Finished Projects and the Surprise!

Nothing too much to blog about today. I finished the baby blanket completely. Nothing too special.

I also started and completed the wall hang that my friend wanted me to make her. Here are the pictures I took of the process. :)

Here I took a full sheet of canvas and put the words on, not knowing just how much I would end up needing - a lot less than I thought, that's for sure!

Here it is, all cut out and the start of the background - she preferred the look of the long stitch to the single one. I agree, it looks much nicer!

And now, just a couple of fill in pictures.

I love how it slowly comes together and with each row the letters really pop out! She decided to go with the colours I used on my bookmark for the font and background. However, the border she chose, I didn't think would look too good, boy was I wrong.

A nice dark green. I decided to make a hang thread for this. I started by crocheting a chain, leaving long tails at both ends, and then just bordering the tails on to the canvas. It was pretty simple. :)

A close up of the chain attached.

And now, the finished product! So, you're probably wondering why it's hanging from two thumb tacks instead of one. Well, I didn't think it through - do I ever, though? - and the canvas I used was the flimsier stuff, so when I tried to hang it from the center of the string, it just kind of bent and drooped. My bad. I know better for next time, at least!!

And now, for the exciting news!! I am finally going to enter a contest on DeviantArt! I've been following the group Amigurumi-Challenge - http://amigurumi-challenge.deviantart.com/ - for a while now. They've had a few themes that I wouldn't have minded trying, but I didn't feel confident enough in my skills. This month is Woodland Creatures.

I asked if they would allow things like Pokemon and such, they agreed. At this point, I had so many ideas going through my head. This ball of yarn is why.

It was all the store had at the time, and I have been really wanting to do that project I was talking about with the brown fuzzy yarn - which is now on hold - and I figured, might as well just get the giant ball, as it's the only yarn I've seen - out of four shops! - that have the colour closest to what I need! Needless to say, the idea I had for the amigurumi challenge is brown - this shade of brown. With a ball this big, I'll have more than enough to do the challenge and the other project I have in mind. :)

I have until the end of the month to complete the project for the Amigurumi Challenge, which should be more than enough time. I'm hoping it only takes me about a week to completely. I know, I'm being optimistic. It'll probably take closer to two weeks.

So, until this is finished, I'm not sure I'll be blogging too much. However, I think I might do little teasers on my DeviantArt - http://wykked-as-syn.deviantart.com/ - as my work progresses. And maybe a blog or two in between. :)

Ta ta for now!

Paintings, Blankets, and More!

I think I shall start off with what I was up to today. This morning I decided to make a special appearance at an art group I helped found and name over two years ago - live got in the way in that time and I had to stop going for quite a while.

I got the idea to show up from running in to another founder of the group - there are three of us, Michele and Sally are the other two - the other day. It had been a while since I'd seen them, and I heard that Michele was leaving the city within the next week or so - of course I had to go!

The group is located at a mental health section of a clinic in the north end of my city. It was founded on the premise that art is a good way to help ease depression and anxiety - I used to co-host depression/anxiety groups for almost two years. The three of us banded together, with the blessing of the clinic to create TADA

The
Artistic
Dreams
Academy

Named by yours truly. :)

Anyway, I went today, and it was fantastic. It has expanded so much since I last went, I barely recognized any of the people there. Michele and Sally gave me a formal and heart warming introduction as the girl who inspired, helped create and name the group. I haven't felt my face turn red is such a long time. However, following that announcement, it was said that Michele - the woman that kept the entire group function - would be leaving and needed someone to fill her place - all eyes on me.

I have been considering the idea, but it's a lot of responsibility. It's not the I don't want to, it's just that I don't think I could. Michele was a liaison between the group and clinic, planned majority of the art classes, did the accounting, sent out reminder emails, set up guest speakers and just all around kept the group strong and happy. I would love to fall back in to being a host, but I'm not sure I'm ready. After a couple of years of rough times, I'm slowly starting to get my own life back together, I'm not sure if I could assist others in remaining happy and confident in life.

Though, I will continue to attend and help where I can. But, with the baby coming, it would be too much, I think. But I love the idea of getting back in to art. :)

This is what we did today.

