My second try at dyeing yarn with Koolaid - First time it was too much white - so I overdyed it pink!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Yarnifun
Stuff I've made lately...all because of Ravelry.com - HPKCHC & NerdWars!
My second try at dyeing yarn with Koolaid - First time it was too much white - so I overdyed it pink!
Isn't this square pretty? It's called crocodile... something or other?
This is my first try at Illusion Knitting. The top photo is how it looks from above - the bottom photo is how it looks from the sideways - do you see something there? Chuck doesn't.
My tribute to the Fourth!
Slip Stitch Knitting. WHEW! This was a chore! But I absolutely love it!
And this is a blanket - not a 12x12 square. This blanket-in-process is about 5' square. I love this pattern - Babette.
My second try at dyeing yarn with Koolaid - First time it was too much white - so I overdyed it pink!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Even Nerdier!
I know I was totally nerding out last post about the Harry Potter group on Ravelry. It got worse. I found the Ravelympics group. During those other Olympics in London this summer, this group is challenging ourselves to knit, crochet, spin or dye yarny goodness. Of course, I signed up. It's just so hard WAITING (!!) for things to start. The HPKCHC sorting will begin this Tuesday - but I won't know for sure where the Sorting Hat puts me until next week. NEXT WEEK! That's like forever - RIGHT?!!!
To help the time pass - I've kept busy with these lovelies this week:
This is a test block for the designer of this pattern. She wrote it for a 9" block (see next pic), this is her version for a 12" block. I so admire her talent and creativity to come up with these patterns!
Here is the 9" version that I'm mailing to an online friend in Michigan. People in our VCGroup are making blocks in the "sock monkey color palette" & sending them to her - then she is going to join them into a blanket for her friend who is battling cancer.
This pattern is called "Double Framed Lace" that I made for the Big Toes Swap in the VC Group. We called this swap "Big Toes" because that's usually a criteria in other swaps, that there can be no holes big enough to get your Big Toe through. Highly technical measuring device, there.
To help the time pass - I've kept busy with these lovelies this week:
This is a test block for the designer of this pattern. She wrote it for a 9" block (see next pic), this is her version for a 12" block. I so admire her talent and creativity to come up with these patterns!
Here is the 9" version that I'm mailing to an online friend in Michigan. People in our VCGroup are making blocks in the "sock monkey color palette" & sending them to her - then she is going to join them into a blanket for her friend who is battling cancer.
This pattern is called "Double Framed Lace" that I made for the Big Toes Swap in the VC Group. We called this swap "Big Toes" because that's usually a criteria in other swaps, that there can be no holes big enough to get your Big Toe through. Highly technical measuring device, there. 
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
April Winds
I suppose I should start by saying, "Hello. My name is Jennifer, and I am a GEEK!"
The yarny website I spend FAR too much time on, Ravelry, has groups of crafters from all over the world, of all levels of ability, all gathered together to share our crafts. Last year, I joined a group of folks who love Vanna's Choice yarns - they do swaps, KAL/CALs, and all things fun. I've been making my two blocks for each of the two CALs that I've joined - yes, that's FOUR blocks a month. Lately:
So - as if that wasn't bad enough - I've found an even GEEKIER, NERDIER FUNNER group of crazy people
on Ravelry. The Harry Potter Knitting & Crochet House Cup (HPKCHC)! They have "terms" (like the school year for HP) and competitions (i.e. "1000 points to Ravenclaw for that outstanding scarf!") and houses (the regular four) and sortings (I'm not sorted yet - SOON though, I hope!! I'm Ravenclaw through & through, fingers crossed that's where the Hat puts me!). Yes. Total Geek Out! I love it. I get POINTS for stuff I'm going to do anyway! (Okay - okay - imaginary points that don't mean anything, but POINTS!) And we get BADGES for doing different tasks. The last term was January through March. April is an between-term month, then "classes" start again in May. There have been different challenges in April - like getting your "favorites" list in order, clearing out your "Queue." This is my Badge for "The Fearless March" - I had to summarize my crafting over the last 3 months and propose my upcoming projects. Yay Nerdy Jenn! (Yes, that's Neville Longbottom on the badge).
I told Jes about it & she just shook her head. Must be hard to have a mom so totally given over to the Nerd-Side. But Damn! it makes me smile!
And in other news, something else that's had me smiling and grinning and even laughing quite a bit this week: taking care of Hank, my granddog, while Jes & E are vacationing. It's just impossible not to grin while getting puppy kisses - to laugh when he bounces up and down to be held.
So those parts of my life are doing well - my crafting & puppy loving. If only I didn't have to waste so much time at work!
