Delicious Yarns

updates

2011-11-10T00:03:00.001-05:00

I will be participating in two more craft shows before the end of the year! If you are in the greater Lansing area please come check it out, and not just for me! I was part of the second show last year and I can tell you there is just tons and tons of awesome stuff people make and sell there. I think I actually finished up all of my Christmas shopping there last year!

Woman's Day Craft Show
What: Holiday Shopping
Where: Charlar PLace
4230 Charlar Drive
Holt, MI 48842
When: Sunday, Nov 29th 2011, 1pm-5pm
Who: Food and Beverage, Pantry to the Linen Closet, Kitchen to Bath, Health and Beauty, Fashion and Design... And More!
Also, each booth will be donating an item for the Relay for Life Auction Tent.

9th Annual Hometown Christmas Bazaar, Sponsored by The Friendship Guild
Saturday, Dec 3rd 2011, 9am-4pm
First Congregational Church
300 S. Main St.
Eaton Rapids, MI 48827
Tons of holiday crafts, food, jewelry, knit and crochet goods, handspun yarn and roving, health and beauty goods, accessories, and just so much more!

In other news, i've somehow started listening to podcasts. Knitting and Spinning podcasts, to be precise. I enjoy it because it's like i'm at knitting group and part of the conversation but i don't actually have to talk or stop knitting/spinning to gesture wildly with my hands while talking...
I started listening to the Stash and Burn podcast from the very first episode and I was totally hooked. Listen while knitting, listen while cleaning, listen at work (only when i'm allowed i promise!). And because of them, i found out about Just One More Row Podcast. And now i'm listening to them from episode one. I love it. I almost like Just One More Row better because I feel like we are in the same time of our life- I'm not married, I don't have kids, I spin, have an Etsy store and do craft shows (you're coming to those two, right?)

2011-06-26T15:17:00.004-04:00

Sigh, i'm terrible at this thing.
A few things that happened since my last post:

My birthday! it was a low key thing with friends and i enjoyed it very much.
I finished a crochet blanket that i had started very shortly i had started crocheting, perhaps 5 years ago? Here it is on my full size bed.
I got overwhelmed with work, but still had time to dye things for a craft show with Flint Handmade on May 7th (pictures of the event here! {also a picture of me at my booth- i'm on the right})
I heard about many more craft shows in Flint and got overwhelmed with work again that I didn't respond in time for most of them. Boo.
I finished a pair of socks!
And I did a multitude of other things i have since forgotten.

As far as the future goes, I do have some exciting news. I'm moving to a new apartment in exactly 30 days, and i'll have my very own dedicated craft room! Well, that's not entirely true... I'll still have to share- but at least it wont have to fight for space in my bedroom or living room any more! In an attempt to make my life easier, I decided that i needed to organize and get rid of things before i could even think of packing. And in this spirit i've started uploading pictures of my stash on ravelry. I do have some yarn that I have for sale/trade if you're interested. Also in an effort to organize and reduce the stash i have more that i'm willing to trade, but i think i'll let my friends have first dibs of it.

2011-02-18T22:43:00.003-05:00

Just a quick little update to let you know i've posted some brand new handspun yarn into my etsy shop. I have to say it's pretty darn awesome. http://www.etsy.com/shop/icemelon

In just under two weeks is my birthday... i might also have a little present in the form of a coupon code for my etsy shop!

2011-02-17T13:32:00.002-05:00

I’ve only ever been half organized when it came to my yarn and spinning stuff. When I moved into my new apartment over the summer I had set up some of the wire mesh cubes I had in my old room, but they just were too… blah. I had been eyeing a shelving unit from IKEA for who knows how many years now, and I finally had enough money and a big enough car to tote it home in. I put it together all by myself one night and dragged it into my bedroom where the old cubes had been. I sort of haphazardly transferred everything over and there it sat like that for a few months. Finally I decided to re-organize it and clean off the top which had accumulated lots of odds and ends.

It’s kind of a tight fit at the end of my bed but it was the only spot there was enough wall space. This shelf is sort of gigantic, and I absolutely love it! There are plants that live on top because they are my cats favorite plants to eat, (Oh yeah, I acquired two cats recently too, but I suppose that’s another blog post!) and it’s easier to close the bedroom door when I’m not home rather then come home to a plant knocked over dirt everywhere. This happened once.

There are bins that fit oh-so-perfectly that had originally been bought for the old cubes. I think I would have been totally heart broken if they didn’t fit, because I wouldn’t have gone ahead and bought the new shelf. Only buy what works with what you have, right?

