Gardenia's Miscellany

Work In Progress Wednesday - History of Magic OWL Edition

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:20:00 +0000

This term for the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup I proposed a History of Magic OWL. The goal is to spin three yarns to represent three characters. Each yarn needs to be enough to make a pair of adult socks or mittens. The three characters that I chose to represent are Hermione's pet cat Crookshanks, Neville's pet toad Trevor and Ginny's pet puffskein Arnold.

Here is the fiber before sampling.

The first yarn I'm working on is Arnold. The three batts in the upper right are the fiber that is used in this yarn. This is a mix of Shetland, Merino, and Rayon. The final yarn will be a 3-ply. Here is the sample that I made from the batts.

Crookshanks will be the second yarn and it will be a 2-ply. This is the orange fiber, and the sample looked like this.

Trevor is the braid in the center. My plan is to make a 2-ply yarn that is spun fractally. I'll explain the process in a future post when I start spinning it, but for now, here is the sample that I made.

Here is my progress so far. I've started on Arnold. I'm about half way through the pink Rayon/Shetland/Merino batt and will be starting on the grey Shetland/Merino batt next. These fibers are from Hilltop Cloud in Wales and are so soft and easy to spin.

Playing Around With Fiber - Combed Top!

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 20:45:00 +0000

I decided to take a break from organizing everything for the show next weekend to have a little fun. Over the past year I've collected some bits and pieces of fiber and locks. I've seen videos of people using metal combs and they sort of scare me! I've also heard how much people like spinning combed top and I really wanted to try some. So my solution was to try plastic picks that you would use in your hair. Fair warning, I'm really new at processing fiber, so these are just my observations.

Here are the supplies that I gathered up.

For the first batch, I used one of the little bags of fiber and locks from The Critter Ranch, a little of the pink Angelina, and some BFL top. And here is a comb all loaded up.

I was a little worried about static with the wool and the plastic, but it was damp enough here today that static wasn't a problem. Here is the first nest I made from my combs.

I transfered the fiber between combs three times. I wanted some pops of color and didn't want it evenly blended. Here are all of the nests I was able to make from the bag of locks and fiber. They are each about 3 grams.

For my second batch, I had a little bit of unidentified grey wool, so I decided to blend it with some bamboo and some of the Kool-Aid dyed locks.

And here are all of the nests in one pretty picture, about 20 grams total.

And finally, a little bit spun up to see what it looks like.

With the plastic combs I was able to fit about 3 grams of fiber on them comfortably. The tines are a little short, so I also had to be careful not to let the fiber work its way off the top of the comb. If I wanted to process a lot more fiber, I would invest in real combs or a comb and hackle, but this was fun to play with and I'll probably do this again. Even with my beginner experiment, I totally get why people love combed top so much!

Finished Object Friday and Two Shows

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:31:00 +0000

Today's finished object is a hat! This was a test knit for a pattern on Ravelry. She wanted knitters of all experience levels, which was great, because this was my first foray into cables.

They were much easier than I expected. I still need more practice making the stitches even, but overall I'm really happy with this hat.

Also, you can come visit Gardenia's Garb at two shows over the next couple of weeks!

Ashville Viking Festival -- April 28 and 29
The Medieval & Renaissance Faire at The Ohio State University -- May 5

Please stop by and say hello!

Finished Object Friday - CoMC OWL Edition

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:00:00 +0000

My OWL is complete! I have successfully passed Care of Magical Creatures in the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House cup. OWLs are projects that should take you over a month to craft, but should be completed by the end of the three month term.

You can see some work-in-progress photos here. Now, on to the finished object photos!

Here is an action shot of the first pair of fingerless mitts that actually fit. I still need to make a twin for the one large mitt I created.

And here is a full-length shot of the Kensington Mitts from the Jane Austen Knits 2011 magazine. They are very long and surprisingly warm. I had to learn a lot of new techniques to make these.

And one final close-up of the hands of the mitts.

Kool Aid Dyeing

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:51:00 +0000

Seeing this blog post, inspired me to dye some yarn. I've had some Kool-Aid ready to go, so I made a quick trip to the yarn shop to get some plain yarn to dye.

What started out as this:

Turned into this:

The first step was to wind a ball and dye it. Red seemed like a good choice.

The ball was wound fairly tight, so the dye only traveled part of the way through. This is the stage that I call "Zombies Ate My Yarn."

There was a little too much white for my taste, so I decided to rewrap the ball and use another color for the inside.

Blue seemed like a good choice, even if it didn't want to photograph well.

This caused:

A nice mix of red, white, and blue. My husband named it "Bomb Pop."

Happy National Crochet Month

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 01:56:00 +0000

March is National Crochet Month! How are you going to celebrate?

