a new tool in my tool belt

my mother-in-law picked up crochet recently. I always thought it looked so much harder than knitting so I had no interest in learning. anytime I saw anyone crochet I just couldn't figure out what they were doing.

I was inspired after I saw my mother-in-law take off with it to look up some how-to videos (mostly for her to watch) and it looked simple enough that I gave it a shot.

I altered this pattern (by accident) and did a slip stitch instead of single crochet, but I liked how it looked and just kept on going.

this scarf cost me less than a buck to make in materials! I bought a sweater a while ago (3 years, maybe?) from a thrift store for a dollar and I got 4 large balls of thin, chenille-like yarn from it, only one of which I used one for this scarf.

it worked up so quick that I'm very inspired to see what else I can do in crochet! :)

cupcake box how-to

remember the Valentine mini cheesecake box? well, here's how I did it.

you'll need:
-2 small shirt box tops (mine were roughly 8x11x1) and 1 bottom of the same size box
-clear Mylar sheet (I had some presentation covers in the office that were just collecting dust)
-extra cardboard the same thickness as your shirt box (old shirt box or a cereal box works well, just keep in mind you'll see it)
-x-acto blade
-glue
-straight edge
-cutting mat
-scissors
-round things to trace around

take a circle shaped item slightly larger than your cupcakes and trace around it on some junk mail postcard or paper. take a smaller sized circular object and trace it on either side of the bigger circle. cut out the shape to use as a template.

take the bottom and fold it flat with the inside facing up.

trace around your template as many times as you need holes for your cupcakes, spaced evenly. putting the template on an angle helps save space.

cut out the holes traced.

take a top and fold flat inside facing up like before.

place a small round object (a wine cork or coin work well) in the corners and trace around them.

connect with straight lines.

cut out hole and save for later.

cut 2 strips from the saved top piece twice the depth of the box, and just a little shorter than the width of the box. cut 2 more from the extra cardboard the same as the first two, but make them just a little shorter than the width of the box. angle and round two of the ends or the 2 shorter strips and one longer one. make a score line lengthwise down the other long strip to make your box hinge. if you forget and angle the hinge strip it's okay, it's just not necessary to do so.

cut the Mylar to a little bit smaller than your box and glue to the inside of the top of the box.

glue the strips to the insides of the sides of the top of the box. (this reads weird, but I dunno how else to say it!)

glue the scored strip to one of the sides of the box bottom, and then to the box top to make the hinge.

glue the corners closed to the holder portion of the box so it doesn't collapse, and place inside the bottom of the box.

shut the box and tuck the flaps inside the box if they fit, or leave them to the outside.

that's it! decorate it with paint or stickers or whatever and fill with cupcakes, or onesies, and tie a ribbon around it.

sunflower

so I'm finally able to post this project now that the recipient has seen it! it's the first flower I did before the ring I made. this one took about 12 hours to stitch up, but it kinda flew by doing a little at a time while listening to music and the first installment of The City Life Supplement.

for the petals I did a picot stitch in rounds for 7 rows, starting from the center and making each row progressively larger

did a bunch of french knots for the middle

and I went around the edge in a green chain stitch

I finished the back side like this lady did on her blog, but I used a piece of metal from a biscuit can and cut it to the same size I traced from the inside of the hoop.

I had originally envisioned larger petals that would spill over the frame on the hoop, but the picot stitch didn't come out right when I did it on a bigger scale. I can go longer with it, but wider didn't look so good. I think I know how to correct this, but after all these petals and french knots, I think it'll be a little while before I pick it back up again ;)

knit socks

I tried to knit some boot cuffs, but only made it through one before I decided I wanted full socks instead so I wasn't always having to situate them while wearing them.

it's kinda hard to find tall socks for boots, so I've been using men's socks and folding down over-the-knee socks. then I stumbled across these videos for knitting socks by Very Pink Knits.

I was always so intimidated with a knitting project that involves shaping until I saw these! she shows exactly what ya hafta do - so helpful! when I see a knitting pattern I get lost looking at K1, P2, K2T, SSK, PSSO, R2D2... I just give up before I attempt it, but now that I've seen it done I'm inspired to knit some for next fall.

boot extensions

I found these boots at Payless and got them in brown and black during BOGO. they can be worn "up or down", but I wanted them to also be taller, so I whipped up some extensions that go over the top of the boot.

I measured the boot where the bottom of the extension will wrap around, how tall I wanted them to go up my calf, then measured how big around my calf was at the point I measured up to on my leg.

I made a pie wedge looking pattern and rounded the top and bottom a bit and tweaked it to fit around my leg.

