Marquee letters

It was my man's birthday a week ago!  He's a big typography geek, and I made him marquee letters with his initials.

I was pretty smitten with this Craftster tutorial video, but then I saw these marquee letters and liked the backgrounds even better.  My sister pointed out to me the map used in one of the letters, and I had a map of Oregon (where we live) that was perfect (and free) for this project.

The Craftster tute goes into more details about prepping the letters, which I got from Joann.   I used a box cutter to start taking the front off, and I found that once I started it, I was able to just tear the rest away.  I kind of wanted it to look rough (I even tore the bottom left of the B and didn't fix it with anything, it's a pretty forgiving project if you don't take it too seriously).

Once I had the front of the letters off, I used them to trace out the map.  The B is made from the whole of Oregon and the J is made up of the Portland area (it was a double sided map with cities on one side, the whole state on the other).   I used Mod Podge to glue them in there.

I purchased these lights from Target for under $13 (I used one string for both letters, I had 2 light socket spots left over, but only one light since I busted one of the bulbs twisting it too tightly), making the whole project under $20.

Now, here is where I tell you to be careful when you're stringing the lights together letter to letter, the first time I did it I made it a BJ and that was just frustrating.  Also, if you take more time to cut off the excess paper before trying to screw the lights in, you won't accidentally break a light trying to get that sucker in there.

The way I cut holes for the lights was to use one of my Leatherman's poker tools, then shoved a screwdriver in the rest of the way and tore off some of the excess cardboard.  High tech!  Also I love my Leatherman tool, if he was a real man I would have run away with him when I was a teenager.

Star Trek Cross Stitches, Part 1

A few weeks ago, my mother sent me a link to this Star Trek Cross Stitch book.  It was so cute!  I'm pretty stubborn about buying craft books though, or just books in general.  I go to the library a lot, and I looked at our library's website and they didn't carry it, so I gave up on it.  Six days later, out of nowhere, a friend of mine MAILED me the book!  Signed by the author, too.  I immediately got my cross stitch on, and began the Federation Seal.

Awwwww yeaaaaah.

My husband is a pretty big Trekkie, and being in proximity to that has made me pretty Trekkish myself.  A friend of my man's is expecting his first baby to be born this month, and he is a HUGE fan of Deep Space 9.  I don't usually like to make baby items for people because babies in my family have these giant heads and never fit into anything under 6 months old, and I don't like to gamble with unfamiliar genes and my knitting time.  I decided to make the DS9 space station for them to hang on their future cadet's wall.

The DS9 was super fun to do, it didn't have much mindless cross stitching like the blue in the Federation seal, but it wasn't too complicated to keep me from watching the Big Bang Theory.  When I went to the store to grab some extra embroidery thread, I wrote down the colors I would need, which included pink.  I came back home and was going through the pattern and saw the TWO STITCHES the pink called for.  Don't get me wrong, they are important to the makeup of the station, but I would have settled for something on hand if I would have paid attention to the lack of pink needed :)

I'm currently in the middle of my "thank you" cross stitch that I'm making for the friend who got it for me, and then I plan on making a Borg cube Christmas ornament (!!!!!!! I almost can't handle that one) and an excellent one of Wesley Crusher with the words "Shut up, Wesley" over the top of him.  More posts as this develops!

And can I talk about how much I love that cross stitching is such a cheap hobby?  It's bomb diggity.

4th of July nails

This year my husband and I are trying to celebrate all the holidays, if only just a little bit.  I'm including painting my nails as celebrating.  I keep expectations pretty low around here.  Enjoy my shiny, patriotic sausage fingers!

I did something I had never done before, which was use cheap acrylic paint for the red and blue.  My husband sent me this Duck Hunt nails video, which I did not do, but she uses acrylic paint for most of her nail art, which is SO MUCH easier to work with than regular nail polish.  I don't have red or blue nail polish, so it was nice not to fork out cash to buy them for one set of nails.

