Halloween 07 Cable Cast On

This is a short film in my Starfleet Quarters, before beaming to the Defiant. Lt Ydan, my secret life. Hope you enjoy it and have a great Halloween. Thanks for stopping by!

Counting My Stash

No I have not disappeared yet, and survived the Earth Tremor we just had. I have been counting my stash for the Ravelry and so far I have about 200 to 300 skeins of yarn and about 100 Types (color blends). So I am about 2/3 done counting my stash and then I will be inventorying my needles and hooks. Thanks for stopping by. Tomorrow I will definitely have a fun video with a Happy Halloween Message lol! Stay tuned.

Welcome to Ravelry

Well my friends I made it to Ravelry, http://ravelry.com/ my nickname is CraftyAndy! Thanks for allowing me in this fun site. I have not been able to explore the site to the fullest, but I am getting my stash organized, lol! It will be one of the greatest sites in the internet for Fiber Freaks and Enthusiasts, go and check it out. Thanks for stopping by!

Harry Potter Scarf Swaps WIP Video

This video is me sharing with you the items I received in the latest t swap I was involved in. It also shows you some works in progress and some yarn porn. Thanks for stopping by!

Below you will find the stills of the swap with Minky first and then Calypso.

These exchanges conclude the Harry Potter Scarf Swap fro the old Crochet Depot

Fall is in the Air

I had to pick up some leaves to let everyone know that there is fall in California. Maybe it does not last as long as in other places, but we definitely have a nice and pretty fall season as the leaves can attest.

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I am doing some more work on the hat and the scarf today, but I wanted to show you the inspiration enhancing CDs that I got to help me with my crafts. I also received the Interweave Knits 2007 Holiday Gifts edition . If you like Hats, gloves and bags you will love it. It has some interesting sock patterns as well and Boot Toppers, I never heard of that, what a fashion statement lol! There are lots of other gifts and in my opinion it is worth my money. The pictures are nice too, lol!

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I wish I could change the world and bring peace, I am tired of listening to wars and countries threatening countries. Whatever plan the Gods or God or Goddess have they better implement it quickly. Well for now I am declaring that there shall be no more war!

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I want to thank you for stopping by and maybe I will have more progress pictures of my scarf on Sunday, it depends how Saturday turns out to be. I am hoping to go and have some Japanese food, which is my least favorite of international foods,but I like it. Until later my friends!

Progress on the Ravenclaw Cap/Scarf #1

Well this is one of my Knit-Crochet endeavors. I think that one of the things I enjoy a lot is to make hats. I am really liking the way this hat is coming along. Today I made a little progress on the scarf and decided to dedicate the rest of the time to create a design for the hat. I want to make sure that the lists that I belong to do not kick me out because I only Knit or crochet lol! It works a lot better when you leave a project have a little nap while you rethink the pattern and allow it to come out, specially since I am not following any pattern graph , but my basic cap pattern, which you can find HERE. As I say, I allow the yarn to tell me a story and sometimes I get inspiration from things I see in nature or around me.

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Good Question from Kyle. What are those markers for? The markers (more or less) mark the are where I started the color changes and slipped the stitch. Not the specific spot but the idea of how it travels when you use the technique. So you can see that the travelling joggless stripes move along as the work progresses.
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My knitting has been very easy and the tension is very even. I am going to have enough of the blue yarn from Knit Picks to make a hat with the copper colored yarn.
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Today I found a cool site, The Leaky Cauldron, and if you are a Harry Potter Theme Fan, you will be delighted in the patterns that they have to share. There are patterns for more than knitting and crochet. One of my favorite patterns is the Illusion Ravenclaw Scarf, this is a very cool looking scarf. I have never made a scarf like that. I may break down and make my copper and blue scarf in that way.

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Thank you for stopping by ... more to come!

I crochet I swear I do, Ravenclaw WIP

Here marked by the Orange stitch markers you can see the traveling joggless stripes. I am working on this and I swear to you I crochet, I will be continuing my crochet of the Ravenclaw Hat Thursday or Friday. So far I have this much which you have already seen in the past.. I will also be making a crochet scarf and hat of the Honorable Ravenclaw House, but instead of Silver I will be using the copper tone.

