The Accidental Crafter - My So Called Crafty Life

So what are you doing?

2011-09-14T22:43:00.000+01:00

well, my life has seemed to gotten away from me again! I have been busy making, mainly for the countless parties that a 5 year old goes to.

The purdy cats

Grrr Arrrggg, you know this isn't Mutant Enemy productions

I have however made a trip to Glossop to go to Skeins where I picked up a georgous hand dyed skein that will one day be a shawl made with filet crochet - when I have learnt the stitch, that will come later, it will be a special treat after I have passed my theory driving, yes I know it's been a while, I should of done it when I was younger but you know what? I'm doing it now and I'm going to go all o'er, see the family in London. and Somerset and I will be sorted. So these are all the things I will be learning when it's done ;) Oh I also want to learn Bavarian crochet, it looks so cool :)

The things that I have learnt

Broomstick Lace
Curly hair for a doll
Tunisian crochet, aka Afghan stitch

That should all keep me busy for a while :)

Firefly - Big Damn Heroes quote embroidery

2011-08-13T22:41:00.001+01:00

Firefly - Big Damn Heroes quote embroidery
Originally uploaded by spike_fan

How cool is this!

Messenger Bag

2011-07-24T12:50:00.001+01:00

Messenger Bag
Originally uploaded by Moon2fire

My attempt for making a 21st birthday present, I think it came out very well considering I was really anxious about it and I lined it too which I enjoyed too, it's been a while since I have used my machine now I just need to find a project that I need to use it for ;)

So what have I been up to?

2011-06-08T10:56:00.000+01:00

Well I think I made a slight mistake in the fact that every time that the youngest has had 3 birthdays for a school friends then I have made a knitted item (cats for girls and dinosaurs for boys, I know I'm going with stereotypes but it seemed like I could do those projects) anyway, it came to a head where I had the deadline coming ever closer, and I have never been very good at those! but the good news was that they got finished on time, yay for me :D so I'm a little bemused but chuffed that I have and now feel more invigorated to finish mt waist coat that I said that I was talking a break form because it was doing my nut in.

Current projects:

Monster eye slippers

These are going well although I have stumbled on the pattern a little.

Another dinosaur

To be done for two weeks time

Griffindor blanket

It's been reminded about, and I am still on my first row of squares!

Grenada Blanket

It should be finished by now!

Crofter Socks

Still on the first one but I have a plan for when it's time to do the toe, I will put the first sock onto a stitch holder then do the second sock so when it's time to finish off the second sock I will be able to do them together - genius.

Finishing off the fronts of my waistcoat, I think I'm going to be using basket stitch if I can work out how many stitches I need :)

Finished projects:

DS Case

2 cats

2 dinosaur

And since I have last posted, it has been another birthday for me, luckily I have been lucky to get going to a Glee concert in Manchester, which means I get to tart myself up and feel like a teenager, even though I never felt like that then ;) and different books, (which I have linked to at the bottom), a sponsor a sheep, smellies and Pirates of the Caribbean Lego :D

Today is some culture....

2011-05-03T12:30:00.000+01:00

For me anyway, I think he is one of the people I would of liked to have met as well as Gene Kelly, & Bing Crosby.....oh and Sammy Davis Jr ;). Here is Louis Armstrong with ' Dream a little dream of me'

What a lovely idea....a song for the day

2011-05-02T13:34:00.001+01:00

I got the idea from Product Of Loviness, a blog that I followed from Ravelry.

Today my song is Bruno Mars, The Lazy Song. It's not often that I like a song in the charts, well, to be quite honest I never know who is as they don't do Top Of The Pops any more.

ETA: I have just seen the official video and I nearly fell of my chair for nearly laughing, see what you think.

 

Something new from Callum

2011-04-25T17:22:00.000+01:00

Webisode that has the potential to be as good as 'Community', to be quite honest I am quite excited about it, at the moment I think there is a little bit of a funding issue but if you candonate or even just put it up on your Facebook, Twitter or emailing it to your friends, as many people as possible should see it, I think it's going to be great.

