Cast On

Last nite I cast on a new hat for my daughter. I knitted and knitted and did about 5 inches up. Tonite it was another 6 or 7 and it's on to the decreases. It looks like a tube of green yarn now but just wait until tomorrow. I have to get my car inspected so that means a waiting room with time to finish up the top and sew up the bottom flap.

I took the frog prince to work today and he was a big hit. Everyone loved him, his crown and googly eyes. He does look ready to work on Sesame Street with the muppets. The furniture went over really well with the girls mom and she agreed with me that they would just have tons of fun decorating it.

The Berroco free pattern this past week was an aran 18" doll sweater. I sent a copy to my mom and have selected some pink yarn to knit it up with. This time I checked the weight and the yardage on the yarn I have. It's a Patons Astra, same weight and yardage. I don't want to run out of yarn this time and only have one sleeve done. I'll get the fun of doing some cabling and practice following a chart. I'm enlarging the chart for easy knitting.

Another craft day

This week I didn't get a lot of time to craft but made up for it at night and on the weekend. When I put away all of my yarn this week I pulled out enought to make this cute frog from the Alan Dart world. He looked easy to do, which he was and adorable. I had just enough dark yarn to finish him up but it was tight.

Here is the finished frog prince, looking ready to appear on the Muppet Show. His crown is starched with hair spray and just posed on his head. A frog wouldn't wear that in the water while swimming.

I had a helper cat this morning as I got the craft ready for their glamour shots. This is a doll bed that I saw on the Martha Stewart show this week. I happened to have a few sheets of card board, just enough as it happens and decided that some dolls needed furniture. Luckily I could easily enlarge the patterns so it went pretty fast.

Removeable adhesive (post it note glue stick) kept the patterns in place while a new box cutter blade made easy work of the double layers. The assembly is easy and very clever. Magpie my helper stood on the bed and it didn't even move at all.

Here are all of the piece, flat packed ready for assembly into doll furniture.

Here is the completed table and chairs ready for a doll tea party.

The bed needs some bedding but it to is ready for a doll or bear to lay it's head on. My son wanted to know if the furniture was going to be painted but I thought I'd leave that to the two little girls from work who will be the recipients. Lots of fun for them and me getting to make it all.

Craft Holiday

What a crafty holiday it was today. I finished a handknit pair of socks for myself this week and celebrated by wearing them while finishing up some other projects. They are comfy and stretchy and I can't think why I haven't made more for myself before.

I worked hard on all of the circus mice that were languishing in a project bag in the closet. Below are the juggler and bee trainer. The bees are too cute.

I took a break and made that other bracelet in a green and gold combination. It came out very nice and lush looking. The gold was a nice accent to the green. I have a cool idea for a fitted box using extra silk and foam core remnants.

Above is an acrobat and to the left a clown. My favorite is below. He is the escape artist, complete with blindfold, rope to tie him up with and a ball and chain to weigh him down. His outfit is bright and distracting to the eye. He's very good at escaping.

Here is a picture of the triange prayer shalw knitted with all of the remainder yarn from
my aunts stash that my sister and I rescued on our last visit. We sent home boxes and boxes of yarn and fabric and it is all slowly but surely making its way into finished projects. I know that all of the recipients of the prayer shawls appreciate the gift and all the work that goes into them.






I finished the blue bracelet last nite and I just
the look of it. I will admit that beading through multiple layers was tricky at times and I did need to use my pliers (a lot) to get the needle through. Great finished look though. Now to make a special gift box for it to reside in.

My helper Sailor decided to help me get ready for the next beaded bracelet by trying out the bead drawer. I had taken out all of the boxes of various beads to get the next great bracelet planned. He is a cuddle bunny lately, wanting to snuggle on the bed or chair. It's cold outside but I think he justs like to watch the crafts. He loves to lay on a plastic project bag and paw at the items inside.

