CraftyKix

Sneak Peek

2012-02-11T18:32:00.001-05:00

Sneak peek of a project to come later this month....

Easiest Arm Warmers Ever

2012-02-05T16:12:00.000-05:00

Here I have some socks that I've worn out. They have holes in the heels and worn thin in the toes. So I'm going to turn them in to armwarmers.

First, put the sock on your hand. (you washed it first, right? RIGHT?) Then mark where you'd like the arm warmers to end. Now take them off, and then cut where you marked.

There, arm warmers!

Little Miss Bear

2012-01-18T11:28:00.000-05:00

It's Miss B's Half Birthday coming up, so being the crafty Nana, I made a little something to send down to her.

She's gonna be a bear!

It's made out of fleece, with flannel in the ears, and lined with cotton. It didn't take long, but I did have to do the ears by hand because the machine just wasn't cooperating.

She's going to be so cute! I can't wait for the picture of her wearing it!

This Post Socks

2012-01-15T17:19:00.000-05:00

I did it!!!

I finished the knitted socks!

I didn't give up!

They look the same!

[medium crappy phone pic for now, better picture later!]

I've learned decreases, increases, knitting with 4 needles in the round, and how to pick up and carry a dropped stitch from 20 rows earlier.

+1 Craft Skill upgrade!

Plexus

2012-01-13T12:58:00.000-05:00

There's a lot of art on Pinterest. This one caught my eye, because it's craft materials.

Source: mocoloco.com via Karen on Pinterest

I urge you to go read the artist statement as to why he used thread for his work.

Plexus no. 7, 8 & 9

Craftolutionary

2012-01-10T17:33:00.000-05:00

I was listening to the latest YarnCraft podcast today, and being the first show of the new year, they were talking about yarncrafting goals and resolutions for the year.

While I made some goals for the year for my life as a whole, I didn't really make detailed plans for my craft life.

I did want to finish the knit socks, make jam and biscuits, and work on (and hopefully finish) the Luna Sweater.

But what else?

I need to get the Rachel Scarf pattern finished and published so that it can do what it's meant to do.

This year I would like to do more sewing. I'm off to a good start, having made something for the grandbaby (will post that soon) and a bag. Last year I made some pouches and my wedding dress. This year I would like to make some shirts.

I want to continue knitting, but I'm not in that big of a fury for that. I think that when I finish the second sock, I will try to make Calorimetry again. I think I understand the short row concept a little better and won't give up as easily.

I want to do more crochet. Projects yet to be determined. I think some of that should be some charity crochet work.

I want to improve my photography. I will be learning more of the manual settings on my camera, and I want to apply that knowledge to taking better project photos.

I have big ideas.
I just need to put the time and focus into making them happen.

Phannie Revisited

2012-01-06T11:32:00.000-05:00

Back about 2 years ago, I made the Phannie hat from Berocco.

It came out ok, but I didn't dig the band or the way it came out, so surprise surprise, I didn't wear it often.

I used the same yarn for a different project and after I realized I had enough left over from that and Mom's present this year, I decided I was going to frog back and try again.

So I frogged back about 6 rows, and started over, this time adding a repeat of rows 15, 16, and 17, as well as doing the band with a bigger hook (I have big hair, it takes a lot to compete with it).

Result?
Success! I like the drape and fit much better this time around.

Today's lesson:
No project is permanent and you CAN go back and fix things later.

Stick With It

2012-01-04T12:49:00.000-05:00

I've also been spending a lot of time on Pinterest and I found where someone had made a graphic of this quote. It's from Ira Glass, host of This American Life. While I find the show sometimes a little snotty and hipstery, this is a good thing to read about staying with your creativity. I hope it enlightens you a little bit, as it did for me.

Source: littleremindersoflove.blogspot.com via Karen on Pinterest

Ending the Year on a Craft Note

2011-12-31T17:21:00.000-05:00

So I have here the last two crafts of the year.

