kraffty

Clapotis--finished!

2006-09-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was SOOO close to finishing the Clapotis, my drop-stitch scarf/shawl, but ran out of yarn near the end. Of course, the one color I need was out of stock at Knit Picks. It finally arrived today and I sat right down to finish. It's now damp, blocked, and laid out on the bed to dry (it's long, I couldn't fit it on my kitchen counter). There are certainly flaws, but nothing that really matters since A) it is meant to roll up and curl and B) it's just a scarf, jeez!

Closeup:

Made with a little more than 3 skeins of Knitpicks Memories 100% Merino wool, fingering-weight, in Geranium.

The soap I made last night had some interesting changes overnight. The copper color is really coming out nicely, though the top swelled and bulged in a few areas, adding an odd texture to the top. That shouldn't really matter. I think it must have gotten extra warm, perhaps from adding so much mica?

BTW, several people asked if I sell my soap. I do, I have a little shop on Etsy.com. Check it out if you'd like, Soap Crush (and there are also tons of other neat crafty items for sale on that site, I know where I'll be looking for Christmas gift buying).

Oakmoss, Rosewood, Cedarwood, mica swirl:

Oatmeal Cookie (Oatmeal, Milk and Honey with ground almonds and topped with steel-cut oats)

Swing Coat -- FINISHED!

2006-09-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

I actually finished this a few weeks ago out at the cabin. Ran it through the washer & dryer and it looks lovely. It needs a button for the front and then it's ready to give to the niece. Yay!

KnitPicks Shine Worsted in Crocus

Morgan's Girlfriend Swing Coat - WIP

2006-07-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

I don't bother posting my works in progess all the time but I'm pleased that this one is coming along pretty well so I took some photos last night. This is the Girlfriend Swing Coat I'm making for my niece, Morgan. The color isn't quite true here, it's called "Orchid" (Knitpicks Shine Worsted) and has a pinky-lavender tone. So I'm well on the way to having one sleeve done, and after the sleeves, I'll be adding a shawl collar to it and maybe adding a trim to the front so it doesn't curl so much:

front:

back:

I was irritated when I started the sleeves--they're only 50 stitches around so using 4 bamboo dpns was painfully slow. So, I read up and learned how to use two circulars instead and now it's going much faster. I hope the sweater is big enough for the kid by the time I finish. I asked Shan about Morgan's size but it's hard to say if this will be too big or small. If it's too small, then my friend Lara's 2 year old Ila will get this instead :) It's too girlish to give to Finn.

Warshrags, favorite clothes, and pirates

2006-05-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

I made my first Mason-Dixon warshrag--and of course, I'm hooked, I think this will be the ultimate travel project because it's not too complicated, yet has some changes tokeep things interesting. I'm working on warshrag #2 in the reverse of these two colors:

I copied one of my all-time favorite tops, one that I've had for years, worn to death (multiple repairs on the shoulder seams, and now bleachy-fadey spots) by laying tracing paper on the blouse and tracing it. I'm wearing the finished copy today and am so damn proud of myself, because it fits and feels the same, only new!
(old on the left, new on the right)

And then, because I need new summer clothes, I took a big ol' men's tank top that Dan had, and hacked it into a cute little halter top. The whole thing took probably half an hour to do. It's quite tight but I think that's how it has to be since I can't wear a bra with this thing :)

Skinny scarf

2006-04-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

Made with a ball of Crystal Palace Mikado Ribbon, color 7300B.

I bought two little balls of this yarn from a closeout sale, for a dollar a piece. Unfortunately I didn't think too much about whether I could actually make something with it! So I made a skinny scarf in a loose garter stitch (using size 13 needles to keep it airy and floppy) and am very pleased! I wore it today to work and felt pretty--all knit up, the shiny parts of the ribbon really stand out. With the second ball I'm attempting a lightweight skull cap, though we'll have to see how that goes since I'm making it up as I go.

Pedicure Socks

2006-04-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

My first socks! Well, one of them, at least, I'm working on sock #2 right now.

These are the pedicure socks from the spring issue of Knitty, using Knitpicks "Wool of the Andes" in Stream. I love, love, love the color. The socks, I would make some changes to next time around but I learned alot, including the wonderful magic of "turning the heel" and seeing a 3D curved shape just start to appear in my hands! But, they're kind of big, especially in the heel. And I should have made the foot part longer so the band is closer to the base of my toes. They're kind of "ankle warmers."

Older photos

2006-03-09T19:45:00.000-08:00

I did some other sewing that I never really posted about. These were done in February.

