What one new thing (or two) are you excited to learn or explore in 2019? 🙂 (We gotta keep levelling up, right?)
Howdy amazing folks! We are moving into the final month of the current year which … likely means that you’re giving a think about the year ahead, right? 😉 And if you haven’t yet then I would love it if you used this prompt to do so 😀
So that up there is Question #4. Give it some thought and share your answer/s below so we can inspire each other with awesome ideas & positive intentions 👇👇👇 And don’t worry if it’s not final yet, we’re all entitled to brainstorm! 😀
“Owlie” – (because I can’t think of anything more original right now 😂) who holds the distinguished honor of being the flag-bearer for my new-found hobby [Diamond Painting] – is finished!
Here he is framed & displayed in our little grooming room:
I covered the canvass with a sheet of plastic on the suggestion of the cleaning lady. She was worried that dust might settle between the beads & wiping them would cause the beads to come lose – smart observation!
(Oh and I’m really sorry about the poor quality of these photos. It’s been cloudy/rainy lately so I’m using indoor lighting only 😭).
And because I am just “high-strung” like that, here’s my next project:
“Anne” is basically finished. I finished her last month already and yet, she still sleeps inside her project bag awaiting the day when I will finally perform the finishing touches that will move her from WIP to FO.
Is there anyone else out there who procrastinates when tucking-in tails & seaming? Please tell me I’m not the only one! 😁
B is for Black’s a Bitch
I do not know what I was thinking. As a lover of lace motifs, I let feelings overrule logic and set out to crochet an obscure “something wearable” made out of black lace motifs – which aren’t even square to begin with and hence, require the invention of a filler motif.
Imagine the gazillion tails that I will need to tuck away eventually 🤪 Plus, working with black yarn is very difficult for when you need to correct something and have to unravel. #Crazy! 🤪 Already I burned through my supply of this yarn and will have to purchase more if I want to finish.
What I learned: motifs really use up a lot of yarn due to their tails – 2 each 🤪 😁
And finally ~
C is for (Creative) Constipation 🤭
I recently bought this beautifully variegated crochet thread that I was very excited to crochet a table centerpiece with. Well, 3 failed centerpieces later and I realize the variegation just doesn’t lend itself well to anything ornate such as a table center. The thread colors interfere with the ornate design creating a visually noisy item.
I wish I took a picture of it before unraveling so you could see what I mean but, here’s the thread up close:
Hmmm … I’m feeling a bit defeated today but I’m aiming at finishing at least one of them for next Friday.
This is nothing but a temporary dry spell, nothing that a jolt of Pinterest can’t cure, yes? 😉
How about you, how do you get yourself started again when experiencing a creative block?
What do you do with something that has lost its purpose? The first answer would be to give it away to someone who might have use for it. The second answer would be to re-purpose it.
Well, prior to us leaving for Indonesia, I had already donated quite a lot of my cold-weather yarns to my daughter’s school in Melbourne. I don’t know why precisely I hung on to these that I chose to keep but likely, I was feeling wasteful and wanted to redeem a bit of my guilty conscience.
At this point though they’re at a risk of seriously inhibiting my crafting mojo if I don’t do something really soon.
So I made the decision not to buy any warm-weather/tropical/beach yarns unless my stash of cold-weather yarns are at least 80% used up. I figured I would still use the yarns to make items – even if these items are for cold weather and will be shipped off for donation at the end of this goal – as long as the projects expose me to new lessons in crochet & knitting.
Kinda like investing in collateral materials in a self-imposed knitting & crochet class.
Genius! 😎😎
And so for this first entry, may I present a knitted cowl and a crochet baby cocoon:
Ze Cowl:
This project presented me with the opportunity to knit in a particular stitch pattern that required copious amounts of expletives and the frustrating experience of frogging 7 times (I kid you not, I actually counted the times so I could tell you afterwards).