Well, there's one more, but it needs some tweaks and finishing, so that'll be next year's post.

I gave these two gifts for Christmas.

First, I made the Ribbon Cowl Necklace for my Mom. Yes, I know another cowl, but she keeps requesting them, so I'll keep on making them. This was in an issue of Crochet! magazine. I made it with Red Heart Soft yarn.

Second, I made something for my husband.

I saw one of these on Craftster or somewhere and thought it was cute, so I whipped up my own design.

It's not just a rice bag, it's a phone holder!

I'm actually kind of proud of this one. It didn't come out quite as angular as I would have liked, but if I'm going to make another one I think I'll use interfacing.

Happy New Year! Here's to more crafting in 2012!

Happy Birthday Craftykix!

2011-12-12T09:28:00.000-05:00

Four years ago today, I made my very first post at Craftykix.

Since then there's been a lot of projects!

I hope you all have enjoyed what you've read as much as I have enjoyed writing.

FOUR MORE YEARS!
FOUR MORE YEARS!
FOUR MORE YEARS!!

CraftyKix Mega Holiday Prep Post

2011-12-10T13:23:00.001-05:00

Hey gang!

So, it's the Holiday season, the time of year for crafters to go nuts!

First, decorations.

In the latest Charlottesville Crafter I tackle making your own ball ornaments.

Don't forget sewn ornaments too. Here's last years tutorial on making fleece ornaments.

Second, gifts.

Need a gift for a crafter? Check out the previous issues of my Gifts for Crafters guides.

Need to make a gift? You've still got time to make a hat, a cowl, a small wallet, a scarf, some fleece mittens, a pillow, an amigurumi toy, marble magnets, some ornaments, some zip pouches, a tote bag, some earrings. It doesn't take a lot of time to make something cool and unique for someone special.

What am I making for the holidays? Not a lot, actually. I have one handmade gift that I need to finish. School and work really sucked away my time this year. Next year I should be done with school and will be able to plan ahead and start sooner than the week of Thanksgiving.

Shiny!!

2011-12-06T17:05:00.000-05:00

It's officially "Holiday Decorating" season.

I haven't had a chance to think about it yet. Exams are over this week and then I'll think about crafting and decorating and whatnot.

BUT, my friend Linda has been busy. She made us tinsel trees!

So until I dig the Holiday Box out from the closet, this is decking our ~~hall~~ kitchen counter.

And then after Christmas, I get some involuntary time off, so I'll have plenty of time to dig into the fabric stash and so forth.

I'm trying to think of it as 80 hours of free time instead of grumping about the lack of funds that will result from it.

Attitude is everything, right?

7 Topics that...

2011-11-28T13:52:00.000-05:00

Are sure fire 100% going to spark heated debate upon any craft message board:

1. Copyright in general.

2. Copyright with regards to patterns and designers and modifications and your aunt Edna's left foot on every other Sunday.

3. Etsy.

4. Anything crafted which depicts a penis, boobs or naughty language (won't someone please think of the children??!?!?!!!!! who by the way are not legally allowed to have an account on most message boards OR FACEBOOK)

5. "The best" anything - technique, yarn, store, etc.

6. "They stole my idea!" Although this will initially garner you sympathy, someone will always somehow take up for the thief, which somehow always leads back to the copyright debates.

7. Selling handmade items.

8. Cats. Who would have thunk it??

Accomplished, halfway

2011-11-21T09:49:00.000-05:00

You guys! I did it! I knitted a sock!!!!

And here is a view from the sole.

Now I just need to start the other one.
It will happen, but I need to work on some other things for a bit. I'll probably get started on it after Christmas is done.

Sweating the Sweaters

2011-11-20T11:22:00.000-05:00

I hqve made two crocheted sweaters so far. One is the Unseamly Sweater from Happy Hooker, and one is the Aqua Aloha that was a free pattern from Caron.com

The problem with both of these sweaters is that neither one of them fit.