Season one quotes, Community

2011-04-05T00:31:00.000+01:00

I'm sure Jeff Winger would be mortified if he was being bunched up with Glee quotes but it's all in good fun :) Well they all have funny lines, I had to put everyone in :)

1) Word of advice: If an Asian man says he's a Spanish teacher, it's not racist to ask for proof. Dean Pelton

2) Holy macaroni with pepper jack. Shirley

3) I will find a loophole...then I'll kill you. Ben Chang

4) Come with me if you don't wanna get paint on you. Abed

5) You're more of a fun vampire. You don't suck blood, you just suck. Troy

6) To victory, it feels unfamiliar but it tastes like chicken. Jeff

7) I may not eat meat, but I'm not gonna eat that injustice. Britta

8) Well guess what, handsome hobo. Your gravy train's leaving the station. Annie [to Jeff]

9) I say things others won't. That has value. Pierce

The Craft (1996)

2011-04-04T23:27:00.000+01:00

This not a film that is all about crafts but about a newcomer to a new catholic school who falls in with the wrong crowd, now I don't know what it means by the wrong crowd because they are all witches and this is established very early on in the film, okay the first scene is with pentagram and all but to me it was more about teenage girls and how they interact with each other. The main character is Sarah who is played by Robin Tunney, at first I thought it as Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl) but then realised it was more along the lines of The Mentalist that I had seen her. There is also Neve Campbell (Scream) but the two other girls I didn't recognise

Now I would of seen this film when it came out but this was the year that my first child was born and I have only just got round to see it, how poor is that!

This is a good film if you want to knit although I was a bit freaked out with the finale and I was hiding behind my knitting - think that was just me because I'm not to keen on the whole creepy crawly factor.

I give this star rating - ****

Teacher, mother, secret lover.

2011-03-31T18:11:00.001+01:00

Glee - Season two has been filled with special guests like Gwyneth Paltrow (Sliding Doors) John Stamos (ER) and songs that have been their own and even Miss Pilsbury got her singing.

Psych - I know it's on a break at the moment but I can't wait till the season kicks off to see what Gus and Shawn get up to, we find out last time that Carlton 'Lassie' Lassiter cottons on to the fact that Juliet and Shawn are dating, now that was a classic!

Community - What can I say about this show, it is witty, touching and downright hilarious with Chevy Chase, the first one that I recognised and the rest of the cast who lighten my day, especially Abed and Troy doing their raps. This season there have been special guest Betty White (Golden Girls), Iqbal Theba (Glee) & Levar Burton (Star Trek)

'Pop, Pop'

Castle - is always a joy with an excellent cast and judging from the work that Ryan and Esposito are doing Beckett will be retiring off to make babies with Castle ;) well I'm not sure that the writers will be up for that but I am sure that there should be a transitional episode where they turn into Hart to Hart, Oh wait I was thinking about 'Chuck', now that seems to be not sure where it is going :(

The Big Bang Therory - I have started to re watch second season only because it's really good and it gives me opportunity to knit and I know for a fact that I have totally missed some of the jokes and still laugh at the ones that I have forgotten about.

Tried and tested shows recently - with star ratings (5 Good-1 Bad)
Justified - *
The **** my Dad says - **
Episodes - *****Episodes (Go here to get)
Mrs Brown's Boys - ****
White Van Man - ****

Kick Ass (2010)

2011-02-16T11:44:00.000Z

I got told this was a really good movie but set aside from Nicholas Cage in a comic role, I found it to be the best teen movie of this year, bearing in mind that I had only seen one of the films that had been nominated for BAFTAS this year, so there have been so many films that I have not seen from the past like ...well anyway, I can't think of any off hand but I am sure I'll be able to make a list.

There are four superheroes Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and of course Kick Ass (Aaron Johnson), who all have agendas weather it is revenge, love for her father, acceptance or just want someone to notice them, the movie is transparent, you even get to realise what the end of the plot is going to be but having said all this, there was a good script and choreographed flawlessly, although there was too much shooting and swearing for me.....there was also the child endagerment scene which shocked me for at least ten minutes while watching the film.

