Dee's crafting madness: April 2007

One more for the day

Gracie had a faux sheepskin liner in her beloved basket. She LOVES that basket, but shedding means laundry. After one too many washings, the liner shrunk and wouldn't stay on. Because she's a fleece whore, I bought a polar fleece pullover at a thrift store and attempted to make a new liner. It turned out too small, so I left it at a blanket in her basket for the longest time. So tonight, being in an exceptionally crafty mood, I searched thru my fabrics and found some purple fleece. It wasn't enough to do much with, so the lightbulb came on.

My second attempt turned out much better. I couldn't even get the liner in place before the little huzzie was in there purring away and making biscuits.

The pic is a little dark, but you get the jist. Yep, she's a happy little furbaby tonight.

Needles, needles, needles

When I decided to teach myself to knit, it never occurred to me that I'd eventually have pointy sticks all over the place. At first I altered a keg can to store them in. The pic for it is in my very first post on this blog back in October. The can didn't work that great back then, but it was okay considering I only had straight needles. Then I added dpn's, crochet hooks, and circular needles to the mix. Now what? I did the "these go here, those go there, and those go in that thing way over there across the room" thing for a while, but I just couldn't stand it anymore.

Well, one day not long ago, I ran across these placemats in the dollar store. Ooh, green, purple, and tropical-looking! Therefore, I must have them, and I'll figure out what to do with them later. So this is what I came up with. I'm in need of dowel and a better shade of ribbon for hanging them, but this works for now. I *refuse* to drive 20 miles each way for a dowel rod and a spool of ribbon.

For my straight needles

I thought about making one of those roll-up kind of things, but then I thought, "How often am I going to go somewhere and take ALL of my needles?" This works better for me.

For my double-pointed and crochet hooks

And for my circular needles

I got this idea from Debbie Stoller's first Stitch 'n Bitch book. Is there really a GOOD way to store these things?? I mean, yeah, you could leave them in the packages they come in, but I inherited a bunch that didn't have the packages anymore. And how do you store all of the packages? I figure this lets 'em kinda hang out and not be so curled up. That will make knitting with them much easier.

So that's what I've been up to today. How 'bout you?

Yeah, that's me

One of my girlfriends found this image while I was away this week. Is that not perfect for me? Thanks, Jaime! :D

And it's finished!

Wootie woo! The pic is a little dark, but if I lighten it, I have to squint to see what the design actually is. Anyway, she loves it, and I've finished knitting with itty bitty, smaller-than-toothpick sticks! ;)

FO's and a WIP

Here's what I've been working on lately. Even though summer is approaching, I started on "Dashing" from knitty.com. Using Lion Brand's Wool-Ease, I cast on and began. I had considered several different patterns and after making each daughter a pair, I decided on this pattern for mine. Yes, it's a man's pattern, but big woo.

So anyway, about 2/3 of the way thru the first glove, I found a pattern I like better. *sigh* Ain't that just my luck? So I finished the left one, and I'll make the right one at some point before winter comes back.

I just love the amount of confidence my family has in me. They're convinced that NOTHING is too much for me. I can't seem to convince them that I simply am not Superwoman. Of course my stubbornness and "need for achievement" (as my college Psych professor tagged me) don't help matters there. I'm rambling, I know.

Anyway, in my copy of Stitch 'n Bitch Nation, Breeze spotted "The Bead Goes On" beaded wrist cuffs. After *finally* tracking down size 0 (that's ZERO) needles and stringing 172 beads onto this tiny crochet thread I was given, I began. Holy cow! It's like knitting with toothpicks, except toothpicks have a bigger diameter! Those needles are so tiny that I was afraid they were going to snap. They didn't, all the beads have been knitted into place according to the chart, and this is how far I've gotten. I lack about another inch or so, and after seaming it together, it'll be done. I have to admit that it is pretty cute.

And last, but certainly not least, a layout I finished last night. The paper and rub-ons came in my NYOBC kit put out by Pinecone Press. At first I didn't think I'd love this paper (Fancy Pants) and shades of Bazzill, but I just adore this LO! It's titled, "4ever, for Always, and No Matter What". I couldn't seem to get the colors just right, but you get the idea. I *must* have some more of those rubons! In the bottom right corner, I attached a minibook. (Oh, and that color pic of us there on the left...IRL, he does have TWO eyebrows that are even. Sometimes I despise my scanner.)

This is the cover and inside of it.

The journaling reads, "Thru everything, good and bad, under the same roof or on opposite sides of the globe, you are with me. My best friend, my soul mate, my motivation, my conscience, and my heart."

Girls, remember being 12?

And completely mortified at the thought of *anyone* knowing it was "that time"? I do. And while I wasn't one of them, there were girls at my school who didn't carry a purse 3 weeks out of the month. Well, Kat is 12 and doesn't carry a purse. So in an attempt to make "that time" as inconspicuous as possible for her, I combined her favorite color and her love of monkeys to make a cutesy little pouch for those "personal" items.

I had found a site (which I've since lost) that would turn a pretty simple image into a needlework graph. Kat found this (in my opinion) freakishly scary monkey and LOVED it, so I transformed it, cross-stitched it up, and stitched it onto this lime-green polka dot remnant I found at the evil place (translation=Walmart). It's lined with a solid lime green and has a zipper. Finished measurements are 3 1/2"x 5 1/2", so it can be easily tucked into her backpack, gym bag, or even coat pocket.

Whether she'll use it for its intended purpose remains to be seen. At least in my attempt to be a mom who understands what she's going thru, I've given her an option.