Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween 2011

Trill2011 (18) by Crafty Andy
Trill2011 (18), a photo by Crafty Andy on Flickr.

Another Halloween comes and goes and the fun never stops. I thought we had more fun costumes this year and more kids. I am so happy to participate in this silly, but fun festivity. We never had this in Kobol. Happy Halloween from the Bajoran Sector.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Risa Awaits

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Risa Awaits, that is the name of this mission. I will use these puppies to walk on the beach at Risa. I used two materials here and I can say that I liked the Wollmeise a lot more than the cascade heritage.So if I was making these pair of socks again I would probably go to dk weight or even light worsted and go down to  the small size.  I made the Large size with 72 stitches and it looks like I could have gone down maybe to small with different yarn. At any rate here is one project I started in June 2011 and done Yesterday.  My next project is going to be a scarf on my cricket. Thanks for stopping by!
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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Almost done Qa'plaH'

I think that one of the most rewarding and frustrating features, of Ravelry.com, is the fact that you can see how long you have spent in your projects. I say it is good, sometimes it actually gives me motivation to finish things up. Sometimes it gives me the conviction to frog them if  I need to.  I think is all good , because you can always restart or redo a project.  These socks I started in June 4, 2011, and I am really looking forward to finishing them today. This project is a free pattern and it is worth your time.  I would try the sock every two or three rounds, but I made sure that I was leaving enough play in the rounds.  A sock that is Fair Isle will be too tight to wear if you are not careful. At any rate, I am glad I am ending this project , so that I can start my Portuguese Style socks later on. I am looking forward to starting socks using the Andrea Wong method.  Thanks for stopping by!
Risaawaits90WIP

Thursday, October 20, 2011

The Mirror Universe

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I have to say that I love Star Trek more than anything. The positive influence it has had on my life is very apparent to me.  I belong to a Ravelry Group that is is a Starfleet Corps of sorts and this mission was to create something to disguise us in the Mirror Universe while we looked for our Evil Twin. I thought that my evil Twin will not care to have the ends weaved on his hat, therefore the tail, I did weaved it in once I was back into my own Universe .In the picture below it gives me the impression of a Hirogen Hunter's head.

Hirogen adult males are quite large, standing above the average height of other known humanoid species. They also posses greater physical strength than most humanoids. Their sensory perception is acute, a feature that serves well as the Hirogen are an aggressive hunting species.

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This actually was a very fast knit and I enjoyed coming up with a pattern to make a set. I will still in the making of scarf with this yarn and create a set, maybe for charity. Thanks to my Friend Tanya for the Yarn. In the end I weaved the tail, thanks for stopping by. The universe is in balance once more. From Starfleet Headquarters this is Crafty Andy!
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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Mirror Universe Mittens A review of yarn

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Ironstone Yarns has a yarn called "FUN". Is it really fun? This is not a bad yarn if you have the right project for it. It is thin and thick and that is no problem. The thin and thick is done very evenly space that you can actually count on it and use it for your pattern. I decided to make my own pattern for these mitts and it work out fantastic. I did make a swatch to find how it was going to behave. My review of this yarn is good, it knits up very quickly and you can have a lot of potential projects with it. I say weaving is a good choice and knitting in big needles. I personally did not like to crochet with it. I have to say that it holds very nice, it is a great blend of silk and wool. I also think that you can make great projects with it if you have a second more even yarn to go along with it in your project. MirrorFingerless (2) 
This is  the Mirror Universe fingerless Mittens project and it was done with 85 grams, I will have a pattern some day, but for now I can say it works with this kind of yarn, no problems at all. I like the fact that I made these mitts in less that 3 hours, and that my friends is a very quick knit. I used 6.5 mm needles or 10.5 US. I can suggest that a scarf, a cowl , a nifty hand bag, and a hat are examples of projects to make with this yarn. I did not like to crochet with this yarn, it gets too dense and heavy. I will post a picture of the hat tomorrow . I am getting the designer bug, as these are patterns I am making on the go. Thanks for stopping by.
MirrorFingerless (1)

Monday, October 17, 2011

The gusset is done!

KlingonSocksWIP (1) 
Yep, I am done with the gusset and now I am on easy street until the toe, where I will change colors and double the yarn. I am way excited and wanted to share this work in progress.  I am also working on my Geo Scarf , what a fun experience and if you have not done Short Rows in the Tunisian Crochet way, you do not know what you are missing. Ha ha ha. I am serious, I feel the creativity coming along as I work on the WIP that I have.  I want to finish some of those unfinished objects, or like we call them UFOs,  I have been behind  a bit and now I want and need to feel like I am ahead., Why?  Because I want to start with my designing of a Triangular Shawl and another Hat. In the meantime I am hoping to make  a pattern or two on Tunisian Crochet.  There are some patterns coming out , but I don't know when, they will be through a yarn company that has been very supportive of me. I hope you have a great week and there may be more pictures and even surprises during the week, keep your fingers crossed. Thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

naDev 'oH wIj A work in Progress

 naDev 'oH wIj  means in English , Here are my socks. As translated by Google translator from English to Klingon. I am very excited when I get over Second Sock syndrome and pick up the sock and go for it.  Socks and specially fair Isle socks are very hard, but very exciting to make. There will be more to come in the future as I am enjoying making them, but this pair was kind of difficult for a while. What you are seeing on the picture is the Second Heel being started and after I turn the hell the instep and foot will be easy as pie. I am hoping to work on some weaving next weekend, I shall see if that is possible. I am moving along with my projects and that is very positive news for me. The creative process takes strange roads, but I know myself and I know that when I get to start to design whenever that is, it will be a lot of fun.  For now suffice it to say , I have swatches and ideas. Thanks for stopping by!
KlingonSocks

