They should ban me from Jo-Ann Fabrics already....

'cause I shop there WAY too much!

I decided to uh... splurge a bit yesterday... Now. I don't NEED anymore yarn since I have tubs and bins full of it... but of course it HAD to be on sale which meant that I HAD to buy some. Right? Of course.

So... I came home with this:

*coughs*

4 skeins of Patons Classic Wool Merino in Rosewood

3 skeins of Caron's Simply Shadows in Opal Twist

2 skeins of Lion's Brand Landscapes in Country Sunset

3 skeins each of JoAnn Sensations Sophisticates Collection Fever in Purple and Posy

Plus I bought two cable needles (I really want to learn how to make cables!) and some more stitch markers.

AND

I bought the Stitch 'n Bitch Page a Day calendar from the calendar store in the mall.. I can't wait to see what all the patterns are!

Plus I've been working on my Sahara sweater some more. I picked it back up two days ago with 52 rows.. and now I'm up to 63. Yay! I know I didn't get very far, but I'm a sloooooooow knitter. I am going to finish this sweater darnit! lol

Merry Christmas Eve!!

I'm so excited to have two days off from work! lol

I've been watching christmas movies all day and I can't wait for A Christmas Story to come on TBS tonight. I watch it every year.. lol Best christmas movie ever.

I also made another Calorimetry today.. but wasn't really paying too much attention to it and it's way to tiny for me.. lol I could wear it if I attached ties instead of buttons.. but I might frog it and start over. It's not like it takes too long to knit one up anyways.. If I knew someone with a kid, I'd give it to them.. it would fit a child's head perfectly. :D

Ah well.. I wanted to use more of that red and black roving so it's back to spinning for me for the moment. :D

Roving yaaaaaaay

I just got some lovely roving from eBay .. and it came in the mail yesterday! How excited was I? :D 10 oz of wool roving (not sure what kind specifically) that's colored a gorgeous deep red with a black stripe down one side.

The ball (with kitty inspecting)

I couldn't wait to start spinning of course.. lol My second attempt is coming out way better than the first and it's super skinny! I plan on trying to ply this when the singles are done so I'm tying to put the extra twist in it. I found a website with way better instructions than what I used last time, and it's so much easier for me to see what they're explaining now. Plus I think this roving is of better quality than what I previously had since the fibers slide better with less effort.

What I have so far...

Closer shot

x-mas soaps

My mom loved the soaps I made the other day so much, she wanted me to make some for some of the people she works with.. lol I bought two more candy molds (and cracked one already!) and made enough for 8 people. I bought different extracts to scent them with and they smell divine... This time I made banana, cinnamon, chocolate, peppermint, and orange. Yum!

I put them in little glass votive candle holders that I bought from Jo-Ann Fabrics (4 for $1.50!! yay clearance!) and wrapped them in green and red tulle tied with pretty x-mas ribbon. :D She loved them and even gave me $30! Sorry but no pics.. :( The lighting is horrible... but they look pretty I swear!

I've also rolled the Patons yarn I dyed into a ball and started making a simple drop stitch scarf with it.. and I LOVE the colors. The wool ease I dyed came out a horrid shade of pink and my cats got ahold of it and now its a big tangle dmess.. *sigh* I managed to untangle enough for three tiny balls but I have a loooong way to go before I get through it all. :(

Today's soap experiments...

(( all soaps have been added to my etsy shop! Check it out at http://craftsbykaz.etsy.com ))

And here they are! Pics!

First are the chamomile bar soaps. Each bar is appx 4oz and not only has chamomile fragrances added, but also has chamomile right in the bar itself. :D




And the candy shaped pumpkin and chocolate soaps. I used cocoa powder and no coloring for the chocolate ones, and cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and orange coloring for the pumpkin pie ones.






And last but not least, the orange ones! I used orange coloring, orange extract, and dries orange peel in these. :D Aren't they fun?

I spun my first yarn! And other projects of the day...

And I'm proud darnit!

