Craftyminx

Hello kitty slipper modifications

This was a modification I did of the Fluffy Bunny Slippers on pg 234 of "Stitch'N Bitch Crochet The Happy Hooker" Get a book, then go here and print out the errata because there are a few errors in the pattern. I used Lion Brand Jiffy yarn in white. Yes white, we will talk about how crazy I am later. If you wanted to use red for the bottom and white for the top that would probably be cool as well and they wouldn't get quite as dirty. Use one strand for the upper sole and slipper top and two strands for the sole bottom and ears. I used an I hook for my size 8 slippers. I'm pretty sure mine turned out the same finished size as the book. Follow the pattern from the book, Except for the ears.

Kitty ears-
Ch 6 row 1- hdc in 2nd ch from end, hdc to end. (4 stitches)
row 2- Ch 2 turn, 2 hdc2tog (put the last stitch in the turning chain to keep a straight edge)
row 3- Ch2 turn, hdc2tog (put last stitch in the turning chain as before) fasten off and weave in the ends.
Sew these onto the slipper (you can use my picture for the placement) Embroider the face on or use felt. I used this scan as a template for my second pair (I made the bow bigger and angled the ears more on the second pair. it makes them look better). Don't forget the wiskers like I did. I'm an idiot and mailed these off without doing so. And I just NOW noticed. oops, sorry.

a demon barber and pumpkin fun

I LOVE musical theater! John and I went to see Sweeney Todd at the Pollard Theatre tonight. Sondheim is a genius! I fell in love with this musical the first time I heard it. The complex harmonies and haunting themes within the score have always made me shiver. Not to mention that the plot is as gruesome as it is pitiful. Its just wonderful all over! See it if you ever get the chance.

Last night I had a pumpkin carving party and it was a lot of fun. . Not all of my friends made it, but John, Bri, Bekah, Staci, Adam, and I still had a blast. We dressed up, ate food, watched Edward Scissorhands, drank cider and butterbeer, and carved amazing and wonderful pumpkin creations!

John, Bekah and I carved. Adam and Staci had to leave early to go to a concert and Bri served as backup (pumpkin scraper). Here they are in all of their glory.

Bekah's abstract art approach:
Being a free spirit and not wanting to be confined to a pattern, Bekah came up with her own design. Those curves are really hard to do. This girl is skilled with a knife (its ok to be worried).

John the traditionalist:
John went for the jack-o-lantern with a twist. I really like the eyes and have no idea how he got them to look like they are floating without them falling out. And when the lights are off its just plain scary. He bought the white pumpkin, its not painted.

Dana: What was she thinking?
Yeah I was the crazy one that had to do an awesome pattern. I've wanted to do one of these pumpkins for a very long time. In fact one year I did do one and I ruined it because all of the pieces fell out. I hadn't yet perfected my knife handling. Cutting out stencils for t-shirts really helped me with this one. I never knew carving a pumpkin could be so damn strenuous though. My arms got very sore from scraping at the inside to get it thin enough, poking the pattern into the skin, sawing intricate parts out with the itty bitty knife, and scraping the outside layer of skin off for the sides. I can definitely say there will only be one of these a year.

I had my heart set on a Jack Sparrow pumpkin. When I opened up the stencil I made for the t-shirt I did of it I freaked out because of all the little parts. I frantically searched my files for a different stencil that would be just as cool, but a wee bit easier for my nonexistent skill level. I found Sally and was sold. It really wasn't that bad. I have a pumpkin left and am tempted to do a Jack, but I don't think my body can take any more pain. This isn't one of the stencils I have made, but it can be found here.

Labels: musicals, Pumpkins, Sally, Sweeney Todd

The sexy embroidered skirt

So its not super sexy. But I actually wore it out last night. Since it was Friday, I paired it with my fishnets and red peep-toe high heels that would be more fitting on a 30s pin-up model but that's probably the reason I bought them. I felt happy to be wearing something I made that actually looked good and fit me. These things don't seem to ever coincide when I craft clothing.

