Friday, August 27, 2010

Cabin Fever!

Talk about the highlight of the cool-chet season. I decided we have to have a cool-chet getaway every year. Oh so much got done. Movies watched, sunburns received, and projects up the wazoo! ouch. 

When I look at the pictures I feel like I should have done more, but it's still a decent amount. It also didn't help that the lack of sleep at 2 am causes some major mistakes that end up being taken apart the next day. Hardly conducive to productivity.

Let's start with an overview shall we?


Ta Da! The things on the right side of the counter were the ones I made.
I made my own odds'n'ends'n'balls bag, a hook holder, a stuffed owl, a headband, a hat, half a bag, and a chocolate candy corn/acorn which you can hardly see. It looks just like Kami's but with chocolate. YUM

I can just see you on the edge of your seat waiting for more details huh? Let me fill you in on my fave lil guy.

Isn't he just the most? Ok, so maybe he had a freak window accident leaving his beak a little worse for wear. And perhaps he feels a little awkward having to look up all the time. AND...maybe turning him sideways brings to mind a condition many high school boys claim to have when exposed to a cute girl for too long. But really, I love him for who he is. Pure preciousness. I don't have a good name for him yet, though. How's about you leave a comment and the best name wins? Alright then!

Folks, please direct your attention to the left side of the picture. You will see the bottom of the bag I made. I'm feeling a strong need to make approximately 30-400 more. Give or take. I definitely need to make a HUGE one like Kami's. I have sack envy.

Moving on to your right you will see my very own creation out of my very own mind. Don't get me wrong, I do not claim to have invented this idea. But I did not use a pattern and although it is far from perfect, there is some potential there. I wanted somewhere to store hooks (until I make an actual "hook holster"), sewing needles, bits of yarn, scissors, and any other small items. Something cute and easy to take with me. So I started off with two little circles. Then I made a panel using just SC and a section of SC in the back loop. That section is the flap. I just thought it would be fun for the flap to look a little different. I sewed the flap to the circles using a contrasting yarn. In that same contrasting yarn I made the beginning of a flower motif. **ding ding ding... you've found the word of the day! MOTIF It means something snazzy you can use to jazz stuff up. It does, I promise, look it up! Ahem...I sewed that on to the ends to be interesting and then decided to go the extra mile by adding a ruffle around the flap. I used the same contrast yarn to stretch out a hole in the flap and sewed a button to the panel. Wow...that sounds....Ok keep moving people, let's not dilly dally.

To the front of your screen you will see much cuteness in yellow. We started with the full flower motif and if you can't tell, I'm mildly obsessed with it. Everything must be motifed in flowers from here on out. Kami's super easy, but full 'o' math, pattern had us beaming when we looked so durn cute at the end. A little green circle in the middle there and I can't stop squealing. Seriously, my boyfriend is starting to get annoyed.

Just up and to the right is a fun little hat I made with a gigantic ruffly flower. I've sworn and oathe never to wear it with my hair up. When a person who's had chemo tells you that you look like a chemo patient, well, it's a sign. Who am I to ignore it? This puppy was the bane of my existence all throughout Bear Lake. I wanted so badly to make this cutest hat. I started it twice and stopped it twice when I had a beret, then a pillbox hat. I'm not sure why the contrast between the top and the sides was that drastic, but it was. We got a lot of laughs, though, so it wasn't a complete waste. Then I made it too short and Alair was kind enough to tell me I was reminiscent of a fashion victim we had all known. I got the willies so bad that I started working double time to lengthen that sucker out. Once I did, it came out looking just peachy I believe.

Lastly partial project at the top right. (For the record, I know the color is Aran, but I still can't stop saying Aryan. I know, I know..tsk tsk.) The first picture is probably a better view of it. That is half a market bag. I LOVE the design. It's so super cute. In fact, I fully have plans to make that exact same design into a skirt. It practically is already! I do plan to finish the bag first though. This brings me to my main complaint. I'm shocked that so many published patterns have so many mistakes and confusions. But it's really very common. Trust me, I know that I screw things up a lot. In this case, though, you go through the whole pattern and all of a sudden it says repeat for other side. Did it warn me that I was about to make half a bag? No. Are there any instructions whatsoever about putting the two halves together? No. Inquiring minds want to know people.

Oh and while I'm ranting, I started a kick assghan for my sister's baby. It's got another really vague pattern. You get three lines explained and then it says to "follow chart".  The chart is a bunch of X's and spaces that looks sort of like a needlepoint. What is hard to understand is #1. Am I going sideways or longways? #2. Apparently I already did three of the lines on the chart and only after repeating them a few times, and wondering why the beginning looks nothing like the picture, do I realize that. #3. And this was the worst one, the pattern is WRONG. I mean sooooo very wrong. It tells me to chain 149. I do the first three rows with 146 stitches. It says I should have 147 but after chaining 149 I SC in the 4th chain from the hook. Math. So now I get to the chart. I start off going sideways which I am supposed to repeat three times. I finish that and I'm nowhere near the end of the first three rows. hmpf...take it out. Start going longways which I should be repeating once. Now I don't have enough length to finish repeating. ARGHHH I spent waaaaay too much time believing it had to be me in all my amateur glory. Then I got smart (it takes awhile to kick in) and I counted the number of stitches sideways and the number of stitches longways on the chart. 110 and 160-something respectively. Which of those numbers gets me to 146? Neither. So now, again, I take the entire thing apart. Oh and did I mention this-is-the-second-time-I've-started-this-and-came-across-the-same-issues-the-first-time-and-so-I-have-another-screwed-up-chunk-hanging-out-in-another-bag-because-I-didn't-want-to-take-it-apart-AGAIN-so-I-just-started-a-new-one-with-a-new-skein? GASP! Breathe Shannon. Feeling wiser and somewhat "taken for granted" (It's not fair!) I started over making my chain come out to be 110. Holy crap. It's all working like a charm. I'm just zooming right along now and I can't wait to finish it so I can show y'all. I WILL conquer this beast.

10-4 Over and out.

-Shannon