished crafts and pics to show, but I think I'll save them so I can post a little mopre frequently over the next few weeks.

I enjoyed myself much more at the March meeting, there were quite a few more ladies present, and the entire mood and vibe was friendlier and more fun. The person I had thought was in charge was actually just filling in, and the real chairperson is friendly and inviting. Sadly, none of the other yarncrafters I invited showed up, so it was just me and one other person working with yarn again. I won't give up until I increase their ranks. *evil laugh*

It's been how long?

2011-03-07T06:06:00.000-07:00

Oooops! I haven't updated here in a couple of weeks. darn. My goal was weekly crafty updates. Ok, so what's been happening in jewells' crafty world?

Stashbusting, the recipient of which will be Project Linus. Someone donated this tiny 20 x 24 inch blanket which I am crocheting around granny-square style in a project I lke to call "Operation make-it-bigger".

I'm using complimentary multicolored brown/black/cream yarn first, then just solid cream (which I've nearly finished my skein) and I'll border with either black or brown.

I also started a grannyghan (basically a granny square that you just keep going on until it's blanket-sized) with leftover pinks, purples, and purple multi at February's PL meeting that is very nearly finished. This Saturday is the March meeting, so I'll be sure to take pics of these two finished so I can post two more FO (finished objects) here.

Haven't yet made the last two PoDBoW blocks, but I'm on sweet sweet vacation next week so I plan to get caught up on everything then.

There, a short crafty post. More pics next time, I promise!

What UFO?

2011-02-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

So this past week, during the season premier of Survivor: Redemption Island, I finished another UFO. That's right, 2nd month of the year, 2nd UFO complete.

The story of the Crocheted Amish Afghan begins in March 2010. Having recently taught myself to crochet I embarked upon an afghan in a book I had on my shelf, Better Homes and Gardens' Afghans to Knit and Crochet. I was going to link here to my original blog post, but I was blogging so sporadically last year that apparently I only ever posted about it on my livejournal.

Suffice it to say I started on it, had some trouble early on, and picked it up sporadically throughout the year. Since it was really just an exercise in crochet to learn new stitches and practice what I'd learned so far there was no deadline, so often it would sit ignored for months at a time while I worked on gifts and swaps.

Having determined that I was coming up on the anniversary of having started this throw, and having not finished, I decided to make it my next UFO to conquer... Finish it I did, and BEFORE it was a year-old UFO, so there! Due to working on it so sporadically and the changes in my crocheting skill and technique throughout the year it seems a bit wonky, mainly the brown triangles of shells. My original idea was to donate it to Project Linus, but I'm going to wash and dry it first. If it's still kind of poofy there I think I will maybe give it to my mom for Mothers' Day; she's always cold and likes to have this size throw near her recliner. Maybe I'll just throw it on the back of my loveseat. If the washing fixes the weird poofy corners a Project Linus blanket it will be.

Here's the pictorial evidence:

Finished Crocheted Amish Afghan

Closeup to see different types of stitches

Now I think I just have one major UFO languishing in the living room, which I'l be dragging out next, the infamous Scrappy Log Cabin (play scary music here). Don't expect it finished too soon, though... it's big and all garter stitch, so I'll mainly only be working on that when watching a movie or something kinda long. I sure hope I finish before it gets too warm, though...

Where are the Crafts?

2011-02-15T06:24:00.000-07:00

My goal in 2011 (well, starting in February at least) is to post to this so-called crafty blog weekly what I've been up to craft-wise...

I've been working on finishing up UFOs that are scattered throughout the house, one of which is this:

12" swapghan

My Swapghan!

A couple of years ago I participated in a 12" knitted/crocheted block swap hosted by Ofenjen on Livejournal. I got a few made and sent, and received the same amount back, but it wasn't enough to do anything with, really. So when my birthday rolled around later that same year Ofenjen sent me a bunch more squares. I kept them safely in their box until I could learn how to crochet so that I didn'tnhave to sew them all together. Well, last year I learned how to crochet, but didn't remember where I had stuffed this box. D'oh!

When I was cleaning my project room in December and January, I came across the box and said, "This is it. It's time these squares acheived their true purpose." Ok, maybe that's not exactly what I said, but I crocheted them together and then crocheted a border around them. Now it's sitting on the back of my sofa waiting for someone to get chilly.

Hurrah for Finished UFOs!

I've also been plugging away at hpopaperpiecing's Project of Doom Block of the Week Mystery Quilt. I'm finally caught up through Block 5 and Block 6 is released tomorrow. So, huzzah!

Having a cleaner project room is DEFINITELY adding to the productivity. I'm really looking forward to the coming Presidents' Day 3 day weekend for more craftiness to abound.

Is this a blog?

2011-02-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

So, wow, I just came over here and realized that I hadn't posted since June. June! This is a perfect example of how hectic and unorganized my life has been, be it personal or crafty or work. It's a New Year and while I won't go so far as to say it's a new me, it is a slightly more organized me... at least in the sense of crafting, that is...

Many things have happened in my crafty life and my personal and work life since that last post in June. Probably the biggest, craft-wise, is the effort I've been making to no longer be a "crafty hoarder". I have been purging my project room of supplies I've rarely, if ever, used, and rearranged a bit and made it more friendly to "drop-in" crafting... meaning I don't have to clean in order to craft anymore. I still don't have every craft supply I own in the project room, which is my ultimate goal. I still have my yarn and hooks and needles and such in other rooms, but my goal is to have all my supplies in my project room by the end of this calendar year. It's definitely doable without sacrificing all my spare time to make it happen. Purges throughout the year will help it happen.

Another thing that will help me reach my goal will be to finish my UFOs and WIPs and use up more yarn stash. On that note, I definitely need to do more charity crafting, so I'm visiting a Project Linus meeting for the first time next weekend and once I realistically look at my crafting time and how I spend it, I will set myself some goals as far as how much to finish for Linus and by when.

2011 is also the "Year of the Quilt" for me. I have vowed to complete a quilt (no size specification) from beginning to end this year. Helping me along with that is my participation in the Project of Doom as a member of the Harry Potter PaperPiecing group on Livejournal.

Go ahead, click on the banner and check it out! It's a Block of the Week Mystery Quilt designed, organized and run by my awesome bff Jennifer, and all the squares are paper-pieced. I am very new to this, so it's slow going for me and I'm already behind, but I'm looking forward to Presidents' Day Weekend to get caught up. So far I have finished Block 1 and Block 2 and I've barely started Block 3. Block 4 was released this past Wednesday, so that tells you how far behind I am. but that's ok. It's helping to make me a more confident crafter.

After getting a bit more organized in my craft room I was able to do some gift crafting this xmas. I'll leave you with a small picspam of my favorites:

Stenciled pillowcase for my DH. "He Sleeps Well"

Stenciled t-shirt for my DD

Stenciled t-shirt for my BiL

June "FO"s

2010-06-28T21:07:00.000-06:00

June is almost over. I finished several crafty items in June. First to be finished was my awesome bff Jen's birthday gift which I posted about earlier this month. Actually I think that was done late in May, but I gave it to her the first weekend of June, so I'm going to count it!

The next thing I finished was my girly ghan, which I started in March or April, and which I donated to the Linus Connection of Central Texas. Super bff Jen donated a couple of quilted wall hangings to my old boss' JDRF auction a couple of years ago, and I had promised a blanket to Linus Connection, a charity very close to her heart, as a little extra "thank you". The pattern for the grannyghan is from Lion Brand Yarn's Birds' Nest Throw, but with a different sequence of colors and # of colors and different border.

