she's krafty

Almost at the finish line...

2008-06-18T22:42:00.002-04:00

My first full year back and I am THRILLED that it is almost over. Maybe when it is I'll actually get back to crafting. I started going back to the gym and that is a good sign.

Double crap.

2008-03-20T23:39:00.003-04:00

This is not a knitting blog today.

I'm freaking annoyed. I wanted to get Hubby Yankees' tickets because of the whole stadium closing-need to sit in seats one last time-kind of thing. Hubby is a die-hard-from-birth Yankee fan. Me--not so much, but then again, I'm a NY Rangers' fan, so I respect dedication. I got this brilliant idea--I'll get in touch w/ Hubby's BFF and best man, Sean, and get them a block of tickets! Hooray! Hubby will be happy, see Yankees, hang out with best bud, and I don't have to sleep through baseball! Everyone wins! Hooray, hooray.

Except, I e-mailed Sean on Myspace w/ brilliant idea, last night, but I can't check Myspace from a DOE computer while I'm at work, and by the time I checked his e-mail today--you know what's coming right?--no more tickets. Ugh. I'm so pissed.

I'm just venting; don't pay any attention to me.

Bleh.

Linkin Park/Jay-Z

2008-02-22T01:20:00.001-05:00

Linkin Park at MSG tonight was freaking AMAZING. Like totally clap your hands and jump up and down like silly schoolgirl amazing (and before you ask--yes, I did).

AND---the icing on the cake? Jay-Z came out and did an encore with them. Literally. They did Numb/Encore and Jigga What/Faint. It freaking rocked my world and I swear, the Garden was only as loud once before when I was at a Rangers playoff game during the '94 season and they kicked the living sh*t out of the Devils (good times, good times...sigh).

I just thought I'd gloat. Nanny-nanny-pooh-pooh b*tches

My AP English Class

2008-02-05T23:41:00.000-05:00

Can I just say that I am absolutely, completely, head-over-heels-in-love with the AP English class I am teaching right now? I love them. No really. They want to learn, appreciate my sarcasm (I think--maybe they are just pacifying me), and--get this-they hand in homework. No shit.

My second semester is already WAY better than my first and I no longer contemplate whether or not I made the right decision to come back to teaching. If I could teach my AP English class forever, I would. I love them so much I want to take them home with me at night so we can talk about poetry and iambic pentameter and figurative language.
Next week I'm introducing them to Chaucer. THAT is exciting.

In knitting news, I also love my swift and have a strange desire to wind ever single skein of yarn that I own. Very enamored. AND third pair of socks (for me this time! Whoo-hoo!) is well underway--sort of. More than the cuff is done, so that is good, yes?

Life is pretty darn good right now :-)

ASPCA poem

2008-01-25T23:09:00.001-05:00

My volunteer coordinator at the ASPCA sent this out and it got me all weepy, so I thought I'd share it...please remind all those you know that are contemplating getting a pet--any kind of pet--to go to their local animal shelter and adopt a homeless animal. There are too many homeless pets out there that die every single day in kill-shelters simply because the supply outweighs the demand for house pets. Think about that before you or anyone you know even thinks about buying an animal. Go to a shelter!!! And get your animal spayed or neutered!! Responsibility saves lives.

Here in this house...
I will never know the loneliness I hear in the meows and barks of the other cats and dogs 'out there'.
I can sleep soundly, assured that when I wake my world will not have changed.
I will never know hunger, or the fear of not knowing if I'll eat.
I will not shiver in the cold, or grow weary from the heat.
I will feel the sun's heat, and the rain's coolness, and be allowed to smell all that can reach my nose.
My fur will shine, and never be dirty or matted.

Here in this house...
There will be an effort to communicate with me on my level.
I will be talked to and, even if I don't understand,
I can enjoy the warmth of the words.
I will be given a name so that I may know who I am among many.
My name will be used in joy, and I will love the sound of it!

Here in this house...
I will never be a substitute for anything I am not.
I will never be used to improve peoples' images of themselves.
I will be loved because I am who I am, not someoneâ€™s idea of who I should be.
I will never suffer for someone's anger, impatience, or stupidity.
I will be taught all the things I need to know to be loved by all.
If I do not learn my lessons well, they will look to my teacher for blame.

Here in this house...
I can trust arms that hold, hands that touch...
knowing that, no matter what they do, they do it for the good of me.
If I am ill, I will be doctored.
If scared, I will be calmed.
If sad, I will be cheered.
No matter what I look like, I will be considered beautiful and known to be of value.
I will never be cast out because I am too old, too ill, too unruly, or not cute enough.
My life is a responsibility, and not an afterthought.
I will learn that humans can almost, sometimes, be as kind and as fair as cats and dogs.

Here in this house...
I will belong.
I will be home.

by anonymous

Another pair!!!

2008-01-23T21:35:00.001-05:00

I FINALLY finished my second pair of socks--and let me tell you--it was not an easy road with these babies. I commenced knitting them almost immediately after I finished my first pair. That was roughly April of last year, mind you. The first sock went off without a hitch. Then I stared the NYC Fellows program. Let me tell you--driving to work everyday seriously cuts into your knitting time. I didn't start to turn the heel until Brad and I went to visit my uncles in Florida at the very end of last summer. And then, in the airport on our way back to NYC, disaster struck. I screwed up god-only-knows-what, and I frogged the whole heel. Then I knit it again. AND I FROGGED IT AGAIN. Do you see a developing pattern here? By the time we got back to NYC, I gave up. There was no point. I started teaching in another week and that--let me tell you--has consumed my life for the past 4 months! Oh I've picked them up, knit a row or two, and then went right back on my tirade of how my students can't seem to construct proper sentences, lesson planning, paper-grading mania of the last semester. Over Christmas break, the socks and I recommitted. I was told that I had been neglecting my yarn and that the yarn fairies were determined to play tricks with me until I paid them their homage, finished the socks, and started knitting like I used to--that is--constantly. I will humbily oblige, oh yarn fairies. I never want to invoke your wrath again.

Sawyer appreciates the socks!

And just so you know, I hate this colorway and will never knit it again. Though my husband picked it out and the socks are for him, I deserve a medal for knitting day-glow socks.

First Semester Finished!

2008-01-18T18:08:00.000-05:00

I seriously cannot believe that I made it through my first semester at the H.S. I teach at. Considering it's 95% boys and I'm a fairly young(ish) woman, it was that much more difficult.

I'm glad that I came back to teaching, but it is very hard to not be jaded and frustrated, and believe it or not, sometimes it is not the students that have me pulling my hair out when I get home. Hearing things like, "Our students aren't ready for us to insist on homework as a major part of their grade," and "We have to realize where these kids live," etc., etc. just annoys me. Perhaps because I come from the very unique perspective of having taught at both the 4-year and 2-year college-level, I feel a great sense of urgency in the education and preparation of my students. I have very high standards. (Not to say that others don't, of course.) I expect them to learn and value their education, now, immediately, and to realize that if they have any plans of getting out of whatever potentially bad situation they are in, they can only guarantee it with a solid education. The excuse is just that--an excuse. Everyone must work hard, and I admit, some have an unfairly more difficult starting point than others, but complaining without actively doing something about it is not going to help them get a high enough score on the SAT to place out of remedial English and Math.

I've taught remedial English on the college level. It is not a good place for ANYONE to be, especially students just graduated from NYC public high school who are entitled to that same education they will get in remedial English--and pay for--when they were high school students for free. Making excuses and claiming "Our kids aren't ready," just allows them to become comfortable with mediocrity--because ultimately, aren't we claiming that because of their race, socioeconomic status, and zip code that they do not have to be held to the same standard of academic excellence? And isn't that doing them a greater disservice than insisting on excellence from the get-go? And isn't that racially, socially, and economically biased? I'm sorry, but I'm just not comfortable with that.

I've seen what happens when teachers make excuses for their students--and I've taught those students, struggling through their third, paid for, semester of remedial English, still struggling to pass the CUNY WAT (Writing Assessment Test). No one will convince me that the test itself isn't significantly flawed. I've graded it, and it is. But at the moment, it and other college-level writing assessment tests are what our kids are facing--and those tests, and eventually their bosses--don't care where they grew up, or what happened in their neighborhood the night before, or what financial difficulties their family might be having--they want results. They want high-performance. They want a student and an employee with skills. As an educator, aren't I obligated to prepare my students for this world--cold and harsh as it is? Because if I don't prepare them, and I don't give them the tools and skills to succeed--aren't I not doing my job? I'm not going to be able to write out 120 resumes for each of the seniors I might teach in a year, and I'm certainly not going to go on a job interview with them and explain to their hopefully future employer that, "Yes, Mr./Ms. So-and-So, Billy does not speak or write standard written English and he has not mastered the art of managing his time to successfully meet deadline, but you see, he's not ready for that, yet I think you should hire him anyway." How's that going to go down? Shame on anyone for not thinking about that aspect of their students' educations.

Perhaps I should be more idealistic, but that just isn't me. I could put on those perpetually rose-colored glasses and say that yes, all kids want to be successful and they want to achieve. I could say that--but I won't. I'm pragmatic. I want to deal with the issues now--not two, three, or four years down the road--because that is just too late. I'm okay with saying that many, if not most, of my students are content with mediocrity. Sure, they probably wouldn't mind being academically successful, but they aren't currently going out of their way to do anything about it. They do not realize how dire--how truly urgent--their situation is--and isn't it my job to instill that urgency? To make them realize just how dire the situation is? For whatever reason, there IS a culture of under-achievement in our educational system. To lie and say that it doesn't exist seems insane to me. Education standards need to be high--in all areas, for every student--and I will put the blood, sweat, and tears in to make sure they are successful, but I'm not going to lower my standards because of claims of readiness, race, or anything else, because if I did, my students are going to be the ones to pay for it--literally.

Four Kitties on a Windowsill in B'klyn...

2007-12-04T20:51:00.000-05:00

So I haven't been blogging because I've been insane with the teaching. That doesn't mean I haven't had time to take pictures of my cats.

Two weeks down...HOW many more to go?

2007-09-14T16:08:00.000-04:00

I'm off from school today--and I've got to praise the Jewish faith for having Rosh Hashanna exactly when I was beginning to think that I was going to have a nervous breakdown. Holy crap. Teaching teenagers is freaking rough--I thought teaching college was hard--that's nothing compared to this. I don't know how I'm going to make it to Thanksgiving. I just spent the last two days doing all of my lesson plans for next week. During the week, I need to get started on the following week. I've come to the conclusion that if I don't stay at least this far ahead, I will never get to sleep, ever. I get up at 5 so I can get to school by 7 so I can get my crap together for when classes start at 8. And also so that I don't get stuck in two hours of traffic. I nearly had a nervous breakdown when it took me over an hour to get to work on the first day of school and I staggered in at 7:40. Talk about cutting it close! So I really need to start going to bed between 9 and 10 instead of between 11 and 11:30 like I have been or I'll collapse from exhaustion any day now.