The Aloha is too big. It was the first thing I made with my wooden H hook, and my gauge was too big. I can wear it, it just looks dumpy. I have some of the yarn left, I think my best bet to salvage it for myself is to cut it down the middle of the front and steek it to make a cardigan.

The Unseamly was made for a version of myself that was smaller. The sleeves are still long enough, but the waist is not. And of course, with the Unseamly, there is shaping in the waist with a different stitch pattern. I was not a fan of this shaping, but this was a time before I knew the power of modifying patterns.

It's done from the hem up, so there's no real way to frog back and redo the waist like I could have done if it had been done from the top down. I do not believe I even have any of that yarn left, so there goes the steeking idea.

I guess my choices are either frog the whole thing or find someone tinier than me who would appreciate a handmade sweater. Sigh.

Helpful, yet addicting

2011-11-09T18:13:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago my friend sent me a link/invite to Pinterest.

I signed up to check it out, knowing full well what kinds of rabbit holes I was going to fall down. So from the bowels of the rabbit transit system, I say, this is cool!

Or course, I started 2 crafty pin boards. One is for crafty things I think are just nice to see, and one of crafty ideas I think are super awesome an want to bookmark to try one day.

Go take a look. I've been trying to limit my pin surfing to 10 minutes or less at a time, and I've still found tons of awesome things.

KMay's Crafty Ideas and Things to Try

Source: icanfindthetime.blogspot.com via Karen on Pinterest

Cold Snap

2011-11-05T18:12:00.000-04:00

So over the weekend we had a bit of cold weather. Charlottesville was fortunate in that we didn't get a bunch of snow and the sun was actually shining in the afternoon.

Nonetheless it was COLD!!!!!

So I took advantage of a Michael's coupon, risked my life to go to the horrible shopping center where it's located and bought some Bernat Colorama and made myself a white hat like I've been wanting.

I wanted thick and nubbly and cables. It meets the requirements but I'm not quite satisfied. It very well may get frogged and redone before the winter is over, but for now it will do. I wore it on our walk today and was glad. Brrr!

Interesting Internets for October

2011-10-24T18:00:00.000-04:00

Once again it's time for Charlottesville Crafter!
This month, I bring back the Charging Station.

Since I'm linking, here's some other cool stuff I've found this month:

A while back I posted some things to consider when you're deciding to DIY your wedding. I was doing some surfing and found that 100 Layer Cake made a handy PDF flowchart for whether you should DIY or not.

Craftzine always finds the coolest stuff. This time it's knit & crochet jewelry that was then cast into silver

Sewing Daisies finished a blanket that's a Quilt/Afghan hybrid.

I used to make stuff just by draping and pinning and seeing what happened. I wish I had a dress form so I could still do that now. A guest post over at Gertie's is doing a tutorial along those lines.

Wild Olive has a tutorial on how to make a necklace from a vintage spool of thread. Kind of makes me wonder what kind of stuff my mom has left in her stash back home...

Craftzine also highlighted this tutorial for making t-shirts bigger. I was all set to come home and try it on my tiger t-shirt that's too small, and then realized that it got taken to Goodwill in the last bag of stuff. Sometimes I'm too organized and screw myself over. But maybe the next time I go thrifting, I won't pass up something cute just because it's a tiny bit snug and give it a shot.

10 Ways to Keep Your T-shirt Alive

2011-10-20T11:13:00.000-04:00

The t shirt is a magical thing. It can be a billboard or a treasured item.

But what do you do with them when you're done wearing them? I hate wasting things I've spent good money for, and sometimes it may be the only thing to remind me of something or some place.

You can make tons of things with old T-shirt. Recycling or upcycling, you don't have to just throw them away.

-Make pillows. Huggable or stylish. It just takes a little thread and some stuffing.