This weekend I crocheted a cupcake. Both yarns are from the Phat Fiber sampler box I picked up in December. The chocolate is a sample from Play at Life and the icing is Cherry Chip from Tomorrow Farm.

This cupcake has a secret...

What I Learned on Winter Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:45:00 +0000

In an earlier post, you saw the start of a couple of projects. On our trip to California, I knew that there would be plenty of time for knitting, so the projects came with me. During the six hour plane trip, I made it through a lot of the first of the LTYC Sock Weight Fingerless Mittens. Over the next few days, I finished it! So it was time to start on the second one, right? Apparently, that wasn't a good decision.

I worked on the second mitten for a few days, but I really had a lot of time to work on it while I was waiting for an appointment at the spa. I relaxed and knitted my way through the second mitten. I was really relaxed...

The mitten in the middle was the second one I started. The ribbing at the wrist is the same size as the two complete mittens, but do you see what happened in the middle? I was at the spa. Same yarn, same needles, one really relaxed knitter. The gauge was off and it is huge!

So the moral to the story is that knitting and relaxation do not mix. And measure your gauge throughout the project. Now I need to use a larger set of needles to make a matching glove.

Finished Object Friday -- Ocean Yarn

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:49:00 +0000

Here is the first sample that I have spun from the December Phat Fiber box. This is about 20 yards of 2 ply yarn at about 15 wpi so it comes in between sport and fingering weight.

We just returned from a vacation by the ocean and I was able to spin part of this ocean themed sample as we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway.

The colors are almost a perfect match!

This was a Sparkle Cloud called "Seaside" from Moonwood Farm. The fibers in it are alpaca, various wools and maybe milk, bamboo and or soysilk. It also "contains bunny fluff."

The instructions said to card, felt, or spin as is, so I chose to spin as is. It was a challenge to change from fiber to fiber because they were not all combined smoothly, but over all I was happy with the consistency of the single. There were not too many areas of thick and thin yarn.

WIP Wednesday - CoMC OWL Edition

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:40:00 +0000

Thanks to help from my SIL, over the Summer I started to learn how to knit. I decided that I wanted more practice knitting, so this term I proposed an OWL in the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup (HPKCHC) group on Ravelry.

I want to make a beautiful pair of fingerless mitts from the Jane Austen Knits 2011 magazine. This is a very advanced pattern for me. It has a lot of techniques that I haven't tried yet, so a simpler pattern is in order so that I can practice.

This LTYC Sock Weight Fingerless Mittens is perfect. It starts with a simple ribbing and has a thumb gusset that is shaped. Here is the swatch that I submitted with my proposal. The yarn used is Zwerger Garn Opal Harry Potter in the Harry and Ron colorway.

This is the swatch for the Kensington Mitts from the JA Knits magazine. Max decided that he needed to make an appearance in the picture. This yarn is Araucania Itata Multy that was from a yarn tasting at at LYS.

After about six tries, the gauge swatch for this came out the exact size for the pattern!

I've found Phat Fiber!

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:05:00 +0000

A few months ago, I learned about Phat Fiber through Ravelry. Each month, contributors send in samples of their products. These are put into a box and sold.

It takes some luck and timing to snag a box. I've tried for three months and I was finally able to get one! I chose a mixed box that has samples of yarn and also fiber to spin.

My box contained samples from:

All for Love of Yarn - Pattern
Play at Life - Fiber
Moonwood Farm - Fiber
The Alpaca Legacy - Yarn (and a ducky!)
Out of Step Dyeworks - Fiber
Mad Angel Creations - Fiber
Fiber Fancy - Fiber
Copper Corgi - Bulky Yarn
Lanitium ex Machina - Yarn
Taylored Fibers - Yarn
Bitsy Knits - Yarn
Funhouse Fibers - Angelina Ornament
The Dyeing Arts - Fiber
Tomorrow Farm - Yarn
A Million Stars - Yarn
The Sheepy Kitty - Silk Hankies
Wild Fiber Arts - Stitch Marker
Caliope’s Fibre - Stitch Marker
Winemakers Sister - Stitch Marker

I've been wanting to get this blog going again, so I am going to post items that I make from this box to get me started.

Halloween Sale!

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:37:00 +0000

My Etsy shop is part of the EtsyVeg team Halloween sale. We're offering 10% off any item tagged "Halloween" in the shop.

Also, if you purchase an item from a participating shop you could win a great prize! Just leave a comment on the EtsyVeg blog post.

For more information on this Spooktacular event visit the EtsyVeg team blog.

Hufflepuff Project of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:57:00 +0000

My current crochet project has been picked as a project of the week on the Huffleblog!

I've been sorted into the Hufflepuff house as a part of the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup on Ravelry. It's been a fun group to hang out with!

Endorsed By Etsy Team Columbus!

