Friday, September 28, 2012

"Pinwheel" A Crochet Skull Cap

It has been a while since my last hat, and there are more to come.  This Skull Cap has a special place in my heart.  It was one of my first caps in two colors.  I wanted to recreate this pattern for a long time, but until now I was not able to.  I hope you enjoy this very simple Tapestry Crochet  Cap.
PinwheelSkullCap (8)

It is the "Pinwheel” Skull Cap, one of my first caps.  The idea was born in 2006.  It was an inspiration from not being able to find a hat to my liking.  It is a very simple Tapestry Crochet Style Cap. If you want to substitute yarns , I definitely suggest you make a gauge swatch. TO make a larger hat, get a bigger hook or bulkier yarn. Smaller hats can be accomplished by using a smaller hook or smaller gauge yarns.  Thanks to R.Buffalo for his help and feedback in the making & testing of this pattern.This is a $6.00.
 
 
PinwheelSkullCapVC (1)

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Proton Stream Convergence

OverdyeProtonConvergence

This pattern is called the Proton Stream Convergence by Gillian Kratzer.  It was a Tam/Beret and I decided to make it into a hat.  There were some manipulations I had to make and skip some instructions.  The hat is lovely and the Burgundy hat, is the Chartreuse Hat, overdyed with  IDye Crinsom .  I love over dyeing yarn and hats for that matter.  I kind of now appreciate the color Burgundy more than ever.  There is more to come in the Hat creation. stay tuned and thanks for stopping by!

MFKR 2012 Part 2

I am not going to bleed the MFKR 2012, there is going to be part 3 lol. This is a gret venue to go every year, is a good vacation and you meet so many talented people, is amazing. This year I had the opportunity to make it to the 5th one in a row. I will never forget the first one at Poiint Bonita, what fun we had.

MFKR5Years
I can tell you that this is a wonderful place to be and to meet so many men with such talent is a great honor. There were two other guys who also joined the 5 Year club of attending the MFKR. I received this beautiful token of appreciation from Wonder Mike and by Proxy the MFKR. It is some wonderful lace yarn and a bag made by Nathan Grisham, his bags are fantastic, made in the USA and can be found at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Knit1Eat1 , from project bags to Messenger bags. Go and check him out.

MFKRThankYouGifts5YearAnniversary (2)
Every Year Skacel Knitting is behind us with gifts and back packs. Here were the guys from the Contest and some of the guys that went to Skacel, there are more than this few. Skacel2012

This is part of my Crochet Basics for Knitters. The class was a success. Everyone learned from basic slip stitch, chain, single crochet, double crochet, treble crochet. Everyone got an A+. TeachingCrochet2012 The picture below is taken by me. I believe the picture above was taken by Wonder Mike or Franklin Habit. MFKR2012BasicCrochetClass050 (1) Every year we have a fun Kilt Night with Show and tell. Here is a pictures, it is not a Kilt Night only. We being the men we are, just decided to have some kind of special event with kilts, sarongs or any unbifurcated fabric you want to wear. Slacks are acceptable, shorts are acceptable, nothing serious just some fun for the guys.
KiltNight (2)
Among the show and tell was my crochet hat, my weaved scarf and the socks I am wearing, oh and the "Daniel" hat , a pattern normally for sale Here, which I donated to the retreat binder for the guys to enjoy as well. Yep there is part 3 from this blog and lots of more fun in the works. Thanks for stopping by!
MyshownTell

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

MFKR 2012 Part 1

The MFKR 2012 started at the end of August and went into September.  It promised to be as exciting as the other ones on previous years.  I don't think I ever shown you my room, or a room at the facility for that matter.  They are very spartan, most of them with a bathroom and toilet.  I was very appreciative of having a first floor room. There is an electronic safe to put your valuables.  It is a comfortable place to sleep, clean and the showers are across the hall.
MFKR2012Room167
The view from the room was amazing, but it is the same view we had from the conference room .  Being careful of being on the first floor, someone can get into your room, it has not happened to us, but they do tell you to lock your valuables and your window when you are not in the room.
MFKR2012Room167View
The first day we had a lot of fun, getting to know each other.  We had two scholarship recipients this year. Two wonderful guys that would have not been to afford the retreat otherwise. They were very appreciative of the scholarship and just being among a group of crazy fiber guys. Ray from New York and Don from Idaho. These two guys were enjoying themselves a lot.
MFKR2012 002
Today is orientation, ice breaker.  I believe there were 14 lambkins, that is our nickname for the new guys.  They get scared of the initiation rumors, but we just give them fiber love. Skacel trunk show was fun. There were some yarn samples for the guys that have never been to Skacel .  We all gave Michael our CoBaSi challenge items, this is what I had.  My project was accepted and even though I did not win any prices, I was fortunate to get my pattern accepted as an independent designer.  I came prepared , just in case.  
CoBasiFloating


















The pattern , I have been told, will be published at the Skacel Site soon. When it is, I will be able to post Pictures of my work here and a link to were you can download the pattern.  I am honored to be among the Skacel Designers as a Tapestry Crochet designer.  Last Year I submitted 3 Patterns and Skacel accepted those designs,so there are more Skacel Designs from Crafty Andy coming out in the near future.  I will tell you when they get published. It shall be soon . Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, September 09, 2012

Natural Dyed yarn

This was one of the Classes we took at Dumas Bay Center with Kathy Hattori, from Botanical Colors, LLC .  It was a long class that took most of our day, but it was worth every minute.  It was a nice price for us and we came out with great colors, lots of knowledge and some yarn for color work.These are the skeins of yarn hanging out from the trees, a beautiful way of showing them to you.  Everything was natural colors, with concentration on keeping the planet green.  We forage for two materials, Chestnut Trees and Maple Trees.  We learned a lot, we had a great time and here is the end product.  I will have more pictures later on. Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, September 08, 2012

Caprica Six yarn


I have arrived from the MFKR 2012 and there will be pictures next week. It was a total success and we had a lot of fun.   I had a friend from the Retreat visiting, he is from New Zealand.  He stayed for  a short visit and his name is James. Kiwi James as we sometimes call him. In the meantime and while I get my pictures in shape and organized, here is a project I will be doing. CapricaRedYarn (3)
This yarn was purchased at an outdoor sale today, there is a lot more where this one came from.  I believe is thinner than lace weight, not by much. I tested it and it is too weak to stand on its own two plies . It weighs at 1472 grams of wool. I tested it for strength and it needs more twist, it is wool as I was able to felt the yarn you see on the Above picture by Caprica's shoulder.  What is a spinner to do? I will be filling three bobbins of yarn adding twist to the existing 2 plies, then plying 3 strands of 2 plies to make a yarn with Six strands of yarn, that have been previously plied into a two ply yarn. I have been talking to the Leobens if you wondered! lol Thanks for stopping by! CapricaRedYarn (4)

Almost two years without blogging August 2020

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