mrsmulticraft's Xanga

Moving...

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 17:40:54 GMT

My craft blog has moved to blogspot. I like the tags and setup much better and it's free to edit your page using css. Sorry Xanga but blogspot is better for this sort of thing. :P
Here's my new url:
http://mrsmulticraft.blogspot.com/

Personal Swap Log

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 14:55:47 GMT

This will be my offical log of things for personal swaps. So If I'm swapping and you don't know what to swap with me here's things I like/need:

Knitting needles circs or straights or dpns
Crochet pattern books
My kitchen is decorated with turtles so anything bought or made with turtles is good.
Seahorse related items for my bathroom
Yarn, acrylic or non wool blends. I'm allergic to all types of wool except Australian.
Scrap fabric for my fabric "yarn"
I love scarves and hats
I love small stuffed animals
My favorite colors are Green, Blue and black
My favorite animals are: Turtle, ferret, Tree frog, Rats (cute realistic ones), Dragons, uincorns, and seahorses.

WIP

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 00:16:44 GMT

So I"m working on afew new projects. One is a cute little chicken/rooster for granny hall. She collects roosters but my project looks more chicken like. I figure I'll let her decide. :)

He/she needs eyes still. I like how it came out though. The perfect size in my mind. I added to a pattern that's up for free on Craftster. I think it's adorable. I'm debating using beads for eyes or buttons. I can't decide. I have many buttons but many beads too. lol.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 02:38:04 GMT

This is my newest obsession:

How awesome is that? I cut up all my scarps and have sewn them together with my portable sewing machine. I Intend to make a scarf. I'm not sure if it will be knit or crochet. I think knit but I so can't wait that long! I still have a whole grocery sack of strips to sew to my ball.
And that's not even counting the metallics in my fabric organizer. (which is highly disorganized thus my recycling.)
I can't wait to get started but I"m working on my project for the little stuffie swap. I have my idea all worked out and I"m using fabric I all ready had. I let my partner choose between one of her favorite character and a surprise. I told her it's an insect as a hint. And she said" I don't have any bug stuffies so a surprise!" And I shall deliver. The tricky part will be keeping it small. I have no idea how big this guy is. I think he's around 7 inches but we'll see.

observations of one crocheter

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 15:13:50 GMT

I've recently bought the book "the happy hooker" (it's about crocheting not hooking ;) )by Debbie Stroller. It's really great so far. I'm working on my first really clothing item. A pretty sweater called "the unseemly sweater". It's worked in the round from the bottom up till you get to the arm holes and then you work the front and back separately.
(not to worry I'm telling you all this to get to the point.) Now all patterns in knit and crochet have what is called a gauge. And it tells you if you use this size needle (or hook) and use a certain stitch you should get a certain measurement of fabric. The point of that is so that your finished object comes out the same size as the finished object in the pattern.
I've noticed that most crocheters don't seem to pay attention to thier gauge and then wonder why they have problems with a pattern. We have a whole section on craftster just for finished objects/questions relating to this book. And I've found only 2 finished unseemly sweaters. Do you know why? Because us crocheters are lazy.
We don't check our gauge. We use the wrong yarn. We use the wrong hook. And then we wonder "Why didn't my sweater{sock, scarf, whatever) come out the same as the book?" And I notice that we assume the book is wrong. 90% of the time. I checked the website that has corrections and the only issue with this one is a missing asterisk in the last set of directions for the pretty border done after the sweater is completed!
Ok so I admit I don't check my gauge the same way everyone else does. I typically work through the first five rows of the pattern with the hook in the size recommended and measure it then. Now I'm typically right on gauge if I use the right hook. And I'm a very new crocheter. So I'm wondering why we crocheters are so lazy? I just don't know what our problem is. *shrugs* Those are just my current observations.