The contents of the cubes are as follows (from upper left zigzagging down): The green half bin has thank you cards, extra business cards, and random paper goods for my etsy. Next are pattern books, magazines, and buttons. Also there is some fiber that’s been recently dyed I just shoved in there. The next cube is my Dream in Color yarn stash, which doesn’t fit into the next bin: the brown bin is full of my “nice” yarn. Pretty much anything that isn’t acrylic and also my sock yarn. The green bin directly under is full of fiber to spin. The dotted bin has my own handspun yarn I just can’t bring myself to sell. The next cube has a divider in it that actually makes four little cubby holes, and right now there is random yarn, FOs, and a WIP. Next to that is cotton in a plastic container and crochet hooks and knitting needles. Below that is my ball winder, swift, a cd spindle I made years ago, and leftover handspun bits. The wicker bin has odds and ends. The next brown bin has undyed fiber. The cube with the Amazon box sticking out has some etsy items that are listed, along with shipping materials. The bottom row is pretty much random yarn/odds and ends. As you can see I keep my laundry detergent down there... but it’s right next to the laundry basket so that makes sense, right?

Whew, that was a lot of explaining! How does everyone else keep their hobbies organized? Oh, and here’s a close-up of that Dream in Color cube, how could I resist?

2011-02-08T13:18:00.002-05:00

Between getting more hours at work and then changing jobs (and working even more at the new one) and moving into a new apartment (and never bothering to get internet), I've sort of let things get pushed into the background. Since I started knitting last year I've never really looked back. I still haven't tackled any very large projects, but I did sort of stumble into sock knitting.

These are socks I made for the boyfriend for Christmas. It sort of took me a year to finish these, because they were meant for his birthday earlier last year. I'd like to think that because he had to wait so long to get them it made him appreciate them more!

I think for the future if i'm going to knit something for a present, I should just assume it wont be done at the nearest holiday. I say this because i'm still trying to finish projects meant for this past xmas.. nearing two months ago.

2009-10-09T15:17:00.003-04:00

Now that the weather has changed thoroughly from summer into fall (including rain that isn't quite rain but still manages to chill you to the bone), i've been wearing more handmade items. One of these happens to be some socks a friend knit for me out of my own handspun yarn.

These were probably finished sometime near the end of april, but in the summer i try to stay away from socks as humanly possible! (and even now that it's only 50F degrees, i'm still finding ways to not wear socks. Hello, slip-ons!) These are amazing... the quality of her work is something that i can only hope to get to with years of practice.

The yarn was from superwash merino roving which i dyed with acid dyes, and then spun into a dk/sport weight(ish) yarn. 2ply.
While this makes them super cuddly and soft and yummy, it also means they pill. A lot. I should take a picture of them today, it's a sharp contrast. New vs lived in. I still think i like the latter best.

2009-07-28T15:11:00.002-04:00

I learned to knit.

So I made some stuff. (this is project 4 or 5- first were hats, this is a darkside cowl (rav link))

I dyed a thing.

Nature spun sport weight, dyed with acid dyes. Currently it's being worked into an itty bitty baby hat.

More to come?

2009-04-16T16:53:00.002-04:00

I've updated my shop with more Falkland roving. I've dyed all the Falkland I had, and listed most of it. Of course I'm keeping some for myself, though! Depending on how much I love it when it's a finished yarn, I may order more.

My mom and I are working on a super secret project together, too! Some of my friends already know about it, but shh! Once we get it off the ground, I'll let you know what's goin on, and it's really exciting! (and shiny.. did i mention shiny?)

Tomorrow looks like a dye day with with the friend who's knitting socks out of my handspun yarn. I'm so excited!

2009-04-09T13:17:00.002-04:00

Well I've managed to make a mini update on my Etsy with a few rovings. I think I actually need to start listing them as "Combed top" because i guess that's technically what it is. But how many people search for combed top when they're looking for it? Maybe I'll poke around and see what other sellers think.
Well, anyway, here are a few pictures. They are all Falkland wool, which I haven't actually spun with yet myself. I've saved a few from this batch though so I can get a better feel of how the wool spins and how the color changes.

Other than that, my friend has two Blythe dolls and I've been experimenting making tiny crochet clothes...

2009-03-25T14:26:00.002-04:00

Six pounds!

That's how much wool came in the mail a few days ago! I got a mix of Falkland, Blue Faced Leicester, and Merino roving. So far I've only dyed about a pound of it, with big plans for the rest. Look for a major shop update sometime in the next week or so- I've been working a lot lately at my day job so unfortunately sometimes I have to push the Etsy love back a bit.

