R. Moore's crafts and stuff

Raising boys with respect and girls with self confidence

2012-02-09T20:36:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine posted this image to Facebook recently:

Which was great, arguing that we need to raise a generation of women who demand respect and equality and men who give respect and equality, but I was a bit galled at the suggestion that women are God's gift to men. As I put it, being put on a pedestal is isolating, not equalizing, and and being a gift for someone means being stuck in a box and hoping you get airholes.

A friend of this friend asked, genuinely, how to put these things into practice. I normally would refer to some kind of resource, but I honestly couldn't think of one, though I'm sure the moment I publish this post I will think of half a dozen books and blogs, so I just wrote up things that have worked in my family and things I use with the kid I'm helping raise. This is what I told that friend-of-a-friend:

A good deal of negative portrayals of men and women come from media. When kids are still quite young, four or five, you can talk to them on basic levels about respect and self worth when they are exposed to something. Talk to them about how advertising works. If they watch princess movies, talk to them about how in real life, it’s better to find someone who thinks you are equal (not the same!) because we all have to work together. If a show or book has all the girls be supporting roles, talk about how girls can and should be able to do those things, too. Ask, “why do you think Sarah (or whoever) always stays home?” or “why do you think the princess always gets rescued by the prince?” Fill your bookshelves with positive portrayals of women; don’t assume the boy won’t want to read a book about a girl (no one says that girls can’t relate to books and movies about boys! Why is boy the default and girl special interest?). Robert Munsch has great books about boys and girls, and his Paper Bag Princess is a classic.

Also watch out for your own biases. It’s hard to kick them, even while trying to be conscientious. When women wear skimpy outfits, is it their fault that they are harassed or men’s? (May your daughters be blessed with flat chests so that fitted =/= slutty in the eyes of the world!) Does your son get to explore caring and nurturing roles? Do your daughters get to build and explore? At the park, do you tell the girls to be careful more often or sooner than the boy? Do the girls do more chores or more domestic chores than the boy? (Washing dishes vs. taking out the garbage or cleaning the gutters.) When praising or complimenting, do you use words that focus on appearance (you look so pretty today!) and obedience/quietness (you sat still the whole time!) for the girls while using words that focus on strength or prowess for the boy (you did so well on that test! Aren’t you the strong little man!)? Try to compliment ALL of your children for ALL of the virtues you wish to impart. (Note, though, that while appearance isn’t a virtue, the world is sufficiently obsessed with it that girls can have serious self doubt if never told they are beautiful. Tell your children they are beautiful AND smart AND strong!)

Also, ban the phrase “boys will be boys” from your household. No, boys and girls alike will behave themselves and explore the world safely and enthusiastically!

If your son likes pink and dolls and dancing and other “girly” things, nurture that. Telling him those things are for girls tells him he doesn’t get to be interested in the things he’s interested in, and it often teaches boys and girls that “girl things” are inferior to “boy things.”

A friend of mine, on seeing this, also added a note about the importance of support. Parenting is hard enough without having all the people around you tell you that you're doin it rong. I mean, someone will always tell you that you are going to irrevocably damage your kids, but if you can avoid your son coming home from a play date in tears because he was told he fails for wanting to make cupcakes... Worth it. Try to find at least a few people who have the same sorts of idea about raising boys and girls to be respectful and have a good sense of self-worth. Sometimes local options are limited. Sometimes it will feel like maybe you are just an uppity freak or something because no one else seems to think "Boys will be boys" is damaging children... and that's where online communities can help. If you can find blogs and forums (word to the wise about parenting forums: things get sticky fast--turns out people have some strong opinions on childrearing!), you won't feel so alone and maybe will have some guidance as you try to figure out how to not blame women for being harassed while still trying to make sure your daughter dresses in a way you are comfortable with.

Granola Recipe

2012-02-09T18:14:00.000-08:00

I've started making granola again. The last batch turned out pretty well with the addition of walnuts in place of my usual flax seeds and shredded instead of flaked coconut, so this time I adjust the amounts a bit to maintain the walnuts.

Today's granola recipe:

1 cup rolled spelt flakes
1 cup rolled barley flakes
1 cup rolled rye flakes
1 cup slices almonds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Mix all in a large bowl.

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon salt

Mix together, then mix in well with dry ingredients in large bowl.
Preheat over to 250 degrees F.
Spread mixture evenly over large baking tray.
Bake at 250 degrees for an hour and fifteen minutes, mixing granola every fifteen minutes for even browning.

Life Post College

2011-06-01T23:34:00.000-07:00

I would love to say that I'm totally done with school and free to do as I please now, but in all reality, I still have to finish my thesis, study for the GRE, and go back to Portugal again for more language training (twist my arm, force me to go to the south of Europe for the summer!). But I still will have a lot more downtime, theoretically, after September, and I've decided I have two basic issues that I want to and can resolve before grad school:

I am allergic to wheat. I eat wheat and it makes me sick in myriad ways, but I love baked goods and often put up with the illness to be able to eat as I please. Wheat alternatives are often not to my taste, don't fill the role traditional, wheat-containing baked goods fill, or are just too darn expensive. Solution: Learn how to bake with spelt (a close relative to wheat that I am not allergic to) and rye and other grains.
I am a curvy lady. I don't mean that in the thin-shaming "real women have curves" (implying slender women are somehow not real women) way, as I'm not a large person by North American or Northern European standards (by Portuguese standards I'm darn near a giant :P Thank you 6'2" Anglo-Canadian Father!). what I mean is that there's over a 12" difference between my waist at its narrowest and my hips at their widest (of course, in all reality that's more a butt/thigh measurement than a hip measurement, but let's not get into that now), and I wear a bra size not found in non-specialty stores (more because women wear ill-fitting bras than because I'm some freak, though--really Victoria's Secret, you want me in what size?). This makes finding clothes that fit me that are stylish and not sweatpants with drawstring waists difficult to find. I mean, I love my sweatpants and PJ pants, but sometimes one wants a little more to one's wardrobe than what one might wear to the gym or a slumber party. Solution: Learn how to sew!

I have sewn by hand but not with a machine before, and I've baked bread with a machine but not by hand before. I'm trying to reverse this trend, because sewing by hand is slow, and bread machines overwork the delicate gluten structures in spelt doughs and cause you to have bricks rather than loaves.

My first experiment with a no-knead bread to avoid the collapsing gluten structures issue took place the other day using a recipe from 2006 in the New York Times. I used a blend of whole spelt and white spelt flours, but something went awry and my dough was more like a batter. I also didn't really let it rise long enough. So it was flat, though the flavor is good and the crumb was how I like it (some holes, but nothing too big). It toasts well, and that first loaf is almost gone. But it was far from ideal, and I asked around and did some research, and this is what I'm doing this time around.

The first No Knead recipe I found was here. I'm working off that variation, but to adapt it to my spelt flour blend, I'm upping the yeast and starting with a sponge starter. So my recipe looks like this:

Whole-ish Grain Spelt No Knead Bread

1 1/2 cup whole spelt flour
1 1/2 cup white spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup water between 90-115 degrees (lukewarm)

In a large bowl, mix half of all ingredients. Just for kicks, I did just the whole grain flour in this, the starter. Cover this half batch and let it sit for 5 hours. I stuck mine on the fridge, where a small amount of heat from the back would keep thing an even warm-but-not-too-warm temperature. You want about 70 degrees F.