There have been many handmade clothing busts in my lifetime. It probably started when I was 5 or 6. This was my mom's doing, as I was too young to use the adult sewing machine and was just dandy sewing paper on my children's model. She made me this wool, plaid jumper.

I thought it was itchy and ugly. As you can see I wasn't wearing it in this picture (and I don't think there is a picture of me actually wearing it) She would always ask me if I wanted to wear it, I would cry and yell "no" and would put on some cotton stirrup pants along with some skirt and shirt that may or may not have matched depending on my mood.

Since the wool dress fiasco of '88, I have had many other mom-made dresses. Some of which were great. My mother is a master seamstress. Everything she makes is well made and always fits, sometimes they even look great. But believe me there have been many sad sad fashion no nos come out of her sewing room.

The first piece of clothing I made for myself was a slip dress in junior high. It was hideous. I never wore it and can't even remember what I made it out of. But I have the pattern and I don't know why I ever wanted to wear a sack that was meant for potatoes.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago. I wanted a sexy red satin tube top that zipped up the back and then tied at the top to keep the girls in. I had seen these tops in many fashionable stores and I had to have one. Since those stores don't carry any sizes that would fit anyone but barbie, I had to make my own. I managed to find a pattern that would work. It was a simple tube top and all I had to do was make my own pattern for the tie part. I'm good on the fly so this worked pretty well. I made a sample shirt out of some Hawaiian print fabric I had laying around. I figured it would be good for summer. Then I made the satin one. It was amazing! Everything went smoothly, even the surging of the seams! I didn't make one single mistake. I hated it. I wore it once. Both of the shirts are still in my closet collecting dust.

I don't do clothes. I wish I could. I really wish I could. But I can't. I'm good at designing stuff, but my execution is usually all wrong. So as you can see, this skirt is a major step forward for me.

There's a pic of the back but I don't want to subject you to my large ass. The embroidery is of a classic tattoo pattern I got out of a book. I saw the cherries and couldn't resist. I probably should have used a different shade of blue for the feathers but you can kind of see them when I'm wearing it.

Labels: cherries, embroidery, sewing

Finished woot!

So I'm super proud of myself. I finished my skirt and it looks awesome! I think I'm going to wear it to an art show I've been invited to on Friday. I know, I've finished all of these things and have not yet posted pictures. I'm going to get out my dad's Nikon dig cam and take pictures sometime soon and then I will have tons of things to show you all!

September the 13th I made the commitment to finish my dad's socks before I could buy yarn to make my first sweater. Now that its the middle of October and I have finished the blasted things, I am broke and cannot afford the yarn again. So I've decided I am going to make a spring sweater. That way whenever I do buy yarn I will not have to hurry to finish it before winter is over.

The lace-edged baby blanket from hell is still that. After I ripped the edging out, I continued in the round until I ran out of the yarn. I figured I could find something to match it, or complement it. yeah right, Its been forever and I still haven't found any yarn good enough. So I bought new yarn for it and am completely restarting it. Good thing she's not due until February. I did however do myself a favor and bought simply soft yarn, so I can at least knit it on 7s maybe even 8s. Woot!

Right now I have Christmas crafting to worry about. I'm not quite sure what I'm making this year. Last year I painted bible verses for my closest friends and made jewelry for other people and knitted for a few also. We are probably going to be moving the week after thanksgiving and then I will not be motivated to make anything because I will be too involved in decorating my new apartment. I wish I didn't have to move. It would make life a lot more simple. I might just do the easy route and *gasp* buy gifts this year.

I've also promised to finish some lace up arm warmers for a friend before Halloween. Am I crazy? Yes! She offered to pay, but I think I'm actually going to give her my old ones since I wanted to make some more for myself out of microfiber, and not charge her. This will help me finish writing the pattern so I can post it here! woot! I also have a scarf to make for a cold friend in Urbana, IL. I've bought the yarn thanks to Michaels' wicked yarn sale, but I'm still in the design process. I love scarves because I can be as creative as I want. Its hard to mess up a long rectangle.