However, I did manage to finish some yummy yarns last week!

First was Some roving I grabbed from Shunklies Etsy shop just before my birthday. Merino and silk, so nice and soft! There were a few different purples blended together, which after spinning came together to make one soft purple. I decided to preserve that soft and squishy feeling of the roving i'd spin a nice bulky yarn. In the end I plied it from a center pull ball, which resulted in the bulkiest softest yarn ever!

The other yarn is a SOCK WEIGHT. Yes, let that sink in for a minute. It's 4oz, about 330 yards. My first sock yarn ever! It's superwash too, which is pretty awesome! I showed it to my friend whom also spins (and knits!) and she graciously offered to knit me a pair of socks from it. My very first sock yarn into my very first pair of handknit socks! The roving we actually dyed together and i really had my doubts... my mom saw it and dubbed it "the dried blood roving". So, not so pleasant but the colors actually came out really soft and dark purple-pinkish. This yarn certaintly isn't totally sock weight by any stretch, with some thicker and thinner parts, but overall it's balanced and enough yardage to get a pair of socks :)

I'll let you know when i'm ready to do an etsy update! My shop is going to be packed full of new rovings!

2009-03-17T01:11:00.002-04:00

Updates? What are those?
It was my birthday...um, two weeks ago. I guess that was going to be my excuse last week, but then I failed.
I've been dyeing lots of wool though, and I've managed to complete a project that wasn't a hat.
First, the project. Loosely based on these, (rav link) I used mini mochi and a smallish hook and just sort of ... made them. Ugh, I'm so bad at that... i see something I like and I think, hey, I could totally pull that off. And then i don't buy the pattern, and i feel sorta bad for just makin myself stuff.

I'm only showing you this picture because damn, don't my hands look good? I'm pretty sure my hands never look that good in real life.
I don't know why people have a beef with mini mochi! I'm pretty much in love with it, except that i really don't like thin yarn very much. So that means when Crystal Palace rolls out Mochi 5, a worsted weight, I will probably go crazy and get every skein I can find of it.

Ooooorrr maybe not, because i'm poor.
Anyway, more details here, another rav link.

I also updated my shop with a few more rovings. And you know what? you should buy them. Becuase i'm poor. but more reason than that- they're awesome and soft and wonderful and the colors are amazing. That, and I just bought a rediculous amount of new stuff to dye and well. Lets just leave it at rediculous, ok?

2009-02-27T21:41:00.002-05:00

Ah, not much time to do a long post, but i've updated my shop!

http://icemelon.etsy.com

I've added three rovings, all inspired by Homer's Odyssey. Unfortunately my internet keeps on going in and out, so i'm pretty frustrated about spending time on updating if it isn't going to work. but for the time being, some eye candy in the form of yarn I spun from Yarnzombie's Roving balls.

2009-02-27T00:30:00.002-05:00

Stay tuned, tomorrow i'm thinking there's gonna be a shop update, and a blog update!
Isn't that exciting!?

..Yeah, I didn't think it would be too terribly exciting, but work with me here! New rovings, perhaps a few more hats and maybe even something for the kiddies! I've spun a few new yarns too, but i'm not sure if they're going on etsy or not.
Oh, and some new crochet projects! They're secret until tomorrow :)

2009-02-02T13:07:00.002-05:00

Needless to say, I always feel like I'm a few days behind.
Which, brings me to my next statement: These pictures are more than a few days old.
This is my Christmas Cactus, which always seems more like a valentines cactus if you ask me. The nubs are a bit bigger now, but nothing has started to open yet.

I did manage to dye a couple of ounces of roving this past week as well, using Easter egg dyes. I had bought them maybe last year, already out of season, if you will. I was with a friend sort of half teaching her how to dye and we were discussing how old these must be, so It really came to no surprise when we plopped them into their cups and-
"oh, my, what IS that color supposed to be?"
"Brown? No, maybe it was supposed to be purple, but wait, that can't be right?"
And so started the dyeing session! We dyed the last of my wool mill ends, which was only an ounce or two, into this weird blueish brownish color pool.
I also had four ounces of Blue Faced Leicester which we dyed a more pretty blue and pink.

Yeah, it's a pretty crappy picture but they were still drying. The BFL is on the left, and the mill ends are on the right. I'm still trying to decide how to spin these up... 2-ply, bulky single, or a fun art yarn with lots of extras?
I'm not sure, but I get the feeling that it'll take a few days...

