neonfoxtongue

Friday I'm in Love: Knitted Summer Wrap

Another long week.  Progress on our apartment feels really slow and the list of things to-do seems never ending.  I'm trying not to get down about it and I really hope to get more done this weekend, but I have to accept the fact that this is a long process.  A long process that will involve installing a lot of shelving.

To keep my spirits up, I'm seeking inspiration wherever I can find it.  Yesterday, I found it in moocowhandknit's Etsy shop.

 

This Summer Wrap actually makes me want to pick up some knitting needles.  Haven't felt that way in a while.  If I could figure out how to make one of these (it looks pretty easy, even for a beginner - though I have no idea how she got both ends on the ring), I think I'd do it in black. Or maybe yellow. Or teal.  The one great thing about this is that I wouldn't have to do any unpacking or organizing to get started on it.  That probably partially explains why I like it so much! :)

nft made: knitted recorder pouch

Here's a project that was long in the making, but almost as long in getting it photographed and blogged about!  After my three-week knitting class in January, I needed an easy project to try so The Leopard suggested that I knit a pouch for his digital recorder.  He uses the recorder at gigs so he can listen afterwards and work to improve his set, as well as to post some of his live music on his blog. It didn't come with a case though, so he wanted something to protect it while it's kicking around in his bag.  I found some nice yarn in the colour he requested and set to work.  It started off pretty well, but I worked at it very slowly.  February was filled with packing up our flat in London and getting ready for our trip and March was spent *on* our trip, so I didn't get back to it until April when we were back in Canada.

At the end of April, the pouch looked like this:

 

I finished it in early May and stitched it together (which was as easy as I had hoped!).  However, I didn't have anything appropriate to thread through the drawsting holes I made.  I used some satin yellow ribbon as a temporary measure (so The Leopard could use it), but it really didn't suit it of course.  I finally made it to Fabricland a few weeks ago and found some cool cord that was the right thickness.  I'd love to find some thicker leather cord in a darker colour, but this will definitely do for now.

Here's the completed pouch in all it's glory!

 

 

It's not perfect, but it works!  Need to keep up with the knitting though - I've really been neglecting it these days.  I think I need an easy project that uses big needles and thick yarn.  And isn't too hot to work with in the summer.  Is that even possible?  I'll do some research and get back to you on that.

Creative Goals Monday: Knitting Unblocked!

Welcome to Knit Town, population: me!  Well, actually population: millions, but that also includes me!  I'm happy to report that I'm excited about knitting again.  One of my creative goals last week was to get over my knit block, which was caused by my trouble with the lacy scarf pattern I've been trying to make.  To get over my block, I decided to completely ignore the scarf and to just knit. I made a small swatch of multi-coloured yarn and practiced some stitches.  I also started on new cuff, using the 3.25mm needles that arrived from London in our shipped boxes, suitcases and music equipment.  (Aside: So happy to have my crafty supplies back!) I'm keeping the stitches simple enough for me to knit while watching movies or TV, so it's a lot easier for me to just pick up the work and go for it. 

I did really well on my other goals too.  I made not one, but two birthday cards, one Artist Trading Card, and I reconciled all my project ideas into my large sketch book.  Even better, I didn't do all of these things in one day, meaning that I had several creative days during the week, which is also a goal of mine.  So I'm pretty proud of my creative accomplishments this past week.  **pats self on back**

For this coming week, my creative goals are:

• Work on the lacy scarf
• Work on other easier knitting projects
• Re-organize my craft supplies so I can find things easily.
• Make another ATC
• Work on my blog banner (I have the tool I need now!)

I've decided that my reward for finishing the lacy scarf will be to buy myself this book.  Hopefully, that will help keep me on track!

Here's some visual stimulus for this post - the graduation card I made for my cousin.  She graduated from college in Washington DC on Friday.  I can remember holding her when she was just a few months old and now she's a college grad - crazy!

The photo (mine) is of the city walls of Dubrovnik, Croatia. It's a beautiful city and was one of the highlights of our travels in March.

Wishing you a creative week!

