Month: December 2013

First Garment Project! A Shrug

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The Yarn

Company/Store: Malabrigo Finito
Colorway: #870 Candombe
Weight/Length: Sport Weight/200 yards per skein (I have 4 skeins)
Material: 100% Superfine Merino Wool

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 I saw this yarn at Uncommon Threads during a sale and had to get the last 4 they had, I knew I was going to make something for myself with this yarn so I kept it until I came across a neat pattern. It is soft and colorful, the colors go from soft to deep but not too much. Just lovely!

The Pattern

Name: Nuts and Spice Shrug – Ravelry Link
Author: Kim Driggs

I found this pattern while I was browsing Ravelry one night and thought it would be a perfect project for this yarn. I had enough yarn plus extra so I thought I would give my first garment a try. I had learned the basic Tunisian Simple Stitch awhile back from a YouTube video so I felt  confident I could figure this out. Here is a picture of the first arm I did.

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Once I got the basic pattern down it was easy going for the arms and back sections using a 2 section repeat. I was feeling pretty confident at this point, checking the size as I went to make sure it was going to fit me. It worked up pretty quick and in a few days of off and on work I completed it already! Of course it helped that it was over the holiday so I had some extra time.

Final Stats

Size: Based on the pattern I would call this Medium, I upped the initial size to the next larger size recommended because I wanted it to be a bit wider in the arms, which I am glad I did and would likely go up a size again if I made another one just so it is a bit more roomy. It fits though and will be great to use during warmer months to cover my shoulders.
Yarn Used: I used about 2.5 skeins so about 500 yards total for this shrug.

I only made 1 change to the pattern. Instead of following the instructions for the border I opted to do 4 rows of fpdc, bpdc. I tried the border a few times and it was just not looking right for some reason, the instructions were not hard to understand, I just didn’t like how mine was looking. The pattern is nicely written and easy to follow however I do recommend getting some experience with basic Tunisian crochet first before diving into this pattern, it will be easier to follow if you do.

I will get a photo of me wearing it soon too I just missed the light today to get one in before I posted this.

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Thanks for stopping by!

 

Vending Event! – Sunday Dec 15th – Indie Holiday Emporium

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Join me on Sunday, December 15th for the Indie Holiday Emporium, over 25 vendors and yours truly will be there! The event is both days but I will be vending only on Sunday. Click the photo to be taken to the Facebook Event page with all the details! Hope you see you there!

 

My Tree Ornament #SFEtsy #MeetandMake Event Recap!

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This past Friday I hosted the December SFEtsy Team Meet and Make at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles!

The craft design I chose was a little cone shaped Christmas Tree, check out the promo photo for my example below.

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I got the initial idea because one thing I always enjoyed doing going up was decorating our Christmas tree at home with all of the ornaments we made as kids over the years. We always opted for the homemade ornaments over store bought ones, they always were more interesting and sentimental.

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I drew up the shape, got some felt and cut out a bunch of shapes from a magazine while I was designing my prototype. After a few different attempts I was successful with the way it came together and wrote up instructions and the cutout shape I used.  (Links to files at the bottom so you can make your very own ornament!)

The museum gave me a budget to get supplies so I was able to get many colors of felt, holiday paper, threads and other decorations. Check out the supply table we had set up for everyone to use.

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South Bay SFEtsy Team Leader Jen (Mama’s Magic Studio) was there to help!

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We had a great group of crafters show up and they made some amazingly creative trees, here is a gallery of trees that were all made at this event. I am so impressed with what they came up with and so proud they shared their Friday evening with me!

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Thank you so much for those that came out, I had a great time seeing all the cute ornaments you made!

Want to get the instructions to make your own tree ornament? You can download the PDF’s for yourself:

Written Instructions: Craftsbyionyka-HolidayTreeOrnament1

Tree Shape Cutout: Craftsbyionyka-HolidayTreeOrnament2

Thanks so much for stopping by!

#Mashup – Monochrome Scarf

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The Yarn

Company/Store: Tess Yarns (bought at the Feb 2013 Stitches West yarn show)
Colorway: Variegated white to light gray to medium grey (the label does not specify a name or #)
Weight/Length: Superwash Merino/570 yds
Material: 100% Wool

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I wish I had taken a photo of the yarn before I balled it up, it was beautiful, but I forgot so you will have to imagine these whites and grays looking like this prior to me winding it up.

Now I want this color too….

The Pattern

I tried about 6 or 7 different patterns before I opted to try something similar to the pattern I used for a few of my scarves already. I used the Aquatic Blossom pattern as my base and altered a few key elements.

First, instead of the foundation chain being [ch5, then tr in first ch, repeat] I shortened it to [ch3, then dc in first ch, repeat], this created a shorter star pattern that I like better for this yarn. I wanted it to not be too airy or be able to see through the stitches. For the rest of the pattern I followed it like normal but instead of triple crochets I used double crochets. It created this really neat ripple pattern with the stars and the color changing in parts also looks like wide stripes.

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So far I am liking this pattern, I have done 3 full rounds, it will be a circle scarf. 570 yards is a lot so I will see how thick I end up making this and maybe I will have some left over for a few bracelets or a headband hopefully. Either way I love this yarn and the monochrome colors, hence its name! More photos once its finished!

Final Stats

Size: 6 inches wide by 57 inches in total length, 8 total rows were made with this 1 row repeat pattern.
Yarn Used: I had a lot of yarn left over from this project so I also made a hat to go with it! So I can estimate that I used approximately 300 yards for the scarf. I love how it started to zig zag the colors as the rows were built. Very happy with how it came out, its light but warm!

This item is For Sale! Link to Etsy Product Listing!

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Thanks for stopping by!