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:56:00 +0000

Did you know one of our items was endorsed by Etsy Team Columbus?! Check out this blog post for more in formation!

Custom Orders

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 21:59:00 +0000

Last weekend at the Ashville Viking Festival I took a few custom orders. Here are a couple of hats for a mother and daughter.

The mother wanted a grey hat. I found this lovely grey yarn from Dark Horse Yarns.

The daughter is a pink girl (like me!) and I found this great hot pink yarn. I added a drawstring so she can adjust the size if she needs to.

Three, count them Three!

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 22:38:00 +0000

I have three upcoming shows! Please come out and say hello!

April 24-25 Ashville Viking Festival

May 1 Ohio State University Medieval and Renaissance Festival

May 22-23 2nd Annual Etsy Team Columbus Eco-Chic Craftacular

Crochet Sweater and Other Projects

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 23:23:00 +0000

For Christmas I received a Jo-Ann's gift card (thanks, Beth!) and here is what I did with it...

This is the Moderne Jacket pattern from Lion Brand.com. I used Lion Brand Jiffy in blush, combined with Vanna's Glamour in topaz.

Here is a closer view of the front.

And a closer view of the back.

I've also added several new items to the Etsy store. Take a look!

New Cloak!

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:06:00 +0000

Here's a new cloak that was just finished today. It is based on the cloak that I have on Etsy.

This is a shot of the back with the hood down.

And a close-up of the inner lining.

And a full-length shot with the hood up.

And one of the back with the hood up. I've flipped the front point around to show off the lining.

The measurements for the cloak are:

26" from the bottom of the hood to the center back
34" from the bottom of the hood to the side points
24 1/2" from the hood to the bottom front

Fonts Available For Engraving

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:47:00 +0000

Here are some of the fonts we have available for our engraved items at randw.etsy.com. We can engrave using almost any true-type font, like Comic Sans or Helvetica. Some of the fonts look better than others so, of course, we use the nicer ones more often. Here are our most popular fonts:

Click on the image for a larger version. Examples of other fonts are available by request.

More Treasury Fun!

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:52:00 +0000

It seems like all I am talking about lately is the treasury. Julie Webb made a treasury for the May EtsyVeg challenge "Please Stop Raining." She included my pink patchwork hat!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=55821

I created a Treasury!

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Sat, 30 May 2009 13:39:00 +0000

And it's full of Scotties! Check it out:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=61808

Etsy Veg Team Blog!

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:35:00 +0000

Check out the Etsy Veg Team Blog! There are a lot of things going on. Our Flowered Regency dress has been included in a treasury.

Gardenia's Garb is also one of the featured stores on the blog as well!

The Bracelet is done!

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:50:00 +0000

I finally have a complete beaded crochet bracelet! Closing it off was much easier than I expected it to be.

Some of the "Wall of Bloomers" have been posted on Etsy. Check it out!

A Fun Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Sat, 16 May 2009 13:27:00 +0000

Lots of things are going on this weekend! I'm going to the EcoChic Craftacular later today.

WarmandFuzzyBaby included me in a bright yellow treasury. (See it before it expires!) http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=58533

Thursday I made another try at creating a beaded crochet bracelet. I've tried this I don't know how many times and I've never been able to get past the first few rows. I have over an inch done already! Now, let's see if I can actually join it together once I'm done.

And the first roses are appearing on the rose bushes.

The first rose of the year.

A pretty rosebud.

Hats and Flowers, Oh My!

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Tue, 12 May 2009 00:22:00 +0000

Newly listed! Plain tan flat cap that is just waiting to be decorated. As a bonus, I've included your choice of a flower that has a pin attached to the back.

Don't forget to go vote in the Etsy Team Columbus EcoChic challenge.

And coming soon... The wall of bloomers!

Lot's of Things Happening Over at Etsy

noreply@blogger.com (GardeniaPatti) — Sun, 10 May 2009 18:09:00 +0000

Lot's of things have been going on over at Etsy. First, I've made a new shop for my parent's products. They have a trophy and engraving shop and some people like to label their products with engraved tags.

Here are some things that you can find at RandW.etsy.com:

They've also made some wood plaques that can be used for shop signs o

r personalized for whatever else you need.

I've joined a couple of Etsy teams. Etsy Team Columbus and the EtsyVeg Team. Both teams have challenges going on this month and I entered them.

Etsy Team Columbus has an EcoChic challenge going on in honor of the EcoChic Craftacular on May 16th and 17th. I've submitted a blue muffin cap using recycled denim and organic cotton twill.

Voting is taking place right now!

Here's a similar hat I created for the EtsyVeg Team. The theme is Spring at Last. Flowers always make me think of spring, so here is a pink hat that reminds me of flowers.

To see the entries for this contest, search for the keyword pleasestopraining on Etsy.