I've crocheted some fun little balls to play with! I originally crocheted them to assemble into an outer-space type baby mobile for a friend's sister's yet-to-be-born baby (they still may be assembled into one...I haven't decided yet). They work up fast - and the best thing about these balls? You can throw them at your spouse, and they won't leave a mark! MWAHAHAHAHA! :D
Crochet balls by ~audreydc1983 on deviantART
I got the pattern at eHow.
The rainbow one and the blue/yellow/green one were done in variegated yarn. I used my *ahem* AWESOME crochet skills to do the orange/yellow one...in my FIRST tapestry crochet project! Personally, I like how the tapestry one came out...there are less "holes" where the decreases are - because they are mostly filled by the other strand of yarn underneath. Groovy!
I'll let you know - and I'll definitely post it - if I really decide to make that baby mobile.
Thanks for reading...and happy hooking!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Random Crochet Necklace
I was feeling frustrated yesterday, and wanted to create something, instead of destroying things needlessly. So - I got out some scrap yarn and wooden beads, and made this cool necklace:
It will probably make it's way onto my other blog, Crochet Valkyrie, because it was done on a whim...and it matches nothing I own! There haven't been a lot of posts on there as of late, because I've been quite busy with the business of owning my own home. Once things settle down and I get a larger, more peaceful, less chaotic place to crochet, you'll probably see plenty of action on that one.
Hope you enjoy my random necklace! I'll have to print out a Crochet Valkyrie tag and attach it, so whoever finds it can let me know how much they enjoy it.
It will probably make it's way onto my other blog, Crochet Valkyrie, because it was done on a whim...and it matches nothing I own! There haven't been a lot of posts on there as of late, because I've been quite busy with the business of owning my own home. Once things settle down and I get a larger, more peaceful, less chaotic place to crochet, you'll probably see plenty of action on that one.
Hope you enjoy my random necklace! I'll have to print out a Crochet Valkyrie tag and attach it, so whoever finds it can let me know how much they enjoy it.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Attack of the Snoods!!!
I've made 3 snoods in the course of about a week:
The first two snoods, I used the same pattern, a vintage pattern from 1942. This pattern was interesting...it required me to learn a new stitch, the "long triple crochet". To tell you all the truth, I love learning about crochet - the more skills in my repertoire, the more creative I can be!
Okay, here are the snoods:
First, the plain black snood, good for everyday tasks (black goes with everything, ya know):
Snood 1 by ~audreydc1983 on deviantART
And then, the beaded snood. I decided to use wooden beads because they're lighter than glass. They look terrific with this brown yarn I chose from my stash:
Beaded Snood by ~audreydc1983 on deviantART
And lastly, my Cotton Snood! :
Cotton Snood by ~audreydc1983 on deviantART
This one is my first improvised snood. The pattern came from a hat pattern in this book:
Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker
by Debbie Stoller
I just continued doing rounds until I thought it was long enough, and then I single-crocheted on an elastic band.
I was really surprised when I put it on...it was quite snug, with very little give. A snood is held in place with pins around the front, and the pins seemed to be much more stable in natural fiber than with acrylic. With acrylic yarn, hairpins tend to slide and not hold very well - I use quite a lot of them - almost 2X as many as the cotton snood required, in fact, to get a good hold with an acrylic snood.
And it held GOOD. Absolutely NO slippage, and it didn't require me to readjust it at any time. A quick spray with hair spray, let it dry, then put on the snood and pin. It's as easy as that, and takes less than 5 minutes.
The only downside: weight. It is a bit heavier than acrylic, and I'm tempted to add pins along the crown of my head to better distribute the weight. My scalp is a bit sore where the pins were the day after wearing it.
But all in all, I am quite impressed!
I think that this was a definite eye-opener. Women in the Middle Ages definitely knew what they were doing, making snoods from natural fiber (well, that's all they had, but still). I can't wait to try making a snood out of thinner yarn - fingering yarn - or even #10 crochet thread! In theory, any hat pattern or doily pattern can be altered to make a snood. Oh, the possibilities!