It looks kinda like a lumpy mass of .. well wool.. lol but I'm happy that I managed to get it done! :D

I only got appx 12 yds out of 1/2 oz of roving from the kit and it's anywhere from worsted to bulky I would say... it was hard to keep it even...

I dyed it with kool-aid and I really like the color it made. But what can I knit with only 12 yds of yarn? lol

I've also won an auction for some roving from eBay and I can't wait til that comes so I can try spinning again!. :D

I also made some more melt and pour soaps today. And they actually smell good! I did some larger Chamomile bars, and then some smaller shaped ones that smell liek chocolate, pumkin pie, and orange. Yum! My brother came down and thought they were candy! lol I'll post pics as ssoon as I get them out of the molds...

I also kool aid dyed some Patons Merino wool and Lion's Brand Wool ease yarns. I wasn't sure if the wool ease would dye since it's mostly acrylic, but it did although it didn't come out as nicely as I had hoped. The paton's came out beautifully! I used red, orange and yellow, and left some of the white of the yarn show through. I can't wait til it's all dry so I can wind it into a ball and use it for something!

Spinning Kit

So of course I need a new hobby, right? I'm an idiot. XD

I bought a "Learn to Spin Kit" on eBay and it arrived in the mail today. I dunno... learning how to spin your own yarn looks like fun. I see all these posts about people spinning and dyeing their own yarn, and the results are often stunning. Of course I don't expect to magically be able to dive right in and get it right the first time (or three or five! XD) But it looks like a neat thing to be able to do.

So be expecting future postings with my first attempts at spinning! :D

Gotta get my butt in gear!

I haven't touched Sahara in a few days now.. it's looking rather lonely over in that tote bag. Just thinking of all those rows on circular stockinette is making me cringe right now. I really really want to finish it... maybe later today I'll pick it up and do at least a few more rows. Bit by bit, it'll get done, I swear! XDD

Of course I've gone and started something else in the meantime.. *sigh*

I found this Universal Toe -up Sock Formula on Knitty and decided that maybe i should try to knit up a simple pair of socks since I've never done socks before. I've also never knit on dpns before, so it's been interesting although I haven't gottn very far. I'll have to post pics when I get a little further along.

I also want to either revamp my etsy shop or make a new one.. I'm not too happy with the name/shop banner/etc... My friend Takarra is helping me come up with a new name right now. Expect to see a shiny new shop in the near future with new items! (hopefully)

finished Calorimetry

I actually finished yesterday.. just didn't have a chance to post. :D

I really like the way the striping and colors came out using the Patons SWS. I've been dying to use this skein caus eht ecolors are so pretty. I'm actually pretty happy with how this Calorimetry came out except for the fact it's too wide for my liking. I'm going to be giving it to my friend Takarra, and hopefully she'll like it. :D

Laid out on my bed:

On me: (ignore the messy room!)

Back detail: (love the button!)

And side view:

Knitty: winter 2006

Is up!

Yaaaaaaayyyy!! It chock full of awesome patterns too.. I saw the thread for it on craftster and went to check it out a little while ago.... I've already cast on and started the Calorimetry pattern. :D I'm using Patons SWS (Man I seem to have a lot of that yarn lying around! lol) and I'm loving the way it's turning out so far..

I'm only 14 rows in (out of 40).. and since I'm such a slow knitter, this is actually working up pretty quickly for me. I can't wait to show off the FO! <3

Melt & Pour Soaps... 1st try

I had purchased some soap making supplies a long time ago.. and never got around to making any. Of course. I had the afternoon off from work today so I figured I'd play with it and see what I could come up with...

I made a total of 6 soaps, all with what was SUPPOSED to be an orange vanilla scent... they don't really smell like anything other than.. well soap... lol

I'll have to try something different next time....


The whole lot:




Closeups:

Feline Dim Sum

My fluffy kitty Moki decided he really liked the leftovers of my Patons SWS (the rest of the skein from the armwarmers and the felted coasters) and was playing with the yarn WAY too much, so I figured I'd make a cat toy for him and my other kitty Kilala to play with.

