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/

Spooky Hallowe'en Blog Hop

Hello there, blog hoppers and minions!  It's that magical time of year for Jo's Hallowe'en (look I put the apostrophe in) Blog Hop.  I've scheduled this post to appear in the wee hours of the morning here as many readers are from the future... Or at least from over the puddle.  If you're stumbling onto the game from my blog, please head on over to Jo's blog to start!

Google-y Oogley

This year I have a Shiny New Finish, full of firsts!  It is my first time stitching on black fabric (I've done black perforated plastic), my first flatfold finishing, and my first Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery (finally)!  So much YAY!

not a whole lot of border fabric -- whoops

Technical Details

• "All Hallows Eve" pattern by Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery, found here.
• 2-over-1 on a 14-count black Aida.
• Backing material: Holiday Showcase™ Halloween Cotton Fabric 43" - Candy Corn Dot, remnant purchased at JoAnn Fabrics, and stash black felt.
• Finished stitching size: ~3" (7,6cm) square.
• Started October 4, 2017, finished October 15, 2017, unknown hours.

🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃

small kine goodies

Because I stitched on black, I made a few adjustments to some of the charted colors.  Ms. Witch is in a fabulous navy dress, and Sir Mittens, her trusty familiar, is a dark grey gentlecat with dainty white paws.  The stars were stitched with E940 which is the wonderful glow-in-the-dark DMC.  I was surprised how... fluffy? this floss is.  It's in the light effects line so I guess I was expecting something more stiff.  But the coverage is great, even for 14-count!  Other than that, there were a few other tweaks, mostly involving the charted black floss.  I was not overly enthusiastic about stitching black on black and then not having it show up!

cell phone didn't like pretty glowing things

The tutorial I used can be found here on Meari's blog!  I am also big on recycling and using what stash I've accumulated/inherited.  I do not have any batting so I used some of my ample felt stash, in black.  This doubled to provide a dark background so nothing shows through the 14-count fabric holes!  Of course, since it was my first attempt, it's not quite perfect.  Mostly because my "flat" fold is not very flat at almost an inch thick lol.  Lesson learned, use pasteboard thickness!  What I used was not corrugated cardboard but more like two pasteboards pasted together... Still too thick apparently!

help yourself to healthy(?) snacks

I found the finishing fabric on sale in the remnant bin. It is partly responsible for the choice of black Aida.  I was waffling between it or a navy.  Can't say I much like to eat candy corn (says the sweet tooth) but they do look cute~  I left one back piece as exposed felt because it wouldn't really be seen at any point.  The "cording" is three pieces of yarn twisted together.  Orange, black, and some really strange hairy black stuff (like eyelash yarn but... hairy) that is rather creepy all on its own haha.

And here's what you've all been waiting breathlessly for: The letter!

the letter B - more Google-y Oogley

Your next stop is Le Coeur Celtique so keep on hopping (ghosting?  zombie-ing? witching?) your way along!

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN!

Great American Eclipse 2017

Hello again~

You may or may not have heard of the eclipse that happened in North America, specifically coast to coast of the USA.  If you were anywhere near the path of shadow, it's all you've been hearing about for about six months!  We live in the path of totality so we had a great show to look forward to... without having to deal with traffic (and thank goodness for that -- 30 minutes after was nuts).  My husband took off because he knew how excited I was for this.

We ordered a solar filter for my little telescope early because I knew there'd be issues the closer to the date.  It safely arrived with plenty of time but ONE WEEK before the eclipse, I got an email from the shipper saying it couldn't be verified to meet the safety standards!  At that point, there weren't any verified items in stock, even assuming they could ship quickly.  So that meant we wouldn't be able to (safely) watch the eclipse through the 'scope after all.  I was so disappointed.  At least we were fully refunded for it and allowed to keep it.  We set it up with the telescope anyway so we could get pictures with our cell phones with no risk of blinding ourselves.

Our local libraries were giving away proper solar glasses like candy so I picked up two pairs of those so we could watch safely.  I modified them slightly by punching holes in the temples and stringing a piece of elastic through.  This made it so the darn things actually stayed on our heads!  For future reference, the solar glasses are very annoying if you have to wear regular glasses to get through life.

find the sunspots!