No, I haven't knit or crocheted anything lately. I've laid off the socks. I'm pathetic. I need to get back to crafting or I really might just loose my mind. It really sucks that I can't take the subway to work--that was always where I made the most progress. Maybe I'll look into doing that on the days that I don't have grad school at night...we'll see.

First Day of School

2007-09-03T08:47:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is the first day of school. I'm sort of crapping myself right now. I know it's going to be fine and I'm over-prepared, but I'm freaking out all the same. I want to try to enjoy labor day, but somehome, the looming thought of school is clouding my ability to do anything more than continue to freak out and squelch a desperate desire to go make more copies so as to be even more prepared. UGH!

By the way, in the craft department...let's just say that I've ripped out the heel of the same pair of socks three times. I think I need to set them aside. I want to work on another project that I can actually contemplate finishing sometime soon. I'm also stuck in limbo on the baby blanket I'm making for Sandra's daughter. I've got too much to do.

Remembering Katrina...

2007-08-29T07:31:00.001-04:00

This time of year has been difficult for me for the past two years. Anyone who knows me, knows that my husband and I were stuck in Hurricane Katrina two years ago--that we were actually holed up in the airport when the hurricane hit and during the aftermath. It was a life-changing experience. Not only did it confirm my complete lack of faith in the president (I didn't vote for him) and the government, but it also made me realize who and what was really important in my life. I did a bit of friend and family pruning not long after that. That was also the catalyst for pondering if I should go back to teaching. I wasn't going to move down to NOLA, but I felt like I needed to do more than just work in publishing. I wanted to interact with people--to maybe make a difference. Teaching is also a way for me to do more than add to the consumerism of this country (and yes, though I firmly believe in my former-company's products, they're also a profit-driven company--something I was never able to fully reconcile with myself). And now, two years later, I'm literally days from really beginning my new(ish) career and going back to a profession I had abandoned not long after 9/11. I'm always contemplative around this time--a good thing, I think--and I can't help but re-live the experience and thank god that my husband and I made it--when I know so many people didn't. Click on the title to link to the original (sort of--I originally had it up on Myspace, but I don't blog there anymore) Escape from New Orleans blog.

Holy crapola

2007-07-10T19:24:00.000-04:00

This is going to be a very, very brief blog.

I'm now an NYC Teaching Fellow and have been for the past month--which means I have NO LIFE. I plan lessons. I read. I plan more lessons. I write papers. I plan lessons. This is my life. Tomorrow is my birthday and you know what I'll be doing. You got it--planning lessons.

Cool thing happened in summer school this morning--a girl brought in her crochet rug she's working on (I was impressed let me tell you). I showed her my sock-in-progress. We're going to do more tomorrow! Hooray! I want to start a yarn club at my high school.

Anywho, I have finished one project (yes I am lame--only one!):

That would be Helena (or Fatty Longwhiskers as I like to call her) sniffing out the catnip in the nifty new knitted mouse toy. Meow!

It's been a while...

2007-05-04T10:03:00.000-04:00

Almost a month. I find it hard to believe it's been that long since I've blogged, but there are the dates staring me right in the face. It's hard to argue with reality. I've got excuses (not that you're interested) and they are prefectly legitimate...I got a promotion at work so on top of all the usual spring craziness, I've been super busy trying to figure out the ins and outs of my new position. I've got more news that some of you already know about, but I am keeping that to myself until the time is right. No. I am not pregnant. Stop asking. I'll get knocked up when I'm good and ready.
Other news...I shipped out ye olde felted project to one of my best buds Ingrid and she loved it. I made her a felted yoga mat bag and it was pretty freaking awesome if I do say so myself. I kind of didn't want to give it away, but I knew that would be selfish and mean.
Sock news...after i finished the incorrectly knitted sock (knitted the toe correctly anyway) I started on the second one, didn't get gauge, said screw it, and just started on a new pair. One down, second in progress. The incorrectly knitted first sock will be the kitties stocking at Christmas time.
I've gotten an obscene amount of sock yarn lately--I really should post pictures of it all so you can tell that I'm not making this up. It's a little nutty. But then again, I'm a little nutty so it's all good.
I'm more than a little obsessed with this knitted giant glove.
More TK.

Busy and Sick

2007-04-11T09:31:00.000-04:00

I've been sort of out of it the past few days with this weird spring-time cold (love the heavy-head feeling and general exhaustion--just makes waking up such a pleasure). Between my cold and work--which is flat-out insane (so insane that I've been taking crap home with me every single night because I can't bear to be in the office late and can just work from home when necessary)--I haven't been blogging or knitting. The second sock is in progress, and though the gauge is slightly different from the first sock, I think it'll be fine and Hubby will still be happy with his first pair of hand-knit socks. I'm not at all happy about the difference in the patterning of the sock though--the first one has this big ole spiral thing going on while the second is looking very stripey. I wish they were both stripey, but there really isn't anything I can do about changing that, so it is what it is.

I finished my very first felted project and it looks bloody awesome if I do say so myself. I'll post pics of it after I get confirmation that the recipent has received said present.

That's the news for now. Not very exciting, but I never claimed to be an exciting person.

Sock pic & Grendel

2007-04-05T10:43:00.000-04:00

A pic of the finished sock:

Now I just have to get gauge and do the other one (hopefully just one more).

And a pic of Grendel who really likes to play with my yarn. Meow!

One down...

2007-04-04T09:47:00.000-04:00

I finished one sock (I'll post pics tonight or tomorrow), and I am going to attempt to get the same gauge as the first without knitting into the back of all my stitches by going down a needle size or two. I knit the first sock on 3.25's (#3), so hopefully if I go down to 2.5 or 2.0 it'll work, otherwise I'll have to knit a whole new pair and the one I already have will become a Christmas stocking for the kitties.
On the bright side, my new koigu should get here today.

I met the Knitting Yoda...

2007-04-02T10:10:00.000-04:00

And boy-o-boy did I get spanked. Holy crap. I felt like Luke Skywalker after Yoda tells him "Do or do not, there is no try." Man. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Okay, so what the hell happened? Well since I've been on a sock craze for the past couple of weeks, all I can think about is buying more sock yarn. Saturday Brad and I had a gazillion things to do--including going to the dentist (yet again--I don't think I'll ever be finished. I'm tempted to tell him to just rip everything out and give me implants, but I know I'd regret that) and running out to the island to go to Trader Joe's to get good cat food (since this whole pet food recall, I'm even more grateful that Brad and I only feed our kitties the Trader Joe's Holistic Cat Food). So since I know we have a ton of errands to run (including ending up at Mommy-in-Law's house), I figured that since we'd be out there anyway, it was a good day to stop by Knitwits in Bayside. I'd heard good things about it on a couple of people's blogs I've been lurking on, and specifically remember it being mentioned as as stop on one of the yarn crawls coming from Long Island and Queens for the Harlot's Represent event a couple weeks ago (I can't believe it's been that long) so I figured it was worth a stop.

So I get to Knitwits' with Hubby, we ooohh and aaaahh over the yarn, I gleefully discover that they have steel DPN's (I think I like those better--I feel like the points of my bamboo ones aren't consistently pointy if that makes any sense), and hand over my purchases to Joan, the Knitting Yoda. I ask her if the yarn I'm purchasing two skeins of will be enough to make a pair of socks. She says, "It depends on your pattern." So of course I whip out my sock of which I am so proud which was near completion and tell her that I'm either going to do this pattern again or change it slightly because this is my first pair of socks.

And then she tells me I'm twisting all my stitches. Holy f*$!ing F*$!-nuts. All this time, I've been knitting incorrectly--or as she told me, not wrong, just making my life much more complicated. She asked how I learned and I told her out of a book (which she then pooh-poohed because she said she "didn't think much of it" and the author) and she then showed me how to not knit into the back of the stitches. I sat there on my knees knitting at her feet like a good little padawan-learner while she ruled over three other knitters telling one, "This is wrong; rip it out"; another "Undo the stupid stitches--why did you do that?"; another "I don't know what you did, but you're going to have to do it again." It was tough love. The knitters submitted to her critiques determined to please her--I was equally determined. While all this was going on, Brad stood in the corner trying not to laugh at me too much--he knows how I hate not being perfect at things, and the other knitters heckled him: "It's a good thing she already has a ring or we'd tell her to keep the socks for herself!" "Don't you laugh, or you'll never get anything hand-knit again!"

After I had successfully knitted and purled several rows correctly, she allowed me to purchase my needles, but wouldn't sell me more yarn because--get this--she wants me to come back and show her my progress to make sure that I'm not totally screwing up my socks. She let me leave with these final words--"You're a good knitter, but you've got to perfect your technique. There's no point in knitting if you're going to knit incorrectly." How do you argue with that? You don't. I'm a perfectionist, so I totally agree.

So what the hell am I going to do about the socks? Well, after Hubby patiently let me have a minor nervous breakdown in the car, (because of course I had to find this out just as I'm getting to the damned toe of the sock) I've decided to finish the sock in question--using the correct stitches of course--and go back to School Products, get another skein, and then really make the damned socks. That settled, he lead me to DSW for some shoe therapy.

In spite of being extremely humbled from this whole experience, I'm actually glad that it happened. It totally sucks that I'm going to have to make two more socks instead of just one more sock, but overall, it's much better that I know how to do things the correct way because it'll make me a better knitter. And I have to be honest--the fact that she told me I was a good knitter has carried me through all of this--not to mention Brad giving me knitting pep talks all along the way (he's such a good hubby--I don't know who else would put up with my knitting nervous breakdowns).

The knitting Yoda cut me down to size, and in the long run, I needed it.

May the force be with you (and your needles).

Sock Progress and Yarn Porn

2007-03-30T09:13:00.000-04:00

So here's the progress of the sock--I think I'll actually be able to finish it by the end of this weekend (I hope, I hope, I hope). Now if I can only be assured that the second sock will go as quickly (probably more so since I have more of a clue this time around)...

The sock is actually a little longer already. This was before I did another 15 or so rounds last night.

Hubby was a victim of yarn porn yesterday. I sent him a link to the koigu at Purl and after much e-mailing back and forth, he decided to get me some yarn so I could make a pair of socks for myself (something for me! Oh my!). I think that it is really cute and sweet that he gets excited on my behalf about yarn--when we went on our mini yarn crawl last weekend, he was amazed at all the textures and colors. Now I send him pictures and he buys me yarn. How awesome is that? Riding the subway into Manhattan this morning, he asked me not to send him any more yarn porn because he'd have to buy more. Yeah, like that's going to happen ;-)

My new Koigu:

For your viewing pleasure...

2007-03-29T09:43:00.000-04:00

May I present Sawyer:

Sawyer is lying in his snuggly bed--an empty wooden wine box with a pillow and covered in an old blanket--but if you look kind of closely, you can see a peek of a blue, grey, orange, and seafoam blankie; six 7 x 9 swatches I made as practice before I dove into the world of "serious" knitting. It's ugly as sin, but his favorite thing to cuddle with (besides sitting between me and my husband and showing us his belly). I want to bite him, he's so cute. Supercute!

