July GG ~ Craft Group Distractions

Guess what, guys!  It finally went one whole week without raining!  YAY.  Of course, it is supposed to get very hot now so not sure if I'm 100% on board with this change.  The grass will still grow, and mowing in extreme heat is probably one of the grossest, most tiring, foolish things ever.  Don't worry, I take a ton of breaks so I don't suffer heat stroke but it still turns one half of the yard into a whole day affair.  Maybe I should just xeriscape. Or create a wildebeest habitat à la Jo.

click for more info!

I have a bit of progress on the double-knit potholder, being worked up for a friend.  I thought it was a great project to take to craft group, especially now that the "main" image is complete.

before

after

Of course, when you get to talking you stop paying attention and wind up with a glaring mistake that will have to be removed.  I've no idea how it happened as this should just be alternating colors at this point! I do not like mistakes in double knitting; it's very tedious to undo them.  Instead of pulling out the stitches, I "tink" or unknit everything, one stitch at a time. Cross stitch is so much easier (but probably not any less demoralizing) with a snip-snip!

don't do this to me

So now this project is in time out to think about the error of its ways.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

image found through Google search

Lastly, here is the next giveaway and the winner of the last chart!   The winner of The Bee Book chart from last month is RJ at Stitching Friends Forever!  They're having an amazing giveaway of their own now if you'd like to check that out.  RJ, I don't have your address so drop an email when you can and I'll get it sent out.

giveaway as stitched by me!

The pattern up for grabs this month is Southwest Spirit, a design by Gloria Eriksen and is one I have actually stitched, way back in 2010!  I picked it up in a thrift store, along with the already-started fabric.  I finished off the stitch and loved it, especially that little brown pot on the left.  It was a highly enjoyable piece to work on, maybe because the colors are so soothing.  The original owner unfortunately did not make a working copy of the pattern and so, there are pen marks on it, crossing out stitched places.   This is mostly on the buildings in the upper left.  Since the piece has some fairly large bricks of color, it doesn't make it difficult to know what color to use, nor where to use it.  Just keep in mind this is not going to be a very pristine chart!

Southwest Spirit

Since I did it on the original 14-count Aida, it worked out to be 13" x 10" which at the time was really, really big for my ventures into cross-stitching haha!  This is also the first piece I ever did on my floor stand and caused me to fall in love with two-handed stitching!  You will not be receiving the efforts of my hard work, however.  My mother liked this stitch very much!  :)

Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway Guidelines

1. Be a minion follower (upper right corner of my blog)!  Feedly, bloglovin', etc. do not count as there is no way to show it!  I am sorry; blame blogger for this one.
2. Comment and tell me you would like to be included in the drawing!
3. Open worldwide! 
4. No winning twice in a row (example: the winner of October's drawing would not be eligible for November's).
5. Closing date: July 29th, 2019 23:59 CST.

it's a trap

And that is all for this edition of Ishkabibble Babble!

July GG ~ I Have No Idea What I'm Doing

Actually, I live my whole life not knowing what I'm doing. \:D/

click for more info

Hi, folks! It's summer time in full swing (since May...) and here's a little not-so-secret secret: I HATE SUMMER. I absolutely despise being hot. That feeling when you walk outdoors and your breath is burned away and you can swim through the air? No, thank you. I'll grudgingly accept it because it means my tomatoes and peppers are thriving.  I have to water everything every morning (some items get more in the evening too) or they burn to a crisp.  At least I have some pretty blooms...

hibiscus #3

My GG post is late this time, mostly because I kind of feel like I've sort of hit a stitchy block but the overall crafting bug is still there.  I have a little thing I've been working on but it really deserves its own post and subsequent exclamation marks.  Can you possibly guess what it will be?  :)))

In actual, honest-to-goodness GG stitching, I have the next (and last!) side of the Husband Cube charted and floss tossed, but I got wind of the fact that DMC's latest colors can be bought individually at Hobby Lobby.  I want to check out those grays before I commit to the ones currently kitted.

