Almost two years without blogging August 2020

Life can be a bowl of strawberries when cheries are not available.

 

It has been almost two years since I have been in this blog.  I have so many things to share and so many things to say, but I will keep it simple.  I have been evolving at work.  I have been searching for a job in Sacramento, but nothing thus far is available.  I will continue to search.  I do love my job at DOR, but it would be nice to walk to work.

This was originally to be posted on August 2019, yep so this is what I did during the summer as a summer project.  I have been doing a lot of home improvements for myself that is.  I took my Venus Fly trap outside, I have to post new pictures as it has grown a lot.

 

 

 

 

 

 I got this furniture from Ikea.   It was pine and you know how that looks.  I got some furniture stain paint and painted my furniture this beautiful color and I love the way they look.  Two dressers and two night stands.   I wanted to upgrade the furniture so that it look nice and warm to the eyes.

 

This same summer of 2019 I discovered this copper spray and went a little crazy.  This lamp was the perfect subject. It is metal and it was a beige like color.  I liked it then, but I wanted it to be copper, it is a color that is within the scope of the oranges that I like. The look of the lamp is beautiful and it has a magnificent texture. I got it from one of the thrifts stores, they were more of the same style I should have gotten two, lol.

 

This is my first blog  entry in two years I believe. I have like a flashback  that will come in the next blog entry as I move along in life.  I had no idea how much I missed blogging until I wrote laughing out loud lol, which now has turned into an emoji.  Life has changed in the two years  since I moved to Sacramento.  There is a Pandemic, we have a heat wave like never before and there are fires everywhere.  More in  other entries.  

So this that  you see is the cutest TP cover I have ever made in my life.  I forgot the pattern, but I promise I will make another one and will tell you the pattern  and the designer. 

 

This Octopus was from this book I got Creature Knits I think. It has a lot of fun knits for you to practice making toys.  This octopus was a lot of fun to make.  I was able to put pipe cleaners inside and it becomes a completely new creature.  This designer is amazing.  Again next time I will post more info.  I have the mojo for blogging back and I don't want to stop.  I am also going to do some You Tubing.

 

Those are dryer balls.  I decided to create those as a gift  for last Christmas-Solstice celebration.  I gifted myself a set and I can tell you these work.  My dryer balls are from natural wool.  I did not want to deal with colored or dyed wool.  These came out great and I thought were a good gift idea.

 

Well here we go,  2020 has been a year of challenges and growth, I am back once more.

November 2018 ?

Here I am two weeks after I moved by myself.  I am now starting to feel the burn.  I have spent 17 years with a pretty good man.  He was  not perfect neither was I.  There was some confusion from his part and I can believe it.  It is often interesting how people fall out of love.  It is also interesting to see the changes and the meanness that comes out.

Today I am sad and I come to Blogger, because I don't actually want to talk to people, but I want to express my sadness.  I am sad we fell out of love and that we will no longer spend time like we did.  I do miss your laughter and your constant chatter.  It will be ok, it just feels terrible.  Unti later.  This is Crafty Andy thank you for stopping by.

addi Express KINGSIZE Knitting Machine Circular Knitting mode Review

So what do you know I am writing a review for a knitting machine.  I have seen these machines and I have been curious about how they work.  I have read reviews and critiques, I have read the expectations of frustrated users and very satisfied users.  I have been able to create so many items in a short time.  You can use different yarns, buT you have to remember that the needle size does not change.  You can become very creative wether you want to or not lol.  This is a lovely mach8ne that will give your creative spirit hours of entertainment once you understand how to use with the least of frustration.

1.  You need to see the videos from Skacel and then the videos from YouTube.

2. Realize the potential and limitations of this machine.

3. I would strongly suggest using the weights that are used for machine knitting or something to weight your proyect down while you are working.  This will help you with the fact that stitches drop if you go too fast or if the yarn is not grabby enough. These are inexpensive I have used the knitters Pride knit blockers pins as weights with great success.  

4.  This machine is amazing and I am just starting to work with it on circular knitting.  I will definitely do another review on flat knitting.  Circular knitting is amazing and you do not need a special table.

5. Get this machine from a USA authorized retailer. I got this one from LionBrand. It had a great price and I am guaranteed that Skacel will honor the warranty if something is not right.  I can tell you this much Skacel is one of the best companies out there when it comes to their warranty on their products. They stand 100% behind their products.

6. As a knitter you will use a lot of your knitting experience to get the best out of this machine. Make a 2 by 2 ribbing then transfer it to the loom to make a hat. Cast one using waste yar to have live stitches at the bottom. 

