Art, Craft and Needlework, October 2014

[BookSaver]

Aha! I found the bag with the half-finished jacket. Also in the bag is the large piece fabric left after cutting out the jacket, which is more than enough for a pair of gloves.

I will make some practice gloves from similar fabrics before cutting into this pretty royal blue knit, which as I remember was not extremely expensive but is good quality so it wasn't cheap.

I need to make at least 1 pair of gloves to see if I'm even guessing right on which size to cut out. I'm guessing the thickness of the fabric will make a big difference to the way they fit.

My first 2 or 3 practice pairs will be using recycled Tshirt fabrics from souveniers that DH and I only wore once or twice. The shirts take up too much space because we never wear them, but the fabric is much too good to just throw in the trash or use for rags.

My only concern is they might be too stretchy for learning to make gloves -- but on the other hand, Tshirt fabric is sturdy and doesn't ravel, so it's easy to UNsew. I just checked the pattern instructions, and the recommended fabrics are stretch velvet, stretch satin, or stretch suede. Well, no, I'm not going to struggle with any of those for my first try!

[FelineFriend]

Booksaver, Your sewing projects sound interesting, challenging, and wonderful to accomplish, too.

I used to sew for years, but my eyes aren't like they used to be, to be able to see the sewing needle area into the fabric as well. Have noticed this, also, with my beading of jewelry. At least I can muddle through beading an occasional necklace though.

I continue to go around and around the DGS afghan. I'm on round 4 now. I'd 'planned' on doing 5 rounds only, but now, I'm considering 6 - 7, to get a good color frame, to make it more unique-looking.

When I finish DGS's afghan, I'll put it into the hope chest, put away his yarn totes, and get out DGD's yarn afghan Granny squares. I'll need to crochet butterflies and their bodies, adhere the bodies onto Grannies, then adhere the wings on top of the bodies, join squares, to be 5 across and 6 down. I have 1 row of 5 across already joined, so there are only 6 to go. However, if I get 5 rows done, feel like it's large enough for her, since she's 21 months now, I may keep off the extra 5 Grannies, join 4 of them, and make them into a matching dolly blanket for DGS's favorite dolly, she feeds, sleeps with and adores. ♥ I think it'll be a nice touch.

Oh, and then there are more projects after the afghans are done! But it keeps me out of 'trouble'! It's relaxing, keeps me happy and busy. I watch TV or listen to music while I crochet, too. It's really nice and rewarding. I love crocheting. ♥

[FelineFriend]

I'm SO EXCITED! I've finally finished DGS-3.5's Christmas afghan! I only needed to add 4 rounds around it, to make a 2.5" border or 2" border. It's such a lovely warm boy-colors afghan. Very rich-looking and masculine, too. He's going to love it.

I got out DGD-21 months, Granny squares. I've made 2 butterflies in pink, edged in raspberry. I need to crochet 13 more butterflies. I've measured and the complete Granny, with 5 squares across and 5 squares down, will measure around 43" square. I've decided to take 4 out of the 5 remaining Granny squares, to join them together, then edge, with 2 butterflies on them- or 3, to make the little girl's dolly's matching afghan, like her afghan. She gives her dolly bites of cookies, before she bites them, she lets the dolly suck on the bottle, before she does, when she's going to sleep, and her dolly is her beloved friend. This will be special for her dolly to have a matching dolly blanket just like hers. ♥ It will be fun to put her Granny afghan together and the dolly's blanket, too.

I have 2 poncho's I'd love to make her. 1 is short, in 2 colors, with a button at the neckband. 1 is a Granny poncho, so cute, I'll use variegated rose, pink, burgundy for it. It'll be adorable on her. She'll also get a vest.