More Finished Objects

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:59:04 GMT

So I was trying to post these with the previous entry but then I thought about it and they deserve to be on their own.
Horray for crochet! (And that rhymes if you know how to pronounce it.)
First I tested a pattern for Nutsaboutcrochet at Crochetville and this was my outcome:

What's Ironic to me is of the 3 pattern testers 2 of us used the same yarn! and it's discontinued! lol. Who would have guessed?
Anyways I also entered my first crochet challenge at craftster. The challenge is hats inspired by animals. I don't think I will win anything since I have only one vote so far but here it is:

And last but not least I made this scarf using some leftovers from my stash. I think fabric is definetly more affordable than yarn. but I love how warm and fluffy the scarf came out. I was jsut playing with front post double crochet and I loved the look of the worsed with yarn bee. Anywho:

Aren't the pom-poms awesome? I used a pastel self striping in them to make them sort of colorful. Pom-poms are a pain int the pattokie. Let me tell you. They take forever but I like the way it looks. Next time I make a big scarf I'm making it wider and longer. Because it's almost long enough to wrap around your neck but not quite all the way. I ran to hobby lobby and bought some more of the yarn-bee yarn I used luckily it was on clearance so I got it really cheap. I plan to make a hat to match.
I will be starting my next knitting project as soon as I prep my homemade needles. They need sanded and oiled and then I'm off! I'll be using my recycled yarn ;) this will be my first project on dpns so I'm needing lots of luck. ;)

Additions and Updates

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 23:44:09 GMT

Ha! I'm working on my blog layout! I know it's nuts. Try not to be too surprised. I took a few pictures and hope to have my own custom header soon. Anywho...
I sent some stuff for the Stargate Swap to sunnyb64 and she received which means I can post it! YEAH! So as she loves Daniel Jackson (and who doesn't?) almost all her stuff was themed around that. But not all of it. so here we go!
First off my First completed knitting object:
An Alien dishcloth. We'll call it a thor dishcloth though. ;)
And then the totebag:

It's made of this awesome planetary fabric that I got at the thrift store. Get this I got 6 yards of the stuff! And I used some really nice black corduroy for the lining and pockets. Which I got around 3 yards of at the thrift store as well. I like how the corduroy worked for the lining it's nice and stiff and held it's shape pretty well. Those are two awesome wooden bangle bracelets that I bought thinking they would make cool handles.
Here's the mini tote I made to match:

And last but not least the awesometastic shirt:

This is the front. It says " I don't know that's just how I feel about it, What do you think?" -Daniel Jackson. (the quote is from the time loop episode and it's what Daniel says at the beginning of every loop. which was sunnyb64's fav. episode)
And here's the sleeve:

I love the patch!
And the back which is not really warped it just looks that way:

:) I have more to tell you but John says we have to go. :(

meet Herman

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 03:55:20 GMT

Herman is the coolest thing ever and only took me like 5 minutes to make. I should have been crocheting but I'm lazy. I know I'm horrible. He's made using bendy straws and a pair of scissors! I love this I have many straws but I think he would have worked better with the wider kind. Oh well use what you have right? Isn't he the most coolest?

Cursed Swap?

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 17:40:27 GMT

I think the stargate swap has some sort of curse on it. Every craft I've touched has gone horribly wrong. I tried to make a knitted dishcloth. It feel off the needles 3 times and each time unraveled to a point where I had no idea what row I was on and had to start all over.
I was making a doll and realized I will never get it done in time. I can finish it without too many problems but it won't be finished in time, due to me still having to make the face, hair, and finish it up. Oh and I have to remake the head becasue the one that came with the pattern is too tiny.
I then decided to send the doll in part 2 package and instead substitute it with a t-shirt with Iron on images. I had to look for the shirt at 3 different stores. Finally found it after 2 days of looking. (It's apparently not easy to find a cotton shirt.) Then we had to buy ink. I had to go to two different stores for that too. Next I printed out my main iron on but the font I wanted to use for the quote on the front was horrid. I fought with it for 3 hours last night. This whole thing should have been a 10 minute project and note it's all ready taken 4 days. I then Fixed the font and printed out the image.
This morning I prep my work area. I've done iron-ons so many times I'm a pro at it. Or so I thought. The iron on's won't stick to the shirt.
I'm so mad. The only thing I can figure is either the iron isn't hot enough, or my iron ons are messed up. So my only option is to try again after 2 hours of ironing on different settings mind you. Or buy a new pack of iron ons. Which I think is what I'm going to do.
I have now taken a break. And I'm going to work on the tote bag next. I've done this 3 times already so I hope it will go ok. Please pray for my sewing machine not to break or something.

First Blog

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 03:02:29 GMT

This is my second Xanga. I decided I needed a craft blog. Why I don't know. MAybe I jsut felt like showing my crafts off ina more familiar way that other crafters can understand I don't know. It's a bit plain now but I will be sprucing up my corner of the web. :) You can also see me at: xanga.com/eliea