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!

Thing-a-day & the other blog

So the month of February is dedicated to making things, well it is for the thing-a-day people. And since it is such a gloomy month here in Nor Cal I have decided to try it out. I have to make something and blog about it everyday for the whole month. I hope you will join me in trying to make something everyday for a month. However, I need to blog over on posterous in order for me to contribute to the community of thing-a-dayers. Therefore, I will try to blog here as well but since I do work full-time in a non-craft related career I can't promise anything yet. I will post a link here next week to the other blog so you can follow along and I will post weekly updates here every weekend. So get your crafty juiced flowing for a month of creative fun. PS I should be back blogging more frequently now so stay tuner for some awesome projects that I have been meaning to share with you all! Thanks for waiting for me.

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Look Up

So this month is yet another blogging month and I am finally back. Well, sort of. I am on my final month of this school year and I want to start blogging again. I feel like I have missed a good deal of my life with this job and a bit of my creativity has been drained but I feel it coming back. In fact, I am working on a pretty cool new project. I found this book called Urban Paper and have introduced the concept of paper toys and robots to my students. I hope to get them to try to design their own Mars lander for Space Day (May 7th). Oh and for those of you who wonder about my title this month time... Look Up is the theme for this month. Space is looking up, right? ;) Check out the blog for the book.

It has been so long, and I am sorry!

So I got swamped with vacation travel and then my new job (which has put a permanent crimp on my crafting time) so I haven't been blogging either. And then I come on to see what I last blogged about and I see people have been looking at my blog and I am failing them! OH NO!! I must begin to blog again.

So in crafting news I am teaching Art to middle school students and I have no idea what I am doing. We have like no budget and not much in the supply department... not to mention the fact I craft not make art so I don't know if I should even be teaching this class... but at least the kids are having fun.

I have also gotten into paper crafting a little bit (though I still suck at it). I still crochet like there is no tomorrow (because according to some movies there is). I am working on a scarf, some Christmas presents, and maybe even another wearable. I do have a BIG flub-up to share but maybe later this week... I tried to make a really cute cardigan with a substituted yarn and did not think about drape or weight... oops!

Check out my Flickr for a few of my most recent (well more recent than here) projects, like my Toy Society Swap and Holocaust Butterflies.

I promise more soon and thanks to those of you who have stuck around waiting for me. I promise to be interesting soon... or at least posting more often. In the mean time check out my newest obsession for jewelry from Surly-Ramics on Etsy or ArtFire!! I have the Scientific Method one... so cute for a science teacher!

First Wearable Done!!

So I just finished blocking my first wearable for me!! It is not perfect (a BIG whole on one side because of too many stitches and one pineapple that is a little wonky) but I love it. Here are some pictures from blocking (one of me in it on vacay soon). I haven't blocked in a long time and it was a challenge but I think I did OK... especially without any special tools. The close up is of the pineapple pattern. I think it was very easy (but I think most patterns are easy by the end) and a great place to start with a first wearable. I might even make another Doris Chan design before the end of summer... but this one might be a swim cover-up.

Let me know what you think! I am currently working on a scarf, three shawls/wraps, a cardigan, and I am thinking about starting something else but not sure what. I hope to have at least two of these projects done for my trip... maybe more but who knows. I guess I should get back to work. More pictures later but I will be out for a while... next blog post will probably not happen for a month. Have a great month and happy crafting!

My first wearable: Part 1

I have been surfing the internet (and my extensive book collection) for a good first wearable
project for myself. I was thinking maybe a sweater or a dress but those are very ambition (read: takes a lot of yarn) so I choose a tank top instead. I found this on Knit and Crochet Today and decided it looked easy enough to try. I am making it in Lake (blue) Cotton Ease (50/50 cotton and acrylic) and so far I have just finished one skein.

It is going well. I have been working on it for about a week now (off and on but more like 2 days). I have frogged several times because I keep losing track. It is hard to pay attention and watch TV but it is not that hard if you focus. The pattern is available for free on the website and I think this is a very cute pattern for anyone. This show sometimes comes on different PBS stations. You can use their website to find a station. The instructions on the show are great to help you be successful with this project.

This is me in it so far. I am making a L/XL (same size on the pattern) and it is a little big on me without it being blocked... it is might be huge when I finish it. I am in the exploded pineapple repeat section. I hope to finish this this week and start my first real blocking project (well one this large). Tell me what you think!!

Happy crocheting!!!

Crochet Exchanges rock!

So I have been busy with my new group on Ravelry... The Crochet Exchange Club (CEC). It needs a little work but so far I love it. So I finally got to participate in one of the exchanges, the May Flower Swap. My partner sent me these beautiful roses, all made with handspun (and even dyed) yarn. She also included the really pretty stitch markers.

I made these roses, since she likes roses, but I don't think they are as nice as hers. I tried five different patterns and still love hers more. Oh well. I should be sending these out today. I hope she likes them.

Later I will show you a preview of my first crocheted wearable I am making for me! I have made wearables before but never for me. I want to make a ton this summer... since yarn is cheaper than clothes... but it all depends on how this project turns out. Oh, and two new books and a magazine review in the future!

Happy crafting!

Book Review: Creepy Cute Crochet

As you know I am mildly addicted to books and this is one of my new favorites. Ever since I found out I could make totally adorable little dolls with crochet I have been crazy for it and that is where this book comes in.