This pattern required absolute concentration lest I forgot a single “K1” or “YO” or whether it was a “K2tog” or an “SSK” and whichever came first 😵😵😵. As a matter of fact I ended up reciting the individual stitches out loud while executing them to help keep me on track. For all 12 pattern repeats! I couldn’t wait for it to get finished 🤒
As you can see, I persevered and am proud to be able to claim having experience in the following:
Following a lace stitch pattern – it’s my 1st time to do it and I just find the result very encouraging even with the frogs and the errors 😍 😆
Provisional cast on – my tip: be very careful when unraveling
Kitchener stitch – mine is a bit wonky but still exceeded my expectations
Now this I might end up actually using for B3 😍 – although I still have to check later on if it won’t be too stuffy. Compared to the 1st project, this one was a breeze and I learned the following:
Crocheting in the chevron pattern
Crocheting in the round (I need to improve my joining stitches)
I was inspired to learn knitting because of the prospect of moving to Australia where colder weather was to be experienced.
Oh the shawls, mittens, hats, sweaters, socks and what else I would knit!
Now that we’re back in sunny, tropical Indonesia however, I’ve temporarily lost my mojo (this includes crochet) 😟 😕 🙁 ☹️ Will it just be doilies and curtain tiebacks henceforth?
But my hands are restless and want to create, so while I’m assessing this tangled situation that I am in I decided to knit a Kindle cosy and practice knitting some cables while at it 😌
Turned out pretty okay 😁 I shall find my crafting way very soon. Like next week soon. Because the best way to get back on track is to just do it 😊
And as mentioned last week, I finished all my WIPs in good time for this post, allow me! 😀
flower hat
infinity shrug
or worn off the shoulder when feeling sassy
did you notice the scallop edging? 🙂
All these items are firsts for me 🙂 The flower hat tutorials are here and here. And the versatile infinity shrug/cowl’s video tutorial is here.
“Alicia” the purse is my own creation. I combined two color crochet cotton yarns for it (beige and deep red), found the type of crochet flower I wanted on its flap via a google search, and learned how to make a tassel 🙂
Alicia
I didn’t want to pick up a needle and thread for Alicia unless it’s just to hide the tails 🙄 So it is stitched together using a steel crochet hook and single crochet stitches that travel from one end of the purse, to its flap, then down the other end. The strap is likewise crochet-ed on starting at one end and attached at the other.
It’s a very handy cross-body purse for times when all I need to bring is my mobile, keys and a few folded up bills. Unfortunately, there’s only this one picture of Alicia since my friend liked it so much that I gave it to her 😮 That’s me being so happy the purse turned out so well XD Oh well, I can always make another one I guess …
So now it’s time to reward myself with more yarn, right?! 😀 😀 Well as I was about to fill another online order, I had a yen to first check what was available locally. We discovered this shop near a wet market that sold craft supplies and, guess what, they have these lovely polyester yarn! ❤ ❤ ❤
As any self-respecting yarn addict, I was about to go appropriately gaga and buy what I could carry, however, I’ve never worked with polyester yarn before. So I bought these three (only) and decided to meditate on them first. Now I’m looking at them and feeling them and waiting for them to speak to me.
So now I need your help –
What can you make with polyester yarn? I’m thinking doilies and bags and I don’t know, are they any good for scarves or any piece of clothing? Are they warm? They feel soft but strong, and smooth. There’s no specifications but I believe these work well with my 3mm hook.
And she’s done! Fortunately, my husband was able to buy additional skeins of the same yarn on a recent trip to Singapore 🙂
My daughter was initially ambivalent about it, the skirt does feel like it looks – frilly and bulky. But she got used to it after a while 😀 The challenge is that the drawstring type of belt loosens up while she’s active so I might have to experiment with something sturdier.
Meanwhile, I’m planning to make one for myself in a single color, maybe black or gray or deep red. This would be lovely worn over black leggings 🙂 As well, it is rather bulky and definitely has some weight, so I might experiment with lighter yarn next time.
Of Snailmail, Books & Vanities 