After five hours have passed, take the other half of the ingredients and mix in with your starter sponge. Mix it so it's fairly even, but don't mash it too much. Remember, the gluten in spelt is weaker than in wheat, so you don't want it to collapse on itself. Cover it again, and put it somewhere warm to rise for 12-20 hours. I'm keeping it a range because this is the point I'm at. What I mean to do tomorrow morning is follow the recipe I linked to above by folding the dough over once or twice on a floured surface, and then let it rise two hours in a bowl on either a floured tea towel or parchment paper. I'll decide that depending on how things look, as the first batch was so wet that it just sort of stuck to the towel and plopped into the parchment paper in the dutch oven. The rest shouldn't vary.

I'll update tomorrow!

School school school

2010-05-14T00:32:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging because school ate me. I have one last final paper due tomorrow and then one whole glorious month of freedom! But why one month, you ask? Because I'm signed up to take six nits of Portuguese language and culture this summer, which entails going to Portugal. On the one hand, I get only a month of time off school, and a good chunk of that will be spent preparing for the trip (I have to open a new bank account for the trip, make sure both banks know I'll be abroad, buy some travel clothes, get power adapters and other supplies, pick up my course reader...). On the other hand, I'm going to Europe and will spend a week just enjoying time with my grandparents, so I guess that makes it a really real vacation.

In the meanwhile, my crafting has taken a hit in the past two weeks. No time for knitting or crocheting, and certainly no time for weaving. Just essay writing. Sigh. Almost there. One more paper to go.

Busy busy

2010-02-02T23:50:00.000-08:00

No pretty pictures today, I'm afraid. The crafting time has gone down dramatically now that the semester is in session and I have 500+ pages to read for one course alone. Oh seminars. How you make me learn to resist falling asleep in the midst of perfectly soul-sucking history books meant for people who are actually interested in that particular subject and have background knowledge to help them sort through the 80 billion people you're writing about all at once in no particular order.

All this means the shawls I was weaving is still on the loom, the blanket is rolled into place with only a little seaming done, and once again I find myself less than two weeks fro Valentine's Day without having finished the sweater I was planning on having done a year ago. Oops. I guess now I'm avoiding the sweater curse. I could put off finishing that thing for years!

No crafting content

2010-01-14T12:05:00.000-08:00

I've made a donation to Episcopal Relief and Development myself, but there are tons of amazing groups trying to help with the current crisis situation in Haiti. Doctors Without Borders is one such group, and given the level of immediate medical emergency, they would be a fine place to spend some spare change just now.

Weaving OMG

2010-01-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

I can haz scarf!

And I also have three ugly-but-usable cloths:

Yay, learning curve! My edges are far better on the end of the scarf than the beginning, and both are better than on the cloths, my first project.

Sweater Serial Killer (Part III)

2010-01-05T17:40:00.000-08:00

Two posts in one day. Wonders never cease.

I was pouting that I have to finish half a dozen projects before I could knit or crochet a nice little case for my camera. And then I realized I have a giant bag filled with felted wool at my disposal! For reference, this is basically how I made at least one of my soap sacks. So here is a camera/iPod/soap cozy how-to using a felted sweater sleeve and taking a whopping twenty minutes, including gathering materials (unless you don't have a felted sweater sleeve handy). Since it's dusk, the pictures aren't as nice, but they should get the idea across.

You'll need a felted sweater sleeve, the device or soap you are trying to make a cozy for, a small amount of yarn, a button or two, a yarn needle, and some nice, sharp scissors.

First cut your sleeve. I was lucky enough to have a felted sweater (the snowflake one from SSK pt.II) with small enough sleeves to fit without further sewing. Most point-and-shoot cameras these days will probably use the end of a small women's felted sweater (this one was originally a size medium, felted down to probably a child's large). Pop your camera into the sleeve and add about half an inch on either end of the camera to mark where you need to cut. (Thicker cameras, obviously, will need more length to give more room.)

If you need to recut to make the shape fit better, do so now and resew your sleeve into a tube. If not, proceed to step #3, sewing the bottom (cut edge). I just used worsted weight wool yarn in a running stitch.

Tie off the end and trim the end to your desired length. I left a bit as a sort of tassel. Now sew on a button or two to the top. Since my camera's strap is attached in the very middle, I used two small buttons. You may adjust as you please.

Now you want a little loop to attach to the button. I'm using loops because it's easier than working out a flap.

To get this loop, you want to take three strands of yarn, not them together, and braid them. You only need a few inches, really. Thread your needle with all three strands and pull through where you want the loop. Remove the needle, braid the three strands together, and rethread. pull the braid back through and wrap it around the button to check how much length you need for a secure connection. I like to use the needle (unthreaded by now) to mark the braid where I need to have it stop on the fabric with a know in order to stay the right size for the button. With the braid so marked, pull on it so you have room to make a knot right up against the needle. Remove the needle from the braid and pull the knot so it rests against the fabric of the cozy. You now have a loop. Make one for each button.

Trim your ends on the knotted side of the loop. You're done!

Obviously taking pictures of a camera cozy in use is pretty difficult when the camera it's for is one you use for taking pictures of crafts, so I posed it to make it look extra cute hangin' with the plants and gnomes:

It's like a little face :)

Sweater Serial Killer (Part II)

2010-01-05T13:54:00.000-08:00

My dastardly sweater killing is slowly coming to a head. Yesterday I took a red sweater, chopped off its sleeve and made a tea cozy. The red sweater, however, was not as fulled (felted) as it should have been, so I had to refelt it in a pot of hot, soapy water and do a rinse with some vinegar and cold water to shock the fibers and keep the red from bleeding anymore. I then threw it in the dryer and took it out before it was fully dry to prevent shrinking too much. It wasn't pretty. This is why you want to make sure that your sweaters are well felted before chopping into them. And be wary of red. Red dye tends to bleed. This is why my sweater blanket is all in neutral colors.

So lets see how the blanket is coming, shall we?

First you need to gather up the sweaters. I have two bags from the thrift store. I've separated these two into bags of the squares and rectangles to use for the blanket and all the other material left over. All the sweaters I'm using are cut up already except for one that I'd pulled out of the bag to show someone.

You want to take a fulled/felted sweater (technically shrinking wool down with hot water and agitation is fulling, but it's commonly called felting). This one was an angora blend that I found already felted at the store. This makes it easier to cut into, both because it was very well fulled by the time I started cutting and because I didn't feel bad destroying it. I also have some good, sharp scissors. You can see I've already started using the sleeves for other projects, such as ornaments.

It has this pretty snowflake in eyelet on the front that I want to preserve, which means this square will include a bit of the shoulder and be more sweater-looking. That's fine. I did this with one or two other sweaters. However much you want to preserve of each is totally up to you.

Next I'm going to start cutting at the seam. I cut right along it on this first side, up into the shoulder area, but this sweater has shaping to hug the wearer's curves, so I wind up with a curvy piece. The next side I cut a little farther from the seam to get a mostly straight line along the side.

