I feel all over the place with my crafts too. It’s like my brain is going to explode. There are only 24 hours in a day, and I don’t have enough internal capacity to pursue all the interesting things out there! I have just recently signed up for a photography class this fall. I’m combining my wirework interests with newfound interests in metalwork (see my new favorite toy below). Firing up this baby is SO MUCH FUN. I never knew there was an inner pyro in me. After my first torch class, I want to fire up EVERYTHING!

I’ve also been playing around with jewelry. It’s been a year since I’ve been addicted, and the beading obsession is still growing strong. Here’s a little peek:

Lastly, how could I not mention any fiber crafts? After all those squeal-licious booties, I got to doing an adult-sized version (yes, there’s a pattern for this too).

The stupid thing is, I wasn’t paying attention to the pattern, and I made it slightly too big for my own foot (I crocheted with a double strand of yarn rather than a single strand). I wear a size 8.5, and I think this will fit a 9 or 10. I’ll be throwing this in the washer and dryer to block it anyways (I’m using Cotton Ease) so we’ll see how it turns out and whether it changes the fit or not.

Ok, off to cleaning the kitchen and doing laundry! Whoopee! (Can you hear the sarcasm through your computer screen?)

First, one more Mary Jane, in pink and green as suggested:

And now, for the boys! I love these little loafers!!

Pattern: Little Button Loafers, by Sylvia Schuchardt (see note below)
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease, various colors
Hook: 3.5mm hook (E)
Notions: sewing needle, embroidery thread, coordinating buttons
Notes:

The soles are pretty much the same as Sylvia’s other booties patterns. Although, with this particular pattern, I had some trouble. I suspect there is some error with the pattern, because Jen had similar problems too. We checked and double-checked. So I sort of “fixed” the pattern so it would work for me. For newborn sizes, in the Body section, #1, I joined color A in the 5th stitch to the right (instead of the 3rd). And in the same section, #4, Sc 14 (instead of 15). With those minor changes, everything seemed to be better aligned.

Other than that, these were super cute and super fast to make. I don’t like sewing, much less hand sewing, but my motivation to put the buttons on was to have a uber cute finished product. Ta-da!

Blue/green:

Brown/pink:

Pattern: Baby Mary Jane “Skimmers”, by Sylvia Schuchardt
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease, in various colors; Lake, Lime, Hazelnut, Berry
Hook: 3.5mm (E)
Notes:

Pattern
This pattern is very detailed and very well written! Make sure you count each stitch, however. If you’re off by one, it throws the whole pattern off, that’s how specific it is. And it goes really fast. I can finish a newborn pair in one afternoon. I love it!

Yarn
A bit on the splitty side for this type of project; you are using a worsted weight yarn with a 3.5mm hook, so things are going to be dense and a little tight (which is intentional). Slightly frustrating at first, until I loosened my grip a tad. Love the colors and the fact that it’s machine washable, of course!

What other color combos do you guys think would be cute?

I’m making them newborn size; although, my gauge is probably a tad larger than it ought to be.

I’ll post details when I actually finish with a full pair (or two). I’ve had a really full month, and yesterday was an emotional and physically taxing day. This project is a wonderful and relaxing distraction (plus, it’s obnoxiously quick!). I’m off to Monterey this weekend with some of my good friends for a short time of some needed r&r. Can’t wait!

Pattern: Eyelet Stroller Blanket by Paula Fisher
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport in Green Apple (8 skeins) and Grass (2 skeins)
Hook: Size F (3.75 mm)
Notes:

Pattern
Easy. It’s pretty much double crochet stitches all the way down, with strategically placed eyelets here and there for a simple flower motif throughout the blanket. I’m not really in love with the double crochet look (I like my stitches to be more dense and close together), but since this pattern calls itself a “stroller” blanket, then OK, it’s not meant to be a heavy and dense blanket to keep you warm. A bit monotonous, but great while watching TV or bringing to a social knitting night like my local Stitch ‘n Bitch group. Cute and simple.

Yarn
I love Shine, and their variety of colors (not to mention Knit Pick prices, of course). Shine Sport was a bit thinner than the recommended yarn in this pattern, and I went down a couple hook sizes to accommodate, and make the stitches look a bit more dense. I also did a handful more of repeats (total of 8.5 repeats) until I wanted the blanket size I wanted. And just to make things interesting, I made the scalloped border a different color. I love how Shine is machine washable, made of a cotton blend (great for summer babies), soft and cool at the same time. It’s a bit more “elastic” than I hoped for, but no matter, hope my friends love it.