Finally, this morning I wove the ends in on another crocheted blanket I started a few weeks ago. My friend and long-time co-worker (14 years working together!) Doreen lost her dad to a heart attack late in May, and when I went to his funeral her mom just looked lost and so very shrunken up and sad. She had a stroke a few years ago and is in a wheelchair much of the time, and on the side that did not suffer from the stroke, she has been hit with Parkinson's disease. She's lucid, coherent, but has pretty much shut down since his death. It was hard to see her this way, it seems like not that long ago she was quilting up a storm and competing on the Senior Olympics basketball team, but the last few years have really taken a toll. I asked Doreen what her mom's favorite color was, and was told blue, "country colors" she said. I found a few places online telling how to make a granny a rectangle instead of square, but I didn't like how it was coming out so I modified the corners until I liked how they looked. Then it seemed to still be coming out fairly square, so I added about 5-6 inches to opposite ends before adding the border so that it was the rectangle I wanted. I looked through my stash and found the perfect two complimentary skeins (they were GIANT skeins), one of a dark country blue (Caron One Pounder - colonial blue I think?) and one that is variegated in country shades of pink/blue/lavender (Bernat Bulky Super). After one time around in the blue with just single crochet, I bordered it with the multi, single crochet through the back loops. It's now washed, dried (it came out so soft from the dryer!), and gifted, and Doreen thinks her mom will really love it. It's a bit skewed hanging there, but actually came out a perfect rectangle. You would be able to see it if I had something to hang the hanger onto a little farther away from the other hanger.

So that's June's finished objects.

As for my self-imposed "yarn embargo", the only yarn I have bought since April was to send to other people. Also, after the fright of finding an infestation in some wool, and throwing out an entire bucket of wool and alpaca and mohair, I checked all my other wool/natural fiber yarns and they were not showing signs of anything wrong. Since i knew a charity was coming around last Friday, I bagged them and donated them. All of them. Kind of like ripping off a bandaid. They will perhaps make some poor knitter's day who is on a budget and shopping at the thrift store. I feel the better for it, and no longer feel like my yarn is controlling me. I have about a half a big bucket of cotton, and quite of bit of acrylic and novelty yarns left, but about half my stash is now gone. And I'm ok, really. I'm still stashbusting and am now working to finish the Crocheted Amish Afghan I started months ago when I first learned to crochet. After that, I'm not sure what I'll tackle next... but it will likely be from stash. I still have a ways to go before I'm down to what I feel comfortable keeping "on hand". My "stash-building" days are over, and it's a good feeling.

Thank you Patons!

2010-06-18T06:07:00.001-06:00

For giving me something to post about for the third time this week! Paton's current newsletter has an interesting free pattern for crocheted socks:
http://www.patonsyarns.com/newsletters/june2010/stretchSocks_BasicCrochetSock.pdf?utm_source=ravelry&utm_medium=forum&utm_content=pdfcrochetsock&utm_campaign=PatonsJune2010

I've used this yarn to knit socks and while I did have to be careful not to stretch it too tightly while knitting, I really liked the finished result. And though I can only judge by the pattern photo, this crochet version looks like it would be more comfortable to wear in shoes than other corcheted socks I've seen. I just happen to have some of this yarn in my stash (and it's been separate from the horrible-infested-yarn-that-will-not-be-named) so I might just have to give this a try... I have some small crochet hooks lying around and bought one of those spongy handle covers to help them be more comfy to use.

I also like that it's a yarncraft that might not be too bad to do in the summer. They carry a decent selecton of Patons stretch at the HL near me, so they might have it at yours, too. When it's not on sale it's 4.99 per skein, and it takes at least 2 skeins for the pattern, but if you alter the pattern by making the leg much shorter (for ankle socks) you could maybe get by with 1 skein, although with crochet it might take 2 skeins anyway.

I'm in no way advising this pattern to anyone, just throwing it out there, as I haven't tried it myself.... but it's free, so if you crochet, why not give it a try?

BFF to the rescue!

2010-06-17T11:44:00.002-06:00

On her sewhooked blog my awesome bff Jen posted some terrific pics (way better than I could ever have taken, I assure you) of the perpetual calendar I made her for her birthday.

Here's the complete set I made her:

And here's the link to her blog where you'll find many pics of all the individual items involved.
http://blog.sewhooked.org/2010/06/14/birthdays-and-bffs/

This all started when I stumbled upon the flyer at Joann's early in March:
Perpetual Fabric Calendar : earth day : holidays: spring : Shop Joann.com

I took the flyer and starting looking it over, and decided I didn't want to do it as instructed for Jen since she is the "fabric master" as far as I'm concerned, but I really liked the idea of the perpetual calendar... it's more eco-friendly than buying kitchen or living room calendars every year, and you could really customize it for the person. And it's a gift that can be used for a really long time... well, perpetually!

I started bewing ideas, then decided I would never make up my mind, so I just went to my local quilt store, but didn't like the black and white fabric I saw there. I wandered around the store, overwhelmed by all the choices, when the coffeebean fabric jumped out at me. The whole line was there, called "espresso yourself". I saw the fabric with the colored squares and coffee cups and decided that was perfect! So I bought that and the cream colored fabric with words like "french roast" and " latte" and "columbian" as well as the awesome coffeebean fabric. Thankfully, I had the forethought to buy more than the instructions called for, because I totally changed it all up again after getting it home, lol. I didn't like the instructions for the seasonal fabric and iron-on letters for each month, so I decided I would "figure that part out later".

I had issues finding buttons to cover that would work with the coffeecup fabric, and finding enough of them here in town, so I evetually ordered them from a terrific website I found called coverbuttons.com, which I totally recommend if you ever want to, well... cover buttons. ;) They also sell pin backs and stuff to make ponytails, keychains, etc. The best part was that they gave you the choice of flat backs or actual button backs and a choice of buying them individually or in various increasing amounts. I ordered the flat backs so that it would be easier to apply the velcro dots. I had so much fun making the buttons, I think I may order more in various sizes and some flat backs pin backs and things, do make some fun buttons and pins and magnets out of fun fabric scraps I have lying around. Once I finally had all my buttons I covered them using the coffee cup fabric and stamped them with number stamps (they came with the months of the year stamp set I bought from Hobby Lobby) using Tulip Soft fabric paint in either "linen" or "chocolate" depending on the color of the coffee cup on that button.

I did the piecing as instructed but starting with 3" or 3.5" wide strips of fabric instead of the 2" called for in the pattern. I changed the pattern around a little bit as well, and used some high-thread-count natural unbleached muslin for the border. I made a freezer paper stencil for the Days of the week at the top, and painted that onto the muslin with Tulip Soft fabric paint in "chocolate". I used some coffee-themed fabric that I already had in my stash for the back, added batting, and then using the "quick-turn method" (where you lay the backing face-up on top of the batting, then lay the quilt-top face-down on the backing so that top and back are "right-sides together", pinning, sewing along all four sides with a half-inch seam allowance, leaving several inches open to turn). I, however, left the entire top open, for adding the "tabtops" later (see next paragraph). Then I turned the open edge in and pressed. I "stitched-in-the-ditch" along all the pieced "calendar grid" and in-between the days of the week and around all of that to area to quilt it, with a thread whose color was actually called "espresso" (catching on to some sort of theme? lol). Then I pinned the top including the tabs that I made for hanging (basically just a tube of fabric turned inside out, sewn up the side, and then turned rightside out and pressed with the seam in the middle of the back so it's not seen, and folded in half with raw ends together at the base) topstitched around the edge of the border, sewing an additional row at the top to make sure I secured the tabs and all of the open top so that it was all closed up.

The tab top for hanging was a change I made from the original pattern, in addition to the rectangles with the months. I stamped the months onto some of the same muslin I used for the border (using the "chocolate" fabric paint again) which I had ironed onto some stiff fusible interfacing to make it sturdier and cut into rectangles. When I got to December I realized that my stamp set was defective... the stamp that was labelled December was actually another November. :O So I had to take that back and exchange it for another set (which I made the people at HL open and check every stamp before accepting the exchange).