2009-01-29T22:42:00.002-05:00

Ugh, sick again.
It's really just a cold at this point, with a bit of a sore throat thrown in for good measure. The worst was waking myself up coughing this morning, but the most annoying is the constant drip, drip, drip from my nose. You know when you have one of those good cries and everything just goes everywhere and, well, you know what i mean, right?
It's like that, except all outta my nose.

Yeah i know, you probably didn't need that mental picture today did you?
I was going to try to catch up with some things i've been working on such, but I just can't bring myself to do it when i feel like i just want to curl up into a snotty ball and sleep for days!

Ah well, maybe tomorrow right?

2009-01-26T21:54:00.003-05:00

I don't know how i forgot about this yarn i spun last week. It's a blend of baby alpaca, carbonized bamboo, merino and lots of angelina sparkle. i made the rolags on my hand carders and didn't stop until i ran out the stuff i had out for blending. the alpaca and merino were dyed by me with a mix of plain food coloring and professional acid dyes. acid dyes are scary! i mean, the fact that i have to wear a protective mask when mixing the powders? scary!
Then again, i'm used to working with food coloring, which at best stains your fingers for a day or two. ah well.

Back to the yarn!

weighing in just under 3 oz, it's about 70 some yards of navajo plied squishy goodness! seriously, seriously soft stuff here. I think i might just keep it for myself... as long as i can find a pattern that fits it! Otherwise i don't know if i can justify letting it sit with no use, it's seriously that awesome.

Does anyone have any ideas for this super soft and squishy and sparkly and other S-adjectives yarn?

2009-01-23T13:22:00.002-05:00

Things on my to-do list today included taking a shower and not being a bum.

Considering it's almost 2 o'clock in the afternoon and I haven't done either, that's pretty bad.

but I'd like to think I have a really good excuse! Well alright, not a really good excuse. Probably not even a pretty crappy excuse. I blame the weather:

It's been like this for weeks now. It's been above freezing all of three days this month, and probably only for a few hours at that. That isn't to say that it's been snowing non-stop, it's just that the snow hasn't melted yet. Which means there's probably a good foot of snow on the ground that just wont go away! It doesn't help that it really hasn't been very sunny either. Ehh, don't get me wrong, Michigan is fine, winter is fine, but the no sun bit sort of grinds on me.

In better spirited news, I bought a huge 8oz thing of Northern Lights in Violets, and spun it all up last week. I made a ripple cowl out of one skein. I really didn't check out a pattern, I just sort of made a starting chain and went from there. I'm glad it didn't turn out massive or tiny, and holy crap is it soft! I really was not expecting to get something that soft out of the roving, which I felt was a little scratchy and sort of low quality... But that isn't to say I wont buy it again. I was left with another skein of 2 ply, and a single.

That's pretty much all I've been up to in the fiber world.
Classes started again last week, and I've only got two classes this time around. Hopefully I'll be less stressed knowing that I'm almost done at LCC, and these classes seem like they're really straightforward and fairly easy. Time will tell though, I guess. I get pretty bad by the end of the semester with homework and things like actually going to class. We'll see!

2009-01-13T23:57:00.002-05:00

A little while back, I won some yarn from a blog giveaway here: http://peasoupoftheday.blogspot.com/

I had no idea what to do with it. 300 yards of superwash wool? I didn't want to just simply make another hat, oh no- this yarn was special. I carried this yarn in my purse for weeks on end, just hoping that one of the zillion times I had to dig in my purse for my wallet or keys would magically grant me realization of what to do with this yarn. I tossed around a few ideas here and there, but nothing really seemed appropriate. Until a few days ago, that is. My plan came through fruition on Sunday afternoon, while spending some time at my Dad's house.
I give you, the Divine Cowl.

I decided to use a stitch pattern from rheatheylia to work it's magic. I just sort of started in the middle of the pattern, after making a starting chain and slip stitching into the first chain to make a loop. I did not expect the yarn to line up colors like this, but after the second round I noticed what it was doing, so I tried to keep my tension steady so as to continue what it was doing.

Isn't that just magic?

2009-01-05T22:54:00.004-05:00

I just finished this hat for a friend of a friend.
I made it using Jo-ann's sensations Natural Collection, Dream Weave in Purple.

Simple ear flap hat, with braids and pom-poms. No real pattern, but because I've made so many hats I just sort of go for it. I pretty much only bought the yarn because I thought it was the color she'd want. She said bright purple wool yarn- but the only yarn I could find that matched this was this stuff. And it was sort of expensive (for me) even though it was on sale for just under $5. I had seen this yarn before though and really liked the feel of it- And realistically though, who can beat a yarn that's 75% wool, 25% silk for that price?