Made myself a pair of cluster earrings. Didn’t have headpins on me, so I went creative and put little spirals on the ends of the wire (click for a close-up)

I’m totally wearing these today, and very proud of it. =)

Pre-blocking shot:

Post-blocking shot (close-up):

Me wearing it: (P.S. the plants behind me are the corn plants from our veggie garden!)

Pattern: Clapotis, by Kate Gilbert
Yarn: Sweaterkits Handpainted Silk, in Purpleberry (+1000 yards?)
Needles: US #5
Size: Full shawl, 62″ long (blocked)
Notes:

Pattern
Very simple and easy, mindless knit. Perfect for social knitting nights. Very addicting! I added one more repeat in the increase section, and did the straight section until I wanted it to a desired length (taking into consideration that silk WILL grow when blocked).

Yarn
I was gifted this beautiful hand painted 100% silk yarn from Lacy for my 30th birthday. It was part of a Sweaterkits kit for the Fiona Ellis Shawl. I saved the pattern for a rainy day, but wanted to use the yarn for this Clapotis; I figured the silk would drape wonderfully and I definitely had plenty of it. I’ve never knitted with silk before - this particular one is soft, and it has a slightly slippery/squeaky quality to it (due to the silk content). Dropping stitches was not a problem. However, because it is silk, it draped wonderfully, but it is “slippery”, so wearing this Clapotis is a tad difficult because it won’t stay put as well as other non-silk ones would have. Also, because this yarn is DK weight, I chose to use a smaller needle size. I didn’t worry too much about it being too small for a full-sized shawl, as I knew that silk will grow when blocked. Variegated colors in this yarn range from dusty roses to mauves, indigo blues to varied purples throughout. Very pretty! One downsize was that this yarn bled onto my fingers. When I blocked it, I had to rinse it through several times to get the extra dye out.

***

I had originally intended to wear this Clapotis to a nice outing, like a wedding. I went to a wedding this past wedding, but decided at the last minute to abandon the idea of wearing this Clapotis because I became a last minute ceremony coordinator for the bride and groom, and I figured I needed an outfit that was comfortable and not fiddly, as I was going to be running around a bit. Despite some behind-the-scenes snafus, the wedding was beautiful, touching, successful, and lots of fun. I got to see the bridesmaids wear some of the jewelry I made for them (requested by the bride). They wore this bracelet and this very simple drop earring:

***

This is completely unrelated to my post, but today is my 6th anniversary! It’s so crazy how time flies so fast. I look back at our relationship, and yes, it has changed over time, and truthfully, our love has changed too - its roots have grown deeper and matured. I know we have so much more to grow from, but we have plenty of time for that, right? I hear about the “seven-year itch” thing, and I worry about what that is all about, because it feels like we are far from anything like that, and we’re starting our 7th year together as a married couple. I was told to disregard it, because we are paving our own way. So that’s what I’m doing for now. Hubby and I are going out to celebrate tonight. Can’t wait! =)

In any case, last weekend I was at my church’s annual retreat. All three congregations were there - English, Mandarin, Cantonese. It was a great weekend to hang out, relax, build/deepen friendships, cross those cultural/language barriers, and be refreshed. I even taught a knitting/crochet workshop while I was there! Lots of fun and good times. So I took that opportunity to bring the new camera and take some practice shots. I love flower pictures, so I practiced a bit with the macro settings. Maybe one day I’ll get a macro lens, but right now, I’m just playing around. (Note: none of these pictures were touched up with any photo program)

Some of the pictures might be slightly blurry - it was really windy that day and the flowers were swaying like crazy. Next pictures, I’ll set up my lightbox and play around and see how things go indoors instead. =)

In the meantime, I am tinkering with my Kodak, and playing with different settings. I hear that photographing jewelry is probably the most difficult. I have to say, all the shots below are without my tripod (I was too lazy to go upstairs and find it and set it up). Although, perhaps it would have been better to use the tripod. Meanwhile, lighting is a whole beast I’m trying to figure out.

Model: I’m using bridesmaid bracelets I’ve been making for a friend who is getting married in a couple weeks. Her bridesmaid dresses are all variations of blue.

In lightbox, florescent lighting, regular macro setting:

In lightbox, florescent lighting, florescent macro setting:

Without lightbox, indirect afternoon sun, regular macro setting:

Without lightbox, indirect morning sun, daylight macro setting:

All pictures were touched up with photo-editing software. I’m not very happy with any of these pictures, I’m going to have to play around some more. My camera just doesn’t produce vivid colors like the others, and the lighting is so-so. Any tips?? (I just want a new camera!! haha)

It’s a fun little thing, custom fit just for me. =)