I did make this hat on a whim.  I can shoehorn this in for GG as the white and dark blue yarns were originally bought for the Little Cowboy Afghan that I gifted last year.  So this was a bonus stash busting; I have only about a yard of white left and even less of the aqua!  It is also kind of a prototype as I wanted to see how it looked worked up.  I think I know someone who will really like this in a different colorway.

a little feminine cloche

Technical Details

• "Ridge Hat with Brim" freebie pattern by Kool Stitch on ravelry.
• Hook: G (4.00mm).
• Yarn: Caron Simply Soft; Colorway: white, aqua, and dark country blue
• My ravelry project page here.
• Started: July 3, 2018, Finished July 5, 2018, unknown hours.

I loved making this!  It's a very simple and quick pattern with cute results.  Even though I went up to a 4.00mm hook, I think a 4.25mm (which I do not have; this is an odd size to find in the US) would’ve been perfect for me as it's just a little snug.  It won't be blowing away!  The little flower is currently held on by a safety pin.  I thought this would allow me to make different flowers or even just remove it for a different feel.  I did a crab stitched edge in the aqua for a little extra splash of color. It's a good thing I've been on such a stash busting kick lately because...

thrifting is life

This little pile was "gifted" to the local thrift store and of course I couldn't pass it by.  There are four skeins of Malabrigo yarn (the purples and blues - 100% merino wool), two skeins of Knit Picks Palatte (red - 100% wool), two skeins of Louet (grey, 100% merino wool), and one skein of Noro (multi-blue/grey - 50% wool, 25% angora, 25% nylon).  These are all really pricey yarns around here!  The Noro alone would've cost $23 before tax and I got all the yarn for $14.  The Spring Blossom casserole dishes were an added bonus, though I goofed when I bought the green one -- I already have that size!  My little spreadsheet was not updated with this information.  I fixed that immediately and took this dish back.  Another little set within a set completed!

now let's all move into child's pose

Peanut gifts his adorableness to you all. ;)  He decided that I worked out enough and needed to move on to other things, like filling my phone up with more cat pictures.

That's all from me; a bit meager, I know.  Too much tenuous shoehorning going on here!  I hope next month will be better~

May GG ~ The Return of the Speaker Cozies

Howdy, folks! Hope everything is swell where you are~ We've finally decided to end winter here and of course, skip straight into summer. I am a bit grumpy over this.  I hate being hot!  Plus with the fresh green grass needing mowed every five days...  whew.  Sometimes I wonder how I am staying awake at all.  But you're not here to listen to me complain about the weather being weather, you're here for Gifted Gorgeousness!

click for more info

First up, we have substantial (for me) progress on the 5th side of the Monster Hunter cube!

before

after

We finally picked up a PS4 and my husband has been busy playing through Dark Souls 3 and I've been busy enjoying all the spare crafting time next to him! I'm not sure why this particular side seems to be taking forever. It might be the large blocks of color.  Soothing to stitch yet seems to go nowhere fast.

before

after

Next up, the long-neglected speaker cozies. I have been forced to decided to make a change. I joined the two smallest cozies together to make a single larger one that will grow even more. One of our cats (not mentioning any names, Oreo) likes to steal small items and carry them around.  Coasters, socks, actual cat toys, and apparently small doilies are not safe from this sneaky kitty (Oreo). So, I am making it into a bigger cozy for either one of the larger speakers or possibly for the end/coffee tables. They are still pending decision from the other half. And possibly to see if they're big enough to NOT be of interest to a certain furball (Oreo). 

totally innocent

I also made another fan bookmark for a Mother's Day gift.  Of course I forgot to take a picture of it before sending it off so you'll just have to use your imagination of a variegated peacock blue. :)  I really, really love this pattern and the resulting bookmark!  You can find it here on ravelry or if you don't use ravelry, here on the blog post.

That's all for this edition of Ishkabibble Babble.  I'm not sure if there will be a Smalls post at the end of the month.  The vast majority of my small stitches are Christmas and I'm just not feeling like working on Christmas!  I will have to go through my digital stash to see if anything leaps out at me.  Until next time!  :D

February Smalls: The Birds and the... Cats?

Allo, world~ Already the end of February, egad.  It's time for another installment of the Smalls SAL and I'm actually timely with both finish and post.

click for info!

