My First Knit Hat!

My first knit hat! Raverly Pattern is here. The finished product from my Noro Yuzen yarn review. I CO 96 when I should have done significantly less. Want to knit your own? This hat is a bit to big for me all around. Makes me look like a Rastafarian. lol! The color pallet certainly doesn't help. I do love the Noro though. The color variants are amazing! I'm going back to Fiber Arts later today! Today is the last day of their bogo sale!



I feel like a knitting machine! So many new projects in the works!

Yarn Review: Red Heart Soft Yarn

Photo by Marni-'s Yarns
Browsing the yarn isles at my local craft store I always notice Red Heart Soft Yarns. The color hues are dark and rich. I decided I wanted to use this yarn to complete my Luna Scarf, since the author of the pattern used it herself. It's very easy to crochet and knit with but I must say, I wish I hadn't used it, not for a scarf at least. It looses its softness when it's crocheted with. It keeps a little when knitted, but not much. The final product has a shinny, acrylicly-ness about it. The yarn is 100% acrylic, but you don't feel it when the yarn is in it's skein. It feels nice and soft, hence its name. This yarn is also a bit ichy around my neck. For this reason, I'm not sure if I'll be wearing my scarf again any time soon. Its a shame really, the scarf came out rather beautifully.



Now just because this yarn doesn't suit my needs for wearable accessories, doesn't mean this yarn wouldn't be great for Amigurumi. Which I suspect it will be. Stiff Acrylic yarns are great for keeping their shape.

Owl Pendants!

Using my owl graphic I took a stab at creating my own glass pendents. I'm happy to say they came out rather nicely. :) And! They're surprisingly durable. I tested one out on my keychain to see how well it held up under pressure, and 2 months later it's still perfectly in tact! I just might add a few of these glass pendants to my Etsy in the future. What color combos would you like to see?

Presents!

Amigurumi Elephant I crochet for my friend Elise. It's a late birthday present. lol! She loved it! I used Elise's color pallet of choice! This project took a lot longer than expected. Lots of tiny pieces to make and then sew here and there. It was the perfect choice for Elise though! It even starts off like a granny square! Its made using the crochet pattern Noodle the Elephant.

Custom My Little Ponys FTW! I've always wanted to take a stab at making my own custom MLP. Heres a list of amazing geek-chic mods, and their credits. The detail in some of these is impeccable. Who wouldn't want their own mini pony version of their favorite film character!?

Want to create your own? Heres a tutorial site. And theres a few over on DeviantART. Just run a search for MLP Tutorial.

Surprises!

My friend Elise made me this amazing craft tote for Christmas. She hand crafted the owl decal herself! It was such a personal gift since the owl was of my own design. It has quickly become the new home of my current yarn projects. :) Thanks so much Elise! I love this tote so much!

Two amazing shows I'm currently watching. Veronica Mars and Castle. Both protagonists are detectives, coincidentally. I must be in the mood for mystery ;)

And Nathan Fillion has made my list of favorite people ever!

Luna Lovegood's Jewelry.

I crafted Luna Lovegood's jewelry for my costume durring this past Halloween. They were a pain in the butt, but came out marvelously! Did you know the actress who plays Luna constructed her pair herself! I knew there was a way I could make my own pair, I just had to figure it out. And so, I want to share some of my WIP photos and explain a little how I accomplished those complicated Dirigible Plums.




It was important to me that I had round earrings. So, I started by winding a small piece of red yarn to use as my base and I secured it with some fabric glue. I then took a needle and strung the bead wire though the center. You will have 2 wire ends. One you will string beads, the other is used to connect to the actual earring. So leave enough to work with. Next, I started winding the clear beads from the bottom. This is actually the most difficult part. Getting your wire to wind in such a small circle. I used fabric glue to adhere the beads to the yarn. It's the only way to get them to stay. It actually works really, really well. Once at the top I wound the beads as closely as I could. I cut my wire and try to tuck it into my yarn base, and secure it with glue. Now you have only 1 wire end left.


I used a different type of wire for the leaves. One that will hold when bent. I then constructed the leaves, they have a small loop at the top center. I looped them onto the remaining wire. I didn't really follow any particular pattern, they just needed to resemble leaves. I shaped the wire to my liking. I added a few beads to my wire and then looped the wire around the earring. I used a small closing bead (the ones you can crush with pliers) to secure it, then tucked the remaining wire into those last few beads.

