Beads, Lovely Beads

Sorry I haven't posted for over a week, I've been nice and busy and all that stuff.

Anyway, during the week I got a wonderful parcel with beads and wire and findings and I think I've played with my new acquisitions most days since I got them, because they're lovely.


Ooooh, pretty 



As well as my beads, I thought I'd make a resolution to try and take more pretty photos, not necessarily of crafty things, but just of pretty things, and these are the first photos. Don't you agree they're pretty?

WIP Sunday

I've managed to get all this done in the last week...and all the ends are woven in on the red crayon! I'm sure by the time I get to the last crayon I'll have to go back and weave in lots of ends (can you see them all on the yellow crayon - pesky things!) but at the moment I'm being good and kind of weaving them in as I go.


Blankie progress 

I've managed to get a lot done on it this week, probably because I was sitting working on it with little else to do for two nights at work. To be honest though, I think I crochet at the same speed sitting in front of the tv as sitting crocheting without any distractions. I don't think I'll get as much done next week, I've got a few things on and my parents are coming up for the weekend. Yay!

EDIT: Look, it's my foot in the corner. Yes, I was standing on my half-made bed when I took the photo.

Tired again

Alright, so I'd just caught up on anything and then I ended up with a severe lack of sleep again. I ended up doing patient monitoring at work last night, all night. At least there weren't any problems, I got a smidgen of sleep and I've started on the blanket for my cousin. It's the Color Me pattern from Crochet Me. I stupidly thought, it's made with six pieces, there won't be that much joining/weaving ends in. I didn't even think the big oval in the center of each crayon would need lots of ends woven in. Oh well, I've started now.

It's clean!

I'm very happy with what I accomplished over the weekend. It wasn't really crafty, but it was necessary. I vacuumed, I moped, I dusted, I washed all my dirty clothes (including the hand washing I've been putting off for far too long), and my dirty dishes and I tidied up. After last week (which was very tiring) I had put off lots of little jobs and they had accumulated into one big mess...which is now gone. Yay!

TV Blanket

I'm very tired tonight, I've been working hard all week and I'm going to go to bed as soon as I possibly can and then I'm going to sleep in to an outrageous hour tomorrow, but first...

...it's pretty cold here, so I decided I needed a blanket for when I'm watching tv. I managed to get some cheap acrylic yarn for $1 a ball which was a bonus, and I bought up all the purple I could find and made this.


Blanket 

It's made with two strands crocheted at the same time with stripes of white bordered with mixed stripes. It's done in triple crochet and the dimensions are a little random because I chained until I thought it was big enough...but then realised it was too big, so it ended up more square than I initially wanted it but it's a good size for in front of the tv, just not if I wanted it for a bed. Because of the two strands it's nice and cushy.

I've also added some progress bars to the side bar, just to get me motivated to finish projects I start (to be honest I'm not too bad), and also start projects I mean to, rather than getting sidetracked by something new (I'm worse at that). Plus it's satisfying to look at and see how I'm going.

More new books

I've moved from op shop to op shop in my search for new books (not just craft books, but they are a favourite!).


More new books 

I'm absolutely thrilled about the Needlecraft book. I was house sitting at the end of last year and the start of this year and they had a copy there, and I have to confess I briefly thought "They won't miss this" but that was a BAD thought and was quickly banished. I just spent a lot of time there flicking through the book. It's really fantastic. It's more on techniques than patterns and it's got some great crochet stitch guides as well as embroidery stuff (I know, I just got a big embroidery book), so I'm really glad I managed to find a copy. I'm accumulating quite a collection of craft books now...as well as yarn, beads, ribbon, embroidery thread, paper and other random bits and bobs.

By the way, my car hasn't been cleaned yet (it's not actually that dirty) but one of the girls from work pulled out the grass. To be honest, I'm a little disappointed.

You know it's time to wash your car when...

...you've got not one, but two plants growing from it.

 
 

To be honest, there's a part of me that thinks this is pretty cool...and another part that is kind of disgusted with the amount of time my car goes between washes. I won't try to explain because all I have is lame excuses. 

