October 2016 Crafty is being crafty

 
Just in case you were wondering, I have been very busy.  I have also taken my Facebook account offline.  It gives me more time to do more of what I really want to do.

I have been very creative this month and have published one pattern and I am on the way of publishing a second pattern  and maybe a third, before the year ends.  Facebook has taken a lot of my valuable time, or rather I have given Facebook a lot of my time willingly.

One of the thing that I want to do is get back my blogging and get back more of my creativity.  I have been back to the main workforce for about 1.5 years and life has to be modified to accomplish things.

I have made new friends and truly love my job.     In the end I will be happier and enjoying the company of the people I really love and enjoy around me.   Well I finished organizing my yarn cabinet and that was a big deal.  Hope you have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Timberline Cardigan WIP and more

 
It is nice to go back to knitting this great cardigan.  It is definitely not a piece for social knitting.  I have 3 charts that I have to look at and it is spread out on a project table.  I will be making some socks for social knitting and let this baby to do at home.

Will keep you updated on the progress.  I do have a great feeling about this cardigan, it is going to look fantastic and I know that I will learn a lot about knitting.  This pattern as you saw on the title is the Timberline by Jared Flood.  So far what I can tell you about this pattern is that it is a gorgeous piece and that I am enjoying the knitting.  It is complex, yet basic and easy and you learn a lot about yourself.

Thanks for stopping by.

Stitch and Pitch 2015

I am getting prepared for our San Francisco Stitch And Pitch 2015 at the ATT Park. I am excited to be able to participate this year. Lots of new and exciting things happening this year. I will be using CoBaSi to recreate a pattern I made for Skacel a while ago. "Tempo Crochet Caps".  Stay tuned, this should not take too long.

I do have plans to keep on creating new Tapestry crochet patterns.  This is all for today, I will continue to come here and post on my blog.  I will aim at doing helpful hints and more videos.  Thanks for stopping by!

Tapestry Crochet Hat Test almost done

I am almost done with my second Tapestry Crochet Hat.  I should be able to take pictures some time this weekend.

One of the things that I was thinking while making the hat. was how much fun it is.  There is a lot of work that you have to do and attention to detail.  People that do not appreciate crochet because it is not knitting are at a loss.  In Spanish, making cloth or fabric has the same name, unless you are sewing.  In Spanish you knit with a loom, two needles or a crochet needle or hook.  Anyway here it is as I am giving it the final touches.  I may include a video , I have not decided just yet.  Thanks for stopping by!

March 2015 Color Stranding WIP

Another Tapestry crochet pattern in the works.It is March 2015 and it is now that it is taking shape for sure. Tapestry Crochet Hats are for the committed soul that wants a challenge and to make a different kind of crochet hat. These hats tend to be warmer.  I started this hat last year and it got stalled.

Sometimes I have to let an idea sit down for a while and let the pattern talk to me.  There at time that I make a pattern and I don't like the way it looks or the way it translate to a pattern.  These hats are not for the faint of heart, it is a commitment to make art with your hook.

The yarn is a fingering weight yarn from Wollmeise , but any fingering weight with a percentage of nylon or poly-amid blend will be a good choice. Tapestry crochet has a limited elastic property of as they say it has very little negative ease, but a sock yarn like this one allows it to have some elasticity.

So two hats in Tapestry crochet and one Hat in Fair Isle will be Published either this month or next Month.  Maybe a little of both.  Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned.
 

Spring 2014 Knitting and Tech

I believe once daffodils are out, spring is officially starting.  In California we have been experiencing a drought of kinds.  It is scary and nevertheless the way nature is.  I think this year may be different and we may get some other kind of water pattern.

 I have a picture of my Tulips, yep the ones I plant every year.  I am very excited about the fact that I am able to do this.

Now for the tech part. I have a DELL XPS 8500 , and I upgraded the Dell Backup and Recovery Software at a cost of about $40.00. I will tell you that is you are looking for a software that is automated, do not get this software. Dell has failed to update it's software to work efficiently with Windows 8.1. On the long Run I decided to invest in another backup program, but nevertheless, Windows Image backup still works and File History is a good option. Right now I am trying BackonTrack by Roxio and it seems to work.