I doubled up on the yarn, holding two strands together for a thicker fabric. I knew I needed over 100 yards to complete the hat itself without the flaps, braids, and poms so that was at least two balls right there. I decided on five because it seemed most logical at the time. Two for the majority of the hat, two more for the rest and flaps, and the fifth just in case I didn't have enough for the poms. Well, I ended up using just under three balls of yarn. Which is fine, but I'm also slightly annoyed that I spent that extra almost $10 on yarn that I didn't need. (which again would be fine, except that I'm not making as much money at my new day job...)

In any case, this hat is very warm. I wore it around the house for a few minutes after taking pictures and I didn't want to take it off! I hope she enjoys it, and maybe I can make myself a hat with the extra- perhaps minus the pom-poms.

2008-12-18T12:20:00.002-05:00

The show was a success! Well, I guess more of a success then those days at the farmers market went. especially at 3 hours making over $50 with no booth fee vs 6 hours making just under $50 at the market with a booth fee.
I sold a handful of hats (mostly to the boyfriends co-workers- thanks guys and enjoy!) and sold out of the scrubbies. The felt bead bracelets that mom made are always being looked at and I really think she should make some more colors when she gets the chance. I'm sure they'd do really well on etsy, actually. Anyway, I did sell one of bracelets to someone- I think it was going to be a gift.

Gave away all my cards, as well. I only had 40 to start with so i was kinda stingy to begin but i figured going home with no cards is better than not giving any away.

I have no idea when the next time I'll be able to run a booth will be, but I'm thinking after the next few weeks I'll be able to get back into the swing of spinning and crocheting some new stuff.

2008-12-17T01:26:00.002-05:00

This has been all over the craft world recently: Save Handmade Toys From the CPSIA

Basically, because of all the recalls on child's toys last year, congress wants to make testing for lead and such mandatory. This will be considerably easy on large manufacturers, but unfortunately this covers all toys- yep, even handmade. This covers more than toys actually, down to clothing and other things intended for children under 12.

Have a neighbor that makes cloth diapers and sells them on etsy? Say goodbye to that- unless they can come up with the money to spend (upwards of $4,000 PER ITEM) to cover tests to make sure they're lead free.

So here are a few links so you can help.

http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/

http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/ComponentPartsComments.pdf

2008-12-12T16:08:00.002-05:00

Craft Show!

Wed, Dec 17th 11am-2pm @ LCC- Gannon Building 2nd and 3rd floor lobbies.

If you're going to be in the Lansing Area this coming Wednesday, come check this show out. there's going to be tons of people selling their crafts, sort of a last minute holiday shopping thing. It's put on by Employee Wellness which is a part of HR at LCC.

I counted all of the hats I'm going to have for sale on wednesday, and I have a whopping 32 hats. So please, please(!), come buy some. I have no room in my house for them!
I've also got about 15 skeins of handspun yarn for sale too, along with a handful of rovings. And also little fun things like jewelry, dish sponges and cloths, and cute little animals.

2008-11-21T22:40:00.003-05:00

Just a taste of what's in my shop at the moment :)

2008-10-16T14:45:00.003-04:00

So i've done it.
I put some stuff on Etsy.com to sell!
I'm slowly adding more stuff as I'm able to get good pictures. (the weather has NOT been cooperating lately)

Icemelon's Stash

go and take a peek! I'll be adding more stuff within the coming week and hopefully changing a few things around.

What are you still doing here? Go now!

2008-08-05T22:19:00.002-04:00

In addition to everything fiber, I actually like to bake now and again too. I had a hankering for muffins, so looked online for a simple yet yummy recipe for muffins that could be easily changed around for what I wanted. I found this recipe (thank you google and blogging people!) and it seemed to fit the bill.

I decided to snazz it up a bit with some frozen berries I've had hanging around forever, and some chocolate chips. This is quite a bad picture, but you can sort of see the chocolate chips on some and berries on others.

I meant to take an after picture because I didn't exactly know how everything was going to move around while baking, I'm lucky I even got this one! They were sooooo good! The only thing I would change is maybe adding more liquid if I'm only going to be doing chocolate chips, and definitely use more milk than oil in the future- I got that sort of oily taste going on. Maybe I'd use shortening instead.
Either way, they were still quite tasty and I will be using this recipe again!

2008-07-30T22:54:00.000-04:00

Yes, that would be a granny square blanket in the works. I finished the ripple blanket (but no- I didn't get any pictures of it. I have some of me in the bridesmaids dress though.)