To finish the months, I found seasonal fabric-ribbon in the scrapbooking section of Joanns, so I picked one for each month, using cakes for April since that's Jen's birthday month . I peeled off one side of a couple of sheets of double-sided steam-a-seam and lay each "muslin month rectangle" on the sheets leaving about a ½ inch space all the way around each rectangle. I then cut those out making sure to leave an even ¼ " border of steam-a-seam all the way around each rectangle. I then cut even larger rectangles out of ecofelt. I then peeled the back side of the steam-a-seam and stuck each "muslin month rectangle" face up onto each felt rectangle, centering it as much as possible and leaving the border of steam-a-seam showing. Cutting the ribbon into 4 pieces to fit slightly longer than around the edge of the muslin rectangle, I then layered the ribbon pieces on top of the steam-a-seam borders, basically framing each month, covering the raw edge of muslin and leaving a small felt border. I made sure to stick additional scraps of steam-a-seam between ribbon pieces at the corners to help it all adhere together. Then using a press cloth so as not to melt the ribbon or the felt (which is recycled from plastic bottles) I ironed (using the cotton setting) on both sides, fusing the whole thing together!

Lastly, and integral to the calendar actually functioning as a calendar, I put a circle of E-6000 glue on each sqaure on the calendar, and while that was setting up and getting tacky I scuffed the backs of the fabric buttons and then put a circle of E-6000 on those. I then stuck the self-adhesive backs of the "fuzzy" part of the velcro dots onto the E-6000 circles on the calendar, and the "scrubby" part of the velcro dots to the E-6000 circles on the button-backs, and after a few days of drying (and airing out, whew!) it was a permanent bond (in fact, the calendar itself is machine-washable!) and the buttons could stick right to the different squares!

Because I still had fabric left, and because I felt there needed to be a place to store unneeded buttons and months, I made an envelope for the months, that closes with velcro and also fits, with the buttons, into a simple drawstring bag I made of the coffeebean fabric.

There were 5 "scrubby" sides to the velcro dots left (the calendar sqaures took more of the "fuzzy" parts than the buttons took of the "scrubby" parts), and those I glued using the E-6000 to the center of the long thin rectangle of coffeebean fabric above the days of the week. That is for the months, which, because they are backed with felt, don't need any velcro! (That was an idea I was particularly proud of, I might add, lol).

Whew! So there you have it. This is really long so I won't blame you if your eyes glaze over one paragraph in... but I'm proud to say it's done, gifted, appreciated, and hanging on Jen's wall on a cafe rod. It was my first "real" strip piecing, patchwork, and quilting, and I'm glad I did it. I think I might be able to handle a simple quilt now.

So, yeah, I'm still making stuff

2010-06-14T06:17:00.001-06:00

So, yeah, I'm still making stuff, but I've been really horrible about posting here. I'm thinking of getting rid of the craft blog altogether. I don't know. I seem to have a hard time taking pictures of my projects and then posting here. I just haven't been making the time. I'm going to try to do better this summer. Maybe I'll set a goal of minimum postings per month.

So recent crafts are, sadly, unphotographed. I crocheted a girls' throw based on the free Lion Brand pattern "Birds' Nest Throw". It was using all the pink acrylics I had laying around. I gave that to my bestest friend Jen who volunteers for a blanket charity in Austin, Texas, Linus Connection of Central Texas. It will go to a child/teen in crisis. It turned out cute, but I had misplaced my camera. If she takes a pic before donating it I will ask for permission to snag it and post it here along with a link to the Linus Connection website.

What else? For my bestest friend Jen's birthday I made a quilted perpetual calendar. The fabric line was called "Espresso Yourself" and I purchased that from Quiltworks here in Alb. I picked up the project sheet with the instructions from JoAnn's Fabrics in early March, then proceeded to change it all up, lol. No pics of that either, (see misplaced camera above). It was a mixture of quilting, gluing, freezer paper stencil and fabric paint, fabric-covered buttons, stamping fabric with fabric paint and months of the year and number stamps, etc. I should have chronicled the process. I'm thinking the next one I make will be metal with magnets, so I'm currently checking the local thrift stores for items I can repurpose for that.

My friend and coworker Doreen and I were going to work together on a baby quilt for another long-time coworker's impending grand daughter...sadly, Doreen's dad passed away a few weeks ago, and our schedules never seemed to mesh enough for us to shop for supplies and actually get it done.

The baby shower was this weekend (it came way sooner than we thought it would since the baby isn't due until August!). I found several onesies with cute embroidery on them at the thrift store last week that looked brand new. I was going to turn them into bibs, but when the time came I just couldn't bring myself to cut them up, like I said they looked brand new. So Saturday I dug in my stash of cotton yarn and managed to find two different pinks, one variegated pink-lavender-white Bernat Cottontots (which are super soft) left from a tank top a knit a couple of years ago, maybe a third to a half a skein... and most of a skein of hot pink Sugar n' Cream. Using the Cottontots I knit a "Baby Bib of Love" from the book "Mason Dixon Knitting". I modified it a bit by using a slightly larger needle (since 100% cotton shrinks... a lot!) and instead of two straps I knit one long strap that buttons onto the corner of the bib. Sunday I used what was left of the cottontots and most of the other to crochet two more bibs, these circular instead of square. I alternated colors every now and then so each of those was unique as well.

They all matched, but were different. I like that kind of set. The young mom-to-be whipped through everything pretty quick, but stopped on mine to look at each bib and feel the softness (I washed and dried them before putting them in the gift bag). *beams* It was the only handmade gift she received, and I think she appeared to be drawn to them. Maybe she'll pick up a craft of her own, that would be great. She's in the Air Force stationed here, and the dad is in the Army, has served 3 tours in Iraq already, and sadly, I learned that a week before the baby is due he is being shipped out to Afghanistan. *sigh* guess I better learn how to knit those helmet-liner thingies... Afghanistan is supposed to be pretty darn cold at night I hear. Again, due to the misplaced camera, I have no pictures, but will ask my coworker if she happened to take any.

Of course, upon returning from the shower I sat down to watch the Tony Awards last night and I picked up the bag next to the couch that had the throw I'm crocheting for Doreen's mom, who has just shut down since her husband passed away a few weeks ago. When I stick my hand in what do I find? Yup, my camera. *smacks head*

Baby Talk, Stencils, Yarn, and Cabins (now with pictures)

2010-03-13T07:59:00.000-07:00

I have become very unreliable for regular posts, haven't I? Well, as I mentioned in my last post I AM still crafting, but just recently uploaded some pics from my camera to my laptop.

A few weeks back I learned a coworker of 10 years and his long-time girlfriend had just had a baby. I experimented a bit, but wanted to sew something because it would be faster than knitting, since this gift was after the fact. I happened to have some flannel remnants on hand so I ended up making him a reversible baby bib. The "appliques" are actually just pieces of fabric attached using double-sided "steamaseam" which I LOVE. The snap is also reversible, so it looks the same on both sides. One of the appliques is actually cut from one of my old station shirts (coworker is a DJ on the hip hop station at the radio group where I work). I traced the bib shape from a butterick pattern onto freezer paper, but that is the only part of the pattern I used. He and his girl loved it! I told him if he wants me to knit/crochet a blanket in the case that he has any more kids, he has to tell me BEFORE the baby arrives because I am just too slow with those crafts. This I made in an evening.

