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Archive for the 'Crochet' Category


Nothing Like Crocheted Flip Flops for Summer

Thursday, May 17th, 2012
By Twistie

(via What Not to Crochet)

I have no idea where the good people at What Not to Crochet found these… acts of footwear, but I definitely agree they were a monumentally bad idea. The yarn is acrylic, and the perpetrator assures us the leather soles are not animal cruelty since they come “from a cow that’s already dead.”

Well, at least there isn’t a cow walking around with a gaping wound shaped like two flip flop soles.

On the other hand, since the entire point of flip flops is to provide breezy footwear that slips on and off easily at will by the poolside, I don’t think crocheting acrylic shin guards and knee-high straps improves the usefulness of the item in question.

But maybe I’m wrong.

Opinions?


Make It Sew… or Rather, Crochet

Friday, March 30th, 2012
By Twistie

I, like me, you’re a dyed in the wool Trekkie, chances are you’ll love this arugarumi version of the crew of the Enterprise D by janaford.

You can find the pattern for Captain Picard free on Ravelry.

Oh, and if anyone wants the key to my heart forever? I’d love a DS9 version.

Just try to tell me Quark wouldn’t be an interesting challenge and a ridiculously cute arugarumi. I dare you.


Help a Fellow Crafter Win Her Dream Dress

Friday, February 17th, 2012
By Twistie

This is Ami Amour, for those of you not familiar with her blog devoted to all things amigurami. She’s getting married in june (best of luck and all happiness, Ami!) and has a dream of a fabulous wedding gown. In fact, she’s entered a contest to win said fabulous gown by Enzoani. The contest is being held by the design house and in order to win, Ami will need to get the most ‘likes’ on the Enzoani Facebook page for her video explaining why she feels she should win the gown.

It’s a mermaid gown with a detachable strap and… well, it’s the dress on the amigurumi in her hands, there. In fact, that doll is how she expresses her desire for the gown in her entry video. It’s entirely hand crocheted by Ami except for the lace ruffle at the bottom of the skirt.

So go to Facebook. Like Ami’s video. It’s the seventh one. She’s wearing a blue shirt and holding the doll. Right now, she’s in fourth place, but we have until Feb. 27 to change that.

What say you? Shall we help a crafty lady win her dream dress?


But What About Those Ribs?

Thursday, February 16th, 2012
By Twistie

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

Oh. Sorry. I forgot for a moment that this denizen of the ‘Pop Tab Forest’ (forsooth!) isn’t scary.

No, really, his creator assures us he isn’t:

He’s not really scary. He’s been to the dentist and has been fitted with braces!

Yeah, right. Pull the other one. It’s got bells on.

I notice there are no explanations given for the exposed ribs, though. Are they for her pleasure? Or are they just a rather disturbing piece of evidence that this monkey is created out of pop tabs from soda cans?

Anyway, if you find it less disturbing than I do, you can go to Etsy and buy the pattern for just $3.99. Oh, and you can you can totally make your money back. No, really, she says so:

Any item you make from one of my pattern you may sell!

You cannot sell or give the pattern away!

I have to say I’m not so certain you could sell the finished monkeys… but then I do own a collection of Ed Wood movies, so I really don’t have much wiggle room to talk, do I?


Dying to Please You

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
By Twistie

Mmmm… pretty colors.

It’s fun to have lots of pretty colors of yarn to play with. Whether you plan to knit, crochet, or do massive string art with it, color is an integral part of the charm of your finished product.

But not everyone loves to do the actual dying. Sort of like the way not everyone wants to spin the yarn. And of course there is that learning curve when you’re playing with techniques, but can’t count on the best results, yet.

And that’s where the aptly named Decadent Fibers comes in.

They carry a wide variety of yarns in natural fibers, such as: merino, silk, organic cotton, and mohair. Some varieties do contain a small amount of nylon to help keep the shape of the finished product, but it’s just a touch.

Best of all, every kind of yarn they sell can be custom dyed. Sure, they’ve got a lot of great colors they make every single day, but if you don’t find what you want there, you can request the color you need and they will create it for you.

Don’t want yarn? If you’re looking for roving to spin or felt, you can get the same great range of colors.

Need something to do with all this yarn/fiber? They also carry a range of books, patterns, and kits to get you going, including their one-skein knitting projects.

Then again, maybe I’ll just splurge on a few skeins to fondle when nobody else is looking.


Left Handicrafts

Thursday, February 9th, 2012
By Twistie

I don’t know how many of you out there are fellow southpaws, but my parents knew pretty much the moment I emerged from the womb that I was a dyed-in-the-wool leftist… er… leftie. Any and all political leanings came much later in life. Probably my first political act (and it was an accidental one at that) was when I was five years old and I inadvertently convinced the principal of my elementary school to order left-handed scissors for all the classrooms.

Anyway.

We who are wired the other way ’round have had to face a lot of challenges in life. One of the most annoying to me is the fact that when there’s a craft we want to learn, we’re often forced to either do it with out less agile right hands, or we have to sit down and figure out how to turn everything around to work with our dominant hands. Things have gotten better over the years, but I must admit that one of the things that really appealed about bobbin lace to me was the fact that it doesn’t favor one hand or the other. Both hands are used pretty equally throughout the process. As long as I have a pair of scissors I can use in my left hand (and those are nearly universally available now!) I can use any book, any pattern, any tool I can lay my hands on.

But what if you want to learn something that does make more use of one hand than the other? What if you’re not good at turning things around mentally? What if your right hand just doesn’t have the necessary dexterity for the craft in question?

Well, I’ve found a few good resources to help you learn some of these crafts.

(more…)


What Has Happened to Your Nose? I Just Returned From Rome

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
By Twistie

Don’t worry. His nose isn’t actually gone… so far as I know. But it does give one pause to realize someone came up with the idea of a nosewarmer, created a pattern, crocheted it, and actually got someone to pose wearing the darn thing.

Even more amazing? This photograph is number four in a series of  six such images on display over at What Not to Crochet.

Then again, it could be worse. There’s also an article on hand crocheted banana hammocks that may not be safe for work, but is kind of mesmerizing.


Wash With It Or Eat It?

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
By Twistie

I love handmade soap.

And wandering Etsy, I found this delicious sounding one. Pumpkin and cocoa. Two of my favorite flavors, and – amazingly enough! – two of my favorite scents of all time.

The marbled look is attractive enough for any bath, and the scents… oh the scents!

So if you’re looking for something to add a touch of holiday cheer to your soapdish, or a great stocking stuffer for someone who loves to smell good, this is a winner. And at just $5.00, it may well be the perfect answer to your office Secret Santa exchange, too!

Not wild about pumpkin and cocoa? That’s okay, the same shop sells such delicious soaps as grapefruit and basil, or spearmint, too, as well as some comfortable looking crochet goodies.


Beautiful Handcrafted Things

Thursday, November 17th, 2011
By Twistie

Sometimes it’s fun to just wander around and see what cool things there are out in the wide world. This fabulous Chinese dragon isn’t even the most spectacular piece of origami on the aptly named page ‘Origami that Will Blow Your Mind.’

There are some other really cool things I found around the internet, too. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

(more…)


By Hook or By Crook: A Brief History of Crochet

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011
By Twistie

This table is crocheted. How fabulous is that? It’s the brainchild of furniture artist Marcel Wanders, and details on it can be found here. I’m sure when the first person began crocheting, she – or he – never imagined it being used for such a purpose.

But how long ago did that person fail to imagine crocheted furniture? Well, it’s difficult to say precisely… but sometime in the first three decades of the nineteenth century seems the most likely period.

(more…)












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