Also under Tech comes the fact that my Bluetooth  hardware had to be disabled, because Dell has not provided a good Windows 8.1 Driver.  I am very disappointed in Dell.   After upgrading or updating my computer to Windows 8.1, it took forever to restart or shut down( about 2 minutes) .  It has been my experience that computers have this kind of shutdown or restart problem when either a video or network card hardware or driver has problems.  Dell get your act together! 

 

These are one pair of socks that will be done today.  I have started another pair of socks, but since I am reviewing the needles, it will be another post. Thanks for stopping by!

Fulling around

Later on this blog I will share the ordeal of a lifetime.  Somehow I will share the remodeling of my home, with the challenges we encountered.  I will do so because I want to share my experience and how I manage the challenge.  I did find help online, but I can tell you  that my common sense, my scientific background and the prayers, encouragement and goodwill of friends , personal physician and my Buddhist Practice, helped me to be triumphant. 

This is my work in progress right now, it is a boring knit that will get fulled, which is almost felting.  I am hoping to do is boil this sleeve and force the fabric to fuse a bit.  This is a sleeve for my Acer Iconia Tablet.  I used size 10.50 US needles instead of US 13, it makes a big difference, but not for what I am hoping to do. I could have crochet it instead of knittting it, but sometimes crochet fabric does not felt as well as knitted fabric.

I am always amazed at life and the human experience.  You know who your true friends are when you are in the middle of sufferings.  Never lose hope as life ever changing wheel of fortune is always turning and nothing good or bad lasts forever, Be well and thanks for stopping by!

Picon here I come

 Just in case you are wondering, mister Stephen West has a KAL that promises to bring forth some exciting colorings into your life.  I have the yarn and the needles to go and have some color fun.  Stephen is a very talented man, yes it may be another shawl, but will he challenge you to do something you have never done?  I am all for it.  Thanks for stopping by!

Felt Imperfect

Interesting choice of words.  I was going to speak about the Retreat, maybe I will before the week ends.  I have been deactivated from Facebook, mainly because I am reevaluating my life and Facebook adds very little to my life.  I still have to say that I have learned about stuff from Facebook  before it comes out in the news, but that is another story. I find that Facebook has some value, but people are too much, they say too much and stay behind the anonymity veil to be aggressive and jerks.  Some people air all their drama and frustrations in there.  It gets tiresome after a while.  Let's see how long I go before re activating my account and who has stayed with me.

I got this yarn the other day. Just in case you don't know I have all my yarn in boxes. There is remodeling going on in my life, from the floors to the ceiling. How is that for unexpected change. Well I knew it was coming, but not this sudden, I should not complain. So I went walking last Saturday to the Upper Haight and found Mendel's which is a craft store in the Haight Ashbury district.  I really enjoyed my walk from the lower Haight. So I bought the yarn and crochet hook and decided to make a felted mouse for my temporary pet Mona.

I think she likes it more than expected lol.  Believe it or not it is still a bit wet.  I added some eyes with the pink.

Making this little mouse and going out for some retail therapy made me feel a lot better.  Many men don't understand the therapeutic effect that window shopping or plain shopping has.  I was feeling down and very disappointed.  Even though I was tempted to buy an IPad, I decided for a traveling camera for my trip to come this week.

 

So I went to Best Buy looking for a smaller camera than the one I have.  I found something very good.  It is a Samsung ST150F, 16.2 MP, 25 mm lens and F2.5, with a micro sd slot.  I really like this camera.  I have just started to scratch the surface of the things I can do with it. It was inexpensive and it was not an IPad.  I may get myself an IPad for Christmas, I don't know yet.