Now to cut off the square. I didn't have to cut off a ribbed hem on this sweater. If it had I would have cut that first. I just have to worry about cutting close to the neckline, right across the top.

I turn the sweater over, cut along the seams on the back, along the top just as before, and I now have three pieces. There are two rectangles of fabric and all the scrap of the sleeves and neckline.

Now I take out my piles of other sweater squares and rectangles and start laying them out.

My first design is largely decided by the order of squares pulled. It doesn't seem to come together. A few gaps are okay, but we're aiming for a rough rectangle shape. I don't want any two sides of one sweater side-by-side, so that makes things a bit trickier.

I rearrange and get a much better shape. I have to make a few pieces closer together than I'd like, but that's okay. I just have one gap that won't be cured with sewing.

To the scrap bag! I take out a large sweater sleeve and cut it much like the sweater front and back, finding the seams and cutting along them, trimming and adjusting to get a straighter edge.

With the new piece trimmed and placed, my sweater blanket is just about ready to be sewn. Even if you aren't blogging a project it's good to take some reference pictures now, as it will have to be moved to be sewn.

I stack up my sweater pieces unfolded and in order, row by row (roughly; there aren't exact rows). You can tie them up, but I roll them and stick them in a smaller bag so they're stuck snugly in place.

You could sew them from this point, but I'm no sewing expert and want to consult my boyfriend's mum first on what stitch she recommends (I'm planning on sewing by hand with worsted weight wool yarn, and will probably have a more "rustic" look, though I probably will line it). I also haven't decided on a yarn color for the seams yet.

Sweater Serial Killer (Part I)

2010-01-01T03:04:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I'm up still because I've been staying up until 2:00 AM the past week or so anyway, so this isn't much out of the way, sleep-schedule-wise. Plus I'm waiting for videos to upload.

So one of the oddest addictions I discovered this past year was the show Criminal Minds, which is a great-but-often-disturbing show about the FBI tracking down serial killers. We, being every day more and more disturbed ourselves, usually watch it sitting cross-legged on the living room floor while we eat. Sometimes foods with red sauce, but we've started planning to avoid that at least. Anyhow, since this show has taken over how we think, I couldn't help but think that I'm a repeat offender of a dangerous variety to sweaters. At least ten in the past month alone have fallen prey to my compulsive need to slash at the sleeves, toss them in hot washes and dryers, and otherwise distort them from their original shapes and purposes. Of course, it's a good thing that this isn't an episode of Criminal Minds in a world ruled by sweaters, because I'd have been tackled, arrested and interrogated by fuzzy knitted versions of Morgan and Hotch.

This used to be a lovely cabled sweater from The Gap:

It is now 382 grams of roughly sport weight wool/viscose/nylon/angora/cashmere yarn, ready to be washed, reskeined, and knit with (I tried a bit of crocheting, but unless the splittiness improves markedly, crocheting it will be more trouble than it's worth).

And from the Deep End post, here are some of the ornaments I made when I got tired of soap sweaters and realized some people might want an alternative to rubbing wet wool on themselves (which no one did, it turned out):

This last one makes me giggle, because father-not-in-law made a crack about by the end of all this crafting of gifts I'd give someone a button on a string. This ornament is just about there, with it just being a few square-ish scraps of sweater sleeves, a single button, and some matching yarn. It took, like, five minutes to assembly and finish. And only that long because the button holes were small so I had trouble threading a small enough needle with worsted weight yarn. Can you tell I was fatigued? MNIL has claimed the one with the tree, but I think the bird (the first I made) is my favorite. I think I'll make more again next year, as they whip up in no time and make super fast small gifts (or, if you're a fancy gift-wrapper, as part of the gift tag).

I'm hoping to spend some time tomorrow working out square placement for the blanket.

On the vibrancy of yarn and floats

2009-12-31T14:36:00.000-08:00

I've decided my new skill for the last day of the year is proper fair isle knitting. I'm doing mittens in the most amazingly bright yarn I have ever seen--the pink glows in artificial light! Really, as much as those traditional red/black/blue and white/cream combinations are gorgeous, I can almost guarantee that I will not lose these mitts. Ever. I'm considering making a matching dog sweater for a friend who has a tiny dog in the wilds of Lake Tahoe, where the dog is easily covered by snow! Maybe then a matching baby sweater for her first baby, so it will likewise be impossible to lose track of at busy times and in snow drifts (toddlers are wily--all parents should own neon baby clothes).

Now, to be honest, I've done colorwork before. Usually horrible, ugly colorwork with the floats visible from the front or so tight that the work puckers. I didn't have a lot of confidence in my abilities. But so far, with a simple 2x2 rib in two colors, it looks pretty good and my floats are event and not too tight nor hanging loose in the back. Whew. It helps that I discovered this video of the Norwegian purl on YouTube (I think these two were the best), so I'm using that and not fussing about moving the yarn to the front. I also simply omit the tug to tighten the first purl stitch and get a nice, even float. Meanwhile, since I hold both yarns in one hand, the other strand goes slack, which means I can grab it without pulling tight for another nice, loose float. Hopefully this works as well when it comes time to do the real fair isle work in all knit stitches!

Here, have some day-glo floats:

The sweater

2009-12-30T01:09:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in the last post, one sweater in particular is going to be highlighted as its own, very special project. This is the sweater:

The picture doesn't capture the brilliantly Christmas Red color of the sweater. It's also hard to tell, but this is, in fact, a vintage 1984 Ralph Lauren sweater. It feels like a scratchy monstrosity. Maybe it's because I'm Canadian, so the wonderfully colorful hockey motif appealed to me, but I had to have it. I also knew it had to either be the highlight of my blanket or its own pillow. Since this blanket is already shaping up to be very large, I think it'll be a pillow.

I may have gone off the deep end...

2009-12-27T19:12:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in ages, largely because I've had an insanely busy past few months filled with moves and birthdays and deaths and university courses and all that life stuff that interferes with crafting at times and blogging almost always. And on top of that, darn near everything I make is a surprise for someone, so I don't go posting in public spaces.

But now, in a burst of sheer crafting insanity, I kinda have to post again. Beware, the following is a huge chunk of text that reflects my insanity and crazed crafting urges. If it wasn't slowly destroying the house, I suppose you'd call it nesting for being such a flurry of domesticity.