Dexter Fletcher is also in this film although it's not very long, it's nice to see him getting roles both here and in the States, versitility is his name :)

Summary: Good for teenagers, not for me but if asked, will suggest to others between 15-18.

7/10

Head

2011-01-26T15:19:00.001Z

Head
Originally uploaded by Moon2fire

Woo-hoo, i have done a head, now the rest of it :)

The dreaded weed

2011-01-20T09:56:00.000Z

This is the last day that I will be buying cigarrettes, well I hope it is, my heart isn't really in it but it is a case of having to, there is no money, the kids (on my say so beforehand) tell me off every time I go out, the house is a state - well even moreso and hubby says he's too old to be dealing with a smoking partner...so that's that!

All I need now is a project that I can do that doesn't require a lot of thought, a stack of wool and will keep my out of trouble...any ideas? okay, I'm sure that I will think of something, there is always My Shops and Frontierville ;)

In another couple of months and I'll be able to say I'm not a blogger

2011-01-17T22:38:00.000Z

Yes, now is the time that I hold my head in shame to know that I haven't even bothered lookin in on my little blogger, i know it has been a streesful time for me but there should be no excuse for neglect :(

So, there was the lead up to Christmas, my uncle phoning me to say that he had been in hospital for three weeks before and he thought I should know that there was a query from the doctors that he had lung cancer, I get down to London and they confirm it, then the next thing (although I was fully briefed) I know he's in a hospice and they are taking good care of him. Everyone is saying their goodbyes and muppett that I am can't even say three words to him.

He passed away just before Christmas Day.

He is the last of my living family by blood and it is hard to know that no matter if I didn't agree with him and think his ideas strange, it will be the last time I can talk to him properly.....I even made him some boobies which I would of not done for anyone else but him, (subsequently got lost because i don't think he knew they were his) hubby asked me if I could make him a pair even after I accidentally left a pin in it which stabbed him - I'm trying to go with adversion therapy for him ;)

Apart from that my crafting stuff has pretty much holted, I seem to be spending most of my time smoking, I know it's a failing but I couldn't help myself with all that was going on, and I had to deal with Londoners which isn't one of my best past times as the best of times. I had bought some wool to make another jumper for my nephew but both him and his sister said they didn't like them and they wanted them to look different - I can't be doing unappreciative kids at the moment, I already have three on my doorstep already! Maybe I'll do socks for the nephew instead.

A Scottish Clan Over Six Hundred Years of Naval and Military History

Lax behaviour will not be tolerated

2010-11-22T17:16:00.000Z

Yet again I have lapsed with my blogging, even though I have been quite thorough with my Ravelry there come a lot to be said about actually having the time to write everything down so there have been times where I have focused more on the knitting and crochet.

Since the last time I have learnt how to:
1) Pick up stitches
2) Make an iCord
3) Read a crochet pattern without much help

The mitts that will keep a child warm, shame about the massive thumbs but I'm guessing i can work on the sizes :)

Octi-pie

or is it RastaDread?

Today I will be slightly be....

2010-10-19T23:00:00.000+01:00

shamed into realising that I haven't touched my podcasts for pretty much at least six months, so I have had to download them all again and trying to workout where I was up to so I started off with up with 'Socks In The City' ( I'm really excited by this because I actually found myself thinking "Ah, I know what that feels like" when she Dharmafey at Ravelry was talking about holey gussets) with my knitted socks klacking away while I listen, Electric Sheep with videos of Fraggle Rock and talking about jumpers and Utter Shambles which is more of a comedy podcast rather than a knitting one, with Robin Ince and Josie Long and not to forget Ravelry and Angel yarns knitting forums who always have knowledge about where to get your products.......and my current thing, you ask? yes it's two socks :D. The pattern, which I found on Ravelry, I think it was suggested to me too but I'm not sure who, anyway it's Pattern 0-559 Men's socks with rib in "Big Fabel" by DROPS and they do look very comfy, the yarn that I'm using isn't theirs but leftovers from the menace's blanket and to be quite honest I think I prefer knitting with this than crochet it, somehow it feels different - probably me being weird though :)

The start, 60 stitches

The heel part

(artificial light, meh!) After the heel is done.

