Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Addi Crochet Extension Tips for Clicks

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I have been quiet, but not without been busy. I am working on creating a nice Tunisian Crochet Shawl , maybe a scarf as well, maybe both, but one for sure lol. I am understanding the Tunisian Crochet techniques more and more. There may be some Intarsia Techniques, maybe none. I am hoping to make an afghan soon of my own design, but not really ready for sale yet.  Here in the picture above and below you have the simplicity HiKoo yarn,  Addi  Heart Stopper and Addi Crochet Extension Tips for Clicks or The Crochet Click  Extension Tips from Skacel .  The advantage is that you can use the Addi cables.  The Heart Stoppers can be used to hold your stitches in place in case you need to do that. If you like to do Tunisian Crochet this is fantastic investment, the cables and heart Stoppers are extra.
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Talking about Skacel , there are going to be lots of Patterns from Men designers coming out some time in the near future. The Men are from the Men Knitting Retreat Website and mostly from the MFKR 2011.  Some patterns are knit and some are crochet.  Anyway that is what I am up to and hopefully I will be creating more Tunisian Crochet Patterns combined with Tapestry Crochet.  I am hoping to turn the Crochet World upside down and give you choices you never thought possible.  In the meantime , Thanks to Skacel and the Skacel Family for their generous spirit with the Men Knitting Retreats. Thanks for stopping by.

 

Friday, September 23, 2011

Hikoo Simplicity Yarns a Skacel Adventure

HiKoo 
Sometimes you find a yarn that is the perfect yarn for the craft you are doing. HiKoo Simplicity happens to be a really nice yarn for my crafting needs. What a Palette of Colour , oh so inspiring. This is what I have to play with for the next few weeks to bring you some Fall Magic to you.  I am hoping to design some cool stuff .Simplicity is machine washable merino , acrylic and nylon blend, great for socks for also for bags ,scarves and hats, what else can you ask for ? Color? You bet, the Simplicity Colour Palette is getting richer by the day, I do have my favorite colors, yet I like them all.

In the works in progress, there is what  I believe  will become a triangular Shawl-scarf inspired by West Knits designs; there  may be 3 hats or 4, some fingerless mittens, maybe even a bag.  Hopefully they will be on Tapestry Crochet, Crochet color work or Fair Isle Crochet if you want to call it that way. I am hoping to bring texture and fun color combinations to you for the Fall season, in expectations of Holiday Gifting. I hope you have a great rest of the week and there is more coming during the weekend as I test yarns and make things for gifting. Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Athena's Kollage WIP

KollageAthenaWIP 
This is the Athena A Goddess' Shawl using Luscious from Kollage.  So far I enjoy using this yarn for this project as I am looking to see how many different yarns I can use to make this possible. This yarn will allow me to have very little blocking  as it has a lot of drape, but until I am done I won't know for sure.  Thanks to the Kollage People and to Erica for the yarn.  I have never knitted or crocheted anything with Kollage and Luscious is a good introduction.  Even though I got two 50 grams skeins, this yarn comes in one 100 gram skein. Is a cotton / nylon  blend, great for sock knitting for those who want an alternative to wool.  Care has to be taken that you don't take twist out as you knit or crochet.  This is the progress so far and I am hoping that I will have this baby done by the weekend.  Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Athena's Fall Shawl

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Just ready for the fall. I decided to make this shawl on a DK weight and I was very delighted with the results.  Athena's is my own design. It is a very short design no chart involved, but it recreates the essence of Spider webs in the shawl. I really love this shawl made on a 12.00 mm or size 17 US needles, from the Addi collection.
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I am showing you the best shots I consider shows you the delightful and playful characteristics of this shawl. It is modern, yet it has enough lace to keep you busy and some challenges along the way. I find it is versatile enough that you can wear it as a scarf if you so desire. I used almost 100 grams of Knit Picks overspun DK/Sport yarn and it works like a charm. There are enough place for the torque to travel and no bias at all. There is another one coming on a different weight and different yarn, stay tuned. Thanks for stopping by.
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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Athena's Shawls

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I blame it on Franklin Habit. I just got the Lace Bug. I am going to make my "Athena A Goddess' Shawl ", My aim is to test my pattern on Knit Picks dk weight and  Kollage Luscious which is a sock yarn, that was my swag and donated by Kollage Yarns to the MFKR 2011. Why? I have the Lace bug and unless you experienced it , you will not know what you are dealing with lol. The Kollage yarn was one of the gifts or swag for me from the MFKR 2011, thanks you Kollage and you my followers, thanks for stopping by. 