I think it started in November. I decided to do NaKniSweMo and knit a sweater in a month. So I did. The problem is that that month was November and I'd barely started gift knitting. But I have a sweater now, and just as soon as I reinforce the button bands it should be perfect. That or it's going to my tiniest sister because it has negative ease not flattering in a cardigan. Anyhow, so I finished up the sweater and realized I had less than a month until Christmas. So I purchased gifts for my SO and yarn for his parents' gifts. I finished off a balaclava for his uncle, mitts for his aunt (procrastinated on those until I was weaving in ends on Christmas morning as relatives arrived), a cowl for his mum, a hat for his dad. Then there were the cousins. Oh, and my own family. Mum and her fiance got silk scarves and a matching silk handkerchief, hand-dyed on the stove, naturally. My sisters got purchased gifts, as did wee brother, who gets books every year and will appreciate them better than the youngest cousins who looked downright gloomy when they ripped open paper to discover something that doesn't shoot, project, or otherwise require plastic parts and batteries. He'll understand when he's older. Back to the cousins (the adult ones, people I've either never met or met once or twice). They had to have something generic but somewhat personal and inexpensive, as every day the list of people coming seemed to grow. I decided on felted soaps. One failed soap in I got frustrated and FNIL said something about a meth lab in the bathroom (I suppose carrying all those supplies in looked odd--thankfully he understands how I work) and I decided to just knit soap sweaters. Two soap sweaters in, my hands ached and I had mere days left until Christmas. (Recall that I spent the first half of December holed up studying for finals.) So two days before Christmas I got my mother to take me to goodwill where I spent about $70 on old sweaters. One was a lovely cotton/tencel tunic that fits me perfectly, so it's not getting destroyed. Another was too nice to destroy because it was a warm, fluffy wool sweater with a double zipper that, unlike my NaKniSweMo sweater, had positive ease and is therefor quite cozy for schlepping craft supplies around the house and running into the garage to get yet more supplies. I third was saved mere moments before being thrown into a hot washer to be felted as it's a plain v-neck pullover in off white that, again, fits me perfectly. The others were not so lucky and went through a hot wash cycle and the dryer. I have wanted to make a felted sweater blanket for ages now. But in the meanwhile, I chopped up sleeves and made felted soap sacks, giving myself a chance to practice yarn embroidery and sewing, which means now that plain white pullover is destined to be a canvas for yet more embroidery. I gave it a good soak last night, and it looks like the dirt on the sleeve cuffs is pretty well stuck, which means I get to be even more creative with my victim! Moving forward. So I finished up the presents on December 23rd, save those mitts I forgot in my purse until late, late Christmas Eve.

Christmas came. The gifts were all received remarkably well. This was encouraging. Oh dear... So I still had those piles of sweaters. One has yet to be felted because it's so brilliant that I think it'll have its own post, chronicling its journey. The others I took today and chopped into large squares, as large as I could so as to see what kind of size blanket I can make. Pretty decent, it turns out. Oh, and before I forget, there was one other sweater saved from felting. It's a wool/angora/cashmere/plant fiber of some sort I forget right now blend in off white, and is being ripped into yarn to knit and crochet with. I'm estimating a DK or sport weight. anyhow, for Christmas I received from my dad a gift certificate to Amazon.com, and I promptly decided that since I had received one of the two gifts I really wanted this year (a digital camera), the other now had a nice down-payment on it. So I ordered a 16" Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom. I'm already scoping out projects, but I hope it'll mean I can make scarves without dieing of boredom again. So yeah, I've added a new craft to me repertoire. Except go back and examine the last chunk o' text. I've also added sewing, felting, and embroidery. And fabric dyeing. Meanwhile, I've picked up some horrendously vibrant yarn to try out stranded knitting as my annual end-of-the-year new technique.

And suddenly I realized something. When, some day, I get married I won't be one of those brides who goes insane wanting everything to be their fairy-tale dream wedding. Il'l be one of those brides up at 3:00 AM going insane over the hand-sewn recycled felt table numbers. Lord help me.

Winners!

2009-04-27T15:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have winners for the donation incentives!

Nichole Boaz wins the red and blue striped hat!

Brinnann wins a custom hat! Go pick a hat you want, Brinn!

And Deb wins a pair of handmade socks! Since she's a knitter herself, I'd like to give her the option of sock-knitting supplies instead :) Totally up to you, Deb!

Total Wordcount for MS Walk Readathon

2009-04-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

Thursday: 11

Friday: 4

Yes, this is a sad word count. But those are my two least reading-filled days of week.

This means a total of 60 pages read this week, not including pages that were reread, on a computer, written by me, or for worksheets, etc. Most pages were for Late English Literature or Shakespeare and His World, except those last four, for Cultural Geography (much larger pages in that book!).

Sadly, I'm not able to actually walk tomorrow due to transportation (and lack of sleep) issues. As of this moment, I have raised $381! Remember, you can donate online up until the walk ends tomorrow morning!

Pages Read Wednesday

2009-04-22T23:34:00.000-07:00

Pages read Wednesday: 14 (Most of my reading was rereading, online, or worksheets).

Shoulders pinked with sun Wednesday: 2. Got some Vitamin D today. Thank goodness I don't burn easily!

Pages Read Tuesday

2009-04-22T16:07:00.000-07:00

I was up late (or early, rather) last night working on an essay and didn't get around to posting, but the total count for Tuesday was 21!

Pages Read Monday

2009-04-20T23:31:00.001-07:00

Total pages read, not include web pages, reread materials, worksheet and things of that ilk, or things I wrote myself: 24. Most of this was from Volume F of the Norton Anthology of English Literature. Mmm, modern! Sadly I was caught without my copy of Macbeth, which I am still behind on. Tomorrow!

Also, I was able to make my original goal of $350 today, but since my team is still $570 short of our total goal of $2000, I upped my personal goal to $550. I'll be happy having reached the original goal, but if I can get the new one I'll be over the moon!

Read-a-thon MS Walk fundraiser!

2009-04-19T22:26:00.001-07:00

Hello lovely people!

I was wracking my brain for ideas on how to raise money for the MS Walk (which is in a week!). I ran into a problem off too much time needing to be devoted to studying, and not enough to fundraising. Silly school. Then I realized I can do BOTH at the same time!

So basically, I'm going to read... a lot this next week. I think I'm a chapter behind in Cultural Geography, and I have a very reading-heavy Lit. class. So I decided to make my own read-a-thon! Basically, wonderful, amazing, heaven-sent people would pledge a certain amount (say, 25 cents) per page I read from midnight tonight (Monday, April 20) to Midnight Saturday (April 25). I'll post to my crafting/fundraising blog how many pages I read each day, so you know I'm not totally making up some huge number at the end of the week. Then, Saturday morning, I'll post the total number. At that point you can make your donation. Donations may be made up through April 26th, the day of the walk.

Thanks for your time and support, guys!

ETA: I usually read somewhere around 150 pages a week, I think. If I'm being really good, that is.

MS Walk Fund Raising '09!

2009-03-03T21:18:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year again! I'm fund raising once again for the Northern California chapter of the National MS Society, a cause near and dear to my heart. But this year, I'm trying something new: incentives! Obviously the satisfaction of a good deed is always there when you donate to a good cause, but I figured since I'm promoting this on a crafting blog and I seem to get daily requests for hand-made things, it'd be worth giving back to those who give :)

So here's the deal. Donate online by April 25th, 2009 using this link, and in the "message" section let me know you're interested in one of the incentives.

If you donate at least $10, you can win classic beanie in red and dark blue stripes. (Pictures forthcoming!)

If you donate $25 or more, you can win a custom hat. Choose some options: Knit or crocheted. Striped, solid, cabled, lace, fitted or floppy... Sorry, no fair isle color work at this time (I mean, you want it to look good, right?) Want Cartman's hat? You got it. Want something super warm to wear skiing or snow boarding? I can do it. Want a Life Aquatic team hat? I've done it before! Each increment of $25 (50, 75) will count as another entry.

