Sunday, April 29, 2012

Happy Birthday To Me!

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Today was another birthday and a great celebration.  I made a marbled chocolate chip cake and it was delicious. I had a great day with Michael and we had lots of fun. We were streaming a class from Craftsy.com on Weaving on a rigid heddle. The class is very good. Here you see Michael weaving, what a wonderful gift for both of us. I wanted him to try weaving and he really enjoys it. Let's see how his scarf turns out.  
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While the weaving class was going the dyeing kettles were cooking the yarn. Alum and cream of tartar were mordants, then set on a crimson journey.
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The yarn took a beautiful color and no dye was left on the kettle. I put it out to dry while we went for a long walk. The day was perfect to hang the yarn out to dry. So I spent my birthday with Michael, weaving and dyeing yarn. Wool is amazing as you can see. Thanks for stopping by.
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Friday, April 27, 2012

Stephen West At AVFKW

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Well it almost feels like my birthday, which is almost here. I got to meet Stephen West at A Verb For Keeping Warm in Oakland. We have been Internet connected, but never met in person. Stephen West has been a great contributor of patterns to our MFKR in the past, and I do admire his work and designs. I don't like all of them, but I do like 90% of them, the 10 % is things I just can't see myself wearing. lol. Nevertheless it was fun to talk to him and the other people that were around. I met some new friends like Mark and John.

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The great Wonder Mike was the one that took my picture with Westknits, and I returned the favor for him. I got Westknits 3 book, which I have been eyeing for some time. I got the opportunity to get his signature, and I am like a 10 year old boy with his new GI Joe. SO I was very excited, lol. Wonder Mike has this ability to always look like he has his hand in the cookie jar, but he is such a delightful guy to talk and hang out with. I like his positivism and his enthusiasm is very contagious. I love this guy, he is such an inspirational and great teacher.

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My friend Bill Jones was there as well. I was glad he decided to join me and he is such a pleasant guy to chat about lots of things. I enjoy his company a lot. He is such a good conversationalist and has lots of things to share..



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Skacel was Present today with the help of Cirilia and the testing of all kinds of Skacel goodies. All kind of clicks, natural, lace and regular, short and long and even the crochet hook clicks extensions.


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These ladies make A Verb For Keeping Warm Store shine. Kristine and Aday are such a versatile and talented couple of artisans. If you want to know about natural dyes and how to make them happen, they are one of the greatest people to learn from, here in San Francisco Bay Area.

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So here is my treat for my Birthday, what better than my own personally autographed copy of Westknits Book 3. I can tell you that I felt very special today. Having visited with so many fun people and having them in my circle of friends.

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This has made my birthday weekend  AWESOME!  Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Crafty Andy's Garter Stitch Baby Bath Wrap


This video is an updated version and more up to date for your viewing pleasure.  I am not a video producer, they are made from the heart and with the limited equipment that I have, yet they are pretty informative. I hope this allows you to make better use of the I-Cord Bind off, and the Applied I-Cord edging.  More than anything I hope this helps you make ©Crafty Andy's Baby Bath Wrap. It is one of my free patterns.  Thanks for stopping by!
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Sunday, April 22, 2012

Revisiting Patterns A Bath Wrap

Bathwrap 
Some times it is good to come back and revisit a pattern.  This was one of my first knit patterns, done in garter stitch, very simple with I-Cord edging. I want to see if it needs to be revamped, optimized and maybe even better pictures.  Pictures that will be helpful for the people that are making the wrap. It came to my attention from a person who was making the wrap that they were confused. Hey it only takes one person to make you think that maybe you can explain things a bit better, or maybe a picture is worth a thousand words. Since this pattern was made in 2009, and I was very young at pattern making, it is worth revisiting.  I can tell that it needs new pictures with a better view of what you are going to be doing.

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Yesterday was an inspiring day, we got the backyard cleaned and brought some new dirt, weeds out, and new plants as well. Hope you have a great Earth Day, thanks for stopping by!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Second Teddy Bear Prototype

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You can see all the boys enjoying a lazy afternoon.  The two bears in the front are prototypes of the final Bear Pattern that I am working on.  It will be done with three different kinds of yarn. 


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You have the bear on the left is made with Rowan Tweed a dk weight Yarn, then the one on the right is made with Lambs Pride and it has a lovely fuzzy look,   This weekend I am hoping to test the final pattern with Cascade 220.  More or less it takes about 165 of the dk weight and about 150 of the worsted weight Lambs Pride. We shall see how much it takes from the Cascade 220. The yarn to make the eyes, mouth and nose is about 15 yards and is plenty. I used two techniques to embroider the nose on these two bears. In the end the bears are coming out very nicely.  I am hoping to have this pattern for sale next month. Thanks for stopping by!
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Monday, April 16, 2012

A Teddy Bear project

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I want to take this opportunity to thank the people that took advantage and participated in my Fundraiser Sale for the MFKR 2012.  I was able to raise a bit of money and I am very grateful for that. Along with other funds I was able to raise about 1/3 of the cost and that was my goal. Now to other interesting things.