Michele had the group choose a picture of a fish - she had a bunch of printouts. She made each of us draw our fish on to a thick paper - let me tell you, it's been years since I've picked up something and drawn, but I didn't do too shabby! From there, she made us outline the colours we wanted to use in crayon, as you can see in my picture. This is the reason for it.

The crayon creates a waterproof barrier between the paper and paint. It makes the edging that we outlined really stand out. I used a white crayon to make the little bubbles you see. Also, you can't see it in the picture, however, all but the face and fins are done in a subtle glitter paint - I haven't painted in longer than I haven't drawn!

I had considered drawing out some seaweed or coral, but I really didn't feel confident enough to attempt such a task, so I just painted a blue background. This is the end result.

I rather like it. It's not too bad for doing something artsy for the first time in about two and a half years - maybe one day, I'll look through my photos and see if I still have copies of stuff that I used to draw, some of it is on my DeviantArt, but not much.

You can check it out here: http://wykked-as-syn.deviantart.com/gallery/47472845/Drawing

A lot of it was before I really got in to drawing. And as you can see, none of it is my own work - I can't draw without looking at something. Need to see the picture in order to put it on paper. I know, I fail as a drawer, but oh well. :)

Here is what Michele and Sally decided to do with everybody's finished work.

I think it's pretty cool. Michele called the art lesson "Aquarium", clever, eh?

Anyway, the art group is every two weeks, however the group meets up every week. On the weeks it's not art, it's EDIAGD - Every Day is a Good Day. It's part of the depression/anxiety group, it's something the people can go to in order to continue the healing. Sally is the founder of this, and runs it. Basically, you just go, talk about things that make you feel happy, and good - just hang out and socialize, really. It's fun, and relaxing. It's a nice getaway. As I've stated before - I have first hand experience with battling depression (and anxiety).

There is a third group that goes on, every Sunday, in the morning - Art in the Park. Michele and Sally started this as I was diving in to my own problems and started to leave TADA. It's a brilliant idea, I've been once before, ages ago. The group just gets together in the nearby park and just draws. Anything. Nothing special. Could be the sky, the trees, the grass, something make belief, anything at all. But, that might be something I'd consider going to. I just need to find out the times.

However, next week is Michele's -surprise - going away gather - she hates the word party, she doesn't like parties, at all. After she left today the rest of the group started planning it all out. Sally - who works at a grocery store in the West End - is going to be getting a cake, as she gets a discount. The rest of us all pitched in what we could to get Michele a going away gift card to Curry's - an art store. I felt a little bad that I didn't have much money on me - I usually don't carry cash - but I pitched in what I had. :) So, I'm pretty excited for next week.

Now, I bet you're all wondering how that ultrasound of mine went last week. Well, let me tell you, it was pretty amazing! There was a minor complication, the baby didn't want to face the right way for a while. First the baby was facing my spine, all snuggled in to momma! Then, the baby turned the right way, but wouldn't let the technician get a clear view of the face. But, in the end, we got it.

Noticed how I haven't said the gender yet? Well, let me tell you something. I called it. For almost three weeks before the ultrasound, I just had a gut feeling about the gender, no idea why, my head just kept telling me what it was, pure confidence, no hesitation. I was right. And it sure made Alex one happy Daddy! It's a boy! I've never seen Alex look so purely, openly and truly happy. His face lit up, it was like the planets aligned for him and for the moment, he felt as truly happy as a human being could possibly feel. He glowed, he beamed, he was giddy. He held my hand and just couldn't stop grinning like a loon. He always told me he wanted a son, more than anything, a son to raise, to teach, to love and hold. I know he would have been happy if it was a girl, but I know this means the world to him.

And yes, we already have a name picked out - we had a name for a boy and a girl. Our baby boy will be called Killian. Killian Alexander Hare. Flows together nicely, eh? Ten points to those that get the name reference. :)

Oh, so I have finally gotten around to stuffing the pillows, see!