("Creative Goals" font is Monbijoux by Billy Argel)

Creative Goals Monday: Card Success, Knit Fail

I must have knitters block.  I just can't seem to make the time to knit, because let's face it, I'm unemployed so I have the time.  I'm avoiding it. I'm just not into figuring out the lacy scarf pattern.  So I have to unblock myself somehow.  Perhaps I need to just play with some stitches and swatches again.  Anyone have any other ideas?

So yeah, as you can probably guess, I didn't meet my knitting goal from last week.  But I met my other three goals so I'm happy about that.  I'm really pleased with how my Mother's Day cards and the graduation card turned out.  And I sketched out how I want my blog banner to look.  I'll need to work on it some more, as well as wait for a key tool that I want to use, which is currently waiting in storage for a certain government agency to decide if our shipment from London can be released to us.  But I'm liking how it's looking so far.

Last week was pretty great for project ideas too.  I came up with a few on my own, and I also got to brainstorm with another friend on a great project she wants to execute.  I realised that I have a whole lot of ideas, doodles and sketches in various notebooks, sketch pads and scraps of paper, so one my new creative goals is to consolidate them in one place as much as possible.  But before we get into this week's goals, here are the Mother's Day cards:



Here's the one for my Mother-in-Law.  It's a combination of papers from various sources, including The Paper Place and a freebie print-out from Martha (I think).

 
Here's the one I made for my Mom, using papers from an Autumn Leaves set that my aunt had bought on special and let me have a few sheets.  Both my Mom and I love poppies so it was a no brainer to use them for her card.

I only have to make one card this week, so it gives me a chance to have more diverse goals for the week:

• one birthday card
• make a couple of ATCs
• reconcile all my creative ideas and sketches into one place
• get over my knitting block...somehow!
• continue working on my blog design

Hopefully next week I'll be able to update that I'm back to knitting.  I don't want to push myself too much because I always want to enjoy knitting (or any crafty endeavour for that matter), but I think I do need to push myself a bit in this case to get over the block.  Wish me luck!

Hope you have a creative week!

Creative Goals Monday: yarn, paper and design

It's funny, I usually start writing my Creative Goals Monday posts feeling a bit disappointed with my crafty efforts of the past week, but when I review the goals I made the week previous, I'm surprised to find that I've pretty much met them.  Does this mean that my weekly goals are too eady, or that I tend to forget how much craftiness I got up to?  Maybe it's a little of both, but I do think it might be time to be make my weekly goals just a bit more challenging.

This past week, I planned out a few cards but didn't do much in the way of putting them together.  I also worked on my two knitting projects, the lacy scarf and the pouch for The Leopard's digital recorder.  I ran into some trouble with the lacy scarf and unfortunately had to pull out two rows of knitting.  I need to do a bit of research on one of the stitches (yarn over); I thought I was doing it properly, but it just isn't working out.  But I still think I can figure it out.

The pouch is coming along though.  When I last posted a pic of it, it looked like this.  Now it looks like this:
I've made a few mistakes, including a huge slipped stitch (or something) which resulted in a pretty big hole.  Thankfully, the yarn hides most of the issues.  I figure I only need a few more rows and then I'm going add some on purpose holes for a drawstring. 

So for this week's (more challenging) goals, I'm going to:

• Knit every day: finish the knitting part of the pouch and figure out the pattern for the scar
• Make three cards: two birthday, one retirement
• Work on a new design for my blog, including a banner for my Friday I'm in Love posts

The Leopard and I are working on being better with our time management and daily schedule these days, so I'm hoping that setting more challenging creative goals will help me in this respect. In fact, I've met my non-crafty goals for today, so I'm going to leave the 'puter now and go and enjoy the sunshine with my knitting needles!

Have you set any creative goals this week? 

Project pics: knitted cuff and birthday cards

Because Monday`s post was a bit photo deprived and I have a few completed projects to post about, this post post is going to be photo heavy and short on text. I don`t have to blather on all the time!*

So here`s my first completed knitted project in all its (non) glory.
 

I admit that my favourite things about this project are the materials - the awesome button I bought here and the super soft cotton yarn.  But I`m pretty proud that I made the cuff without a pattern and just figured it out as I went along.  Plus, I love moss stitch and I`m glad I chose it for this project.  I figure it`s a decent first attempt and I definitely want to try to make another one, probably less wide and with smaller needles (I used 4.5mm).