Fan bookmark

I made this lovely bookmark a couple of weeks ago now. I love the design, it's so elegant. I'm thinking about making a few as gifts.


Fan bookmark 

I'd like to thank crochetroo for the pattern from here. I made a couple of changes. I only did 6 fans rather than 8, and did a plait before the tassel.

topics:

• crochet

Woven belt

I made this, based on instructions from the book Complete Crafts, that I found recently. It was basically an experiment, and I was trying to use up some yarn so the colours aren't my favourite, but I'm pretty happy with the technique. It would probably come in handy for bag handles and stuff (if I was going to crochet a bag), because it's a bit more solid than crochet, and I can make it in the same colour scheme as the hypothetical bag.


Woven belt 

But this is a belt, not a bag handle. To be honest I like the dangly plaited ends, I can flick them around. Hee hee!

topics:

• random

Oooooh

I'm a bit slack at the moment. I'm trying to space out my posts a bit, but now I'm getting behind, because I bought all this stuff on Saturday, and I've got a few completed projects that I need to take photos of. Anyway, the shopping was lots of fun, although I've realised I need some other stuff now. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to buy some more!


New Supplies 

Anyway, I got some yarn (I'm planning to use it for amigurumi), some eyes (amigurumi), stuffing (amigurumi), buttons (they were on special), embroidery thread (maybe crocheted earrings), a wash off pen (embroidery), a new hoop (embroidery), a plastic tray (I sorted out some of my beads, now I need more trays for findings and other stuff), and some ribbon (it was on special).

I've got a few ideas ticking round my head at the moment too, which is good because I felt a bit out of inspiration for a bit before I went away.

I saw Superman Returns last night. It was kind of good, but could have been cut down by about an hour. By the time it finished I was definately ready to go to bed. At least I didn't fall asleep in the middle of it! I managed to entertain my friends by getting completely lost in the carpark. I had never been to that shopping center and I got given pretty crap directions by them. Admittedly I'm not that great at directions anyway, but I kept everyone amused so that's the most important thing!

New craft books

Ooooh look! I bought these at the Lifeline Book Fair that was on when I went to the Gold Coast and I'm so glad I had room left in my suitcase for them (and the novels I bought too).


New books 

The Encyclopedia of Embroidery is a wonderful book. It has detailed illustrations of different embroidery stitches and techniques as well as examples of embroidered art which makes the book more interesting. Techniques include cross stitch, applique, machine embroidery and more. It also has a number of patterns as well, and was just an enjoyable book to read.

The Complete Crafts book has a wide range of projects with clear instructions for all of them. The variety of crafts was very impressive.

Hairpin lace scarf

I did it! I made a hairpin lace project that I'm actually happy with! Yay!

Anyway, I bought this yarn at an op-shop, and I'm still not sure why. It's a bit of a pain to work with because of the texture but using it for hairpin lace worked quite well.


Hairpin lace scarf 

I basically ended up using sykosparks instructions from here and I'm pretty happy with my new scarf. It's nice and soft and the colours remind me of the sea.

3D Afghan

Alright, so I didn't make this one, but my granny did. She made three altogether for some of her grandchildren (she's refusing to make any for the new ones!). She did it a few years ago and I really love it. I realise now why she was complaining about putting it all together.

My granny didn't actually teach me how to crochet. I was pretty impressed by all the crochet projects on craftster and after finishing mid year exams at uni decided I couldn't wait until I saw her next so I taught myself off the internet (it's good for everything!). Last weekend I stayed with my granny in Queensland and she now claims she can't remember how to crochet anyway so I probably made the right decision to teach myself. Plus I think it would drive both of us insane her trying to teach me.


Blanket 

Dodgy hairpin lace project 2

Hairpin lace 2 

Once again, it's the yarn, not the project (yes, I'm a bad craftsperson blaming my tools!). I bought this stuff ages ago, before I learned how to crochet (only about a year ago, but it seems like longer) when I was trying to learn how to knit (not for the first time, and once again I didn't manage it). Anyway, I like purple, but with it's texture I've now decided that this stuff looks like it should make some kind of impractical frilly decorative item that smells of lavender, possibly a teacosy of the sort banned at craftster. I've got three balls to use up, so hopefully I'll get some inspiration!