The yarny website I spend FAR too much time on, Ravelry, has groups of crafters from all over the world, of all levels of ability, all gathered together to share our crafts. Last year, I joined a group of folks who love Vanna's Choice yarns - they do swaps, KAL/CALs, and all things fun. I've been making my two blocks for each of the two CALs that I've joined - yes, that's FOUR blocks a month. Lately:
So - as if that wasn't bad enough - I've found an even GEEKIER, NERDIER FUNNER group of crazy people
on Ravelry. The Harry Potter Knitting & Crochet House Cup (HPKCHC)! They have "terms" (like the school year for HP) and competitions (i.e. "1000 points to Ravenclaw for that outstanding scarf!") and houses (the regular four) and sortings (I'm not sorted yet - SOON though, I hope!! I'm Ravenclaw through & through, fingers crossed that's where the Hat puts me!). Yes. Total Geek Out! I love it. I get POINTS for stuff I'm going to do anyway! (Okay - okay - imaginary points that don't mean anything, but POINTS!) And we get BADGES for doing different tasks. The last term was January through March. April is an between-term month, then "classes" start again in May. There have been different challenges in April - like getting your "favorites" list in order, clearing out your "Queue." This is my Badge for "The Fearless March" - I had to summarize my crafting over the last 3 months and propose my upcoming projects. Yay Nerdy Jenn! (Yes, that's Neville Longbottom on the badge).I told Jes about it & she just shook her head. Must be hard to have a mom so totally given over to the Nerd-Side. But Damn! it makes me smile!
And in other news, something else that's had me smiling and grinning and even laughing quite a bit this week: taking care of Hank, my granddog, while Jes & E are vacationing. It's just impossible not to grin while getting puppy kisses - to laugh when he bounces up and down to be held.
So those parts of my life are doing well - my crafting & puppy loving. If only I didn't have to waste so much time at work!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Sunday in Westeros
I love a day with nothing to do. I always have plenty of stuff to do, but I mean a day with nothing I HAVE to do! No chores, no duties, no responsibilities. That means lots of time for stuff I WANT to do - read, catch up on DVD viewing, crochet!
Sunday was a lovely day for that. After leisurely waking up, checking email & Facebook (in case something momentous was going on - which it wasn't) - I put "Game of Thrones" Season 1, DVD 1 in the DVD player & hit PLAY. AAAH - the luxury of seeing a fabulous book made in film so accurately, so well cast, just so damn well DONE! I love living in Westeros in my imagination while I listen to the books (via Audible.com) - now I have images to see. I'm currently listening to Book Three of the series, so going back and watching the first DVD was like watching a history lesson - these things already happened! I can't praise "Game of Thrones" highly enough. The characters are wonderful (well, the evil ones are really rotten!!) - the settings truly invoke a sense of place - and the plots are truly twisted! I love it. And one of the best things about series-reading is that "The End" doesn't mean the end! There's another book waiting for me! {sigh} I love that!
So ANYWAY! I fire up the DVD player and get out my afghan blocks. I'd noticed when I was putting them away that the block sizes wasn't uniform. That's bad. It meant the squares wouldn't line up when it comes time to join them all together. So I spent the first episode adding rows of border around the smaller squares to bring them all to a happy 13".
Then I pulled out my "Infinity Wrapped" that I'm making for myself. Pretty, huh? The pic above is the first motif halfway done. It is kinda tedious - first you make the five infinity shape motifs, then join them together by making six rows of border on one side, then make six rows of border on the other side, then put more border around the whole thing with little bobbly things all around! Whew!!! So far, I've made & joined the motifs and made six rows of border on one side. Tonight, I added the first row of border on the opposite side. It's a lot of counting and making sure you do the right stitch at the right place to keep the smooth curvy lines going. I know I will love it when I'm done. I think it may be called the "Infinity Wrap" because the border goes on and on and on and on...
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Shamrocky Road
I've walked in several 5Ks since I've been seriously walking for exercise in the past three years or so. The Danville Running & Fitness Club has a series of seven races they use to tally scores for those of us who have no shot at winning a race. Points are awarded on finishing position in the seven races and combined for the year's total. I'm hoping to compete in all seven races with fairly decent times - also hoping the women in my age group have to miss a race or two - giving me the chance to swoop in and WIN WIN WIN!!! There's no prize, of course - just recognition. But it's my best shot at the WIN WIN WIN.
So yesterday was St Patricks Day - and the Shamrock 5K. I posted a good time of 46:42 which I am very pleased with. Now I just have to show up and finish the other six races in the series, and I may have a chance to be a Winner! Please keep the comments about "You're a winner Just for Participating!" to yourselves. Winner means Winner, not Participator - it's not the Special Olympics.
