By Steph, on July 13th, 2010
I have now finished blocking the Skuld shawl and taking pictures of it. I still think it’s a bit small, especially to be of much use when wearing (I’m nothing if not practical, right?! HA!) It is long enough to wrap around my shoulders and secure with a shawl pin, however it still has some tendency to curl along the edges even after blocking, so it isn’t as long as when laid flat. I think it would be good for a smaller person to wear, like a child, or as a head scarf. This is probably more my mistake, because I used smaller needles than the designer suggested. If I were to make this pattern again, I would definitely add at least one more repeat to make it longer, both in width and length.
While I was getting ready to take those pictures, I started weeding my front beds so there weren’t weeds in the pictures. I’ve been putting this off since the ground has been so dry the weeds won’t come out very easily. However with the rain we had last night, things were definitely easier to pull…until I came to these nasty things that have the most awful thorns! I looked it up and I think it might be ‘horse nettle’. I’m going to have to get thicker gloves to pull them out! I did not manage to finish weeding the whole bed as I had a little girl I had to keep from falling down our front steps…
I also received the first of my swap goodies from Swap-Bot!
A bunch of stationary, stickers, and some tea! This was just as small swap, and I am having lots of fun finding things for my partners I know they might like. Plus I get fun mail!
 
By Steph, on July 13th, 2010
I came across this on Yarnhog’s blog.
This monologue is awesome in so many ways! From spirals to what we touch in the modern world, to empathy… so great!
I have also been changing my blog appearance, so if you keep seeing things that are different/unfinished, that’s why!
By Steph, on July 12th, 2010
I kept thinking as I cleaned this weekend that I could smarten up a paper clip with a ribbon or button glued on the end. It might not make the paperclip as useable, but it would look cute. So I finally reached for my buttons to look through them for inspiration, when inspiration smacked me upside the head!
A perfectly cute craft that doesn’t require any fancy materials, in which all materials are reusable, and you can change your embellishment to suit your mood! All you need is a paperclip and a shank button. I used a jumbo size paperclip, but you could use a smaller one as well.
You first open the outside end of the paperclip just enough to slide the button onto the paperclip.
Then you run the button around the paperclip until the shank is located at the inner end of the paper clip. Then place paperclip wherever you need it! I think it is great as a bookmark, in fact I think it looks good with a number of them sticking out of books on my nightstand.
What would you do with a buttoned paperclip?
By Steph, on July 10th, 2010
Today it rained! Lets take a moment and say, “HURRAY FOR RAIN!”
I’ve been bouncing from one activity to another today, both physically and in my mind. I said to Davis at one point, that I should make a list and prioritize it (actually he might have been a bit more technical, I stopped listening after prioritize, so I’m not sure). But I thought maybe it might calm my mind to at least make a list of the projects/activities that I want to do, kinda like clearing out the cobwebs.
What I want to do:
- Clean my craft room (should probably do this first, since it will facilitate other activities)
- Knit the UFO’s I have
- Sew Riley another dress
- Sew other clothes for Riley
- Empty my mending basket
- Sew a dress for me
- Finish clipping recipes from cooking magazines and put in binder
- Finish reading my Summer CraftLeftovers Monthly zine
- Finish book I am currently reading
- Start knitting the new shawl released for my KAL
- Finish the jigsaw puzzle I am working on so I can start a new one!
- Take pictures of knitting/sewing
- Make ATC’s
- Spin
- Clean the rest of my house (which I could probably break down into infinite bullets, but I won’t!)
- Warp loom to start a new weaving
- Make a skirt for myself
- Cook something good (I’m getting hungry without lunch)
- Research blog writing for business
- Work on business ideas
- Work on producing ideas in general
I’m sure I can think of more, but I’ll stop now as I’m losing steam.
One thing I have been wondering is how the watercolor pencils I have been using will look after adding water. So I took a scrap, scribbled on it, and then painted it.
Before…
…and after.
Now, I find that the final color of the paint is closer to the tip of the pencil than the color of the wrapper. Also, the color is more intense where you press harder. Which should have been obvious. And the marks you make can remain after painting, although most are muted after the water is applied. I like the overall impact, but now that I have done this I have more of an idea of how to better apply this technique.
By Steph, on July 9th, 2010
I made my first ATC today!
An ATC is an Artist Trading Card. I’ve seen other people talk about ATC’s before, but I never really understood what it is. Basically, it’s like baseball cards, but for artists. You can make them from any media, they are just a small scale art project (2.5” x 3.5”). I used this link to help me get started. I looked at the resources they listed at the bottom for examples. Some of them I don’t ‘get’, but I’m that way about most art.
I liked the idea of interactive art, and when I sat down to make one, I was looking for inspiration and came across my watercolor pencils and paper. I thought that it would be cool to make a card that someone else could add to by ‘painting’ on it with water, to make a more watercolor like image. I also used scraps of fabric and ribbon, plus a little glitter. I already have a partner to trade with, thanks to a swap I joined on Swap-Bot!
I have plans for more ATC’s now, maybe some more watercolor pencil drawings. I’ll show you when I’m done!
1. Layers of warmth and love.
2. Considering something from another’s perspective might bring you insight.
3. I’d be willing to bet my husband will make ice cream before the weekend is over.
4. Vampire scares the dog.
5. I’m fond of sugar, now I have to stop eating so much!
6. Kisses; you can never have too much!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to concert in the park, tomorrow my plans include time home without the baby, and Sunday, I want to get my baby back!
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