making stuff up

May 31, 2022 by 6 Comments

Hey everyone! Today I’m sharing a WIP that I just started today and am kind of making up as I go. It’s supposed to be a philodendron or pothos vine:

I’m making it to go in an indoor hanging pot, because apparently I can’t keep real plants alive to save my own life and yet I still really want something “natural” in my home. This is my solution, and I’m hoping if I make quite a few of these vines and stick them all in the pot it’ll look semi-realistic (other than the color, I suppose, but it was as close to green as I had, so that’s what I’m using).

You can see I’m crocheting around some random craft wire (which I bought about a bazillion years ago to stiffen the brim of a crocheted sun hat). The yarn is sock weight, and I’m using a size C (2.75mm) hook.

To make the leaves I’m just taking my single length of wire and making a loop, then twisting the loop to form the part of the stem (?) that attaches to the vine. I crochet over that, then work into the remaining large loop at the end of the twist to form the leaf. I pinch the leaf loop closed and slip stitch back to the main wire and continue. This way I don’t have to break the yarn and sew in ends for every leaf — it’s a continuous piece!

I’m still working out the best leaf shapes, but they’re all slightly different, just like a real plant would be (I’m trying hard for realism despite the colorway lol).

If this works out I’ll do another post showing the finished piece, but no guarantees about how soon that’ll be. I’m in the middle of re-watching “One Piece” during my free time and it’s over 1,000 episodes (and counting), and I can’t do much crocheting while reading subtitles (I’m too stubborn to watch the dubbed version — the voices are just not the same). Still, I do want to get this done and hung up in my home, so I’ll do my best.

As far as a life update goes, nothing much has really changed lately. I’m still at the same job (despite my many complaints about it), I’m still very happily divorced (and not looking), and I still live in the same place with my doggo. I still do kung fu, I’m still super into BTS and K-pop, and I still do other crafts.

I have sort of picked up a new craft, though: sewing! I’ve been hesitant to share things here since this isn’t a sewing blog and I don’t want to put people off, but my hands have been very busy. Since December I’ve made 2 different shifts/chemises, a tank top, a slip/underskirt/petticoat thing, two (and a half) different skirts, and I’ve done lace inserts to re-size some shirts that were too small. I’ve been using a combination of hand-sewing and machine sewing, but the machine I’m using is a 1929 treadle Singer (which I love way more than electric machines, btw, because I can go slow when I need to and I just feel like I have more control even if my options for stitches are just limited to the straight stitch). YouTubers with channels about sewing and/or historical dress have been fascinating and inspiring me; if you’re interested, check out Bernadette Banner, Rachel Maksy, Abby Cox, and Morgan Donner, just to name a few!

So yeah, that’s pretty much all for this post! I hope you’re having a good day, and thanks for stopping by!

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new pattern published: Amigurumi Potpourri! (and the importance of tech editing)

November 16, 2021 by 1 Comment

Howdy everyone! I’ve got exciting news — I’ve just published a new pattern for something I’ve been working on for a very long time (seriously, like, YEARS): Amigurumi Potpourri!

It’s is a unique set of instructions to make the components of a classic potpourri: cinnamon sticks, pinecones, dried cranberries, dried lemon slices, dried orange slices, and bay leaves. It could replace actual decorative potpourri (which can be toxic to pets), or if you like the smell of potpourri you can even add a few drops of essential oils to the wool to make it classically aromatic!

Using the recommended KnitPicks Palette yarn (fingering weight, 100% Peruvian Highland Wool, 50g/ball) and a US 2/C 2.75 mm hook, pieces will range from around 1.5 cm wide to around 9 cm long, and if you follow the recommended amounts of the components in the pattern you will have enough potpourri to fill a decorative bowl. You can see the exact colorways and amounts, as well as other materials needed, on the Ravelry pattern page.

