Lace Away!

I've long since been bitten by the lace bug.  First with crochet, then knitting, but now most recently I've been striving to tackle two other lace techniques (both crochet oriented) that I had been leery of at first:  broomstick lace & hairpin lace.

When I first saw the former I couldn't fathom how it was done, and the latter boggled my mind even more.  Hairpin became a little clearer when I realized it used a special tool, but then I was daunted by the fact that I didn't know how to use it and wasn't sure I could "get it".  (Which altogether now sounds ridiculous to me as I seem to take to fiber arts with gusto and quickly progress in technique.)  A few weeks ago I finally got up the courage to mess about with broomstick lace, and realized how silly I was thinking it was difficult.  Now that medium has turned into a separator curtain I will be working on for myself.  Hairpin lace still eluded me, up until tonight.  Finally I saw a pin on Pinterest and looking at it it somehow seemed less scary so I looked it over and then realized I could fake the funk and make my own make-shift loom to try it out.

Now I find myself drooling over a handmade loom, and contemplating all the lace I will make with it (not that I have any idea of what this lace will make) and how utterly lovely it will be.  Then there is the curtain I've taken to working on this eve, a fuzzy orange and canary yellow color to afford us a separator for a door in our apartment that is a semi-public thoroughfare.

Obsess much?  I find it all funny.  Alternative type person as I am, messing about with something so delicate & girly as lace.  Had I told myself ten years ago I would be doing this I would have scoffed and denied it, simply for the fact that "I'm not a lace person".  And yet here I am.  Funny how things work out.

...sew many things, sew little thyme for ewe and eye...

My Coat of Many Squares Pt 1

So way back in September I posted about a Scrap Afghan I was working on.  Since that time I have done a little bit of a switcheroo and decided to turn my humble scrap blanket into a coat.  This of course was inspired by one of my famous pattern searches on Ravelry in which I was looking for a coat.
Originally when I saw the inspiration in question I said well while I don't want to buy a pattern I'm going to use just for me, I'm willing to because I want it that badly.  And then I realized it was in French.  *fail*  Well I tried anyhow and sent a message on Ravelry (in English first) and awaited a reply.  A few weeks later I came back, went to the pattern purchase page and requested again some information and details on purchase (this time translated to French) and still to no avail.  Frankly I got tired of waiting, being extremely impatient as it is, and opted to use the pictures as inspiration and piece together something myself using that I already had in my afghan and merely moving about some squares.  And so it was born...
I knew at first blush my coat wouldn't be as pretty as the one I saw pictured.  After all it had a somewhat cohesive color scheme, was worked in finer yarn and appeared to have some shaping.  But I didn't let that stop me.  So far so good, it's a bit boxy, but I have done several edits added and removed squares and went up and down in gauge.  I near the end of it now having only to put one additional square on each sleeve, add a slit, finish the back shaping, then buttons and a belt and I am ready to retry on.
Then what?  After that I'm not sure.  I have considered making a tutorial with my method or a low price pattern.  But other than that I'm not altogether sure I want to or not.  So my question to you is would you buy it?
...sew many things, sew little thyme for ewe and eye...

Normally Not Here...

Normally I wouldn't post this here - as it relates to another one of my blogs.  However given the vein of this blog I had to put in at the very least a mention here.
I peruse Ravelry, a lot, one might say too much but I would tend to disagree (though I have completely put off getting things done in favor going through "one more page in the pattern search" before...)  The project in question I started at the beginning of November of last year.  I had seen it earlier in April of the same year and fell in love with it, but had no reason to make it for myself or any weight that would really be suitable for it.  So I queued it, favorited it, and put it out of my mind for the moment.  Later in the year I was speaking to a dear friend of mine who I have known for years.  She told me she was deploying and I knew then and there that I would find a way (I wasn't working steadily at the time) to send her a care package.  More time went by and as I spoke to her more I knew that a prayer shawl was definitely going to be in this package.  Then my search began.
Now typically I try to make things for people that scream, "make me for this person".  If I am going to spend hours on something I want it to truly be appropriate for them and be something they will enjoy having and not out of just general gratitude.  I searched for awhile and found nothing that really spoke to me on her behalf.  Then I remembered the name of a shawl which I had recalled thinking was strikingly pretty and decided to dig it up and look again to see if it was right.  Voila, there it was, a beautiful lace shawl and labeled as a prayer one at that and a free pattern.  Ka-ching!
I spent a few months working on it, using a slightly modified version of it that made it more into a half circle than a three quarter circle.  I had high hopes when I started, I had been bitten by the lace bug when doing another shawl before and now I was a fanatic.  But perhaps I thought this time I had bitten off a little more than I could chew...uhm, yea, yea I think that's accurate.
As an artist I strive to do my work to a certain standard.  I wouldn't say perfect in the most literal sense of the word but definitely to standard.  This particular shawl though didn't quite work out like that.  In several instances I completely botched the stitch count, ranging from being 4 off to almost 20...>,< ouch.  And not being too experienced I didn't want to take it off the needles and redo (I knew it'd never be finished if I did that).  So I trudged on fixing what I could so that it would be right the next row or closer to right.  Finally last week I finished it.
Enter the other over sight.  It.  Was.  HUGE!  Not a bit bigger, but all out holy crap stretches past one end of the couch to the other...and it's not even blocked yet wow.  Oops.
So aside from the rampant mistakes and oversizedness of it all (I chuckle now because I have been called a "size queen" before and I wouldn't admit to it then...) it looks okay.  I can tell it's not quite right, and I'm sure anyone who has made it and the designer would be able to point out many mistakes.  But it's a gift, it was made with love, and that's all that counts!
Pictures to be added later, and ps I hurt my shoulder wetting it to block because it's so heavy...
...sew many things, sew little thyme for ewe and eye...

