3/31/11

Today, I finished Jacarvi's hat and I made my memorial day wreath. (just have to cut out some stars...) Now I'm going to read for a bit and work on new armchair covers for Lisa.

Storage solution!

I've been wrestling with the perfect way to store my everyday yarn. (This is yarn that I always keep on hand for amigurami or small projects.) I had it all shoved in a bin, but it was hard to see when making granny squares. Then I transferred it to an underbed storage box, but it was too clunky for the craft room. So, as I was trolling target, I spotted these ITSO bins that I know fit in my ikea shelves. Four bins later, I have all my yarn in one small space, but I'm able to see all my colors! I'm very happy!

3/30/12

Still not very productive, but I did work on this hat for my honorary "godson," Jacarvi. I mostly spent my day out of the house and having dinner with Lisa. Pfchangs makes everything better.

3/29/12

Was cranky all day yesterday. (That's why my post is a day late.). Was mad about being assaulted at work, being sore and cranky about life in general. So I did nothing, but here are some of my favorite creations. Spring flowers, budding strawberry plants and Diet Coke.

3/28/12

Tried to knit, but I have a slight sprain in my left wrist. Am actually too sad to craft.

3/27/12

Here's the yarny goodness mom brought me on Sunday. Lots of ruffly yarn! Love you mom!

As for what I worked on today? It's an Easter amigura/umi secret. (can't remember the spelling!)

3/26/12

What did I ever do before YouTube? Seriously? I read books to figure out stupid ideas for crafts. Today, I take my roll of Hello Kitty Duct Tape and a YouTube video and 30 minutes later....a Hello Kitty Flower Ring! Andrew will be sooooo proud. Not.

3/25/12

Spent an awesome day with my parents and Andrew. Mom delivered some beautiful yarn that I will show you tomorrow. And then I spent a quiet evening remaking my Easter wreath (because I gave my first one to my BFF).

3/24/12

I had lots of little things swirling about my noggin today. Things to purge, things to finish, things to reorganize for the one millionth time. So I trekked out to Joann and picked up the bits and bobs I thought I needed. Came home and put (hid) everything away and did my chores. Then I started another Easter wreath and painted my button jar lids to match. And now, I'm going to pass out.

Finally!

I finally found a cute crochet flower pattern from Flower Girl Cottage. She has a cute little blog... www.flowergirlcottage.com

3/23/12

Finished my wreath this evening and then headed out to the porch swing to relax in the cool lake breeze. Heaven!

3/22/12 (Drat!!)

I thought I had enough felt circles cut out, but I was wrong. Maybe I'll finish this beauty tomorrow...

3/21/12

I spent the majority of today working around the house trying to de-dust from winter. But in between all of that I managed to cut out a couple of felt circles for a heart wreath and I made a spring version of the chain loop scarf. This one had 6 chains of 60 chain stitches. The other version had 11 chains of 180. This is going to look awesome with jeans!

3/20/12

Finished!!

3/19/12

Today I started a project I've been wanting to do. It's called Chunky Crocheted Basket from the blog www.crochetincolor.com . I'm making mine in Dallas Gray and I've modified it a bit, but it's the same general idea. I could have finished it tonight, but I chose to hang out with A at barnes and noble and dinner. Tomorrow is soon enough.

3/18/12

Yippee! Today I finished the Twined Hat by Lisa Ellis Designs. And I love it!

3/17/12

My original posting for today was that I created chaos. I went into downtown Cleveland--by choice--for the St. Patrick's Day parade. Needless to say I will never do THAT again. 70 degrees on a March Saturday. I'll spare you the details. HOWEVER, I did manage to finish the Honeycomb Cowl today. And that DID make me very happy.

3/16/12

Spent the day slowly losing my mind. Knitted about 3 rounds total; 1 on the hat and 2 on the cowl. But I finally found the tutorial I was looking for. These beauties are made out of peeler beads and I'm going to create my own in less neon colors. I'm giddy with excitement!!!

3/15/12

It was just a matter of pulling out the glue gun--the wreath is finished. Love. It.

3/14/12

Worked on my lovely hat today and emailed the designer to tell her how much I am in love with it. She emailed right back (cool!!) and thanked me. (lisaellisdesigns.com)

And this evening I needed to work on my cowl for a bit. Here's my progress. Too many mistakes to count, but only a Nosey Nellie will care.

3/13/12

Here's my twined hat. I worked on it for a while today. It uses one skein of Crystal Palace Taos yarn. And this hat is so fabulous! I love watching each row transform. I'm sad that I found the pattern after winter. I'm hoping for a freak snowstorm, but not until the hat is finished.