Also in my previous post I mentioned stuff I've been making, but now I have pics, so here are my two log cabin quilt blocks:

And a couple of tees I stenciled for my daughter inspired by her favorite tv show "Code Lyoko". They are quite big so she mainly sleeps in them (sorry for the blurry pic):

I have been crocheting granny squares and even made a baby blanket (a really WONKY one), but haven't taken pics yet, so I'll save that so I have something to past later.

Craft it if you've got it!

jewells

Craft Potpourri

2010-02-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a potpourri of crafts lately and it has made me very happy to be crafting again. I've made two log cabin quilt squares for and am currently knitting a 12" log cabin square for sewhooked's block drive:

Log Cabins for Linus and Go Get Granny Charity Block Drive

I refashioned a freebie backpack by adding a zipper pocket to cover the company logo, and now that I have one of those under my belt, I'm going to do another one for Miss P to her specs. It's just the right size to take her lunch and camera and school supplies on her way-too-numerable field trips.I'll post pics after I finish Miss Ps's bag.

I also have decided to join in the the Twlight Crafts Mystery Quilt-along. *points to icon/link in upper right corner of blog* It's a block of the month quilt-a-long, and there'll be a begginers' block and an advanced block pattern each month. I will DEFINITELY be doing the beginners' block, lol. I've already got my first pattern printed and ready to go, and have made a little list of fat quarters to buy. I know, I'm supposed to be crafting from stash only until I've whittled the fabric and yarn stashes down by a few bins, but I don't have any that look right in my stash, and I need a zipper for Miss P's bag anyway, sooooooo, I'll be hitting Joann's Fabrics tomorrow afternoon before the "Big Game". I have been wanting to do more paper piecing, and a "block of the month" group will be just right, since I only "have" to complete one block a month. Even with my busy schedule I think I can handle that.

Also I'm going to check Ravelry for a BOM for knitting. I'd like to do crochet too, but I have yet to be able to do a simple granny square, so I think I'll save that for next year. It's only Feb so I'm only one block behind... I think I can get caught up by the end of Q1, and it'll make me try new patterns without the stress of it being a gift for someone. I've decided this year is the time to develop my current crafting skills further, to really stretch my abilities a bit and try new patterns/techniques. I tend to stay in my comfort zone and I want to change that, challenge myself a bit.

I'm also working on a super sekkrit project and am trying some things out to get it the way I want before tackling it in the materials I'll use for the actual gift.

Hmmm, that's it for now I guess. I'm getting a bit peckish for a wee snackie, then it's back to the craft room for more experiments and fun. *waves*

Wow, long time, eh?

2010-01-29T15:58:00.000-07:00

Kinda looks like I forgot about this blog. I didn't really forget, but throughout December and the first part of January I was working on holiday crafts/gifts that I couldn't post about without giving away the farm, so to speak. I'm having trouble keeping up with my Livejournal flist and posting there, let alone anywhere else. I barely ever update my status on facebook, too. So, I'm rethinking this blog. maybe I need to go back to just posting my crafts on LJ with public posts there, I just don't know.

Have I been crafting? Yup, here and there. I made socks for a xmas gift. I stencilled a design on a couple of tshirts for my daughter. I knit a hat for my husband. I've crocheted a 3"x33" strip (and knit one too - my first cable!) to send to an online friend who's going to crochet all the strips together into a baby blanket for charity. I have been sorting and organizing in my craft room, in an attempt to get ALL of my crafting supplies, including yarn, into that room. I have also set a goal to master using my serger this year, so I have been experimenting with that and learning how to do different things.

Today on my lunch break I went home and started piecing my very first log cabin quilt square to send to my friend Jen (blog.sewhooked.org) for her "block drive" for Linus Connection. I looke up instructions online, and decided to wing it. So far I have a 7.5"x7.5" block, so I just need 4 more rectangles to get a 12.5" square to pop in the mail. I'll take a pic before mailing it off.

So I'm here, I'm still slowly but surely making stuff, I've just been kinda quiet.

Purr of Approval

2009-11-28T09:13:00.002-07:00

The Chunky Log Cabin is done! And Pouncy has already given it her purr of approval... standing in the middle and kneading it with her paws (and claws) *gasp!* Actually she kept lying on it while I was knitting it. She looooooves the chunky yarn. The bed it's lying on is a queen size, so that should give you an idea of the finished size, though I haven't measured it. Started and finished in 15 days.... not bad! Thank you chunky yarn and giant needles.

New Wool Boogaloo and other things, too

2009-11-13T22:47:00.001-07:00

So I finally finished my sweater on Tuesday, November 10.
I think it turned out great. Unfortunately, I've put on a little weight since the last time I'd tried it on, and it fits considerably snugger than it did the previous times I tried it on, but I'm still really pleased with it and I wore it to work the next day anyway. The top-down instructions I took from: http://glampyreknits.tripod.com/glampyrephotos/id44.html were really easy to follow... I didn't want to steek and make a cardigan, and I opted to start my ribbing just below the bust for maximum waist shaping, but there are many ways to knit this differently, so I'll definitely be using these instructions again... If I had worked on it every day I could have finished it in under 2 weeks, so it's a fairly quick knit, really, unless you have KADD (knitters' attention deficit disorder) like I do.

And now for something completely different... at the same parking lot sale where I bought the New Wool I used in this sweater (back in May), I bought a bunch of navy blue acrylic bulky yarn thinking I could use it as the base yarn in a boy baby blanket or something...I've tried knitting with it but I hated it on the needles recommended by the ball band. Well I decided to see just how quickly I could knit a log cabin using size 15 needles and bulky yarn.

The center bit is Lion WoolEase Thick and Quick in Cranberry, the next is the horrid navy yarn, the next is WET&Q in Butterscotch. Hopefully I can find enough contrasting bulky weight yarn around the house to break up the navy a bit, but I am going to alternate the navy in between any other colors I use, just to use up as much of this horrible yarn as possible. I cast on last night during Survivor and knit the center block as well as half the navy block. I knit the remainder of the Navy and all the butternscotch this evening... it's coming along pretty fast, maybe I can finish this weekend? *crosses fingers*

Finally, this past weekend I went to the fall parking lot sale for Fiesta/Ironstone Yarns. I didn't fill my hatchback like I did back in May, but I did find some fun stuff to play with for just a buck a skein, as well as some luxury yarns for $4 per skein. So here's some gratuitous yarn sale pron...

as well as my sister and fellow-knitter Jan doing some major stash-building with me...

My So-called Crafty Life

2009-10-29T07:05:00.000-06:00

Almost no knitting done this week on my sweater or anything else. I've had quite a bit of inflammation/pain in my left elbow (arthritis), and knitting aggravates it. Crochet doesn't seem to bother it, though, so I've been working on that a bit. I have so far learned single crochet, double crochet, and treble crochet. I had a spot of trouble with the treble crochet, but FINALLY got it learned last night. *yays!*

Before starting the double and treble lessons I started a throw using single crochet, but after about 4 rows I was so bored I ripped the whole thing out. So in addition to learning three crochet stitches, I have also learned that I absolutely cannot do a throw out of all single crochet, unless it has more complication to it with shaping or something. It's kind of odd really, because I don't seem to bothered as much by plain knitting. Weird, huh? Once I get through the rest ofthe CD rom I may tackle a pattern. Hopeully my elbow will feel better soon, though, because I REALLY want to finish my sweater!

Not quite finished yet

2009-10-26T00:09:00.000-06:00

Didn't get as much work done on Sweater #2 this weekend... I tried it on again and need to knit a bit more ribbing before casting off and starting the sleeves... I really loooooove how it is turning out, though. I know I've mentioned it, but I really do love it. I'm going to be so proud to wear this sweater, it's really turning out lovely.

