Don't bother me, I'm crafting!

I think I've been firmly entrenched in my crafting bubble over the last 2 weeks. While I had made a bunch of things for the last craft fair, when I really started thinking about the upcoming craft fair this Wednesday, I started panicking...just a little (ok, a lot). My biggest concern was that I just wouldn't have enough inventory for a building with 2,500+ tenants. So, I put my head down and got to work, even creating my own little excel spreadsheet (I'm a big nerd like that) to track inventory with. As of last night, I have 109 items!!

While knitting and crocheting up a storm, I realized that my hands might fall off, so next thing you know I'm sewing scented sachets, eye pillows, purses, and doing holiday penguin rub-on transfers to candle votives. I'm very proud of my insane achievement though and excited to get to show it all to a bunch of strangers on Wednesday!

One last thing on the needles for now and then mostly organization and sewing on buttons to finish everything off. Of course, many pictures from the show to come.... The good news is that the husband and I just started the planning for our bathroom remodel and of all goes well this will be a nice head start on paying for the floor tile!

A craft fair and an anthrax scare...

...all in one day!

So today, I continued with the tradition of helping to organize our annual holiday craft fair at work. It was a much quieter event than in past years, but unfortunately it sounds like that's the way things are right now. I was happy to make a little extra cash over my lunch break, given the insanity of my crafting over the last week in preparation. My biggest thing has been making tons of little booties. I think I was inspired by my nephew, Ethan, and once seeing just how cute the darn things are, I made a LOT of them! I was also happy to be selling jewelry on behalf of my buddy Hollylynne, who happens to be betrothed to a co-worker of mine.My booth, with knit/crochet accessories, handspun yarn, photo notecards, and Holly's jewelry.
Here's a few more pics of some of the wonderful vendors we had join us.




So, at the end of the fair, while trying to help people break down their booths, the next thing I know our head of security very quietly came in and told us to evacuate the building. I'm wondering what on earth that is about and trying to figure out how to get the vendors out without them having to abandon all their goods. I guess 4 years as a fire warden and my CPR training did teach me something though as I managed to work some magic and get everybody out of the room safely.

I'm wondering what on earth is going on when I find out that there was an anthrax scare on the other side of our building, which we share with various radio stations. Apparently it was in relation to the Prop 8 issue here in California (although I don't know for which side) and the radio station had received a threat of some kind involving some powder. If the fire department, police, helicopters and hazmat trucks outside were anything to go by, it was a pretty freaky situation but thankfully was a scare and nothing else.

Just another Friday I guess...now off to photograph all my goods to be put into my Etsy store!

Free Knit Pattern - Roman Holiday Mitts

ROMAN HOLIDAY MITTS
by Natalie Jacobs

I finally got around to writing down one of my random improvised knit patterns, and now that it's ready, I wanted to share. (This will shortly be available as a pdf.)

I lost the tag for the yarn that I made these from, but I remember the color way was called Audrey Hepburn, which inspired the name for these.

These fingerless mitts are a good beginner project with an easy to remember pattern stitch. They work up quickly so they are a lovely idea for a last minute gift. As the pattern stitch is worked all the way around, there is no difference between the left and right hand mitts. The cables can easily be done without a cable needle, or using a spare double pointed needle, if you don't want to use a cable needle. I designed these on double pointed needles, but this can easily be adapted for any other method that you prefer.

Yarn: Approx 100 yards of worsted weight
Gauge: 12 stitches and 12 rows = 2" in pattern stitch
Needles: 5mm (Size 8 US) double pointed needles
Notions: Stitch marker, small amount of waste yarn in contrast color
(Note: The mitt will seem narrow, but stretches once put on. The gauge is based on the size of the mitt before it is stretched.)

Abbreviations:
C4B: Slip next two stitches onto cable needle and hold at back of work. K2 from left needle, then 2 from the cable needle.
C4F: Slip next two stitches onto cable needle and hold at front of work. K2 from left needle, then 2 from the cable needle.


Make two mitts as follows:
CO 36 stitches. Place marker and join in the round being careful not to twist.
Work K2, P2 ribbing for 10 rows.

Begin pattern stitch:
Row 1-2: Knit
Row 3: *C4B, K2* repeat around
Row 4-6: Knit
Row 7: *K2, C4F* repeat around
Row 8: Knit

Repeat rows 1-8 of pattern stitch three times. (Do 2 repeats for shorter mitt, or additional repeats for longer mitt).