Here are two birthday cards I made and gave recently:

 

They`re both pretty simple designs because I`m working with a limited amount of crafty tools, particularly stamps and inks.  The first one was for my aunt - I bought the floral/leaf patterned paper in at The Papery in Ottawa and I'm glad I got finally got to use it for a card.  The second card was for my cousin, who turned 22 this month so I used ink and sparkle glue to highlight that.  This photo doesn't do the sparkles justice unfortunately. 

And because I feel like adding one more pic, here's one from our walk in High Park last Friday.

I didn't realise that the park had a little zoo!  This king of the hill was doing a great impression of a mountain goat, but he's actually a sheep!  Who knew?  You learn something new every day!

*Just most of the time!

Creative Goals Monday: First knitting project completed!

I`m a bit late with this Creative Goals Monday post - I don`t usually blog this late in the day.  But I got caught up with other things today, including applying for jobs, which as much as I hate to admit, is slightly more important than my blogging.  In fact, I was so wrapped up in other stuff, I forgot to take photos of the two items I finished this week, including my first knitting project.  So I`ll have to take pics and post them tomorrow.  My knitted cuff turned out okay - it`s definitely the work of a beginner, but I`m still pretty proud of myself.  And I`m also feeling good enough to start on another project, but more on that later.

I was pretty successful meeting last week`s creative goals.  I made one of the two cards I wanted to make and planned most of the other one (I have couple more days before I have to mail it).  I finished the cuff and I sketched and doodled for just over a half hour, focusing mostly on a design for a blog banner.  In addition, I knitted more of the pouch I`m making for The Leopard`s digital recorder.  So all in all, it was a pretty crafty week!

For this week`s goals, I want to:

• finish the card I`ve planned
• start two more birthday cards
• knit more of the pouch
• work on my new knitting project: a lacy scarf!

I got the pattern and yarn for the lacy scarf at The Knit Café on Sunday.  When I looked at the pattern, I was thrilled to see that I actually understood every part of it!  I felt it was a sign that I should give it a try.  So far, I`ve cast on the stitches (58! - the most I`ve done yet) and knit one row.  I want to try and work on it almost every day if I can to see how long it will take me.

So I`m determined to have another crafty week, along with a bunch of job hunting and applying.  And because I don`t want to make this post completely photo free, below is a pic of the patterned (more patterns!) roof of a church in Budapest, Hungary.

 

Those would make lovely cross stitch designs, wouldn`t they? :)

Creative Goals Monday: 50%

Hello!  Well, this week's Creative Goals update is on time, but it's going to have to be a quick one.  The Leopard and I are still very busy moving out of our flat and packing for our trip.  We fly to Bucharest, Romania bright and early tomorrow morning!  So. Excited!  But also a bit stressed because there's still lots to do!

So how did I do with the two goals I set myself last Tuesday?  I managed one out two.  Not great, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it.  I just wasn't able to make the card for my former manager.  Instead, I thanked her in person and said the nice things I wanted to put in the card.  I think she appreciated it and I know she wouldn't have expected a card anyway.

I did manage to do a few rows of knitting on Sunday morning though.  I needed to focus on something that didn't involve organising or packing for a bit.  The pouch I started a few weeks ago is finally coming along!

 
I made a bunch of mistakes, but luckily the yarn hides them reasonably well.  I figure I need a another five or so rows and I'm going to add little holes for a drawstring.  Unfortunately, this project has now been packed away and I won't be able to work on it until I get back to Canada in early April.  But I promise an update on it then.

As for future short-term goals, I've decided to set a few for the trip.  We'll be gone for four weeks and I know we'll be seeing all sorts of beautiful and inspiring things, so I'm going to do my best to record them in two ways - with my sketch book and with my journal.  Hopefully by doing this, I'll be able to capture ideas for new creative projects, as well as a good memory of our trip.

I'm also bringing some yarn and needles and will try to knit myself I cuff bracelet because I've always wanted one.  We'll see how that goes!