On an additional crafty note, I picked up the Coats and Clark CD Rom "Crochet Made Easy"

this week at Joann's with my 50% off coupon. And it really IS made easy. I've tried from online tutorials and from books but nothing has clicked, I always did something wrong when attempting the second row of single crochet. Not this time. By jove I think I've got it! The Coats and Clark "Knitting Made Easy" CD Rom is how I learned to knit more than 6 years ago... it shows the camera angle directly down on the hands of the person demonstrating, so it's like looking down on your own hands. It just seems to be the way my brain needs to see it in order to understand, I guess. Anyway, I've got the single crochet down, so maybe later this week I'll delve into the next section of the cd... In a couple of hours I managed to crank out a rectangle of 6" x 10" using up the entire remnant of "I love this yarn" and size K bamboo hook I was using for practice...

Sweater #2 "New Wool Boogaloo" coming soon to a body known by you!

2009-10-20T06:34:00.000-06:00

I predict that Sweater #2 will be finished by the end of this weekend... I transferred it onto contrasting yarn from the needle last night and tried it on, I still have another couple inches of ribbing on the waist, then just the sleeves and I'm done! This has been a great pattern to use, and I will DEFINITELY use it again. Stephanie Japel I have just one thing to say to you..... mwah! While trying it on last night I decided I'm just going to knit a few inches on the sleeves and then about an inch or so of ribbing and be done with it. The sweater is quite warm and I prefer to wear wool over a cotton shirt, so I'm think long sleeves might not be the way to go. Oh, and I am still only on the second skein of yarn! Wow.

On a more frightening note... remember the parking lot sale in May when I bought all this lovely New Wool yarn? Um, yeah.... they are having another one the first weekend in November... I mean, I have to go... they might have stuff they didn't have last time... or cheaper than last time... But this time I am bringing less cash and NO credit card.

Ahem.

Sweater #2 (New Wool Boogaloo)

2009-10-10T22:13:00.002-06:00

My goal this month was to post more frequently, even if I didn't have a project finished... so here I am!

Currently contemplating 2 swaps... one is a bookmark swap (deadline to complete 3 bookmarks is Tuesday, yipes!) and a Halloween goody box swap.... deadline for that is Friday, so still time there... and only need to fill one box so that's cool too... if you've never done a swap I highly recommend it, as long as the person running the swap is someone you feel you can trust to run things well... both of these are being run by people I know will do a good and fair job organizing, so no worries there... the trouble is just getting the items made and/or packed... that trickster REAL LIFE has been getting in the way of any crafting other than knitting at the moment... so we'll see this week, I guess...

In my last post I mentioned I sweater I started knitting from Glampyre Knits: http://glampyreknits.tripod.com/glampyrephotos/id44.html
Let me just say that I love, looooove, LOOOOOOOOOVE this pattern! It's more a guide than a pattern, really... for instance, I'm not doing a cardigan, I'm doing a pullover... and I'm going to be starting my ribbing soon (as soon as I get past my boobage an inch or so)... I just transferred it from needle to string today to try it on and so far it fits PERFECTLY........ PERFECTLY. And it's super easy! And as for the Ironstone Yarns New Wool yarn I'm using...

I love it, too... it's definitely not as bulky a yarn as the ball band indicates... I'm using a size 8 needle for the stockinette and size 6 for the ribbing and it looks perfect for the yarn... the ball band suggested a size 10! No way. At most this stuff is a heavy worsted, NOT bulky unless you use two strands together... Oh, and get this... When I bought it I thought... "$1/skein? Well, I'm going to get a whole bag of 10 to keep it all in the same dye lot and make sure I have enough for a sweater"... Um, yeah, so I have 10 skeins, cast on with one strand at the neck and am already nearly to below my boobage and I AM STILL ON THE FIRST SKEIN. I think at the most this whole sweater will take 3 skeins, and that's only if I make the sleeves fairly long... what to do with all the rest of this luscious wool? And to top it off since the price was so low I also have a bag of purple, a bag of lime green, and a bag of ivory in this same yarn... Guess I won't be needing any wool for a while... maybe I should start making hats to sell or something... or at least gifts for family in the colder parts of the country...

After the Brainiac

2009-10-02T20:58:00.000-06:00

So Baby Brainiac took much of my life and crafty energy... so much that I didn't pick up needles for many days after it was packaged and gifted. Then I realized the time had come for the premiere of Survivor-Samoa (I am SUCH a Survivor addict!) and decided I needed a nice, uncomplicated "zen-knit" to work on... and dragged out my giant project back with my Scrappy Log Cabin that's been hibernating for months. I threw some new leftover yarn in the bag so I had even more to work with and got busy. It's the perfect TV project with all that garter stitch, and I can pick it up and put it down at will... I do have a bit of "knitters elbow" the morning after, but what's a little pain when the finished product will make me so happy, right?

So then at work they decided that in addition to my weekly timesheet I also have to punch a timeclock. Well, friends, that means definitely taking a lunch break, so I needed something a little more challenging (for me anyway) to work on during lunch. I wanted to knit a vest, but just couldn't find the right pattern for any yarn I have on hand. I started a wool version of the Pretty in Pink Tank http://deliciousstitches.blogspot.com/2006/05/pretty-in-pink-tank-pattern.html (I did a cotton one for my very first sweater, too small for me, but looks great on my daughter) but then frogged... :(

Then I started a top down raglan using Stefanie Japel's pattern from Glampyre Knits http://glampyreknits.tripod.com/glampyrephotos/id44.html . I'm not ready to steek and actually *gulp* CUT my handknits, so I'm doing a pullover instead. The yarn is yummy and knitting up very nicely. I should post a progress pic this weekend, shouldn't I? We'll see... And since I got the yarn at $1 per skein from the Fiesta/Ironstone Yarns parking lot sale, the price is right too... I might actually knit a sweater for less than a storebought one would cost! What a novel idea...
:P

Sewhooked Award

2009-09-29T06:26:00.001-06:00

My Baby Brainiac just got featured on as a Sew Awesome Craft on the Sewhooked Blog! I'm VERY flattered, even if the owner of sewhooked is my bff, she has very discerning taste when it come to crafts. ;)

The post is here: http://blog.sewhooked.org/2009/09/28/sew-awesome-knit-baby-brainiac-blankie/

thanks Jen, to me yours is the highest praise indeed!

Baby Brainiac Blankie - the pattern!

2009-09-21T19:50:00.004-06:00

Materials:

Plenty of TIME
Size 8 circular needle at least 24 in. long (for weight distribution and knitting comfort only, you will NOT be knitting in the round)
Worsted weight yarn (for the smaller, two-color version shown finished here in black & white - for the larger version I sugges double the amounts of both colors to be on the safe side)

Color A: 650-700 yards
Color B: 450-500 yards

Note: Whenever you bind off and also when you turn the block to pick up your next batch of stitches always keep the “right side” of your work facing you. Your blanket will have a definite front and back, and you will see all the color joins on the back side. The front side will be clean & neat rectangles!
*********************************************************************************
Block #1:
With one strand of A cast on 10 stitches using long tail method, leaving 4-6” tail. Turn work and knit back and forth until you have 11 garter ridges (ending on right side). Measure without stretching: block should be pretty much square (I got 3.25”x3.25”). Bind off loosely and cut yarn (A) leaving 4-6” tail.

Block #2:

Turn block one quarter-turn clockwise. With Color B pick up and knit 11 stitches along the side of Block #1 Turn your work and knit back and forth, ending on a front-side row when you have 10 garter ridges. Bind off loosely. Turn work quarter-turn clockwise (with the “right side: facing you).

Block #3:

Continuing with Color B pick up and knit 11 stitches along the side of Block #2 and 11 stitches along the edge of Block #1. You should now have a total of 22 stitches on your needle. Turn your work and knit back and forth, ending on a right side row when you have 10 garter ridges. Bind off loosely and turn work one quarter-turn clockwise.

