Apologies

I'm sorry I haven't been as active in posting as of late.  With my new job, on top of trying to get shifts at my old job, and working on comissions...I have not had alot of time to work on any new videos or tutorials, let alone updates or work on projects I want to work on.

But...keep checking back.  I hope to post a few things up here and there, even if its not as frequent as I might like. 

Stardust Constellations

I've had the fabric in my stash and plans for this quilt for the longest time.  I'm glad I got it done.  It sparkles, it glows in the dark, and in some of my favorite colors. Finished it just today.

x-posted to Quilt a long

Thrift shop Feat

Ok, so I didn't make this video, but they make a very valid point of either going to the trift shop to get something thats almost brand new, but gently used....or spending 50$ on a brand name tee shirt (which I have bought expensive clothes and have it fall apart on me in 1 washing)

I do alot of up-cycling, recycling, and even go to thrift shops to see what they have for crafting supplies like yarn or needles.

NSFW language.

Temperature Scarf - Simplified

Im gonna be trying a simple yet kinda neato scarf. It's based around the temperatures each day we get. Here's the chart I'm going to be working with.
 
You knit 2 rows for each day for each temperature. Thankfully cause the year just started I can catch up

If anyone wants to join me on this knit along if they have the yarn, the temps at noon are as follows for Toronto (all in celcius):

Jan 1: -5
Jan 2: -3
Jan 3: -2
Jan 4: 0
Jan 5: 2
Jan 6: 2

I realize that there could be a larger scale of colors based on other temperature scarves, but I'm basing this scale off of what I already have in my stash.  

The original pattern I am basing this off of can be found on ravelry....just follow this link.

Also, for something a little different, you can also base your scarf off of how cloudy or not cloudy the sky is.  Its called a Sky scarf. You can also follow the link to ravelry .....follow this link for the sky scarf.

I will post pictures once I get more length on my temperature scarf as it goes along.  

For those wondering, Im just doing a simple garter stitch using US10 needles and about 40 stitches

Busy busy

I'm sorry if my posts haven't been consistent. With a new job, my crafting time has become limited. Keep checking back in, cause I still plan on doing a bigger making tutorial and knitting basics at some point.
In the meantime, happy new year!

The Christmas Pickle

Christmas...Yule...Hanukkah...Festivus....lots of traditions for the winter festivals that we have every year.

In terms of traditions that I hadn't heard of till a few years ago that I think is pretty cool is the Christmas Pickle.

I saw a pickle hanging from a friend's window blinds one day close to the holidays, and asked....why a pickle?

It wasn't a real pickle...it was one that was just an ornament.

The pickle is meant to help people looking for the pickle to see the rest of the tree, and gain appreciation for the one who took the time, love and care to decorate it.  The pickle is usually hidden somewhere on the tree on Christmas Eve or Christmas day.  It's usually meant for the kids to find before they open their presents.  The one who finds the pickle gets an extra present.

There are many theories and stories as to how the Christmas Pickle came into being.  It is said to have originated in Germany.

I have a Flying Spaghetti Monster on my tree, but no pickle, but if you want to make one, below are some patterns so you can make your own.


Here is a link I found for a crochted pattern for one:

http://www.freshstitches.com/pickle/

And one for a knitted one:

http://www.knitpicks.com/patterns/Christmas_Pickle_Ornament_Pattern__D50801220.html

And one that is sewn with felt and a cute santa hat to go with it.

http://whileshenaps.typepad.com/whileshenaps/2012/11/free-christmas-sewing-pattern-pickle-ornament.html

Creativ Festival ...and I got a job!

X-posted a fair bit to Tumblr, and some parts to my Quilt a-long blog

I had some rather good news today.  I got a steady job!  It might be flipping burgers but I can't complain.  I start training next week , and orientation is the week after (the 21st)

I also went to the Creativ Festival today.  Met some nice people that I already knew the vendors, and some that I didn't.  Got some alpaca fibre to spin, some hallowe'en quilting fabrics, and got to pet an alpaca called Ozzy (who kept bugging his owner for food while she was working the cash register). 

Special shout out to the folks at the Gaudet Fashion House booth.  Both for inspiring me to think of more crafting videos, and for chatting it up with me.  Also thanks for watching my blog and youtube chanel!   

We were not allowed to take photos (which there were a few that I really wanted to take) so I dont have any pics for you all, but I might take some photos of the stuff I picked up.  Its not much, and i could have easily sunk an entire paycheque (especially on the Sew Sister's booth, the Gaudet Fashion House booth on their felting fibre, and the many yarn and fibre stores), but its fun, and Im looking forward to some sewing and spinning.

I picked up some fabric from the Lens Mills booth as well.  For the Torontonians, I have been shopping at the Lens Mills outlet in Cambridge (ontario) since I was young.  I loved all of the varieties of fabric they have (cause they have the space), and have been shopping with them for years.  I have just found out they opened an outlet at 66 Orfus Road!

I also picked up some information leaflettes on the Ontario Alpaca farmers, and some fibre from the Canadian Alpaca Fibre Works booth, from Datrix Alpacas and as well as Spinning Wheel Alpacas.

I picked up some felting fibre from the Gaudet Fashion House booth as well.

I know that the folks at Sew Knit n' Serge were there as well, and I also said hello. I will be shopping at their store in a few days to get some knitting supplies for a friend of mine who lives out of town.  For those looking for frill yarns, if you can get to the festival, they have the most variety of the frill yarns and novelty yarns from what I could see. I also know their outlet store is very large.  They also sell Bernina machines, knitting machines, and long arm quilting machines.

I got to use a spinning wheel with Tigra and the other fine folks at the Ontario Handspinners and weavers booth.  It was the first time using a spinning wheel in well over two decades.  I think I got the hang of it towards the end of the roving.  I also liked Tigra's drop spindle with Perler beads.  Its an interesting take on the homemade spindle, and I will definately see if I can make one too.  It looked like it was a good weight for lightweight yarns, for either socks or laceweight if one is brave enough to spin that fine.  She was working on a merino/silk mix when I met her.

I also stopped by the SCA booth.  Being a LARPer, I like the reinactments.  Its always interesting to see weaving techniques that are hundreds, if not thousands of years old.

Thats all for now.  I have lots of inspiration to use some of the beading supplies that I have, and fibre enough to keep me busy for a while. 

For anyone who saw me traversing the floor today, I was the one wearing the patchwork skirt and the rainbow cat tail and starry bandana. 

Tutorial: Granny Squares

Other than the flubs in terminology, This is a tutorial on how to make Granny Squares.  If the video is not enough for you, you can always check out other resources on the web, or refer to all the crochet books that are out there...cause there's lots!

I liked having someone show me cause sometimes when reading text or just looking at diagrams, it makes it kindof difficult.


Enjoy!

Posting from my phone

I recently got a phone that is a smart phone. I'm currently updating from my bed via our wifi connection. I have been wing on many projects, but not had alot of fine to update. 
So, here's some photos of projects to enjoy, and the obligatory cat photo.

Yarn Tail Updated

After seeing what you can do with a yarn tail, we (my hubby and I) have tried a few variations. The chains help to give it weight for a more realistic method of movement, but the chains we got were quite heavy. I thought I would try my hand at doing a braided core. I also jazzed up my tail by using glow in the dark yarn.

You can see the video of the final tail below, with the yarn core modification.

This is what it looks like as a still shot.




What it looks like under Blacklight
 

And what it looks like when its glowing on its own.