Labels: jewelry, knitting, painting, scarfs

A few Hello Kitty things

I made these things for a personal swap with Gladrads . She wanted hello kitty slippers. I made hers better than my own by adding batting in between the two layers and actually checking for the errata on the happy hooker website, instead of just winging it. I also made the bow bigger, which I think is so much better! I'm seeing a new pair in my future.

I also made her a Hello Kitty Pin cushion because she likes to sew clothing.
(excuse the man arms, John modeled for me)

This was made from the head pattern out of the book Hello Kitty Knit Dolls and Goods Vol. 3. instead of leaving the bottom flat (because you're not sewing it to a body), I did some more decreases and left a small opening to round it out some more. I then stuffed the head and closed the opening. I cut the face and bow out of felt, embroidered around the bow, and glued everything on with super strong craft glue. I made the head out of baby weight acrylic with a D hook. The wrist band was made out of Lion brand jiffy yarn with a G or H hook. Its basically a 4sc across bracelet then at one end you make a button hole big enough for the buttons you want to use. I sewed on two buttons for adjusting, since I didn't know how big her wrist was. Connect the head to the bracelet and you've got a super cute pincushion! Again, I should have made two. I'm really needing one of these now that I've been sewing more.

Bringing up sewing, I worked some more on the jean skirt I made last week. I'm off work all this week so I've been crafting. As you can see on my progress chart to the right I've finished two knitting projects. Today was the skirt. I really wanted to start embroidering on it today. I wore it on Thursday last week and noticed that the back of it was sticking out unattractively and it was too long. So I took the whole back of it out and resewed it. It looks much better and more like a pencil skirt (which is what I wanted in the first place). Now its in the wash. I'm just itching to begin sewing on it. I'm sooo excited. This will be my first big embroidery project since I was little. I used to be addicted to cross stitch and embroidery when I was about 8-10 and then dropped it, because it wasn't cool. What in the hell was I thinking?

Labels: crochet, hello kitty, sewing, swap

Ooo Shiny Pants!

I made John a shirt to match mine and Dempsey's. Ok so the shirt says OOh. I made a simple mistake. But I finished it and its better than the originals. I used the amazing jacquard textile colors so it turned out very professional. Except for the OOh part. haha.

Labels: major victory, stencils, t-shirt

I'm a happy hooker.

I've made so many of the patterns from Debbie Stoller's book "The Happy Hooker" that I can officially call myself this. I would make everything in it if I had the time and money to buy yarn.

This is the spring in winter hat and flower. I made a simple neck warmer to match. I've been wanting neck warmers instead of scarves this year for some reason. I guess I don't like scarves flying away like they do.

Please excuse the no-make up face of death. I needed to make something out of the yarn my mom bought me from the store Yarn: Life's a stitch in Durango, CO. Its a swedish yarn called fame - color #800. I'm not much of a hat person. My hair is too big. Does anyone else seem to have this problem? I have some yarn left, so I'm thinking of adding some more rounds to this one.

Labels: crochet, hats, scarfs, yarn

I made a jean skirt!

So I had a pair of jeans that tragically got a hole in the thigh. This seems to happen to bigger girls. I decided I would turn the tragic jeans into a wonderful flattering skirt. It worked!!! I'm not a great seamstress. My mom is far better than I am at a sewing machine and serger, but I only used her expertise a little bit and crafted out a quite remarkable skirt. Sorry no pics yet. I'm adding a little special flair to it. Then I will update with pics. I was too excited to wait.

With the sewing came a small wound. I cut the tip of my fingers with my new sharp scissors. Yeah its pretty painful, but its not that deep. I can't believe myself. I am so clumsy sometimes. Especially with scissors. We use these scissors at work that I swear are more than a foot long. I am terrified of them and refuse to use them. I've worked there a little over a year and only used those suckers the first day. That night I went to the store and bought some handy dandy orange handled fiskars. I'm surprised no one has swiped my special scissors yet. If they did I'd cut them. :-)

I went through an entire weekend without knitting, crocheting, or doing a huge crafting project (excluding the adventure tonight). No I'm not sick. My parents are selling our house and I had to clean all day Saturday and then I had to keep it that way. A big challenge for me. That is why I was able to post pics of my crafting area. It was clean for once.

Labels: sewing