Create space for thumb:
At beginning of next row, knit first 6 stitches onto waste yarn.
(Note: I recommend using a yarn that is a very different color from your main yarn so that it is easily visible.)

Put the 6 stitches just knit onto the waste yarn back on left needle, as if starting the beginning of the row.

Using main yarn, knit rows 1-8 of the pattern stitch once more.

Work K2, P2 ribbing for 4 rows and bind off loosely.

Work thumb:
Carefully pull out the waste yarn and place the 12 live stitches back on your needles.

Pick up one additional stitch in each corner (14 stitches total) and arrange evenly on the needles.

Join main yarn and knit around for 6 rows.

Bind off loosely and weave in all ends.

© 2008 Natalie Jacobs

Pattern is for personal, non-commercial use only. You may not make items originating from this pattern for profit. For any questions regarding the terms of use, please contact the designer at organicstills@gmail.com.

I have yarn!

A week of practice and several withdrawals from my PayPal account, I am in full acknowledgment of my new fiber fetish. Buying roving to spin may be as much of a curse as buying pre-made yarn. My friend keeps joking that knowing me, I will end up buying a sheep and shearing it myself so that I can take full ownership of the process. She's not completely wrong...after all, you should have seen my face when my husband innocently suggested we get a llama, or some other kind of alpaca. He still has no idea why that was so entertaining to me.

Anyway, I am proud to present to you what I consider to be my first proper yarn. I purchased this from someone on Etsy - 4oz of hand-dyed Corriedale roving - and got to work spinning it up. 4 hours later, I sat back in awe of my creation and incredibly proud that I actually made this!
I am calling it "Midnight Storm" as all the crazy purples and navy blues remind me of the thunderheads at night (or at least what I remember them looking like considering I live in So. Cal and don't have a good point of reference currently). It's 88 yards, 2 ply and I used about 2oz of roving. I still have another 2oz to spin up, so I think I'll have enough to actually knit something with this.

Finally made something for myself!

I am so frequently caught up in making things for my Etsy shop, or charity, that I am very excited that I finally got around to making something for myself! I present to you my latest knit item...(thanks to my co-worker for taking these pics of me).
I found this beautiful pattern on Ravelry and I just knew that it was going to be something that I needed to make. The pattern is Ophelia, and can be found here. The design is originally for a cardigan, but it wasn't sitting right on my wide hips. I went ahead and seamed it at the front (using the invisible mattress stitch seam) and now it's a v-neck instead. I've been getting compliments on it all day at work and I'm really happy to be showing off my handiwork.

A view of the lace pattern at the back.

Custom orders are fun!

A little while ago I was commissioned to custom knit a neck warmer. The colors were requested as purple and charcoal, so off I ran to the store to find yarn that would suit those needs.

A week or so later, after some creativity with how to put the colors together without striping them and deciding what knit stitches to use, here's what I came up with - modeled by the customer and with her permission to use this photo as a customer appreciation pic!

Custom orders can be a lot of fun - I've designed knit items and done banner design so far. I've got more in the works right now, and considering how much I love working with people to design for them, I hope more are on their way!

I do love action shots

I posted the things that I received in the photographer swap I was in, but they do not compare to the wonderful action shots that my partner posted of the things she received from me! I have to share my favorite picture of my favorite item that I sent to her.

This hat was knit using a raspberry colored yarn in a very basic beanie pattern. I used yarn overs to create the gaps through which I threaded the contrasting grey ribbon. Then I made a pin, using a pin-back, a paper clip, and some beads with letters to spell the word "exposure". My boyfriend didn't quite get why I chose exposure as the word for this pin, but I thought it had a good double meaning myself!

Thanks to Jac for modeling the item and doing a much better job at it than I would ever have imagined!

Knit stitch overdose!

I am in the process of creating woolly items for the winter - to sell in my Etsy store, at an upcoming craft fair (held annually at my workplace) and also to give to friends for holiday gifts. In particular, I have wanted to find some fun knit stitches for scarves and, in my mad googling ventures, I came across the site Knitting Fool. This site has to contain the most comprehensive list of knit stitches that I have seen to date!