I'll post more pictures after I have finished a little more of it but I think it's a pretty good start so far thanks to hyperactive @ ravelry :)

...so before I sign off, there is one video I would like to share with you, I thought it was so cute, Mefedia.com, there is a lot of buffering and the other videos that are linked to it are just as funny and cute too :)

One completed sock!

2010-10-17T09:27:00.001+01:00

One completed sock!
Originally uploaded by Moon2fire

My pièce de résistance of sockness, a lovely looking yarn with a sewed up toe, what more could a girl ask for :)

Finished attempt

2010-10-17T09:10:00.001+01:00

finished attempt
Originally uploaded by Moon2fire

I wanted to put these up all at the same time but it hasn't worked ::(

Attempting Grafting

2010-10-17T09:07:00.001+01:00

Attempting Grafting
Originally uploaded by Moon2fire

Wee-hee, I have done it, it has only taken me a while, with handy tips from knitting magazines, Ravelry/Facebook people, Youtube videos and my ability to do other things so I can come back and do it (okay I'm not sure that's a positive thing, but.)...so my attempt at Kitchener stitch worked out well, i did have a few problems by missing something or other and making it all bumpy, so i just picked it back and re-did it.

2010-09-11T09:23:00.000+01:00

I was trying to organise my photos and I came across this, it's a screen shot from Season three of True blood, although I'm not sure of the episode.

Not a good grab, but never mind

Looks like 5 colors to me

*to quote the Carlsberg advert* probably the best blanket in the world

TV blanket

2010-09-09T12:02:00.001+01:00

....I think someone at the True Blood office has been sneaking a peak at my blog because they have done it again, another blanket, and this time it's a waffle stitch blanket which I was looking into seeing if I could do it

Waffle stitch done in crochet

and what looks to be a blanket that is split up into
four sections. in this second photo you can see that there is a little more detail.

LaLa looking loved up :)....oh and the blanket too

With the third screen shot, I just like the dressing gown, its very bright ;)......and you can see the variegated better.

c'est une jolie robe de chambre

These shots are from season 3 but Season 2 of True Blood will be starting soon in the UK on the 9th September at 10.30pm on FX, so there will be a treat, there is Maryann, the maenad, Godric, the 2,000 year old vampire, Eggs and more development with Sam and his family.

[edit] sorry for double posting this blanket, I was just so excited about it :)

Now this was also another shock, I have been a massive fan of Psych since season one (now in season five) and even though I haven't ventured out to get the green cover for the iPhone, I have the bobble head app that always tickles me when feeling a bit out of sorts, so imagine my surprise when they had a lovely yellow knitted blanket just slung over a chair [pic]with Meredith Munroe who throughout the episode I was trying to work out where I had seen her from, then it came to me - okay, I looked it up on IMDB and she was on Dawson's Creek, playing Andie McPee, Pacey's girlfriend and Jack's sister, I was an avid fan when it came out and never missed an episode, I was sad that it finished but it had a nice little wrapped up ending, and sorry Joshua Jackson, but I can't watch Fringe, it's rubbish! ...... anyway the blanket

You see the lovely paneling for the blanket, it looks like its an all in one - now won't I look foolish if it's a shop bought one ;)


Maybe some sort of cabling?

If there is no one who has not seen Psych, you need to see it, it is lighthearted, funny and a requirement for my TV that I can knit/crochet while not missing too much - well, I don't mind watching it again as Mr Roday and Mr Hill are easy on the eyes, let's hope that USA can find it in their hearts to find a network that I get like FIVEUS, so I can watch it on normal TV!!


A close up

So, I also have a Christmas/Thanksgiving episode of Cal Lightman in his grey and red scarf, it is very fetching ;)

And Emily's hat is also very pretty.