If you decide you really want to help, or you just really like the incentive, and donate $100 or more, you can win a pair of hand-knit socks. Now you might think, gee, why would hand made socks be worth that? Well, have you ever had really cold feet, and your cotton socks don't cut it in your boots? Do you get sweaty feet? Have an unusually shaped foot or one a full size bigger than the other? The wonderful thing about hand made socks is that you can give me exact measurements and preferences (some people like socks tighter, some looser, some longer, some shorter), and I can make you a pair of lovely socks in a wool, wool/nylon, or wool/alpaca/nylon blend (note: there are some other options. Lemme know if you have a special request!). And not scratchy stuff! A good sock yarn will feel soft and squishy, never scratchy! Wool wicks moisture from skin and holds it away, which means even in the summer your feet are more comfortable. As for further justification of the price, it will take me between two weeks to a month to knit the socks, working every day. Sock yarn is tiny, and hundreds of stitches go into each sock. This is why it's nigh impossible to buy hand-knit socks! The few times I have seen them, they've retailed for more than $50 a pair--and these are super basic socks. $100 for a custom pair is a bargain! And remember, I don't get the money for this! It all goes to a wonderful cause.

NOTES:
Sadly, to make it cost effective to do this type of fundraising, I can only send things to other people in the US. I know, it sucks. I'm really sorry.

If you're one of my college mates, I will gladly give tutoring in English, History, Abnormal Psych, Meteorology, or Humanities in place of winning a custom hat ($25 donation). This would normally be the cost of about an hour's private tutoring, but I'll make it two. (However, note that you *can* get one-on-one tutoring for free on campus in all of these subjects!)

Only one person will win each thing. Remember, this isn't a sale, it's an incentive! The $10 and $25 winner will be pulled from total number of entries, but the $100 will be first come, first served. So the first person to donate $100 gets the socks!

Sheepies!

2009-03-01T18:32:00.001-08:00

I have just discovered the breeder's association for Miniature Babydoll Southdown sheep. They're adorable and have good quality fiber.

Suddenly I need $400 for a sheep.

Makes my Canadian heart swell with pride

2009-02-17T19:31:00.001-08:00

I cannot tell you how much I want this book:

http://www.briggsandlittle.com/wool/knitsfromthenorth/gallery.htm

Really, felted beavers in tiny sweaters? Aran maple leaves? What's not to love?

Yes you!

2009-02-10T16:24:00.001-08:00

Oi you!

Can you spare 6.60 USD, 8.17 CAD, or 4.53 GBP? Then you can donate 10 AUS to one of the many wonderful Australian organizations that are helping the thousands of people living in dire circumstances or with loved ones lost or both in Australia.

Go on then, little fella (and/or the female equivalent of fella)!

Half-waking meditations

2009-02-09T22:10:00.000-08:00

Ah, sitting, perusing the internet, NOT studying (oops), and listening to Mothersbaugh's Canon from the Royal Tenenbaum's soundtrack. I swear I am most at ease and willing to get work done when listening to a Wes Anderson soundtrack. On the weekends I try to sneak in the Life Aquatic soundtrack, if only for the bizarre Portuguese (Brazilian) covers of Bowie songs.

Anyhow, I've kept myself somewhat busy today. Finished the knitting for one glove, started the cuff of a second, read half a chapter of Geography text, registered for my independent study course, made peanut butter cookies without gluten (by virtue of not having flour), and finally got my FAFSA forms filled out. After telling my parents a few times that I won't get financial aid without it, the absolute importance of having it done in a timely manner seemed to genuinely touch their hearts, and my mum did tax prep work in record time to get me the information I needed. Thank you, Mum!

Suddenly I see that it is past 10:00. My sense of time is off tonight, as I fell asleep with my head in a book at the kitchen counter, and woke again at about 8:30. I can't tell if I'm tired or not. I bet if I read something I'll know soon enough!

Aaaand the post-game depression/crafting sets in...

2009-02-01T20:52:00.001-08:00

Every year for the past four years, I have watched the Super Bowl at my boyfriend's family's house. In years past, it was like a family reunion, except almost no one was related. Always on the guest list were my boyfriend's father's two good friend since... forever? and their respective spouses. We eat copious amounts of food, someone forgets my cashew allergy and apologizes profusely, we yell at the TV, and discuss the game afterward. Last year may well have been a high point. One couple was just back from their honeymoon and we were happy with how the game turned out. I also was able, for the first time, to somewhat follow what on earth was happening on screen. This year came off with less cam raderie. One couple moved to another state, and the other is busy planning their trip via boat around the entire world. So there were four of us, and things were a bit more low key. Only the Arizona Cardinals were playing the Super Bowl for the first time ever, and they're not only an underdog team, but the boyfriend's family's home team. The food was delicious as ever, but I knew not to plan on getting much knitting in. Over the past year I've learned a lot more about football, and I actually knew, 90% of the time, exactly what was happening. I also cared who won. Bless the Steelers, but another win? I mean, great for them, but the other team had never won ever! And they have some really great players (coughFitzgeraldcough).

As you may have heard, the cardinals lost 27-23 in the last two minutes of the game. I cannot begin to explain the screaming that happened in those last minutes. SO. CLOSE. The depression was tangible. My boyfriend actually had to leave the room for a minute.

What does this have to do with crafting? Well, on Friday I picked up some DIC Smooshy to make gloves for said boyfriend, and while I couldn't cast on over the weekend (no size 2 needles!), with the residual overhanging gloom in the air I think I'll cast on tonight despite my better judgment. Studying schmudying. I need therapy now.

Let's mix things up then, shall we?

2009-01-25T15:32:00.001-08:00

I have decided to try redoing the blog a bit, make it a bit more personalized and a bit more useful. I've also just discovered I can email in posts, which means I may actually update once in a while now! Nifty. Hopefully this test works. Also hopefully I won't mix this up with my several other email-in services and start posting about all sorts of thing wholly unrelated to crafting ("OMG! Did you hear that Eartha Kitt died?" "Nein, unsere Hausaufgabe ist seite 236 bis 240, ü. A bis E"). At least some of the people who read this should understand German, but they probably don't care about my issues with the future tense.

Anyhow, on the crafting front, I have a pattern being tested for a little Dutch-style bonnet, and I hope to have at least an inexpensive one-size pattern up by Valentine's. Ideally it will range from a newborn to 6 mos. size all the way through to an adult size. The 6-9 mos. size is ready to go, as far as I can tell. Which reminds me, I need to pick up some nice satin ribbon for finishing... This pattern is, of course crocheted, but I also want to make a similar pattern in knitting, so it can be an equal opportunity pattern. The problem is recreating the texture so they look similar. I'm not overly fond of many heavy, textured stitch patterns in knitting.

Speaking of knitting, I've just received a used copy of Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac, which I wanted for the Pi shawl, the longies, and the Feb. baby sweater. I actually have a baby to knit for (sort of... a friend of a friend had a baby and specifically wanted some knit things), and I want to take advantage of it while I can. Sadly it's painfully slow. I think I have four baby things in progress just now, and all are going painfully slowly. I think I'm going to rip the baby shrug out now (the mum isn't the trendy type anyway, so she probably won't trendy baby clothes... on the other hand, miniture things are adorable). I've succesfully knit up some baby mitts made to look like Cartman's hat (more in keepng with the mum's humour), and I think I'll write up a pattern for those as well. Either free (with direct mention of the color choices), or very inexpensive (with no mention of the color choices).