The stitches are all cataloged alphabetically by name, with an easy to read grid the number of stitches and number of rows needed to complete the pattern. You even have the option to sort the list by the stitch count in case you are looking for a certain number of stitches. My only complaint would be that not all of the patterns have accompanying pictures, so it leaves a little to the imagination (but I can't complain too much because I can imagine it would take forever to knit swatches for each of the stitch patterns on the site)!

Here's my simple lace pattern for today, I'm not sure what it's called, but I believe it's a variation of the Faggot lace stitch:
Cast on any multiple of 3.
K1, yo, k2tog for each row until piece is desired length

It's simple yet effective, plus it's a reversible pattern. Enjoy!

Marking the stitch....more swap fun!

Another crafty swap event (yes, I admit I am mildly addicted but by no means have a problem) has taken place. This time around, I have stitch markers for your viewing.

Up until now, stitch markers have been something I've been aware of but haven't needed to use much, and I have always been able to get away with using scrap yarn. This swap inspired me to try making stitch markers for the first time, and even better, use shrinky dinks!

I should note that when my swap partner said she'd like something with shrinky dinks, I was a little perplexed as I wasn't entirely sure what they are. Perhaps we didn't have them in England when I was growing up there. After I looked them up on Google and on craftster.org, what I have since discovered is that they are very entertaining!

The requirement was to make a set of 12 markers for my partner, so I started off by coming up with my concept, which ended up being the 12 signs of the zodiac. I found images representing those signs, traced and colored them onto the shrinkies, amused myself with the shrinking process in the oven, and this is how they ended up...
The actual tracing of the images is what took the longest, but I have to say that a 12 pack of colored Sharpies certainly can go a long way!

In the meantime, my partner was busy making a set of markers to send to me. She seems to have had much more experience than I have making markers in the past so I was excited to see what she would come up with. Fortunately the Canadian post didn't take as long as we thought it might and here's what I received in return - there are some really pretty and unique beads included in this set, plus a couple of different sizes for my projects. I can't wait to find a project to use these for.

This whole swap process definitely has my creative juices flowing and is inspiring me to try new things. For as long as someone is organizing them, I'm sure I'll keep joining them!

As promised!

My Magic Yarn Ball arrived today, which was a much needed pleasant part of my day, given that my work computer was doomed and told me that my hard drive was "pending iminent failure" (the computer's words, not mine).

I have been truly spoiled by my swap partner as she included a huge supply of items for me, including two contrasting balls of Paton's Merino Wool (strangely enough, the same type of yarn I sent her!)

When I pulled it out of the box, it was housed in this beautiful silk drawstring bag.The first color was "denim" and will be the body of the tote bag pattern that was sent to me. My partner also sent me some circular needles that are needed to make this project. The second color was "paprika" which will be the contrast color for the bottom of the tote and the handles.

As I unwound, I kept finding more and more things and was truly amazed by how much was fit in there!


The final list of items in my MYB is as follows:
A beautiful handmade apron, a needle guage, pedicure kit, foot scrub, cute lipsmackers set, iPod armwrap holder, a bracelet, an amazing beaded flower (which will probably go on the outside of the tote), mints, a candle and votive, jewelry cord, headpins, a bunch of sewing supplies, a set of gorgeous butterfly magnets, a charm bracelet kit, a crochet pouch with scissors, a beaded pen, a dragonfly pin, trinket box with matching frame, earrings and a first aid kit (containing a selection of the best sparkly band-aids ever!)

What can I say? I'm thrilled, excited and will be signing up for many more swaps in the future!!

Bohemian Dream Bag

Since my co-worker taught me how to knit back in January, I've been knitting like a maniac! I had purchased some novelty yarn on sale last year and tried to crochet with it but found that I didn't really like the way it looked. It then sat in a drawer for months while I tried to figure out what to do with it. Finally I decided it would be a fun yarn to make into a bag. I've made small bags and clutches before but never something like this! I tried searching around for a pattern that would work and ended up modifying a couple of different patterns to make something that worked. I then let it sit for a couple of weeks while I got together the motivation to line it!

I am really quite proud of the end result and especially love the colors. Although I think I'm probably going to end up listing this in my Etsy store (after I line the handles - thanks to a helpful hint from someone in the Craftster forums) I have several skeins of this yarn left in a couple of different colors so I'll probably end up making one for myself!