I've explained four out of five of these pillows in a previous post. The green pillow I did not do, nor did my friend Amy. A girl I used to know did it for me - it's where I got the idea. It's still my shirt, she just made it in to a pillow. And I do appreciate that she did that, especially because I would have never thought of it on my own. Because of her ingenious idea, I now have ways to preserve my shirts. :) 

However, there is no zipper installed on this one. So, the stuffing is stuck in, and is in real need of a fixing up. Alex kept sitting on it without realizing it and kind of flattened it. >.> I want to put a zipper in, but I'm not sure I have the heart to change anything on it. I don't talk to her anymore, but I did appreciate the friendship while it was there. But, not much to be done about that, I suppose...


In other news. I have started that other baby blanket I wanted to make. At first, it was a toss up between these two colours.

Naturally I opted for the blue, it's just such a nice colour! It's very vibrant. And the yarn is so soft! It's Charisma. I love the feel of it.

So, the pattern called for this much.

But, I only ended up needing three balls. I'm still not fully finished - I've got maybe two rows left, but I've been getting distracted by everything - it's a very..tedious and monotonous pattern. But, I've been working on it since last Sunday. Here are my progress pictures - I didn't take as many as I probably could have, but I didn't see the point with this.

This is the point where the pattern really starts to show itself, and a perfect capture of the blue. 

From this point on, it just reminds me of cake. Well, right now, a rug, because of the yarn ends - you have to change colour every row, it was a bit annoying, but oh well. Here is the pattern - it's a downloadable PDF (mine was on a label that I bought, though): http://www.yarnspirations.com/baby-blanket-196854.html

See, doesn't it just look like one giant cake?! At this point, I'm most of the way finished. I'll probably sit down and do the last couple of rows tonight. And after that, start on a new commission from Amber.

Amber wants me to make her a wall hang with the Robin Williams quote "You're only given one little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it." So, I'm pretty excited to start that, a nice break from crocheting. :)

But, after that, I have a new project in mind. I shan't say just yet. But, I shall let you all know, it involves more FUZZY YARN!! I have a very love hate relationship with it. Emphasis on the hate. But, I can't resist using it, especially when it's just so perfect. And soft.

And speaking of yarn. I was talking to a lady in the TADA group while I was there. She's moving soon and wants to be rid of a lot of things she's not using anymore. Yarn, she has a bunch of yarn. And pattern books. She said that because I'm pregnant and able to use it, she's willing to just give it to me. Only thing is I have to go pick it up. And send her an email to let her know I'm serious about it. I feel so grateful already and I haven't even received anything yet. I think I might send her that email when I'm finished blogging. Which would be now, as I am out of things to say. :)

Hopefully I'll have more to post in a few days!

From the Middle Baby Blanket!

So, it took me a bit longer to finish the baby blanket than I thought it would. I blame the fact that I had to run around the city looking for a third ball of the yarn I was using. At the end of the second ball, it only measured 15 inches from the middle.

However, I lucked out and the only place left to look carried it - the last ball, to boot! 

So, finishing off the last couple of rows took up most of yesterday - it's a lot more time consuming than it looks! But, I managed to do it.

As you can see, it's huge - it ended up measuring just over 20 inches from the centre. I was thinking of finishing it off with a row of white trimming, but I'm not too sure. I do have the yarn to do so, though! So, feedback on that idea would be greatly appreciated!

As you can also see, I'm wearing my awesome Ariel and Prince Eric leggings - I love Disney so much, classic Disney, I should say.

Anyway, just ignore the mess in the background, as you all know, I am in the middle of packing and whatnot. Also, my cool scarf collection in still just hanging around, if anyone is interested. =D

But, I think that's all I have to post for today, nothing exciting going on and no new projects underway. Just the ones I've been procrastinating on. That pot holder just relaly hurts my thumb area after about a row or two, so I've been slowly working on that. And knitting a few rows of the scarf whenever I have the urge - which isn't as often as it should be!

Hopefully I'll have something else to post before the end of the week, which is when I move. Until then, take care!

On Going Projects

Today is just a quick post of the things I'm working on. I suppose I'll start with the Nautical Potholder - which I haven't done too much more on, maybe five or six rows, as it really hurts my hands to do more than one row at a time.

However, I can happily say that I felt confident enough to continue on the scarf I was working on, I managed to get three inches down without incident, which is good. I really need to start putting an hour or so a day aside to work on it. 

