Sweater Project

by Kelly

Another morning in the Midwest. Weather forecast for today is temperatures in the 60's and rain. This is January, right? Or have I missed something??

Meanwhile, work on the sweater project continues:

 

This is the back panel of this sweater:

via Bernat.com

Well, almost. I still have a little work to do, something like 10 more rows.

The pattern is free, found at the link below the picture above. So far everything seems to be going fine.

The only thing I've done differently than the pattern instructions is at the beginning and end of the rows. I slip the first stitch and knit through the back loop of the last. I'm hoping this will give me a nice clean edge, and will make seaming easier.

Most likely this will cause some problems at the armhole joining, but I'm hoping not. Fingers crossed.

Twisted Germans and Snow Falling Softly

by Kelly


"Snow, it won't be long before we'll all be there with snow
Snow, I want to wash my hands, my face and hair with snow"
                                                                           - White Christmas

Well, maybe not that last part. I do love snow, but let's not get carried away, here.

Especially the fluffy white kind of snow that looks like spun sugar. When each tiny, delicate flake is visible, it rewards a closer look. Don't slip!

In other news, I'm working on a special project for my aunt-in-law : leg warmers.

I know what you're thinking. Leg warmers, really? Well if bell-bottoms can come back, why not leg warmers?  And anyway, my aunt-in-law only wants them for a practical purpose - her legs get cold, and she wants to keep them warm. I can only hope that she doesn't set a fashion trend.

Of course, if you're going to leg warmers (or socks or mittens, I suppose) you should really master a flexible or stretchy cast on. The one I've run across most seems to be The Twisted German or Old Norwegian cast on, and neither of those names made me think that this was going to be a simple matter, to learn this new trick. And oh, how right I was.

Have I mentioned that I mostly learn new knitting and crochet techniques by watching YouTube videos? Well, this time, even YouTube failed me. Oh, there were plenty of video tutorials - too many, in fact. And most of them were unclear for various reasons - odd camera angles, too close or too far from the action, or maybe they took for granted that you would know instinctively how much yarn to use for the long tail, or how to wind a cat's cradle of yarn around the thumb and fingers of your left hand.

But then I found How to Knit the Twisted German Cast On by newstitchaday, and I finally saw what I was doing wrong - I wasn't tightening the stitch after getting it onto the needle. Success at last:

And yes, I know that's supposed to be on double pointed needles. I find it really fiddly to cast onto DPN's, so I just cast on with a long regular needle and then transfer the stitches.

So for now, onward with the leg warmer project. Let's hope that we don't have to crack out the dangly earrings next. I'm afraid I've gotten rid of all of mine. Although big hair will not be a problem - I can get that look easily enough with just a little humidity.

Crafty Christmas Swag

by Kelly

I received much crafty swag for Christmas this year:

My early experiments with tatting have shown me that while tatting is simple to do, it's difficult to do beautifully without practice:

And although we didn't have a white Christmas here, beautiful fluffy white flakes are now falling.

New Year's Eve is fast approaching. Resolution time. I resolve to be happier with the things I have, and less driven to change the things I can do nothing about. In fact, that may be my permanent resolution.

Mitten Tree Contributions!

by Kelly

Merry Christmas Eve! Best wishes for a happy holiday. Best wishes even for those who are gathered on a beach in sunnier climes, watching a parade of decorated boats. Actually, no - pooh on you.

In other news, the Mitten Tree contributions have been delivered! Just in time for cold and snowy weather.

The heap seems to be about the same size as last year...

 

Yay for warm hands and heads! And surprisingly, our contributions were supposed to be distributed just before Christmas break, so the kids will have something to wear when they're outside playing in the snow. If there is more than a dusting of snow, that is. And do kids even play outside anymore, or do they spend most of their time snuggled up near a warm Internet connection?

Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right?

And speaking of thoughts, best wishes to all for a happy holiday. May the next year be merry and bright. Fingers crossed.

End of the World Calendar Shopping

by Kelly

So as you can see, the world didn't end after all (or at least, not yet), which means that now I have to go shopping for a calendar. As usually happens, we have 'inherited' three calendars already, but these calendars really don't suit us, for various reasons. Hand me down calendars rarely do, am I right?

So first up is this one, which doesn't have anything to do with crafting. I would only go with this calendar because my husband calls this 'the alien dog' and that's perfect for an 'end of the world' mindset.

via Amazon

I do agree with my husband, by the way - that dog has a suspiciously large cranium to be just an ordinary household pet. Admittedly, it's terribly cute, but can you really trust it not to be part of an alien incursion force?

Then there's this one, which doesn't involve a craft that I can actually do but is too beautiful to pass up:

via Amazon

I could hang this on our wall and be plagued with guilt that I haven't taken any steps to broaden my crafting horizons beyond window shopping for pretty fabrics.

Then there is this one, which involves a craft that I do know:

via Amazon

But I already have a full agenda of knitting/crochet projects planned, so do I really need more projects? Ahh...no.

For sheer eye-candy, though, this is my favorite:

via Skein Queen

Gorgeous, right? Limited supply only, so act soon....