In sock news, I'm done with the gusset and working on the foot...I'll post pics of that tomorrow. Meow!

My first heel turn

2007-03-28T09:15:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the comments I got on my blog and all the responses on the NYC Sn'B group, I got home last night--after two unsuccessful attempts on the subway which proceeded in lots of ripping, followed by storming into the house and complaining to my husband that I must be the stupidest person on the planet (with lots of four-letter words thrown in)--I went into my office, looked at all the comments and e-mails again, pulled up KnittingHelp.com, and I freaking did it! I did it!!! I swear, I felt like the smartest person in the world. My husband definitely looked at me crooked after my "how ya like me now" happy dance followed by much air punching and general giddyness. I owe it all to the awesomeness of the knitters who helped me out during my knitting crisis. Thanks everyone!!
Check out my wonderful, beautiful, not-perfect-but-darn-close-enough sock:

This is what I started with...

Check out my heel!!!

Sock Dilemma

2007-03-27T09:55:00.000-04:00

I'm sort of freaking out about my socks for several reasons--first and formost is I really, really don't want to screw these up and I'm terrified that I'm going to. I know, I know--no one has ever been killed over knitting (that we know of at least), but still. In the grand scheme of my stuff, this is pretty big. I need to figure these socks out!!! Not to mention that I only brought the socks along with me today and if I don't figure out what to do about them, I'm going to have to bust a mission to Knitty City before I head home to buy some new yarn (and needles, since I don't have any except the dpn's I'm working on) so I have something to knit on my way home--and since it's an hour commute, I need a knit fix. Help!!

Here's the deal--I'm using a pattern I got from Spunmag.com and honestly, all was going well until I started scratching my head about turning the heel. I've already done this part:

This portion is worked flat in plain stocking stitch.

Knit first 27 stitches. Put remaining 33 stitches onto a holder.

>> Starting with a purl row, work 21 rows of stocking stitch,
slipping the first stitch of every row. The right side is facing for
next row

This is where I get confused:
>>RS: Knit 18 stitches, SKP, turn

If I have 27 stitches on the needle, and the pattern calles for me
to knit 18, SKP, and turn, what happens to the rest of the stitches
on the needle? Do you think I'm supposed to keep going w/ knitting
after the SKP?

This is the next step:
>>WS: Slip 1, purl 9 stitches, p2tog, turn
Same thing here--do I continue on purling after the p2tog? and then
turn? If I'm supposed to end up with 11 stitches on the needle from
decreasing, I think this is what is supposed to happen, but I'm not
sure.

Here's the rest of this part of the pattern:
>>RS: Slip 1, knit 9 stitches, SKP, turn
>>Repeat last two rows until all stitches have been worked. Ensure
right side is facing for next row. 11 stitches remain on the needle.

If anyone wants to see the full pattern, it's available here:
http://spunmag.com/article/060421socks

In lighter, non-obsessing knitting related stuff, how cute does Sawyer and Helena look all smushed into one basket??

I'm on the hunt...

2007-03-26T09:58:00.000-04:00

Why does it seem like I'm always on the hunt for discontinued makeup or the perfect pair of shoes? After getting out of the ASPCA on Saturday (where I saw the cutest little kittens ever, ever--they fit into the palm of my hand!!!), Brad and I went to Roosevelt Field mall out on Long Island. Brad needed to get a present for his aunt and uncle, and I needed to find my favorite lipstick. It's not just any shade of lipstick mind you--it is the perfect, perfect shade of red--it's deep and has a really beautiful blue/cool undertone (I know the ladies understand the importance of getting a red lipstick that is not too orange and not too brown). This was perfect. It makes your lips look like ripe cherries. It was by this company called Alchemy and the name is (approprietly enough) Devil's Claw. Well I dragged poor Bradley in and out of Sephora, Bloomingdales, Macy's, and Nordstom's and no one--no one--had anything even close--not even Channel! I am distraught. I did search on eBay and Googled it and my search turned up nadda--apparently the company is out of business. Ugh. To make up for my disheartening lipstick search, Hubby got me some drop dead gorgeous peep-toe black patent-leather shoes that I will post a picture of as soon as I get a pedicure.

In happy news, I bought more sock yarn yesterday. I went to this sweet little yarn shop in Park Slope called Stitch Therapy--lovely people in there. They don't have a ton of yarn, but what they do have is beautiful. (I checked out Knit-A-Way too and though I was impressed with their selection, I didn't like the vibe--and they're more expensive than necessary. They were selling Karabella merino at $10 a skein--the same yarn I can get at Knitty City for $8.) Not that I've finished the socks I'm currently working on, but that doesn't matter--this yarn was too yummy to pass up. Not to mention having the Hubby with me to pick out the colors of his next pair of socks makes things easy and fun. Here it is:

It's from a Welsh company called Jitterbug. 100% merino wool and it's so freaking soft. I can't wait to knit with it. Has anyone ever used this company before? I'm hoping that they'll be self-patterning like my beautiful Koigu, but I won't be devastated if they aren't.

Grendel reads blogs...

2007-03-24T09:53:00.000-04:00

He hasn't figured out how to type yet though...

Off to the ASPCA in a bit. I'm bringing a couple of old blankets that we have in the house. They need them for the kittie and dog beds. I also started making really simple kittie blankets--14 X 12 inch blankies. The first one is in plain ole' garter stitch, but I think I'm going to keep making them and trying out stitches and patterns I want to try (and it's a great way use up left over bits of skeins and whatnot). In these cases, they really need to be acrylic so they can stand up to the crazy amount of washings the ASPCA does. It would be nice if they gave the blankies to the kitties when they get adopted, but I suppose I don't knit fast enough to replace them. Soon though ;-) That just gave me an idea--if anyone is interested in knitting or crocheting blankets for the cats and dogs waiting for adoption at the ASPCA, let me know. If one knitter/crocheter/yarn enthusiast can help, imagine what a bunch of us could do!

Darn it, Harlot!

2007-03-23T09:37:00.000-04:00

I spend the better part of my commute--from the ass-end of Brooklyn into the city all the way to the Upper West Side--knitting. But when I have to transfer trains (from the D to the 1), I stop and read a book for the next four stops until I reach my destination. This morning? Same story. Except--I missed my stop because I was so engrossed in the Yarn Harlot's new book. So I had to get off the train, walk to the other side of the tracks, and get on going in the opposite direction (luckily I didn't have to actually exit the subway station to do this). That's how good Casts Off is.

NY Knitters did the Harlot proud!

2007-03-22T22:50:00.000-04:00

I went to the Yarn Harlot's (Stephanie Pearl-McPhee) Represent/Cast Off book party tonight and it was--in a word--awesome. I was completely blown away by the sheer number of people who showed up to show some love to the knitting world's favorite blogger (not to mention how much we all love knitting). It was pretty darn cool. My favorite thing about the night? Aside from Stephanie's amazing wit and hilarious banter with knitters afterwards, her publishing company gave out swag bags with a skein of Patton's Soy Silk and #8's from Boye along with some info and directions to knit a square for Warm Up America. If that isn't one of the coolest things ever, I don't know what is.

KNYtters Unite!

The Casts Off poster:

Look at all 750 of us! That's a lot of knitters (in case you didn't know):

That's Stephanie all the way down there...fuzzy, but what can I tell you?
It's her :-)

I must say, knitters--or all yarn enthusists, are some of the nicest people. While waiting to buy a copy of Stephanie's book, I was chatting with a girl on line behind me and she was in love with my sock yarn (as am I--I made a few coworkers stroke it yesterday because I'm so enamoured of it. They didn't resist--I think they were afraid). I was fawning over her beautiful hand knit shawl (mohair and silk). I aspire to someday knit something like that, and I told her so--but when I told her how long I've been knitting (just over 6 months!), she was pretty impressed that I had forced myself out of a dpn fright. Knitters rock. I don't care what anyone says, we are cool.

I must take this moment to say how incredible my husband is for meeting me at the Represent party--being a non-knitter is reason enough for him to have not gone, but he also spend the better part of the afternoon under the needle getting his tattoo sleeve worked on, so needless to say he was in pain. But he took the train in back from Brooklyn where the tattoo shop is, all the way over to F.I.T., and sat through two hours of knitting wit. He's a good egg. I'm a lucky gal--and so is he since he's the one getting my first pair of socks!

And in related news, here I am knitting my sock on the way to work this morning:

Represent with the Yarn Harlot!

2007-03-22T13:47:00.000-04:00

It is positively criminal to have to work on such a beautiful 60-plus degree day when I know that there are droves if yarn enthusiasts swarming the city going on various yarn crawls and getting their picture taken with la bella Yarn Harlot while I am stuck inside slaving away like a good worker bee. Fortunately, I'm heading over to F.I.T. at 5 p.m. to see/hear the Stephanie and hopefully buy the new book, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off. I actually tried to get it from my local Barnes & Noble but they said the publisher hasn't shipped them yet--drat. Luckily, they are supposed to be selling copies there, so all is not lost (maybe I'll even get that picture anyway!). I'll also be passing out flyers for my little blog, and hopefully I'll get a few new readers (because though I love my husband and girlfriends very much, most of them couldn't give two poops whether I've just figured out dpn's--though they do appreciate the presents, so that is something at least). The countdown begins!

Sock it to me!

2007-03-20T22:18:00.000-04:00

In preparation of the Yarn Harlot's decent upon the City (as us native NYers call it), I decided it was time to get my butt in gear and make my own pair of traveling socks since everyone else at the Represent event this Thursday is going to have traveling socks. It means absolutely nothing that I taught myself to knit only this past October--and that it took until just before Christmas for me to produce a scarf (in fun fur, thank you very much--I gave it to my mom). The Harlot was coming, so I busted out that beautiful Koigu I made the smallest swatch in the world with and got busy.

I searched high and low and finally found a pattern that doesn't look like it'll make me pull out what little is left of my eyebrows, and I attempted my very first dpn cast on. So far so good. Counted the right number, moved 40 of the 60 stitches to the two other dpn's, started the ribbing (it calls for K3, P1* for 6 inches which is a godsend since I dislike K1, P1 ribbing, though if I did that I could at least do it "until I was sick of it" a la Zimmerman--I'm not sure which is the lesser evil to tell you the truth) and since I totally forgot that my math skills are so horrid that even counting is a challenge, I had to frog it three times before I got it right. Except I didn't really get it right so I wound up frogging it again this morning and then casting on whilst riding the subway on my way to work. I got some funny looks let me tell you. It probably didn't help that I was talking to myself. And counting outloud. And muttering curses every so often, because damnit, I had no idea that knitting on dpn's was going to be this complicated. It's seriously tricky--not that I don't assume that other knitters who might be reading this are chuckling to themselves thinking, "Awww, how cute! A newbie's first time out on dpn's! I can remember back before I had my entire hand-knit sock wardrobe and was all awkward..." Well let me just say it loud and proud--ya gotta start somewhere. I'm pretty impressed that I was even capable of figuring out the pattern enough to get it started. So what, if all I have is 8 rows? I'm not counting! Well, okay, I am, but that's not the point. I'm just glad that I got it started without putting my eyes out.