The boys will be getting each a scarf for them, with attached puppy dog mittens, to keep their hands warm, outdoors when they're all snuggled up with their scarves around their necks. The 3 little ones will each get a puppy puppet. I'll make DGS-3.5 in blues, DGS-5.5 in reds, because they're their fav colors and match their afghans. The DGD's puppy puppet will be in pink, white, lavender, and have hair, a bow or flower attached, to make her more "girlie". I'd love to make all 3 of them a sock monkey hat, too. These patterns (except for the puppy puppets) are at:

http://www.redheart.com

They state the sock monkey hats and scarves with mitten puppet hands are easy to crochet. It will be nice to crochet something easy and quick-to-make, since the 3 big afghans will be done. 2 afghans done, 1 almost done, being constructed now. I'm so excited for Christmas now. Crocheting is amazingly wonderful and relaxing. I've always been passionate about it AS WELL AS with writing.

[FelineFriend]

Good Afternoon - Evening, Everyone!

Currently, I'm browsing and am purging magazines. In "Crochet!", I found a website, where you can sign up for free e-newsletters, sent to your inbox. (I often reserve an alternative email address for this, rather than my main one I use for my editor, calendar reminders and writing group. It makes going there a "treat", because I know I can relax, kick back, to read neat things.) I read the web-address of a newsletter(s) offerings. They do sewing, quilting, cross-stitch, card-making, quilting, knitting, plastic canvas, and crochet. Here's the link. I wanted to share it with ya'll, in case you were interested. I just got back from signing up for my preferences, too. Here goes:

http://www.AnniesNewsletters.com

I've not crocheted or done anything crafting today, because of my decluttering of magazines, saving "must-keeps" for my magazine basket, which goes on the low bottom shelf of my end table in the great room, next to my chair. It's something I've been meaning to do. Upon, re-looking at Crochet! Magazine, I'm finding projects, which are very tempting to do. I'm writing on the top of light grey post-it notes, in red ink, what items are, to refresh my memory, as I look at the closed magazine. It makes the project a "go-to" page(s) reminder for me.

[Nancy]

This ripple crochet piece is a pain I have to count a lot ack!

[FelineFriend]

Booksaver, Have you sewn the gloves together yet? If you did, what type of material did you end up using? Are you happy with the outcome? And are they for you or will they be a gift for someone in your life?

Nancy, I made 1 ripple afghan once, and it was a "b----h" to make, too. I didn't care for the counting, but I did make a Granny Ripple Afghan, 2 - 3 times, which was fun to me. You might want to try that instead. It's pattern is at the Project Linus pattern site, for free.

I got so "disgusted" with the free newsletters from the Annie's Newsletters site. ALL they were full of- were "ideas" for me to PURCHASE $$$$ leaflet patterns, in order to MAKE what was in their newsletters! It'd be fine, if I were made of money, but I don't have any to spare, like that. I unsubscribed from them. I think I'll "Google" search websites on "Organizing", "Paper Crafts", "Rubber Stamping," "Scrapbooking," "Crochet," "Quilting," "Lap Quilting", "Beginner Quilting," and see if I can find GOOD e-newsletters that way. I was so disappointed this a.m., when I saw all those ads in all those e-newsletters, filling up my Inbox.

I finished crocheting 1 Christmas potholder, I'm crocheting the mate, and they're the origami potholders I did for a Dfriend before. But when I did hers, I tied the loose ends into a double-knotted bow, which is cute because she lives in the South, in the country, in a double-wide mobile home. However, when I did my other Dfriend's potholder today, I chose the option of weaving in all loose ends, after doing the loop, because it made it look more custom-made or professional. She lives in the city, in a nice condo, belongs to several church groups, she has teas and luncheons and meetings at her home, so I thought by weaving the ends in, it matched her kitchen, her lifestyle, and location better. They are red-white variegated colors, too. Very pretty, festive for her red/white kitchen. I have a snowflake red/white potholder for her, to use as a hot pad, too. She's from Louisiana, never saw REAL SNOW, so when she moved to Virgina, saw SNOW, she's been nuts for snow ever since! So, when I found the snowflake potholder, it had HER NAME ALL OVER IT! ♥

I think I'll make my DNeighbor-Friend's potholders w/a matching hot pad, in red/white variegated, to match her kitchen, too, instead of 1 pair of Christmas ones AND 1 pair of red/white ones. This way, she'll be set for her year-round kitchen and Valentine's Day, which she loves to decorate for, because she's so in love with the holiday and in love 3 with her DH. If I run out of red/white variegated, I'll make it in solid red OR solid red with white stripes. Earlier this year, I made her red and white nylon kitchen scrubbies and I made her Dmom, who is elderly, a bunch of yellow and red ones. It was so much fun to treat them. Then, she gave me a lovely tall straight-sides glass with red, pink, and rose with white Valentine's painted all over it, full of candy, as a thank you gift. I did not expect that at all. But it was nice!