So I had a little bit more yarn left and decided to make a felted case for the camera.  I found the perfect pattern On The Move Camera Case by Designs by Dianna.  I have to say that the pattern is fantastic and it has a way of helping you customize your pattern for any camera you have. It is $2.00 and it is a bargain. It matches My laptop case which is pink and grey, I guess it is what the new colors are for me.  I don't mind Pink nor do I mind grey. Everywhere I read about felting I read something very important.  Felting is not easily predictable and it is a matter of feeling or sensing.  There is some adjustments you can make, but in the end it is unpredictable.  Well there is more to come and hopefully this break from Facebook will force me to blog more, which is in the end what I like more.  Thanks for stopping by!

Many Projects on August 2013

This past few months have been a lot of designing and entertainment for me. What follows is me making another "Daniel" hat in a slouchy mode. That is what my next hat design is going to be.

This hat below, is what I am testing at the moment.  It is made with Malabrigo Arroyo superwash and it is delicous.  I am hoping to Publsh the pattern by the end of the month. It is a fun knit , the hat can be made into a slouch or Tam by just blocking, otherwise the hat stays a bit more snug, hugging your head.  I actually have had a tester made a hat with the instructions and the chart as well.  There were some great suggestions for a future hat.  This hat has a unisex target, but leaning toward  neutral genderless wear.

 
I have also been doing a Craftsy Class from Franklin Habit, "Heirloom Lace Edges", so far the class has been a fun venue and having Franklin talk to you is a bonus. Well I have to continue knitting and hope to have something more finished today.  Thanks for stopping by!

Featured at Malabrigo yarns

I was very pleased to see my pattern being showcased at Malabrigo  as one of the Patterns online for the Arroyo yarn.  There are so many great patterns and Malabrigo is a very kind company as well. You can find it HERE and it has no name for now, as I forgot in my excitement and haste.  I sent them an email letting them now the name is  "Enconium" .

This is also another pattern that I am working on for Malabrigo Arroyo.  It is a lace hat that may be a Tam if you change needle size and block it to size.  I decided to test the pattern repetition at a scale that was going to be easy for me.

Here you see the pattern is waiting for the test to become final. I am using Intwined Pattern Studio to create the pattern. I got to realize that it is a tool, but that I still need to test the pattern The software will allow you to put any Stitch anywhere you want, like a k3tog on the round following a 2 stitch count. So you will have to make sure that the stitch count matches, because the software does not count,lol, you need to.  Anyway I have a pair of socks that I want to work on and I need to make another 1/2 inch on the ribbing of the hat.  Hope you have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Odinn has a tubular hem

Odinn has a tubular hem.  I have never done anything like this, I have done some tubular cast on and bind off, but never understood the idea until now.  This sweater is a great opportunity to make this technique second nature. I left that needle in place as a lifeline until I was done with the tubular bind off.  I wanted to be sure I did not have to rip it off lol.

 

The tubular bind off is a modified kitchener grafting of a 1 x 1 ribbing.  Your Purl stitches on one needle and your Knit stitches on another.  Thanks for Techknitting.com for the quick explanation of the technique. I was talking about you the other day and I had a reason to visit you today.  What a great blog to visit and read so much good help.

 The edge of this sweater looks very nice.  I know that I will have to have a lot more practice than just one sweater.  I am now confident I can do a toe - up sock without the fear of what the bind off will look like.  I like this tubular bind - off a lot.  It is definitely very stretchy, stretchy enough for a sock ribbing. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Saint Patrick's

Coming along nice, with this beautiful green yarn. I have picked up the gusset and I am decreasing on my way to the foot.  I will have to say that this is one of the most fun sock patterns I have made so far.  I will be making more socks with this pattern "The Brethren Sock"  the purchase of this pattern benefits the Men Knitting Retreats Scholarship fund.  On those terms if you want o help me with my  Retreat this year, you can purchase a pattern or two , my appreciation in advance as we move along.

I do have some spinning to be done today and then back to the sock.  Thanks for stopping by!

Of greens and cables

The Brethren Sock by Millard Fontenot is a fantastic pattern so far. If you purchase the pattern it benefits the Mens Knitting Retreats Scholarship fund.