Update! ahhh!

2008-09-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

I have realized that I update here so very little because I have two conflicting google accounts. One is my back up email address, tied to this blog (if you comment here and don't see it for months... it's because it went to my back-up email address). The other is tied to my Google Docs account, which was originally my Writely account before Writely was bought up just before coming out of Beta :( Makes me glad Casey and Jess aren't the sellin' to google types! Lord knows what I'd do with THREE Google accounts. In any case, since my Writely account was different from my gmail account, and since I use Writely (or rather Google Docs) for writing essays and any documents I want to be able to access from multiple computers, I am almost always logged into my OTHER account. And there is no way to merge this account with the other. Boo.

Anyhow, I'm in a bit of a knitting slump. I have to make/finish/pick four or five items for a show at the end of the month, but I've lost my crochet project (that I was really excited about), I have switched to a smaller purse so I can't carry the Whovian scarf about, the hat I made from my home spun is too small and the accompanying neckwarmer curls, and (what actually inspired the slump) I have second sock syndrome. I know, ME, second sock syndrome. Madness. I love the pattern, I love the yarn... But I discovered I have to rip back a few rows from the one I finished (didn't cut the yarn, thank heaven) to make it wide enough to fit my calf comfortablly. Then I goofed up my second row while making the toe for the second one, which meant I had to correct it... And I've been reading on the bus lately (or trying to... depends on how chatty my neighbor is!). Crochet has likewise suffered. I did start a new spinning project, though. For one of my swap partners. I'm trying a sort of modified long-draw to get a fluffier woolen type yarn. It's working so far, but I hope my swap parner likes slubs! I also have a really nice green laceweight I made that I think will become a cowl (I only made about 190 yards)... I need to check the pattern to see if I have the right needles for it. I did get in some small, mindless knitting yesterday evening (armwarmers for wee brother), and the chunky yarn was sort of nice to work with. Though I've been seriously eyeing some alpaca lace lately... Sigh. Even my crafting slumps result in drooling over yarn.

New etsy shop!

2008-07-27T23:42:00.000-07:00

Wow, I haven't been on in quite some time!

First off, thanks for all the support with the MS Walk. We took the shorter route this year since everyone in the group seemed to have something going on with their foot/ankle, but we raised money for a great cause and had a good time doing it :)

But the real reason I'm posting here is that I've just finished up a new crochet pattern, and I've decided to list it on etsy! I'm very excited, as this is the first time I've actualy tried selling a pattern for profit. Interested parties can check out russiamoore.etsy.com. You may remember these arm warmers:

Now you can buy the pattern and make a pair (or twelve!) yourself!

MS Walk 2008

2008-04-28T14:16:00.001-07:00

Okay, this isn't about crafting, but it is about a good cause, which I try to make a theme around my crafting.

When my step-mum was 33 years old she died. She had been sick for a long time, going from a healthy young woman to needing a wheelchair and barely being able to take care of herself. She had Multiple Sclerosis, a surprisingly common illness that usually isn't fatal but can be debilitating. Most people diagnosed with MS are women between 20 and 50 years old. The cause is unknown. What MS does is makes the body's immune system attack cells protecting nerve fibers as though they were foreign invaders, such as bacteria. The result is that the "messages" from the brain to other parts of the body (or vice versa) don't always get there on time or properly worded.

There is no known cure for MS. The National MS Society spends millions of dollars every year researching the disease, treatments, and looking for a cure. They also have educational and supportive programs. Every year they have a fundraising walk, usually in April or May. This year I'm walking in one on May 4th--this Sunday! My personal goal is to raise $350, and my team (led by the new wife of a man with MS) wants to raise $7,500.

Even the smallest amount helps. Be it $5 or $500, the money goes directly to research and education. Last year my younger sisters donated change from their piggy banks! If you would like to help in some way, visit my page by clicking here. For more information on MS or the reasearch the MS Society does, visit their site by clicking here.

Thank you.

Yay!

2008-03-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

I finished my first shrug yesterday night. It's very cute, and I will post pictures shortly.

I also just found out that I missed the Mr Roger's Sweater Day. It was March 20th. I'm marking my calendar.

Also, what EXACTLY is the point of a "wrinkle free" setting on a dryer if your clothes come out more wrinkled than before? Maybe you're not supposed to spritz them with water first. I still think the old ways are best :P

Craftiness taking over!

2008-03-29T00:55:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day. I finally got around to making laundry detergent, and let me tell you, shredding soap is fun! So is boiling it on the stove. Very mad scientist. I tried adding Sandalwood essential oil, but for three gallons I'd need a lot more oil than what I had. Once it was all stirred up I put the lid on and hoped for the best. We'll see tomorrow how well it gels.

I've also looked a lot more into steampunk for an impending birthday party. The theme is steampunk/time travel, so I've got a lot of fun ideas. If you're unfamiliar with steampunk, I encourage you to try a quick Google search. It's very fun. Especially if you love arm warmers and history the way I do.

Holy crafting, Batman!

2008-03-17T14:22:00.001-07:00

Look! A bunch of poorly lit photos!

Lots of projects going all at once. Not all pictured here! From top to bottom: FO - Team Zissou Hat for the boy (still don't have a finished picture), progress on Dr Who scarf as of March 2nd (more done since then), what will become an octopus by Crafty Alien (I started this poor thing months ago--it's supposed to be a quick and easy project done in an afternoon :P), and my first lace knitting, the Haruha Scarf.

Not pictured: More than I care to mention.

I've just discovered free form crochet as an art form (I've been making stuff up as I go along since... forever) and it's very fun. I can make useless blobs and motifs and string 'em together and make stuff! Awesome. A nice break from my by-the-book knitting, too. Very therapeutic.

And as for non-yarn related news, today I'm going to try my hand at making laundry detergent! I found a lot of recipes linked from a blog linked from the Craft Blog.

Crafty Craftiness

2008-02-11T17:49:00.000-08:00

For Valentines I have a few projects going. One I just finished and meant to mail out today, but that didn't pan out. It's a scarf for my step-sister. The aforementioned Irish Hiking Scarf.

The other two are for someone who may or may not read this blog, and thusly shall not be posted until after they are given (roughly the 17th or so).

Busy, busy, busy

2008-01-11T15:56:00.000-08:00

I've been running around like crazy this past month or so, partially because I'm moving in a week (eep!), partially because I have about a billion projects going.

One was the Marley's Ghost pattern from Knitty for my older sister's birthday. I just have to felt it and its done. Another is another Irish Hiking scraf, this time for my step-sister, who is just missing a scarf to complete her awesome cowgirl outfit (she actually rides, too, and in Northern Washington state a good scarf is worth its weight in gold). Then I'm making a series of mystery projects for Valentine's day... Then I tried out my giant size 50 needles of DOOM with some novelty yarn I was given for Christmas. Plus I discovered one can use size 50 needles for broomstick lace, so I just HAD to try it... And I tought myself how to tat on New Year's eve, so I've been practicing that as well. (My quest to learn all forms of lace-making comes along swimmingly... Mua ha ha)

Packing schmaking :P

Results!

2007-12-10T23:39:00.000-08:00

So this is what my wet green roving looked like. It actually ended up absorbing all the color while it cooled.