Block #4:

Continuing with Color B pick up 11 stitches along Block #3 and then 11 more along Block #1. Turn work and knit back and forth, ending on the right side when you have 10 garter ridges, then bind off loosely. Turn clock-wise one quarter turn as with previous blocks.

Block #5:

Here’s where it gets slightly more complicated… Pick up 10 stitches along the edge of Block #4 with Color B then pick up 20 more stitches along the edge of Blocks 1 & 2 with Color A (I twist the Color B around Color A once to prevent a gap). You should now have 30 total stitches on your needle. Turn work and knit back and forth until you have 10 garter ridges (ending with right side facing you), working the Color B stitches with Color B and the Color A stitches with Color A. Make sure that you cross the two strands of yarn when changing from one color to the next to avoid gaps between the colors (guess what, you’re doing Intarsia!). Bind off loosely and rotate one quarter-turn clockwise as with previous blocks. You will only be knitting with the Color A now for a while, so you can go ahead and cut Color B leaving a 4-6” tail.

Block #6

Continuing with Color A only, pick up 10 stitches along the edge of Block #5 , then 20 stitches along Blocks 2 & 3 (30 total stitches). Turn work and knit back and forth until you have 10 garter ridges (ending with right side facing you). Bind off loosely and turn work to the right one quarter-turn.

Block #7:

Continuing with Color A only, pick up 10 stitches along the edge of Block #6, 20 stitches along the edge of Block #3, and 10 stitches along Block #4 (40 total stitches). Knit back and forth ending on a right side row when you have 10 complete garter ridges. Bind off loosely and turn work one quarter-turn clockwise.

Block #8:
Still using Color A pick up 10 stitches along the edge of Block #7 you just finished, then 20 stitches along Block #3, and 10 along Block #4 (40 total stitches on needle). Knit back and forth ending on a right side row when you have 10 complete garter ridges. Bind off loosely and turn work one quarter-turn clockwise.

Block #9:

In this block we return to two-color knitting (intarsia!) similar to what we did in Block #5. Still using Color A pick up 10 stitches along the edge of Block #8, then with Color B pick up 30 stitches along Block #5, and 10 stitches along Block #6 (total of 50 stitches on needle now). Turn work and knit back and forth until you have 10 garter ridges (ending with right side facing you), knitting with like colors together as in Block #5. Bind off loosely and turn work one quarter-turn clockwise. You will now only be knitting with Color B for a while, so you can go ahead and cut Color A leaving a 4-6” tail.

Block #10:

Using Color B pick up 10 stitches along the edge of the block you just finished, then 30 stitches along Block #6, and 10 along Block #7 (50 total stitches on needle). Knit back and forth ending on a right side row when you have 10 complete garter ridges. Bind off loosely and turn work one quarter-turn clockwise.

Continue in this fashion, with the number of garter ridges and/or bind-off stitches determining the number of stitches you pick up when starting each new block. As you can see in the numbered chart on page 3 (smaller version), the only blocks which involve knitting with both of your colors are #5, #9, #13, and #17.

To match version of the pattern shown finished here you’ll be knitting a total of 24 blocks. For blocks 21-24 I knit 15 garter ridges, instead of 10. This will give you a slightly wider block and makes the border look more noticeably like, well, a border. Then bind off, weave in all your MANY ends, and enjoy (or wrap it up nicely and give it to a loved one!

I considered making the blanket larger and the last 4 border blocks in a third color (Red would have been interesting, for instance, with the black and white spiral inside). So I’m showing you both charts I created. So far the only one I have knit is the smaller, two-color version.

For a larger blanket just continue in the manner of previous rounds instead of starting your border, continuing the spiral as before. To end the spiral make sure you knit with only Color A for your next block (in this case #21, but it could be block 25, or 29, or 33, depending on how much you really enjoy knitting just garter stitch. Just make sure you end the spiral before starting your border). I think this spiral pattern would look great with bright solids like Caron Simply Soft Brites, or even with neutral colors, like Lion Fisherman’s Wool, especially in the new colors they’ve added this year.

As with all my patterns, feel free to use this pattern to make items for yourself, gifts for others, or to donate to a charity, but not for sale and/or profit. If you want to mention the pattern on your website or blog, please do not repost the pattern but instead link to my blog.

Most importanly... just have fun!

Link to printable pdf version of pattern is in the sidebar.

Let me know if you make this, I'd love to see it in different colors!

Baby Brainiac Update

2009-09-05T07:48:00.000-06:00

It's finished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

About a week and a half ago I finished knitting, wove in all the ends, made a nice little card and giftwrapped it for the impending recipient.

The baby was due Aug 26, the day I left the package on his soon-to-be-daddy's desk, and baby Dominic was finally born Wed Sept 2. I got a lovely thank you email from the dad (my co-worker).

In between other things I'm trying to finish up the pattern for Baby Brainiac so I can post it here and link to it from Ravelry. The finished produce came out a little different from my original etimates, so I need to update that and make the pattern a little less wordy. My goal is to get that done this weekend, but I do have much going on so... no promises there.

Frankly I am in a bit of a crafty slump, at least where knitting is concerned. I'm not sure what to do next, and getting my daughter ready for her first day of 7th grade this coming Tuesday. I'm thinking crafty thoughts but not actually doing anything with them. Instead I'm just filing them away for another day. Hopefully when that day comes I'll be able to remember what I wanted to do in the first place!

Blast from the Past - Baby B's Blanket

2009-08-02T07:48:00.000-06:00

I originally posted this blanket pattern in my livejournal in 2007, but since I created this blog specifically for crafts I decided to update it a bit and move it over here.

BABY B's Blanket

This pattern is heavily based on a blanket I made previously using this free Bernat pattern: (http://www.bernat.com/data/pattern/pdf/instruction_1796.en_US.pdf) . I didn’t plan out how many stitches wide I wanted it and I didn’t use self-striping yarn... instead I sort of winged it, but loved the results. I used Caron Simply Soft Brites, one skein each 5 colors and a one-pound skein of white. In my opinion the colors meld into one another smoothly because of holding the strand of white throughout the entire blanket.

Holding one strand each of white and color A, on size 13 needles I cast on 4 stitches.
Row 1 (WS): Knit
Row 2 (Inc Row): K2, YO, K to end of row.
Repeat last row until blanket is about as wide as you would like it to be (see note below regarding stripes/color changes).
Next row (RS): K2, YO, K2tog, K to end of row.
Repeat last row.
Next row (Dec Row): K1, K2tog, YO, K2tog, K to end of row.
Repeat last row until there are 4 stitches left on needle.
Next row (RS): Knit. Cast off.

This is such an easy pattern and can make all sizes of blankets. Use all the same color or change colors whenever you feel like it.

NOTE: I knit my chosen colors in the order they would appear in the color spectrum. I started with the pink, and when I decided I was ready to change to yellow, I waited until I was ready to knit on the RS and then cut only the pink yarn and tied on the yellow, and just kept on holding the white throughout as I changed from one color to the next. I counted how many garter ridges I had of pink and tried to keep about the same on each color (22 ridges) so that the stripes were pretty much the same thickness.

You could make the stripes all different widths and that would be really cute for a baby too. You could even adapt the pattern and stripe it like the Harry Potter movie scarves and/or ties for a “house blanket”. The sky's the limit!

Baby Brainiac or Log Cabin Fever?