Creepy Cute Crochet by Christen Haden

Mine is not as cool as the ones from her Etsy shop (she did not sign mine... boo). But it is still awesome! She has some incredible patterns for all kinds of unusual creatures to make into dolls. DH really wants a cthulhu (from Lovecraft and adorable) and one of my former students wants a Brotherhood of Steel (from Fallout 3) modded from one of the warrior patterns. There is just so much fun you can have with this.

Beyond everything being so cute, Christen is also a phenomenal pattern writer. Her patterns are simple enough a beginner could handle them (slowly but still) and she has great instructions on how to make eyes and the little accessories.

In my opinion assembly is the hardest part of toys but she has a step by step guide for each doll and she even includes drawings to help with placement and order. This is a great book to start off with when learning to make amigurumi or little crocheted dolls of any type since it is so user friendly.


I have actually been busy making some of the items from the book. Below is my belated (only by a week) V-day gift to DH... Day of the Dead Guy and Gal... we just got married last August so he wanted these to commemorate it. There was also a skeleton bride an groom but DH liked these better... I guess they seem more like us. So go out and check this book out at some point!

Happy Crocheting!

No I haven't been here but...

I have been busy. I have some really yummy recipes to share with you (I know I don't often talk food here but I thought I might finally add my other obsession) and I have been crocheting up a storm. Plus I really want to start embroidering again. I didn't make it to Maker Faire this year (next year for sure) but I have lots of projects to share and some cool websites for you to look at .

Thanks for being patient with me. I will try my darnedest to keep up... at least until I go on vacay! TTYS!

AW: my squares were featured on Pay it Forward

As some of you know (if you have been reading along) that I have done some charity work (I am starting slowly) and made a bunch of squares to send to a little girl in New Mexico for her school's Pay it Forward project. Well I finally checked and she featured me on her blog (I am the Benicia CA one). Here is the pic she used (aren't the blocks pretty?). Now I just need to share some of my other work with y'all. Hopefully, I will get around to that soon.

Book Review: Blueprint Crochet

I love books, maybe even more than I love crafting but I can't be sure. I am going to add to my crafting madness here by including reviews of my favorite crochet and crafting books. We will start with a new jewel!!


Blueprint Crochet by Robyn Chachula


My hubby just bought me this book because he wants me to work on sweaters for me and thought some of these were very cute and structural (which I love). It also to be written by one of my all-time crochet designer Robyn Chachula. The book includes lots of really architectural designs (lots of math and science-y looking stuff) but it is all done through symbols!!! Symbols work so much better for me than actual instructions it is insane. I actually find that I don't even try most difficult patterns if they don't have symbols and diagrams to help. I am a very visual person so I need that kind of support (and I am sure other people need it too).

I really want to make everything in this book but especially the Sarah Bee Dress and the Katie Bolero. The book is totally worth the $23 if you want cute structural wearables. Check out Robyn's blog to find out more about this book and her other work (linked to the book title). I can't wait to share some of the things I make with this book!!! Oh and the cover is so cute too!


Enjoy!

Blog Facelift: courtesy of Jannypie!

So if you have been following the blog (or even if you haven't) you might notice it is really cute now and much more reader-friendly. Well I have been looking at the blog wondering why no one seems to want to read it, and it is very likely because I don't blog that often. However, I also thought the look was a little lacking. I know that a cute blog does not equal an interesting blog but at least I am trying. So I changed the regular blog background and colors and then added a header image from a lapghan I am currently working on, cute huh? But what about the really 'sweet' detail on the outside? Well that is courtesy of Jannypie. Check out her website for free blog backgrounds and lots of other over all cuteness. Thanks Jannypie for the wonderful new look!! I hope it means my posts will be more interesting... well we will see ;).

Finally a finished Paisley Skies Scarf

So yes I did finish it (I am still weaving in some ends but on the most part it is done). I adapted the paisley pattern from one I found online (Patti had them available to see here). I really like the colors and how they work together. In the end I edged it with a modified pattern from a book (150 Crochet Trims). It is called an iris stitch but I like how it looks a little changed. I took the pictures pretty quick so they are not great but I hope you get the idea. The first one is me wearing it (and boy is that not flattering) and the second is just a closeup of the end of the scarf. I am currently filling the white spaces between paisleys (the gaps) and weaving in ends but it is war, and I love how quirky it is. Enjoy!

Wow I am not photogenic but the scarf still looks good. Below is the end of the scarf showing the detailing. I used our Peruvian fabric as a background (isn't it pretty?).

Freeform: Part 1

As it is NatCroMo I am trying my hand at freeform crochet for the the first time. We are working off themes each time and our first these is 'A is for Apple.' I took this to inspire my yarn and overall look. I used a kitchen ww cotton in green and a mixed mohair in rainbow together to get this effect.

I then crocheted a sort of flower (it is time for apple blossoms) and I really like what I got. I used a I hook and it turned out an ok size. I actually really like the results and am not sure i want to add anything to it but I will try for more when more is posted. Enjoy!

Happy NatCroMo!!

March is NatCroMo (also IntCroMo) which is celebrated all over the country (and world) both IRL and online. I have decided to celebrate this year in a couple of ways. I am going to blog everyday (or as close as possible) about crochet, charity work, crafting, and learning about crochet. I am doing several things this month to celebrate, including: taking two classes online at crochetville, participatine in my first freeform on ravelry, and starting some charity work (probably Project Linus but I don't know yet). I will keep you all up-to-date with that. In fact, later today (if it actually happens) I will post about the two patterns I have tested and some other projects I am working on. Please feel free to check out the information on both Ravelry and Crochetville.

Oh and Happy NatCroMo!