Burda World of Fashion issue 1/2006 velour yoga pants:

Tablet T-shirt yoga shorts (Jalie 2445):

Burda 8607 capri pants in denim from (I think) Fabric.com:

London Beanie take 2

2006-03-06T16:41:00.000-08:00

This one's mine! I'm not sure if it's my style, I feel kinda weird in such a snug hat on my giant noggin. But hey, it's good practice. I could always give it to Dan later and then he'll have two. I found myself making the exact same holes once I started the increase in this one, and realized why, so I caught the error earlier and now I know not to knit into the front and the back of a purl stitch. Also if I ever make this again I shall be sure to use a cable cast on, not that I know how to do it, but in the book it looks alot nicer:

Up next: well I'm working on a belt with a cable, to learn how to do cables. And a yoga top. Not that I plan to do yoga in a sweater so much, I think it'll be more of a "going out" top than workout clothes.

London Beanie

2006-02-26T18:56:00.000-08:00

Now I kinda want one for myself :) And there's plenty of yarn left so I could easily make another. Perhaps I could make it with the main color red so Dan & I aren't twinsies.

This took me two evenings to do. The finish required dpns, which I don't think I actually used correctly but it still worked and I think he likes it despite the flaws.

Pattern: http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/hats/london-beanie.htm
Yarn: Cascade 220 aran weight black, Knit Pics Wool of the Andes Red, Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Cloud

Hello Knitty Pillbox Hat

2006-02-23T11:42:00.000-08:00

My first knit hat

Tonight I finished knitting my first hat. It's a pillbox style with a bulky black and a thinner hot pink yarn knitted together. I thought I was going to run out of the black yarn at the end (yes, I have a big head) but have about 16 inches left :) Ignore my pale, no-makeup look here, I've been home with some kind of stomach bug:

Pattern from helloknitty.com
yarn used:
Rowan R2 "fuzzi felt" black
Karabella "aurora 8" merino wool color 24 (hot pink)

Dan's hat is next, once the yarn arrives. I found a good cheap mailorder store.

Thinking about going back to bed, ugh.

Project Snakeskin

2006-02-23T10:50:00.000-08:00

Curtains, that is. I made 2 pair of curtains for our bedroom out of dark red snakeskin-print PVC. I think these are gonna be tres sexy once installed in the bedroom but I need Dan's help to put up the curtain rods. So in the short term, here's one set hanging up on the living room window hooks:

They look shiny like a shower curtain here but they're really much more matte, it's just the flash kind of distorting things:

Closeup:

It'll be a huge improvement over the natural canvas Pier 1 shades we've had since moving in 8 or 9 years ago. Those poor things are coated with cat hair (Punky's in particular because he used to like to hang out in the windowsill) and the pull cords are broken. These should repel pet hair and can be washed if necessary. I also enjoyed sewing with PVC fabric. I thought it would be more difficult but armed with a Teflon presser foot for the machine and quality thread it went really well. I'd like to make a skirt or a simple dress out of this kind of material.

DVD player tote

2006-02-15T11:52:00.000-08:00

My portable DVD player that I won finally arrived. I love it. I love gadgets and this thing seems truly light and easily portable (unlike my laptop, which is heavier and requires alot of extra stuff packed with it). I took it to work today to show Michael since he didn't believe that I really won something good. But I figured it should have some sort of case or bag to keep it from getting scratched and battered inside other bags. So tonight I made a little tote that's lined with fleece and has some inner pockets for the power cord, remote, earphones, etc. The wide angle lens makes this look like a big bag but it's really just about 10X12:

Warmup jacket

2006-02-05T11:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I made a warmup jacket. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. The whole idea was to learn and try sewing techniques I haven't done yet, and with this I installed my first zipper, made pockets, attached ribbed cuffs, collar, and waistband, and used facing. Yes, it does look a bit like a kids' pajama top or a Star Trek costume due to my color choices:

Too bad I didn't secure the top of the zipper well after I chopped 4 inches off; after wearing this around the house for half an hour the zipper pull came right off the top! Not sure how I'll fix that, I've kind of jammed it back on for now but it doesn't match up at the bottom.

new soap

2006-01-30T11:54:00.000-08:00

Sinnamon Swirl and Muffin are now ready to use. Sinnamon would, of course, be very bad for someone with a cinnamon allergy but for the rest of us it turned out very well, in my opinion. The in-the-pot swirl with cocoa powder just turned out beautifully. It's got both cinnamon leaf essential oil and powdered cinnamon for speckles and texture. It fits my goal of trying to only use completely natural ingredients more often, rather than synthetic fragrance oils.

And then the Muffin--somewhat simple, just lemon essential oil, poppyseeds, and a touch of gold mica--but I love it for the simplicity and the wavy, frosted top:

More on the curing racks that'll be ready in a week or so include Nag Champa, layered cranberry, a second batch of Dolce Amaretto (my fave) and a sort of odd strawberry-banana blend. Dan keeps saying he doesn't like banana fragrance and it did seem to have that overly-sweet candy banana smell at first but is mellowing well with curing.