I did realize as I trudged as fast as I could over the course - the lovely Danville River Walk trail - that racing takes the fun out of walking. I try to walk at least 3 times a week - in my neighborhood, on the River Walk trail - for exercise. I am listening to the the "Game of Thrones" series of books on my iPhone earbuds while I walk, and I get entranced in the story - laughing at funny parts, even crying at sad parts - but it takes my mind off the fact that I'm walking walking walking walking... Racing, however, required me to concentrate - to focus - to push myself faster than usual - to listen to my 80s aerobic mix music to keep my pace up - to try and catch the lady in my age group who was ahead of me (and finished ahead of me too). Not so much fun. More like work. Work sucks. And I paid to do it! Oh well - keeping my eye on the WIN WIN WIN!
Friday, March 16, 2012
crochet march
With Crochet & Knit Blog 2012 week coming up soon, I decided to post some recent FO's from the Whimsical Wonderland BAM CAL on Ravelry. This BAM is more challenging - the patterns are all original, designed specifically for the group crochet-along.
This was January's block - done during the last football games of the 2011 season. It's called Ripplin Snowflake and involved more steps than I'm used to. The foundation ripply block was done first, then embroidered top stitching on the middle white line. The circle part was crocheted separately, embellished with top stitching, and attached to the block. Very lovely, I think. My palette for this group CAL in Vanna's Choice yarns are Sapphire, Bluebell, Rust, Brick, Honey and White.
The next block is an extra pattern I made from the same designer, Donna K Lacey. It involved a special crochet stitch called "bullions" which is multiple wraps around the hook creating the "bumpy" stitches. Another new technique for me.
Next is "Anticipation" by the Guest Designer for January in the group. It involved "surface crochet" where stitches are placed on top of existing rounds. Love the effect, although I didn't think I would while I was working the block.
February's block "I Cross My Heart" used a completely new technique to me: Tapestry Crochet. It is a tedious and fiddly process of making one or two single crochet stitches in one color, switching to the other color, and back and forth - following a chart like a counted cross-stitch chart. I like the block, but I doubt I'll make another.
Also in February, I made the block "Firenze." The designer made her blocks using a single color with white contrast, and I chose to use the Brick and Rust colors against the Sapphire background. I really like the pattern which wasn't very difficult. Definitely a keeper
The March square is "Lucky Charms" which was presented by the designer in shades of green, making it a very St Patricks type block. I kept to my palette, making the "shamrocks" in white. I like this block, but I wonder how the little puffs will do if the afghan is actually used. I may go back and tack them down with invisible nylon thread.
The March Guest Designer square is still in process for me. Hoping to finish it this weekend. Here's how they line up if I were to stitch them together now. I have many months of blocks to make and add to this crochet adventure of an afghan.
This was January's block - done during the last football games of the 2011 season. It's called Ripplin Snowflake and involved more steps than I'm used to. The foundation ripply block was done first, then embroidered top stitching on the middle white line. The circle part was crocheted separately, embellished with top stitching, and attached to the block. Very lovely, I think. My palette for this group CAL in Vanna's Choice yarns are Sapphire, Bluebell, Rust, Brick, Honey and White.
The next block is an extra pattern I made from the same designer, Donna K Lacey. It involved a special crochet stitch called "bullions" which is multiple wraps around the hook creating the "bumpy" stitches. Another new technique for me.
Next is "Anticipation" by the Guest Designer for January in the group. It involved "surface crochet" where stitches are placed on top of existing rounds. Love the effect, although I didn't think I would while I was working the block.
February's block "I Cross My Heart" used a completely new technique to me: Tapestry Crochet. It is a tedious and fiddly process of making one or two single crochet stitches in one color, switching to the other color, and back and forth - following a chart like a counted cross-stitch chart. I like the block, but I doubt I'll make another.
Also in February, I made the block "Firenze." The designer made her blocks using a single color with white contrast, and I chose to use the Brick and Rust colors against the Sapphire background. I really like the pattern which wasn't very difficult. Definitely a keeper
The March square is "Lucky Charms" which was presented by the designer in shades of green, making it a very St Patricks type block. I kept to my palette, making the "shamrocks" in white. I like this block, but I wonder how the little puffs will do if the afghan is actually used. I may go back and tack them down with invisible nylon thread.
The March Guest Designer square is still in process for me. Hoping to finish it this weekend. Here's how they line up if I were to stitch them together now. I have many months of blocks to make and add to this crochet adventure of an afghan.
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