Mario Themed Bookends and Ruffle Scarfs!

Hey there. So, I finished my bookend yesterday, but I had such a busy day that I didn't really feel like sitting down and blogging.

Anyway, here is the finished masterpiece!

Pretty neat, yeah? If you couldn't tell, I like Harry Potter. A lot. I spent all of my teenhood utterly obsessed with it. But, that is probably a story for another time.

Anyway, last night, I did manage to take a picture of one of my new scarves in a cool pose!

I just think Polar looks so cute in it. I took this rather late in the evening, but there was still enough light out for the picture to turn out good. I did post this to my Deviantart last night, but that's about it.

And I did manage to get this finished.

Now to just work on a nice picture for it. And to make the last two in the collection!! Slow and steady, I suppose.

Anyway, that's all I really have to post for now.

Until next time!

Slow and Steady

Hey all! I know, I've been inactive this last week. But, that's because we finally moved! I love our new place, but we're still getting settled. In the mean time, I have been working on my plastic canvas project. And I've been taking lots of pictures of the process. But first, a picture of the near complete one!

I really love how it's turning out so far! Though, it has been a long process!!

I had to make a total of 34 of these little guys. I really like the pattern I decided to use, it goes well with the rest of it.

This was a tricky little bigger to work with, especially sewing it on, but I managed successfully! And I only had to make two, which was good.

In hindsight, making all the stairs as one and then connecting them to the side panel was a baaad idea. And I learned from my mistake.

It was not fun trying to see the other side panel on to this, as it liked to move as though it were an accordion! You can imagine the frustration of this. Like I said, it was a bad idea.

And here we are with the back panel on, but it a still not complete! I didn't have any more canvas left at this point, so I started on the second set of stairs, which I tackled in a completely different way!!

I decided it would be a smarter idea to attach the two side panels to the stairs at the same time, doing the top stairs and bottom indent - which was the hardest part on the first stairs - first. and let me tell you, it has been much easier to work with.

I am hoping to finish these by the end of the week - hopefully sooner! But, I have a lot of appointments coming up in the next couple of weeks, all for the baby's sake. :)

However, I finally bought more canvas do that I can work on this whenever I have the time! Sadly, the craft store didn't have the sturdier canvas I prefer to use, but the stuff I bought will do the same thing - I just don't like the feel of working with it, it's so...flimsy.

But, good news! When this project is complete, I have a couple more lined up.

Yesterday, I went out for lunch with a close friend of mine, and then we went to the mall. And during our mall trip, my friend bought me these!!

Aren't they awesome?! I have a bunch of yarn like this that my grandmother gave me - I call her Nanny, Nan for short, and is how I shall henceforth refer to her as, I just wanted to let you all know that Nan is my grandmother.  Papa is my grandfather. Anyway, my Nan gave me a bunch of yarn like this, but only pinks, whites and a ...maroon colour, I think it is. I think once I'm settled in my new place, I'm going to take picture of my yarn stash, as tiny and insufficient as it is!

Also, more good news! While I was at the craft store today, I found more of this stuff!

This is the yarn that I used to make the Ruffle Scarf! I just couldn't resist buying more of it. I had so much fun making the last one, that I just had to make them in all the colours the store had in stock - I'm tempted to go back and get one more of each colour. 

And yes, I will be selling these once I've made them - I think $15 is a fair price. :) If anyone is interested, please feel free to let me know. :)

And I think that is all I have to blog about for today. 

Wow I just realised, this is probably my longest post yet! I chalk it up to being inactive for a week. Hopefully you'll hear from me again in a few days!! 

Nautical Pot Holder and a New Project!

After much work yesterday and this morning, I finally managed to finish the Nautical Potholder I have been working on. I forced myself to sit there and do as many rows as I could before needing a break. Eventually my hands adjusted and I managed to finish it this morning, some time before noon.

I even made it six rows longer than the pattern called for - mostly because I felt it was too small, even for my hands, which are quite tiny. I really like how it all blends together.

Anyway, after packing and going through boxes that never got unpacked from the last move, I found a completely unused sheet of plastic canvas! Needless to say, I started on a project that has been running through my head since I was working on the Coin Block Piggy Bank. 

Awesome, right? I wasn't sure if the sheet of canvas would be enough for what I wanted, but it turned out I was able to make four of these pieces, with canvas to spare!

I know I said I really didn't want to start any more projects until after the move, but I just couldn't help myself! However, I think I'm going to have to wait to finish this idea, as I will need more canvas to continue on, however, I shall do what I can until then! 

