My Monkey Haul

My Monkey Haul
Originally uploaded by ssplam

We spent Christmas so far with my boyfriends family, the bit with my family will be this next weekend.

With Scotts mom I can be sure to get lots of little but fun things, this year she loaded me up with monkeys. Got a little bit of candy, Eeyore and Dragonflies too, but as you can see, bunches of monkeys. I also got the crockpot that was on my wishlist. Seems silly to be excited about it, but I am and can't decide what we should prepare in it first.

Office Christmas gifts

KnitXmas1
Originally uploaded by ssplam

Our office can get pretty cold and my cubie-neighbor and I were talking about our hands and she mentioned it would be nice to have mittens without fingers so we could type.

I told her I could make them and set out on my mission to prepare them. Gathering favorite colors, working up 2 size samples and traveling around the office to get sizes on the people I wanted to make them for.

They work up in a few hours and its a very simple pattern with a 6 stitch/4 row repeat.

Find the pattern at Wolf & Turtle

Grandma's Slippers.

I found these on my morning web surf. They aren't exactly like, however they do resemble, the slippers my grandmother used to make for us every year. It was always nice to find our favorite color slippers under the Christmas tree, at just the right time for our old ones to not fit anymore.

If you're interested...I found the pattern here: http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/maggieslippers.html

Weighted Companion Cube

wcc
Originally uploaded by ssplam

So I had to invent a pattern for it, but it was fun. The inspiration is from a game called Portal.

A tissue box cover so that my honey would have to keep tissue at his desk. The bottom is meant to resemble a portal from the game. Some people feel it is reminiscent of the fire in which you destroy your only friend too.

Walkunder #1

Walkunder #1
Originally uploaded by ssplam

There are so many beautiful things in my city and I try to remember to bring my camera with me when we walk around, but I don't always remember to use it when I do. This is the walkway underneath the highway in between Old Sacramento and the Downtown Plaza

UFO's

UFO - in this instance I mean Un-Finished Objects.
What kinds of things do you have laying around? In my craft pile over here, I have a doll and her accessories, an Afghan (that will take me a long time to actually finish), a Flying Spaghetti Monster project (see an earlier blog post), a pair of socks, a cloth design. I'm so excited that I actually finished two projects today, I just mentioned those a few minutes prior... time to get more finished. I have so many things I want to make, but I am trying desperately to get others finished first.

FirstEver

FirstEver
Originally uploaded by ssplam

Came across this one this-morning while pulling a blanket out of the closet. This is the first thing that I ever knitted... My grandmother taught me how to knit and taught me to increase and decrease at the same time.

Flower Hot Pad

DSCF1659
Originally uploaded by ssplam

The pattern comes from Free Craft Unlimited

I like how it looks a lot better than I like actually making it. The beginning of the pattern is really easy, but when its time to start twisting and tacking it together its a little complicated. This one sat unfinished for about a month just because I didn't really feel like working it out.

Picasso6

Picasso6
Originally uploaded by ssplam

Today is a day of finishing projects, well two, maybe I'll get work done on another, but the rest are too far away from completion.

This is the Picasso potholder that I found by Splyndaa couple months ago. I finally finished it. Had the front done fairly quickly, but kept getting bored of making the round for the back. It's finally done, batting inside and stitched up closed.

Yay, I'm so excited.

Rainbow Sock #2

Rainbow Sock #2
Originally uploaded by ssplam

A little bit further along. Transfered it to a circular, its a bit easier to work that way.

Colors are working out very nicely.

RainbowSock 1

RainbowSock 1
Originally uploaded by ssplam

Working on a new pair of socks this weekend. The yarn is a bit different than what I found in the pattern, but it's coming out kind of neat anyhow.

Original pattern from: Pattern from MagKnits: www.magknits.com/Oct07/patterns/rainbow.htm

The yarn I'm using: Using Moda Dea - Sassy Stripe color 6997 "Lucky"

BDay Chair 1

Tomorrow is Scotts birthday and until today, I had no idea what to get for him. Today I got lucky. We went for a walk to our local thrift shop. I found some crafty stuff I was hoping for, some kitchen stuff we both wanted, and a chair he really wanted. His old chair was not a good computer desk chair and very uncomfortably. This one is very comfy and cost only $30. It needed a teeny amount of mending, but that's done and it is in otherwise pretty good condition.

Yay for finding the right present at just the right time.

Pastafarian Reflection

Pastafarian Reflection
Originally uploaded by Pockafwye

My boyfriend would love this.

Confused? try this: Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Soccer Game

I've finally been able to make it to one of Genna's games. My sister-in-law sent the details so we could go visit. I honestly don't know what the final score was, but it was still fun. I finally got to meet Genna's other brother and sister too. This picture is Genna (tallest) and Myrie. Myrie is Genn's 1st sister and their shared parent is mom. Myrie is such a sweet little girl and super friendly. Within seconds of being introduced to each other she became my shadow. A lot of the pictures in the flickr group related to this one were taken by that same little shadow.

Knit Night Cupcakes - Yarn Balls

Knit Night Cupcakes - Yarn Balls
Originally uploaded by teenytinyturkey

I came across this today... it's way cute and looks like fun. Something I"ll have to remember if I ever have an excuse to hold a knitting party.

Check out http://veganyumyum.com/2007/06/knit-night-cupcakes/ for more info.