-Make a quilt. All those shirts from all those things you did? Every race you ever ran or show you were in? You can keep the memory alive and yourself warm at the same time.

-Carry a tote - sew up the bottom, cut off the top and add some straps!

-It's cut out to be a tank top - it just takes a little modification to get a cute tank out of a baggy tee.

-Or a skirt. Or tube top. Depending on the shirt, you can have a cute beach cover up with a few scissor snips.

-Everybody needs rags- obviously for the shirts you don't care so much about. Keep your bathroom clean without buying paper towels. Bonus - They're washable and reusable, but you can toss them if they're disgusting and not feel bad.

-Baby/kids clothes. This one is a little more time and thought intensive, but how cute would it be to have Junior snuggled up in a onesie made from Dad's old favorite shirt?

-Kitties and doggies like shirts, especially to sleep on. (Why do you think cats like crawling into the laundry basket so much?) Make them a pet bed!

-Make your own undies instead of paying Victoria. I've seen posts where people have done it but haven't tried it myself. But just think, no uncomfortable break-in period before they get soft and comfy!

-If it's truly a memento, frame it. Make it art for your home.

No t-shirt has to die before you finish loving it!

Trusty Old Friend

2011-10-18T11:26:00.000-04:00

I've posted about Serge before, but I don't think I've ever talked about my regular sewing machine.

She's been with me a long time, but doesn't have a name.

I've had this machine since I was a teenager, which means it's at least 13 years old. My aunt gave it to me for Christmas one year. Knowing what I know now, it was one of those "prepare our niece for future home life" gifts which while I appreciated it, but didn't really know what I was going to do with it. It got used sporadically. Every once in a while I'd beg some fabric out of Mom's stash or hit the remnants bin (thrifty habits start early) and try stuff. It was all mostly experimentation with really weird stretchy shiny 70s-esque polyester (which by the way, I will NEVER work with again). While I had an interest in fashion, it never really became a designing tool, as I got busy with band and boys and other things.

It came with me when I moved out, and sewed the curtains for the kitchen in my first place.

As I've gotten older, I've found more projects and my own creativity, and she's become a vital component of the CraftyKix empire.

She's only got two kinds of stitches and three ways to be adjusted, but that hasn't stopped me yet. A little oil now and then and we're happy campers.

October 15th

2011-10-15T12:33:00.001-04:00

Out and About

2011-10-10T09:56:00.000-04:00

Saturday I had the chance to visit the semi-annual Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival, out in Crozet. I've missed the last 3 or 4 and wanted to make sure I went, just to keep up with what's going on in the arts and crafts world.

It was great weather for it - sunny and warm enough I didn't have to walk around in a bulky jacket, and didn't rain.

As usual there were tons of vendors. Lots of photography, woodworking, pottery and jewelry. I saw more quilting than I did the last time I went, and more garments. I'm pretty sure that I didn't miss anything, but I only saw ONE vendor with yarncrafted products!

I was really impressed with the presentation of lots of stuff. People didn't rely on the same old boring draped tables. There were things hanging, displays with shelves and baskets. One booth had the frame of her booth decked out with a crocheted tasseled border around the top and a lighted jewelry display case - classy! Another vendor, instead of using the usual velvet for displaying jewelry, laid her things out on trays of coffee beans! Very inventive.

As I usually do with craft shows, I made a tour of everything, then went back to the booths that intrigued me or had something I wanted. Yes, I did think a few times "I could make that*." I did get a few ideas, but mostly just enjoyed seeing what everyone else made. (Same thing happens when I cruise the crafts competition section at the fair.)

I try to buy things that I know that I won't ever make or that are completely spectacular. This time I bought a new star ornament. It's woodcarving, which is something that I am sure I will never try to do.

All together, it was a pretty good time. I'll have to try and get some company to go with me to the Spring edition!

*At a festival a long time ago, a vendor had a sign that said "sure you could make this....but will you?"

