Handmade Nation Preview
YouTube has a preview of the upcoming documentary, Handmade Nation, about the DIY crafting movement. Very cool.
Love Mail
Look at the goodies I got in today’s mail: the premiere issue of Craft (oh yes…I can’t wait to dig into this puppy), At Knit’s End by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (a freebie sent to me from a Bookmooch angel), and a lovely little Japanese craft book I bought on eBay (feltimaking, mascots…cute stuff). I [heart] the mailman.
Bright Happy Skully Necklace
My second beading project. I made this one for Max, the boy wonder. He loves bright colors and anything with skulls on it (he’s a little dark, just like mama). So, viola! I present the bright happy skully necklace.
I would like to note that it is sobriety and my relationship with a higher power that allows me to attempt any kind of creative endeavour. Today is a good day.
Here’s a crappy close up shot of the skull beads…argh!
My First Japanese Craft Book
Hello Kitty, ISBN 4939459612402,
Oh, yeah, baby, I’m doing the happy dance. I know, I’m crazy….trading one addiction for another…blah, blah, blah. It doesn’t get any cooler than Hello Kitty and Japanese craft books…you’re just jealous.
Tags:book, books, craft, crafty, hello kitty, japanese, japanese craft book Filed under Japanese craft book, books, crafts, general | Comment (1)
Knitting Rookie Tip #4,608
Here’s the tip: when expecting a new addition to your yarn stash in the mail, do not throw caution to the wind and use scissors to carelessly cut open boxes received in said mail. Uhm, bad things can and do happen. Me so, so sad. 
Gettin’ crafty old school style
So I’m really starting to get into the whole crafting thing. No, not knit covered styrofoam snowmen or beer can art (although those crafts do have their place in the craft-o-sphere). I’m talking about this emerging, sort of indie/hip/alternative, craft culture that seems to be popping up all over the place. I’m loving it big time….except for one little, tiny, itsy bitsy thing (it’s always that way with me, isn’t it?). I’m not quite understanding how vintage is always so cool and desirable, but I keep seeing phrases like “not your gramma’s yarn shop,” or not “your granny’s embroidery.” Huh? WTF is the difference? At first this was sort of an irritant…something I couldn’t quite define why I was bugged. Then, I listened to Brenda Dayne’s Cast-On Episode 30: In search of our grandmother’s rocking chairs. Penny’s essay really articulated some of those free floating thoughts I had on this issue.
Now, please keep in mind that I don’t really come from a line of crafty women. My mom and my grandma are pretty good cooks and my grandma is an awesome artist, but what they did pass down to me was invaluable and core to my being. They both infused in me the proud appreciation for my feminist fore-mothers, as well as a deep thanfulness for choices in life that I am able to make every day. I guess I’m just one of those people that tries to embrace my past and my history in order to understand who I am today. Ok, so I don’t really embrace some of the bad fashion choices or hair cuts I’ve had, but you get the point, right? I’m okay with me…now.
Anyway, if this post actually has a point I guess it is this: I dig the new stuff and I dig the old stuff…it’s all cool to me.
Tags:craft, crafty, feminism, history, indie, revolution Filed under crafts, family, general | Comment (0)What Kind of Needles Am I?
Ok, here’s a silly little detour from my daily bout of reality:
You are interchangeable.
Fun, free, and into everything, you’ve got every
eventuality covered and every opportunity
just has to be taken. Every fiber is
wonderful, and every day is a new beginning.
You are good at so many things, it’s amazing,
but you can easily lose your place and forget
to show up. They have row counters for
people like you!
What kind of knitting needles are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
An Olympic Moment
Behold: the purse! Obviously, it’s not done yet, but I have to say I’m pretty friggin’ excited that I made it this far. See, the deal is that I become obsessed with things (for example, [tag]candlemaking[/tag]) and then lose interest after I realize that I suck at doing it or it doesn’t meet my expectations of perfection or whatever. [tag]Scrapbooking[/tag] is another one of those [tag]crafts[/tag] that I took on that I actually enjoy and still do, but it requires more space, money, and time and can’t be done while waiting for my son to finish his karate class. I can [tag]knit[/tag] anywhere and anytime, for a couple of minutes or a couple of hours.