Helixcloth

Helixcloth
Originally uploaded by ssplam

This is my second ever cabling project. It was fun, but I did have to frog it a few times before I really got started:

The place I found it calls it simply "Square #1"


Source:http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/afghans/cables/cl1.htm

Bamboozled

Bamboozled
Originally uploaded by ssplam

This one was actually a bit harder than I had initially expected. There are a lot of k1p1k1 bumps that I lost track of a couple times, but it still came out kind of neat.

Fun project.


Source: http://thingsstitchedmarketplace.blogspot.com/

Hemlock Ring Knit Doily

Ever seen a doily blanket? Check this one out: BrooklynTweed

It's awesome - he started with an old vintage pattern, modified it, and turned it into a 4 foot throw blanket.

First Doily

doily1
Originally uploaded by ssplam

Found this today. I made it a while back and haven't attempted any others since then. This one has made a nice coaster at just over 4 inches across. If I ever figure out where I got the pattern from I'll source it.

Rag Relay

Well, today I finished setting the official rules and sending out invitations for the relay. Its based off of another I found online that was happening on a much larger scale. This one is for a small group I belong to and there are about a dozen people playing. I also finished my contribution to get it started. Will post up pics of that later.

First Socks

First Socks
Originally uploaded by ssplam

I finished another project. This one is socks. I started my first one a couple years ago, lost the pattern and made up a way to finish it. Then about 2 years later I found the pattern and decided to make its mate - learned the right way to finish it, frogged the first one back and finished it the right way.

I'm so pleased that it's finished.

Strawberries

Strawberries
Originally uploaded by pezdiva

Look at these cute little strawberries that I found.
Go look at Pezdiva's site for the pattern. She also has created many other foods from salads and sandwiches to pumpkins and grapes.

California State Fair - 2007

DSCF1262
Originally uploaded by ssplam

We went on Labor Day with the intent of watching the performer for that day 'Weird Al'' Yankovic. Unfortunately, all the seats for that show were claimed before we even arrived.

It was a cooler day then some of those just before it so at least it was a nice day to wander around outside. Could have been cooler of close, but not bad for a Sacramento summer.

If you'd like to see a few more pictures from the fair, click here. Some of the interesting things that we saw.

Did you know the CA State Fair is home to a 9-11 monument? There are pictures of that too.

Patricia Waller - Knitted Art

I was browsing the net today looking for some clipart on various crafts, and stumbled across this page of knitted art.

I would like to warn you if you are disturbed by blood, violent or sexual images do not click on the link.

They aren't all gory, some are really quite neat, like this elephant:


All of her art is knitted.

Patricia Waller - knits

ILY Prototype 2

DSCF1221
Originally uploaded by ssplam

This time I went for a straight edge without trying to model the thumb area. Came out a lot better, only complaint now really is that I made the pinky too long.

DSCF1225
Originally uploaded by ssplam

ILY Hand Prototype

I saw these ILY hand bookmarks for sale at a place called "Creative Access">. They are cute but a little stylistic. I was thinking that I might be able to invent a better one. Below is my first go at it. It needs a bit of tweaking, but I think it's almost somewhere that I like.

ILY Hand Prototype
Originally uploaded by ssplam

ILY Hand Prototype
Originally uploaded by ssplam

Then I have to figure out how to write it down.

1st Cable

my first Cable ever
Originally uploaded by ssplam

I joined a yahoo group for knitting - where there are "knit-a-long" projects twice a month in the dishcloth size.

This is the first one I've attempted and is also my first successful attempt at cable knitting. It has just enough rows in it to convince me I've figured out how it works (for this pattern anyway)

Here's a link to the related blog for the yahoo group. I think you'll have to join to have access to the patterns, but its free and they have lots of great designs.

Crochet Picasso Potholder

picasso4
Originally uploaded by ssplam

I found this site one day. It's an old archived page that is hanging out there in the ether. Looks like someone at Splynda Took the time to deconstruct an antique potholder and build a pattern for it.

I thought it was pretty enough that I really wanted to give it a go. It's not quite complete yet, the front is done, the back is nearly done and then I need some padding to make it a nice heat resistant potholder. But the technique of it was really quite easy and I really like it. Already have plans to do more in other colors.

Illusion Knitting

This is my first ever completed Knitting project. I first saw it on the DIY Show Knitty Gritty. What I like about it is that from a head on angle it looks as though its just plain stripes.
I had a bit of trouble with working it from the charts, so I spent some time and translated it on paper first. If you are like me - here's a link to a written out version of the chart. (pdf file) The Knitty Gritty link above will take you to the rest of the instructions.

Illusion1 Originally uploaded by ssplam
But if you look at it from an angle - there is a pattern hidden away. This one is based on a suit of cards. I didn't follow the full pattern, only the parts that relate to the suits of cards. This one done in a microspun yarn - so bright, also soft and warm.
illusion2 Originally uploaded by ssplam
illusion3 Originally uploaded by ssplam

First Felting attempt

This is my first ever felting attempt. I found the pattern at Blue Goose Glen It wasn't terribly expensive, and I got all the tools and roving required to make this cute little bunny. I probably have enough roving left to make another smaller one.

If you've ever thought about felting but decided it was probably too hard, I encourage you to give it a go, its really quite simple and fun too.

felting1 Originally uploaded by ssplam

felting2 Originally uploaded by ssplam