Am I a Harry Potter fan as you can tell, what I like is my ability to create stuff inspired by the movie. I wished I went to a school like that, the fun and the attention from the professors to the students is very enticing. Also the fact that Now that Dumblerdore came out of the closet , maybe things will be better in the Wizardly World of Harry Potter lol! I was not shocked, but had a gay old time enjoying the fact, I think it is good, Kudos to R.J. Rowling. Thanks for stopping by.

Honorable Ravenclaw House Scarf (WIP)

I just started my Harry Potter Ravenclaw Scarf, this will be my Christmas Gift to myself and I am going to make a Gryffindorf scarf as well, using the pattern found HERE on Blue and grey, I am using Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Blue Ink and the Grey is the Knit Picks Andean Silk in the color of Slate.. I am testing two kinds of circular needles, the Quick Silver and another Brand Plymouth. I decide on a large US 8 to help me relax my gauge, it is coming out nicely, I will have more pictures later during the week. I am hoping to make the matching hats and I just came up with the pattern as I am making the scarves lol! Thanks for stopping by!

Irish Hiking Scarf , Hat Done

This is my creation from the Knit Along at the Irish Hiking Scarf Knit Along Blog, The hat and the scarf with the patterns supplied there. I added a half double crochet edge to the scarf and it looks fantastic. Thanks for allowing me in this Knit along. The color is neonerrific!



I also finished blocking this Bamboo hat and it followed the same pattern than the hat above. It did not lose the sheen and softness after being blocked. It retained the shape. Great yarn for making hats knitting on the round. Thanks for stopping by!

Bamboo Yarn Visit, Blocking a Hat

I finnally finished the Hat and it was fun making this video. Bamboo is a very peculiar yarn, it has many filaments and a luster sheen. This one in specific is Royal Bamboo by Plymouth Yarns. It behaves a lot like cotton when wet. It soaks up water of course it is plant material. I would recommend itfor knitting with size 7 or abov needles. Crochetting was a challenge for me, so I decided to do a knit project. Thanks for stopping by!

Fall 07 , leaves, Dog in the Park, & WIP

I am working on this Bamboo hat and will be done in a day or two. I will be making a video on how to block this hat, we shall see how Bamboo handles water! I will be working on my Irish Hiking Scarf, which I am halfway + 5 % done and start my other Harry Potter inspired hats and scarves. Thanks for stopping by!

Chocolate Muffins and WIP

The chocolate muffin comes first, lol and then I show you the work in progress (WIP). A correction; When I say that I got The Knitter's Guide to Sweater Finishing from Cables N Wool or jerryc37.blogspot.com, what I meant the to say was the idea. I actually got the DVD from http://www.paradisefibers.net/ for the best price in the internet for a New DVD.

October 12 A Commentary

Christopher Columbus (1451 – May 20, 1506) was a navigator, colonizer and one of the first Europeans to explore the Americas after the Vikings. Though not the first to reach the Americas from Europe, Columbus' voyages led to general European awareness of the hemisphere and the successful establishment of European cultures in the New World. It is generally believed that he was born in Genoa, although other theories exist. The name Christopher Columbus is the Anglicization of the Latin Christophorus Columbus. Also well known are his name's rendering in modern Italian as Cristoforo Colombo and in Spanish as Cristóbal Colón.

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It always amazes me the hatred that comes out for the Discovery of the New World. Don't take me wrong, the atrocities were there and what the Europeans did to the Natives was terrible.

Nonetheless I wonder why people don't have much hatred for the Germans, or the Japanese, why do people hate the Jews who were the victims of the Holocaust and The Spanish Inquisition (Catholic Church at it's Worst)? Why people don't have hatred for the Greeks, or the Romans, which were the most atrocious conquerors of this world. What about the Aztecs? Don't get me started about slavery of Africa, that includes Africans selling other Africans, and Europeans loving the bargain, because the Natives were either sick or dieing!