The little bird I had started for GG has been completed~  There was a day when I felt quite bleh so I just took a mental health day and finished stitching it up.  The actual finishing was completed another day, or rather over a series of days to allow the fabric glue to fully dry.

before

after

I did make a few changes.  Some of the gingham didn't match up for my liking so I adjusted some squares.  The original pattern is actually for a Christmas heart but I felt I have a decent start on Christmas decorations and hardly any for Valentine's Day.  So I adjusted the green and red heart to be pinks and reds.

stitch by stitch

I haven't put up one of these little "Stitch Movies" in a while and seem to have forgotten my settings for making them!  Sorry it's a bit wobbly with terrible colors hah.  I used ezgif this time around; it'll do the borders and add any text you may want.

Finished-Finished

Since all the floss, fabric, needle, and finishing bits were provided with the magazine, it was quite easy to know what to do with it after stitching, hooray!  I added the heart buttons though, instead of the round ones provided.  Yay, I have a new Valentine's Day decoration to put out next year!

Technical Details

• "Gingham Bird", pattern found in Enjoy Cross Stitch, Christmas 2012.
• Designer: Maria Diaz.
• 2-over-1 on white 14-count Aida.
• Finished size: approximately 4" x 4" (~10cm x 10cm).
• Started: February 13, finished February 20, ~6 hours.  

⊱ ────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────── ⊰
I'm not sure if knitting is allowed for Smalls (it's stitching, right? with two [in this case, four] needles, riiight?). But I had to put this little guy in and he is certainly small!

Tiny Cat

Do not be deceived by his close up; Tiny Cat is a whopping 2" tall, if that. Such a fun, if fiddly, knit! I have never made an amigurumi anything before so this was a great learning experience. Especially picking up stitches. On wooden DPNs. When you're a tight knitter. I really shouldn't use wooden needles. I didn't break any but they certainly bent.  I'm not sure I knit the top of his head correctly either but it worked out in the end.

Tiny Cat watches you sleep

I am pleased to say my husband was Greatly Amused at Tiny Cat and took it to work with him to live on his desk.  This one was roughly modeled after Klondike so I suppose I should make Oreo and Peanut at some point.  Then he can have a little (literally!) herd of cats on his desk.

Technical Details

• "Tiny Parlor Cat" by Sarah Kellner, freebie pattern found here (ravelry).
• Yarn Used: random scrap leftovers.
• Needles: Size 4 (3.5mm) DPNs.
• Started January 28(?), finished February 6, ~3-4 hours.

That's all, folks!  See you next time!  I hope it will involve an awful lot of exclamation marks. :D

Advent Calendar Blog Hop: Day 21!

Hello, hello~  Are you here for Jo's Advent Blog Hop on this fine Winter's Solstice?  Sure you are!

Ooo we are so close to Christmas; are you ready?!  I can safely say all the Christmas cards are mailed and so are all the cookies!  I am now working on the "local" cookie batches, mostly the cookies that I love to make but would never survive mailing (decorated sugar cookies, etc) or that my husband loves and I have to make another batch of (thin mints).

Here is what I've created for you behind door 21!  I can assure you it took an awful lot of work to assemble this intricate piece.

almost staying still

Wait, that's not a craft...

Okay, okay, enough with the silliness and on to the Real Stuff.  Every year I've been trying to make something for the tree and this is 2017's contribution.

baby, it's COLD outside

I bought this little kit in a thrift store. I really like brass ornaments so finding a cross-stitch one was awesome!  There doesn't seem to be any images of this particular kit online, but there are stockings and wreaths out there somewhere.  I enjoyed the easy finish of it but it was a bit rough "seeing" the beginning stitches; I simply couldn't process the squares!  I just started at the bottom and worked my way up until it made sense.   Plus the 3-over-1 was remarkably tough despite the the large holes.  Back stitching required a thimble just to stuff the needle through some places!

Technical Details

• Brass Stitchables "Snowman Mitten", a kit by Bucilla.
  
• 3 over 1 on 14-count brass.
  
• Finished Size:
• Started: November ?, 2017, Finished: December 8th, 2017. Unknown hours.