I used Essie's Good To Go topcoat (which I do really like) and even though it shrinks the polish, it didn't really do that with acrylic paint, so that was pretty nice too.

I used a striper for the lines and stars, which were haaard and looked TERRIBLE but when you put them all next to each other it's like the cheerleader effect from How I Met Your Mother (a bunch of ugly girls grouped together can be deceptively pretty just because of how many of them their are, same with my janky stars).

I sported my nails at a Civil War Reenactment (which they have in Oregon!  And probably everywhere!  Well, in 'Merica.  GO TO ONE) which is more of celebrating a holiday than nails, but I have no pictures to prove we were there.  Oh wait yes I do!

Beard in Progress

My man has an orange beard, and I've had the idea for a while to knit a beard...being knit.  I saw this pin and it made me want to get on that already.

I'm pretty happy how it turned out.  I cut a piece of thick cardstock around the beard and roughly sewed it there (otherwise the mouth drooped).  I also put a piece under the knitting needles.

I had a broken set of size 7 knitting needles, from when I first started knitting and kept my knitting on the floor and stepped on it.  Learning experiences!  Luckily I held on the them and finally found a use.  I cut the knitting needles down and whittled the ends a little bit to fit a white bead on them.  Crudely.

I glued the beads on with some Elmer's craft glue that I had originally bought to use for quilling, and then put some on the backside of the stitches so they wouldn't fall all over the place.

I used a couple finishing nails to nail it through the cardstock/cardboard and ruffled the knitting in front of it.  Tada!

Ravelry page

Fake scrapbooking: bound cards/letters

I reeeeeeeally hate scrapbooking.  You can get creative to the nth degree, and really, I've only recently (kind of) mastered not starting projects I have no intention of finishing.  My mom is really great at scrapbooking and has a whole collection of 12 4" binders filled with pictures and letters and cards and tickets to places.  They're incredible!  But my mom has always had a lot more patience (and drive) when it comes to those big projects.  The box I had post cards in is still strewn across the floor in Jesse's man cave from a week ago.  Go me!

Since I was 8, I've held on to post cards my brother sent me when he was in the military.  I've always wanted to do something with them, but scrapbooking was out because 1) I hated it, and 2) I didn't want to cover the front of the postcard.

I was intrigued when I saw this pin on Pinterest, of bound letters.  Then I saw this one, where she had made a collection of all different types of cards she had received.  What a great idea!

Tada!  I binded them together using some chipboard and metal rings!  Also, binded is not a real word.

I'm sure I'm missing a few of the postcards he sent me along the way, but I'm tickled I have this many.  My favorite is the one that folds out.  To fit it in there, I taped a couple pieces of scrap paper together (to strengthen it) and taped it to the card itself.

I also started sponsoring a kid through Compassion back when I was 16 up until the end of 2011.  I always loved receiving her letters (and her drawings!!).  After she left the program, I organized all her letters and shoved them in my files.  Not that great of a way to appreciate them.

When I went to the store to buy chipboard for the covers, I wanted to grab a pretty piece of paper to put on the cover, and I fell in love with one in particular.

It's washi paper, and was $2.  That's more than I'll normally spend on a piece of paper, but it was for something special.  I was nervous about mod podging it because it was so thin, but it was just fine.  I only did a layer on the chipboard, not one over the top as well.

I'm really happy with how they turned out!  I thought about putting labels on them, and I may with the postcards, but for now I only have the two and I'll know which is which.  I was also thinking of binding together cards we got from our wedding.

I ended up going to Collage for the art supplies (chip board, washi paper & metal rings).  It came to about $5, and I used scrapbook paper that I had on hand for the postcard book.

Easter egg ornaments

EGGS!