OsRowan 
This is not Mickey Mouse, but rather the prototype of my Teddy Bear. The ears are naturally shaped this way, with a bit of stitch manipulation, but mostly shaping. I am very glad about this project , because is a teddy bear done in the round.  What does it mean?  It means less sewing.  As I go along and test filling materials, I can say that anything besides poly-fill is hard to manipulate, nonetheless it can be done.  This head is filled with cotton roving that was laying around, but I definitely recommend anything poly-fill, specially if you can get a hypo-allergenic pillow stuffing. 

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 I  purchased two pillows at Costco, and that is the material I will be using to fill my two other Bear Candidates.  My aim is to give you a pattern to be made in the round, with minimal stitching,with 220 yards of yarn or less. Most Crochet Teddy Bears are in the Round, so I am surprised that I have never seen a knitted Teddy Bear in the round.   The bear in this picture is made with Rowan Tweed, a DK weight yarn with about 165 yards or so of the main yarn, and probably 20 yards of the dark yarn for embroidery.  The other two bears one with Lambs Pride, which is a favorite yarn of mine, and Cascade 220, which is another favorite yarn of mine. SO this is what I have for you today, more pictures to come, thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Front Post tc Cluster

 

The First Companion Video for the "Philosopher's Toque"  I will show you how to make this FPtc-Cluster.  The cluster is made out of FPtc and is a lot of fun.  This hat was a dream come true and it was a lot of work to make it come to life. I hope you enjoy this video and that it helps you get into Tapestry Crochet and to challenge yourself to be playful with yarn. There is a second video coming in a few days as well.  If you want to purchase the PDF  pattern for download , click on the buy now button below.Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

"The Philosopher's Toque"


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“The Philosopher’s Toque” was born at the first Men’s West Coast Fall Knitting Retreat at Point Bonita, California in 2008. It is a Tapestry Crochet Hat honoring the Tree of Life. You may use yarns from dk to Worsted weight.The design has the ability of creating hats for a baby, teenager or an adult. From 12” to 26” in circumference, whichever size you choose. Gauge is dependent on tension, hook size & yarn weight, allowing you to be creative in sizing. The technique used to make these hats creates a dense fabric, keeping your head warm by design. If you substitute the yarn, make a swatch and block it, so there are no surprises. Block hats following the manufacturer’s suggested washing instructions. On last page of the pattern, you will find useful video links from me, and helpful information for making smaller hat sizes.  I want to thank R.Buffalo for his help and feedback in the making & testing of this pattern.There are more hats to come, and as exciting as this one.  Thanks for stopping by!
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Sunday, April 08, 2012

A crochet Hat to Knit

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At this time all I can show you is the beginning of the hat.  I am aiming at making one of my Tapestry Crochet Hats to become a Fair Isle hat.  There is a bit of a change, not much, but enough to classify the hat as a new pattern, better yet, it is a new pattern.  This will take some work and some patience. It is also started from the top down, with the Emily Ocker crochet Cast On.  This is a circular Cast on that uses a crochet hook to begin.  It is one of the most flawless ways of making a hat or any circular project. I hope you have a great week and today is the last day of the Crafty Andy Sale, you have until midnight Pacific Standard time. I want to say a big Thank you to all the people that helped me in my fundraiser.  YOU SHALL NOT BE FORGOTTEN, I promise,  Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, April 07, 2012

Mike's 2012 birthday

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Mike2012birthday (2), a photo by Crafty Andy on Flickr.

So here I am sharing a bit about life today. I enjoy making cakes a lot. It is my partner's birthday and I made him a great chocolate chip cake, chocolate frosting and a dusting of coconut on top. May we have many more together. Luv ya!

Friday, April 06, 2012

More Hats to come on 2012

BabyPerseus

This is just a preview of the hat that is being tested.  This hat and it's bigger sizes should be coming out this month for publishing.  I am very Happy to announce that there will be some Knit hats in Fair Isle, making their debut in the next few months.  I just ordered the yarn for the next hat in Fair Isle and I am hoping to have a great looking Hat before May 2012 ends.  Remember that I have a sale until midnight tomorrow April 8th, 2012.   You can click on the link below and enter the Code Daniel , you will get 50% off any of my patterns. http://www.ravelry.com/redeem/andres-p-nevarez-designs .  I am trying to raise funds for my Knit Crochet Camp Registration.  I appreciate your contributions, but better than that, you get a pattern or two for half price. Thanks for stopping by!


Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Slipstream Scarf Last Row & Border

This video is a fantastic tutorial to help you out with this scarf.  I tell you that it is because of experience that you learn these things.  I hope you find this video helpful even if you don't have this scarf to make. Thanks fro stopping by!

Monday, April 02, 2012

Spirals & Tangents Video Supplement Two HD

 

 This is the Video Supplement Two for the Spirals & Tangents Hat. Thanks for stopping by!

Spirals & Tangents Video Supplement One HD.

This is from some of my videos that have not been published yet, there are about 4 or 5 more videos that will be coming out during the next few days as I make them viewable to the public.  I hope you find them useful.   Crafty Andy ©.  Thanks for stopping by!

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