 

This pattern is a bit intriguing, because it has cables and a beautiful heel. This pattern also has Row numbers which I adore.  It motivates me and guides me as I work on the sock. I went down a needle size, because I always do when it comes to socks. It is working out pretty good.  I rather have socks a bit tight than loose.  This pattern is a man's dream.  Mill manipulates the pattern as to not begin with a purl stitch if possible.  What you see in here is the heel being turned.  I doubled the yarn and will do so again when I get to the toes. This and some spinning is what is going on this weekend.  Thanks for stopping by!

Evenstar Border a WIP

What you see above is the simplest most efficient way of beading with Superfloss.  The floss has a rigid end and a spongy  core.  You have to cut it down a bit, not much.  YOu get your beads in a row and the when needed, you use this floss to work this out.  I will try to make a video during the weekend to show you how it is done.  I saw it on a  this video link HERE , but I don't like to link videos that may disappear or not lol.  So if you click the video link it should take you to you tube and there you will see the wondrous idea from  The Knit Girllls .

In the photo above you see a blue cord, that is an addi click cord, is what I used instead of a waste yarn.  When I am done with the border it will be a flash to graft this together with live stitches.

This photo above is the right side of the border.  I can not tell you how beautiful it is in real life, compared to the picture.  The silver lined glass beads look like drops of water that shine like diamonds.  Anyway my peeps, thanks for stopping by and I will have more projects as I get to finish this one.  I made 4 repetitions of the border, each repetition takes me about an hour.  There are 56 repetitions, only 52 to go. Thanks for stopping by!

Double Life line in Lace

I am at the threshold of the beginning of the end of this pattern.  There is a second lifeline on the penultimate round.  There is another Life line below as well. The border is very similar to the border of the "Old Forge".  The similarity is that it binds off the pattern as you make it.  For every 10 live stitches you have 20 rows of border, there are beads on the every other round, lots of them which is fine with me.  I decided to put removable stitch markers every 10 stitches, this will lower the chances of dropping a stitch or not being able to discover if you made a mistake.

 

I am very glad that I have made similar projects in the past.  I am very happy that experience is always a good thing to have and call upon.   This project was started on September 28, 2012 and I am hoping it will be finished, blocked and shipped by the end of February 2013.  Thanks for stopping by.

Djerba's Habitat

I have to say that from the knit hats that I enjoy making, this one is one of them.  This is the Habitat by Jared Flood.  It is a very challenging pattern, yet it allows you to learn a lot about knitting.  It has some dancing stitch markers, enjoy the dance. I am making this one in Wool ease, colorway mushroom.  This will make a fantastic hat for my  Caprican Cardigan. Thanks for stopping by.

Crochet At Quark's

Yep I am at Quark's.  I am crocheting a Toilet Paper Cozy, but not any kind of cozy, it is Tapestry Crochet and in more than two colors. 

There is more crochet happening , I am making a very nice Pineapple Lace Doily.  These can be so much fun.  When you realize it you are done.  The pattern has some mistakes, but not misleading mistakes, just needs a bit of correction.

I am also going to start on my lace project which I am showing you the materials below.  I made a sample which is the last picture and I have made gauge. 

The picture below shows the sample that is to be made from the pattern above.  The pattern has some increases and decreases and some very interesting and intriguing stitches.  A very peculiar thing is that I saw the same kind of stitch manipulations in crochet the other day.  I am ready to start this baby at any moment this week.  I got gauge, so I will be suing US 3 Chiagoo lace knitting needles.  I want to try a different brand of Lace needles.  So far I like the cables they have.  I will see how to make lifelines and I have gotten some unwaxed dental floss to help me in this journey. Thanks for stopping by!

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.
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!

Kilt Hose on Dk Weight

 
Just dropping a note.  I started the second pair of Kilt hose.  I really want to learn how to make socks that are custom shaped.  I am learning a lot as I go.  This wool is over spun yarn I got from Knit Picks a while ago, it will be very sturdy. It knits a bit quicker with less repetitions and of course less knitting, The cuff is wider and I like the way it fits over the top of my calf. I may need a garter, or I may not.  I am making my own kilt hose flashes.  Hope you enjoy the journey of my second adventure on kilt hose. Thanks for stopping by!