2009-07-07T06:41:00.000-06:00

Well, right around the time of my last post I had started a new log cabin. Yes ANOTHER one. This one is a baby gift for a coworker's impending first bundle o' joy, which they already know is a boy, so I hopped into excel and designed what I wanted to make and then cast on. It is well underway and shouldn't have any trouble finishing by the end of July, which is my goal. As of right now I'm calling it the Baby Brainiac Blankie, because the contrast of black and white is supposed to stimulate baby's brain, and the optical illusion is kinda cool... I'll post the full instructions and pics of the design when I'm done, but here's how it's going so far:

I'm also involved with a 12" afghan square swap (knit/crochet), and have a couple of those knit but not blocked yet, so I'll save those for another post. I'll try to do better about posting more often, okay?

Mom's Squishy Log Cabin

2009-06-07T12:28:00.001-06:00

Seems like most of my blog here has had something to do with log cabin knitting. I guess that's just my current knitting obsession. I fell in love with the ones featured in the Mason Dixon Knitting book and started experimenting. My original "scrappy" log cabin is still in progress, and I keep it next to my spot on the sofa so that when I'm in between other projects or just don't want to have to think about my knitting at all I pick it up and work on it. It may not be finished until it's winter again, who knows. I'm on no deadlines, and that's what I love about it, along with it being an awesome way to use up leftover partial balls of worsted solids.

On May 1st, with Mothers' Day fast approaching, I decided to look at what I had on hand for something to make my mom. She really can buy anything she needs, that's the trouble with buying gifts for grownups. She's allergic to wool, but when I was just barely learning to knit I knit her a lap throw out of Lion Brand Homespun, and she loves that throw. She loves that it's washable, and gets softer with every wash, but she hates having to wash it because then she doesn't have it there next to her recliner for a bit. So as I looked through my stash and found several skeins of Homespun in complimentary colorways I decided I would use them to knit her a lap throw log cabin style. I had the tan, red, and purple, but decided I needed one more colorway to break them up, so I used my Joann's coupon to get the multi-colrway that incorporates all three of the original colors.

In true log cabin tradition I started with a red center square, then just chose whichever one I wanted to use next, never really following the same sequence, but just making sure I didn't use the same colorway for adjacent blocks. I started kind of late, so she didn't get it until the Saturday AFTER Mothers' Day, but it's the thought that counts, right? Now she can use this while washing the first one I made her, and vice-versa. Currently it's thrown over the headrest of her recliner, giving her a nice squishy place to lay her head while napping.

Here's the finished throw:

Here's a view from above:

I've been asked to try to remember what I did, perhaps write a pattern. What I will do first is to refer you to the book Mason Dixon Knitting. And also this tutorial from their website/blog, and the entry dated Feb 15 2004:

http://www.masondixonknitting.com/archives/2004_02.html _02.html

That will give you the basic premise behind the technique of log cabin knitting and start you on your way. You'll only be limited to your imagination and what needles/yarn you are using. Another bit of advice... don't use Homespun for your first attempt, expecially if you have never picked up stitches before. Homespun is fuzzy, and it was difficult to find where to pick up the stitches at time. If I were you I'd start with solid color worsted weight yarn or solid color bulky weight yarn. But if you're going to make the attempt, I guess I can make an attempt at a pattern, right? So without further ado here it is:

Mom's Squishy Log Cabin*:

For this blanket, you'll need 4 skeins Lion Brand Homespun, each a different colorway:

Using red (or your first chosen color) yarn and a size 10 circular needle (just to help distribute the weight, you're not going to be knitting in the round here) cast on 12 stitches, turn your work and then knit back and forth, turning your work each time you get to the end of the row, until you have 7 garter ridges. On a right side row(your cast-on tail will be hanging from the "tip-end" of your needle) , cut your working yarn leaving a 4-6" tail and
start knitting with your next color. Knit back and forth until you have knit 7 garter ridges of the new color. At the beginning of the next right side row, bind off until one stitch remains on the needle. Keeping the right side facing you,
turn your work one quarter turn clockwise to the right and using your next colorway knit the final stitch on your needle. Keeping with that new colorway (cut the 2nd color leaving 4-6 " yarn tail) pick up and knit a stitch between each garter stitch ridge until you get to the end of that side of your rectangle. Turn your work and knit back and forth until you have 7 garter ridges. On your next right side row, bind off loosely until one stitch remains on your needle.
Turn clockwise and using the next color you've chosen knit the remaining stitch. Then with that new color pick up and knit a stitch between your garter ridges, and then pick up and knit a stitch along the side of your original cast on stitches. Turn your work and knit back and forth until you have 7 garter ridges with right side facing you. Again bind off loosely until one stitch remains, cut the working yarn leaving a 4-6" tail and
turn your work to the right (remember: each time you turn your work to the right, it is just a quarter turn). Using the same color you used for rectangle #3, knit the final stitch on the needle, then pick up and knit one stitch between each garter ridge of rectangles 4, 1, and 2. turn your work and knit back and forth until you have 7 garter ridges, ending at the start of a right side row. Bind off loosely until a single stitch remains on the needle, then
turn work one quarter turn to the right. Your original color is now the center square surrounded by 4 rectangles, each a different color than the center, and no color is touching a square of the same color. Using your red (or original) color yarn, knit the final stitch on the needle and pick up and knit one stitch between each garter ridge of rectangle 5, pick up and knit each cast off stitch along the top of square 2, and pick up and knit a stitch between each garter ridge along rectangle 3. turn your work and knit back and forth until you have 14 garter ridges, and continue in this fashion. When you get all the way around and have a knit 4 sections each with 14 garter ridges, the next series of rectangles will have 21 garter ridges. Once you have gone all the way around the square again, it's time to start your border. Using the yarn of which you have the most left on the skein (in my case it was the tan) do the next section with 5 garter ridges, and continue all the way around, but when you bind off and turn, don't cut and change colors, continue with the same color, until your blanket has a border of 5 garter ridges on each side. On the final side with right side facing you bind off looser than ever, in fact, I would suggest using a needle the next size up in your right hand for the bind off to ensure less wonkiness along that side. Turn your blanket over and weave in the 4-6" tails that are at all of your color changes, and you're done! For further clarity, I've provided a picture of the blanket with the blocks numbered in the order they were completed. The 6 bullet points above tie directly to the beginning of the first 6 blocks on the photo below. Now go make your own!

*copyright 2009 Julia Murtha: You may use my pattern to make items for charity or for personal use, but do not use it for profit. Please do not reproduce this pattern in entirety, but instead link to this page.

Logs Are few and far between in the Desert

2009-04-23T20:59:00.000-06:00

Well, hard to believe it's been OVER a month since my last crafty post. Way too much real life going on, but believe me, there's still plenty of knitting happening here, just not much picture- taking (or blogging).

So I've gotten a bit farther on my Scrappy Log Cabin, but frankly, it's so damn hot already I just can't bear to pick it upfor a couple of weeks at least, so it's hibernating until cooler weather comes along, or we switch the swamp cooler on... here's how it looks at the moment... you can see I have made it all the way around at least once, almost twice since the last pic I posted.

Baby Kue's pinwheel blankie is also on hiatus at the moment. Turns out they know for sure it's a boy, and, well, I've decided I'd like to try a cotton log cabin with larger blocks for his blankie. I haven't decided on the yarn for that yet, though... but I really want to give a cotton baby blanket a go. A coworker is going to be a grandma for the first time in the late fall, so I may decide to finish the pinwheel blanket for her grandbaby. Or I might just bind off on it and give it to the cat to lay on. No new pic on that one, though, it'll look the same in pics until I get it transferred to a longer needle and it can spread out more.

So what to knit when the weather says "no more blankets!"? Why, socks of course! I finished the first sock finally of my Springy Spiral Stretch socks.

