pimpy mclink-link

Just a note from snakey to pimp my new craft blog:

ophidiololo

Stop by the new spot for updates on my current projects and etc.

:D

double strap booties for eric's lad

eric's baby shower is friday and his boy is getting these double strap booties in colours borrowed from eric's artwork. both colours are from vanna white's collection and i especially like the grey marble. such a great nubbly yarn full of hairs and weirdness--just like eric!
this is actually my 4th completed pair of double straps. for nearly a whole month they stood almost finished--except for the buttons. i had to give them a long break after they made me rip them apart and redo the straps. but now, they are done and i am giving this pattern a rest.

so, what's up next?

this darling hooded cardigan by mon petit violon!

this sweater will be for my niece jenny who will be having her first child soon--a little boy. i loved the hood and the wavy stripes on this pattern and i think i will keep the gray, but do the a blue for the alternate colour.

i am still heady with the success of the cecily cardigan. hopefully, this one will go as smoothly! i didn't post the second cecily, since i finished it at the crack of 2 am and didn't take a photo, but it is identical except that i used a larger hook and tried to loosen up. with just those changes, i upped the size from size 3-6 months to the measurements for 12 months! i intend to sneak the same trick here so the my niece can use this hoodie next winter.

speaking of the cecily cardigan, it got a warm reception both at the shower and at the Ministry of Magic on Ravelry: Committee on Underage Magic. <3

i am also finishing the details on a pair of double strap booties for eric's baby to be. that shower is coming up quick! i'll post the pics of the finished objects shortly!

olive's cecily baby cardigan

my co-worker cube-neighbor gina is about 25 days from her due date and i am making the lovely cecily baby cardigan for her daughter-to-be (aka olive).gina has had a tough first pregnancy with gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and heavy swelling and i realized today that gina and i are now in a race to see who finishes first their "project" first! i did make some headway today: i stopped at hobby lobby and bought some pretty caron simply soft yarn in aqua mist, then crocheted up to row 5 on the yoke.

btw, i gave the site a little facelift and added some wip progress bars over on the sidebar. if you would like to add something like that to your own site, the code can be found here at licketyknit.com. it was easy!

pain

i have only been back at crochet for a month and i have been working everyday on something or other. in the meantime, headaches are visiting. two visits to the chiro and 3 chair massages later, i am realizing, i have all this strain in my right shoulder and neck...from guess what?

ssss.

so, i am taking it easier and trying to be very conscious of not curling over the work or twisting too much. hopefully, this will help!

here is a link i found with a bunch of good tips for yarnwranglers.

excerpt:

You are attempting to be a marathon knitter and crocheter. And as such, like any elite athlete, you need to train to be able to knit and crochet with endurance. Too many of you, especially those of you learning how to knit or crochet, or picking up your knitting needles or crochet hook again after years away from the craft, just launch straight hours of work.

Start slowly and build up. As a rule of thumb, you could start by working for 20 to 30 minutes a day, slowly on a sliding scale according to half your age. So for example:

20 for 10 days
30 for 15 days
50 for 25 days
70 for 35 days.

LOL. yeah, right. :p

more linkypoos

the queen of all things "scrumble" was the late slyvia cosh and i happened to stumble on a set of freeform crochet workshop pages that her fellow artists have shared.

links to pdf files here.


---

here is a link to crochet by numbers where crochet artist todd paschall shares his pdf training tools to help grasp to his photo-crochet technique. there is also a ravelry group devoted to todd's technique!

scrumbdillicious

we are off! classes are posted. i am reading through and trying to choose how best to use my time.

last night, mair and i went on a yarn-pr0n spree over at etsy. i was able to walk away without a purchase, but it was hard! today, i spent the last hour tweaking my ravelry pages so i only see what i want to see. then, i loaded RSS feeds from slytherin to my igoogle reader. THEN, i researched freeform crochet AKA scrumbling:



it so beautiful! it looks like undersea corals--so organic and magical! i just want to try everything!

*obviously suffering from an acute case of autumn woolmania*

whoa! just when i think crochet is fun, but ugly.....

look at this aussie chick's amazing blanket of crocheted HP portraits!



here is totallee's blog with all the finished portraits.
lookee! A SNAPE PATTERN!

HPKCHC project begins

i found a nice irish crochet leaf online and am embarking on making manymanymany of them for my "something dangerous" class project for potions. (her photo is 1000X better than my scan.) i like the little ridges that come from crocheting into the back loop.


you've probably guessed what it will be already. think "philosopher's stone".

beading...first try

i bought a couple things to try beading this weekend.

i thought it went well, although, holy carp, my eyes were crossed by the time i just did this little bit. poor old eyes! i need brighter light and (sigh) magnification. i need to keep my eye out for a silkier thread. royale brand cotton is a bit less than jewelry-worthy, imho.

ETA: aha! this looks promising.

youtube link to adding beads to crochet to make a rope.

also, i finally came up with a halfway decent idea for my HPKCHC. now, to get MOVING!

todd paschall

mair and i just stumbled onto this dude and the photos he renders in crochet!

todd paschall's site

take a look and see if your mind doesn't start flowing with ideas.
if you could get as much image control as a cross stitcher, what would YOU render?
hmmmmmmm!

cool (abandoned) blog

a dead blog, but an awesome collection of textile art.
wool and tea

greenie mcwashcloth

i never crocheted with cotton before and it was much easier than i expected! this is a free washcloth pattern by kawano that i made in no time at all. i used lily's sugar-n-cream solid and a j sized hook. unfortunately, i messed up the pattern 2 inches from the end and didn't notice until i finished the loop. i decided to throw it in with the working washcloths where his "little problem" would go unnoticed.

go, little handi-capable greenie!

obsession du jour

I'm currently on vacation at my parents' winter home in Englewood, Florida. I've not been slacking, though! I have 2 knitting projects underway.

This first one is the outside part of a wallet, requested by a chorus friend of mine. I'm doubling up 2 different strands of cotton yarn, partly to meet the gauge of the pattern and partly because it is a really cool combo. Makes it kinda thick, tho. We'll see how it comes out. The stitch i am using is called a "linen stitch" and is easy to do but looks really cool and woven.


This second project is to be a circular lace scarf. the pattern is intricate and cool, the yarn is threadlike and delicate, and i was really proud that i was able to start it on double-pointed needles all by myself on only the second try. however, as you can see, it doesn't look a whole lot like the pattern at this point......more like a tangled mess.



Here, stretched out some, you can almost see a pattern in it. whether it is the same pattern as the pic only time and blocking will tell!


Back later in the week with updates...