I initially started this purse with the intention of giving it to my daughter. Abby decided she’d rather have a scarf and hat so I’m making the purse for my darling grandma. The purse is a standard garter stitch in a nice, bulky Alpaca wool. I lightly felted it so the stiches run together, but the rows make a definte pattern. Once it dries, I’ll sew on the cute little pinwheel flower (and work in the dangling yarn) and faux-bamboo handles. After I add a couple small pockets inside for Grandma’s keys and cell phone it will be done. And I made it. I made something pretty for my grandma out of some string.
The other night when I went to work on the purse I freaked out when I realized that I was missing a needle…the only set I have in that size and I was only half way through the purse. After panicking, I called my mother to search her house and my knitting teacher to find out what to do. It turns out that my knitting needle was put away with the Tinker Toys when the kids cleaned up their toys.
[tags]knitting olympics[/tags]
Tags:none Filed under family, general, knitting | Comments (3)Moving forward
Happy Valentine’s Day! Today is good day. We had a nice morning with the kids before going our seperate ways for the day. Yesterday, I had one of those wreckage things hanging over my head (can you say “taxes”) that I finally faced and dealt with. Well, I’m in the process of dealing with it anyway. And it feels great. It’s so strange how I have so much trouble dealing with these stressful things that pop up in life. Something that is a minor thorn in my side can fester and become this huge gaping hole that keeps me up at night and (used to) drive me to drink. When I’m forced to confront these demons, I’m almost always surprised at how easy the issue is to resolve once I dive in and how good it feels once the monkey is off my back.
On the knitting front, I wasn’t happy with my single [tag]cast-on[/tag] method so I went to KnittingHelp and easily learned a very cool double cast-on method. The Net is very nifty. My sweet mom gave me a huge skein of the most lovely, lucious red chenille and a pair of Clover bamboo circulars (size 6). After the [tag]Knitting Olympics[/tag] are over and I finish my felted purse, I’m going to knit myself a plush scarf.
It’s a good day to be sober and knitting.
[tags]recovery, yarn, Valentine’s Day, felted[/tags]
Tags:none Filed under general, knitting, recovery | Comments (4)Team Angstylvania
I’ve applied for membership to Team Angstylvania. I’m hoping they’ll accept me as a late entry, even though I admittedly suck at crafts. I heard about Renee and Zabet’s very cool webzine, The AntiCraft, from the CraftSanity podcast. It amazes and inspires me that there are so many clever, funny, crafty, talented women out there. I’m so glad to have found both CraftSanity and The AntiCraft.
Let the games begin!
Today’s the day. The [tag]opening ceremonies[/tag] are tonight for the 2006 [tag]Winter Olympics[/tag]. As it is for a lot of people, the Olympics tend to appeal to the sappy part of me and have a very soothing effect on my normally cynical personality. For a brief time, I feel sporty and patriotic…all at the same time. Imagine that. Not coincidentally, I’m going to embark on my third knitting project as part of (ba ba ba bummmmm!) the [tag]Knitting Olympics[/tag]. Yesterday, I made my first trip (ran in, ran out) to my little Local Yarn Store (there’s a much bigger LYS a little further out in town) and picked up my first two skeins of purdy, 100% wool yarn and a set of size 13 Brittany needles. Out of the needles I’ve tried so far (Clover’s bamboo and Lion Brand plastic), these are divine! Lovely to look at and as smooth as silk to work with. So I’m ready to roll on Abby’s cute little purse. And, because it’s 100% wool, I can decide to felt it later on. Very tempting. Now I just have to figure out which flower pattern is the easist for the little detail.
I discovered a very cool little side benefit to knitting. My hands are so busy and I enjoy knitting so much that I don’t snack in the evenings. It’s a good thing.