There is a lot more I can show and tell, but that is going to be another day. I definitely recommend this machine for those creative minds and there will be some YouTube videos coming soon. Thanks for stopping by.

"Oberon" a Lace Scarf

 "Oberon" a Lace Scarf

Suggested yarn

Rohrspatz & Wollmeise Lace-Garn

Schoppel-Wolle Lace Ball

Malabrigo Yarn Lace

Yarn weight  Lace 

Gauge

12 stitches and 14 rows = 2 inches
in Plain stockinette

Needle size

US 6 - 4.0 mm

Yardage

650 - 1300 yards (594 - 1189 m)

Sizes available

Various sizes you decide

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Oberon is the king of all of the fairies in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream who is feuding with his wife Titania, the queen of the fairies.

Materials:
Yarn: Wollemeise Lace Garn (110 gms), 640 yds.
Needles: US 6 - 4.0 mm
Gauge: 12 sts and 14 Rows = 2 “

Gauge is not really that important, you will make this scarf longer or wider, or shorter and more slender. The most important part of all this pattern is that you like the gauge and the way it looks.

This pattern makes a beautiful stole and as a scarf it is stunning.

Miscellaneous:
Stitch markers (recommended)
Blocking (stainless) wires, boards and pins.

Blocked to 54 “ by 27 “ when wet. At 14 repetitions of main pattern. Once dry the dimensions are 52 “ by 25 “ dry.

This pattern has a border on the left and right side of the repetitions. Each border is comprised of 7 sts. The main pattern repeats between the left and right borders of this pattern are in multiples of 14 sts, plus 1.

Using the Estonian lace cast on, cast on the appropriate amount of sts. There are 7 sts for the left border, multiples of 14 sts main repeat (5 times), Plus 1 stitch, then 7 sts for the right side border. Main picture has 85 sts.

Blocking the pattern is easy and you can decide how to best block it.
Only   $ 6.00 

Triton Lepides Scarf 2018

Triton’s Lepides



 Triton (/ˈtraɪtən/; Greek: Τρίτων Tritōn) is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the sea. He is the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, god and goddess of the sea respectively, and is herald for his father. He is usually represented as a merman with his lower body cover in Lepides or animal scales.
A playful scarf like Lepides. This scarf is meant to be done without having to block it much. It is one in my series of attire for men, but it is unisex with a timeless look. It has a wonderful flow that will allow you to embrace the divine spark within you and wear it with pride.

Materials:

Yarn: Encore Tweed Worsted

Contents:
75% Acrylic, 22% Wool, 3% Rayon / Machine Wash, Machine Dry Low

Gauge: 5 sts=1”/US 8 Needle

Yardage: 200 yards Weight(s): Worsted 100 grams (2 skeins for the scarf shown above)

Needles: US9 5.50 mm

Gauge: Not really important, still I got 26 sts and 24 Rows to 4 square inches in Pattern meaning 16 sts + 5 as per the pattern.

Miscellaneous:
Stitch markers (recommended)

Unblocked to 54 inches by 8 inches. There were 3 Repetitions of the main Pattern plus 5 Sts.
multiples of 16 stitches, plus 5.

Use your preferred cast on method, just remember to use a similar method to bind off.

This pattern is available for $6.00 USD

Two Pockets no waiting

 
I thought that this was going to be more difficult.  It wasn't, because I thought about it.  I wanted to cut into the fabric and then pick up stitches.  That was a good idea, but not the best idea.  I was afraid that there was going to be a lot of unraveling and I was not going to put myself through that.

You see, the main issue and challenge is where to put the pocket.  Given the fact that I had to select three rows, I had a very hard time trying to decide which 3.  The fact that the ones I wanted were not the best ones got me to decide that it would be better to create another strategy.  I guess the easiest one was to pick part of the pattern in smaller needles and create a swatch that I would be using as the pocket cover.  

I picked 36 sts, and 6 of those were kind of as selvedge.  I have to say that I am very proud of myself.  I can make afterthought pockets anytime without fear of failure.  Thanks for stopping by.

After thought pockets indeed

 
This is my right side after thought pocket.  I am working on the other side as we speak.  The decision to make a pocket after the fact was kind of difficult.  This pattern has a cable on every other row.  It is extremely difficult to just cut and pick up the stitches.  Honestly too difficult for me to think about the fact that I could lose the whole sweater pattern if I make a mistake.

I decided to use the same yarn and create a duplicate of the pattern, but in smaller needles.  I allowed for 3 stitches on each side of the pattern to be on reverse stockinette, like the pattern.  I slipped the first and the last stitch of every right side row.  I left a long enough tail to do a duplicate stitch at the bottom.  It was a job well done.

Thanks for stopping by.