How exciting to see sunspots!  We were lucky to have a beautiful, though hot, day for viewing.  There were some concerns about incoming clouds, but they behaved themselves until after the eclipse.  Just a few stray cirrus once in a while.

so close

I loved watching the sun get eaten away by the moon! 

the diamond ring

Totality was so amazing!  It was my first time but my husband's second (he was a small fry on the Big Island in Hawaii for the eclipse in 1991).  We had a good two+ minutes of it (2 minutes, 28 seconds) and it was worth every moment.  It was so dark and the temperature dropped rapidly at that point.  We didn't have any birds freak out but the "evening bugs" started to sing.  My mother told me her cats gathered at the door and stared at her thinking it was time to be fed!  Since it's safe to look at the sun without the filters during totality, we took our glasses off and the one off the telescope and got to see solar flares and the ring of fire and everything; it was wonderful!

receding

The clouds held off for the end too though we had to hurry and get our grill ready before they moved in with rain in the evening!  I mean, what's an eclipse without some grilled ribeye?  According to my husband, a wasted eclipse ahaha.

edible sol and luna

And of course I had to make my sugar cookies!  The icing was a little weird for these; a bit too runny.  They still taste like a million calories each though. :D

This was such a fantastic experience and shall be going down as one of my favorite memories ever!  We are also close to where the 2024 eclipse will happen so assuming nothing changes in the next seven years, maybe I'll get to see another totality!  For further fun, NOAA has some great images and videos of the shadow crossing the US here (I am not sure how long this link will stay active).

I will be fixing the images on my blog shortly.  Photobucket went off the deep end and has decided to charge FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS for 3rd party hosting.  Lol, no thank you.  Please forgive the mess until I can get the images moved!

I Picked Up a Small Needle!

Hallo, world!

After the ceaseless whispering from my project bag, I finally succumbed to fishing out a cross stitch piece. I have not stitched since October of last year, before all The Happenings happened.  Getting a flower out let me make the "2017" folder in my cross stitching photo album... halfway through the year!

before

after

Yay, a finish! (I've omitted the bees.) Of course, there wasn't much left on this piece so it was fairly easy to achieve victory. But a finish is a finish and always a morale boost.  I even braved washing it (held my breath as it submerged) to remove the fabric ink and hoop marks and to give it a bit of freshening up.  I probably should have ironed it!

Technical Details

• "August: Gladiolus" freebie pattern by Ellen Maurer-Stroh, found here.
• 2-over-1 on a 14-count ecru huck towel.
• Finished size: 4.5" x 4.5" (11,50cm x 11,50cm).
• Started September 2016, finished June 25, 2017, unknown hours.

Next up will be September's Aster.  I feel a little unenthusiastic about this one and I'm not sure why.  Perhaps I just prefer fluffy flowers.  Most of the colors are kitted up, minus one that is frustrating the heck out of me.  My inventory says I have not one, not two, but THREE skeins of this color.  Where are any of them?!  They must have become victim to the move and will pop up in some really obscure place a year from now.

aroooo

I also kitted up the next MH3U side after setting my husband loose with my floss collection.  He has a much better eye for color than he gives himself credit for!  Plus, if no colors are acceptable, we go "string shopping". What a terrible travesty that is. ;)  I started stitching at the last meeting with the local "yarn & yak" group.  They're more of a craft whatever you want group instead of strictly knitting or crochet.  This picture is about two hours worth of work, with plenty of yakking in between!

weird angle

I've also managed to squeeze in a knit washcloth with the Little Cowboy Afghan. It felt weird not having anything else to send with it and washcloths are fast and hopefully useful. I went up a size on the needles since I'm SuperTight. It gave it a slightly more loose gauge which should allow water to actually soak into it (yes, I've had water run off my cloths).  I did not like the three-stitch seed/moss border.  I think if I make another of these, I will adjust the border to be slightly wider.  It wanted to curl whereas the dolphin one did not and I think that will help.

Technical Details

• "Rubber Ducky Cloth", freebie pattern by Jessica Worthig, found here.
• #4 needles (3.5mm).
• Yarn: Peaches & Creme Solids in gold.
• Finished size: ~8" x 8" (~20cm x 20cm).
• Started July 17, 2017, finished July 21, 2017, unknown hours.

That's all!  It's been super hot lately so crafting and fangirling over new anime has been A Good Time.

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?