Here's my beautiful Koigu and my first 8 rows on dpn's:

Ugly Sweater Vests...

2007-03-19T15:43:00.000-04:00

I would love to know who actually wears some of the booty-ass sweater vests I've come across while searching for a good sweater vest pattern. I wanted to knit myself a really cute black sweater vest because, though I've seen lots of them around recently, for some reason designers have taken to attaching a faux button-up shirt underneath the vest like so:

Note--this is an actual vest I saw on eBay. It's not one in a real store, though if it was, I would probably buy it. I'd also get one in plain black. I don't buy clothes on eBay because I have this thing about buying clothes I haven't tried on, but I digress. Everywhere I go I see sweater vests with a "layer-look" faux shirt attached. Who came up with this brillian idea I would love to know (so I can go and bitch-slap them in the mouth).

But when I look for cute vest patterns, all I come up with are fugly things that I wouldn't even put your granny in:

Do not attempt to adjust your screen. Those are actual strawberries knitted into the vest. I'm not kidding. Fugly. Really, really fugly. I don't know anyone who would actually wear this. Do you?

So attention all knitters--anyone who has a cute vest pattern, please hook a sista up!

The Latest Baby Blanket (yes, again)

2007-03-19T14:21:00.000-04:00

I mentioned a few posts ago that I was crocheting yet another baby blanket--this one for a coworker and his wife. Well I finally finished said blanket last week and crocheted up a cute little sweater vest for super-cute stuffed doggie that hubby and I found in Michael's. Here's the pics of the completed projects:

I used Paton's Shetland Chunky Tweed and a 6.0 mm crochet hook.

And because I am just that crafty, I also made a handmade card:

Up next? My very first felted project (I'm having serious anxiety about this, let me tell you), and the possiblity of me actually going back and attempting to knit socks. I don't know how successful I'm going to be, but damn-it, I'm going to try!

Cat and Dog Food Recall

2007-03-19T14:19:00.000-04:00

In case you haven't heard about this yet, Menu Foods, Inc., makers of the popular cat and dog food brands Iams and Eukanuba (as well as Purina, Science Diet, and over 40 other brands), have recalled thousands of cans of wet dog and cat food. These products have caused kidney failure and death to several household pets already. Please check out Menu Foods, Inc. Recall for information about other products affected and be sure to take care of your pets!

The ASPCA website has additional information:

ASPCA Press Release on Cat and Dog food recall
Meow! Woof!

You know you knit too much when...

2007-03-07T09:30:00.002-05:00

You start searching CafePress for knitting t-shirts. It is really problematic when the idea of getting these panties seems like a good idea:

Maybe I should just stick with this t-shirt:

The weird thing about that t-shirt is that it kind of looks like me....

An Update from the Krafty Gal...

2007-03-05T11:31:00.000-05:00

Lots of stuff going on lately--as I mentioned before, it's one of the many reasons I haven't been updating as often as I would like to. So here's a nice, easy bulleted list of stuff that I've been doing, working on, getting, making, yadda, yadda, yadda:

• Just bought Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I know, I know…as a knitter, I should have gotten this a long time ago, but what can I tell you?

• I’m now officially a volunteer at the ASPCA. After doing orientation and whatnot, I just got my ID on Saturday. (No, I will not post what it looks like because it is a mug shot as every ID I’ve ever taken is.) I’m very excited because I’m going to the “Cat Volunteer” session on Wednesday.

• Enrolled in another belly dance class (starts March 26th!) because it’s been way too long since I’ve shimmied and that is just sad.

• Almost finished with the baby blanket I’m making for my coworker Jay and his wife Lisa. I’ll post pictures as soon as it’s done. I’m also planning on making a sweater for the very adorable stuffed dog I’m also planning on giving them.

• Making plans for my next baby blanket project (so much for swearing off of them) for one of my bestest girlfriends, Sandra. She’s having a girl, so I’m thrilled to be able to crochet it pink. I think I’m going to try and design a ladybug blanket because she is completely obsessed with them and she’s having a “garden” theme for the baby’s room.

• Using my Denise circulars on the mystery-project-intended-for-my-friend’s-birthday, and I’ve discovered that it can be a little sticky to cast on when using 100 percent wool (I’m going to felt it). I figured out that going up a half size (knitting on 10.5’s, went up to 11’s to cast on) alleviates that problem.

• Hubby and I got a new dining room table in Ikea this weekend and it is beautiful. We got the chairs last weekend. We got the Markor table in dark wood and 6 Stefan chairs in red. It looks freaking awesome, especially with my turquoise and red candles, red table runner, and turquoise placemats. Yes, red and turquiose. It looks good. Really. Now I need to throw a dinner party to justify having such a big table and all those chairs.

• Work is still crazy-as-all-hell.

• My family has been driving me bat-shit.

• I’ve got a serious case of writers’ block.

• I need new music.

Ummm…that’s it right now. Unless I can think of something else.

My hiatus...

2007-02-28T09:40:00.000-05:00

I haven't been blogging much lately for a couple of reasons, mainly because I would normally blog during lunch at work--but I've been working through lunch and eating at my desk (yes, I know how unhealthy that is). And I've been dealing w/ some family stuff. So yeah--blogging hasn't been at the forefront of my mind. Things'll get better. It's just rough right now.

Here Kitty, Kitty blog...

2007-02-22T14:47:00.000-05:00

I decided to stop trying to write two blogs. Really now, who do I think I am? Originally I figured I'd write one blog for crafts (this one) and another for the rest of my life (Here Kitty, Kitty), but honestly, who has the time to keep up with two blogs? Not I! So from now on, it's all here--stuff about my crafts and stuff about my life (AKA--Hubby, the cats, family, friends, work), all in one blog for easier (and faster) enjoyment! Feel free to peruse the old blog, but look here for all new posts :-) Hooray!

This is why I get nothing done...

2007-02-22T14:36:00.000-05:00

Because my kitties love to hang out on my work/craft space at home. I can't do a thing about it. They jump up, I put them down. They jump up, I put them down. See where this is going? Eventually I just move my stuff/crap to a tinier space or give up entirely and go work in the living room on the couch where--you guessed it--the kitties come and make their presence known. I could close the door when I'm working (as Hubby often tells me I should), but then I won't have kitty company when I'm working, and really, kitty company outranks need-space-to-work any day.

Elphie and Helena:

Grendel:

Helena sitting on my new squishy laptop case from Brooklyn Industries (she's just gotta get her stink on everything):

Denise Circulars!

2007-02-21T09:57:00.000-05:00

I got circulars for V-day!!! How cool is that? Not only did Hubby get me an uber-gorgeous pearl bracelet (pearls and sapphires are my absolute favorite) for V-day, he also got me the Denise circular needles I've been lusting after! Who is better than him? Nobody!

My very first project is of one that I cannot speak because it's a birthday present for a friend who I think occasionally checks this blog and I want it to be a total surprise. So as soon as I finish yet ANOTHER baby blanket (it's my own fault--talk about how many blankets you've made and then when your good coworker friend tells you his wife is preggers, you've already built up the hype), I'll get to work with my circulars.

The best thing about them? The wires are pink and a portion of the proceeds goes to fighting breast cancer. Okay that's two things, but they're both really cool!

Have A Zombilicious Birthday!

2007-02-20T17:46:00.000-05:00

Our friend Sean (Sean of the Dead on Myspace for those of you who indulge) had a birthday yesterday, so a bunch of us gathered in Queens at an awesome little Irish pub to help him celebrate Sunday night (god, I love President's Day). In addition to the awesome Samhain sweatshirt that we got him, Brad and I collaborated on a birthday card...Sean is completely obsessed with Zombies (in case you didn't get that from the SOTD reference), so we took pains to make sure the card was zombie-appropriate.

Yeah, it's awesome. I'm pretty damned happy with that bad-boy. Happy Birthday Sean!

Hubby's Been Pimping Me...

2007-01-29T10:04:00.000-05:00

Well, at least my scarves. There was a lady he worked with that was constantly complimenting him on the black and multi alpaca scarf I made him at the beginning of the winter (actually, I made it over the summer and it sat there until it was finally cold enough to wear). Her latest compliment resulted in him asking if she was interested in getting one made for herself. Well, it turns out she was, and Brad quoted a kind of low price (considering the amount of trips we had to make to various LYS to try and find the correct yarn/yarn colors), but when I finally finished it, I was really pleased. Apparently she was too :-) Happiness on all ends.

This is why you don't do an increase/decrease scarf...

2007-01-24T10:21:00.000-05:00

So. My sock project. I need to learn increases and decreases before I felt comfortable diving in, so I figured I'd put that yarn that I was totally compelled to buy last week to good use and make Hubby a new scarf--with increases and decreases--and kill two birds with one stome (though you know I don't believe in killing birds). The alpaca one I made last year is sheading like a MF-er.

So I cast on, decrease, increase, write out pattern as I go along. At about 40 rows into it I realize that this is just not going to work. The triangles are curling in. What is the point of doing all that work if it's just going to roll up? So I frogged it and started over--this time a simpler stockinette/garter combo which I'll post pics of once I'm further along. But the increase/decrease wavey scarf did look cute. Until it rolled up.

***I took the photos at work and then frogged it on the train going home. That resulted in some odd looks, let me tell you.

Smallest Swatch Ever

2007-01-24T09:32:00.000-05:00

After frogging my first swatch half-way through because it was so obviously too big, I had a tiny strand of yarn that I couldn't use because I (like a big brute) pulled too hard and broke it. So I'm looking at my beautiful yarn, saying to myself, "What can I possibly use this for?" Hence, I grabbed my tiny #1 needles and I give you (drumroll, please, the smallest swatch ever (only 8 stitches across!!!)

And before you ask, yes. I am so anal retentive that each yarn band gets an index card with a snippet of the yarn. This time I decided to go even more nuts and actually make a swatch, because, well, I'm nuts.

Granny's Scarf...

2007-01-23T11:23:00.000-05:00

I made Granny (Brad's grandmother who I heart a lot, a lot) a variation of Jenn's super cute scarf...I used really snuggly yarn...Bernat Softee Chunky yarn in Natural and Heather Grey. I used the same pattern as Jenn's scarf, except added an extra row on either end and used two colors instead of one. Switch to a 6.0 mm crochet hook. I gotta tell you, it literally took me two days total to work this project up. I'm not sure if it was because I only had two days before I had to give it to her or because the yarn itself was really nice to work with, but I highly recommend this yarn for doing quick projects. It's fabulous.