Kindle Death! - New Gift Project :D

So I am always looking for neat things to make for people, being a person of currently limited means financially but an abundance of craft supplies it works out nicely (the time element aside).  Just last night I remembered that one of my new besties had mentioned having a Kindle.  Knowing her appreciation for that which is handmade and similar love of skulls as I have I found this pattern on Ravelry and knew I MUST make it.

Melli's Kindle Death Cover
At first I just planned on finding a nice stitch pattern or design, functional but pretty, that would do nicely in the two shades of blue (one solid and the other variegated) that I had leftover from two orders from her previously.  After going through 15 or 20 (I really don't remember though) pages of patterns I at last came upon the one I chose.  I immediately recognized the chart as I had found it while searching for Fair Isle skull charts months upon months before.
***
I started this post a while back figuring that I would be done with it in a fairly short time period.  Due to baby issues, starting a day job, and just needing a break from constant crafting it took a bit longer than I'd thought it would.  In the last hour I finally finished it and will be including a "How to Crochet" booklet with it and a handwritten note.  I'm eager to hear her reaction when she gets it too! :D
...sew many things, sew little thyme for ewe and eye...

Undetermined Entrelac - Part 1

So I started Project "Undetermined Entrelac" last night after scouring Ravelry's patterns and my personal queue for a ruana pattern.  I've done this before so knew I had a few saved but I opted to search again...which resulted in more favorited and queued patterns.  Of course all the ones I was "utterly in love with" were paid patterns (which is perfectly fine, I just don't have the money to spare for the pattern, much less yarn "just for" this piece).
Knowing that a ruana is not exactly rocket science (there is only minimal shaping done) I paused after searching and decided to try my hand at designing one by hand.  Just some ideas thrown out there but with it being basically "a long poncho with the front cut and a shaped neckline" it couldn't possibly be that hard, could it?
As frequently happens to me though, I didn't get just one idea to try out.  I got about ten or so.  After looking over my schematics and thinking to myself how utterly simple this seemed to be I knew that sewing it would be both quicker and easier.  Of course I'm not much of a seamstress so maybe not.  Trusty Google helped me out and directed me to a blogpost where a woman outlined how, in a very straightforward, clear, and text only manner.  I noted the important instructions in the form of a diagram and re-hashed some of my crochet & knit plans to include vital information (like the shaping of the neck) that I had previously forgotten to include or consider.
Returning to peruse again through the saved patterns I noted one that seemed made entirely up of squares.  Thinking it looked somewhat familiar I went back and looked at it again to find that it was from a crochet magazine I happen to enjoy.  I visited the pattern's site and pinned it for later remembrance but read through the description in hopes of having some reference for how it was done and *drumroll* "Tunisian entrelac"....
Now several months ago I had done a search for Tunisian entrelac for a completely different reason.  I saw a version of what I presume was knitted entrelac and said, "Well I'd love to do that if it was crochet..."  Most stitch patterns or techniques have place in both mediums and if not there is at least a way to mimic and "fake it".  So I found myself yet again staring at a webpage detailing the technique and opted to give it another go.
Sure I'll buy the pattern later, but right now I'm impatient, wanted to start this and if nothing else I had yarn just laying about.  So far I have only 1 picture (of the first round) the second exists but is happily trapped on my phone for the moment.  It doesn't look half bad, but it is a pain in the ass that I will not be able to finish it anytime soon given that I'm using scraps.

