Me and Myrna Hitting the Town

So I have been taking Myrna on some dates.  We’ve been spotted hob-knobbing at JoAnns.

From previous posts, you know that my sewing machine is named Myrna.  We have had a hate/love relationship but I think I can safely say that the hate half of that is definitely in the past. 

A little trivia for you, September is National Sewing Month. So Lizzy and I signed up for two sewing classes at Joann’s at half price. We signed up for a Basics Class and a Lazy Pants class.

The Basics class was full, and I quickly realized that Myrna and I had made it a lot further than some of the other people in the class.   But still I learned quite a bit that day.  All about pattern envelopes, how to correctly set my machine, different stitches, etc.  I felt like Myrna and I bonded a little that day.

The Lazy Pants class was this past Saturday.  To say I was nervous was a bit of an understatement.  I had tried to work on a pattern before, and I ended up confused. Very confused.  After the money I had spent on the class, fabric, and pattern, I really needed a wearable finished product.  I needed something to show for my efforts.

Our teacher was Ms. Julia, and I think I love her.  She was the perfect combination of scary and helpful.  Lizzy and I were the only ones in the Lazy pants class, and we were glad because it became very clear that we needed some one-on-one attention. 

My biggest mistake of the class was the fabric buying part.  After my Basics class, I was cocky about reading a pattern envelope.  The pattern envelope said 1 5/8ths yard of fabric, I bought 2 and gloated that I had plenty of fabric, may even make a pillow with the leftovers.   So I show up to class and begin to lay my pattern out, and there is a problem.  I have nowhere near enough fabric.  In fact, Lazy Pants quickly became Lazy Capris since I was so short of fabric.   Do you know what I did?  I bought fabric for the child’s pattern.  The child’s!

Second biggest mistake was the sizing. Check the picture below for confirmation.  You should see me run in these, I look ridiculous.  I am not as thin as I once was, but I am not nearly as big as the pants I made. 

If you are reading this and saying to yourself, It doesn’t sound like that class went very well at all.

You would be wrong.

These are the things that Ms. Julia taught me.

1.      It won’t be perfect, but it will be unique piece that can never be recreated.

2.      Not to be afraid of Myrna.  I did feel as if I developed a comfort level with her, and I think that will lead to only good things.

3.      How to break down a pattern into manageable tasks.

4.      All about grain of fabric and how to ensure my pattern is straight. 

5.      What the hell fold into the fold means. 

6.      How to get the crotch of pants to not look bunchy

So you see, I did actually learn a lot.  And I know that my second pair of lazy pants will actually be pants and maybe even not look so much like parachutes.

I am trying again!  Myrna and I have another date set for Sunday! It is a double date with Lizzy and her machine.

P.S. Find out what Lizzy named her machine...

Yarn Fairies Explosion

I know. I have been non-existent lately.  I apologize.  I have had two different people ask me for another blog update, so I feel inspired to write.  So write I will do.

Yarn Fairies.  If you are a long time reader, you know that this is the name of my yarn art business.  You will also remember that one of my New Year’s Resolutions was to go forward with Yarn Fairies.  I had thought about the possibility of opening a online shop.  There is just one problem with that.

I am SWAMPED!

I personally think that handmade items are coming back.  People are tired of having something that was made commercially by people in other countries who are being paid next to nothing.  People are tired of buying things that are so ordinary and dreadfully boring.   Plus, with all the talented people in the world, if you can buy something unique and you can buy from an artist that personally handcrafted your item.  Why wouldn’t you spend the little extra money?

And that is probably why I am so busy.  Yarn Fairies is participating in the Holiday in SmokeRise Festival again, so I busy working on things to stock the table with.

But I am also busy with personal orders. People have been coming up to me, “hey, can you make this?” And my answer is always the same, “I have no idea, but I am going to try” And I have been trying, and I am not trying to boast.  I have come up with some really cute things.

Here is my current list of just finished, current projects, and to do list

-Elephant hat

-3 Ponchos

-Army Tank Slippers – Size 17 – That is not a typo. It will take 4 balls of yarn to complete.

-Cat costume

-A tiny Dress

-Reindeer Hat

- Snowman Hat

Plus, I need to make more hats to stock our table with.  Most of the above are personal orders that are already sold.

I am trying to remain calm. 

I have a lot of work to do. But if this is a sign that America is turning back to handmade items.  It is a busy that is welcomed.

I haven’t even thought about Christmas presents yet, oh dear.

So you see, I haven’t been ignoring you. I have been busy.

Anna's Blanket

My good friend, Anna, who lives in Florida got married in July. She wanted her wedding gift to be a blanket. Now, Anna is the one of the kindest people I know, especially to animals. So she needed a wonderful blanket! I had this pattern that I have dying to try.

It was intarsia crochet. I had to make 80 squares, sew them together, and then make a border. It took forever. (Think of all the yarn ends I had to sew in and hide) I seriously have 40+ hours into this blanket. And when it was finished, it was amazing..

I tied it with a beautiful bow and packaged it with a sweet card. Telling Anna, that I knew she wouldnt mind all my kitties fur that had made it on the blanket. And shipped it off last Thursday.

I told Anna it would arrive on Saturday.

Monday morning, I checked to make sure the blanket and the pepper jelly that I had mailed off to a friend in IL had both made it to their new homes.

