I’ve been in a weird place lately, creatively. as major projects have been getting finished up, I’ve been left a little lost… not that I lack things that need to get done. there are still a ton of UFOs waiting to be finished up. there are projects waiting to be started. there is tons that *could* be done… but none of them are filling me with joy and excitement at the moment.
so, as I pawed my way through the UFO box looking for something to work on for a little bit while I worked up some enthusiasm for starting some new “work” projects, I came across this kit from Buttercup Miniatures for a 1/12 scale aran sweater. it technically isn’t a UFO, since it hadn’t been started… but it was in that box because I consider it one of those projects for myself that I always mean to but never manage to finish up… so, I decided to cast it on and have it be my little treat to get me over the hump.
WHEEE!
I am loving this tiny little knit! and I’m even cabling without using the tiny cable needle that came in the kit! what is most surprising of all, is how fast this is flying along. I’m hoping to have the back finished very soon. my goal is to stop at that point and get a bit of work project accomplishment done… i’ll use the next stage of this as my carrot to get me to finish some stuff up.
Today would have been Charles Dickens‘ 199th birthday, and Cooperative Press is pleased to announce that preorders for What Would Madame Defarge Knit? open today in honor of the author whose formidable character Thérèse Defarge inspired Heather Ordover’s book. If it’s been a while since your last literature class, remember that in A Tale of Two Cities Defarge knits and knits, secretly encoding the names of people she will have killed. Vive la révolution?
Don’t worry, there isn’t a murder prerequisite to love this book! Ordover, the creator of popular podcast CraftLit, has assembled an inspiring and thought-provoking collection of 20+ patterns, as well as essays and other tidbits inspired by literature, illustrated in a black-and-white woodcut style that pays tribute to Dickensian-era publishing.
You may be interested to know that this book will be the first Cooperative Press release where all designers receive a direct royalty share of each sale. Our Fresh Designs series, which will be out later this year, is set up similarly. Instead of a small, one-time payment for their work at the beginning (and not a penny afterwards, no matter how many copies the book sells), designers have an opportunity to earn an unlimited payment for their work.
Visit the WWMDfK? website for more about the book’s contributors and other behind-the-scenes information. As of today’s pre-release, the book is 200+ pages, illustrated.
LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER — ($45)
Signed, with extras. This is a special creation and will be limited to less than 100 copies, numbered. Shipping is included, as is a PDF copy of the book.
DIGITAL EDITION — PDF ($16.95)
PRINT EDITION ($26.95)
DIGITAL (PDF) + PRINT ($26.95)
E-READER EDITION ($16.95) (For Kindle, Nook, Sony e-Reader, iPad, etc)
Today starts the pre-orders of WWMDfK! and to celebrate, here’s a little Peter Pan fun.
In the book, Wendy offers Peter a kiss… and when he is confused by this, she gives him a thimble as a “kiss” instead. Peter gives Wendy an acorn “kiss” in return.
My original acorn was made from some of my hand dyed and hand carded wool. When I went to make up this tutorial, I realized I was out of dyed wool after a mass cat toy production for Christmas! So, instead, the wool I’m demonstrating with is white undyed wool. I think these acorns are cute in any color, so let your color preferences guide you.
The first part of this tutorial is making the felt bead to fit into your acorn cap. There are two options on how to make your bead, wet felting or needle felting. The second section of this tutorial is how to wire wrap your acorn cap to make a sturdy and decorative bail.
Option 1: Wet Felting
Wet felting takes much less time to form the beads and uses fewer materials.
materials needed:
- hot water
- dish soap
- wool
Fill a bowl or your sink with hot water and a small squirt of dish soap. Wrap your wool into a little ball.
Dunk your ball of wool into the hot soapy water.
Roll the wet wool between your palms very gently. If you roll hard, it will distort your ball and you will end up with creases in your finished bead. You will start to feel it firm up a bit as the outer layer of wool starts to form a felted shell.
Now you can roll harder to compress the ball and felt the core. If you like a more pointy acorn, roll your bead into more of an egg shape. Once the bead is fully felted, you won’t be able to change the shape, so make sure to start forming it into either a ball or egg before it is too far along. Let your bead air dry for 24 hours.
Option 2: Needle Felting
Needle felting takes a bit more time and uses some specialty tools… but the end result has a little nicer finish to me.
materials needed:
- needle felting needle
- foam
- wool
Form your wool into a little ball. Try to wind your ball as tightly as possible to cut down on the amount of time it will take to felt. Using the felting needle, jab into the wool repeatedly with short shallow stabs. Try to keep your needle straight as you jab away, and turn the ball often to keep your shaping even. Focus a bit on one end to help form an egg shape. Keep jabbing your wool until you have a nice sturdy bead… don’t feel you have to get it as compressed and firm as it can go.
optional finishing:
If you wish, you can give your needle felted bead a quick wet felt finish to make the surface strands of wool felt a bit more and give a smoother finish.
Wire Wrapping the Cap:
Materials Needed:
- acorn cap
- small drill
- wire
- wire cutter
- round nose pliers
(although you can see other pliers on my work table, you really only need the round nose pliers for this project)
Drill though the top of your acorn cap in the stem area.
Feed a section of wire through your hole. Wrap a short tail around the stem.
Wrap a short tail around the stem.
Finish the short end by curling it into a spiral (or forming it into a leaf) with your round nose pliers.
Form a loop with the other tail of wire.