I am very excited to do this. I even used to my plastic canvas stitches book! It took me a bit to figure out which square pattern I liked the best and would work well with this image, I finally settled on this. 

However, I ran into a slight dilemma. This particular square pattern calls for a 5x5 square. As you can see on the cut out sections of the stairs, they become 4x4. So, I need to find a new pattern to use for making this a 3D figure - I didn't quite think this through before I started it, I never really do, though. So, I'm going to have to study my new book and see if I can find a 4x4 square pattern that is similar to the 5x5 one, for consistency.

I also realized that in trying to make this accurate, I may have complicated things for myself. As you can see, the lip of the pipe is one square bigger than the shaft, meaning that I'm going to have to cut out and work with a simple square width piece. That ought to be fun. =\

Anyway, now I have to figure out how wide I want these figures to be, which will probably have to wait, as I don't have many scrap canvas pieces that I can work with. Unless I get lucky and find another unused sheet, or even just a partially used piece. 

But, in other news, I've been finding a bunch of old projects from when I first got back into crafting. It's kind of neat to see just how far I've come since January. However, I had a bunch of Pokeball coasters and a Pokebox made, and I can't seem to find them anywhere! D= The coasters were kept inside the box. 

I know I took those with me to Anime North, along with a bunch of Pokeball amigurumi I made. I still have to amigurumi, but all my plastic canvas work is nowhere to be find, so I'm hoping it's just misplaced - as I'm still not finished packing - and that I didn't actually leave it at the convention. That would suck, and I don't think I'd want to redo them again. :(

But, I think that is all I have to post for tonight. I do plan on working more on the boa scarf, hopefully I'll do that tomorrow. I am trying really hard not to start any new projects until after the move, even though I have a million ideas going through my head of plastic canvas creations, and some crochet ideas. Luckily, I am too broke from moving to even afford anything for a bit - I can't tell if that is good or bad. Oh well.

Oh, one more thing, if anyone actually reads these, it would be wonderful to get some sort of feedback. :) And perhaps a follow on my DeviantArt, maybe? =D

Good night, all! :)

Nautical Potholders and Warp Pipes!

After such a busy day yesterday, here I am finally posting. And with something completely new and finished, to boot! But, first I shall start off with the potholder.

This is as far as I managed to get yesterday - twenty-one rows in, so about half way. It's actually a lot harder on the hands than I initially thought it would be, so I was working on it off and on yesterday.

However, this is what I spent a majority of my time doing, in between crocheting and packing.

Pretty cool, eh? You'll have to excuse the lack of proper colour, my camera decided today that it didn't want to work properly. The green is actually this colour.

Also, the proportions are slightly off, but I didn't have any pattern to follow, this is done completely from the top of my head. But, oh well, trial and error, if I ever do this again, I'll know what to do instead, hopefully.

And now, for anybody interested, here are the pictures I took of the progress. You'll have to excuse the quality of the pictures.

I decided to try and make the seem as invisible as I could, I think it turned out alright.

  

Just a simple bottom, nothing fancy.

The bottom one I made first, only to discover that it was too small. The second one was a bit too big, but it worked out just fine. They also remind me of Xena's weapon, the Chakram. I love Xena. <3 She was my idol growing up.

I just really like how it looks like a tap hat here. I was calling it the Mad Hatter's hat. Which I might do one day, now that I think about it.

I decided to add this as a bit of support in the inside - and realised that I should have just made one piece like that, instead of two separate ones. Oh well, next time.

 

This was my last long piece of canvas, I didn't think it would fit, but I so lucked out! 

Because this was the last stretch of the project, it felt like it took forever to complete! But, I did.

The finished product!!

I think that is all I really have to blog about right now. I'm probably just going to update my DeviantArt and spend the rest of the day crocheting and packing. 

Hopefully I'll finish my potholder for tomorrow!

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!

Piggy Bank Progress

Today I spent the day working diligently on my piggy bank. And it paid off, mostly.

First, I would just like to show off how neatly this panel turned out.

I think it's made all the better by the fact that I wasn't paying too much attention to what I was doing - I was kind of focusing on a horribly great documentary on Bigfoot. I really love watching/listening to documentaries of mostly any kind.

Anyway, I managed to get the bottom of the piggy bank together, having spent most of the day getting to this point.

When I finally finished the box, I realised that I needed to devise a way to keep it closed - I really didn't think this project through before starting it, but it's worth it. I decided Velcro would be a good idea. I managed to find something around the house that I wasn't using that had Velcro on it I could salvage, I didn't need much.