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In my opinion this kind of hatred is stupid, it solves nothing. Instead having hatred for something that happened , 60 , or 500 years ago or even 2,000 years ago, use your energies positively. What happened in the past is gone and should never be allowed to happen again, but it will. I am glad to have been born in the New World. I am glad that I was born on the Island of Puerto Rico, and I am very glad that I am a United States Citizen. Take responsibility for your life and your destiny, don't allow the world to hyphenate you or box you into a group.

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Choose Freedom, Liberty and Happiness, One day another meteor will hit the Earth, and one Day the Sun will go Super Nova, but today we can enjoy freedom of speech and the freedom to worship due to the discovery of the New so called World. Fight for EQUALITY , and against Injustice. Don't fight for wars 500 years in the past. Do you remember the book "Leviathan"? Be Unique and express your individuality, don't hide in a corner and let go of hate it poisons the soul!

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Thanks for stopping by!

Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake (Low Carb)

I wanted to share with you my Low Carb Sugar Free Pumpkin Pound Cake, You can find the recipe HERE, the only thing that I changed was using a cup of olive oil for the cake. I used 1.5 cups of pastry flour and 1.5 cups of home made almond flour. See the little orange ghosts on the side of the cake. I also added the chocolate and butter frosting. I really enjoy baking. Thanks for stopping by!

The Twisted Skein

The Twisted Skein has been born, I do not know how it will be, but it is where my New Community is going to be. I think it will be a lot easier than MSN and without the problems of pages dissapearing and things working and not working. It will takl me some time to get it set up, but We shall be moving there by month's end. This is the Site Button. Thanks to Deneen for her encouragement and for her kindness as always. Thanks for stopping by!

Need Name and Your Vote

Just in case you have not been aware. Crochet Depot, the MSN group that I co-Owned disappeared today. Nothing left, so here we are. You have a chance to name a New MSN Group or Keep the same Name. So when you post here tell me the name that you want the site to be.

It was no surprise as other sites have disappeared in MSN lately and I am glad that I noticed it by chance. Anyway Crochet Depot May continue or it may not, it depends on you. It will be weeks before the site comes up and runs, but it is ready for membership. Thanks for stopping by.

Bamboo you too!

I found working with Bamboo and crochet hooks very hard, the yarn tends to split easy, yet with my knitting needles there were no problems, very complementary. This is a very soft yarn and has antibacterial qualities, the perfect waiting room hands on project lol! I could not find a pattern for a man's hat, so I made myself my own hat pattern. It usually happens when I can;t find something that I like. At this time I am almost done with the ribbing. It is very soft on my scalp.

They say that high quality Bamboo yarn made by processing the bamboo grass stalk and combing the fiber strands from the actual plant itself. It compares with Ramie or I have also thought it like a blend of the best qualities of silk and linen. Sheen, drape and crispness. I will have to say that it is almost like silk to the touch and the variegated color us nice, this is from Plymouth Yarn, Royal Bamboo, Italian Collection, very nice and a great price , I think it is about 6.50 to 8.00 a skein. ( I don't remember exactly how much I paid , but it is comparable to a skein of Lamb's Pride in Price , because I bought two of Lamb's pride and one of these and the price was about 24 something dollars for the 3 skeins and Lambs' Pride is about $7.50 a skein) They only come in 50 gram skeins, less than 100 yards.

Bamboo is a beautiful natural fiber that wears well and is a natural antibacterial. Bamboo is a grass that is harvested and distilled into cellulose that is then spun into the yarn.

Positive Things About Bamboo Yarn

• Bamboo is a renewable resource. Bamboo can be harvested without killing the plant, and it only takes a few months before the plant is ready to be harvested again. That makes it an environmentally friendly choice.
• Bamboo yarn, when not mixed with unnatural fibers, is biodegradable.
• Bamboo yarn is often dyed with more natural dyes that are safer for the environment.
• Bamboo fabric is naturally antibacterial.
• Bamboo also has ultra-violet protective properties.
• Fabric knitted with bamboo is quite breathable and cool and has great drape.
• Bamboo has a good luster, similar to mercerized cotton.
• Bamboo is strong, flexible, and can be softer than silk when spun into yarn.