Brad modeling Granny's scarf:

She loved it! :-)

Knitting shish-ke-bab

2007-01-18T22:05:00.000-05:00

So I've been knitting for around two months now--I've done swatches and scarves and I'm sort of over them. I wanted something new; I wanted a challenge. My mom-in-law gave me the book Knitting Help by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee...and I gotta tell you, she makes you believe you can do anything. So after hours of browsing patterns--both in my ever-growing knitting library and on the internet--I decided that I wanted to knit socks. Socks! The perfect knitted garment--offering almost every technique I wanted to learn: increases, decreases, ribbing, graphing, even cables if I wanted to.

I found the perfect (though tiny) yarn at School Products--the oldest yarn store in NYC and the tiniest needles I've ever worked on--a nifty new set of bamboo DPNs (3.00 mm)--and got to work on my swatch (only after finally unraveling the damned yarn; could someone please explain how to roll twisted skeins of yarn into balls without getting the whole thing all tangled? Please? It's killing me). I cast on. Thirty stitches and three rows later and I began to wonder--am I going to really be able to knit with these DPNs? It felt like I was knitting shish-ke-bab; the needles are so damned light. They really feel like those bamboo skewer thingys you use to make shish-ke-babs! I'm just not used to it. I'll plow through the swatch, but I think I have to look for heavier and more sturdy needles. Otherwise I think I might accidentally sit on one and and a) break them or b) puncture something.

My pretty, pretty yarn (I know you're jealous):

Jenn's Birthday Scarf!

2007-01-18T10:33:00.000-05:00

I sent this scarf to my gorgeous friend Jennifer (the darling girl who designed my new awesome logo) for her birthday at the beginning of December. (I know, I know...I'm so bad at posting pictures in a timely fashion--if you were as busy as I am, you wouldn't bitch. Geez!) I was so happy with the way it came out, I almost made her something else and kept it for myself :-) I couldn't be that selfish though. I had a bit of yarn left when I finished the scarf--a beautiful, brilliant red 100% merino wool yarn in worsted weight--so I busted out a cute flower pin to go along with the scarf. I crocheted this using my very favorite Clover 4.5 mm hook, and it worked up so nice--the pictures really don't do it (or her for that matter heehee) justice. Check it out!

Some scarf details...

Here's the pattern:
Gauge: 4 stitches per inch
Work chainless foundation double crochet until it reaches around 4 feet (approx. 192 stitches).
Turn. Work another row of double crochet.
Turn. Work 1 dc skip one *repeat to end of row.
Turn. Work a row of double crochet (in every stitch).
Turn. Work 1 dc skip one *repeat to end of row.
Turn. Work row of double crochet.
Turn. Work another row of double crochet. Fasten off.
Work 2 rows of single crochet at either end.

If you're into the pretty tassle thing, use three strands per sc space. I wrap the yarn around a CD case to get them all the same length and then trim as necessary.

New She's Krafty Logo!!!

2007-01-16T11:11:00.000-05:00

Unless I can figure it out, I'm thinking that this blog may be moving soon. I'm finally, finally going to get my She's Krafty website up and running--and it would make more sense to host my blog in the same place I'm going to try and sell my stuff...so we'll see. I'm not exactly tech-savvy, so we'll see what happens.

In any case, my very favorite transplant NYer Jenn Barone (now living in SF), created my new She's Krafty logo...and I'm sort of in love with it. Check it out:

Grendel, the scarf model

2007-01-10T09:42:00.000-05:00

I made scarves for my mom and my mother-in-law for Christmas. They were my first attempts at knitting, and overall, I think I did pretty well--especially since I was dealing with that weird fun fur stuff that is so hard to work with. I knit them both on 10 inch 9 mm/size 13 needles. And I know it'll piss some knitting purists off, but I bought funky looking purple aluminum needles simply because they look pretty. It made knitting more fun so I don't care if my aluminum needles offend people!

Here's Grendel sporting the scarf I made for my mom; I used almost three skeins of Lion Brand Fancy Fun Fur in Stained Glass:

A close up of the scarf:

Here's Grendel sporting the scarf I made for my mom-in-law; I used two skeins of the Moda Dea Fur Ever in Black Gem:

A close up of the yarn:

Merry X-mas Bitch

2007-01-09T22:53:00.000-05:00

I made most of the Christmas cards that I sent out this year. I had looked around at all of the standard ones and to be honest, I really wasn't all that impressed by them. Did I really want to send kittens? Or snowmen? Sure I found a pretty cute "Happy Everything" card, but was that really all there was? So one day, as I sat doing a lot of nothing in our apartment, I happened upon a really cool ad. It was in Time Out, so luckily it was in color, depicting all it's witty glory: Bavarian Black Lagar. There stood a cartoon dominatrix with her male slave in the background with a beer balancing on his butt.
"I want that!" I said in my silly voice that Brad says makes me sound slightly mentally challenged. He just laughed at me. I was inspired though. I had to figure out something to do with that cartoon. I rummaged around in the basket we keep in the bathroom (you know for what--don't make me say it) and found another ad. Two copies. So I got to work.

The first one I worked on looked pretty good (I though)--I got rid of the beer on the butt with a trusted Sharpie (since it wouldn't translate once I got rid of the marketing crap). I had recently bought some nice card stock from the craft store along with some scrapbooking supplies and voila! My dominatrix Christmas card prototype.

It was cute, but it wasn't perfect. I cut the whip out of the original because I didn't trust myself to get rid of the background ad info without ruining the picture. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't satisfied, so the next step was a doozy. Because I used one of my only two examples of the ad on the prototype, I was very, very nervous about using my only one left to do the rest. What if I screwed it up? What if I accidentally cut off her head instead of just piece of the whip?

Thankfully Brad came to the rescue and he was able to isolate the flash picture on line to make a still PDF. He saved that and printed it so I wasn't as nervous cutting into it--I knew I could print out more. Luckily I painstakenly cut out the picture, using a tiny pair of scissors I usually reserve for cutting loose threads on silk and satin when sewing, and I finally had a ready picture. We headed over to Staples, I made color copies and I got to work...

The silver foil is actually oragami paper I found at Kate's. The purple is also from Kate's, but that is regular stationary. I also found the cool snowflake cut out thingy there.

Here's the messy workroom/office:

A bunch of bitches:

The final card:

I only sent this one out to around 12 people (and I gave one to a coworker who thought his sister-in-law would get a kick out of it). Anyone who had small children or nosey relatives got a tame one. I think it would be fun to sell them, but since the image is probably copyrighted, that's not going to happen. I think I'd like to work on doing other kinds of cards though--goodness knows I've got plenty of wise-ass sayings to go in them.

Kitties!

2007-01-09T22:47:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite X-mas projects was the stuffed kitties I made for my boss' two children, Miles and Lena. They came to visit him one day recently and being absolutely adorable, I couldn't resist bonding with Lena who was wearing the cutest freaking pair of Vans I've ever seen--hot pink with black kitties on them; now there's a kid after my own heart. Anyway, since I'm the cat lady and they both like cats, I decided to make them a couple of their very own...and this is what I came up with:

I used the Lion Brand Tiny Teddy Bear pattern with a few changes to make it look like a kitty--mainly the ears and the tail are different.

How do I know they like them? Lena's been sleeping with hers since she got it. :-) If that's not enough to make you feel warm and fuzzy, I don't know what is.

Updates TK (that's 'to come' in publishing speak)

2006-12-21T10:23:00.000-05:00

I've done a crap-load of projects over the past couple of weeks. And why no pictures, you may ask? Because I've been too busy making stuff to post on Blogger. I know, I know. I suck. But...here's the good news:
* I've got pics of three scarves to post
* I hand made X-mas cards and send some out...and took cool pics of those
* I made stuffed kitties (as in stuffed animals, not really stuffed--that's just gross!)
So, I think I'll have time to post stuff tomorrow.

Craftacular!!!

2006-12-11T15:40:00.000-05:00

Hubby and I went to the Bust Craftacular in Williamsburg this past Saturday--and holy mother! It was packed. I mean wall-to-wall people. It was amazing! It was just so damned cool to see that many crafty-minded people out there making all of these really cool things and actually making a go of their cottage businesses. It made me realize how possible it would be to get She's Krafty out there and turn it into so much more than a blog--at worst an e-store, at best an e-store + real-life store! Brad and I are totally committed to making sure we get a table at next year's Craftacular, because holy crap would that be awesome. Especially since I saw so many things there that I've actually made in the past--from yoga mat bags, to tote bags, purses, soap, scrubs, scarves, pins, hats--all kinds of stuff. I also came up with a really good line for a t-shirt (which I'm not posting until I get the mock-up done). I'm so glad we went. It was just incredible to feel all that creative energy in the room--it really inspired me.

My favorite finds at this year's Craftacular? Awesome buttons courtesy of My My . I bought a bunch of them--I'm sending a couple out to girlfriends in the X-mas cards--the ones I got for myself I'm turning into magnets for the fridge. I'm also seriously obsessed with these:

Brad got them for me from Girlie Pants--and how freaking awesome are they??

Baby Blanket Pics

2006-12-04T11:08:00.000-05:00

I know, I know. I've been horribly lazy about posting lately. I could bore you all with my work craziness or the fact over the past two weeks, first I got the flu and then hubby did; or the Thanksgiving holiday. Suffice to say, stuff has been going on, but I haven't stopped making stuff. I'll have more pics to post soon. I just need to upload them already!!!

In any case, here is the infamous "final" baby blanket. I made this for my mom's boyfriend's niece (yeah, I know that sounds weird). And I am happy to report that she and her hubby loved it--though I think that the hubby is kind of funny because he thinks it's too nice to use!

Here's the skinny:
3 skeins of Bernat Cotton Tots in Little Boy Blue
3 skeins of Bernat Cotton Tots in Blue Berry
3 skeins of Bernat Cotton Tots in Sweet Cream

The pattern is really easy--just a huge granny square worked in 3 rows of each color 4 times. The final blanket was approximately 70 inches square. The trim is three rows of single crochet, one row in each color. I think it came out pretty snazzy. I love how perfect the huge granny square looks...though I don't recommend working on this blanket if you have to work it on the go. Transport gets cumbersome and unrulely after the first 18 rows...a regular granny square blanket will be easier...

Coming soon...pics of my first knitted scarf, a birthday present for my BFF, and the ugly swatch blanket I made with a bunch of my knitted and crochet swatches (and I'm not kidding--this thing is ugly, but warm and I guess that is all the kitties care about).

Back from Vacation...

2006-11-13T15:06:00.000-05:00

I was on vacation for a week (to Jamaica) and since I've been back, I've been so damned busy at work I haven't had time to post a darn thing. I've got pictures to post, but haven't had time to upload them.