If you'd like to buy a snood, there is an awesome lady that crochets and sells them, to the Renfaire/SCA set:
Lady MacSnood
I love my previous two snoods and will continue to wear them, but I think that I will stick to natural fibers from now on when it comes to making crochet hair accessories!
The first two snoods, I used the same pattern, a vintage pattern from 1942. This pattern was interesting...it required me to learn a new stitch, the "long triple crochet". To tell you all the truth, I love learning about crochet - the more skills in my repertoire, the more creative I can be!
Okay, here are the snoods:
First, the plain black snood, good for everyday tasks (black goes with everything, ya know):
Snood 1 by ~audreydc1983 on deviantART
And then, the beaded snood. I decided to use wooden beads because they're lighter than glass. They look terrific with this brown yarn I chose from my stash:
Beaded Snood by ~audreydc1983 on deviantART
And lastly, my Cotton Snood! :
Cotton Snood by ~audreydc1983 on deviantART
This one is my first improvised snood. The pattern came from a hat pattern in this book:
Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker
by Debbie Stoller
I just continued doing rounds until I thought it was long enough, and then I single-crocheted on an elastic band.
I was really surprised when I put it on...it was quite snug, with very little give. A snood is held in place with pins around the front, and the pins seemed to be much more stable in natural fiber than with acrylic. With acrylic yarn, hairpins tend to slide and not hold very well - I use quite a lot of them - almost 2X as many as the cotton snood required, in fact, to get a good hold with an acrylic snood.
And it held GOOD. Absolutely NO slippage, and it didn't require me to readjust it at any time. A quick spray with hair spray, let it dry, then put on the snood and pin. It's as easy as that, and takes less than 5 minutes.
The only downside: weight. It is a bit heavier than acrylic, and I'm tempted to add pins along the crown of my head to better distribute the weight. My scalp is a bit sore where the pins were the day after wearing it.
But all in all, I am quite impressed!
I think that this was a definite eye-opener. Women in the Middle Ages definitely knew what they were doing, making snoods from natural fiber (well, that's all they had, but still). I can't wait to try making a snood out of thinner yarn - fingering yarn - or even #10 crochet thread! In theory, any hat pattern or doily pattern can be altered to make a snood. Oh, the possibilities!
If you'd like to buy a snood, there is an awesome lady that crochets and sells them, to the Renfaire/SCA set:
Lady MacSnood
I love my previous two snoods and will continue to wear them, but I think that I will stick to natural fibers from now on when it comes to making crochet hair accessories!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Crochet Dice
These were a pain in the butt, but they were definitely worth the attention I got when I wrapped them around the knocker on my door:
Crochet Dice by ~audreydc1983 on deviantART
These dice are 3"cubes, a bit bigger than normal "fuzzy dice". I just made 6 3" square panels, and sewed them together. I put in a panel of thin cardboard on each side for stability (they were about 2 3/4" square, and adding just enough stuffing to keep them in place.
After I sewed them up, using a die for reference, I hot glued the felt spots on.
They came out really good - but too big for wrapping around the rear-view mirror. Perhaps I'll just wrap them around my neck when I go to Vegas!
Crochet Dice by ~audreydc1983 on deviantART
These dice are 3"cubes, a bit bigger than normal "fuzzy dice". I just made 6 3" square panels, and sewed them together. I put in a panel of thin cardboard on each side for stability (they were about 2 3/4" square, and adding just enough stuffing to keep them in place.
After I sewed them up, using a die for reference, I hot glued the felt spots on.
They came out really good - but too big for wrapping around the rear-view mirror. Perhaps I'll just wrap them around my neck when I go to Vegas!
Friday, July 16, 2010
A Gift Basket for the newlyweds!
Here is a gift basket that I put together for a couple of my friends, Dan and Brianne, who've just gotten married and moved into their first apartment. Unfortunately, they live 2 hours away, and have yet to receive it, but I made sure that anything in the basket would be welcomed as a duplicate. We could all have used a backup set of measuring spoons/cups at one time in our lives, right?!