Dodgy hairpin lace project number 1

This is my first hairpin lace project...and it didn't work.

I was going for a hairpin lace panta/headband thing but I chose the wrong yarn. I wanted something green (because I like green) but the only yarn I had turned out to be too chunky and I ended up with something far too thick for a headband. All is not completely lost though, because I'm sure I can use the basic pattern for something else in the future, because I like the look of it, just not when it's on my head.


Hairpin lace 1 

To make this I did sc hairpin lace going under the loop, rather than through it, then *sc three loops together, ch 2* repeat until end.

On a completely unrelated topic, I'm going to a conference tomorrow (in Queensland, so bring on the warm weather!), so no posts from me until at least Monday, possibly longer because Monday is salsa night.

Crochet Supplies

Oooh, look what I got! I ordered it from Crochet Australia and it arrived really quickly, with a bonus Freddo Frog. Yum!


Crochet Supplies 

I bought a Hairpin Lace loom, a Tunisian/Afghan Hook and some cro-tat hooks and an instruction/pattern book. I'm really pleased with it all!

Birthday Card

Yay! I've got internet access again. It was getting very annoying having to check stuff from work all the time. Hopefully I'll be able to control my internet usage a bit better this month!

Anyway, last weekend I went home for my mum's birthday and she LOVED the blanket I made, which was a big relief, and she appreciated all the hard work I put into it. I bought her a cook book as well at the last minute and she thought that was really good too.

As well as the blanket I made her this card. I think I may have had a little too much sugar when I did the front though, but I still think it looks kind of cool.

 

I got the instructions for the cake and candles from here, and there are a number of other designs too.

  

I'm so naughty

I'm writing this from work because I've almost used all my download limits for the month (I'm pretty sure most of it was on craftster!), so I'm annoyed for two reasons.

1. I have to take a break from craftster (the horror).
2. I've got some pictures to post.

Anyway, there probably won't be a huge backlog because I've got a busy week this week (salsa lesson, journal/nerd club, going home for the weekend and a date - ooooh, should be fun, or nerve wracking or something) but I'll be giving my mum her blanket when I go home so hopefully she'll like it. I've finally (and unwillingly) taken it off my bed because it's very cold here so she better like it otherwise it's coming back with me!

Leg warmers

Do you like my snuggly leg warmers? They are nice and warm (which is good with the cold weather here) and since I've made them I've been wearing them under my pants and they make quite a difference!


Leg warmers 

The pattern is Lacy Leg Warmers and I found it to be reasonably challenging, mainly because the pattern changed for each round so I had to pay attention. I had to force myself to start the second one because of my short attention span, but once I started it, that one went a lot quicker because I'd pretty much got the pattern by then. I've got slack with a few 'pair' items, I think I've got a solitary slipper in Melbourne, and I've got a solitary arm warmer here, although that was my own pattern which I didn't write down so I might need to unravel that one and start completely again...if I get round to it.

Unfortunately I think with the yarn I used it doesn't show off either the lace or the yarn to it's best advantage. I've probably got enough left to make a panta, which should be nice, although it'll be quite close in colour to the one I've got so maybe it'll be a gift for someone. I guess I have to make it first! Hopefully that'll show off the colour changes in the yarn a bit better.

A short shirt story

Once upon a time there was a green shirt

 
This shirt was accidentally put in the wash with a red shirt...

 
...which unfortunately ran.

 
It was very lucky it wasn't a white shirt,

  
because it would have turned pink.

 
(pink shirt used as an example only, no white shirts were harmed in the making of this post)

To hide the green shirts blemishes cosmetic surgery was performed...

 
...and the green shirt was saved and made beautiful. And all the shirts lived happily ever after (until the next time one of them got dirty).

Note: I have a number of shirts in the same style in different colours. Currently most of them need ironing.