And then I need to make more! I have a more earthy, masculine blend in mind, to get away from too many sweet scents. It's sort of hard to do all my crafts, though, because I have to do a ton of cleaning and counter/table clearing to be able to *do* something. And sometimes I'm tired and don't feel like it. I traced a pattern to make some yoga shorts but I did part of the tracing last week at work and part of it last night and I think I messed up on the size for one of the pieces. They seem to be far from matching up at the seams. So that means I have to clear the kitchen counter of everything and take out the pattern and the tracings and check them and put everything away again and tonight, I just don't feel like it. Perhaps tomorrow.

Halter top

2006-01-28T11:55:00.000-08:00

At last, I have completed a project I started a month ago! This halter top was going to be my second piece of clothing I've sewed (not counting the panties :)). It should have been simple, just three pieces, a button closure, a little elastic. Instead it was a hard-learned lesson in the importance of choosing the proper thread and needle for the fabric. I made several errors there and had tons of really bad bobbin thread jams and broken threads. I took a hiatus for a while, worked on some other projects, and then came back to the halter with the proper tools. It's got many flaws in the stitching and construction but goddammit I don't care. It's wearable. The fabric was somewhat forgiving in hiding my messy stitch areas. It looks a little bunchy at the waist in these photos but it's really not, that's just a result of me holding my camera out to take the photos.

"

Soapin'

2006-01-12T11:57:00.000-08:00

I've made about $42 on soap, wow, I'm rich :) It's cool though, then I can sink that back into buying more olive oil or something. My Aunt Jeannie bought 8 bars and because she's paying by check, I actually cleared more profit (paypal business accounts take a bit of a bite in their fees). Tuesday night I made 2 batches; one is another of the Dolce Amaretto because it's the best seller and my personal favorite that I gave to just about everyone who got any soap from me. The other is a new experiment--Nag Champa and Vanilla. It's sweet and (like you would expect) incense-y. I scooped out a cupful of soap, mixed it with red kaolin clay, and swirled it at the end. It turned out well from what you can see on top of the mold, so I hope it looks pretty inside. I had been planning to add dried orange peel for texture but changed my mind at the last minute, wanting to keep this one smooth:

Shooz

2005-12-31T11:58:00.000-08:00

Completed. Sloppy. I started these a month ago and I wish I'd known about some of the finishing options and techniques before I hacked away but whatevah. Still can't keep the eyelets in place, dammit. Please disregard the dirty kitchen floor (dogs and humans have been tracking mud in all day) and the sock lines on my ankles:

T-shirt and a pillow

2005-12-30T11:59:00.000-08:00

I finished my first clothing sewing project (not counting the underpants :)). I made a t-shirt. From scratch, bought the fabric, and a pattern, and made it. It was fairly simple (in theory), just 4 cut pieces, and I learned alot. The whole point, really, is that I need to learn how to work with patterns, different fabrics, the machine, etc. and take each experience with me for the next time. So I'm not in love with this shirt, but I'm still proud of what I did. It's kinda too big even though I cut the pattern on the small size line. I feel like I can always set it aside for a little while and then when I know more I can alter it to make it tighter and with shorter sleeves. To make it more interesting, I used fabric paint & a stencil to decorate:

Then while waiting for the fabric paint to dry, and with Dan at yet another poker tournament, I made a quickie pillow. Y'don't need a pattern for something this simple :) Though I could certainly use some practice with slip-stitching, you can't see it in this fluffy fleece fabric:

Suds

2005-12-26T12:00:00.000-08:00

More soap t'nite. It took me a while to get my supplies out there and get ready but gottdamn, I'm loving these soaps too!

The yellow one is simply scented with lemon essential oil. It smells wonderful. But I mixed in some poppyseeds, and (after the photo was taken) sprinkled some more seeds on top. Oh, and it has gold mica to make it all sparkle :) The mica floats around in the air as soon as you open the jar, so me and my dog and my kitchen are delightfully, lightly, coated in tiny sparks of glitter.

The other is cinnamon flavored, with a swirl of cocoa powder. I f-d up while putting text on the photo because it's not coffee at all, just cocoa. At least one person I care about is actually allergic to cinnamon, so I kind of worried about making this, but OMG this is gorgeous! Rich shades of brown and tan, a lovely scent--I can't wait to uncover this one. The swirls on the top were simply from me scraping the dregs from the non-cocoa soap pan into the mold.