Using your round nose pliers, twist the loop to form your bail. Orient the bail so that the acorn will sit nicely on your chain.
Wrap the end of your wire around the stem again, and curl into another spiral to finish.
Add a drop of glue into the cap and snug your felted bead in. Allow to dry.
That’s It, all done!
Add a chain and wear your kiss proudly. Or add a key ring and give it to your own Peter.
There will be more Peter Pan related offerings here in the future once the book has shipped and we get the green light to start revealing more about it. Stay tuned!
well, everything is gearing up for the launch of WWMDfK… preorders go on sale monday 2/7. meanwhile, I am still hands tied from showing you any of my recent goodies…
so, until I get the go ahead to start posting any peeks, here’s a little something I’ve been meaning to post about.
this lace scarf was made for a friend who was trying to quit smoking… the good old fashioned bribery way. all she had to do was make it 2 months straight without a cigarette, and the scarf was hers!
originally, I tried a shell pattern…
but the pattern left holes too big – guaranteed to catch on fingers, etc. so I frogged it and started again with an old favorite.
Project Page over on Ravelry:
www.ravelry.com/projects/esmecat/party-lace-scarf-2
and, while I’m at it, let me take a moment for shameless self promotion… I now have a brand-spanken-new-fresh-outta-the-box Facebook “Fan” page.
once again, as the year end approaches, I have been spending time thinking and planning for the coming year. somehow I seem to get caught up in it every year. this year, I almost didn’t have time to think…. but it snuck up on me, and the last few days have found me spending many moments thinking about projects and challenges.
last year, I set myself a theme… overcoming inertia. in many ways, I failed to keep it.; in all the ways I had been thinking of, when I planned it. it wasn’t my fault. many outside forces caused changes in our lives this last year that prevented many of the things I had planned on. looking at it in that strict light, it could be rather disappointing… but there is more to it than just that one side of the story. while lots of things had to be put aside or left out… there were many wonderful things that came in as well! this past year really brought some changes and growth that I am extremely proud of.
and so. a new year. a new plan.
the first thing that is really on my mind is the idea of being creative in some small way, every day. there are lots of 365 challenges out there (like project 365 or crafting 365)… and they all look fun… but i’m just planning to do it my way and just try to be creative in some way every single day… and to keep a record of it in a new journal, just to see how things progress through the year. i’m going to try to snap a photo (quick and dirty… nothing elegant and staged here) of what I’m working on each day and pasting small shots into my creativity 365 journal. i wont be posting all those photos on here… i won’t even be posting about all that I’m up to… i know i would fail to keep a promise like that! but i will be posting as often as i can manage into the category Creativity 365.
the next thing that comes to mind, is the need to make myself a priority. when it comes to all the stuff i do, i often am always trying to meet deadlines on planned gifts or projects for others. i find it almost impossible to find or justify time to create things for myself. this year, i want to make it a goal to change this attitude. i think i will use the folks over at Crafting for Ourselves as an inspiration.
and finally, i want to make sure to stretch. not just coast along, doing the easy things… but to push my skills and exercise my imagination. for the moment, Iron Craft looks like a good creative prompt. once a week is a good schedule to push to do something… too often would be sure to be dropped fairly quickly when life prevented me from keeping up.
so there you have it. it isn’t that big of a plan… but it is a plan. and one i think will be achievable.
on that note, I’ll leave you with some sketching practice fun… i wish i could leave you with a peek of what I’ve really been up to for the last few months, but that will have to wait till the book comes out Feb. 7th.
Looking for some holiday cards?
One of my illustrations has been turned into
a great free holiday card pdf download
over at the WWMDFK site.
Go grab em while they are hot!!
Happy Holidays!
these cuties were another of the little gifts I made for my husband for his birthday 2010. he is a construction worker… and he is a terrible mess much of the time! he tends to organize things in a strata formation, relying on chronology to find things. these little guys, besides being a cute nod to his work, will be great for setting out around areas of the house where he is in process of sorting through the layers of life. then it will be easier to see it as “in progress”… and not just “in the way.”
btw, my backstrap loom bag got mentioned on Laverne’s Backstrap Weaving blog! if you are at all interested in backstrap weaving, Laverne is an awesome inspiration and wonderful teacher.
this little guy was one of the gifts I made for my beloved, Paul, for his birthday this year. isn’t he cute? he’s actually fairly small… he can sit easily on a shoulder as a friendly familiar.
he is made from the Slightly Fierce (but really friendly!) Dragon pattern.
because it was all I had handy in good colors, I made him out of scrap sock yarn doubled with a 3mm hook. I couldn’t resist using that green for his body. the colors were just too perfect!
he is jointed and the legs and pose-able. because he is very lightly stuffed in the neck and tail, he can hold a bit of a position. i thought about adding chenille stems to help with the that a little too late to use them on him… but in future dragons, I’m going to add them to the neck and tail.
he is full of little details that give him lots of character… like the brow ridges and his great ears. I had to learn a little bit of crochet with my left hand in order to mirror the ears properly… but it was worth it. and the ears are very small and quick, so not too bad.
adding a little bit of curve to the wings when sewing them to his back (opposite the natural curve of the shaping) helps them to stand up well without any help.
now I want one for myself! out of handspun!! he is definitely going back in the queue.
this shawl was a gift for my SIL’s mother. she was going through some serious health issues, and this was my way of sending our prayers on for her…
I love shawls that utilize multiple lace patterns. they help keep the knitting interesting… and they always look great. this was a really fun pattern to make.