I added an inch on each side the eyelets went on, and half an inch to the top and bottom for seam allowances. I used the measurements sans the seam allowances for the lining and spray glued them to the insides of the vinyl. folded the seam allowances over the lining and straight stitched down. vinyl doesn't fray so the edges don't need to be finished, and the lining is sandwiched on the inside of the seam allowances so that's taken care of.

nifty tip for top sewing vinyl or other "sticky" fabrics if you don't have a walking foot - put scotch tape on the bottom side of the presser foot. helps it glide better and not get stuck. I used to use baby powder... which is probably really bad for the machine if it collects inside and dries up the oil :\
also, pounding the vinyl with a hammer in the corners helps flatten the thickness of the fabric down so it's not so bulky to sew over when you have multiple layers.

once all the stitching was done, I just measured for the eyelets (the extra inch seam allowance and the lining doubled as a stabilizer), pounded those in place, and then laced them up with some black t-shirt yarn. I think I'd like to find some good stretchy elastic instead so they're easier to get off and on, but the shirt was all I had that I could make work at the time.

skinny jeans

I saw these knitted boot cuffs on Etsy - how cute are they? I'm glad it's getting warmer out, but sorta sad that the season to wear these is almost over.

growing up in boot cut has made it hard for me to get used to the idea of skinny's, but out of curiosity I took some stretchy jeans I already had and skinnified them using this tutorial:

try getting that song out of your head now... you're welcome.

they came out alright, I guess - still getting used to them. if the style lasts until it's cold again maybe I'll get to try some boots cuffs, but for now I've been using them to fit into my taller boots :)

daddy's gift

I made Matt a "rock" for Leo to give him for Valentine's Day. I found this tutorial on making faux lava rock from black polymer clay and thought I'd see if I could do it since it's something I already have in my craft closet.

mine came out more like a river stone (which is what Matt said :P), but I think it's still cute :)

I need to get more pictures of Matt and Leo together and maybe I can glue this to a frame or something so it has a place to be and doesn't get lost in the shuffle of things!

I really like this idea and wanna try it sometime, too.

my Joe

Tuesday night my kitty passed on :( his health had been going downhill for a little while and I suspected he wasn't going to live for a whole lot longer (he would have been 15 this October), but it was still a shock to find him gone.

Joe was always a big cat. he ate like a goldfish and it caused some pretty bad UTIs over the years, but he always pulled through. I think he was up to 22lbs at one point. I don't know what he weighed in the end, but he started thinning out last year and was looking more normal. then the weight just kept coming off and he started to worry me, but he never let on that he didn't feel well.

Joe had two names and he answered to both. you could rub your fingers together and he'd show up for you to pet his head. he was really good at knowing when I wasn't well and would sit in my lap and not bug me for food... as much! he also knew how to annoy me. he would disguise trying to get my goat with affection and rub up against my legs when I was wearing black dress pants. he would come over and lay on top of anything I was working on in the floor like he didn't notice I was cutting fabric or wrapping a gift or knitting. he was also good at mooching food off of Leo.

he was the cat that would sleep on your head and push you off your pillow at night. I loved waking up to a furry tummy in my face and a really loud purr with that smug look he had like "yeah, I gradually stole your spot while you were sleeping.", but Matt is allergic so we had to stop letting Joe sleep in our room at night a few years ago (I tortured Matt with him for a while before I gave in) and he stayed in the garage after that. he liked to sleep in the floor of my MG until we gutted it, then he made a nest in the pile of parts.

Joe liked to open my kitchen cabinets - it was always kinda creepy to walk in and see him in the middle of the floor and all the doors open. reminded me of The 6th Sense.
he also enjoyed water from a cup better than the same water in his bowl - I guess he thought we were holding out the good stuff on him? - so we had to be careful not to leave glasses out at night or he'd knock them over for a sip on his midnight prowls.

I loved how he would chase Duke when he had enough of the dogs yapping at him, and how he'd catch mayflies with his hands and put them in his mouth.
I used to give him tuna water when he was younger (until I learned that's a bad thing :\ ) so he would come running anytime he heard me even pick up a can of anything. he was a meat eater. he loved Thanksgiving leftovers. he got to where we could hold out our hand and say "turkey?" and he'd bolt across the room and nearly bite our fingers off, even if we didn't have anything!

Joe was pretty much how he's always been his whole life, and besides moving a little slower and getting skinny, that's how he was until the end - that I am grateful for.
when my dad came over to take me and Leo out for dinner he was normal-Joe. we came back not even an hour later and he was gone :(
I'm so sad he's not here anymore. I still hear his noises in the garage and think I see him in the room out of the corner of my eye.
he was with me for more than half my life and I miss him terribly.