Crafty Andy

Here is my fairest, latest Fair Isle Style Hat. It is also known as color stranding technique. It is my own design, with the help of Some charts from different areas and the template from Ruth Sorensen. I am very proud of this hat.
It is done with Karabella Aurora 8 , one of the merino yarns that I fancy a lot to make this kind of hat as it is very soft. The White is Encore with 75 % Acrylic and 25% wool, which is perfect for around the forehead and if it gets dirty , it is easy to clean.
Back side view which shows all the different kinds of graphs and let me tell you I had to improvise at the end. I actually did a double decrease every other row and I liked the way it looks at the end, which was finished with a Kitchener stitch closure.
He is looking at you babe and wishing you a Happy Thanks Giving, thanks for stopping by!

A Cottony Christmas was made on a whim, meaning that it was an afterthought not in wool. This crown is a snowflake, real snowflakes are six points. The Crown has a Tapestry Crochet style as this will make it warmer, taking into consideration that is cotton and that is Kitchen Type Cotton.

The Pom Pom is a bit asymmetrical and it looks like a great crazy snowflake very cool if you ask me.
There are 3 tc trees around the bottom of the hat, then a green surface sc and the termination of the hat is done with a Reverse sc in red. This yarn was rough on the hands, but once it is made, it is soft. IT will wash nicely and dry with no problems. Part of this hat is recycled yarn from other hats I had before. In this economy you need to reuse anything that still looks good, can you tell which yarn is the recycled yarn?
The hat was made using two kinds of hooks F and G, sc and dc and tc only on the little trees
Thanks for Stopping by!

The first picture as you can tell is some Tapestry Crochet , I had to redo the sides as I was lazy and did not chart the sides and went ad lib. The snowflakes on the side looked like Space Invaders, remember those? SO I decided to do something else that you will get to see sometime in the next few days. This is made in Lion Brand Kitchen Cotton, it is not the softest of yarns to crochet with, but it feels nice. I will not be overheating when I wear this hat inside or outside either. Being Tapestry Crochet on the crown gives it extra density. So this is one of my WIP in Crochet!

The Second picture is my Garterlac scarf, garter titch entrelac scarf. Even though we were taught how to knit and purl backwards, this particular piece does not require tat skill because is in garter stitch. This is a lovely project and I am learning so much with it. I am glad that I am at the second skein of the project I hope I get to finish it before the Thanksgiving Holiday!
So nothing much, just p…

No matter what the economy is like I am not a big spender. Don't take me wrong I have my priorities right, my yarn is first the I eat lol! Kidding I am not, I save my money for good stuff, I don't need much and I enjoy making my scarves, sweaters , gloves, socks and hats, do you know you can actually make knitted or crocheted towels? Well it may not be cost effective to make a towel, but you get the idea. So if you want to share what do you do to be frugal join the voluntary meme. I saw this at Riohna's Blog HERE. She makes her own pies!

Things that I do to save money.

1. Buy a Subway foot long for $ 5.00 and split it in two. You get two meals for $2.50 each. You can do the same thing with any food item that is too big for one meal, here in USA there are plenty believe me.
2. I sometimes recycle items I crochet or knit and make something else.
3 I buy a Monthly Transport Pass, it saves money!
4. I try to buy the foods that are on sale, specially if it is what I usually eat.
5. I…

This is my Entrelac Swatch. Do you know you can make entrelac in knitting and in Crochet? Entrelac is a knitting technique used to create a textured diamond pattern. While the end result resembles basket-woven strips of knitted fabric, the actual material comprises interconnected squares on two different orientations.You betcha! Unlike many textured knitting techniques, Entrelac allows for colorwork as well. Though single-color entrelac is the norm, it is often used to create colored patterns. The use of variegated yarn with long color repeats for entrelac has become commonplace, since careful use can create distinct squares of color with only one yarn. Entrelac can be knit flat (back-and-forth) or in the round for a cylinder, as for the hat at right. However, unlike typical round knitting, the knitting is turned after a full round of squares so the next set is knitted in the opposite direction. Entrelac crochet is a wonderful way to create stunning designs in multiple colors. Since t…

If you Click on the Title it will Take you to Carol's Ventura Tapestry Crochet Website and the Article where some of my work is featured. To have me featured on her site for my Tapestry Crochet is an honor . Carol Teaches Tapestry Crochet and has books on the Subject which I find interesting. I will be purchasing one sometime in the next few months because I believe she has a lot to offer as a Teacher. I do read her blog and look at her works lots of time . Sometimes we get inspired by looking at some one's work. Go and pay her a visit and check her books out, if you are interested in Tapestry Crochet she is a great Teacher as you can see some of her videos at You Tube Tapestry Crochet Channel and Visit her website HERE.