I chose to make the wonton from Knitty's Feline Dim Sum pattern... and while I think i overstuffed it a bit, it came out ok.

I knit it on size 6 needles, using the SWS and did a horrible job at seaming it.. but then again, it's only going to my kitties, so who cares, right? :)

Well, Moki LOVES the thing. He snatched it the second I put it down and I had to steal it away from him just to nab some pics... lol Which is why it looks ratty already... my knitting isn't that bad, I swear!

Well, at least I know my efforts were appreciated!

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And the scarf slowly progresses...

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Sleeping kitty...

mrrow?

kitty!...

simple scarf... WIP

Started working on a simple ribbed scarf with super bulky yarn on size 13 needles.

Carrot animals

Aren't they cute? I went to a sushi place with my friend Matt and they made these little guys out of carrots. They look like they were carved from one carrot each. I want to learn how to do this one day! lol

More jewelry....

Apparently I forgot I had a blog.. again.. >_<


I've made a few things since my last post.. these are available in my etsy shop.
http://craftsbykaz.etsy.com





Gold and Black sprialy bracelet and matching earrings... and two random bracelets with beads.... I also cracheted a bath puff using Lily's Sugar & Cream cotton yarn. (not available for sale) and while it looks super cute, it's not really practical since it takes FOREVER to dry... :( I might make another one in microspun yarn or something that might dry faster. Not sure yet.














I've also started knitting StitchDiva's Sahara sweater . I'm only up to the part where you joint the front and back.. My goal is to finish it before next wednesday so if it comes out ok, I'll wear it to my work's xmas party. :D No pics yet.. it's too curly and weird looking at the moment to get any good shots. More updates soon though! <3

Fun with Beads!!

I've been wanting to dive into the crazy world of beading and try making some jewelry... I had a field day at JoAnn Fabrics and bought a bunch of supplies that I thought I'd need. Ignoring the fact of course that I have tons of beads at home tht I've bought previously and still haven't touched.. *sheepish look*

I made one necklace last night.. I think it's kinda nifty. It's pretty simple...

Pink and blue tye dye beads strung on blue wire...

Closer view

Modeled on me!

2nd round of felting

.. for attempt #2 coaster..

and I think it looks a LOT better now!

It's now appx 4 1/2 " in diameter and felted enough so that the stitches don't show all that much... It feels pretty dense, and I'm not sure if it's small enough yet... What size are coasters anyways? I'll have to look that up.. lol

I like it so far! I want to buy more wool yarns and make different shapes like stars and flowers to felt into coasters to sell on my etsy.. but we'll see.. :D

Felted coasters attempt #2

Yup, attempt numbah two here!

I crocheted a circle this time.. 6 rounds and appx 7" in diameter, still using the Patons SWS.




I threw it in the wash with some towels.. and then in the dryer. Was it supposed to go in the dryer? Oh well. I ended up with this...

It shrank to appx 5 1/2" in diameter ans you can see the stitches still so it's not as felted as I would like it to be. I'm wondering if it would be better to throw it in the wash again or to try handfelting in the sink.

Felted coasters attempt #1

I posted my armwarmers on craftster and someone showed me the felted coaster they had made with Patons SWS. So of course I wanted to try it out. :D

She knitted hers in the round on dpns.. I have never used dpns before.. but I can crochet innstead, right?

Attempt #1

Made a small granny square thinking it might felt enough to hide the holes nd make a square coaster...
not too bad, right?











ok. on to felting!
I decided to just try hand felting it in the sink for a bit.. I don't have any laundry to do yet and why waste a whole washer on one tiny thing, right? Played with it in the sink for maybe 15 mons with hot water and dish soap.

Wow. What happened? lol
It looks like a lumpy mess of wool.. XD
It actually looks lumpier in the picture than in real life.. but it's the perfect size for a coke can! So I'll keep it as a reminder of what not to do next time.

ok.. attempt #1. Failed.

Attempt #2?
I guess I'll try and make a circle and see if that works. *crosses fingers*