I've finished several knitted swatches and can now knit and purl. Before I left for vacation, my coworker, Chaitra and I sat in from of the Knittinghelp.com website and finally, finally figured out how to purl. It's not easy to do when you're just trying to figure it out from a book. I was on the verge of throwing my needles several times while trying to figure it out on my own. But Chaitra and I figured it out (and the marketing people standing behind her cubicle thought we were nuts when we got all excited the first time it clicked and we both got through a row) and it kept me busy on the plane to and from Jamaica (3 hours) and then the 2 hour bus to and from our resort. All that time and all I finished was a freaking 7 X 9 swatch. I was knitting with worsted weight yarn on no. 7 needles though, so I suppose that explains my slow progress. Not to mention that it was the first stockingette stitch thing I've ever made. I'm probably going to make the ugliest kitty blanket in the world by attaching all my various knitted swatches and crocheted granny squares together. The kitties won't care as long as it is cozy. I love knitting with big chunky yarn. Until I get really fast, it is the only way for me to decive myself that knitting doesn't take longer than crocheting (which isn't really true, at least for me right now).

I finished my last crocheted baby blanket (until I get pregnant myself) and already gave it to the new mommy-to-be. She was estatic with it and that made me really happy, though it hasn't changed my mind about the "no-more-baby-blanket" policy.

I'm currently in the midst of knitting a Fancy Fur scarf for my mother-in-law for Chanukah. I bought the yarn last year in a yarn-and-crochet-frenzy when I was bored with the so-called "normal" yarn. This was before I realized that because the eyelash yarn also has little knubbies on it, it doesn't make for easy crocheting. I tried everything--little hooks, big hooks, using yarn markers--nothing made working with this damned yarn easy. Until now. All this time I thought I was retarded because I kept crocheting knots, but now I've realized it's easier to knit with than crochet with. I don't know who is able to crochet with the damned Fancy Fur, but it sure as hell isn't me. In any case, I'm sort of on the fence with Fancy Fur. It looks cool and it's fun to knit with, but I keep asking myself if I actually like it. The yarn fancinates everyone where ever I go (crazy amounts of people have been mesmerized on the subway by my funky purple needles knitting this yarn), but I don't know if that means I like it. I guess it comes down to this--I like knitting with it, think it looks really cool, but I don't think I'd actually wear anything made with it myself.

Might as well face it, I'm addicted to yarn

2006-10-13T15:12:00.000-04:00

Just got back from my lunch hour, and what did I do? After picking up a falafel sandwich, I walked over to Knitty City and picked up Stitch N' Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook, 2 skeins of absolutely beautiful red soy-silk yarn, a set of #7 needles, a knit counter, and those little rubber thingies that go on the ends of needles so you don't poke someone's eye out. It is sort of dangerous to have such a nice yarn shop so close to my office. The temptation is terrible. I can't go in there and not buy something.

While I was off on Columbus day, I sorted through a bunch of yarn, rolling a few long oblong skeins into balls, and making room for the yarn stash I bought last weekend. Now I just bought more. More yarn. With the amount of yarn I have right now, I could probably knit/crochet socks, sweaters, and blankets for my whole block. I'm already thinking of converting the bushel we got when we went apple picking two weekends ago into a new yarn storage container (surely it would be perfect--just line that bad boy with calico in a cute print a viola! Yarn storgage!), and god-forbid I should finish the container before buying yarn to store in it. Too much yarn. I have too much yarn. Then again, is there ever such thing as too much yarn?

Our Krafty-scary Halloween Wedding...

2006-10-12T16:52:00.000-04:00

It's true. Hubby and I got married on Halloween, 2004. Some people thought we were crazy. Others thought that it was the coolest thing ever. I'm with the later of course (as though you could even question it!). Since it's a beautiful fall day in NYC, and the temperature is close to the 72 degrees we were blessed with on our wedding day, I've been thinking about it quite a bit today and thought that I'd post a couple of pictures of some of the krafty things we did to make our Halloween wedding so special.

Our bridesmaids all wore the same black corset dress, but I wanted them each to look slightly different since each girl had a blessing during the ceremony which represented and element/season. Purple was winter/air; Green was spring/earth; peach was summer/fire; and blue was autumn/water. I hand sewed all of the shawls and gave my father, the florist (believe it or not, I did floral design in high school), long pieces of the same fabric from the shawls to wrap around each floral bouquet. Hubby spent quite a bit of time making 20 little "poofs" of fabric for each bouquet to frame the flowers. I though the effect was really pretty and we got lots of compliments on how great everyone looked!

Our infamous Halloween wedding cake. You have no idea what a pain in the pa-tooty these cake toppers were to make. Each cake had a Styrofoam circle that I covered in saran wrap, glued faux grass to, mounted the moving and/or light up Halloween fixtures, completed decorating the Halloween scene, and wrapped the rim of each piece of Styrofoam in Halloween ribbon. I cannot even explain to you how many people took pictures of this cake--they had never seen anything like it!!!

There is more to come... I have to find a good picture of our table centerpieces that I also made, and the innumerable other things we did. It was a very unique wedding!

New Shadow Box...

2006-10-12T16:34:00.000-04:00

I made a bridal shadow box for myself a while back, and ever since I did, my mom has been begging me to make one for her. The one I did for my hubby and I is very basic--a I dried the flowers from my bouquet and used some of those, some silk flowers (for the flowers that fell apart), fabric from my bridesmaid's shawls and bouquets (which I also made), and styrofoam, pretty paper, and our wedding invitation in the center, and viola! A pretty shadow box:

My mom wanted one that was similar, but one that also had her and her boyfriend's masks. For anyone who doesn't know, my hubby and I got married on Halloween, so we had a masquerade reception and asked people to dress up (elegantly of course). Everyone in our bridal party work fancy masks--us, the family, everyone. It looked awesome and was so much fun. We tried really hard to make sure that our Halloween-themed masqurade reception was fun, but not tacky and I think we suceeded. Anyway, I bought a ready-made shadow box for my mother, and glue gun in hand, went about inserting the things she wanted showcased. Her shadow box also has our wedding invitaion (with the fancy paper/styrofoam combo), but also has her masks, her corsage, and the place cards we made for the tables. Hubby and I loved the idea of having each table named for a particular horror movie, so instead of numbers, we had laminated mimi-movie posters and all the place cards had miniature movie picks to correspond to the table the guest was sitting at. My mom is terrified of The Exorcist, so of course we had to sit her at that table!

The interesting thing about the little castle place card holder in there...I actually had to chop the front and back of it off in order for it to fit. I like to think that you can't really tell that I sat the thing on my cutting board and hacked pieces of it off with a butcher knife and then sanded it down and painted it...but if you're really looking at it, I think you can tell. But honestly, who in their right mind is looking that closely at a place card holder???

To knit or not to knit...

2006-10-05T09:45:00.000-04:00

Many die-hard happy hookers look distainfully on knitting. "It's only two stitches;" "It's harder to work in pieces when knitting;" "Two sticks + yarn = confusion. I only have two hands;" "It's cooler to say your a hooker than a knitter." I never had an opinion one way or the other to tell you the truth. It's all yarn. Can't we all just get along? I just didn't know how to knit. Then again, a little less than a year ago I didn't know how to crochet either. Go figure. Well I've decided that I absolutely must learn how to knit. Why you might ask? It's not like I don't have plenty of crochet projects I want to work on; I've got the huge yarn stash, the multitude of hooks, the patterns I gaze longingly at and think "Oh yes, it will be mine." It's simple really. I want to knit socks. Socks! Yes, I've heard of crocheting socks, but somehow, all the holes make me think that it is probably not such a good idea. None of the crochet patterns for socks that I've come across seem like they are better in theory than in practice. So yes, I'm going to attempt to teach myself how to knit. I found this really cute blog on the Bust website, called Knitting with Cat Hair...a woman after my own heart. She recommends checking out KnittingHelp.com...so that is what I shall do. (By the way--how cool is that blog title? And how much do I covet her logo??)I'll keep you posted!

Grrrr...What about me?

2006-09-29T14:31:00.000-04:00

I'm in a fairly crabby mood today and I've come to the conclusion that it is because I rarely do/craft nice things for myself. There are other reasons beyond that, but that is the main reason at this very moment. My mood is probably caused (besides the PMS) by me going to Knitty City during lunch, and while browsing, all I could think about was what I needed to get for future projects for other people. Now mind you, I love making things for people I love. I really do. It makes me happy to make something for someone and give it to them and see how much they like it too (case in point--Viv's scarf which was fun to do [because I got to work with a new stitch] and since she's one of my dearest friends, truly a pleasure). It's one of my favorite things in the world. However, probably because I'm working on yet another baby blanket (this one isn't even one I'm going to be giving--it's one my mom is going to be giving to someone), I'm feeling grumpy and annoyed and generally bored out of my goddamned mind with blankets. I think I might be posting quite a lot of the "I hate making this blanket" type of blogs until I finish it.

Anyway, the point? I'm going to purchase new yarn this weekend and commence making a cute bolero sweater for myself before I finish working on the dreaded blanket because if I don't, I might tell my mom that she can stick the baby blanket where the sun doesn't shine. And that my dear readers, is just not an option.

Vivian's scarf

2006-09-27T09:51:00.000-04:00

My friend Vivian's birthday was a couple of days ago and I was determined to make her an awesome, useable, very cool homemade present. Of course I was going to crochet her something--like I would do anything else!

Well, I found a very cute pattern in my tried and true Stich n' Bitch: Happy Hooker book, and I altered it slightly to make it more frilly. I also added my very favorite little crochet flowers (not fleurchons, PR fans) with a splash of glitzy sequins in the center.

Hubby and I went to Viv's house last night to give her her presents, and I'm so glad she liked it! I have to admit, I almost wanted to keep it for myself!

Here are the results!

My fabulous friend with her new scarf!

Another freaking blanket...

2006-09-20T10:34:00.000-04:00

I finished (well, almost) the present for Vivian last night and had the Hubby start helping roll yarn balls for the next baby blanket. I'm going to pretty much make the same exact blanket I did for Olessia and Roman, but this time, I won't enjoy it half as much because it's not really a new project for me, and I'm quite sick of making blankets. I'm not doing the green, blue, and multi though--this time I'm using cream, light blue, and a slightly darker blue. Really pretty, but I think it will be a very long time before I willingly crochet anything else blue--especially not a blanket! After this one, no more blankets. I need at least six months before the concept of making a blanket becomes remotely enticing. It's fall! I've got scarves, sweaters, and hats to make!

The Latest Baby Blanket--New Pics!

2006-09-19T11:28:00.000-04:00

I meant to post these earlier, but I just got around to uploading them yesterday.

This baby blanket is for my friends Olessia and Roman. Olessia is due in November, so it's done in plenty of time! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I used Bernat Cotton Tots yarn, and it worked up so soft and so quickly that I decided to use it again on my next baby blanket project! I cannot explain how much I love this yarn. I wish that it came in more colors because I would use it for other things besides baby blankets.

This is a basic granny-square pattern; the main square alternates three rows of each color, three times (multi, blue, green), and then the three squares at either side of the square. I crochet-joined everything together. The boarder is three rows of single crochet in the multi yarn.

I love, love, love the way this blanket turned out and cannot wait to give it to Olessia and Roman.

Now onto my next blanket--for a boy again. I really cannot wait for someone to have a girl so I can switch to pinks and purples for awhile. Though I love blue, green, and yellow, I have to admit, I'm getting sort of bored from working with those colors so much.

