Not Dead Yet

I'm deep in several projects right now: two about to be published crochet patterns and another in the design stage, some nifty needlecases up on Etsy, and a novel that is moving right along thanks to obsession, the nice ladies and gents on Rav, and Dr. Wicked's awesome Write or Die program.

Placing Beads on Sock Yarn

The May techniques for Sock Knitters Anonymous are beads and texture. And even more exciting is the Mock (mystery sock) which also includes beads!

Here's a simple method to get the beads onto the yarn without having to tear your hair out, aka forcing yarn through the eye of a beading needle. All you need is some sewing thread and a needle with an eye that will pass through your beads. I prefer a small-gauge tapestry needle for this task, though a sewing sharp will also work. (In the photos my beads are strung on yarn for visibility. If you use thread this will all be much easier. Also I haven't wound my yarn yet.)

Step 1: Wind your yarn into cakes or balls if necessary and string your beads onto a length of sewing thread, leaving the needle on the thread. It is okay to knot the far end of the thread (or use a bead) to keep the beads from escaping.

Step 2: Loop the working end of your sock yarn ONCE around the sewing thread, doubling both fibers back on themselves. Your work should look like this:

Step 3: Thread the needle back through the first bead, being careful not to split the thread (this is where the tapestry needle makes it a bit easier).

Step 4: Slide the bead down to the loop of yarn.

Step 5: Tug the bead a little to pop it over the junction.

Step 6: Pull the yarn tail free of the bead. Voilà, you have a bead right where you want it!

Once you have the steps down you can do several beads at once limited only by the length of your needle. Good luck and enjoy your beaded socks!

I Can't Decide!

Stephanie Flynn at Rossiter Designs is giving away some really nice Celtic cross-stitch designs in January. They're all so beautiful I had an awful time deciding which one I'd like the most. I finally settled on the Celtic Sampler; I really love the knotwork.

If you'd like to enter as well the rules are posted here on Stephanie's blog.

You say potato, I say YARN BOWL!

I was having my morning browse at Craftgossip and found this awesome fabric bowl. Of course, the first thing that sprang to my mind was, "Hey, that would make an awesome yarn bowl!" (The second was that it would make a cool washable bread basket for the dinner table.)

The tutorial by Jennifer is available at Sew, Mama, Sew! I'm going to whip out my fabric scraps and try it right away since I already have the sewing machine set up for ornament finishing. (Finishing is the wrong word for it. I'm never gonna be finished.) One of these would be really cute filled with pinecones for Christmas. Or gelt at Hanukkah. Easter eggs, Valentines candies, apples in the fall...I can see it now. I'm going to end up with about a hundred of these. 

I also have a nifty idea for a variation: I'm going to get some little sew-on snaps and do snap-together corners instead of sewn. This will have a couple of advantages: they'll be easier to wash and iron and they'll be able to store flat; a particular advantage for the seasonal bowls I'm sure to make. I'll post pics (sort of, the Canon is still sickly) and let y'all know how the snaps turn out!

PS - I just realized since the pattern uses heavy interfacing I could foundation quilt or crazy quilt the top layer. Somebody stop me!

PPS - The snaps will also allow you to use the corners as a yarn guide without being tied to the bowl. Genius!

In the New Year: Trying this Again

I am unlocking the blog for two reasons. One, I want a place to stash my knitting and crocheting pictures and musings and this is a good place to do it. Two, I want my patterns to be available to the crocheting public.

Here's the deal. Comments are on, but they are being moderated. Abusive comments will be deleted with extreme prejudice and without response. I welcome reasoned debate and grammatical quibbling. If you find a mistake in a pattern please comment or email or both.

(Speaking of mistakes in patterns - there seems to be a mistake in the Kaleidoscope Beret. I'll find it and fix it as soon as I have a spare moment to pick up a hook.)

Thank you all for your support and have a very happy New Year!

Randomness

I just realized that I haven't even been keeping up with once a month posts. So here's my update, in no particular order.

1. Google analytics is really frelling annoying today. It's made Ravelry unusable and is probably going to make this post shorter than usual. I'm not even sure of what I need to do to make it stop. I did run malware/virus scans and nothing came up.

2. I'm back into the RP swing on Star Pirates. I really enjoy RPing with that crew. Collaborative writing is a kick in the pants, both in the sense of being a lot of fun, and in the sense that it gets me motivated to actually write (and even more importantly, edit).

3. I want to knit. This is inconvenient because I'm supposed to be putting a crochet blanket together for Leah's birthday (Saturday), I have a shawl half-finished (Converted Shipwreck), and I have a really cool idea for another shawl/throw. I think I need to work out a reward system with myself.

4. I have an essay sketched out on late Victorian action adventure movies. I promise It won't turn out to be a rant, I'm a better writer than that. (Okay, maybe a little rant. Just a skosh.)

5. I'm gonna shoot somebody at google analytics with a dirty sock gun. This isn't funny.

6. I will add links to this post once I get the google problem sorted out.

*wanders off grumbling*

ETA: I finally got google analytics sorted out. I ended up having to install NoScript. It makes things a tidge slower, but it's totally worth it.

Dumbest Thing Said By a TV Sportscaster Today

NHL Network reporter to Teemu Selanne: So I suppose you're aware of all 600 goals you've scored.

No, dumbass, they were a complete surprise to him. In fact, they didn't tell him about it until after he scored the 600th one tonight so they wouldn't spoil the surprise party the other Ducks players had all planned for him. Oy vey.

Congrats, Teemu. Go drink your champagne.

(I'm contemplating making this a recurring theme, but 1) I don't want to be known as that crazy chick making fun of retired athletes and 2) it's too much like shooting fish in a barrel.)