This is the first pattern I’ve ever sold myself, so in celebration I’m giving my lovely blog readers a discount on the pattern, which is normally priced at $4.99. Ya’ll get a $1 discount through the end of November, 2021! Enter code NYAC1121 at checkout on Ravelry. Buy here!

I also need to mention something in regards to publishing patterns: YOU NEED TO HAVE IT TECH EDITED. I seriously almost skipped this step because I thought my pattern was okay, and thank goodness I didn’t skip it because my pattern was sooooo NOT OKAY. It is now, though, thanks to my amazing tech editor Marjan of Hobbydingen! She was super fast but still so thorough — she caught so many little problems and inconsistencies and bits of messy wording and math mistakes and was overall very helpful and patient with me (going through 4 versions of the pattern before it was ready to go), which I greatly appreciate! It’s definitely worth it to get your stuff tech edited, for realsies, so I’d recommend Hobbydingen if you ever need tech editing services!

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i’m back, sort of?

December 12, 2019 by 4 Comments

Hello everyone! It’s been ages. I wanted to come back and do at least a bit of more casual blogging, so here I am. Since I’ve been gone so long I’ll do my best to get to all of the questions and comments that have been left in my absence, so please be patient with me. 🙂

Very quick life update: working as a counselor at a psychiatric hospital, going through the latter stages of divorce, living alone and loving it, found some new things to obsess over (I won’t even tell you here — it’ll all become evident quickly enough), made some friends, still doing kung fu, have a knitting/crochet group at work that I love going to, getting in some self discovery. It is what it is for now, so on to the yarny things!

I’m knitting a hat for someone I work with who is going up to New England over the holidays but doesn’t have a good hat. I’m making up the pattern, but I’m keeping track of what I’m doing so I can share it when it’s complete. Right now it just looks like a mess:

That provisional cast on was one of the easier ones I’ve tried: check it out here.

Yarn is Cascade Yarns Eco Alpaca, which is THE softest yarn I’ve ever tried. Like, it’s hard to keep the first slip knot tight, it’s so smooth. I love it!!

I also just ordered a TON of yarn for 2 (TWO!!!) crochet blankets, so I can’t wait for those to arrive.

Well that’s it for now, hopefully I’ll see you soon! Thanks for stopping by!!

Filed Under: announcements

giveaway winner & life without crafting

March 5, 2017 by 3 Comments

The winner has been notified & confirmed!  Congratulations to Meredith, the winner of my “Every Which Way Crochet Borders” giveaway!  I hope you love the book and get tons of use out of it!

If you’re disappointed that you didn’t win this go-round, subscribe to the blog so you can get notified of future giveaways!  I’ll also always announce my giveaways on my social media.

This is another bland post without photos because I have done absolutely NOTHING in the past month even closely related to crafting.  My fractured hand feels much better and while I can now go without wearing a brace (during the day, at least), I’ve been wary of trying to craft because I don’t want to strain anything from repetitive motion before stuff is really healed.  I should be grateful that I can finally open medicine bottles and write legibly, etc. but it is SO HARD not to be knitting or crocheting.

Strangely after 2 weeks of doing nothing I had no problem with going back to my Wing Chun class (during which the hand was broken); I just have to wear some secure hand wraps for a while and not use my right hand (which isn’t hard because there’s so much more to this style of kung fu than punching).  My classmates are aware and I trust them not to accidentally do any damage.

Surely I’ll be back to crafting soon — staying away is hard — but I think part of why I haven’t tried anything yet is because I know it’ll be really hard to take it easy and take breaks and stuff!  For now though, thanks for stopping by, see you soon!

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“Every Which Way Crochet Borders” book review, bonus pattern, & giveaway!