I added a bit of red felt to the back to hide protect the stitches.  I thought I'd get all fancy pants and attach the felt with gold metallic floss to match the brass.  Trying to do that blindly and neatly....... Nope, not happening!  Glue gun to the rescue hah.

And because I felt this was a pretty sparse post, I will share two previous ornaments I don't believe were ever on the blog.

naughty or nice

delicious house

Both of these little kits were picked up in thrift stores (of course).  I believe the gingerbread house is the first Christmas ornament I've ever made in cross-stitch; I scribbled a date on the back of August of 2009 which is the year I started.  It was a fun stitch, although I obviously needed a bit more practice centering in a frame!  Santa  was stitched closer to Christmas that same year and was finished by being glued to cardboard, and then of course that looked ugly on the back, so I cut another piece of cardboard and used Christmas wrapping paper and a fat ribbon for hanging.  I do remember designing the M and C myself because the plain font looked too, well, plain!

Christmas... worm?

And this little guy was made when I was a tiny Rosey in kindergarten.  Our teacher cut out the little pieces of felt and we assembled them into these ornaments with glue.  Then we "sewed" around the edges and stuffed the bottom with a bit of fluff.  Such trust with a needle!  I'm sure nowadays someone would demand that children are too young and would eat the needles or some other disaster.


Jo asks: How do you plan to spend Boxing Day?  Do you have any traditions associated with this day?

Welp, like a few others on this hop, I'm also American and have no specific traditions associated with this day! My husband does actually have off the day after Christmas though, but this is more of a fluke of the days lining up just so.  It's a day for lazing around, eating cookies (and I guess leftovers), and playing with any new toys that Santa deposited under the tree.  Although after reading all the hops so far, I feel this might actually fit in haha.  I could pretend to be a milkgal and you could slip a note under the door on the way out. ;)

Okay, that's enough from me.  Thank you for visiting!  Your next stop is a Double Delight.  Please knock on Craftartista and A Snapshot of my Life's door tomorrow~

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* MERRY CHRISTMAS! *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

As usual with these blog hops, I've scheduled this post to appear overnight here so the people in the future (read: the rest of the world) can have the post in a timely fashion.

An Eclectic Ensemble

I did!

Howdy, y'all! Thanks for all the interest in the blog hop post. I'm glad you guys like Frosted Pumpkin cuties too! I figured I'm well overdue for a crafty recap that doesn't have to do with holiday stuff so let's take care of that, shall we~? :D

before

after

First up, I finished the next side to the Monster Hunter cube, Zinogre the lightning doggy!  I rather like how this guy turned out.  (Have I said this about all of them? ;b)  I was worried about the lightest color blending in too much with the fabric but it turned out to have just enough texture to make it subtly pop.

Technical Details

• "Zinogre" glyph from Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, pattern charted by me.
• 2 over 1 on 20-count light tan jobelan fabric.
• Finished size: 3.50 x 3.50" (9 x 9 cm).
• Started: July 6, 2017, Finished: September ??, unknown hours.  

I'm pretty sure this is a hunt

Four sides down!  Next up is Nargacuga, the hyper catbat.  I haven't started him yet; I'm not even done tweaking the chart for him!  He will be a rather dark stitch as I'm trying to keep to the main species and not the subs (this will present a problem for the last stitch).

I promise this is a flower

I have also started the next Flower of the Month -- September's Aster.   I'm still not enthusiastic over this one but it's not too terrible to stitch.  I snack on it on occasion but that has tapered off with all the holiday crafting.  I do not like that jarring orange center.  I am leaving it until the rest of the flower is stitched to see if it becomes less InYourFace but I am not hopeful!  Luckily it's only a few stitches that will need replaced if need be!

sunflower coaster

I'm kind of proud of this one.  I couldn't find a crochet or knitted sunflower pattern to suit my needs, so this was my first attempt in cobbling something from nothing!  I had to learn how to crochet the crocodile stitch (which, if you're interested, consumes a LOT of yarn), plus learn how to do it in the round.  For a first attempt, it turned out fairly well.  It's made of cotton yarn so it should work well as a coaster, though I'm not sure the recipient is using it as such!  I do wish I had written down ANYTHING about what I did for this pattern haha.  I'm not sure I could recreate it, though I think I'll give it a try at some point not-Christmas time.

