Do It Yourself

While possibly misconstrued as sass, this phrase resonates in me as something I desperately want to apply to my own life.  I'm a huge fan of up-cycling, refurbishing, making something awesome out of whatever's on hand, or building something you need yourself.  All I lack is the opportunity.

I read these blogs and see these websites about people who do amazing things with seemingly simple tools, and I think... I could do that!  There's just really no room or need in my life at the moment.  I can't tell you how much I want kids so I can create things (items of clothing, amigurumi, chalkboard-painted walls, toys, etc) for them and join in their fun.

I want to learn how to fix stuff in my home, how to wield power tools for the greater good.  I'd love to have a garden for herbs and veggies, as well as some fruit trees.  It would be incredible to go outside and gather my own eggs, honey, and milk.  And I can't gush enough about something I find incredible and am starting to work for-- a zero-waste home.

Something I adore about Perry is that he shares this dream with me- a sustainable lifestyle.  But right now, that's not really in the cards.  We're barely starting out.  He's still in school, and we live in the middle of Houston in a rented house.  A tiny rented house, with no room for any crafty ideas that might fling themselves at me.  I have to shove them into a folder for the future.  And while I could knit or crochet to my heart's content, this is HOUSTON for cripes' sake.  Hot and humid with little to no need for thick, warm scarves or hats or gloves or sweaters... You get the idea.

So I think I should find an outlet.  Make a hundred hats and donate them to cancer patients or the homeless shelter?  Stock up now on all the baby clothes I could ever want?  I'd love to make some money off of it, since yarn isn't free, but I'm a little afraid of trying something like that.  I'm worried there won't be a need, or that I wouldn't be able to keep up if there were.  Also, I would really like to be able to afford more quality yarns, which are pricier, but better for the environment (not to mention better quality).

I've discovered a new desire recently-- hand-spinning and hand-dyeing my own yarn.  I'm not going to get started on that topic here, but let's just say it would be very cool to be able to do that.  For the moment, I'm going to content myself with watching 101 Dalmations with Perry and an almost-new-mother Nora (seriously, hours away!).

Tunisian Crochet

So I was looking at a blog one day on making crocodile stitches for a hat and/or scarf (I have made both for 2 different people now, and they went over really well!).  While browsing the lady's other posts, I saw one mentioning Tunisian Crochet.  It was the first time I'd ever heard of it, and I was bumfuzzled.  I knew about knitting, and I knew about crochet.  Now, I am not naive enough to think those are the only 2 things you can do with yarn (weaving, anyone?), but I had certainly never heard of this kind of crossbreed knichet (my own word).  It's like knitting, but with a crochet hook.  You use a double-ended hook, or a hook with a stopper at the end to keep the yarn loops from sliding off.  There is even a specially-made set that can be used for regular or Tunisian crochet (made by Denise, available on amazon.com).  I really liked the look of the project made using this form (here's the post!), but with Christmas looming and gifts to make for 5 people in a month's time, exploring this new-found method took a back burner.
I finally decided last night to check around and see what I could sniff out about it.  I didn't go to sleep until 8:30 this morning.  I found a "starter collection" of Tunisian Crochet stitches on youtube.  Apparently there are well over 100 stitch types just for Tunisian crocheting.  Idk how many there are for regular crocheting (an awful lot!), but this is an entirely different ballpark.  There's the simple stitch, knit stitch, purl stitch, gobelin stitch (no, that's not supposed to be goblin, which was my first thought and made me chortle to myself... it's apparently French)... arrowhead stitch, honeycomb stitch, and so on.  You can even crochet using two different colors separately so that when you look at it from one side, it's primarily one color, but when you look at it from the other side, the second color is more prominent.
I'm really glad I finally decided to check it out, but now I am very anxious to get myself a set of those interchangeable hooks and go to town.  I'm trying really hard to wait until the end of the month because I'll be getting $20 in gift cards to amazon from SwagBucks.com (which I love!! free money!!).  The amazon price is $40, and I'll have saved up $30 in gift cards, so... $10 for this set is a REALLY good deal.
Anyway, I have tried my hand at a few of the stitches, and they look amazing.  It's really hard to do them with the hooks I have though, because the shaft widens in the middle, whereas ideally the entire hook is straight.  I even already have a first project in mind- a two-color tote (pattern courtesy of Lion Brand yarn).  Very eager and excited to try this out!