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Monday, September 12, 2011

Franklin Habit's Sahar

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I am finally done with the Sahar Stole.  This pattern is by Franklin Habit. I enjoy doing lace and sometimes it becomes repetitive and that is fun. It is also something that you get use to it and then you become bored some times.  The Sahar Stole is a pattern that will teach  you about lace. You can see what wonder stitches like SSK and K2tog do on a stole like this one.  The selvedge is your friend and if you follow the instructions without fear, you will get an amazing stole.  I made this baby on US 4 , I committed to make it relaxed. I was happily surprised at the blocked size. is A bit over 88 inches length and 16 inches width.

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I say this is a great lace project, it will teach you plenty and you get to graft the two pieces together. I used a sports weight Knit Picks overspun yarn. I can tell you that it was a fantastic choice. My stole does not have a bias. I figured that a lot of the torque from being overspun would dissipate in the Yarn overs and it did. That tells me that the Sahar Stole is a great Pattern for  hand spun yarn. Thanks to Franklin for this wonderful adventure in lace. Thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

MFKR 2011 3rd and 4th day

Today which is Saturday is the day I teach the Portuguese Style Knitting class , using Andrea Wong's method.  This is the second time of me teaching this class. Everyone got it! I wish I had more time, but at least it gives them, the students ,  the basics  about PK and some information to challenge themselves later on.   On a previous post you saw the MFKR 2011 Portuguese Knitting Class video link here --->;  Crafty Andy: MFKR 2011 Portuguese Knitting Class    

As you can see by the picture below I was very happy to see one of my students going and practicing after the class. I actually saw more than one. I will say it was a success. Franklin Habit was among my students and I felt honored to have him attend the class. He is a very quick learner, Dolores was right by his side coaching him along while she was nursing a drink.

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Right after my class, a bit later after lunch we have the guy that makes Pocket Wheels give a demonstration, his name is Jon McCoy , and yes he is the real McCoy.  He is a very honest guy who tells you like it is.  This is not a whee for someone who is looking to make a lot of yarn, but rather a compact wheel, that travels well.  All made in America and with the option of a Woolee Winder.   John Wise and Keith Daniels here are posing by the magnificent wheel that has a cup / beer/ drink  holder.  You can get those online I have to ask John  where he got it from  so that I can share the link. I think if you google Spinning Wheel  Acrylic Cup Holder, I am sure you get it, he has an Etsy Shop I believe.
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Here is the Pocket wheel and all it's instruments of spinning fun. It is a very portable wheel , $200. down and at this time ELEVEN months waiting list.
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Later in the afternoon I took a class about short rows, which I am hoping to take again some other time.  The photo below is our last day and it was taken with my phone camera. It was a difficult day. We enjoyed each others company a lot and spinning , felting, crocheting or knitting with your friends is very nice. I really did not miss, TV, Facebook, radio at all. It is nice to enjoy the time you spend together with the guys.  Queer Joe's competition was Mark Ellis as he was the chatty one in the group.  Mark gave is a great conversationalist and very funny.  We missed some of the guys and they were asked about.  John , Kyle could not attend, but maybe next year. I consider this my personal vacation and being able to learn and teach is a fantastic experience. I hope you enjoyed my little tale about the Men 's Fall Knitting Retreat on the West Coast of our beautiful  U.S.A. , thanks for stopping by.
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Wednesday, September 07, 2011

MFKR 2011 Skacel

MFKR2011AddiPurchase 
On the Second Day, a Friday, we went to the Skacel Company to do our tour.  The Staff at Skacel  are always happy to see us.  The Staff at Skacel and it's Owner , Karin Skacel, have been very kind to us, very giving and always happy to help us learn or challenge ourselves. I look forward to seeing Karin every year and this year we did  something that I don't think ever happened before, lots of guys had kilts  and sarongs while visiting. It was a fun venue that is for sure.

