Girl on the Rocks

Mittens are the new socks June 4, 2008

Mark my words, mittens are going to be huge soon. As a knitting project, they have all of the versatility and satisfying features as socks. Colorwork, textures, a variety of increase and decrease methods, thumb shaping (analogous to heel of toe shaping)…. And you can use them to try to make a dent in your sock yarn stash.

Patterns I have been eyeing (Most links are Ravelry links - sorry. The waiting list is only 2 days long - hurry up and join):

- Anything from the Selbuvotter book ($24.95)

For example, NHM #9:

Or NHM #10:

Order this directly from the author like I did. It arrives quickly!

-Okka By from Randi K. Design ($7)

Her chart for a tiny little knitting village in Norway captures an amazing amount of detail. I am also impressed with the little crab that pops up on the other side…

All of her designs are amazing, so be sure to check out her etsy shop.

- Baske by Nicole Hindes ($6)
Simple enough for a beginner, but truly gorgeous! I love the yellow color that she chose.

- Hello Yarn’s amazing fiddlehead mittens. ($5.95)




I saved this for last cause I have big plans for this one. Adrian makes kits of hand-dyed yarn to go with the knitting pattern. As far as I can tell, it would be impossible for me to ever score one of those rare gems. I love her suggestion of using something for the outside that is durable and has a little mohair in it… So I am challenging myself to dye and spin all of the yarn that I will need for this project. Truly ambitious, I know, but I give myself until this winter to get it done. Wish me luck!

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SF Etsy April 16, 2008

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Energy Efficient Hamster shredder April 15, 2008

Reason #415 to buy a hamster: The hamster powered paper shredder. i could really use this. i could have a hamster shred paper for my other pets - my composting worms.

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Gifts for the Crafty - Part I December 4, 2007

Ahh the holidays…. Egg nog, cold weather and… SHOPPING! Seems like as good a time as ever to tell you about the things that I like to buy. I thought for the next few days I would highlight some of the things that I really like, and maybe you can discover some resources you didn’t know about. Most of the products I will mention are things that I have purchased myself, so I am fully comfortable recommending them to you. If nothing else, you can send your relatives/loved ones here for gift ideas. It is slightly less obvious than just flat out posting on your blog the things that you want them to buy (though I fully support that idea).

So what should we talk about today? Let’s start with Magazines

Getting a magazine subscription for your crafty friend or loved one is a way to keep them inspired all year long. They are also a good solution for last-minute shoppers since you can give gift subscriptions online.

• Craft: Magazine ($34.95 - 4 issues/year) Innovative craft ideas with complete instructions. Everything from knitting patterns, to sewing electronics into your wardrobe. At first glance this publication looks a little pricey, the final object is very nice. Like its sister (brother?) publication, Make: Magazine, the format it more like a softcover book and you can imagine referring back to these for years to come.
• Adorn More similar to a fashion mag (in a good way) than any other crafty publication that I can think of, Adorn epitomizes classy yet accessible craftiness. i like it!
• Martha Stewart Living ($24 - 12 issues) I am not a self-proclaimed Martha Fan. I mean, I like her stuff enough, and I like that she seems like she has overly high standards and is kinda mean… And she is like the craftiest ex-con ever… But I wouldn’t call myself a fan. I don’t get this magazine, but every time I read one, I found something in it I really like. I guess that makes me a closeted Martha fan.
• ReadyMade($18 - 6 issues)
  I am always impressed in the number of crafty projects in Readymade that I feel I could actually put to use in my apartment. And they always have an article on some craftsperson that I am completely intrigued by. Plus, they are practically my neighbors so it is like supporting the locals when i pick up a copy.

Zines
Independently published pamphlet-like magazines are also a great read!

• Craphound ($10) People. just go buy one of these now - I’ll wait. This Zine is a big fat pack ‘o fun. I think it would be an understatement to call it clip-art so instead I will say that it is a collection of illustrations and images on various themes. Issue #6 is the most recent and is titled “Deaths, Telephones and Scissors”. These are a pure joy to look at and use as a crafting reference. If you are the least bit intrigued just go buy one NOW - The back issues sell on ebay for a mint.
  