Here is the next bracelet in it's infancy. The light blue 11's will be the inner netting. The matte triangle and dark, shiny green 15's for the diagonals and then for a final touch of elegance either the glass gold or matte gold beads down the spines. I had a lot of fun picking out the color combinations. I do tend to pick out monochromatic color combos. With a pattern I like after the first one it's much easier to let go and let the colors fly.

The house is slowly, slowly getting cleaned as I work on getting all of the craft projects, current and future all organized for later on tonite. A crafter and her toys are never parted or even very far apart.

New beaded bracelet

A project from the magazine 'bead and button last summer' was all ready for me to start with this week. You do a square stitch all around a 3" brass ring. After the entire ring is covered the next layer is a combination of size 15 and triangle beads in a diagonal stitch. There are two more rounds of the triangle layer left and then you add accent beads along the seams. A fun project with totally new techniques.

In the knitting department, a triangle prayer shawl got finished and blessed this week and will be on to it's new home soon.

The holiday weekend plans for crafts include house cleaning and some sewing and finishing. A few dvds at the ready make for a crafty good time.

Lots of knitting

I know that the beaded panda is not knitted but I've been knitting a lot this week. The panda was just a diversion and respite. Cute with a sprig of bamboo, it's destined to be somebody's mascot.

This is what I've been concentrating on this week. I finished yesterday morning, added the fringe and took it's picture. Soft and yummy yarn made this a really nice shawl for someone. I only used two skeins of the yarn so the left over skein will join another left over, from another knitter, of the same color, a coincidence we think not. This shawl went to work yesterday, got blessed and than ferried across the street to the church, ready to give away. When I asked my other prayer shawl knitter to help me bless it we excused ourselves from the main desk and went to the back room. I just said it would only take a few minutes but 'we needed to take a minute for jesus'. The other co-worked after we were done thought that that was a good thing to do, just take a little break for him. They all know how hard we work on these shawls and to give away. Some of our co-workers have been recipients. A tangible way of showing that we care.

My sister brought me some yarn from her stash this week and I went through it and selected a crazy mixed yarn. There's not a lot of it so I cast on and am knitting a triange shawl. So much need and not enough knitters in our group. But there is a meeting tomorrow morning so I'm pretty sure the shawl will come with me.

Super Bowl of Crafting

To celebrate Americas favorite un-holiday Sunday (Superbowl day) I had a great afternoon with my favorite past time, crafting. While the dinner was in the oven, I was sewing away on this lovely, but never to be made again bag. I loved the shape and could see endless possibilities of fabric choices and started out with great hopes for the end project. The pockets and zipper went in easily but after that it got tricky. This is a project for advanced sewers. Admittedly the pet screen fabric is a little stiff but the side and bottom construction left a lot to be desired. I'll get some other craft input on this project but for now, never more.

This tiny little wagon pin is going back to my mom, finished. Cute and quick to sew up she'll wear it for spring and get good comments.

A yarn counter for a fellow prayer shawl knitter came into being today so she can get back to the basket weave shawl started a few months back. This is her first project actually keeping track of rows and a more complicated pattern so this simple pony bead counter will help. You just slide the beads up and down as you knit. It can be pinned on your knitting bag or on the knitting itself. I have one that I use a lot for repetitive projects and find it really helpful. All you need is pony beads and slippery cording. The plastic ring is an added touch.

This is the craziest project I've done in a long time. I bought the pattern and fabric thinking it was something more than it was. You stitch a design ( mine is changed of course) and then sew it up and it becomes a faux wine cork scissor fob. The idea is good but the end product is just weird. I don't even drink wine. Using 'pcstitch', a computer program for cross stitching design, the font, wording and spacing were changed to a more meaningful design for me. "Live Long & Prosper 2009" are on the sides and a heart on the bottom. The top has an eyelet opening that allows the cording to be attached to a jump ring contraption inside. It's nice but there is no need in my sewing box for another fob. They usually last for a while and then get in the way so I take them off. I sense a display box for all of them in the future.

The big game is on but the ads are more interesting than the game to me. I'm just waiting for the half-time show with the boss. The prayer shawl needs some more rows done on it.