Sew Spendy or Thrifty?

2011-10-03T11:32:00.000-04:00

When I was little, my mom made a lot of my clothes. I think part of it may have been because it was cheaper, but it was probably more due to "hey I'm home all day with this small child and going a little bonkers, I need something to keep my sanity and hey look clothes." I'll have to ask her about that one day. She made me all my Easter dresses and Christmas dresses and the dress I wore to my sisters wedding, and also my sister's wedding dress. She was good. Then she went back to work, and I got to the age where "homemade" was eeewwww and that was kind of the end of that. Life moved on.

While I do own both regular sewing machine and serger, I do not currently make my own clothes. I modify some shirts, I made a wedding dress and a skirt or two, but it's not a regular thing. I would rate myself as an advanced beginner when it comes to clothes sewing. It's something I'd LIKE to get better at, but until 3 or 4 hours is magically added on to my day, it's going to have to wait.

The Simple Dollar has been doing a series on whether buying vs. doing yourself saves money. He just did one asking Does Making Your Clothes Save You Money?

It's an interesting read.

Mom had a huge fabric stash, so we didn't really have to go out and buy lots of fabric, so it probably saved. Buying the material and notions and pattern for my dress was significantly cheaper than spending even $150 on a dress in a store. But everything else so far has probably cost me money.

How has it worked out for you?

State of the Craft

2011-09-29T09:27:00.000-04:00

Every so often I like to step back and take a look at my crafting life and take stock, you know? Being that it's my birthday week and I'm in a period of reflection anyway, it's a good a time as any.

Currently, I am in a period of low crafting. Mostly it's due to lack of time, and it really sucks. I do have a couple projects that are getting a tiny bit of attention here and there. There's the sock, the Luna Sweater that's been put on hold, and the odd washcloth or two that occupies my hands while I'm feeling twitchy.

This is seasonal. I know that once I'm done with school (for good) in May (hopefully), I will have a lot of free time back, and I hope to fill it with creating.

I have a few more projects planned for Charlottesville Crafter through the end of the year. I'm enjoying doing that. It's been nice to have a platform that reaches a few more people than just the blog here, although sometimes it is a stretch to think of a project that I can make simple so that anyone (including novices) can do and get decent results. I have no current plans to stop that, and hopefully CW doesn't either!

THIS blog will continue, of course, no matter what, unless something dire happens. It may be slim pickings around here at points, but it'll stay.

What else will I do?

I don't know if I'd open up another online store or not. It would depend how crazy I get with the making of things, once that returns.

In one of the recent episodes of Getting Loopy, Mary Beth mentioned that there needed to be more crochet podcasts. I agree. However, that will not be me. Mostly because I really hate hearing myself on a recording. Not to mention I think I convey myself better through writing than speaking. Ask most of the people I talk to on a regular basis - there's lots of"um"s, trying to think of words, making up words, and strange hand gestures. I communicate better when I have a chance to think and edit. :)

The Universe has been throwing me a lot of "Do what you love and everything else will follow" messages lately.
If crafting were to be The Thing to Do, I think I'd be ok with that. I'd be more than ok with that.

How do I make that happen? Beats me, but I think I'm ready. Got any ideas?

As always, I appreciate everyone that stops by. Maybe you came for a tutorial and kept reading, maybe you clicked over from Charlottesville Crafter, maybe you're a friend of mine. Either way, thanks. If you have any comments, concerns or project suggestions for me, please let me know. I do read all the comments!

September Wrapup

2011-09-26T16:30:00.000-04:00

Greetings, lovely crafty people!

It's that time of month again, and Charlottesville Crafter is up! This month we are doing homegrown wall art, like I have hanging in my dining room!

Also, I got a little bit done on the sock while we were traveling last week. I'm now starting the heel.

Life is still crazy, but I do have some things in mind that will show up here eventually!

Thanks for stopping by and reading, I really do appreciate you. :)