Awww...how beautiful! This basket includes my homemade towel toppers, some homemade strawberry jam, a couple of coffee cups, spatulas, an oven mitt, chip clips, and other assorted kitchen goodies. Black and red are the colors that Bree said she would like in her kitchen, and I tried to get as many things in black and red as I could. Honestly, I think I should get bonus points for stuff I found that is both black AND red. :D
Both of them are terrific friends...I wish them a happy, love-filled marriage. They bring out the best in one another. *glass clink* CHEERS!
Awww...how beautiful! This basket includes my homemade towel toppers, some homemade strawberry jam, a couple of coffee cups, spatulas, an oven mitt, chip clips, and other assorted kitchen goodies. Black and red are the colors that Bree said she would like in her kitchen, and I tried to get as many things in black and red as I could. Honestly, I think I should get bonus points for stuff I found that is both black AND red. :D
Both of them are terrific friends...I wish them a happy, love-filled marriage. They bring out the best in one another. *glass clink* CHEERS!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
A glimpse of what is to come...
Dear Loyal Followers,
I'm working on several projects now, and I'd just like to give my viewers an update on my progress with these (and other) endeavors. My goal is to do 10 posts per month; since I have started out this blog slow, I felt that it would be a good idea to give myself a goal to achieve every month. If I go above and beyond ten, fine, but for now, the MINIMUM amount of postings per month will be ten.
Projects that I have yet to post:
1. Gift basket for Dan and Bree
In the works:
1. Crochet dice
2. Lovely BBW drawing
3. 3 paintings, all dealing with Norse Mythology
4. Crochet snood
On my to-do list:
1. Cross stitch birth announcement for my new niece
2. Crochet fruits and veggies, complete with cornucopia
3. Crochet socks
4. Crochet granny square blanket (just needs sewn together!)
5. Crochet snuggie!
6. Amigurumi Frog
Random ideas:
1. Hammer cozy
2. Small BBQ cozy (our apartment thinks that Charcoal BBQ's are the devil, so I'd like to crochet a cozy to make it more covert)
3. Random street art, to get my 'Crochet Valkyrie' blog up and running again
4. Make tags for The Crochet Valkyrie, so I can attach to street art.
5. Making (or bribing my friend to make) pillow forms, so I can crochet covers for them.
6. Cross-stitch Buddhism stuff - 4 Noble truths, 5 precepts, 8 fold path
7. Havamal samplers
8. More sushi sets, to sell on Etsy, or wherever I feel like it.
9. Do a felting project! But first I have to find the right color yarn. This has proven a challenge - I have a project in mind, and have been unable to locate the specific color yarn that I need for the project in the immediate vicinity. Looks like a jaunt to Portland, OR is in order, to cruise the yarn shops!
If there is anything that you'd like to see here, feel free to leave a comment.
To all of my awesome followers: I may have mentioned to one or many of you that I may be moving to TX- but this is looking less and less so. My husband was given a phone interview, and it's been more than a week...and we haven't heard anything. Both of us are starting to get a bit nervous about the way this new warehouse is being run - it looks to be very disorganized and chaotic. I could not ask my husband to trade a good job for a bad one for my comfort - so it looks as if we are going to make western WA state our permanent home.
But believe me...it will not be easy. Our lease is up on October 1st, so we have to figure out where we're going. Meaning: house hunting! We're looking at doing a VA home loan in a county where land and property taxes are cheaper. I think that I would "weather" the weather better if I had room to roam out here - this tiny apartment is driving me crazy!
Anyway - I may be busy, but I will attempt to keep my 10 post a month commitment. Things might get a little hairy in the months to come, but I'm sure that we'll get through it fine...and I'll make sure to update you all on things concerning my life and art.
Thank you so much for taking an interest in what I do!
I'm working on several projects now, and I'd just like to give my viewers an update on my progress with these (and other) endeavors. My goal is to do 10 posts per month; since I have started out this blog slow, I felt that it would be a good idea to give myself a goal to achieve every month. If I go above and beyond ten, fine, but for now, the MINIMUM amount of postings per month will be ten.