The good thing is that I usually take a break between blanket projects to work on other, smaller things. Right now I'm working on a birthday present for my friend Vivian. When it's finished (and after I give it to her), I'll post pictures of it. Then it'll be back to blue and cream yarn, and hopefully the last baby boy blanket for awhile.

Nah, nah, nah!

2006-09-14T12:56:00.000-04:00

I finished the latest baby blanket. Finished it! A mere two weeks after I started the project mind you. How cool is that? I would be posting pictures right now, but because I was up late watching RS: Supernova (don't even get me started) and Project Runway (I am throughly addicted) I didn't have time to upload them last night before falling into a Benadryl coma. Tonight I'll post pics...and my original plan of the blanket. Hooray!

Next project!

Update on next baby blanket!

2006-08-31T11:09:00.000-04:00

This weekend I bought the yarn to get started on Olessia's baby blanket--it's absolutely beautiful yarn--Bernat Cotton Tots:

I'm using Sweet Green, Little Boy Blue, and Wonder Dreams (a light blue, light green, pale yellow, and white blend). I love this yarn because it is 100% cotton and so soft. I think it will wear really well too.

Tuesday night, Brad and I started yarn ball rolling while watching TV. After I had a ball of each color, I looked through my hooks to find the one that the label recommended--4.5 mm/US 7. I didn't have it. I tried a 4.0 hook. Too tight. Then I tried a 5.0 hook. Too loose. Sigh. So began a quest for a 4.5 hook. I could special order it from Michael's or Susan Bates, but that could take a while. I wanted to get started right away! So I checke the yarn shop, The Yarn Company, right down the block from my office, but since it's a knitter-friendly shop, they don't really cater much to us happy hookers. I pressed on and walked down to this new place that my google search for yarn turned up: Knitty City. There, I met an awesome lady named Amanda who not only went out of her way to unearth the strange hook that noone else seemed to carry, but she was also told me that they do intermediate crochet classes! Score! I need to get another person to go with me, but they do have intermediate crochet classes. I am so excited! Now I'll be able to bring my dilemmas to Amanda whenever they come up, and hopefully I'll get to go to a class soon.

Happily, last night I not only started on Olessia's baby blanket, but I also mananged to figure out a motif called "Italian motif" which uses the dreaded puff stitch. I'm happy to say that I figured it out, but won't be making blankets with this motif any time soon. Way too intricate--at the most, I think it might make a nice shawl...hmmmm, now who can I make one of those for?

Polka Dot Bag!

2006-08-25T09:31:00.000-04:00

Yet another finished project...and probably one of my favs. I am a tote bag fiend--I constantly drag lots of stuff with me back and forth to work--and on weekends (they're perfect for toting unfinished crochet projects around with you). So I got to thinking--though I love my Trader Joe's tote bag, it is sort of blah in the fashion department. So of course I started thinking about making my own. I found this black canvas tote bag (unadorned) in Michael's for around $7 and then I got to making rounds in lots of different colors using (mostly) different shades of Lion Microspun. And the finished product? Stylish and functional! Perfect!

Even More Crochet Flower Pins!

2006-08-17T09:51:00.000-04:00

Here are a few more pictures of some of my very favorite crochet flower pins. I think that I will write out a pattern this weekend and post how-to instructions. That way lots of 'happy hookers' can get to crocheting these pretty and fun pins. The color combinations are endless!

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My first baby blanket!

2006-08-16T09:26:00.000-04:00

No, I'm not pregnant. It's not for me. I cannot even explain to you how many people I know who are pregnant this year--and this blanket is for my friends James and Maria. Their baby boy is due in September. Now that I've finished this blanket, I need to get started on my next one...November and January due dates are fast approaching! :-)

I used four skeins of the Bernat yarn in blue (2) and yellow (2) and a 4.0 crochet hook (to get the stitches nice and compact). It's a basic granny square project so it pretty much speaks for itself--3 rows of each color alternating 4 times. I connected everything using crab stitching instead of a tapestry needle, which I think gives it a nice finished look.

This blanket didn't take me all that long, so I'm hoping that the next one won't be too bad either. Although for my next project, I would really like to do something besides the granny square thing because, to be honest, I'm sort of bored with it. It's hard figuring things out though--I think I might need to find myself a class because although Anna taught me the basic single crochet stitches, I figured out double and triple crochet on my own and also figured out how to do the granny squares through a lot of trial and error. We'll see what happens. I think I might make a mini-blanket for one of the cat beds in the cool zig-zag stitch I've been trying to figure out, just to see how it goes. Once I really get a feel for it, then I can attempt the next baby blanket. The one thing that worries me is how big the blankets tend to get--I do a lot of crocheting on the subway going back and forth to work (1 hour and ten minutes there, usually 50-55 minutes home--don't ask me why it's less; I have no idea) so that's my best crochet time. It's harder to crochet at home because the cats are into everything and I don't want to get the projects full of cat hair. We'll see what happens. I am just excited to try and learn more stitches and patterns!

By the way, if anyone knows of crochet classes/workshops that go on in NYC or Brooklyn, please let me know! I'm dying for some crochet camaraderie!

New necklace and bracelet for my mom-in-law...

2006-08-15T09:46:00.000-04:00

It's my mother-in-law's birthday this coming Saturday, and I wanted to do something really nice for her. My husband and I bought her this really nice black embroidered skirt with a red blouse from her favorite store, Chico's. While we were having the present gift wrapped, I was looking around the store at the various jewelery they had on display, thinking that a necklace might make a nice "something extra" to go with her new outfit. Alas, they lacked any red and black jewelery, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. Brad and I headed over to Michael's not long after, where I picked out some awesome beads and got to work on making my mom-in-law a really pretty necklace...and this is what it looked like:

My favorite thing about the necklace is the large circle pendant in the center--it didn't actually come like that! I bought a large hematite circle and sterling silver wire and wrapped it around the bead, twisting in and bending it into the pattern you see there. The necklace was strung together with sterling silver pins, a needle-nose pliers, and of course, wire cutters. I am so pleased with how the set came out and I can't wait for my mom-in-law to open it on Saturday! Brad thinks we should let her open it without telling her that I made it to see what kind of a reaction she had--so I know if she really likes it or not. I don't want her to say she likes it just because I made it for her! But I love it and I really hope she does too!

Brad's Blanket is complete

2006-08-15T09:25:00.000-04:00

A while back, I posted a blog about a blanket I was crocheting for my hubby Bradley. (Check out Brad's Blanket to see the original post.) Well I finished said blanket over two months ago, but haven't been able to take pictures of it until recently...so here it is in all its glory:

If you look at the original blog and the blanket design, you'll notice that I eliminated the rows at the top and bottom of the blanket--to be honest, after I attached the 9 big squares together, I didn't think that the blanket needed to be any longer and it worked quite well as a throw (which is what I made it for). If you wanted to use it on a bed, then it would probably be a good idea to add the extra rows at the top and bottom.

As for materials--I used Lion's Baby Soft yarn in Lavendar, Baby Green (like a sea foam), and Baby Print in Lavendar, Sea Foam, and White. I used a 5.0 crochet hook, but after working with this the yarn, I would suggest using a 4.5 to make the squares a little more compact.

I love the way this blanket turned out and so does Bradley! It is the perfect size for us to cuddle together on the couch...where it hangs out when not in cuddle-use!

The infamous yoga mat bag!

2006-08-14T10:11:00.000-04:00

I finally took and uploaded pictures of the infamous yoga mat bag. Can I tell you how long the darn thing took me to make? Around a month! I've completed baby blankets in that amount of time. However, it's probably my own fault--I used a tiny crochet hook--only a 2.75 and Lion Microspun yarn in teal, lime green, purple, and lavender. I crocheted a large round (there are 8 rows in the base of the bag) and then made the body of the bag separately. Crochet a chain of 104, and then add on enough rows of double crochet to cover the body of the yoga mat, with some extra to spare (I like to have space so I can throw a hand towel and my yoga pants in the bag). I did 80 rows, and then an additional 4 for the top of the bag to fold over and make a closure (use a tapestry needle to sew the top closed). The strap also crocheted--I chained 160, and then made a row in each color used on the bag (4 rows total). There is also a pocket on the inside of the bag to keep hair clip, lip gloss, and other do-dads you might need after class. All & all, I am really happy with the way this project turned out and I've gotten lots of compliments on my bag!
More pics to come!
xoxo
the krafty gal

I'm back!

2006-08-11T10:23:00.000-04:00

Yes, it has been forever since I posted, and I apologize. I'm still surprised how many hits this blog has gotten (even though no one comments but Eve and my hubby) in spite of me not posting anything new lately. I was really busy for a while in spring and hadn't had a chance to take pictures of the projects I was working on, and then BAM! Our digital camera broke and that sucked big time. How am I supposed to post things to my craft blog if I can't take pictures of the things that I'm making? Doesn't really work so well. (Do not ever by the Canon Doubleshot! TWO of them have broken on us and their LCD screen sucks!)

Anyway, the really good news is that Hubby and I picked up a new camera last week (the Olympus Stylus--so far, so good--and the LCD screen has a plastic cover on it, and to top that, you can buy a nifty little case for it and take it underwater! How nuts is that??), and I have tons of things to photograph and post on here. Over the past few months I've managed to finish Brad's blanket, I'm 95% finished with a baby blanket for my friend's baby (due in September--I need to get to work!), made a necklace and bracelet for my mom-in-law's birthday, and made too many crochet flower pins to think about. I can't wait until it gets a little cooler out so I can start sporting them on my jackets! There are some other projects too, I just can't remember them all right now.

So keep your pants on people--new pictures of projects coming this weekend!

xoxo
the krafty girl

The slacking crafter...

2006-05-05T10:06:00.000-04:00

I know, I've been slacking. I've finished a few things lately and just haven't gotten around to posting them, so here is an update. I FINALLY finished my crocheted yoga mat bag. That shit took FOREVER and I don't think I'll be making another one any time soon. If I tried to sell them I'd have to charge $200 because though the supplies only cost me around $20, it took me over a month to make it. And I mean I crocheted that thing everywhere I went (subways, car rides, waiting for food in restaurants--everywhere). I made another tote bag, but not exactly like the flower one I already posted on this blog--I gave that one to my mom because she was really really obsessed with it and kept nagging me about when I was going to make her one. So I figured that since she loved it so much, I'd just give it to her, and make myself something else. The one I did for me (which isn't technically finished, but it's almost there) is a black rectangle canvas tote bag (around 18 inches wide by 12 inches high, with a depth of around 4 inches) with multicolor crochet circles all over one side. There is also a crochet pocket inside which I thought was a good idea so all my crap doesn't go sliding all over the bag and I can actually find stuff). I'm almost finished sewing all of the circles on, but I have a feeling that the first time I use it either my mom or mother-in-law or someone else I love is going to fall in love with it and then I'll just give it away and start from scratch. Which is probably not the worst thing in the world because I have too much stuff anyway, and it's better to just give it all away.

