Lost and Found

Thanks to the morning light, I located a seed bead lost during a bit of stringing last night. Times such as this make me wonder what it is about crafts with small, easily lost materials I find so intriguing.

In other news, I finished the first of a series of lace headbands using lattice lace. It is quite entertaining shuffling about extra long stitches. It is a pattern I find simple, yet interesting, which makes me think that I could stand to use it on a larger project. I also want to make a choker, and perhaps bracelet to sell with it as a set.

The remaining half of one of my glove pairs (light blue silk bamboo Patons) is causing potential trouble. I improvised a tiny bit from my basic glove pattern, and thus do not know where to put the thumb for the left hand (as in, how many stitches from the end of the needle and what exactly my increase pattern was). So, part of this weekend will be spent staring at one glove and then the other while I knit.

Since the weather has shifted from snow to rain, I have begun to wonder about Spring knits. What projects might be best for this weather? Dry is a bit easier to consider, using lighter materials, more lace, short sleeves, etc. But what holds up in the rain? Is there a solution for water-proofing knits (to the degree that knitting's natural hole-iness will allow)? I have seen a friend knit grocery bags into a purse. Would recyclable knits be ideal for such a time when nature is about to have an orgy in the air?

For now, I am willing to stick with simple hands and fingerless gloves to pass the time, and the transition temperatures of the 60s.

In Which Craftiness Ensues

Crafts I knew going into college: typical high school art class content (drawing, painting, sculpting, some engraving, and very basic use of a pottery wheel), braiding, tying knots in strings (from a knot book), basic sewing skills (repair ripped seams, sew buttons back on), minimal cross-stitch

Crafts learned since entering college: chain mail weaving (freshman year), knitting (freshman year), blackwork (sophomore year), machine sewing (sophomore year), button making (junior year), tatting (junior year)

Observations: I will study jewelry and clothing to identify the ways in which they were made. I will also ask to touch interesting looking material (for people with whom I am less familiar), or simply start petting friends' clothes.

Purpose of this blog: 1) Record thoughts on crafts and their respective patterns. 2) Monitor skill progress. 3) Use literary devices, most especially puns, with reckless abandon.

Most recent enterprises: knitting items to sell at a local convention, teaching myself tatting

Short term goals: finish fingerless gloves (two pairs, one glove of each pair remaining), tat a bracelet with beads

Long term goals: incorporate beadwork into more projects, have a Respectable Inventory by April 3