general adventures in craftiness

Friday, July 30, 2004

Rock Your Body

I've got the body of the tank finally finished. I've been going between knitting this and doing house projects, so it took a bit longer than anticipated. Now I get to do the fun part...grafting on the lengthways pink and green stripes!

PS I'll be doing the Nike Run Hit Wonder on Sunday morning. I can't wait to see Devo!

Wednesday, July 21, 2004

So Far, So Good

I've been out of town, but have managed to do a little knitting on the tank. I've got about four or five more inches to go before I start the armholes. I've also been contemplating putting up my remaining bazaar items for sale here too, but I'm not sure. I'll decide when I get back home!

Monday, July 19, 2004

Bummer

Unfortunately, the bazaar did not get a very large turnout on Saturday. I'm estimating around 50 people. I actually did okay in terms of sales, but it was very disappointing. I guess summer isn't a good bazaar time. It seems that the holiday bazaar is a better idea since people are looking to shop for gifts. We'll try it again another time!

Regarding some comments I received on my previous bazaar-related entry: The flower pins only had buttons on one side. There is a pin on the back side that I sewed on and then ironed an Action Hero label over to hide the stitching. I made small and big sizes for both the pins and the kerchiefs and the flowers were priced at $9/$11 and the kerchiefs went for $15/$18. I think it worked in my favor to price my items under $20. This Swoon summer bazaar was organized by crafty girlfriends who just wanted to try and sell some of their handmade goods. I have never written up the crocheted flower pattern, but will try to do so in the coming weeks and post it here on my blog. I'll also include a photo tutorial.

Friday, July 16, 2004

Just a Reminder



Swoon, A Summer Bazaar
Unique handmade treasures by local Portland artists
Saturday, July 17, 2004
Noon to 4 p.m.
2124 NE 37th Avenue, Portland

Thursday, July 15, 2004

New Project


I decided I needed to do more summer knitting and selected this tank from Rebecca 27. The pattern called for GGH Samoa, which I wanted to use, but I didn't find any colors I liked. So, I opted for the Gedifra Wellness. My tank will also be white but with pink and green stripes. I think this tank will be really fun to work on because it is knit entirely in one piece, with the lengthways stripes grafted on later. I have already started and am done with about five inches of the body.

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Tanked


I started in on the edging last night while at a friend's hosue. I finished it around 11, but when I got home and tried it on, I noticed that the armholes and hem were a little too stretched out because I had picked up stitches in practically every stitch. What to do? Rip all the edging out, stay up until 1:30 a.m., and recrochet it until it's done right!

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Seams Right to Me

The tangerine stripe tank is ready for seaming! Then all I need to do is crochet the edging along the armholes, the hem, and the neckline. After blocking, the ribbony stitches look much better and more uniform. This tank is turning out much better than expected.

Monday, July 12, 2004

Get Ready, Get Set



Last night, I started gathering everything together for the bazaar on Saturday. I ironed on Action Hero labels to the backs of all the crocheted flowers, I packed all needed supplies into my crate, including a tablecloth, some placemats, pens, price lists, receipt book, etc. I have no idea how many people wil be showing up, but hopefully we will have enough merchandise to sell!

Thursday, July 08, 2004

Oh Well

The back of the tank is blocking. I finished it last night while watcing Tour de France coverage. I think this will probably be my last project with ribbon yarn. I have decided that I don't particularly like it. I should have ordered the Schachenmayr Aurora from Elann. I think that would have more closely matched the Tahki Lily that was called for in the pattern. But I needed the instant gratification of going to my LYS and I really liked the color. This ribbon yarn is at least a centimeter wide, and that doesn't make it easy to create uniform looking stitches.

Monday, July 05, 2004

It's Done

I finished seaming the sweater yesterday and managed to wear it during the evening as I watched TV in the cool confines of my basement. It fits perfectly and the cotton feels really nice. It is a bit cropped, but I would probably wear something underneath it. I also love the open vee neck and the collar. Aside from the miscalculated cable instructions, I would definitely recommend this project. It was a quick and fun knit!

Thursday, July 01, 2004

Road Trip



I have been in the Columbia Gorge since yesterday attending a conference. I snapped a couple of photos from my hotel room. The first photo shows the Bridge of the Gods, which you cross to go from Oregon to Washington. The other just shows the gorgeous view. I also managed to start the tank last night after all the workshop sessions had ended. I originally started to make a medium size tank, but the ribbon yarn creates such a stretchy fabric that I decided to frog and start the smallest size instead.