Cymbal Jewelry

Below is the latest of my cymbal jewelry. I sell them online through Etsy.

Coin Cymbal Necklace
Coin Cymbal Swirl
Pearl Cymbal Necklace

Custom Arm Warmers

These arm warmers were a custom-order from another seller on Etsy, MinervaOrduno. She picked the colors, which were fun to work with but not my typical style.

Acid Arm Warmers
Acid Arm Warmers

Go Knitta Brain! Go!

You know that knitting consumes your brain when you see someone pull a book from their backpack and swear that the title is "Sweatershop Warriors." Surprised, you squint, trying to catch a glimpse of any patterns from your angle. Are the patterns warrior-like sweaters, or just really amazing delights designed by a gang of sweatershop warriors?

The person adjusts her book and then you realize that the title is in fact "Sweatshop Warriors." You lose interest and stare out the bus window instead.

Filthy Knitted Dread Sack

For you KoL fans out there, my project ended up how I always envisioned the Filthy Knitted Dread Sack to look like. I blame the thick Manos del Uruguay wool and the varegated colors. But, it's still an awesome hat—in a too-hippie-for-me kinda way.

Maniac
Completed Filthy Knitted Dread Sack

Pithy Updato

Baldy

So Pithy!

I decided to participate in a "craft-a-long" through Craftster. I have never before participated in these strange collective efforts, but my understanding is that it's a net-based support group. There's a central pattern or theme, and the interested parties post pics and comments and questions as they work through their projects.

This particular craft-a-long is for "Mary Jane's Pithy Hat". The creator was inspired by and wrote patterns for two different yet similar hats worn by Kristin Dunst in both Spider Man 2 and Elizabethtown. I'm working the open-weave Spider Man 2 hat in a lovely variegated wool from Manos del Uruguay.

My bitchy qualms about the site/pattern: The creator only posts pics of the hats you are supposed to be emulating, but not of the results. I don't quite trust that the finished product is going to look like the movie photos. She does mention that Mary Jane hat from Spider Man 2 will result in a hat with a bias stitch that will not be perfectly straight as the original. Okay, fine. So where's the pic of the results?

Also, for the purist in me, I'm wondering about the choice of using the "purse stitch" for the first hat. It seems to me that there's another stitch that can be used to create that tidy, straight look the open weave in the original possesses. A veil stitch maybe?

I decided that I'm going to work through the pattern as is since I don't mind the purse stitch. Due to an amazing Mother's Day sale at the local yarn store, I did end up purchasing two skeins of the Manos. Depending on whether or not this project takes only one skein (as it's appearing might be the case), I may go back through and re-write the pattern so that it's closer to the original hat.

There's a Hole in My Wallet!

In yet another continuing effort at making environmentally-friendly knits, I have been toying with the idea of using hemp yarn. Deciding to scout out my trusty yarn store after work today, I walked in not realizing they were having a sale. Not just any sale, but a once-a-year extravaganza sale where everything in stock is marked down 20% on Friday, 30% on Saturday, and finally 40% on Sunday in honor of Mother's Day.

Now being in my situation—that is, having suddenly become part-time without warning and soon to become unemployed—a smart person would have walked out the store immediately to return on Sunday. I am not a smart person. Instead, I bought yarn. Lots of yarn. Yarn that I use for my neck warmers, bamboo yarn, and other more expensive yarns that I often avoid. A whopping $100 later, I left with a giant plastic bag in tow.

Also, I blew more money on this book just a few minutes prior to walking to the yarn store.

Knit me some gloves

Unless you're like my cousin who's been knitting scarf after scarf for over ten years, most beginning knitters eventually decide to make the leap beyond the trusty rectangle. Mittens are easy, but...mittens? Aren't those for kindergartners who aren't coordinated enough to realize they need their fingers?

But gloves—now there's a useful item in almost any frigid and brisk weather. Most people begin with fingerless gloves and a slit for the thumb. And while easy, not having a thumb gusset lends that extra "homemade" air to your gloves. Homemade is not bad, but everyone dreams of being asked "Where did you buy those?" rather than "Did you make those?"

Bronwyn, a friend via Etsy, reminded me of this wonderful resource from Interweave Press on "progressive" glove making today. The pdf guides you through the process of making a pair of fingerless gloves with a thumb gusset all the way through to a pair of your very own full-fledged gloves. Also, here's some glove patterns from Interweave, in case you're not quite ready to figure out a pattern on your own.

Bursting With Chocolate

In other news, I participated in my fourth craft swap through Craftster. This time, it was chocolates and chocolate themed crafts that were swapped. Also, I yet again had a swap partner in Canada. This time, she was much, much farther away than Vancouver, B.C. I spent much time stressing about my package and whether or not it would successfully sneak it's illegal way through customs (you cannot ship food across the border). I was relieved to find that it did indeed make it safe and sound to my swap partner.

Here's what she received from me: a box of See's chocolates, assorted high-quality chocolate bars, a box of polymer clay chocolates, a scree printed "Brown Cow" tank.

And here's what I received from her: Assorted Easter chocolates, Pocky, Toblerone, Pop Rocks chocolates, fany chocolate in a "travel tin", a long brown tank that reads "I *heart* chocolate", awesome Resse's chocolate flip flops, choclate flavored lip balms, a Chocolate Rice Krispies journal, and a pink and brown pouch to store my chocolate stash.