Whenever we make eggs for Easter, which was once, there is no way we can eat all those eggs.  And technically I'm allergic to eggs (I'll show you who's boss, allergies!!) but I can get away with eating two without feeling like I'm going to die for a few hours.  But I'm always drawn to those cheap egg dying kits, because come on, who doesn't like dying eggs?*

*lots of people

I came across this post on Pinterest, and alas, I finally had my solution!  I had never made salt dough before.  Fyi, half a cup of salt is a TON of salt.  I was glad I had a backup!

I didn't have any cookie cutter item that would work for an egg shape (the only cookie cutters I have are these) and I wasn't going to go buy special cookie cutters for this (I did look at Target first, which was useless).  Instead, I pulled off the cap of a small spray paint can I have and squeezed it at the top so it made an egg shape.  I know, I'm blowing your mind right now.

I also only had a straw from McDonalds, which was HUGE, so I cut out a chunk of it and taped it smaller.  I am the definition of class.  Also, my fast food sense tells me that Burger King straws would be the perfect size for this.

I baked them for a while (a little over an hour at 300, they were a little brown!) and by that time Birdy had come over and we got to painting.  The original post used spray paint, which was a great idea and we did not do.  We used acrylic.

It was a lot of fun!  They turned out a little wonky, but I don't care.  I showed them to my husband  after they had dried and he said, "I like them, they look like kids made them."  "You do know two 26 year olds made these yesterday."  "...Wasn't that what you were going for?"  "Yes."

Tada!

If my landlord is reading this, I want you to know that I didn't cut any branches that were integral to any bush's integrity.

Shamrock nails!

Wimmy wam wam wazzle!  They're shamrock nails!

I used the small tutorial within this cutepolish video to make the shamrock (three hearts and a stem with a striper).  I don't have any green items of clothing, so I was glad to remember to use some polish my sister gave me for my birthday before we went out to drink green beer tonight (and to avoid getting pinched, which is very rude and I'm still bitter about getting pinched when I was 16).

Happy St. Patty's!

It's terribly simple

Hey hey!  Here's one to cross off on the ole knitting goals list:  Terribly Simple.

I'm not a big scarf wearer, but sometimes I want a little sump'n sump'n around my neck, to which you may cry COWLS!  But I'm not a big cowl person either.  I hate having to pull something down over my head (picky much?).  I liked the look of this scarf a LOT, but I'm kind of particular about using garter stitch when I can easily change it to stockinette.

I'm a tight knitter, which I think affected some of the pulling that you can see in the scarf.  The scarf is worked by increasing one stitch on each side every single row.

I wrap it from the front and tuck the little ends inside the front for that puffy look.  I'm really happy with it!  And so's my neck.  Ravelry link!

(Also, I technically finished this at the very end of last year, right after I made my 2013 knitting goals.  Is it really already February?)

No cold iPads on my watch, no sir

My man surprised me with an iPad for my birthday (and a smart cover!  Clever boy).  Jesse already had an iPad that I occasionally borrowed.  It's something I would have NEVER purchased for myself and would have poo-pooed the thought of, but it's awesome.  I don't have to print out recipes anymore, I just use my iPad in the kitchen to try out new meals!  Knitting patterns or charts?  Easy to mark up with the Goodreader app! 

I named her Helper, after Helper from Venture Bros.  We name all of our electronics after robot characters from shows we like (mostly Futurama), which also may tell you that my husband is an Apple fanboy since we have multiple electronics.  There's Tinny Tim, Hedonism Bot, Calculon, Super Collider (I hardly know her).

Enough chit chat, I'm keeping Helper nice and toasty with her new sock  (Ravelry link): 

Jesse REALLY loved this cover, which I'll admit was a little more fancy than the one I made him when he needed something asap so it wouldn't rattle around in his backpack.  The pattern I used for his first one was really great (the flap was genius) but the yarn was a quick buy from Joann and nothing fancy.  (You can see the first one right here.)  He's definitely a knitter's husband now that he's learning which types of yarns he likes.  Mmm.  Sexy.