Projects that I have yet to post:
1. Gift basket for Dan and Bree
In the works:
1. Crochet dice
2. Lovely BBW drawing
3. 3 paintings, all dealing with Norse Mythology
4. Crochet snood
On my to-do list:
1. Cross stitch birth announcement for my new niece
2. Crochet fruits and veggies, complete with cornucopia
3. Crochet socks
4. Crochet granny square blanket (just needs sewn together!)
5. Crochet snuggie!
6. Amigurumi Frog
Random ideas:
1. Hammer cozy
2. Small BBQ cozy (our apartment thinks that Charcoal BBQ's are the devil, so I'd like to crochet a cozy to make it more covert)
3. Random street art, to get my 'Crochet Valkyrie' blog up and running again
4. Make tags for The Crochet Valkyrie, so I can attach to street art.
5. Making (or bribing my friend to make) pillow forms, so I can crochet covers for them.
6. Cross-stitch Buddhism stuff - 4 Noble truths, 5 precepts, 8 fold path
7. Havamal samplers
8. More sushi sets, to sell on Etsy, or wherever I feel like it.
9. Do a felting project! But first I have to find the right color yarn. This has proven a challenge - I have a project in mind, and have been unable to locate the specific color yarn that I need for the project in the immediate vicinity. Looks like a jaunt to Portland, OR is in order, to cruise the yarn shops!
If there is anything that you'd like to see here, feel free to leave a comment.
To all of my awesome followers: I may have mentioned to one or many of you that I may be moving to TX- but this is looking less and less so. My husband was given a phone interview, and it's been more than a week...and we haven't heard anything. Both of us are starting to get a bit nervous about the way this new warehouse is being run - it looks to be very disorganized and chaotic. I could not ask my husband to trade a good job for a bad one for my comfort - so it looks as if we are going to make western WA state our permanent home.
But believe me...it will not be easy. Our lease is up on October 1st, so we have to figure out where we're going. Meaning: house hunting! We're looking at doing a VA home loan in a county where land and property taxes are cheaper. I think that I would "weather" the weather better if I had room to roam out here - this tiny apartment is driving me crazy!
Anyway - I may be busy, but I will attempt to keep my 10 post a month commitment. Things might get a little hairy in the months to come, but I'm sure that we'll get through it fine...and I'll make sure to update you all on things concerning my life and art.
Thank you so much for taking an interest in what I do!
Monday, July 12, 2010
BBW Angel
As you may know, I don't draw a lot anymore - It seems I've headed into "Crochet-Land" and never looked back. I suddenly had an urge to draw a few days ago, found a terrific stock photo, and did this in two days:
BBW Angel by ~audreydc1983 on deviantART
Well, I could have done it in one day, if I wasn't so "artistically cluttered"! Okay...I procrastinated a little. And I couldn't find my good (NEW!) drawing pad, so I was a little upset about that. I mean...I just bought the DARN THING! And I can't find it! AHHHHHHH!!!!!
Okay, I'm back now. I'm cool... :D
Anyway, when I saw her pose in the stock photo, I had to draw her and make her an angel. I don't know why - I don't even think that I've EVER drawn an angel before. I don't even LIKE angels...but it's best not to argue with the creative mind. You'll lose. And it won't be pretty. :)
For the uninitiated or just plain clueless, BBW means "Big Beautiful Woman."
Medium is pencil on paper. (c) 2010
BBW Angel by ~audreydc1983 on deviantART
Well, I could have done it in one day, if I wasn't so "artistically cluttered"! Okay...I procrastinated a little. And I couldn't find my good (NEW!) drawing pad, so I was a little upset about that. I mean...I just bought the DARN THING! And I can't find it! AHHHHHHH!!!!!
Okay, I'm back now. I'm cool... :D
Anyway, when I saw her pose in the stock photo, I had to draw her and make her an angel. I don't know why - I don't even think that I've EVER drawn an angel before. I don't even LIKE angels...but it's best not to argue with the creative mind. You'll lose. And it won't be pretty. :)
For the uninitiated or just plain clueless, BBW means "Big Beautiful Woman."
Medium is pencil on paper. (c) 2010
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