I stuck it in a pillow case in the spin cycle, and this is what I got:

I am quite pleased with the green (and surprise blue!) variation. But first I did my red. It wavered from almost black deep, deep red to white. My first thought once it was through the spin cycle was that it looked like blood :P Then I thought Canadian flag, and THEN peppermint. Oh the things you can think...

While finishing the other two, I tried out the orange Kool-Aid. First I wet the roving in lukewarm water (it just floated on the cold water and wouldn't submerge!), then I took it out, added more water, stirred in two packets of Kool-Aid, added the roving back in, pressed down once or twice, and microwaved for three minutes at a tie with three minute rest periods until it had absorbed all the color.

Then I went elsewhere, dipped pretzels in chocolate, came back, ran it through the spin cycle, and got this:

It looks like a creamsicle and smells like a vitamin C tablet. I love it.

The best way to study for a final ;)

2007-12-10T17:11:00.000-08:00

When studying for a final, there are many possible options.

One is to use your text book, notes, and flashcards, as well as practice from the study guide your prof. lovingly prepared for his/her students.

Yet another technique is to goof off at the computer, occasionally writing up a line or two for the dialog needed for the final.

Maybe relaxation is key, and start early on your break's light reading.

Perhaps one might start off by buying and preparing the gift-making necessities.

I personally favor a combination thereof. Thus I pulled out some nice Brown Sheep mill ends bought off etsy...

...and tried first two packets of Cherry Kool-Aid, microwaved on high for four minutes, break for five, microwave for three (probably FAR too hot, but we'll see. I also added the wool and then the kool-aid, so who knows how the middle of the roving looks)

and then about six drops green food coloring, two dashes of white vinegar, and three drops yellow, microwaved on high for three minutes at a time with two minute rest periods.

This picture was taken during a rest period. The wool didn't soak up every last bit of dye, but I didn't want to accidentally fry it either. For this one I prewetted the roving before adding more water, the coloring and the dye. I'm not going to rinse the roving I dye because it's for felted soap, and the process for making the soap should sufficiently rinse out any extra color.

New WIPs

2007-11-21T15:18:00.000-08:00

No pictures yet, but I've started three new projects in the past 48 hours. One is a hat for a supervisor who has taken a new job. It's a hat with a 3x2 ribbed brim and crocheted top. I'm on the brim right now, 75 stitches on 24" size 8 needles, being worked flat because I don't have 16" ones I could do it on.

Then I have two Christmas presents. One is large and fluffy, the other is large and not fluffy. I can't go too much into detail lest the recipients come here...

At last, at last

2007-11-19T15:12:00.000-08:00

First off, I want to announce that despite my remiss posting behavior, I will try to update this thing more often! Secondly, I wanted to add that since getting a Ravelry account, I have added the IG Scarf pattern info to the site (though it awaits an editor's approval), and lowered the suggested donation to 2.50 USD. The holidays rapidly approach (Hanukkah is early this year! Aaah!) and this scarf makes a FANTASTIC last minute gift. Lately my mum has been wearing a black and a purple together and they look fantastic. It can be done in most any yarn (though I'm partial to soft wools, without too much drape so as to really show the simple pattern). You can see the original post about the scarf here.

Now then, you've all not seen my lovely Dr Who scarf in all it's glory!

HALFWAY! And other random stuff...

2007-08-08T18:43:00.000-07:00

First off, YAY for reaching halfway on the Who Scarf! Woot!

Look at how fat it is when I roll it up!

Secondly, I made a hat a while back over the course of two or three days. I left off the last row during a break, but otherwise it would have been finished in two days EASILY. One day would have been sufficient had I time and movies enough. It started out as a Mama Duck puppet for the ducklings, but I didn't have enough time to make them one with them bugging me to pay attention to them. So I just kept going, and somehow wound up with this hat.

Thirdly, Here are some more finger puppets I've made! All of these poor little guys were smashed in a drawer and need some TLC. I have an alligator, a mouse, a rabbit, an elephant, and a lion. Somewhere there's a peacock, but I couldn't find him.

Fuzzy picture. Here are some close ups... I'm not really sure what the little blue guys are :P

Wow. Blurry sideways photos. And text mixed up with photos. That is some quality blogging right there. :P

NOTE: The progress meter I've been using appears to have... disappeared. I'll use this one that makes no logical sense instead! Maybe come November...
In all reality, 533 rows out of 1042 total rows is about 51%

Joins, rows, and teddy bears

2007-08-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

So I've been experimenting with different joins. I had been using the method shown here, but I got tired of that and started felting. I also gave up on my cute tags to keep track of row counts a while back.

I stopped using them because I found I made more mistakes and had to frog more than when I just counted by hand. And really that isn't hard or time consuming when there are less than 30 rows to count. The straw that broke the camel's back was knitting 23 rows of green instead of 22, making the join on the wrong side.

That sort of bugged me. I've only made one such mistake once, but watching Jeeves and Wooster calmed me and I didn't feel SO bad frogging two and a half rows... :P

No exciting updates otherwise, but here are two pretty pictures, one of the scarf and tea and one of my first Mother Bear Project bear.

Who Scarf update

2007-08-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

The scarf comes along swimmingly. When I began I had to do 12 rows a day to end by Oct. 1st, and now that's down to 10! Sadly, I have two washclothes to make for wedding presents before then, so I really need to step it up a bit :P

I've been experimenting with felted joins, and for the most part they've worked quite well, but I went back to my woven in ends because in some ways it is easier. Plus I don't want to get sloppy just as I was getting the hang of it.

497 / 1,042
(47.7%)

Delicious Yarn

2007-08-05T13:03:00.000-07:00

I went yarn shopping yesterday with my boyfriend's mum. After she fell in love with the Irish Hiking Scarf I was making we decided to go shopping together and pick out some yarn so that I could make one for her for the winter.

After delighting in many yarns of all textures, colors and prices,
we picked out this lovely bunch:

It's a wool acrylic blend that should be self-striping. I wound one into a ball as it started falling into messy loops, as the one to the left of it is starting to do.

Mmmmm...

Bi-Pride or Girly Scarf!

2007-08-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

Last December I had a lot of gifts to make. Having a bunch of girls in the family, I wanted something nice they could use. On a Wikipedia browsing tangent the month previous, my younger sister and I discovered the Bi-pride flag. She loved the colors, and I thought it would make an adorable scarf. Soon I was crunched for time... What to do, what to do? I ran out to the nearest craft store and found the closest color match I could. It turned out to be far less luxurious than the Merino wool I used for my visiting grandfather's scarf (the leftovers became my Irish Hiking Scarf)--basic Lion Brand Wool. The scarves whipped up in no time, and I made a matching hat for the youngest sister of the bunch. To go with them I made embroidery floss braclets and a flower or two to add a feminine touch. While I don't think I could ever say how I made the hat (the fact that it looked good still boggles my mind), I know exactly what I did for the scarves. Here is my super basic, super simple pattern. Makes a great gift for Birthdays, Holidays, or Pride Week!

Materials: Lion Brand Wool, 1 skein Midnight Blue, 1 skein Purple, 1 skein Rose. Size G7 (4.50 mm) crochet hook. Yarn needle for flower.