Knitting, here I come!

I've never ever tried my hand at knitting.  However, I have definitely wanted to do so for some time now.  I enjoy crocheting, and I really like the diversity in stitches that it offers, but I like the overall look and feel of knitted garments (think sweaters more than hats and scarves).  After seeing my mom-in-law's knitting creations, and the speed at which they were produced, I have decided to take the plunge into the knitting pool and see just what I can do.

Since the number of needle choices is ridiculously large (single end, double end, circular... wood, aluminum, acrylic... not to mention girth and length!), I was able to procure an interchangeable aluminum needles set at Hobby Lobby for $45 (with the 40% off coupon readily available on their website).

Anyway, I'm really, really excited about giving it a try.  Tips welcome and appreciated!

Ta-da!

The presents are done! I made 5 scarves in time for Christmas.  For someone who's never completed a crochet project before, I think that's pretty admirable.  I will admit, I'm pretty damn proud of myself. Each one is different, and I learned 2 new stitches - crocodile and basket weave - and 2 new tricks - a spiral and a chevron (or zigzag).  I'm excited to give them, and hope they are liked.  Here's hoping!

Progress IS being made!

Well, my to-do list is not going to get finished entirely, but I am going to have at least one present for everyone I'm spending Christmas day with. Yay!

I have finished 2 scarves and am making good headway on a 3rd; I bought Perry's Christmas present with Amazon GCs I got with Swagbucks points (I LOVE those guys!).  After that, I just have one more person to make a present for.  Then we need to have something for his grandmother, and we're golden!

Christmas, she's a-comin'!

Yes, yes, it's been a long time since I've posted.  It hasn't exactly been a banner year, and this fall has been all about my GETTING MARRIED! (yay me!) But I'm actually doing really well on some projects and wanted to share, since... hey, being me, who knows when this will happen again?

Being a poor little mouse this year, I have endeavored to crochet my Christmas gifts.  Now, this may sound laughable considering I've never finished a crochet project in my life (though several were started).  But I think that perhaps I'm just not a "blanket" kind of crocheter.  That's a massive work.  However, I have made amazing headway on a scarf and a hat so far (in just 3 days!), and expect to finish them both within the next couple of days.  Also on my to-do list for gifts:

* 2 more hats for the hubby
* 2 hats for close family members
* 2 different sets of coasters (the idea came to me while crocheting the current hat, and I'm very excited about it!)
* some combination of a hat, gloves/mittens and/or scarf for someone else
* If I have the time, perhaps 2 more scarves for 

Now, obviously I can't go giving names, but I plan on taking pictures of the finished products to post after the holidays.  I also just had another idea for a friend who has been unwell... but that's for later. And since the husband's hats have to be done while he's in school, I only have a few hours in the morning to accomplish this.  However, that's ok with me since I kind of like to move back and forth between projects, anyway.  And this way, I feel like I'm getting more done (working on 2 instead of 1). I know it comes out the same, but finishing 2 around the same time? It's some kind of mind thing, and I'm ok with that.  I've got plenty to do in the next 4 weeks, but I think I'm up to the challenge, and I'm really rather looking forward to it.

Stay tuned for updates!

Mixed Emotions...

Well, my suede arrived today, and I am sorry to say it is NOT suede.  It is, in fact, a mixture of cotton and rayon.  I suppose I should have read more closely, but my archaic self expects that when the name includes the word "suede"... well, you get the idea.  I'm not going to send it back, I've decided.  I really do like the pattern, and it will still do what I intended it to.

On a happier note, I discovered some pretty awesome corduroy, so I snagged me a few yards...



I may seem crazy, but I'm pretty excited to make stuff now! =P