I haven't started sock two, however, as I am working on another little project that I can't talk about quite yet. The Spiral Sock looks really cool, and the Patons Stretch is pretty darn comfy, but I don't know why I decided to make such a long sock when it's so hot here all the time. Dumb. So I'll eventually make sock two, but I'm thinking my next pair of socks with the other Patons Stretch Sock I have will be footies, or ankle socks, maybe even some "pedicure socks" that I can wear with flip flops.

TTFN!

Log Cabins Aren't Built in a Day, You Know...

2009-03-14T21:55:00.000-06:00

So I'm still plugging away on my Log Cabin Blanket (instructions from Mason-Dixon Knitting),

but I think I'm going to take a break from that one for a while to work on a few other things I've got going. As you can see, I suddenly started making the blocks narrower. That started with the sort of light olive there, where I was running out of yarn. I decided to go ahead and do the same narrower width for the next three blocks so that it is that way all the way around the square, then go back to the wider blocks and skip that color next time around, since I'm trying to avoid buying any new yarn for this project. It's currently about 2'x3' so about half the size I'd like it to be when finished.

I recently cast on for a pinwheel baby blanket by Genia Planck found here: http://www.knitlist.com/00gift/round-baby-blanket.htm and am making decent progress on it. The yarn itself called for a size 10 needle, but that seemed way too holey, so I am using size 8s and love the gauge I'm getting. A co-worker and his wife are having their first baby, and I thought it'd be a cute gift. Right now it just looks like a hat (kinda like that "artful elegance" (lion brand) blanket I made my friend Christina for her wedding gift last year). You start out with just 5 stitches on dpns, then increase every other row. Here's where I am so far with this one:

It's like a cute little beret, no?

And this pic shows the massive skein of yarn I got at Joanns. It's super soft, and perfect for babies...

I went to knit with some folks last Sunday, and came home with the knitpicks harmony options set. I got it for less than they are selling it online since she's used it a few times. She's a lefty and knits kind of strangely, and the way she knits kept unscrewing her needle tips. Other folks I know that have the same set don't have that problem, and they're all righties, so we're pretty sure it came from her "leftist" knitting methods. I also saw someone knitting a sock from the Patons Stretch Sock yarn, in the same colorway that I had bought and never used, Plum, and it looked so nice and springy that I came home and cast on a sock using a pattern written for the yarn from the Patons website. I am loving it so far, but am still early on...

So that's where I am craft-wise, at the moment. I'm trying to branch out a bit, and am also planning to cast on soon for the Lion Brand Weekend Retreat Cardi that was just featured in the Lion Brand Newsletter. I downloaded the pattern already, and just need to get some good cotton yarn for it. It calls for their recycled cotton yarn, so I'll check that out and if I don't like any of the colors I may go to Bernat Cottontots, which I really like.

That's all for now... guess that's enough to have going at once, don't you think?

Care for a Jelly Baby?

2009-03-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

Received an awesome gifty from my friend Amber "the Crochet Fiend" (aka hp5freak on LJ) today in the mail! Totally made my day as I have been sick, headachey, and generally cranky. Amber totally rocks the crochet world and makes the most awesome Harry Potter themed blankets (and yes she does occasionally take commissions, within reason people). She had a little contest on her blog which I won and I couldn't think of a favorite HP quote, but I did think of a few Classic and New Dr Who references of which I'm fond, so I sent her those and let her pick. (She has also done Twilight-themed items as well as awesome commission blankets not related to any of those three fandoms).

Amber does amazing awesome work and I salute her. Here's the awesome blankie I received today...

Amber's Awesome!!!!

Everyone loves a cozy log cabin

2009-02-24T21:17:00.001-07:00

I recently checked out Mason Dixon Knitting from the library again. The first time I checked it out I skipped right over the section on log cabin knitting, but this time it caught my eye and after reading it through I thought, "Hey, that looks fairly complicated, but sounds actually pretty easy! So I decided that would be the perfect way to use up stash so that I had an excuse to buy more yarn (right, like I need a REASON to buy more yarn). I cast on Feb 9 and I would say that based on how large a blanket I want to make, I am about 35% done.

The name I gave this project on Ravelry is Scrappy Log Cabin. I also joined the Ravelry group Log Cabin Fever, where others addicted to similar projects can meet to discuss how badly our hands hurt. ;)

Here's an in-progress pic as of my putting down the knitting this evening.

Not too difficult, I really like the way it is turning out, and of course, the farther out I get the more yarn it takes, which means my scraps probably won't be enough and I might actually have to buy more yarn in order to finish it, unless I start using novelty yarn as well as just the acrylic worsted remnants I'm currently using. Gee, what a shame, having to buy more yarn... too bad. :P

Oh, and if you would like to friend me on Ravelry, my name is jewells68.

Keep on knitting!

UFOs are controlling my life...

2009-02-07T06:39:00.001-07:00

Currently on the needles: top-down hat made with sock yarn of my own design; throw that I'm going to donate to a charity; broken rib socks from a book a got for xmas... may frog and use that yarn for something else, I got bored with the pattern; couple of dish/wash cloths I started during ofenjen's dishcloth swap round 1 that were too complicated to finish in time; bag/basket to felt that's on my big yellow KK loom.

Just finished a hat for my DD in yarn/color of her choice, mmmm, recently frogged a few things... and just to add a picture to this post... here's a "gun sweater" I made for the co-worker who's name I drew in the office gift exchange over the holidays... I couldn't find a pattern online, so I just made it up as I went. He loved it and has promised me a photo of it actually on one of his guns. It's sort of an office "inside joke" which he totally got and I think enjoyed. The inside of the card reads "Happiness is a Warm Gun"...

I'm determined not to buy any yarn for a while. I have tons of yarn and have some really nice yarn I've received as gifts including some really lovely yarn from hardhatcat in Australia that I very much want to make into something. Just trying to weed through my current crafting chaos and plan some projects...

Need to crank out what's currently on the needles and take stock of what supplies I have and just start trying some new interesting patterns...

Ok, this isn't about crafts, but it's about saving kids' lives, so it's important.

2009-01-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

Not so Square Throw

2009-01-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

This time last year I was knitting a throw for my friend's wedding. She was my best friend throughout middle school and high school, and we have remained friends all these years, even though our lives have taken us in different directions... I wanted to give her something from my heart, but I also wanted to challenge myself a bit. I searched for the perfect pattern and finally, in an old Lion Brand catalog I found something called the Artful Elegance Afghan. Now they call it something else, I don't remember what, but I bought the pattern download, bought me some yarn and got busy. When all was said and done, I had made a gift that I recently learned my friend actually went and just had framed to hang in her entryway of her new home. I am too touched for words.

So here, no longer having to be called the Super Secret Wedding Gift, is what I call the Not So Square Throw. I highly recommend this pattern to anyone who wants a bit more of a challenge, but no so much to be discouraged, if they are kinda new to knitting...

What can I say, I love to knit hats!

2009-01-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

So this is my new space to talk about crafts and show off stuff I make. Here's a couple of hats I made over the week of Thanksgiving. Did not follow anyone else's pattern, but they are both a 2x2 rib knit with a mixture of DK and worsted weight wool yarn: the yellow is Lion Wool, the orange is Patons Classic Merino, and the rest was KnitPicks Swish DK. They were all left-overs from other projects, and I decided to mix and match the colors in ways I hadn't seen before. I really am trying to use yarn I have on hand for stuff for myself and family to de-stash a bit. I allow myself to buy yarn for gifts I'm knitting though. I knit them both on a size 4 circular needle a la magic loop and therefore did not have to change to dpns when I decreased at the top. I loves me that magic loop!

The brown stripey one is my favorite. I call it my Thanksgiving Hat because, well, I finished it on Thanksgiving, or actually the morning after. It's super soft, super warm, super stretchy, and I made it long enough that I can turn up the brim a full 2-3 inches, which keeps my ears warm.

Yay for hats!