I hope this is a bit insightful. If you're wanting to tackle this project yourself, feel free to message me with any questions. I'd be happy to help!

It was also important that I got her necklace as accurate as I possibly could. I think I did a pretty fine job. I've been selling Luna necklaces in my Etsy shop. Keep checking, I'll be relisting them soon.

Gumdrop Slouchy Hat

One of my completed hat projects that I wanted to share. :) The pattern is the Gumdrop Slouchy Hat over on the Gleeful Things Blog. I really loved the outcome of this hat. The pattern is easy enough to follow for even a beginner. I'm not much of a slouchy hat kinda girl. But I do like this pattern. The dark colors look surprisingly well with my blonde locks.

Keep in mind if you want to do a variegated yarn like I did, your crochet color bars won't be consistent at the beginnings of the rows. You can see exactly where my rows end/begin. Overall, this was a quick crochet project and I really like wearing this hat!

Fiber Art Inc

Elise and I came across the most amazing yarn shop in Odessa, FL! It is simply amazing. I've never seen so much yarn in my life! Roz, the lady who runs the shop is very helpful and is always willing to help! The hardest part is picking out what yarn to buy first! :)

Needle Organizers are a great crafting project. Not only are they cute but they're incredibly useful. The photos listed above link directly to their etsy sellers and each one is shaped different. The hardest part is deciding what style case I want to make! Here's a helpful list of tutorials. Get crafting! It's almost the weekend!

Yarn Review: Noro Yuzen

I bought two skeins of Noro Yuzen at a yarn specialty shop. So far, this yarn has been a pleasure to work with. This yarn is semi-soft to the touch. It doesn't feel acrylicy at all making it ideal for hats, scarves, gloves, etc. I would not recommend this yarn for Amigurumi. The yarn weight varies quite often and it goes through spurts of very thick yarn and then very thin....with knitting the variation isn't that noticeable. I've heard people complain about knotting, but I have yet to encounter this problem. I also have only used Noro Yuzen. I have yet to test out other Noro yarns like the popular Silk Garden. Eventually though ;D

I love watching the color variations when using this yarn. You almost don't notice it happening until you see the results. I can't wait to finish this project! At first glance from the way the skein is packaged, you can't really tell just how beautifully it actually knits. I would buy more of this yarn! If theres no specialty yarn shop near you, you can order this yarn online. You can see some of the color variations here! But if your interested, order soon. I recently noticed that this yarn has been discontinued!

Scarf Swap!

I participated in a Scarf Swap over on Craftster, I sent out this scarf a few weeks ago. I received my scarf in the mail yesterday and behold! I asked for a knit scarf since I couldn't knit at the time. Laney did a fantastic job! I would never have attempted a sideways garder stitch myself. The colors complement my wardrobe pretty well. :)

Amigurumi Jellyfish! I sell these in my Etsy shop. :)

Hat Que

I wanted to share the current hat projects in my Raverly cue. I've been in a real hat mood lately. Maybe its due to Florida actually getting some cool weather. I'm really new to knitting, and so far every attempt at a hat, (specifically the last one listed above) has come out extremely small. Even when I use a needle thats 2 sizes larger. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. My gage is seriously off. I'm youtube self taught so far...so it just might be time to Q&A an expert knitter.

What are you currently working on?

Scarf Swap!

Scarf I made for a scarf swap over on Craftster! I should be receiving mine in the mail any day now. :D Whee! My partner knitted me one. I can't wait to receive!

Stay tuned, I'll be posting the pattern for this scarf when I get a moment to make a pdf and diagram for it. Should be very very soon though.

This week I came across these absolutely adorable handsewn kawaii plushies! The craftsmanship in these is impeccable! Such small details really give these plushes charm. I could picture almost any character in this style! I really want to take a stab at one myself, giving these amazing plushies my first weekly inspiration post. Check out MissCoffee's full gallery over on DeviantArt!

Vera Bradley Spring 2011!