I'm thinking how, if I get the potholders & hot pad done first, then I can get DGD-21-months Granny afghan done, with the butterflies, and take it from there. I thought I'd alternate between these gifts:
1- make DGD's butterfly Granny dolly afghan
2- make DGS 3.5 & 5.5's cat neck pillows at the same time, as they're the same colors, to match their pet cats.
3- do DGD's vest.
4- Do DGS's 3.5 & 5.5 scarves w/attached puppy mittens.
Then, I'll take everything from that point. I'll see where I am on time, what's left to make, and baby-step 3 gifts at a time, for the 3 of them.

In 2015, I 'plan' on crocheting myself a scrap afghan, like I did DGS-3.5, from my stash to empty out bins, get my yarn overload under control and OUT of here, but made into afghans, hats, etc... That's my 2015 crochet goal.

HAPPY NEEDLE-WORKING, EVERYBODY!

[BookSaver]

FelineFriend ~ No, I haven't started sewing the gloves yet. I will be taking everything to the camping lodge tomorrow.

The gloves will be for me. I love the style in old movies from the 1930s and 1940s when women put on gloves every time they left the house.

[Nancy]

Thanks for the heads up on the Annies I might unfriend that one.
I've looked up the granny ripple before might need to revisit that one.

The knit ripple one is worse and not turning out so I did stop work on that one.

I have the dish clothes to do up as well. I like to have one knit and one crochet project going at a time.

I have a stair step shawl and pink one going as well so I think it is time to do those.

[FelineFriend]

I copied and pasted the Granny Ripple afghan, making the print Arial and 14 Font for ease in reading, as well as a couple other patterns, today.

I got out my Granny squares, have them on the card table in the Bunny Room, arranged in order to edge & join together into an afghan for Dfriend, age 98.5 years old. Known her since 1975, have made lap robes before, but never-ever an entire full afghan. The MC is black. Will do DC around each square, join them, and add DC around the afghan OR SC and then do scalloped edging, for femininity.

I slowly continue to crochet around and around on the origami potholders for Dfriend. When they're done, 1 is done already, I'll start 2 more potholders w/matching hot pad, for another Dfriend-neighbor, too.

Booksaver, Enjoy the camping lodge!

You're a busy beaver, too, Nancy!

Harriet, I've always noticed Roseanne's Granny afghan on their sofa, at the end of their show, when we turn the news on there and also on Big Bang Theory, too. As I studied the afghan on the sofa of the Big Bang Theory set, I noticed there was only 1 square, which was different than the other squares, too. It was a bit different. I kept noticing it again and again. I looked at it in the link's photo, it seems there are 4 colors in it, 1/2-granny in a triangle, is what makes it into a square, but unique because it doesn't follow the same exact Granny square rounds. It's different, unique, and reminds me of how rug weavers and quilters often leave in 1 mistake in their work, to show that the maker is human and only God is perfect. What's the difference between a "throw" and an afghan on a bed? It's an afghan, still. I guess it matters where you throw it? Or lay it, to display it? I have a kitty cat, which frequents the bed, so my afghans don't. I keep them in the linen cupboard, bring them out, to use, temporarily, to take my chill off, then return them to the cupboard. I don't want her claws snagging my handiwork. This is why the current Granny afghan I'm doing, is going out, to a Dfriend's home and not mine. It'll probably end up being displayed upon the sofa, another chair or on the bed. It makes no difference to me. I'm getting pure joy out of making for her to surprise her.

[Nancy]

Putting myself in time out and cleaning for ten min. In the craft sewing zone as it is over due for some attn. X That did not take long at all to clear a path that was was my goal!