Odds and Ends

So I haven't really done much though I did make it out to the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival. I wasn't able to go on Saturday as originally planned but still I'm just happy I could go. I had fun and was behaved spending wise. I picked up a needle felting kit but ended up not liking the kit, so I decided to read a little about needle felting and just have fun with it. So while not the most beautiful I'm pretty proud of these balls and this little doll. I don't feel like she's quite finished as I think I can get her smoother but I'm still happy with her and want to try making some more after this. I also want to make some more of the beads but I think I'm going to try wet felting those as I kept poking my finger with the needle and that just was not pleasant.

The other nice thing I picked up at the festival was this wonderful spinning wheel! No I didn't buy it but I wish I could have, instead I'm renting it while I figure out if spinning is something I want to invest in. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a class nearby until the 19th of October at The Knitting Bee. I'm hoping by then I'll have figured spinning out but if not I'll definitely sign up for the class.

Sorry about the lack of posts.

I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't really picked up the knitting needles since my last post. Its a bit of a long story but basically a little less than a year ago I suffered an accident with a computer chair that resulted in stitches on my forehead, a concussion and introduce me to the fun that is migraines. We thought we had them under control but I recently had to stop taking my medication because of the side effects and unfortunately the daily migraines came back. So I am now having the fun of trying new meds and dealing with a variety of new side effects which so far have been worse than the migraines. Unfortunately until I have this back under control my postings are going to be even more sporadic than usual.

Mmmmm Yarn

So last weekend I decided to check out Farmhouse Knits, which was a little yarn shop in Beaverton that I hadn't even realized was there. I had heard a rumor that she had some Socks that Rocks so of course I had to go. Of course this violated my no buy but I figured just this one time and besides Tom was encouraging me. I love that he's willing to come along with me to yarn shops as well as other crafty type stores. He doesn't always want to go and that is perfectly understandable but quite a few times he offers to tag along and check things out. The lady at the shop and I were working on trying to get him to try out knitting and while he declined he did mention some curiousity and I know a co-worker of his knits so I just may be able to get him to try it out sometime.

He actually picked out some sock yarn for some socks for himself, I've been offering to make him a pair but I know none of my current sock yarn appeals to him. He actually went with some yarn I haven't tried before but I had been curious about - Colinette Jitterbug. I'm a little wary of the low yardage which is only 292yds. He does not like tall socks and prefers them pretty short which helps. I haven't figured out a pattern yet but I figure I have some time before I'll be done with the skirt.


I also picked up some Seduction by Blue Moon Fiber Arts, I love how this yarn feels! Its 50% tencel and 50% merino... not sure what I'll make out of this either... I'm actually thinking I might make a cowl rather than socks with this but then Pomatomus is calling my name as well. If I had gotten more it would have been tempting to try and make Clapotis out of this.

WIP Tuesdays?

Ok I know better than trying to do a regular thing. Obviously I missed doing a WIP post last week on Wed so I think I'm just going to do them whenever the mood strikes... like today!

Of course the only knitting project I'm really working on is the Flickering Flames skirt.

I tried putting it on my dress form for the photos but unfortunately the circular needles aren't long enough to fit on the form so this looks more like a straight skirt than the circular skirt it will be but I think that it gives a better idea of the finished product than my other photos.

I also included some close ups to better see some of the details like the beads. I'm pretty happy with the progress and can't wait to get this skirt finished. I am worried though that is going to be horribly heavy. The skirt is suppose to be held up by a drawstring strung through the eyelets at the top but I'm afraid it may not be good enough. If I have to I can probably come up with a waistband to sew to the top.

Any Reason to Make a Purse

So I needed something to carry my latest WIP around in. My older purse was fine for the smaller projects. It had a side pocket that could hold my latest project while carrying the rest of the junk I tend to lug around. Unfortunately the skirt takes a lot more space. Fortunately I like making purses and any excuse to make a new one is fine by me! I also stumbled across this new fabric I like on sale at Joann's for $1 a yard so it was really easy to justify making myself a new purse that could hold my latest project.

While the overall shape and interior is exactly what I wanted, it came out much bigger than planned. Because of this its a little more floppier than I wanted. I really needed to have put something more than interfacing in at the bottom and in some other areas to stiffen it up.
Also in hindsight I really should have put some sort of closure on the outside side pocket. Thankfully that won't be too hard to fix and I just need to find the time to sit down and add a button or two.
Overall though I am pretty happy with this bag and I have plans to try and make a smaller version with a some more stiffness added to it.
One of the things I really wanted to try for the first time was a center zipper pocket. I was actually surprised at how easy it came together though I was lulled by the easyness and manage to make a few mistakes in the order of sewing that I know not to do next time. What I love about this center pocket is it is large enough to hold my current project even as it grows.

On the side of the zipper pocket I attached a little itty bitty pocket with a ribbon in which I can tie needed accessories like stitch markers that I can then slip into to the pocket. Though to be honest so far it has mainly held my car keys.


On the inside on the back I have a
simple pocket thats closed with a button that I figure is just large enough to hold the instructions for the current project. This back area between the center zipper pocket and this one is also where the excess yarn has been kept.