(Written with American terms/notation)

For Scarf: Chain desired length (height of wearer is best) in Midnight Blue. *Ch 1, turn, DC length* twice (1st and 2nd rows). At second chain join Purple. Repeat rows 1 and 2. Join Rose, repeat rows 1 and 2, tie off.

For Flower: Ch 35 in desired color leaving 10" tail. Turn, on 2nd Ch *SC, Ch 3* repeat down length of chain. Allow curl to gether naturally, leaving a small hole in the center. Use tail to stitch together through the center hole. Stitch flower onto scarf with matching (or contrasting!) color

Pictures soon! Note that on the Lion Brand website they want you to think the Rose is a softer color than it is. It's pretty bright pink.

Quick update

2007-07-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

Poor internet connection. Row count on Who Scarf past 400... (A lot of knitting yesterday.) Baby ducks were in the house... More on them later :)

Duck Finger Puppet

2007-07-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

I made this finger puppet a while back. I discovered finger puppets go super fast and are super easy. I also happened to have some white baby yarn, blue speckled worsted weight, and bright orange yarn from a kid's learn to weave kit or something like that. I had no pattern, I just made it up as I went and finished it in one sitting. Not half bad, if you ask me.

The picture turned out blurry, but you get the idea. I also have a lion, purple elephant (I once made a bunch of elephants for everyone I knew as gifts for Non-Denominational Gift Giving Holiday, which is the second Tuesday in August), and a peacock.

Scarf update!

2007-07-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

I took a few more breaks from the scarf for sanity (and carpal tunnel avoidance, and homework...) But yesterday more than made up for it by knitting in excess of thirty-five rows. Here is a picture:

Note that the end is rolled up now. If it wasn't I'd have a devil of a time twisting it this way and that to turn the work. Also note where I accidentally added a row to the last green stripe, joined the yellow on the wrong side, and then added an extra row of yellow to correct the problem. I am now on the next yellow stripe. I can wrap the scarf around my neck, which is exciting, but it isn't long enough for a proper scarf yet. I fear it will be far short of 20' before blocking.

Also, I've lost count of how many rows I have knitted :P Hold on a moment... (Little Spanish Flea plays gently in the background) 308!

308 / 1,042
(29.6%)

Scrump Lion

2007-07-19T13:37:00.000-07:00

After much too long, I have finished my first Amigurumi project. It's a lion, and it turned out lopsided and funny because I can't follow crochet patterns to save my life, and it is adorable. My baby brother saw it and said it was from Lilo and Stitch. Given that he is four I'll trust his judgment. My not-quite-so-younger sister also said he looks like Scrump.

Anyhow, here are an obscene number of pictures of him.

Escape from jail Scrump Lion (with bonus floral couch!)

Emo Scrump Lion

A picture where you can actually see him

A wider shot.

Compare to the original Scrump.

My next Amigurumi project will hopefully be Kuzco's little dolly from the beginning of The Emperor's New Groove.

Who scarf, AHOY!

2007-07-17T16:33:00.001-07:00

I've been averaging about 24+ rows per day, and only 12 per day are required to meet the deadline of the knitalong I'm taking part in. I took a break the other day for almost exactly 24 hours so as to get some homework in, but I've almost recovered that already. I'm well into the green stripe.

While at the boy's house the other day, his huggable puppy Bear somehow snuck off my skien of green yarn while we weren't looking. Soon I was unraveling loops of yarn and finding far more ends than one normally might. Thankfully, my yarn untangling skills are well tuned, and soon I had it in a tidy little almost-ball.

I think it looks rather like a small cactus.
Anyhow, to keep my row numbers up, I've taken to knitting during many of my few summertime waking hours. This past weekend I went to the birthday party of a friend. The theme was Hobbits. I dressed in my best Hobbit Party attire, and realized that Hobbits knit!

(Please excuse the bear face, I'm sort of paranoid :P)
I swear I talked and interacted with people, too.
See those cards? I got farther into a game of Bang! than I've ever been able to before!

Meanwhile, I needed a present for the boy's birthday.
Following up on a joke, I bought a door hanger and made a picture frame to go with it. It's horribly ugly, but he'll laugh.

175 / 1,040
(16.8%)

Whovian knitting!

2007-07-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture from earlier today:

I am now adding the yellow stripe and trying to figure out how on EARTH to weave in the ends properly continental style.

76 / 1,040
(7.3%)

Scarf (and cat) mania!

2007-07-10T16:56:00.000-07:00

Oh me oh my, I have not forgotten this blog. I have been knitting like MAD trying to finish my first cable-knit project, a lovely scarf found here.

It turned out a bit shorter than I was hoping for because I just used some lovely Patton's wool yarn I had left over from Christmas projects. The color and pattern nicely hid my uneven stitches. The pattern was easy to follow, though, and I'd enjoy making a skinny version for looks rather than warmth (or practice, in this case). I'll be making another longer version soon for my boyfriend's mum. Now that this scarf is finished I'm working on my first ever Dr Who season (series) 12 scarf. I'm only on the sixth row of the second color, so I have about 1000 rows to go... Pictures coming soon!

To make up for the lack of Whovian pictures, here is a picture of my cat, Magic:

Please pardon the late-night lighting. At least it befits my lovely black kitty. Fie to bad luck! Fie, I say!

Baby hat for charity!

2007-07-01T21:18:00.001-07:00

After much putting it off and much longingly looking at the baby yarn stashed away, I have at last made a baby hat.

It will be off to a nearby hospital shortly!

(Also, a larger version would look awesome with the IG scarf!)

IG Scarf Scholarship Fundraiser

2007-06-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Welcome to my latest creative endeavor! My first post is the whole reason I'm starting this thing…

Not so very long ago, I was a shy homeschooler who loved animals. My older sister had become an Interpretive Guide at Lindsay Wildlife Museum two years previous, and I applied, hoping I would make friends and have fun like she had. Our younger sister also applied, and we both got in. While working as an IG I learned an amazing amount. I, along with my fellow IGs, took care of the domestic animals and taught the public about keeping small pets. We learned how to handle snakes, tarantulas, rabbits, rats, and walking sticks. We learned how to stand in front of large groups and smile and answer questions. We made good friends. I personally became a good enough public speaker to breeze through Public Speaking in college! I also discovered that more than anything else I wanted to teach. The Interpretive Guide program was one of the best things I ever did. Sadly, a non-profit is forever trying to raise money, and the program wasn't cheap. Though it was well loved and they decided to keep the program going, the museum was forced to raise the cost of being an Interpretive Guide, and for many the cost is prohibitive.

While an IG, I began to crochet long, skinny scarves for the friends I made there. It was a basic crochet pattern, and soon I was getting requests for different colors and lengths, etc. I started calling it the IG Scarf. It uses only two basic stitches and can be expanded into blankets and larger scarves easily. It would make a great beginner project, and, though very simple, makes a great gift.

I'm asking for $2.50 donations for this pattern. When $500-$1000 have been raised I'll give it all to the museum for an IG Scholarship Fund, allowing low income kids to be a part of this great program. To order a pattern and make a donation, click the PayPal button on the sidebar at right. Leave your email address in the note section, and I'll email a PDF of the pattern to you!

Thanks so much.