front - front, back - back

I feel like I've been doing an awful lot of knitting lately too.  These are "star stitch" washcloths made as part of a Christmas present!  YAY I AM ALMOST TIMELY.  Also it is a good thing I started these rather early as the star stitch is torture for us poor tight knitters and these take me quite a while to make.  It does lovely things to variegated/ombre yarn, though, and that is why I chose this particular stitch pattern.

close up of the action

I have two more I'm going to make in "winter" colors.  I might make some for myself, but they can wait until after Christmas!  I did both a crochet cast on and bind off which have quickly become my favorite ways to start and end a knit project!  My tension is a bit better with them so they are looser, creating the slightly scalloped border on both edges.  Very much would recommend!

There was a minor annoyance with this yarn.  I bought the first skein at Michael's and it was 2oz.  This was enough to finish one cloth, plus about 7/8ths of the next one.  I bought the second skein at JoAnn's and it was 3oz!  Ugh.  3oz would've been enough to finish both, in the same dyelot (you can't tell the join on the second cloth though), with only a bit left over.  Now I have almost a full skein left to do ???? with.  I was a little grumpy over this.


Technical Details

• "Star Stitch" cloths, knit, pattern found here (free!) on ravelry.
• My ravelry project page found here.
• Cotton yarn: Lily's Sugar n' Creme in coral seas ombre.
• Size 9 (5.5mm) needles, plus a crochet hook for cast on/bind off.
• Started: October 28, finished November 10, unknown hours.  

Lessons Learned

• Crochet bind off.  
• Better tension control for purling! (!!!!)
• Where to buy yarn, bah.

I think that's all with crafts that I can show right now.  I have some small projects on the crochet hook which are turning out quite fun and really cute.  Plus I have another Christmas present on a different set of needles.  Plus plus I have some holiday cross stitch in the works.  Plus plus plus it's almost Cookie Time!!  I'm so happy to be excited about Christmas this year. :)

nyaa-p time

And even though it has nothing to do with anything I made but LOOK AT MY NEW PAJAMAS.  I don't impulse buy very often but I had to have these instantly, pink or no pink.  How can I ignore sleepy kitties and yarn balls!  These are seriously adorable and very comfy too.  They were brand new with tags, in a thrift store no less, so I got them for a whopping $6.  :D

helping

This entire post could've counted for Gifted Gorgeousness, haha.  I look forward to joining in again next year!  I hope you all have a wonderful time and those of you in the US, have a Happy Thanksgiving!  I don't have to cook for it this time.  \:D/

Flowers and Afghans, Oh My

Hello again! Poking my head back into the blogging world for a quick(?) ramble.

We are mostly settled in our new place.  There was a terrible lot of rain over a few days and while the basement didn't flood, it certainly oozed.  Last weekend my husband and I ripped out the drywall in one room to see just what the extent of damage was -- luckily, not too bad!  And we got the pleasant surprise that the wiring down there is actually grounded, but the outlets had not been updated.  That is an easy fix; I am comfortable swapping outlets and it means less than half the house will need updated.  We will tear out one more wall, and probably a closet, to see if there are any more suspicious spots and to remove moldy drywall.  Renovations are kind of fun but I am so tired of being surrounded by boxes that had to be hastily moved and spread out to dry.

I have no vegetable garden this year, and the flowers already planted have been mostly disappointing.  I was hopeful the iris blossoms would be lovely... they were black.  A washed-out deep purple black.  Yuck.  They will be finding new homes with people who can appreciate them.  The daylilies turned out to be yellow and sort of scraggly due to lack of light.  No daffodils. This will be remedied next year.  I cannot live in a world without daffodils.  There are also clumps of what I suspect are going to be "naked ladies" (surprise lilies, or whatever you know those goofy things as).  The leaves have died back and I expect the flowers to pop out of the ground overnight within the next month or so.

almost worth it

 
We also have a small "water feature" that has some beautiful water lily blossoms.  I really love the flowers but I do not want to take care of a water garden, nor invite mosquitoes to take care of it for me! It is also in pretty rough shape; the liner is torn in places so it's not as full of water as it should be and there are weeds everywhere around it.

pink "evening" primroses

These guys are taking over the backyard.  I rather like them but they can be very voracious spreaders. They are native wildflowers here and I am contemplating getting them started in the ditch in front of the house. There they can spread to their little blossomy heart's content and I won't have to mow that (very difficult) area.

