making stuff up

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!

crochet cacti trio

My office in our new building is nice and big, but it’s got no windows and is very bare since we have to provide our own decor.  It needs something green, and since I can’t really grow real plants in there, I had to make my own!

IMG_3960not your average crochet - cacti

I’m really happy with all of them!  The agave took the longest and was hardest on my hands, but even so I can’t pick a favorite!

IMG_3960not your average crochet - cacti

I talked about the barrel cactus in my last post.  The agave & saguaro were also made with worsted yarn and a size E hook.  The free pattern for the agave can be found here and the free pattern for the saguaro can be found here.  I made some alterations though — with the agave plant I made 5 of the medium leaves, 3 of the small leaves, and then I made 3 even smaller leaves that aren’t included in the free pattern but follow the same easy premise.

not your average crochet - agave

I also made the saguaro a little taller so that I could bury a good bit of it under the rocks to stabilize it.

not your average crochet - saguaro cactus

These are just so cute, I’m so happy with them.  I might have to go back to the store and get a couple more pots and try a couple of other types of cacti!

Well that’s all for today, thanks for stopping by!

books books books!

Guess what I got today in the mail?

IMG_5752

Just published on March 15th, this book has the cutest home decor items:

pie seat cushion

pie seat cushion

birthday cake toilet paper roll cover

birthday cake toilet paper roll cover

donut ottoman/pouf

donut ottoman/pouf

Aren’t they adorable?!?!  Now of course I’m still keeping my New Year’s Resolution not to buy yarn (which makes me want to clap for myself), but I can plan larger projects for the future and maybe do some of the smaller ones with what I have laying around in my stash.  We’ll have to see!

Also, I got this book in the mail yesterday:

IMG_5753

I’m really excited about this, too — already the forward and introduction are speaking to me, so I can’t wait to get to chapter 1!  This was recommended to me by my therapist and I think it’s going to be very useful.

Well, that’s all for today, just wanted to share those with you!  Thanks for stopping by!

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