Now comes the exciting news. The other day, my boyfriend and I were out shopping with his parents, and his mother decided to buy me this really soft and adorable yarn for making a baby blanket!

 

It's Bernat Baby Blanket. IT's so soft and thick, it will be extremely warm for when the baby comes! She bought me two balls of this stuff, just in case one isn't enough to finish the blanket. It was super sweet of her!

This is how much I've finished thus far.

I've just been following the crochet pattern on the back of the label that came with the yarn, it's called "From the Middle." It should be somewhere on the Bernat website if anyone is interested.

From the centre, as you can see, it measures nine inches, the pattern says to finish off entirely when it's eighteen inches from the centre. As I'm already more than halfway through the first ball of yarn, I'm thinking I'll have just enough to finish this project - which is going by super quick!! Depending on how much yarn is left over when I reach the recommended length, I might just continue until it's gone. 

Gosh, I just love how the colours look all blended together - even though the pattern calls for three different colours of yarn, with switching colours every two rows. 

Anyway, I have more exciting news! At the beginning of the week I order a plastic canvas stitch book from Etsy. It came in! I was so excited for it, but I'm out of plastic canvas since my last project, and I don't want to buy anymore until after the move. 

I left it in the wrapping with the shops name on it, just in case anyone wanted to go take a look at her stuff, she has so much, especially for plastic canvassing.

I am so excited to start using this book, my projects are going to rock now! 

Anyway, that's all I have to post for today. I must get back to packing - which I've done a lot of, today! - and crocheting - which I've also done a lot of today! 

I'm hoping to be finished the blanket by tonight or sometime early tomorrow. I noticed on my DeviantArt that my next post will be my hundredth deviation, and I want to make it something special. So, I figured, why not something that means so much to me right now - the baby blanket! <3

Until it's finished, I don't think I'll be working on much else. But, be sure to check back in the next day or so for more posts, I'm sure I'll be finished soon!

Coin Block Piggy Bank and New Projects!

Last night I finished the piggy bank I was working on, after I worked up the nerve to cut up the fabric I was working with - got it right on the right try. :)

I would have posted last night, but it was the pay-per-view wrestling and I decided to watch that, instead, then I went straight to bed. And while I was watching wrestling, I was working on my scarf, as well, and somehow managed to mess up there a few more times. I got really upset and just put it down again. I don't know how I feel messing up, but I do. It's stupid. And annoying.

But, anyway, here is the finished project!

I scrounged up whatever change we had lying around the house and put it inside, just to be able to say I used it!

I really like the way it turned out as a whole, even if my sewing skills suck. I had thought of making more of these, but I decided I probably won't, unless someone requests one. :)

Anyway, having put the scarf down for a bit - probably a few more days - I decided it was time to start using up the last of my cotton yarn. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to use the nautical twist cotton yarn for, then I found a pretty simple pattern that I thought would make it look cool. I was right.

I really like how this is starting to look. I'm about a fifth of the way done, I'm only on row 8, the pattern - which can be found here: http://stitcheryprojects.com/2010/08/15/the-best-crocheted-potholder/ - calls for 43 rows. I am hoping that I will be finished it by tomorrow.

In other news, today is the day that we decided to start packing, only ten days left until the move! So, I figured it would be a good idea to go through my bins of yarn and really organize them - I rummage through them without care more times and a but of balls got tangled. After spending about an hour organizing and reballing some of my yarn I finished. And in the process I found some Bernat Softee Chunky yarn - with the patterns still attached to them! 

I really want to make this:

I read over the pattern quickly and it seems simple enough to make, like, super simple. So, I think after I finish the Nautical Potholder, I'm going to start working on a baby blanket, it will be perfect for when my little bundle of joy arrives!! <3

I was thinking of using these two colours - as they are currently the only bulky yarn colours I own.

Though, I'm not too sure how I feel about using the green. But, I think it's a light enough colour that it will work out in the end, besides, I can't think of anything else to really use it for. So, a blanket for the baby would be perfect.

Let me know what you all think! Remember, just feel free to comment with any tips, criticism, advice and what-have-you. I love feedback of any sort!

Thank you all, and hopefully I will be back tomorrow with more things to post about!