I so stole this idea but it was soo cool

So someone at the thing-a-day came up with this awesome QR-Code generated online so I decided to do the same. It is so cool and quick! I hope this worked, let me know if it does!!

Walk in the park and some Guac

 So today I spent more of my time getting things done and very little time making things. So I decided to do something unconventional for day 6, I am trying my hand at cellphone photography (these park pictures are from my phone to Flickr to my computer to hotmail to you so you might want to see the originals on Flickr instead but that is your choice). Hubby and I tried a new park (to us) today and spent an hour collecting supplies to make future projects and just getting some sunshine and exercise (be jealous it is sunny and 78 here today, I love Northern CA). So here were my attempts at amateur photography. I enjoyed these and I like them so I should be trying again in the future too.

I also made guacamole for the Super Bowl, which was very disappointing commercial-wise. These should all rock and they don't... I guess I should have just watched the game then ::sigh::. It was yummy guacamole, too bad hubby ate almost all of it before I knew he had it out... punk ;). Let's hope I can keep this up next week!! Happy making!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Clair de Lune

 Sorry I didn't get this up sooner but this is for day 5, the necklace I mentioned last night but I couldn't get a good picture of... and I still don't have a great picture of this but I like these pictures better!

So being the geek I am I love jewelry that is related to something science-y and this necklace fits the bill. I saw a necklace with black lava balls wrapped in silver wire then strung together looking like little sparkling moons. I can do wire wrapping yet nor could I find all of the right pieces but I had these beads and I loved how they looked together. I am also on a huge asymmetry kick right now (much to my husbands chagrin). I think it looks cool as a mixed medium piece. I added the mirror and velvet just to make it more feminine since it has so much chain. So this is still an early attempt at jewelry making so all comments are welcome.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Quizzes, doilies, and necklaces... oh, my!

 So I kind of missed posting for Day 3 and  4, sorry. Day 3 was insanely busy with an over 12 hour work day (these are going to be the norm next week too). But I did have my students make and program mini-store front signs, though I didn't count those nor did I take pictures. Maybe I will next week. My things for Day 3 were two quizzes and a charter for my club, which all had to be done for my job but I feel better thinking I got them done as part of my task here.

The next day was more interesting. I made this doily. I have never crocheted a doily before (and I still don't see the point in them) but it looked kind of interesting and I had a pattern and yarn readily available. This is called the Spider Web Doily and if from Coats and Clark. I am sure you can get the pattern free there but I haven't checked, I found my pattern as a project sheet in the yarn aisle a long time ago. I like how it turned out, it needs to be blocked, but I still don't know what to do with it... any ideas?

Lastly, I made a necklace. I am a beginning jewelry maker but I really enjoy it so I thought I would take on the challenge on my day off. It is inspired by a necklace I saw in a magazine once that was themed on the moon. I am obsessed with space and the moon in particular (I spent a whole week of my vacation this summer learning more about the moon, yes I am a geek but I love it). I can't get a good picture of the necklace tonight but I will try again tomorrow. I will also have more details on it then. I also plan on blogging about my other necklaces that I have made in the past too but have yet to see the light of the internet. You should check those out. Ok enough for now, my books are calling me. Happy making!!

Let's try this again since it didn't work last night.

Swatching: or a taste of what's to come

So I don't normally swatch. I often make afghans and scarves and even fingerless gloves without swatching so I am not all that talented or experienced with it. However, when a friend of mine asked me to make him a scarf and then bought the yarn for me I was more than willing to step-up to the task. We spent an entire hour looking for a pattern to match his needs and he picked a really cool one. Then the challenge hit, he wanted me to make it a bit bigger and longer and that would mean I needed more yarn than the pattern called for. Since very little of the lighter yarn was going to be used I really didn't worry about running out but the darker yarn, well it comes in dye lots and I worried I might run out when I only had one ball!!! So I swatched. I calculated out before the swatch and if I got it perfect I could do it with a swatch or without one but I am not perfect so it was better not to chance it. So my swatch is made and a lightly blocked and the math works perfectly, actually now that I see that might have a little extra yarn (go me!). So since I stayed late tonight again helping the new math/science teacher get her bearings I didn't have time for something more interesting. Maybe tomorrow I will, or tomorrow will be my Physics quiz or one of the robots I make during the robotics class I am teaching. We will see and I am sure this weekend will be full of making things. Enjoy!

The First Scarf

So today I worked a 12 hour day so my first project isn't actually finished yet.. and I technically I did my first row last night (I couldn't wait to start). I did the rest of this tonight but I didn't get the fringe done (that's why you can't see the fringe part) but I hope to do better tomorrow. I really like this scarf and think the colors look really cool. It is totally reversible but looks a little different on the inside. I have pledged to make 6 scarves (not  a ton but at least I think I will get them all done) for the Special Olympics this year so I am excited to almost have one done. When I add the fringe I will post about that too. Until then I hope this is an ok first day and I look forward to more impressive (or at least more finished) things in the coming month. Thanks for providing the inspiration to allow me to still be creative in my off hours. I am open to any comments or concerns as I think i will make this scarf again!