  PatternsMFKR2011
The visit also coincided with the challenge from Skacel to the MFKR to submit patterns for men. There was a winner and all the patterns were accepted as well.  The above booklet with the Chartreuse Ensemble is filled with MFKR Patterns, so the men submitted their patterns and Skacel listened to what men want in patterns, mainly because we are making the patterns, just a point of view that is different from other, nothing out of this world, but fantastic for the guys and Skacel.  AT the retreat there where at least 10 to 15 patterns made by the guys that Skacel liked, in fact they liked all the patterns.  We shall have a booklet of MFKR patterns for distribution . Men creating patterns for men, the Worlds of Men are changing, beware of the sleeping giants.
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When I was in the Military in 1980 I lived in Tacoma for about 6 months.  This is the Skacel Art Studio, where as you see below, we got into Art Felting. It was fun and very interesting. I say I enjoyed the learning experience and some of the guys did beautiful samplers.
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I  created the below Art felt object. It is a glass case and I will have to sew it and make it more like in the picture. I got some interesting silk leaves in the mix , I learned what to do and not to do. I truly enjoy the experience and look forward to learning some more.

MFKR2011ArtFelt 
That night we had the Show and Tell where we get to show what we have been creating. I brought my Earth and Sky Shawl from WestKnits and there were 2 or 3 more from other guys that were very nicely done. I will have some pictures in my flickr, but I have to look through them to make sure I am not showing something that is going to be published and can not be posted. MFKR2011FlickrShowNTell (4)
This is the Bag I weaved and was part of my Show and Tell and Kilt and Sarong parade. I did not win the Show and Tell, but I don't really participate to win, just to share. I hope I gave you a view of what went on here on the second day, there were other classes and things going on, but suffice it to say, people were learning lots of fancy things.
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Before the Show and Tell there was a Kilt and Sarong Picture. Thanks for stopping by! MFKR2011KiltsSarongs (2)

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

MFKR 2011 First Day

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The first day of the Retreat and we got the Introductions by everyone.  Guys from across the world came to visit and be a part of the MFKR 2011. Chinese Take out boxes ? Yes it is where we would put raffle tickets of the items we liked. We get 8 tickets and we get to put it in a box in front of something you like.  Everyone is ensured to have something cool. People started arriving early in the day and up to 6 PM .  I have to say that the kindness of our MFKR men to go and pick guys at the train stations, airports and such for free. I went to bed late, but I did not have any classes scheduled next day, just the Skacel Tour and the Skacel Art Felt, but that is for tomorrow.  I am so proud of the way we embraced the lambkins.  Lambkins is the name we give to the newcomers to the retreat.  They were nervous as we told them there were initiation rules and contests, but it is not true at all.  The MFKR is a place of Dignity and acceptance of all kinds of men. I will leave it up to your open mind to see without seeing.  We got our first ADA knitter and we were prepared for him, what a difference a place that is ADA ready does for a guy like Jeremy.  He was in a wheelchair and had an ADA Bathroom and Shower facilities.  Our first day is over and we stayed up way too late, but all will be up early in the morning to start the day with knitting, spinning, crochet and spinning. A total of 43 Guys!!!!  Thanks for stopping by.

Monday, September 05, 2011

MFKR 2011 Portuguese Knitting Class





The MFKR 2011 was a total success and I do have more to share with you.  The month starts with a You Tube video about the class I was teaching at the MFKR or Men's Fall Knitting Retreat.  I used Andrea Wong Teaching Method for the Portuguese Style Knitting class. Here Website  HERE.   The guys were great and learned very fast.  There is more to share later on during the week, but today I have a lot to do.  I have to catalog the pictures and get pictures of the prizes and such.   Thanks for stopping by!

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