This is for- you guessed it, another wedding gift. This time for my friend Jenny who is fixing to get married October 4th. 10-4, good buddy!

2008-07-22T10:45:00.002-04:00

I am an "Artisan" at the Holt Farmers Market. In Holt, Michigan. It's weird being called an artisan, because it doesn't seem like all the stuff I crochet would be ... well, all that fancy. The yarn? Yeah I guess I could let myself be called an 'artisan' for the yarn. So here are some pictures from the first Saturday, the 12th. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of this past Saturday the 19th- but it was a much nicer setup with more things eye level. I didn't make as much as I'd hoped from the 19th but I think once it's colder out more things will move.

And I know, I've got a million pictures of the boyfriend up but none of me.
Someday :P

(the table was not this messy the whole time! I swear it was more organized than this!)

2008-07-11T23:04:00.002-04:00

Here's a few things I've been up to---

(Well, what you should be looking at here is that blanket under his head. It's not done yet... not even close.. and I have exactly two weeks to finish it.)

What could this be?

Do you know yet?

It's a SPINNING WHEEL! I'm in love! It's a Babe's Fiber Garden Production Double Treadle Spinning Wheel. And it's amazing, and sorta shiny, and full of happy!

I've spun at least two pounds of fiber since getting it two weeks ago. All if it is going to be sold at the Holt Farmers Market starting tomorrow under my little name of "Delicious yarns"! I'm freaking out about it, just a little. You know! I'll have my trusty Babe with me... I'm thinking it needs a name, other than "My Baby".
I'll take the camera with me and get some pictures of my booth and everything! Wish me luck!

2008-06-23T11:25:00.000-04:00

You guys lucked out, because there's no one online worth babbling this to!

Over on Ravelry (a knit and crochet community) There is a thread going titled, "Crochet is Better Than Knitting." Usually these end up flame wars, and I was hesitant to actually click the link and read through pages of knit-bashing. (There's nothing wrong with knitting- and nothing wrong with crochet either!!) Ravelry seems to be a little bit more knit-based, simply because the 'public' forums are awash with knitters talking about projects, needles, yarns, etc. Seems the crocheters either get lost in this mess or are simply not as vocal. (Typal?) However this group called Crochet Liberation Front- where the thread is- is totally devoted to crocheting and the love of crochet.

Anyways, I was reading through the thread and was pleased to find that it was just people saying why they prefer crochet to knitting- one being you can stop mid-stitch no damage done, another being that a quick pull of the fabric made will erase mistakes, easier to make something 3d, and so on.

And then I saw this post by Grieney:
"Because I can make a stitch any-damn-where I please."

And for those of you in the know- that's a hell yea right there!
It made me laugh :)

2008-06-19T15:10:00.001-04:00

I don't think i was ever tagged, but uh. here ya go :)

1) What was I doing ten years ago?

Ummm since it was summer I'd probably be at Blue Lake Fine Arts camp for two weeks over summer. I'm pretty sure that would have been the first year I went, and the first time I'd ever gone to camp. I had a few friends from school actually in the same cabin as me, so overall it was a great experience... which is why i went back every year until high school was over!

2) What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:

*Work on that damn blanket for my cousin (I need to have 3 1/2 more feet done in a month)
*Do some dishes that have been piling up...
*Go to Thirsty Thursdays at the Lansing Lugnuts stadium (and probably NOT get hammered)
*Sit on my butt and be lazy because even though it's Thursday, I have the next two days off so it's like my friday :)
*Eat dinner (does this count? I ran out of things!)

3) Snacks I enjoy:

Umm I like crunchy stuff like chips or pistachios, and I guess they have to be salty too. I love ice cream but can really only eat the soy stuff... um. Chocolate! Dried fruit is always really tasty. (hmm i should put that on my shopping list!)

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

*Go to school and not worry about student loans at all (and therefor probably keep going to school until i was bored with it- you know a few degrees here and there ;)
*Buy a big old farmhouse and renovate it (which of course would be a farm too!)
*Invest lots for my future and any future children's college- you know, live off interest!
*Give to charities- volunteer my time at the Humane society since presumably I wouldn't have to work if I didn't want to anymore (and foster animals! <3)
*go on a super sweet vacation
*pay back my parents from years of borrowing!

5) Places I have lived:

Okemos, Williamston, Haslett, Lansing, Lansing, Lansing...

6) Jobs I have had:

Cleaning rental houses, Retail at Kohl's, Computer Lab at LCC, Cleaning Remax office.