February 19, 2017 by 76 Comments

everywhichwaycrochet

Hello everyone!  I was lucky enough to be chosen by Storey Publishing (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to participate in a blog tour and review a copy of Edie Eckman’s new book (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).  It’s called “Every Which Way Crochet Borders” and there will be a free border pattern and book giveaway below, so keep reading to learn about this really cool book!  Although the book was provided and the giveaway sponsored by Storey Publishing the opinions below are all my own.  Also, follow the rest of the blog tour for more chances to win the book by clicking here:

crochet-blog-tour-button-vf

review

OK so, there’s really a lot packed into this 218 page book, and it’s not just the 139 cool crochet borders.  Let’s dive in to some of the details!

One thing I often find lacking in patterns of crochet borders is that you’re left to figure out how to turn corners on your own, which can be incredibly frustrating and can frankly just turn me off to using the pattern at all.  Thankfully Edie Eckman has included great detail in her patterns,

each engineered to flow smoothly around the 90-degree corners that you’ll find on blankets, sweaters, washcloths, and other items.

Each beautiful pattern includes both written and charted instructions as well as any necessary additional information on stitches or other notes, and each pattern is tagged with categories for easy searching (categories include: reversible, wide, medium, narrow, undulating, straight, motifs, open/lacy, layered, fringy, and textured).

Before even getting to the patterns, however, there’s a very helpful section of the book called “Design Concepts” which really put this book a notch above other border books and patterns for me.  It gives a very helpful structured approach to choosing borders for your project based on some crochet principles, such as “Form Follows Function,” weighing borders that compliment vs. contrast with your item, recognizing the potential for the huge differences colors can make, understanding scale, and how to choose the right type of yarn for your projects.  Edie even includes advice and details on how to add borders to other types of fabric, which I found very useful.  And while her border patterns are written out with specific detail, Edie encourages customizing the borders in her book (such as widening borders or combining them), and she tells you how to do it with math that is really very straightforward and takes a lot of guesswork and frustration out of making the perfect border for your pattern.  It is so nice not to have to figure this out yourself!  If you’ve ever had to do this on your own you know that the struggle is real.  Wrapping up the “Design Concepts” section are some helpful tips on troubleshooting, starting and ending rounds smoothly, and even how to fudge stitch counts if necessary!

Man, I wish I’d had this when designing the As-We-Go Stripey Blanket!  The border would have been even cuter!  🙂

The borders themselves are cute and varied — there’s something sure to please everyone and go with just about any project.  Experiment and have fun making your own personalized crochet borders!

free border pattern just for you!

As I mentioned before, check out the other blogs on the blog tour to find not only more ways to win a copy of the book but also more free bonus patterns from the book itself!  For my readers I choose to share border #99 straight from the book itself so you can see how each pattern page is laid out!

Every Which Way Crochet Borders #99

The Stitches & Notes section is very helpful for those who haven’t tried the Solomon’s Knot stitch before.

Every Which Way Crochet Borders #99 Notes

As mentioned above, each pattern is tagged with specific categories.

Every Which Way Crochet Borders #99 Tags

The photo and written pattern are clear and concise.

Every Which Way Crochet Borders #99 Written Pattern

And the charted pattern is easy to read, with repeated sections highlighted.

Every Which Way Crochet Borders #99 Chart

Excerpted from Every Which Way Crochet Borders © 2017 by Edith L. Eckman. Photography by John Polak. Chart by Karen Manthey.  Used with permission from Storey Publishing.

giveaway

And now for the giveaway part!  This particular giveaway is open only to US residents (but any of the other giveaways I hold are open worldwide).  A lucky winner will receive their own free copy of Edie Eckman’s “Every Which Way Crochet Borders,” and all you have to do is comment below with your name and the State you live in (one entry per person please)!  Winner will be chosen by a Random Number Generator on Saturday, Feb. 25.  If chosen you will receive an email from me requesting your mailing address; make sure you check your inboxes because after 24 hours I will draw again if I receive no response!  Winner will be announced as soon as one has been confirmed!  Good luck everyone!

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon!

Filed Under: announcements Tagged With: , , , , ,
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