You can view the project here on Ravelry too.
...sew many things, sew little thyme for ewe and eye...

Mickey Mouse Blankie - Freebie!

In December I had a bunch of orders and coupled with the two custom orders before in November I was quite busy at the end of the year.  With one order I decided to include a nice "extra gift" because I got the idea for it and it was just too cute to not try.  A Mickey Mouse blankie for the plushie I was commissioned to make (so the bunny could be "like him").  I chose Mickey because he is the favorite of the little boy in question.
Lately I've gotten into a lot of Geek and pixel related art  (as becomes evident with my handmade Green Lantern symbol and Galaga "screenshot" hat template).  Working with pixellated images harkens back to those 16 and 32 bit games from "yore", yea that's right the good ole 80s with its comparitive to now bad graphics.  It's also much easier to graph something based on squares for crochet, knit, and cross stitch.
So I finished the blankie, with some minor edits to the color for simplication and to use what I had, and I'm pretty pleased about it.  The buyer is ecstatic and I'm confident her son will love it!

This is the original image I based my chart on.

The finished project turned into a blanket, it was 10.5" x 11" in single crochet.
...sew many things, sew little thyme for ewe and eye...

Seller Beware...

It's universally accepted that "you get what you pay for", but for the seller it's important to consider that your value as an artist or crafter may be determined by the value (monetary) you put on your wares.  This can make selling your art, which you may become attached to, tricky.  There are plenty of blog posts and articles about the hazards of running a business and pricing but my focus here is business & personal...namely dealing with friends (& family).
It's an ugly beast, it really is, to have to deal with the professionality in a personal setting.  For me personally I've run across the issue several times when people who know me personally expect my good will to extend a bit too far, for them to get astronomical deals, or things to be free for them all the time.  Now don't get me wrong.  There are a number of things I'm fine with doing pro-bono or for charity.  And I appreciate what it means to get such gifts as well as I have had many of them this year alone.  But I understand limits, courtesy, and professionality.  The instances I am talking about exhibit those who either don't or aren't considering them.
Way back in early 2010 (maybe even super late 2009) I had someone talk to me about a custom order.  Now my policy typically is that I don't do any work without payment.  Usually it requires me doing something from scratch, to a certain custom size or design and is likely going to take at least two times the work as anything I have already finished.  I love custom orders because they can be a refreshing challenge, what I don't love about them is the explaining of the details to buyers who may have no idea what real skill and/or work is going into something.  It's a necessary evil for artists and crafters though.  People are used to mass manufactured items that are already made and were likely made by machines or mass labor forces.  These items may be cheaply made, either by companies paying the workforce little, or dividing the labor up so that no one person does much work, or by automatic it's production with machinery.  For the purposes of things that are best produced en masse or are generic this is perfectly fine.  I use many things derived from this method myself.  For example, I go to the store for jeans rather than going to a tailor.
This convenience has done the handcrafter and artist a bit of a disservice (while also helping them by allowing their supplies to be more conveniently and cheaply purchased in some cases) as the public wants it inexpensive and wants it now.  People, if they don't do the craft or art you're doing easily won't understand the effort or skill involved.  The particular piece in question do to it's fine detail work too 48 hours to do...Two full days straight worth of hours.  My asking price in general reflects what it should by, but I am cutting the person a deal because they are a friend and because the estimate I gave them at the outset wasn't anywhere near what it is now.  (However, I've had to revamp my pricing, start including labor, and rework some things.)  Still such a large discount should be appreciated rather than complained about.
But between me and you, it's not even that they couldn't pay the full amount it's worth.  I made an error and I won't penalize them for it.  My issue is that in the entire process I have received no direct communication from them about it.  I have had to bring it up each time - which gets sticky when they start off a conversation with "woe as me things are so tough here, I don't have money for this or that...etc".  I have had this person do me favors before and I've done the same.  But whenever I deal with someone and money is involved (or even just time) I make myself very clear what I can and can't do...and keep them updated.  Which is what it all boils down to.  I'm not getting the courtesy that I deserve as their friend, that I have given and then some and that I give to others.
So seller beware.  It's a tricky road when dealing with friends and family and professionality can easily go by the wayside...
...sew many things, sew little thyme for ewe and eye...