Potential Bamboo Negatives

• Bamboo yarn loses strength when it is wet and swells considerably in water.
• The yarn may not be very cohesive. Some brands split much more than others.
• Bamboo needs to be hand-washed, so it isn't a great choice for things that need to be washed frequently.

Tips for Working with Bamboo Yarn

If the antibacterial property is something you are looking for, stick with a 100 percent bamboo yarn or choose one that has at least 70 percent bamboo for best results. Use blunt-ended needles to cut down on the splitting. I did find that to Knit slowly at first was a way of being able to avoid splitting the yarn. This is not a yarn for the beginner. If you're looking for strength in the fabric but are using a fine bamboo yarn, try knitting with two strands held together.

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Anyway I am taking a few weeks off from Crochet Depot to get a new perspective and come back with new ideas and energy for the Holidays. I put a lot of energy into the group and it feels like there needs to be more community type energy otherwise it gets boring if it is just about me. I want to thank you for stopping by and stay in touch as I will be working on other crochet and knitted Potter scarves and Hats pretty soon, before my next trip.

Knitting, Crochet, WIP, The Omega Molecule

Crochet, Knitting and the Omega Molecule, plus some ramblings of mine. Today was a perfect day for a little Neighborhood video tour as I was walking through and area of town that tourist don't. I was on the Liberty Street steps, from this steps you get a wonderful panortamic view of various city hills. As you can see I was dressed for fall and in fall colors and here is my Irish Hiking Scarf KAL and the 15 inches I have done so far, I want to make it a 60 inch so it will be a bit before I finish this one, but I am eager to make it soon so that I can start a new one in a different color. I am also looking to make a scarf in this paprika and green colors to go for the fall. I have not decided if it is going to be double knit, meaning reversible knitting or crochet. Time will tell.

Here you got what I have done so far with the Ravenclaw Hat. It will get me going and I may frog it a couple of times before it allows me to continue. The yarn has to tell me a story and it is kind of trying to so far. I have added three rows and frogged them, in different patterns, we shall see what will happen, it is a matter of listening

The Omega molecule is a short-lived, highly unstable molecule, believed to be the most powerful substance in the known universe. The Borg, who referred to Omega as Particle 010, regarded Omega with near-reverence as they believed it to exist in a flawless state. Because the Borg saw the Omega Molecule as "perfection". Our crafts are not to be confused with this as perfection in my opinion is left to the God or Gods. We can and should aspire to this perfection , but understand that only God or the Gods are perfect in every way. At any rate perfection is relative.

Jerry Ryan was such a great addition to Voyager. I thought she was astonishing . I have no idea how they painted that uniform on her, but needless to say, I thought she was and is a gorgeous looking Borg. A Starfleet Barbie in other words lol!

So you are wondering what this gibberish is. It is suppose to be a package of Croutons with Butter and garlic, besides the three to five ingredients that make a buttered garlic croutons there are at least 24 ingredients, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup solids. I got a Chicken Caesar Salad. The dressing was a Paul Newman's Ranch. Anyway this is to show you you need to read. Croutons I rather make them myself, why do they put all that stuff in croutons and of course partially hydrogenated soybean oil. You should be aware of what you are eating, don't just take it for granted that it is healthy. I never eat croutons I don't make myself lol!

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I want to thank you for stopping by and stay tuned for more to come.

Mission District, SF Tour

A little Tour to San Francisco's Mission District. I hope you enjoy the video, thanks for allowing me into your home and for stopping by.

The Ravelry Queue

CrafyAndy ©

Welcome to October everyone, If you use the graphic you need to post on this blog. Please do not hotlink and be kind and give me credit, thank you. CrafyAndy ©


I just want to have this online and do a check one month fromthe day I signed up and see what comes up. Is Ladylinoleoum and Jerry's Fault. What do you have to lose? What do you have to gain? We shall see!





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