In the front half I placed various pockets (5 in total) The large center one has a flap held in place by a button and usually holds the beads and other accessories for this current project. The other larger pockets have held various purse like objects such as my sunglasses, cell phone and pens. The bottom pockets also have ribbons on the side to help hold the objects like small scissors or whatever small items I'd like to keep handy.

WIP Wednesday

I saw this on someone's blog a long time ago and thought it was a great idea.

I have many WIPs but most of them have been set aside until I get my skirt finished

Here's my current progress on the Flickering Flames skirt

I'm almost done with the second tier and then I just have 3 repeats for the last tier but I know that tier is going to take the longest. Its 640 stitches! Unfortunately I'm a slow knitter so who knows when I will get this done. I was hoping for the end of this month but....



Here's a close up of the beads. I wish I had a better lens or at least a light box so I would be able to get better detail. I tried making my own light box but was not very successful.

My other WIPs include a monkey sock

I have one done and the second one started but then I got distracted by the skirt.

A cat bed - Kitty Pi

Almost done actually. I just need to make it a little bit bigger since my kitty is larger than average

A blanket, some dishcloths, Thuja sock (I really just need to seam the toe on the last one), and a swiffer pad.

You know listing them out like this doesn't make them look so bad. Makes me almost feel like I can get the done.

Where has the time gone?

Wow I just realized that its been over a month since my last post. I kept meaning to post but stuff keeps coming up. I've made myself a promise of no more new projects. I have so many WIPs that I really need to start knocking them off! I have at least 8-9 knitting WIPs, 4-5 sewing WIPs, a couple bath and beauty recipes that I've been gathering the materials for but still haven't made yet, some home improvement projects that I keep getting distracted from so they're sitting there halfway done and I'm still trying to teach myself how to spin on a drop spindle. I have a long list building up of projects I want to start but I really need to finish off what I've started first.
I've also put myself on a no buy until they're done as well. Hopefully if nothing else that will motivate me that will as its so hard to pass by lovely yarns and fabrics.

The good news is its helped me stay motivated to finish my Flickering Flames skirt. I'm about halfway through and about to start the last tier. As soon as I can get the time I'll take pics and share them. I'm really excited about this skirt and I'm loving the way its turning out. I don't know why I was so afraid of lace before. I've already been eying some other lace patterns and plotting my next one once this one is done.

If you had a week in Vancouver, B.C.

So tomorrow I take off for Vancouver, B.C. I'm going to be there for a week with plenty of free time so I've been trying to get list of places to check out while up there. I know I want to check out Daiso and Dresssew but thats about all that I have right now. I'm sure there has to be more though. I can't seem to find anything like a "Crafty guide to Vancouver" or even better a "Fiber Freaks Guide!" :D

Latest progress on the Flickering Flames skirt.

So I'm now onto the second tier, only 80 or so more rows to go! I fell short of stitch markers so I had to grab some of my wire and make a few more stitch markers. I hope to have the rest (32 more!) made before I get to the third and last tier.



I'm actually having a lot of fun making the stitch markers and since I need so many of them I've been playing around with some older odd beads that I had lying around and didn't know what to do with them. Its also been great practice for wire wrapping!.
I'm also enjoying the pattern for this skirt. Its an easy enough pattern that I have it memorized so I'm not annoyed by having to check the pattern all the time but its still a lot more engaging then say ribbing or just plain stockinette.

Ravelry

So I got an invite to Ravelry a week or so ago and I am finding it very cool! I've been entering my projects in there slowly and I'm starting to find that I have way too many WIPs, some that have been languishing since last year! I think I need to put myself on a no buy/no new projects until I can clear out a bunch of these. Hopefully that will be enough motivation! anyone wants to add me as a friend I'm on there as Chaoticbeauty.

Shipwreck Beads calls to me!

So this weekend I was up in Washington meeting with some friends to work on our Snow Angel costumes. I'm knitting the Flickering Flames skirt in Shine Sport. I decided I wanted to get some beads to add to the skirt so we stopped by Shipwreck Beads. The place is huge! I could have spent all day there, as it was since we had to run to the workshop afterwards we didn't get to see everything there. Must plan another trip back!

I decided on sz6 grey AB and clear silver lined beads


with these for drop beads to add to the picot on the bottom of the skirt.


I managed to get the skirt started and nearly 20 rows done (only 100 more to go!).


I'm pretty happy with the beads too as I feel they add just enough sparkle without being too much.

What I wouldn't give for one of these.

BSG spinning wheels, originally uploaded by chaoticbeauty.

Some of the spinning wheels that were available at Black Sheep Gathering. I've been drooling over so many of them. Admittedly part of the reason is I've been having so many issues with learning how to spin on a drop spindle and its probably a futile hope that the spinning on a wheel would be easier. The problem I seem to have with the drop spindle is I can't seem to be able to pat my head while rubbing my stomach at the same time. Most of the time the spindle ends up spinning back on itself and I end up cursing.

Black Sheep Gathering

bluemooncloseup, originally uploaded by chaoticbeauty.

So I went to my very first Black Sheep Gathering and while it was only for a day it was a lot of fun! I will say though being very new to all of this it was a little overwhelming with everything that was going on and all the beautiful yarns and rovings. I picked up this alpaca/wool yarn that I hope to turn into some leg warmers. It would be something nice and warm to wear in the craft room during the winter.