7) Peeps I want to know more about:

Whoever is bored enough ;)

2008-06-09T13:01:00.002-04:00

I finished up a bunch of spinning projects a few weeks ago after I got my hand carders- I felt that mojo come back in a storm! But now i'm sort of spun out, I haven't really touched the spindle or the cards for a week or so- but I've been fondling my fiber stash, of course!
I just wanted to show you what I did with those carders. First up is Tutti Frutti- only a few yards and was made with chunks of wool that were dyed many different colors. This was the 'test' of the carders, to get the feel for them and to see what spinning from rolags would be like. Navajo plied, to boot! It was my first time plying that way and I actually had a good time doing it and it was pretty easy to keep going.

Next up we have the big ticket yarn- This one is wool and soy, which it was my first time spinning soy too! I'd say 50 or so yards, made from rolags from my carders and then navajo plied.

I did finish up a poor yarn that had been waiting to be finished forEVER, but you'll just have to check out my flickr for that :)

2008-06-02T16:21:00.002-04:00

I finally got my hand carders- which I have been waiting for since november(!) Although I didn't buy them from the place I ordered them, as they never called me about them. I checked with them multiple times before giving up too.

No, I got my brand new Ashford Hand Carders from The Spinning Loft in Howell, Mi. Pictures do not do justice to how packed that place is with lovely fibery goodness! They had everything from silk to raw wool to dehaired alpaca to bamboo, seacell, and so on! I took a little trip out there with my mom a few weekends ago and we literally spend two hours in there, playing with everything.
I don't know how I managed it, but I got away with only spending $7. (my mom bought me the carders as a late xmas gift)
I ended up getting 2oz of Black Diamond, which is carbonized bamboo. Also they had glitz there! Pretty cheap too, comparing what prices I've seen online. I got the rest of the white/blue, which was only .3 oz- but i think there's plenty to last!!

As for what I was thinking along the lines for my cousins wedding- I've just decided to crochet her a ripple blanket using the 'soft waves' pattern from the 200 Ripple Stitches book. I'm pulling colors that are used in the wedding and the reception, so it's just a bunch of blues and greens with a teeny bit of purple thrown in for good measure.

And another blanket will be in the works after I get the ripple done- For another friends wedding in October. Her colors are watermelon and brown so we'll see!

2008-02-11T11:57:00.000-05:00

My cousin Cait is getting married in July, and i am her maid of honor! We talked about it a bit and we're both pretty clueless as this is our first times being involved in a wedding since the age of 4 or 5.
I have decided that if she wants, I will crochet her a nice shawl or wrap to wear in the evening when it starts getting a bit cooler out. (but it will be July when she gets married so it still might be 90 degrees out!) I need to find a good pattern. Nothing too heavy or old ladyish (read: intricate). I'm not dissing anyone here, it's just that she's 23 and it's a very simple wedding, and a simple dress, plus if it's a simple pattern I wont have to stress about it as much either. And you know, it still might be too warm for something heavy.
I found something that might work out here but i don't know if i want a shawl so much as a wrap. I guess i'm just thinking along the lines of a gigantic scarf, sort of like this:

I think this one calls for denim silk? I don't know but it's sort of weird. It might work in a fingering weight or lighter white alpaca or something... I've still got a few months to think about it and see if she would actually want a wrap to wear for her big day if it does get chilly. If anyone has any good ideas, please send them my way!!

2008-02-04T13:08:00.000-05:00

As promised, here is the plastic fork hackle I was talking about.

Seriously now, is that not the most cheapest thing you have ever seen? And you can see that the tape isn't even duct tape- it's some off brand that was half the price. The forks too, now that I think about it. And even all that llama fiber sitting there was free. It works just fine for very small amounts of fiber, and I have to be really careful when pulling it off. It's working fine for my needs as I am not a voracious spinner yet and I've only washed a handful of that llama anyway to work with, so it's not like I need something heavy-duty to work with right now. And besides, those hand carders I ordered back in November should be here soon, right? Right??
Anyway, this would be a good cheap alternative if someone was just interested in mixing small amounts of fiber together.

It's attached to my coffee table which, in retrospect, is not a good place for it at all. I can't put my feet up anymore when I'm sitting on that side of the couch. And I like sitting at that end of the couch... haha oh well! Craftiness before comfort, eh?

And of course I didn't come up on this one all on my own, I saw this page: This Land! >> DIY Hackle V. 3.0
So much wonderful things they have going over there! Check it out!

2008-02-01T00:52:00.000-05:00

Roving being dyed. What a lovely ghetto setup! Its pretty much all merino combed top, but that little green in the front is SOY! yes! happy soy! I found it languishing in a sale bin at the Little Red Schoolhouse (which was the first time I had been there in oh ten years...) It's soft and silky and happy! And, it smells like soybeans when wet. Go figure right?