3/12/12

A little fuzzy, but this is the beginning of what may become my favorite project ever. It is a hat that uses the twining method and I am using the coolest yarn. Twining uses two strings and you alternate the yarn every other stitch. It makes the hat dense and cuddly and windproof. And I'm so happy I bought the pattern from www.lisaellisdesigns.com

I literally have to force myself to set my work down I'm so in love with it...

Crochet Tin Cover

I finally tried out the pattern from Attic24.typepad.com for covering tin cans. It was quick and easy, I'm not terribly pleased. I followed the directions and it's cute, but by incorporating the loose ends in the next row, it made a bulge in the cover. So the pattern fits the height of the can in the front but in the back it is too tall. I folded it over for the picture, but it's not going to work. Perhaps I need a lighter weight yarn. No matter. I have another idea....

3/10/12

Found this cute craft idea onpinterest and, once again, decided to make it mine.

It comes from this blog that is entirely in Chinese.

http://www.duitang.com/people/mblog/17378736/detail/

And here is my version...  I bought cute little Easter eggs to put in it once I figure out how to attach them.  Andrew doesn't like the ribbon because he thinks it makes it look like there is a flaw.  He may be right.  I need to let this guy sit for a day before I finish it.  It took 1.5 hours to wrap the wreath.  Not exactly my idea of fun...  But I do like the wreath!

Finished!

Here's the rest of the crafts I finished today. The button necklace AND the folded paper flowers I posted about earlier today. What a great feeling I get when I finished my projects! Yay me!

3/9/12

A while back, I fell in love with this bracelet.  I don't know why because I hardly ever wear bracelets.  Anywhoo, I bought it from an Etsy shop called "It's Me, Mary" (http://www.etsy.com/shop/itsmemary?ref=ss_profile) 

It arrived safely and I never wore it.  But I was intrigued by how she had made it.  I tried several times and then gave up.

Two days ago, I stumbled upon a tutorial at this blog:  http://blogalacart.com/2011/07/beaded-bracelet/

Today, I decided to dedicate some time and energy to making my own.  I used  my trusty Size 2 crochet hook, left over silver size 6 seed beads and some lovely size 3 crochet thread in periwinkle.

And here it is!  My duplicate of It's Me, Mary's lovely crocheted/beaded friendship bracelet.

And I actually am wearing it right now and I may not take it off!

 



Yes!

I've been posting this everywhere. It is so true

Today's Craft

Can't wait to get home!!!!

3/8/12

I did it! I figured out the necklace without having to pay $7 for a tutorial! Here's how: chain 10, push a loop up thru the back of the button thru a hole, catch that loop and tighten it close to the hook and slip the loop through your chain. Push another loop up thru the diagonal hole, catch and slip the loop thru the chain. To complete the button, slip stitch again to secure the button into the chain and then chain 5 before starting the next button. Violá!

3/7/12

Today, I took time for myself. I did my taxes, laid diagonally across the bed and watched the trees, knitted a bit on the cowl, and sat in the porch swing enjoying the quiet. I've been reading a lot of articles about the need for silence in order to be healthy. It is so so so true. My favorite part of day is after school right after the dogs come in from going out. I spend my time going through mail, putting things away, organizing a space, fixing the bedspread and sitting in the silent house. I purposely think about nothing important. It is my time to heal and renew from a stressful day at work. As I get older, I value absolute silence more and more. I often dream of a little house or shed in a garden in the middle of nowhere. My ideal space. I could read, knit, sleep, or just be.

Honey Cowl by Madeline Tosh

I've been working on my honey cowl lately.  I've fallen in love with the softness of the silk yarn and how it is going to drape.  It's the picture in Monday's blog post that had a picture and no words.  Go figure.  That's what happens when you blog by phone late in the evening.  If you click on the title of this post it will take you to the ravelry page where you can download it for free.

This pattern is worked in the round, so if you decide to steal the stitch for a simple scarf remember that the knit all rows become purl all rows because you have to turn your work.  I'm thinking about using up some of my liberty wool for a scarf using this stitch...

3/6/12

Didn't craft today, but mom encouraged me to post my lovely, crispy pork potstickers. I created, assembled them and fried them myself!

3/5/12

Hello March! Today I used my handy dandy heart punch to cut out 20 hearts, fold them in half, glue them together, and add them to my crochet wreath. Violá! Cheap easy removable decorations.

3/4/12

Today I worked on more granny circles. I also worked on crochet flowers, but frogged them because I didn't like the 3 patterns I tried.

Button Love

3/3/12

Oh crafty loveliness is everywhere! Check out these new crayons exclusively at Target. I bought 5, only 15 more to go until I have ALL of them. Don't tell ADW.

Did you catch this cowl?

I blogged about it earlier. Here's a picture of it on and how purdy it is. Too bad winter never came to Cleveland.