• Croq Zine ($15 - 4 issues) Still crafting strong and headed for their 11th issue, this zine has never let me down. There are always a couple of article or projects that I enjoy reading about. These guys and gals have their act together and you can purchase a pack of back issues, as well as a 1 year subscription.
• Church of Craft Zine ($3- 5 back issues)- Sister Diane of the Portland Church of Craft has made available back issues of zine she produced. Take a look around her etsy shop, because she has several other crafty zine offerings.
• MixTape($6/issue +hella$$ for international shipping) Wassup Melbourne?? has anyone else noticed that Melbourne is like the Portland of Australia - totally busting with craftiness. I visited there last year at about this time, but somehow managed to not investigate the craft scene. This zine shows me that I missed a lot…

That’s all the magazine ideas I have. But i have many more crafty guide ideas so stay tuned for a few more posts!
See all of my 2007 Craft gift guide posts

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Socktober shame, October pride November 6, 2007

Shame

Well, Socktober came and went, and I barely did a thing about it. Not too cool for a knit-blogger… I wanted to finish my Cupcake socks not only for Socktober, but also to be eligible for a prize in the Ravelry Sock Knitter’s Anonymous group. But alas. Not finished.

In the wake of Socktober, I will point out two sock-related blog posts that caught my eye:

• Maia’s toe-up gusseted heel Just the thing I was looking for - and in just the right amount of nerdy detail.
• B’s Toe-up two needle cast on I have seen her work this magic at our knitting group, but I have never been the recipient of the tutorial. Now I can learn any time - Thanks B.

Pride

The thing that sucked up all of my crafty-time in October was the Halloween costume for my Blythe doll. It got a pretty good reception at the Blythe Meet that I went to, but I was a little shocked that it got picked up by both the Craft blog, and Boing Boing. yeah Boing Boing. wow. And they classified it as ‘Art.’ Though I thought my friends were web-nerds, B was the only one that I think even really knew about boing boing. Make sure to scroll down and check out the comments there - I actually really enjoyed some negative feedback, but that may be because I like to cause trouble….

And as if that amount of web traffic wasn’t enough to make me happy, Not Martha posted a link to my monster finger chapstick holder pattern.

Thanks for the love Internets! It makes me feel better about being a Socktober slacker.

On a final note, I will generously point out that you can now advertise on Ravelry for a tiny sum. And I think it pays off… Indie shop owners, make sure you check it out.

Ravelry-induced weekend orders

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Two quick tidbits April 11, 2007

First tidbit:
I am so happy that I stopped by hello yarn the other day. I discovered these cute little numbers.

Photo from helloyarn’s flickr stream

The pattern is available on her free pattern page. These have given me a great idea for making cute tiny things…. but more on that later.

Second tidbit:

A sneak preview of my work in progress for this month’s whiplash challenge. the theme: Cozies. Oh, I can make a cozy that’s for sure. I am pretty excited about this one and it is almost done.

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Reflections on a month of Socks October 31, 2006

Oh socktober, you were over too quickly for me. i discovered that in a month of dedicated sock knitting, I can make *gasp* ONE pair of socks. I am wearing them today to see out the month in style. You already met them a few days ago… here they are again.

I made a rather timid attempt at a second pair of socks using my leftover yarn…

A baby sock! So far i only have 1.5 baby socks finished, so maybe I will get the rest done at knitting tonight. to reiterate some of my knitting philosophy for any new readers

Babies: Not so much.
Knitting for Babies: awesome.

Baby projects are tiny and always cute (well, almost always) and usually pretty quick. I am a huge fan of baby socks because it lets you try out different sock knitting techniques (toes, heels, bind-offs) rather quickly since they are pretty small. I am writing up this pattern as I go and hopefully people will be able to use it to try out knitting a toe-up sock. stay tuned.

Here are a couple of socktober highlights that I want to link to for future reference.

• Stretchy Bind-off by Grumperina - This is fantastic for toe-up socks. It is by far the best thing i have found so far. and easy to memorize. B- you have to try it.
• Short row heels with wrapped stitches - Buried in this tutorial is the reason why the left and right side sides of short row heels with wrapped stitches look different. and how to fix it. when i understand, you’ll see it in action here
• Picot Edging for toe-up socks - Completely tested and verified with math, the best way to put a picot edging on a pair of toe up socks.

i am off to spend the last hours of Socktober in a bar with my knitting friends and others. I might get that second baby sock done, but probably I will just ruin it while knitting under the influence. Happy Halloween!

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