[tags]knitting, crafts[/tags]
The Knitting Olympics
Here on my 11 month anniversary of [tag]sobriety[/tag] and my 4th week of [tag]knitting[/tag], I think I’m ready (not) to take on the [tag]Knitting Olympics[/tag]. Since the project needs to be complete by the end of the real [tag]Olympics[/tag] I’ve decided to knit a darling little purse for Princess Baby Monster’s 3rd birthday. Cool, huh?
[tag]recovery, crafts[/tag]
Tags:none Filed under general, knitting, mommyblogging, recovery | Comment (1)Old Habits Die Hard
As I creep closer to that one year birthday of sobriety, I have this weird compulsion to relive all of the drama of last year. “How was I screwing everything up this time last year,” is the common question scrolling through the newsfeeder in my mind. Frankly, it doesn’t feel good so I don’t know why I do it. Eek, I’ve got to shake this funk of mine. Need to stop feeling sorry for myself and just deal, right?
Thank goodness for my knitting lesson tonight. I’m learning to purl…how cool is that?
Tags:none Filed under general, knitting, recovery | Comments (3)Hi. My name’s Rusty and I’m a knitter!
That’s right. I can [tag]knit[/tag]. I’m not very good at it (yet), but apparently I have a knack for it. My darling teacher (whom I adore) says that I’m the best student she’s ever had! Me!?! Crazy. Honestly, I expected it to take a lot longer for me to catch on. Seriously. I was expecting to have to take a couple months of lessons before I felt comfortable trying something on my own. Until my lesson, most of my half-assed attempts at [tag]knitting[/tag] had failed. The little learning kit I bought that shows the happy 10 year old knitting away completely baffled me. The “beginner” video I downloaded to my iPod just confused me more. The icing on the cake was when I lost my place a whole 10 seconds into the Knitty Gritty episode for getting started.
It’s not in my nature to be patient or to relax, but I went to my first knitting lesson with exactly that mindset. And I loved it. I’m still very awkward and my fingers go where they aren’t supposed to , but I have a feeling this might be a life long passion. I’ve mostly been casting on about 20 loops (not sure of the terminology), knitting a couple of rows (she says it’s Continental style), and then pulling it all out and starting over. I’m making my stiches too tight and dropping a few here and there, but I think I’m starting to really get the feel of it.
So, for no other reason than to amuse myself, I’ve compiled a list of the reasons why I want to knit and why knitting is so cool:
- There’s something almost magical about turning a ball of string into something pretty and useful.
- Knitting is a lot less expensive and messy that scrapbooking (my other crafting love).
- Awesome gifts. Scarfs, caps and bags are great gifts, especially if someone makes them especially for you.
- Something to keep my hands busy and be creative at the same time.
- I love fibers. I’m very tactile and love to handle all the beautiful textures of the yarn. I also love color. It’s amazing how many gorgeous yarns are out there.
- My kids love when I make them things.
- Knitting seems like such a relaxing and calming hobby that can be done anywhere.
[tags]crafts, beginner, fun, cool, continental[/tags]
Tags:none Filed under knitting | Comment (1)Knit One, Purl Two
I am going to learn to knit. I am so excited! My AA home group is filled with a bunch of inspiring old timers where most of the women knit during meetings. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea for me to knit during meetings (I’m easily distracted), but I do love the idea of doing something creative and calming that you can do anywhere. So I bought this little starter kit at the local craft store. You know, one of those “anyone can do it” kits. Guess what? I couldn’t. I watched an HGTV show that showed the rock bottom beginner how to “cast on.” But I couldn’t do it. Now, way out here in the boonies, I’ve found someone just down the road who gives lessons in her home every Thursday! And knitting seems so zen to me. How cool is that?
Some links:
- KnittingHelp.com - has free online videos and a forum
- Learn to Knit and Crochet - projects and getting started
- Crochet, Knit and More - all kinds of great stuff from the Craft Yarn Council of America
- Knit One Purl Too - very cool knitlog
- Knit-n-Purl Zen - another cool blog
- Chic Knits - cool knitting site with a blog, cool patterns and links