Dog bed

2005-12-18T12:01:00.000-08:00

Voila! Charis' new dog bed:

The bottom is still open; I wanted to put a large zipper in so the cover could be removed. Unfortunately I don't know how to install a zipper and was so frustrated that I think I'll just add a couple of buttons instead.

She isn't using it, though. Dan picked her up and set her on it but she got right back off. So if the dog doesn't ever take to it, I'm going to add more stuffing and claim it for myself as a floor pillow :)

I'm totally loving sewing, although I have so much to learn. When I started this project tonight I could not make a stitch; the thread kept breaking over and over. Then I looked at the machine manual and realized I'd threaded it totally wrong, that was my problem.

Christmas soaps and bruise balm

2005-12-17T12:03:00.000-08:00

Glad I spent the evening in trying out some of the packaging of my soaps and bruise balm; it took forever just to lay out and print the labels, let alone hand-tear paper and wrap. And this is just a tiny bit of what I need to get done, there are 4 more kinds of soap and papers.

But... please look at my pretty, pretty first effort:

Dan thinks the rollergirls might be into the bruise balm:) I've been testing it on myself and it really is great, though next time I might add more of the fragrant oils to cover up the kind of herb-y, grassy smell of the calendula.

Panties

2005-12-17T12:02:00.000-08:00

Out of a t-shirt :) And it didn't take long. I traced around a pair of boy-shorts that I like to make the pattern, then cut an old t-shirt and sewed it up. They're a little small--I left room for hems and seams but t-shirt doesn't stretch as well as fabric with lycra. I have gained a couple of pounds since I quit smoking so maybe when I lose that (soon) they'll fit better.

Anyway, this was an experiment to learn from so I can do better next time with a cooler shirt. There are some edge details I'll probably stitch by hand to finish the rough parts. Also, my thread kept breaking so there are some weird loose threads, though I think I figured out the problem:

Almond soap

2005-12-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

I'm in love, I think this is my best one yet! Too bad it won't really be ready to use until after Christmas:

Right before Christmas it'll be close, I could probably wrap and give it to people it they wait another week to use it :)

Tried using precisely cut sheets of mylar to line the mold and it was a fabulous success. The soap is smooth and glossy on all sides, no wrinkles or rough patches.

several soaps

2005-11-22T12:05:00.000-08:00

More soaping, sorry, it's the thing that's fascinating me the most right now. I feel like something is clicking as far as being able to improvise and create new things. I can even scour my spice racks and kitchen cupboards looking for things to add to the soaps--and they seem to work!

Last night, I split a batch and made one huckleberry, and one with palmarosa, lavender, oakmoss, poppy seeds, and paprika for color. The paprika batch is looking pretty, kind of a peachy color with little black specks. The huckleberry was not so successful. I planned to make a pretty marbled swirl with purple oxide. Instead, the fragrance oil seized up the main soap, creating this yellow thick goop that reminded me of pureed squash. Couldn't swirl it, in fact I had to pack the goo into the mold with a butteknife, so the purple just got dumped on top.

Tonight's batch, though... I LOVE the scent! I used flat beer for the lye liquid. My fragrance oils were Indian sandalwood and non-discoloring vanilla. I added some dried black tea (Adagio's "rum" flavor) for texture. It looks lovely in the mold and I love the smell in my kitchen. I'm sorta bummed that I halved this batch because I like it better than some of the others.

soap-10, originally uploaded by ahalligan.

Here's the beer soap, cut to cure. This ones pretty, the scent is not beer-like at all. Slightly nutty, and sweet (probably from the vanilla fragrance oil).

The soap is cut

2005-11-19T12:07:00.000-08:00

And it's looking great:

Dan went to the hardware store earlier and got me a plastic miter box, which I used for the vanilla mocha soap to cut straight lines. The lavendar cedarwood was cut with a crinkle cutter which wouldn't fit in the miter box, but I still used it as a guide:

The vanilla mocha soap is interesting, as I expect it will change color more each day. The middle of the soap is still creamy so I'm thinking it's exposure to air that accelerates the browning action of the vanilla fragrance. You can see the gold streaks if you look closely, and those should become more evident as the rest of the soap turns color:

vanilla mocha, lavender cedarwood

2005-11-18T12:09:00.000-08:00

Pictures! The gel stage is well past so I took my soaps out of the insulated box and peeled off the parchment paper tops from the molds. I'm pleased! I can see the vanilla-scented parts of the vanilla mocha soap are starting to turn brown, and to me it looks pretty, like dessert. The gold is subtle but nice. I can't wait to cut the purple swirl one to see how it looks inside.

Both soaps:

Closeup of golden vanilla mocha:

More vanilla mocha:

Lavender cedarwood (the top looks globby because I overfilled this one):