I really loved the Gina yarn, and the ribbed black top was using Lamb's Pride Worsted, which was a little thicker than Gina but just as lovely.  I went down two needle sizes for the ribbing so it would be nice and tight.

Here's the one I made for Jesse: (fyi, these pictures kind of blew out the color a bit, the yellow is much more tame and greenish) Ravelry link

These were WONDERFUL quick knits, and the beautiful yarn made it so easy to rock that stockinette.

Cowl fever

Birdy and I decided to make cowls for our husbands as Christmas presents.  My husband was basically bursting to have one (he brought it up CONSTANTLY).  He uses public transportation for school and work, so his neck does get cold a lot.  I blatantly lied and I told him I would try and make one for him after I was done with my Christmas knitting, which was okay because my mom always says it's okay to lie if it's regarding presents.

Bird and I picked up the yarn from Yarn Garden.  Bird was a magician and had finished all of her Christmas presents like 3 weeks before Christmas (people do that??) and I did mine about a week before.  This pattern moves very quickly, and I finished it in a week, and that was without pushing myself too hard to get it done.

twelve's cowl

Birdy's cowl

Me: Smile Baby!

Bkins: Maybe I am.

Darn! These photos really wash it out, but it is a nice bright blue, as modeled by the darling husband above.

I had a ton of fun making this cowl. It was quick and easy but had just enough of a pattern to keep me interested until the end. I ran into a mishap when I was casting off, though. 12 or so stitches to go and I reached the end of the line. For realsies. What the blob. So I just found a blue in my stash that was similar enough and finished off this bad boy. 

I was excited to do a project with Twelve. Our husbands are total buddies so this is a good gift for them both to enjoy. 

Shablam!
The end!

Hotpad for my sister, and my misadventures in double knitting

(My snippet regarding my goals is at the bottom of this post)

I decided to make this potholder/hotpad for my sister for her birthday.  I planned on making two, until my learning process for double knitting became a HUGE HASSLE.  Seriously.  I did not have a clue.

The pattern is roughly written by the designer, which is fine.  I don't expect someone to teach me how to knit every time they write a pattern.  However, I was shocked by how many people said, "this was my first double knitting project!" and yet I didn't find much help regarding the actual technique of pattern work within it.  (Also, this was mostly last minute, so I didn't have time to check out resources from the library - my bad.)

Essentially with double knitting, you are casting on both sides of a project at once by casting on twice as many stitches, and you knit every other stitch (which becomes one side of the work) and purl the other stitches (which become the back of the work).  Then you have a reversible piece of work that's really cool!

Here are the resources I used to help me through it: (all short videos)

How to cast on for double knitting
Knitting the first row with double knitting (by the same person as above)
Doing a pattern within the work  in my case, a teapot

I got really frustrated when I didn't understand casting on twice as many stitches (do I cast twice the number told in the pattern or did the creator already account for that? I ended up restarting 3 times before figuring it out). I went with the original cast on number in the pattern so it's a smaller hot pad that I'm not too thrilled with, but I get the process now.  I purled the last stitch of each row and slipped it knitwise the beginning of each row (you can partially see in my pictures that I didn't do this in the beginning, one side has a nice braiding and half of the other side is kind of twisted).

(My Ravelry link for this project)

Goals:
This gift fell under my "buy everything local for gifts" goal, which, womp womp, we didn't do.  I already had this yarn on hand from Michael's last year (which I don't feel bad for, stash yarn is okay!) but my husband designed her some Batman stationary, and we ran by Fedex Office to print it out instead of a locally owned business.  Doh!  It was only a few dollars and it was the first week in January so I have to get in the swing of things.  Not a huge deal, but I have two birthdays next month I'll (hopefully) be better about!  Here's the stationary Jesse designed for her:

Twelve's 2013 craft & non-craft goals

I'm one of those people that thinks using the term "new year's resolution" is pish posh.  PISH POSH I TELL YOU.  I haven't known many people who stick to things called "resolutions."  I do however, enjoy goals.  Goals are much more low-key and usually more attainable.  I probably won't lose all my excess pounds next year, but that's not what my goals are about.

