I'm weaving again!

I finally finished the peacock scarf, which I started, oh I don't know, two years ago maybe. I think it turned out well. Hubby is threatening to steal it, so that's always a good sign. I like the sheen, which I think comes through, sort of, in these photos.

Close-up shot:

Dramatic shot:

This one shows the sheen on the shoulder.

I am a sock-making machine

The first sock took me two weeks to make. I banged the second one out over the weekend. It's a little bigger than the first one but whatever.

The top view:

The bottom view, including a lovely view of my massive man-calves:

And the many charts I had to work with:

It was fun!

I love it when a plan comes together

All done but the cuff and heel. I figured out how to do the heel last night, so soon I'll have one finished sock.

Getting in touch with my inner Girl Scout

Over the weekend I impulse bought a potholder loom and some "loopers," and spent some time in a heavy childhood flashback. It was fun! I'll be doing more.

Tapestry socks, take two

I belong to the School of Extreme Tension. Sometimes when I crochet with thread I end up with a painful gouge in my tensioning finger. This tends to created really crisp end products, but when it comes to garments, sometimes it's better to slow down, pay attention to each stitch, and just try to relax.

I started my socks over again this weekend, and I think I have it figured out now. Behold, the first attempt, alongside the second attempt. Same number of rows, same hook, very, very different tension.

I also discovered that a large bag of Chips Ahoys helps the relaxation process.

Tapestry crochet

This is my first foray into tapestry crochet, which involves two colors, one of which gets carried along when it's not being used. But unlike in knitting, which creates horrible "floats" on the back side, in tapestry crochet the yarn that's not being used is hidden within the stitch.

Naturally, because I've never done this before, I decided to try it with one of the hardest things there is is to make: socks. Socks involve lots of increases and decreases, fancy hookwork, and total concentration. Tapestry crochet involves loads of charts and moving yarn around in complicated ways. It's a fun combination! And it's definitely not boring.

This is the bottom of the sock:

This is the top of the sock.

So far I have about 23 rows, which took about 4 days. And it's too tight, but I'm too invested to start over. Someone with smaller feet than mine might end up with these socks.

Just ducky

I made this little fellow over the weekend. What with my massive window/painting project at home, I haven't had time to make anything since my Barack-athon in January, so it felt good to throw something together.

He has a dark side, though.

Happy Inauguration!

I spent the day yesterday making four Barack Obama finger puppets, which I, my husband, and my two house guests will take with us tomorrow down to the Mall. The pattern came from the Lion Brand website.

As usual, not the best quality because I'm old and can't see well enough to focus my phone.

Happy New Year!

I've decided that 2009 will be The Year of the Loom. I've neglected my loom in a hideous fashion over the past year or two. No more! I shall weave many things!

In other news: my end-of-year mileage total? 1025.6. Not bad...

And finally, even though I did not make this little gem, I thought I'd throw it up here anyway. I found Caitlin, who owns Rebound Designs here in DC, and had her create a purse out of an old Winnie the Pooh book for my sister for Christmas (Pooh was her favorite thing in the whole wide world when she was little). It didn't come cheap, but who cares...this thing is awesome.

Weavette bag

So this is what I made with all those little squares: a felted bag! I actually made two, one for my sister and one for my friend Sheila. I think they turned out pretty well. There's even a square-covered bit of stiff plastic on the bottom.

Close inspection will reveal why I don't sew. I really am no good at it.

I finally, finally did it!

Four years ago I did something unpleasant to my achilles tendon and had to spend the entire summer in an aircast, which I affectionately called "The Boot." At the end of my long, drawn-out summer of physical therapy, my therapist suggested running as a way to keep the tendon conditioned, which seemed totally counter-intuitive, not to mention against everything I believed in. I do not come from runners. I was already somewhat of a black sheep in my family for regularly going to a gym and lifting weights.

But I thought, what the hell. So I started slow. Very slow. I think for the first few months I gradually went from "running" for 30 seconds out of every five minutes, at like 5mph, and every time I ran I'd up it by 15 seconds. Clearly it took a while to work up to running nonstop for half an hour. But eventually I did it, and then I decided to start keeping track of my miles.

That first year, without even trying, I logged 820 miles. So I decided to go for 1,000 the following year. This sounds like a lot, but really it's only 250 every three months, so under 100 per month.

That first year? I tore my rotator cuff in two places, had surgery, massive amounts of PT, a frozen shoulder, ANOTHER minor trip to the hospital to take care of that, and lots of time away from the gym. I don't think I even managed 500 miles that year.