I am featured HERE on her website, what an honor!
People are always amazed at my hats. There amazement is greater when they realized they have been crocheted. My hats are Intricate work, I did not learn the Craft from Anyone, I just allowed myself to expres…

What successful event, there were about 20 something men from all over the world, but mostly from the US West Coast gathered at Point Bonita for a Knitting Retreat on the West Coast. I will say that this was such an event that I can tell you went beyond my Expectations. WE got great Sponsors and due to the Work of our Friend Wonder Mike. Our Sponsors , our teachers were fantastic . WE have lots of giveaways thanks to our sponsors like Skacel from http://www.skacelknitting.com/ , http://www.averbforkeepingwarm.com/ , http://www.briarrosefibers.net/ , Susie from http://toknitperchancetodream.net/ (Great Sock Yarn) , http://articlepract.com/ , http://www.stashyarn.com/ , http://www.wildgeesefibres.com/ , http://www.yarnnerd.com/ , http://www.shelridge.com/ , http://oceanwindknits.ca/ , http://www.tactilefiberarts.com/, Ed Lingengfetter (spindles), knottynaomi from ryono creations also at http://etsy.com/ Patterns donated by Jared Flood, Skacell, Adrian Bizilia (http://helloyarn.com/ ) , …

Well to start I will be spending some time with other men on the West Coast Men Knitting Retreat that will be hosted at the Point Bonita YMCA. This is going to be a lot of fun! * "Are you a knitter or a spinner who happens to be a guy? Would you like to meet other guys who share your passion for the fiber arts? Would you like to learn more about knitting and spinning techniques from othercrafty guys?" * This will be the place for you, there will be crochet as well. As a good crafter it is good to know both sides of the fence meaning Knitting and Crochet, there are plenty of sub-divisions within the crafts to keep you busy for years to come, add a bit of spinning and you can be in your house and never come out lol! * Democracy and Justice for all. I am not a Republican, nor Am I a Democrat, and I am definitely not an Independent. I am a Citizen of the United States of America that votes his mind. Sometimes it seems that the USA is behind times, yet we forget that we are a v…

This are my Knitting Works In Progress, I do have some Crochet Work In Progress and another sock I need to do lol! I will be going to a Men's Knitting Retreat from the Men Who Knit West Coast Chapter, well is not that formal , but exciting.
Our Great Nation has taken a Turn, at almost 50 years of Age I have seen so many changes in the world around me maybe milestones. The Berlin wall falling, the dismantling of the Soviet Union, the First Black President in the history of our Great Nation. I look forward to great changes . I believe our American Spirit and the Democracy that our Republic stands for will be reborn around the World. I believe in change and I am so happy the Political Campaign is over.
*
The political campaign was disturbing at times as I went into Crocheting and Knitting groups on the Internet that had google ads. There is no place for Political ads on Crafts sites. I protested on both sites, I even considered closing my accounts, but that will be wrong as well,I just…

This below is the Northwest Passage Hat, but I frogged it and will restart it sometime later in a different way. I will still use some 3 or four colors, but not in the way I was using them before, maybe it will call for bobbins, but carrying more than two strands of yarn is kind of messy and crazy, lol! This is one of my Knitting WIP, it is the Taurean Antler Scarf is made with Knit Picks Super Swish wool , the colorway is Copper, lovely color. This is a vey nice pattern and if you want to learn the makings of cables and how they behave, this is a great pattern to do. I am doing cables without a cable needle, which I like a lot as it is one less needle to carry with you lol!
This is the Palermo Sun Tapestry Crochet WIP, but is a picture that can be replaced easily today, I will have a more advanced picture of this cap later on. Right now it lost the ruffle effect and it is waiting to reach the 21 inch mark, it is at 19 for now. I think in a day or two there will be a couple of ne…

I decided to rename this hat , The Ravenclaw Philosopher's Hat. It is a combination of Tapestry Crochet , crochet cables and FPdc. If you want to know more about Tapestry Crochet from a teaching point of view you may want to visit the website TapestryCrochet.com
From far the bottom edge in the blue looks like a kitty cat! I used Knit Picks Andean Silk "Slate" and Knit Picks "Blue Ink" Wool of the Andes. I used a combination of F 3.75 mm and G 4.00 mm hooks. The reason behind this is to add texture to the hat.
The hat is very comfortable and it will be followed by a Griffindor Philosopher's Hat. One of the interesting stitches that I used on this hat was the Reverse Double Crochet, which I used to make the edging. It created a very interesting look and texture to the finishing of this hat.
Thanks for stopping by!