You can see here where I attached the Velcro to the little white squares. On top of sewing them on, I ensured they stayed securely in place by adding a bit of crafting glue I had kicking around underneath. 

I crocheted these little guys to attach to the top, they were quick work. Again, I sewed and glued on the Velcro pieces for added security before I attached it to the top piece.

Now, all I have left to do is line the top panel, I've been procrastinating on that because I'm a bit nervous about trying to cut out the coin slot in the material and, sadly, I don't have anything in the place that would rub off on the fabric as a guide. :(

From there, all I have to do is touch up the plastic canvas edges and attach it to the rest of the box, then I'll be finished! I'm so excited, I think it's going to be awesome when it's finished. 

Anyway, it's very late and I'm about ready to go to bed. I decided to write out this blog tonight because I know myself well enough that I'll end up lying awake thinking about posting until I actual do it, might as well skip a step and make everything easier for me.

Hopefully I will finish the top tomorrow and won't procrastinate. Then, I can get back to working on my friends scarf, I've finally stopped being upset over my major mess up.

Anyway, good night, everyone. :)

Mario Block and Good News!

Hey, all. Just a quick post on what I've been up to today. It may not seem like much, but I've spent a large portion of the day working on these things.

First is this:

I decided to make this piece into a regular old coaster, so nothing special there. It was a quick job.

However, I have finished all six panels of the piggy bank. Trying to figure out the top piece was tricky. But, I managed it smoothly and quickly.
 

Not bad, eh?

Anyway, after I finished making all the panel pieces, I realized that I should probably line the inside of the box so that none of those awkward stitches on the back show. Luckily, I had some fabric kicking around - a bunch of friends keep trying to convince me to learn sewing, but it's just not my thing - and so I started to use that. This is how far I've gotten - not very!

As you can see, my sewing skills are quite below par. But, oh well, I get by doing what I can, I'll learn to see properly when I absolutely need to.

This is probably as far as I'm going to get tonight - as much as I wanted to try and finish it, I was dragged away from it by my boyfriend.

Tonight is the first draft of the new set of Magic: the Gathering - even if it is just a core set. We haven't been to draft in almost two and a half months, with good reason.

And now for the big reveal. About two and a half months ago, my lovely boyfriend and I found out the most exciting news ever - I am with child. :) We're not sure if it's a boy or girl yet - I'm only 14 and a half weeks along, they don't check for gender until about twenty weeks.

But, anyway, this is why we haven't been to draft in a while and - if you've been following me on DeviantArt before this blog - why I become inactive for a while.

So, I shall leave off on this happy note and hopefully I will be done the piggy bank for tomorrow!

Angels and Rainbows!

Hey, everyone! I can start off with some good news, I finished the second angel last night, however, it was late and I was too lazy to post about it.

Here it is:

 The lighting in this picture is far from good, despite my best efforts. Even though it was around noon when I took the photo, it seems like it will be a very gloomy day here, today.

I decided it would be nice to pose this one on the stove instead of near the sink, just as a reminder that it can also be used as a pot holder! And for some reason, I just wanted to take a picture of it hanging. 

I think this one turned out much better, especially now that I had practice doing it. See:

I'm still very proud of how both of them turned out. Though, the ball of yarn I used went from this:

 To this:

Not sure what I'm going to do with the left over balls, as they're so tiny. However, I do have a full ball of pink, and one that looks like this - it's called Nautical Twists:

I'm sure I'll figure something out soon enough. If anyone has any ideas, though, I would love to hear it! Sp far I was thinking of just making more angels, but I have nobody to gift them to, and I doubt anybody would want to buy them. Oh well, something crafty will come to me eventually!

Moving on, I started making a boa scarf this morning. This is my progress so far:

I really love how all the colours mess together, and it's different looking on both sides, slightly. Though, knitting isn't my strong point, I have only messed up once. I dropped a stitch somewhere, and I'm not entirely sure how, but it's all good. As this is going to be for one of my best friends, she's confident in my knitting abilities. And naturally, she's lenient on my mistakes, as she knows knitting is something I'm still (re-)learning how to do.

I used to knit a bit when I was younger, but nothing more complicated than what I'm doing now. And it was never very good. I liked crocheting more as a child, though I never stuck to it. It was something I dropped for almost fifteen years. In fact, I stopped crafting all together for that long. But, I've decided to get back into it. Especially now. :)

Anyway, I think that's all I really have to post for now. Be sure to check back often for updates, I forsee that I shall be crafting a lot in the future. :) And don't forget to follow me on Deviantart! - http://wykked-as-syn.deviantart.com/