As I'm sure you can guess, blogging won't be my first priority while I'm on vacation.  I've decided to suspend the Friday I'm in Love feature for March, but I will try to write a couple of nft project posts in advance before we leave and post them throughout the month so that you don't forget about me completely. :)  And if I am able to write little posts about what we're seeing and doing on our trip, I certainly will - especially if there are any craft related items!

Alright - must get going.  Hope you have a great month!  

-nft

Creative Goals Monday: Re-group and move on

One my closest friends was having a flustering and stressful (flusterful, if you will) day a couple of years ago.  I can't remember all the circumstances, but I know at one point during that day, she ended up pulling up to a parking attendants' booth with one of her contact lenses on her finger, scrambling to find money to pay. The attendant took a look at her flustered and apologetic face and said, "it's okay. Re-group and move on." 

How perfect is that?  We now say this to each other (and ourselves) to keep from focusing too much on past 'failures' and to get motivated for the future.  Re-group and move on.

It's going to be my mantra for this CG Monday post.

As noted in my last (short) post, I've been sick. As far as plagues go, this one was initially manageable.  I was able to go to work without feeling too miserable, as long as I vegged out completely in the evenings and slept well (hello earplugs!).  I only went out one night - Thursday - to The Leopard's gig (which was great, by the way), and I payed for it later.  I was totally out of commission Friday night and all day Saturday.  I'm on the mend now, thanks some TLC from my hubby and a bunch of couch time with The Gilmore Girls (season 3, to be precise).

So I think you can guess how successful I was with the goals I set for myself in last Monday's post.  All I managed to work on was my knitting.  Not a lot, but enough to make some progress at least.  I didn't get a birthday card to my friend C though, which is too bad, but I will try to make and send her a little something this month.  I think she'll be okay with an e-mail for now - she's a pretty easy going person.

Back to knitting.  I've started the pouch for The Leopard's digital recorder.  He wanted 'olive' coloured yarn, so I found a lovely tweed at the beading and stitching shop next door to us. 

I'm doing it in rib and it's cool to see how the stitch looks and feels with a chunky yarn.  My stitches a still messy, but I'm getting good practice.  Hopefully, I'll have a productive week with it.

So now that I've re-grouped, it's time to move on.  Here are my goals for this week:

• knitting
• doodling
• birthday cards and valentines

My week is a bit busy socially, but I think I can still enjoy some creative success.  Just have to make sure I get enough rest and eat well, so I don't suffer a relapse from the plague.  I'll also try to post about a recently completed project mid-week and will definitely have a Friday I'm in Love post for you this week.  Onward and upward!

Have a great week!

Creative Goals Monday: I can knit!

I'm feeling quite good about my CG Monday update today because I achieved the goals I set for myself last week.  I also had my last knitting class, where I succeeded in learning the remaining basics that I has wanted to learn.  I now feel confident enough to say that I can knit.  Perhaps not beautifully or 'perfectly' (if there is such a thing), but well enough to start making projects, which should only help me to learn more and improve.  So, I've successfully completed an item on my creative goals list.  Go me! 

Since my last knitting class, I've practiced a bit more and have even received my first commission!  The Leopard has asked that I knit him a pouch that will protect a piece of valuable music equipment that he brings to his gigs.  I bought the yarn yesterday and I'm excited to give it a go.  I'll provide updates on how its going.  I've also requested an invitation from Ravelry, which I've been told is a great place for ideas, tips and patterns. 

Here are the my last two swatches, where I tried out yarn overs (small, on-purpose holes), adding another colour of yarn, and increasing/decreasing.



I know how to make tiny bikini tops already!

I also made and posted two birthday cards, one of which has already been received and (happily) admired.  I'll post photos of them soon.

Finally, on Saturday, I spent a good 30 mins. with my sketch book, pens and pencils.  It was a doodling session; nothing fancy, but I like playing around with patterns and hand drawn fonts.

So it was a pretty successful week for my creative goals. 

For this week, my goals are:

• Make one birthday card
• Work on my first knitting project
• Do some more doodling
• Start decorating the journal I'll be taking on our trip 

 Good luck with your weekly goals, creative or otherwise!















("Creative Goals" font is Monbijoux by Billy Argel)