I actually really enjoy reading, even though I don't get much time for it after a full time job and trying to keep up a pretty serious knitting habit.  My goal tends to stick around 16 books (I tried 24 last year but it was too much).  I did read all the Scott Pilgrims in 2012 to boost my numbers because they took hardly any time at all read, but I suppose that's only cheating in my mind.  My husband doesn't like that I don't consider graphic novels "real" books.  If you want to see my 2012 reading list, you can see that right here.

1. Read 16 books (should be attainable, considering that's been my number the last couple years)
2. Read all 12 Hellboy graphic novels (included in the 16 books, see Jesse!), main volumes only -- no Odd Jobs or anything
3. Knit my first sweater
4. Finish/frog all unfinished knit items (see this post)
5. Mystery photo project (12 photos)
6. Have all birthday and Christmas gifts be either handmade, bought via local handmade vendors, or through local independent stores

Purchasing all gifts locally I'm dreading and looking forward to at the same time.  I really want to devote a year supporting local craftspeople or buying through local stores (like Powells or local gift shops).  Any items handmade by me I want to purchase products through a local store, like Collage or Yarn Garden.  I know that my family of two buying gifts locally won't make much of a difference, but there are 12 people in my immediate family and that means at least 24 gifts being bought locally, and you can't deny that's a good effort!  If there are things that I need to buy from a store with a larger selection I have deemed Bi-Mart (a NW chain store) acceptable as well, because we'll be putting money back into a regionally local business.  And heck, I suppose I could even fork over my own $5 membership money instead of using one of my dad's old cards.

(A note on handmade gifts: I try not to force myself to make gifts for everyone on my list.  If I know someone will love something I make, I'll make it.  Otherwise I buy something!  Not everyone is excited about a handknit item, and lots of people just don't understand the amount of time that goes into a handmade craft - and that's okay.  It means more knitting time for my own bad self.)

2013 non-craft goals commence!

Keeping everyone's hands warm

The Niece

My sweet 12 year old niece has been into crocheting for a couple years now, and recently picked up knitting as well!  I'm really proud of her (and impressed!) and it makes her a great receiver of handmade gifts.  Last year I bought two skeins of a kinda hideous yarn (mostly black, with purple, green, pink and blue accents) for $1 a piece on sale.  I thought it would be fun to make a simple ribbed scarf and probably just donate it somewhere because I'm not a big scarf wearer myself.  My niece saw me working on it one day and was fascinated by it.  She asked what I was doing with it and when I told her I planned on donating it to a shelter, her face dropped.  Insert deciding to give it to her for her birthday.  A few months later she said "Hey...did you ever finish that scarf?"  I played it off, cuz I'm a playa, and she got to open it on her birthday and was thrilled.  So, kids out there who could care less for handmade items?  She's not one of them.

I decided to make her and her brother some gloves for their birthdays in 2012, and I made hers with

Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet yarn in a beautiful red colorway (beautiful, yes, and hard to photograph!).  I bought it a week before her birthday, because I'm a masochist, deciding to knit gloves with sock weight yarn in a week on top of work and other plans.  Her party was at noon on Saturday and on Friday night I only had one glove done.  I started knitting around 7pm that night, stopped at 3am, got back up at 7 (and had to make a treat for the party, nice job planning there) and I finished weaving in the ends just after 11am.  They were a labor of love.

She loved them!  She said they reminded her of Coraline's gloves (which I later looked up, and Coraline's had green stripes in them, but I'm at least glad I inadvertently made something she liked even more because of that comparison).

The Sister

My sister loved the gloves I made her daughter so much she asked for handwarmers in the same colorway, and this time I did not wait until a week before Christmas to work on them (not too close, anyway).  Ravelry link.

The Nephew

In a not-as-interesting part of our saga, I made my nephew some gloves too.