Saturday, October 08, 2011

Luscious Athena From Kollage

Athena is my pattern and I can tell you that is one of the most fun pattern I have.  It is simple, yet not boring. You have to pay attention to what you are doing and count stitches. Sometimes the Yarn Overs get lost. Kollage Luscious was given to me as a prize at the MFKR 2011.  It is a cotton 63%  nylon 37%.  It is stretchy and works well on the needles, yet when it comes down to weaving in the ends is a bit tricky. I got two 50 gram skeins, the yarn comes on 100 grams skeins.  I was able to do a Russian Yarn join successfully and that is impressive. It is a great choice for non wool people.
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 Using The Kollage Luscious yarn was an excellent choice. I will say that to finish off the Athena, you should do a little crochet cluster on the corner of the yarn tails. Leave about two or three feet and make a 3 to 5 single crochet in the corner stitch, then you can weave the ends inside the crochet stitches. I had plenty of Luscious left, so it can be made bigger.
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I hope you enjoy the pictures and like me dare to use different yarns for different things. I say that this is a very successful yarn alternative for the Athena's Shawl.  It is after all a Shawl for the Woman Warrior and the Daring Man. I want to thank Erica from Kollage yarn for the great yarn. Thanks for stopping by!
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Thursday, October 06, 2011

Geo Scarf Adventure

I think the Geo Scarf by Kim Guzman is a fantastic scarf to learn Tunisian Crochet. The bonus is to learn Short rows at the same time.  Os far I had to undo the second wedge twice,because it was not coming out nice. If I was using Mini Mochi it would have been a bit different. Why?  That kind of wool is more forgiving than super wash merino lol.  This is what I have until now, tonight I will be continuing on the dance with the pattern.  Yep is a dance and you and your partner have to be on the same Page to make the dance a success. I am using the Eye of Jupiter colorway, and this is going to be a fantastic scarf, I can tell from the way it looks. I need to make 23 wedges and then I will tell you what is going on.  I am working on rive or six projects, some knit, some crochet and some weaving.  That is how I open my creative mind to the possibilities of Life and designing. I hope you have a great rest of the week and there may be a posting or two in the near future. Thanks for stopping by!
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Wednesday, October 05, 2011

It's Tunisian Crochet

October finds me in the middle of Tunisian Crochet, well the beginning of the middle, lol.  I am working on two different patterns to start. The Shades of Sage  "MoEZ" Afghan.  Which by the way is an insane cool way to learn how to make fabric in Tunisian Crochet.  It is suppose to be made in one piece, but I can't handle the ends floating around. I decided to make it in strips and then join then.  I got gauge, but let me tell you one of the yarns , which I got as a gift , is not the best yarn in the world, Galway is the yarn, I would never buy that yarn, I don't know if it was just the batch I was given or if it is in general, but from my experience I will not spend a penny on this yarn, which I did not.  I am mixing the yarn with some of my homespun and that is working perfectly.
Tunisian


The other pattern is the "Geo Scarf " on your left. It is a Tunisian Crochet Short rows scarf. It is another great way of learning what you can do with a Tunisian Stitch hook and the various possibilities. The link is for Ravelry, but I am sure you can get it through her Website www.crochetkim.com . I have admire Kim's work for a long time and do own some of her patterns.  I am aiming to get inspired by these and create a great Shawl under my name that will be a fantastic design to wear.  I am taking a break from designing as sometimes you need to do, so that I can get inspiration to make more beautiful things.  There are some videos coming, one with a locally made Turkish Spindle, and some weaving for charity. I hope you have a great week and may your fall be full of wonder.  Thanks for stopping by

Saturday, October 01, 2011

Welcome to October 2011

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I had no idea whether I was going to Lambtown or not this year.  The Month of October came like a cat, silently and fast upon us . I got the chance to go to Lambtown which is a Fiber Festival in Dixon California. It is mainly Alpacas and sheep, all kinds of vendors with silks, weaving, food, and more food. There are spindles and looms, and lots and lots of fleeces. It is a fun venue of healthy fun.
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So there is music and lots of contests, from shearing sheep to dogs herding sheep, to the best Suri Alpaca .
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The is a small petting Zoo this year and the animals and children are just adorable. This Kitty cat was playing with a piglet.
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 There were all kinds of things for children to do and things for parents to do. This year we had square dancers and some not so good singers.  Sometimes the music was WAY too loud.
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The BBQ was fantastic let me tell you, but not from this booth, we got it from another place. Here we got a link and we split the link in two. The serve too much food in my opinion.
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 The skies were blue and almost clear, the weather was perfect. I was fortunate to have some of my friends joining me at this venue, most by chance as we did not plan it as we did last year.  Even my partner went with me and had a good time. The Monday Night Knit group was represented  by a lot of the members, even the crocheters from the Monday Night Knit group were there. Some could not attend due to other circumstances and were missed. John, Kyle and Kate you were missed.
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It came to and end and we came back home from the country side and back to the city side.  The trip was worth the time and the weather was nicer than last year. It was cooler.  Below is what I got from there. I bought a Turkish Spindle, American Made by Clemes & Clemes, Inc from Pinole,  California, their website is http://www.clemes.com/  . Making AMERICAN MADE PRODUCTS, just in case you were looking for that.  I will have another posting about the turkish spindle later this week.  I also got some fiber fun which will mean a video as well.  I got a silk hanky to spin from  Tactile a Fiber Arts Studio, and got to meet Maia the owner.  Maia has been a contributor to the Men Knitting Retreats. Her store is http://www.tactilefiberarts.com/ , she has marvelous stuff.  I hope you enjoy my little excursion and thanks for stopping by!
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