And this, my friends, is some lovely baby llama that I got from a friend in a big lawn bag. I washed it and now am spinning it with a little bit of dyed by me pink merino.

And for next time, I'll show you my ghetto (are we seeing a trend?) hackle made of plastic forks. Also, the results of the roving in the first pic.

2008-01-23T11:41:00.000-05:00

eh heh, heh heh... So I've been slacking. A lot. But I have good excuses, you see.
I moved. and then it was Christmas. and then it was new years. and then work and school started again.
That isn't to say i haven't made anything or done anything crafty, it just means that between no internet at the new house and not taking any pictures- teh blog suffers!

I've been making hats, as usual. I'm starting to follow patterns to get practice of new techniques.

Soley Granny Squares Hat: Can you believe this was actually the first time I had ever made a granny square? let me tell you it changed my life. I promptly made two hats with this pattern.

Divine Hat: This hat was so quick to make, however I felt that the pattern ended up on the extra large side. Either that or the pattern creator crochets a LOT tighter than i do. I'm going to try again with some different yarn with not as many starting stitches and we'll see how it turns out.

Cable Hat: Again this hat was pretty quick to work up, but it ended up on the large side again even with some homebrew decreases. I will definitley make this hat again as it it squishy and warm and that's something i love about it!

2007-12-01T14:45:00.000-05:00

There are a few things I would love to do in the future, but for reasons such as time, money, experience, and materials, I don't feel like I can start on now. Not all of these have to do with crochet but they're sort of just general craft things to do.

Knit a sweater. Now this one obviously I'll need to learn how to knit- even if it is just the stitches required for the specific sweater I'll be making. This sweater over on Craftster seems like the perfect candidate. Plus many people have given tips and tricks. Materials for this one would be easy, because I already have lots of yarn to choose from.
Crochet a rag rug. This one will take time acquiring the materials. There is a tutorial here that lays it out really well. I've also been admiring the Flickr Pool of rag rugs. I already have an old fitted sheet lined up, but it will take a trip or two to the goodwill to find old sheets to make up the bulk of the rug. This will also take quite some time to finish up, depending on the size of rug I end up making.
Crochet scrap blanket. Now this doesn't really have to be anything special, but it's the material part that's the hard part. I have a bag going that has leftover yarn in it, but there's not enough in there to really make anything big with. I have been pulling scraps out though to work into hats recently, so this might take some time to work back up.
Sew a fancy dress. So this sort of comes from my family history. My mom made her own wedding dress and I'm pretty sure my grandma did too. I think that would be the coolest thing, to have made my own wedding dress. Although in reality it might not happen, sewing a dressy dress from scratch would be the same sort of thing. And I'd be able to find a reason to wear it at least once! This sort of goes along with the whole 'craft your wedding' but the only reason these come into mind is because it seems like everyone is getting married!
Make a quilt. Now this is a big project. Takes lots of time, fabric, and work! I think i could do it someday though. maybe when i have a sewing machine that can actually handle it.

I'm pretty sure there's more craft related things that I'd love to do, but i can't think of any more big ones at the moment.

2007-11-14T18:30:00.000-05:00

I made a little kitty a few weeks ago. my mom had just given me her old sewing machine and i was itching to do something with it, so i whipped out the black felt and sewed to my hearts desire. I sewed on his eyes after i had sewn most of the the main body together. I was getting really lazy and didn't want to hand sew anything i didn't have to. He's pretty lopsided but thats what makes it lovable right? The ironic thing- i found a teeny black kitten in my backyard the morning after i made this. It was a sign. Don't worry, the little stray kitten is now living with my roommates girlfriend, being well taken care of!

Felt kitteh

Real kitteh

And Bonus! Racheal with reall kitteh!

2007-11-12T21:13:00.000-05:00

So, a few weeks ago I decided that I really needed to have a craft blog. I get caught up making so many things but never record them in any way- a blog would be perfect, separated from all that old day to day whine stuff on the ol' livejournal. I was checking to see if icemelon was taken, because it's pretty much my overall username now for a few years. Turns out it was taken! I was ready to chuck the whole blog thing out the window, I was so upset. Well... it was me... from 4 years ago. Just some teen angst posts of course. Those are gone now, but man. I had some serious forsight on that one ;)

So look forward to lots of posts about my crafty escapades! And there should be lots of pictures too, because hey. We all know people only look at blogs for the pics.

and to start, here's an oldie but a goodie.