The one I was really leaning towards is this unravelling scarf calendar. Until I saw the price, that is. I think fifty-nine dollars is a bit steep for a calendar. Admittedly I would use it every day, and it is multi-functional, but still...

via Generate

Pull on a thread and the day unravels...very nice. WHY didn't I think of that?
I found this via 1 Design per Day, which has lots of cool calendars that you should really check out, including one that uses bubble wrap.

So the search goes on. Luckily I have plenty of time, seeing as how the world didn't end after all.

via Amazon

Maybe I'll just save myself some money and use the night sky as my calendar. Hey, it worked for the Mayans. The more things change, the more things stay the same, right? Sometimes they even come full circle.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse Christmas Ornament Pattern

by Kelly

Sorry for the brief hiatus - it's been a very busy week here. But I did find time to  make some cookie ornaments.

These are super easy and very durable. So durable they might even be pet proof, although pets will certainly try to eat them. I used this easy recipe from allrecipes, which is my goto online recipe book. If you'd like to make these cookies water proof for outdoor use, I'd suggest spraying or painting them with some kind of polycrylic sealer (the kind you find at the hardware store). Speaking from experience, they do tend to dissolve easily if they get wet (for example, if you happen to knock over your morning beverage on the counter where they are lying), and there's nothing sadder than a soggy cookie ornament.

And if you don't have time to make your own, they're available in our shop for a limited time.

I also crocheted some cute Mickey and Minnie Mouse ornaments for the tree.  These are very simple and take about three minutes each, so they're perfect if you need a last minute stocking stuffer.

This is a free pattern, and if you wish to make these for your own use please feel free. You can not reproduce this pattern in any part for profit, or claim it as your own.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse Christmas Ornaments

Materials:

Black worsted weight yarn

size G crochet hook

optional: 1" wide fabric ribbon (I used red with white dots) and red sewing thread.

Gauge isn't super critical for these. You can easily adjust the size by using different yarn or hooks. Mine came in at about 5" (measured across both ears).

Pattern:

Main head (make one)

1. Make a magic ring and sc 6 into the center.  Pull tight and mark your first stitch (I use a paper clip). Ch 1.

2. Work 2 sc into each stitch around to your marker and join with a slip stitch. Ch 1.

3. *Sc into first stitch, work 2 sc in next stitch. Repeat from * around to your marker and join. Ch 1.

4. *Sc in first two stitches, work 2 sc in next stitch. Repeat from * around to your marker and join. Cut yarn end and fasten off.

Ears (make two)

1. Make a magic ring and sc 6 into the center. Pull tight to join and mark your first stitch. Ch 1.

2. Work 2 sc into each stitch around to end. Join with a slip stitch, cut yarn end and fasten off.

Sew ears to head (with yarn or black sewing thread) through two or three stitches only. This will help your ornament look like Mickey or Minnie, and not a teddy bear.

Optional: Make Minnie's hair bow.

Cut about a 5" length of ribbon. Fold a flat bow with your ribbon and sew it to Minnie's head with red sewing thread. You could use black thread, but I found it showed up against the red ribbon, while red thread disappeared into the black yarn. For a great tutorial on how to fold flat ribbon bows, check out this YouTube video.

That's it, you're done! Add a hanger of some kind and add it to your Christmas tree to proudly show your love of all things Mickey and Minnie.

Only eight days 'till Christmas. But who's counting?

How to Fix a ColecoVision Gaming Unit That Shows Weird Picture

by Kelly

We interrupt our regularly scheduled crafty post to bring you a special feature - old school video game repair.

Santa came to our house early and brought us the ColecoVision gaming system that my husband wanted when he was a kid. Only 29 years late, but hey, you can't have everything. Including, it seems, a working game system.

No Cartridge

With Cartridge

We tried to clean it (that's what the giant sized bottle of rubbing alcohol on the table is all about) to no avail. Luckily, through the magic of the Internet, the solution was less than a minute away.

We landed on Joomla!, which I had never heard of before, but it's a great site for those with a love of archaic game systems. And there was our solution - an easy, in depth tutorial, with pictures. Cheers, Callan, our faceless Internet adviser, and thanks for the help!

All you have to is change the power switch. Get out your solder braid or your handy dandy vacuum pump solder sucking system, if you have one. Ah, how I miss the high-tech soldering stations that I had access to at school.

Switch removed

You can repair the switch itself, if you're a traditionalist, but that requires disassembling the switch, cleaning the contacts, applying new dielectric grease, and reassembling said switch. Frankly, that seemed like a huge pain in the a**, so we chose to install a new switch.

Once you've done this minor repair, you can do the happy dance, when your system works like new:

 

So if you're in a similar situation with your ColecoVision, just visit Joomla!'s tutorial and in no time you'll be up and running. One tip on taking apart the ColecoVision: there are three case screws under the silver label on the front of the unit. If you're a patient person, and lucky, you should be able to peel up that label and reapply it with no problems. Don't take it all the way off, just lift each end until you find the screws, then stick it back down.

Sorry to go off topic, but I just had to share, and never fear, our next post will be about crafting. Or backyard birding. Or books. Probably.