Then the lone rose bush bloomed.  It was in sad shape when we moved in.  I gave it some fertilizer and a haircut and it had a few blooms.  At first I thought it was going to be yellow, which was okay with me.  Then they blushed!  I think these are actually Peace roses (or possibly Garden Party) and I am gonna try my hardest to spread them all over the flower gardens as they are truly beautiful (even after a rough life) and have a wonderful aroma.

Corelle salt shaker vase

¸ . · * / ` \ * · . ¸ . · * / ` \ * · . ¸ . · * / ` \ * · . ¸¸ . · * / ` \ * · . ¸ . · * / ` \ * · . ¸ . · * / ` \ * · . ¸
Well, enough about my gardening woes.  I have been a bit slow on the crafting front.  I have an item on the knitting needles, but no picture of it, and it's, like, way over there, far too far for me to move and snap one.  Instead, here is a crocheted small baby afghan for a family member who is expecting their first.  The father is a Dallas Cowboy's fan so this was a fairly easy choice to make.  The star afghan is quite popular on ravelry and I scoured the projects page(s) for notes and ideas for color placement.

little cowboy afghan

  Technical Details

• "Little Cowboy Afghan" pattern by Beth Parsons, found here on ravelry (free).
• G hook
• Yarn: Caron Simply Soft, dark country blue, grey heather, and white.
• Started March 17, 2017; finished June 14, 2017; unknown hours.

I have no idea how big or small a baby blanket should be!  A friend suggested I wrap up my largest cat and then make it a bit bigger, so that is what I did, to much amusement of my husband and much confusion of my cat.  It wound up being 39" from point to point, unblocked.  I suppose this is a little small.  Babies are a little small too, right?

a very confused purrito

It's done in (US) double crochet with a crab stitched edge for a bit extra strength.  I would love to make another one of these in rainbow colors, or all blues, or a Mario Star, just for us.  I was happy to make this one as a gift, but the colors are very drab for me to work on for long stretches of time.  It's not entirely mindless because it required counting or the points would spiral.

The yarn itself was nice to work with too, so very soft, until the second skein of blue.  What a yarn barf mess that was!  I don't mind untangling yarn but that was the closest I've ever come to snipping off the offensive part.  Yeesh.

Still no cross-stitch, though while I was crocheting the blanket, I was sitting next to the bag containing my few WIPs.  It was whispering to me.  :)  When projects start talking to you, that's a good sign, right?

Giveaway, the FINISHED (for now)!

Hello again, world!

image found through Google search

I'm a little late with this post, today was somewhat busy.  I'll dive right in with the giveaway winner: Tiki at Tiki Stitches was the only one who entered and wins by default haha. She just expressed interest in the Monticello piece though the giveaway was for both. Tiki, iffins you want both, I'm happy to send them. Also, you are a no-reply blogger so please e-mail me with your address as I have no way of contacting you!

I have decided to not offer up the crewelwork kit so I'm sorry if anyone was looking forward to that! I don't think there would be any interest as it's quite a large kit in lovely shades of 70s browns haha. Who knows, maybe I'll throw caution to the wind and change up the colors for a bright new piece. Or I'll just donate it. :) I do have a couple more things to giveaway but I will save them for a little later; I'm very close to a related finish and a nice, round number of followers.  So, done for now!

Buuut... I have a question for you more experienced stitchers! DMC Light Effects floss is metallic, right? Are there similar "sparkly" floss types that aren't metallic? I have never used Kreinik (which is still metallic) but does it create the same effect? Would I want the blending filament or some sort of braid?  Is there some other magic sparkle floss out there?   Please tell me all your woes and joys trying to get sparkle! :D

helpful stitching buddy

the other end :)

Klondike doing what he does second best (first best is the other end of the spectrum: teleporting around the house). I wish my other two derps would take the hint and snuggle like this! It's much easier to stitch when they're beside you instead of insistently on the lap!

what a life