Typed in one tracking number, the package is in Peoria should be delivered today. Perfect. Typed in the other tracking number, the second package is also in Peoria, IL. What?!

i double check. Triple check. to make sure that I hadnt just entered the same number twice. But nope.
I immediately start to feel like I can’t breathe. I wonder if somehow I have written the address on Anna’s blanket incorrectly. What if I have combined the IL and FL addresses, Where will this blanket be sent? The tracking site said, Out for delivery. Will the recipient realize the package was not meant for them, and return to sender? Where in the hell is the blanket that I spent 40+ hours of my life at? Cue hysteria.

According to the USPS website, the package was not delivered and has been marked Missent. I am totally second guessing what address that I actually put on the package.

I am nervous and I am praying that my blanket ends up at Anna’s house in Florida. I would settle for it coming back to me, and I will then hold onto it until I can give it to her myself. At the very least, I hope wherever it ends up. It is with a fellow knitter/crocheter who can recognize the amount of work that went into that blanket and will love it.

Summary Soiree

I have been a little scarce on here, but I do not want you to take that as a sign that I have not been busy.  That is simply not the case.   I have been doing some serious crafting.  Now I am going to short change you today, and give you a summary post.   Many of these deserve a post of their own, but I am clearing these out, so I can get ready for next week.  

1.      My friend, Anna, is getting married at the end of July.   And she requested a blanket.  I already had a pattern that I have been itching to try, so I confirmed the colors and got to work.  Now, from the picture, you can tell it is a complicated pattern.  There are 80 squares in this blanket, plus sewing time and edging.  I would guesstimate that I have about 35+ hours into this blanket.  So yes, I have been busy...  I am extremely happy with the design.  If there is anyone who deserves a blanket of this caliber, it is Anna.  She is such a sweet person and I hope her, John, and this blanket are very happy together.

2.      Our other friend, Dan, got married last Saturday.  I have known Daniel since he was 17 years old, and I have seen him change so much over the years.   We have had some great fun over the years, but I hardly recognized the man that took those vows on Saturday.  He looked so grown up, it brought tears to my eyes.  (I realize I am not much older than he is, but I am using this blog to tell how I really feel.)  I decided to make something a little different for their wedding present.  I bought a cookie sheet, and painted it with several coats of chalk board paint.  Then I added some regular paint and some ribbon.  That is all.   I think it is pretty cute.

3.      I have been into the idea of bohemian head wraps.   I don’t know, and I can’t explain my fascination with them.   This is an earwarming head wrap that I whipped up last night.   Pretty cute, I think.  I plan to experiment with my colors and styles.

4.      Here is the first birthday present that I received this year.   What a great gift!  As you can see from the above picture, they are being used.  These are really going to be great in the Yarn Fairies display.

5.      I am taking the whole week off for my birthday next week, and I have got some BIG plans.  So stayed tuned and be excited.

6.      As always, Stay classy.

Summer Handmade Gift Exchange

Long time readers will know that I did this in November, but Craftaholics Anonymoushosts a summer one as well.  Ever since November, I have been anxiously awaiting this gift exchange.  I had so much fun in November, and couldn’t wait to do it again.   This time around it is a little different, it is being organized through Elfster.  The biggest change is that the person you make a gift for is NOT the person that is making you a gift. 

So my draw was a newly married girl from the Midwest.  In fact, she had only been married for 20 days where I first got her name for the exchange. 

My idea for her gift was not original.   It actually was a variation of the gift I received in November.  I love the B that Caty made for me.  So that was really my inspiration.

Now I have made a deal with myself, that for these gift exchanges, I must try something new. 

Crafters, you are not going to believe this, but I had never used Mod Podge before.  Now that I have bought it, I am finding out all the crazy ways to use Mod Podge and I realize I should have gotten the bigger bottle.

Here is the gift I made. I can remember how excited I was about my new last name and knew this gift would be appreciated by a newlywed.

I am still awaiting my gift.  Great things come to those who wait!

Totally Mine

Like recipes, I will definitely look at a crochet or knitting pattern, and work some of my own ideas into it.  But this idea is totally mine.  Justin's cousin is having a baby girl.  Both of the parents are Troy Alums like myself, so I thought of this idea.   I looked on ravelry, and couldnt find anything close to what was in my head.  So I sat down with my hook and yarn, and I created the picture in my head.  I am so proud of this.  It is just what I imagined. 

I present to you, Baby Girl Trojan hat. 

Craftiness is Contagious

I have been feeling very crafty lately.  This is not unusual for me, but usually my crafts have a common theme or purpose.  But lately, I have been all over the board.  And instead of only working on one or two projects at the time, I am working or thinking about 6 or 7 projects.  I am all over the place, and I have my hands in all kinds of things.  I have set aside some time this week to get some crafting done, so expect some scattered posts detailing my adventures. 

I saw this idea last week.  I have really been interested in up cycling lately.  I decided this was the perfect first project.   We all have old magazines laying around.  We pay for the subscriptions, but after reading them one.  We are done with them.  What do you do with them? Yes, of course you can recycle or throw away.  But I am a little frugal, and I wasn’t quite ready to let go of them.  So I tore them up.

And then I picked out the most colorful pages, and I folded them up again and again.

Then I taped those together, and begun to wind them in a circle.  I kept doing this and I kept doing this.   You have to roll it tight, but not to tight.  This is the most frustrating part...

Once you get the size of circle you want or you get tired of folding and taping.  Start to coax the bowl upwards.  (Or leave it as a trivet, or do smaller ones as a coaster).  You should be very careful with this step or you will pull it too far and end up with a mess.

Then I use some Mod Podge to seal it.  I will probably do another coat this evening.

Let Dry.  And you have a one a kind piece of artwork.  I think this turned our really well.