TV and my knitting

2010-08-19T20:49:00.000+01:00

I think my husband thinks I'm getting worse as I get older or something like that. It all started about five years ago when I was watching TV and turning to him and saying"Oooh, you know he/she has had work done?" now I didn't really think much of it, to be quite honest I didn't even realise I was saying it a lot, only when he said a little later on when he said it reminded him of all those older folk that say "Oooh, you know he's gay?" and the comments that the older generation comes out with but anyway, in a bid to curb my fascination with the complexities of cosmetic surgery, I have enlisted my skills to suss out where I can find knitwear, anything crochet and more difficult, cross stitching pieces in television programmes, now the only one that I know of for the cross stitching would be Top Gear's Richard Hammond where someone stitched his face, as I recall there was a chart in one of the UK magazines. There has been slightly more success with knitting, so far we have hats worn by Hartison in Leverage, a beautiful shawl worn in Lark Rise To Candleford, Emily in Lie To Me in a hat and scarf cable combo and both Richard Castle, Beckett and Alexis with hat and scarves during their second season of Castle (I shall have to revisit season one to double check I didn't miss anything there.) it is hard not to look at all shows like that, as is True Blood, with Lafayette and his need for constant need for a comforter (yes I find that endearing considering the other side of him is being a drug dealer)

Now this blanket, show in Episode nine of Season three, where we can see in this screen shot this blanket/ afghan looks a little like a waffle stitch with purple variegated yarn, well that's what it looks like to me then to my surprise lookie here.....

there is another colour of variegate yarn, and as I think about it, it looks like there are four main blocks roughly about 20 rows in the yarn that is used.

Now as for Mr Tim Roth, this this the second time (as far as I'm aware) that he has worn his West Ham scarf, I think he's trying to get people to make them ;)

Now I don't know what the weather is like in San Diego but I'm now watching out for wearable things in Psych as they have had pineapples, the colour green & the bobbleheads on the iphone why not go a little out there and get a nice blanket that I could do ;) .....right, that's my next mission.....after I have done the Harry Potter blanket because the wool got picked up today and I am mighty excited about it do you want to see my wodge? It's massive ;)

*chuckles*

Baske in the ripple blanket...

2010-07-10T00:33:00.000+01:00

.....and know that tomorrow it will be in someone else's possession, even though I know it will be appreciated a little part of me wants it to stay in the house with me to go with all the other blankets that I will be making over the years ;)

What do you think?

So big project #3 is now finished, so I'm just waiting to pick up some wool at CraftAngels in Crosspool which isn't there yet, so I guess I will need to practice a square withe a start of 4 chain - yes a square, it's just anoher way of doing it but as of yet I haven't been able to work out how to do it, I'm sure there will come a time that it will click, I'm sure mother won't mind if I do the kids first anyway :)
...so going back to the project that I'm really excited about, the Harry Potter blanket, well it's not really a Harry Potter blanket, it's the colours of Gryffindor which will be squares with two stripes going in different directions.

I just thought I would share

2010-07-01T16:19:00.000+01:00

My lovely honey popped into Sainsbury's (fer £25) and came out with this, isn't he a sweet thing...So what am I going to be doing when the kids are sleeping? *excited squeee* :D

2010-06-13T23:16:00.001+01:00

This is about as religious as I get, but this is the best accapella song from the legend that is Sam Cooke The song is called 'Jesus Gave Me Water'

Oh, Jesus gave me water
    Jesus gave me water, jesus gave me water
    I want to let his praises swell
    Jesus gave me water
    Jesus gave me water
    Jesus gave me water
    And it was not in the well

    Well, there was a woman from Samaria
    came to the well to get some water
    There she met a stranger who did a story tell
    That woman dropped her pitcher
    she drank and was made richer
    From the water he gave her and it was not in the well

    Churus:
    Yes she gave her
    Jesus gave her water
    Jesus gave her water
    I want to let his praises swell
     Jesus gave her water
    He gave that woman water
    He gave her living, loving, lasting water
    And he was not in the well

    Well on that woman he had pity
    she ran back to the city
    crying glory, hallelujah and did his wonders tell
    She left my savior singing
    She came back to him bringing
    The town to see that water Lord and it was not in the well

    repeat chorus

    Well Lord that woman left for shoutin,
    there was no room for doubtin
    That she had met a savior who did her wonders tell
    Every time she doubt him, she start to think about him
    The man that gave her that water Lord, and he was not
    in the well