The next year? Another bout of achilles tendonitis. Here's a tip: when you damage your achilles, you need to be VERY VERY careful when you go up an incline of any kind. So, another summer in The Boot, and I logged perhaps 600 miles. This was last year.

This year, 2008, I decided I would be injury free and I WOULD hit 1,000. And guess what? I did it! Saturday morning I passed the mark, and am now sitting pretty at 1,002.8 miles. I might be able to get to 1,030 or 1,040, depending on my level of sloth. It was 16 degrees out this morning, so the sloth won out.

Maybe now I can relax.

Weavette progress

Pushing through the pain, I finished all the squares for this project over the weekend (these little looms have SHARP spikes). Here they are all laid out in the correct shape. Any guesses as to what it's going to be?

I'm now sewing everything together, my very least favorite part of any project.

And a sweater update

One arm done, the other arm about half done, and the body needs about another inch.

Pin loom

The last time I made anything with my Weavette looms it was a total pain in the ass, but ultimately worth it because my niece apparently liked the little purse I made. But I broke TWO needles making the thing. What a difference wool makes! Unlike cord, wool has some give, so instead of pulling the needle through with a pair of pliers, I am able to gently pull it, with no fear of bodily puncture. Anyway, here are the steps to pin loom weaving. This is a semi-secret project, so I won't say what this will ultimately be, but anyone who knows me will take one look at the color of the yarn and know I'm making it for myself.

First you warp the loom, going back and forth, then turning the loom and going back and forth again, then turning it back to the original position and filling in the gaps.

Then you fill in the gaps in the other direction with the needle.

And voila! Many little squares that can be sewn together. This is a 4" square loom.

Sweater progress

So far I have most of the body and most of one arm done. Not the best photos ... it doesn't really convey the extreme yumminess of this alpaca yarn.

Next project

I've FINALLY found the perfect pattern for my huge pile of alpaca. This is so yummy.

Check it out

Interweave Crochet started a reader gallery and put out a call for pictures of stuff that people have made from the magazine. So I sent in a bunch of photos, and they liked one ... the black flower choker from many moons ago. So check out page 9 of the Fall 2008 issue. My chin and neck have been published!

More bobbles

I finished with one set of bobble squares and have moved onto the next. However, I'm not sure I have enough of this fuzzy white yarn. Adjustments may need to be made.

Anyway, here's a little demonstration of how hook size makes a huge difference. The square on the far left is the first one I made, with the same size hook as all the previous squares. It's hugely huge and will need to be frogged and redone. The middle one is done with a hook that's one size smaller. Now I had the right width, but it was still too tall. So I adjusted the pattern and removed two rows. The third square will work, once it's been blocked. I still don't know how these are going to look together, but whatever. It's nice to use up the stash.

And here's the unholy mess that is the back of these things.

Inkle weaving

My husband's aunt either gave or long-term loaned me (I have never really known which) an inkle loom, but I haven't been all that interested in making long bands, which is really all you can do with this type of loom. But then I got the latest edition of Weavezine, an online weaving magazine that's showing a lot of promise, and there are two pretty cool things in that issue: a bag that's somehow created out of a long band and a zipper, and shoelaces. I love the idea of making shoelaces for some reason, so last night I tried my hand at making my own heddles and warping the inkle loom. Here are the results. Obviously this won't be shoelaces, but at least I'll see if I like it enough to continue. One of the main things to recommend the inkle loom is that it's extremely portable.

Summer projects

My husband decided that he wanted a ripple of his own for use at the cabin, and since all I had left in the stash bin were hideously ugly colors, I said ok, since most people won't lay eyes on the thing. I've used up all the grandma colors now (literally ... his grandmother gave me pounds of mauve, yellow, and pink) and it's long enough to cover a double bed, but it's still not long enough for him to cover himself completely. But that'll have to wait until I get more leftovers. It's actually not nearly as hideous as I was anticipating, given the poor color choices I had in front of me. And every nine colors I did a stripe of chenille, which sheds all over the place but is nice and soft.

And then I discovered that I have seven tons of shades of white left over, so I'm in the middle of doing a white-themed, bobble square blanket. We'll see if it turns out at all. Otherwise I guess I'll have at least 24 cotton squares to give away as washcloths.

I haven't been a total slacker this summer, just maybe a 75% slacker. Oh, and these pictures were taken with my fancy new Blackberry phone, which I really don't know how to use yet, which is why they're perhaps a tad too dark.