The Vera Bradley 2011 Spring Collection came out today! I haven't seen them in person yet, but I have a feeling Folkloric will be my favorite from this release.

Every time Vera launches a new collection, I can't help but search the bowels of the internet until I find out what the next collection will be. And thus, here it is!


Some of the photos could be better, but you take what you can get. Waterfall and English Meadow also show the lining fabrics. I wish I could have found all the patterns that way. Next time Gadget! Next time!

*I am not affiliated with Vera Bradley in any way, I am simply a fan*

Confessions of a Former Disney Cast Member

This is great. I couldn't help myself but post it.

Doctor Who Theme in Mario Paint!

Holy Awesome! I had to share!

Get Your Game On!

My copy of DC Universe online came in the mail today! Wheeee! I can't wait to go home and snag my character names ;D My boyfriend and I got into the beta. We were pretty excited, I mean the trailer from blur was AMAZING...and if the game was anything like that, it was definitely worth playing. We were very impressed with the game so far. I could go for more character customization options, but either way its the best Super Hero MMO I've ever played. Blows City of Heroes and Champions Online right out of the water! I ordered my copy from Amazon and they were nice enough to have it delivered today! Whoo! Another reason why I love Amazon.com!



DC Universe Online Trailer for anyone who hasn't seen it yet :)

LOL!

"NASA Says ’2012′ Is Most Absurd Sci-Fi Movie Ever; ‘Gattaca’ Most Plausible"

I thought this statement was hilarious! Especially with all the 2012 hype now a days. Being a Sci-Fi fan, I couldn't help but share this list.



Heres the list of Nasa's most absurd:
1. 2012 (2009) (Trailer embedded above)
2. The Core (2003)
3. Armageddon (1998)
4. Volcano (1997)
5. Chain Reaction (1996)
6. The 6th Day (2000)
7. What the #$*! Do We Know? (2004)



And most plausable:
1. Gattaca (1997)(Trailer embedded above)
2. Contact (1997)
3. Metropolis (1927)
4. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
5. Woman in the Moon (1929)
6. The Thing from Another World (1951)
7. Jurassic Park (1993)

What do you guys think? lol

Knitting!

So my new years resolution for this year is to finally teach myself how to knit! After a week of learning, Behold! My first completed project!



Its not perfect, my knitting is still a bit Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey ;)
The edges curl, but that'll get better over time with practice. But you can definitely tell its supposed to be the Tardis in the center! Success! :D Want to knit your own Timey Wimey Tardis? Find the pattern here on Ravelry!


I can almost hear the most beautiful sound in the universe right now :)

PariahCon Powa!

PariahCon is an upcoming convention taking place in Lakeland, FL on June 10th and 11th 2011. Yesterday the directors had a meeting to keep everyone updated about the planning out and events of the con. Good times. Hurray for Skype! Anyway, for those of you local FL Cosplayers, you should check out Pariah's website and plan on coming! We're still in the planning stages, so if anyone has any suggestions feel free to put them in the Forums!

One of my duties is to plan out the Miss Pokemon Universe Contest. I'm really excited about this! Basically, contestants will make a Moemon style costume for this contest. Contestants will be judged on creativity, originality, workmanship, and style. We even got a special guest judge especially for this contest! Its surely going to be an awesome time! I'm still working out some contest rules and details, but a link for this contest and pre-registration for this event should go up on the website in about a week. So start crafting cosplayers! The winner will be crowned Miss Pokemon Universe! Thats right....full out Tiara and Miss Pokemon Universe Sash!

Doctor Who!

I'm participating in the Doctor Who Round 5 swap over on Craftster! The swap just started so I have 5+ weeks of crafting time. Doctor who has been my latest obsession and there's been much Doctor activity over on craftster lately.

Anywho, I also participated in the Doctor Who Round 4 swap. Here's the lovely package I sent out.
The Adipose was crocheted, the Tardis keychain was a decorated glass tile pendant, and the 9th Doctor poster was digitally illustrated by me. I was super inspired by Ameba2k's AMAZING 11 and Amy posters. I absolutely loved the style chosen. It was perfect, I couldn't help myself...I'm really looking forward to round 5. I have so many ideas for crafts I'm going to make!

Heres some other amazing things from round 4! Check out the full gallery here!