So the point was, I'm still making stuff, but I've been busy, so I haven't posted pictures lately, but I promise that I will and it will be this weekend.

Meow!

Crochet Flowers Pins part deux

2006-04-18T12:05:00.000-04:00

So it took me longer to upload pictures of the crochet flower pins than I expected. Sue me. I've been busy. Sheesh.

Crochet Flower Pins...

2006-04-12T09:55:00.000-04:00

Are my new obsession...

Super quick to make, and fun too! I've made about a dozen of them recently--and I'll post pictures of all of them tomorrow, as soon as I get my butt in gear and take 'em!

It's finished! Hooray!!!!

2006-04-03T11:22:00.000-04:00

The freaking yoga mat bag is finished. It took me FOREVER, and I'm so happy with it. I must say, it looks awesome, but the sheer length of time it took for me to make this bag means I probably won't be making another one any time soon.

The Never Ending Yoga Mat Bag

2006-03-28T11:22:00.000-05:00

I have been making this damned bag for almost a month now--I had half a blanket finished in the time it's taken me to get this far with this bag. You would think I was crocheting a sweater for a 300 lb. guy. Or making an afghan for said guy. It's because I'm making really small stitches (104 each row--I can't even tell you right now how many rows I've made). But seriously--this is the latest never-ending project. Oy.

I still have projects going on...

2006-03-21T14:39:00.000-05:00

Though I haven't had a second to post anything about them. I'm currently working on Brad's blanket, my yoga mat bag, and a couple other things I can't really mention because they are presents for people. I'll post pictures after I send them off :-) Meow!

On a side note, I really have to get my ass in gear and make the other shadowbox for our wedding masks. I also promised to make one for my mom with her masks in them, so I'm going to be busy for the next couple of weeks with projects.

Crochet Flower Bag :-)

2006-03-12T22:56:00.000-05:00

I finished my crochet flower bag last night and I couldn't be happier with how it looks! I posted the details of how the flowers came about in an earlier post, so I'll just explain how I attached them--I split some of the yarn threads and used two threads and an upholstrey needle to back stich the flowers onto the bag (the flowers were held in place with pins while I sewed them on). This is the finished product:

I am probably going to make bags like this one (this size) and also smaller tote bags. I have to find where I can get black canvas tote bags wholesale though--and not the tacky looking ones I saw in American Apparel. I'm so not into a black bag with ecru handles. Ewwww. Can you say tacky? I love the way this bag looks though--it came out perfect!

Brad's Blanket

2006-03-11T10:30:00.000-05:00

As I was making the blanket for my brother, the request for other blankets started rolling in--first on the list were my husband and my mom. Since Brad was always with me at the craft store, it was much easier to pick out yarn and decide what sort of pattern I wanted to work with. I was still getting the hang of attaching squares, and after spending so much time attaching all of the little squares for G's blanket, I decided that I never wanted to work with granny squares with just 4 rows ever again if it was humanly possible. With that in mind, I thought that doing 6 row squares would be a little less cumbersome, and a lot easier to get through. I also planned on attaching sqares together as I went, as opposed to waiting to put the whole thing together at once which is what I did with G's blanket. If I was going to work with six round squares, I thought it would be best to work in three colors instead of two like my last project. I selected one large skein of the Pound of Love yarn in mint green, and 6 skeins each of the Baby Soft yarn--in lavander, and in a really nice lavander/white/mint green multi. This is the pattern I came up with:

I've gotten approximately a third of the way through the blanket so far--but I've come to the conclusion that I need to work on other projects when working on blankets, otherwise I get a little bored and actually resent working on it. Hence, my current other projects, the bags with the crochet flowers and yoga mat bag flowers. Here's what it looks like so far:

Crochet Flowers...

2006-03-10T12:46:00.000-05:00

I'm working on a new crochet project that started sort of as an accident. I wanted to crochet myself a yoga mat bag, but didn't have a pattern, so I thought I could just figure it out as I went along. I started out trying to crochet in rounds--which was a lot more complicated than I thougt it would be! Instead of the circle coming out flat, I kept getting wrinkly circles! Then I noticed that the wrinkly circles were actually very pretty, and I got an idea...why not turn them into flowers and use them as embelishments for bags/purses/pins? Seemed like a good idea, so I got to work making flowers!

While creating the flowers, I thought it would be a good idea to make leaves and stems as well, but I had no idea how to make leaves--so I figured it out by trial and error--and came up with a good pattern to follow. I basically chain stiched 12 stitches, then did one slip stich, 2 sc, 2 hdc, 2 dc, 1 tc, 1 dc, 1 hdc, 2 sc into one sticth. I then repeated the pattern going in th opposite direction (2 sc into one stich, 1 hdc, 1 dc, 1 tc, 2 dc, 2 hdc, 2 sc, 1 ss). I then did the other side of the leaf, following the same pattern. After the leaf was complete, I slip stiched down the center of the leaf to make it look like the veins of the leaf. the stems are just slip stiched chains. This is what one of the flowers and leaves look like:

After I had three flowers made, I started thinking about what kind of bag to attach them to. At first I thought I wanted to crochet a bag and attach them, but since this was my first attempt, I thought it would be good to go with something already made. The flowers themselves were teal and lavander, with light green leaves and stems, so I thought that a black background would match the best, and also be the most practical...so Brad and I headed over to American Apparel to purchase a bag that would work.

I've attached the flowers I've already made with straight pins, but I still have some stems and leaves to finish making. This is what my project is looking like so far, but I am far from finished. As soon as the bag is complete, I'll post pictures of it:

Cufflinks...

2006-03-09T15:43:00.000-05:00

Brad and I spent the better part of a recent Saturday searching for a new suit for him and also gathering materials for me to make him a new cufflink box. Brad is obsessed with fancy cufflinks. When we first started dating, I made him a cufflink box (approximately 7 X 9) to store all of his pretty cufflinks, but he has long since outgrown it (the Tiffany cufflinks he got for his birthday deserve their own darn box heehee) and had been hinting that he needed a new one. I can’t possibly say “no” when someone comes up with a new crafty project for me, so of course I agreed.

We searched high and low for the perfect box and finally found a faux red crocodile leather letter box in Barnes and Noble (after we purchased a different box in Michael’s Arts & Craft Store which we later returned) and had to go to another craft store called the Rag Shop near our house to get a piece of soft foam to make the inside of the box.

After I got all my materials home, measured the inside of the box (height, width, depth) and then cut the soft foam to fit snuggly inside. I then measured the foam itself, and cut it into 8 long, equal width strips. I then pulled out this beautiful black silk velvet that I had left over from a skirt I made myself a while back, and cut the fabric into strips so each piece of foam could be completely covered in velvet before inserting it into the box. I got out my glue gun, and I was ready to roll! I glued the velvet onto each individual strip of foam. After the glue dried, I placed each velvet covered foam strip into the box to be sure of placement. When I was about halfway done, I realized that I was running out of space! There was no way that all eight strips of foam, covered in velvet, were going to fit inside the box. Seven strips, however, did fit perfectly. After all 7 were placed in the box and I checked to make sure they were snug, but not too snug, I glued each strip individually into the box. After all the glue dried, Brad had a grand ‘ole time placing his cufflinks into the box.

I was very pleased with the way this cufflink box turned out, and considering how much you’d have to spend on one of these babies in a shop or online, I’d say Brad and I go off pretty cheap. The crocodile leather letter box cost $20, the foam was $3, and the velvet originally cost me around $14 a yard when I bought it, but I only used around a ¼ of a yard. It took around an hour and a half to put it all together—and a day of running around gathering the materials. Not bad I tell ya!

The Bridal Shadowbox--Click me!

2006-03-07T11:59:00.000-05:00

Here's a link to my blog about a shadowbox I made for my bridal bouquet and wedding invitation.

I actually have to make another one very soon! Since my husband and i got married on Halloween, we bought these really beautiful masks--I went as a fairy, he as a demon. Well now our masks (which set us back quite the pretty penny let me tell you!)are sitting in a box in storage with a whole bunch of other things from the wedding. Well I need to get those pricey masks into a shadowbox themselves! I'll post pics of that when it is finished.
Here's my husband and I in our Wedding Halloween masks:

The First Blanket--Click me!

2006-03-07T11:57:00.000-05:00

Here's a link my blog about the first crocheted blanket I ever made :-)

This is the original plan for the blanket that I sketched out when I started:

Scarves, scarves, and more scarves...

2006-03-07T10:02:00.000-05:00

Of course, as a crochet beginner, the first projects I took on were of the scarf variety. I crocheted my little heart out during all of December to make sure I had some comfy, cozy homemade presents to give my loved ones. I experimented with various types of yarn, and thanks to feedback from my mom, I've decided that I do not like the Lion's Brand Homespun. It sheds all over everything! I prefer working with chenille and cotton thus far for scarves because they just hold their shape nicely and are very soft.
Here's a sample of a recently-made scarf:

I made this one as a prize for a poetry contest my husband and I ran at our last poetry reading. Here's Will, the recipent of the scarf!

I'm a krafty lady!

2006-03-02T14:24:00.000-05:00

I decided to start a blog dedicated to the various crafts I work on (or krafts as I like to call them) because I spend so much of my free time working on them. Krafting is something I do because I love making things and working with my hands, and because it is very soothing and zen-like. In today's crazy, stress-filled world, it's nice to do something that doesn't put added stress in your life. To me, coming up with a project, gathering the supplies, facing obstacles and then problem-solving through them, is very satisfying. The name of this blog (and my website) was coined by my best friend Jenn--whenever I'd tell her about my latest krafty project, she'd start singing the Beastie Boys song "She's Crafty." Though that wasn't what the BB had in mind when they wrote the song, it sort of became my krafting moto :-)

I'm currently obsessed with crocheting, but I've enjoyed all sorts of kraft projects over the years: sewing, tiling, making boxes, collage, candle-making, soap-making & beauty products (like salves, scrubs, and perfume), and the list goes on and on.

The first thing I can remember making were clothes for my Barbie dolls (who were very far from normal looking Barbies with their marker dyed hair and punk rock make up, but that is a whole other story). I used scraps of fabric that a neighbor gave me (left over from her quilting projects)and first started draping, and then moved on to actually sewing them together. I think I was around 8 years old when I sewed my first Barbie outfit. I still remember it: a knee-length pleated skirt in grey with small white polka dots. I have always loved polka dots. I wish I still had it, but I have a picture of it in my head. I probably remember it better than it was, but still. I remember using hook-and-eye closures on it, so the skirt actually stayed on the doll! No safety pins! But I'm getting away from the topic.

This is a blog dedicated to all of my various kraft projects. I'll probably start out with some pictures of recent projects that I've already completed, and then move onto the ones I'm in the midst of. I'm looking forward to getting feedback from other krafty-minded people, and discussing all things krafty. I am in the middle of building my website, www.sheskraftyonline.com, where I will be selling some of my handcrafted and homemade products. Looking forward to hearing from everyone!

Enjoy!
xoxo
christine