Things I learned over a few years crocheting

A few years ago I finally worked out how to crochet. These granny stripe blankets were all the rage at the time. Me bring me I jumped right in and decided to use up my odds and ends I had and do a single bed size blanket. Did I manage it? Nope! But I did learn so much as I went along. 

1. Not all yarn weights are the same over different brands or even colours 
2. Starting smaller wouldn’t of had me looking guiltily at this project every time I saw it
3. That pretty yarn with the sparkly lurex thread is a pain to rip out and gets caught up and breaks if I’m not fully paying attention
4. My ability to count to 3 is not as good as I thought it was. I have a few 2’s and 4’s in groups instead of a group if 3 here and there
5. The randomness of the colours look a lot better than I thought they would 
6. My granddaughter seems to think every time she sees me working on something that it’s for her :-)
7. Working on a project this big sucks big chunks of time. When I craft I tend to watch a series or listen to audiobooks. I’ve watched and listened to a lot while working on this 
8. Keep a looser tension when doing the foundation chain or it will curve and not be as long as you need it to be
9. Weave your ends in as you go. The pile below is what I weaved in today

                

10. I’ve loved every minute 

I may add a border later to even put my wonky edges. This blanket is a perfect size for snuggling up on the sofa with. I’m so glad a persevered and kept going. Even though I’ve improved my crochet and am more advanced I wanted to finish this and display it proudly on the back of a sofa ready for the cold evenings to snuggle under. 

What have you learned lately. 

Fabric flowers

On Sunday I took a zoom class with Clare Mackaness from Beautiful Things. You can find her on youtube and Facebook or her website. I love how Clare makes everything achievable and fun. She teaches crafts, sewing and crochet to name a few things I’ve learned from her. Definitely recommend her if you are looking for something to learn online. 

The flower was made with circles of fabric, some machine sewing and some hand sewing. It could all be done by hand if you don’t have a sewing machine though. 

A button is used to finish it off and hot glue or fabric glue also comes into play. I yet again survived using my glue gun. Some days I just impress myself 😁 

I used a hair alligator clip to finish it off and for it to be able to wear it. In fact I put it in my hair and forgot it was there until I got ready for bed that night. 

A very fun class that leaves me ready to grab some of my scrap fabrics to make more. It’s and excellent project to use up scraps and odd pretty buttons we keep hold of. Great coordination items to go with home made items. Or even up cycling some well worn favourite clothes. 

After my last craft failure it was great to do something that worked well and came out well. Thanks Clare 

New failures in craft

I’ve always admired the art of pyrography and the people who can do it. I can’t draw well so didn’t ever think I could do anything like that. Then I watched a YouTube video using a chemical burn pen or a scorch pen. Simply draw on apply heat with a heat gun or an iron etc. And be left with a lovely masterpiece. To be fair they showed their failure too. 

In my defence I think there was to much of my stencil to colour in with pen and I oversaturated it possibly. It all started so well. 

I used my Cricut to cut out 2 designs to apply to some wood slices so I could colour them in with the pen I bought from Amazon. 

So far so good. Then I coloured them in. And removed the vinyl. 

Then I used my Cricut mini press and covered with paper abs heated for only 5-10 seconds and that’s when it all went wrong. 

Obviously way to much of the pen. After closer inspection the pen says you don’t need a lot of it. Next I turned the wood over and tested the amount, simple lines and writing, then, applied head again and it worked much better.

Definitely worked better this way. Light handed is the way to go. Will give this another go soon and hopefully will produce better results. Was hoping to make some tree decorations with the wood slices. 

Meanwhile I’m off to do something I know will work to boost my confidence up a bit. Tomorrow’s another day. 

 

Cricut foil transfer kit

Sometimes I am so easily amused and this was one of those times. Having not hung out as much online with other Cricut users I was a bit behind the times. Didn’t discover about the foil transfer kit until after it came out so splashed out and treated myself. Up until now I’ve not gotten around to having a go of this. 

It’s a system that uses pressure with your machine and comes with 3 nibs to go in the housing with fine, medium, and bold settings. 

The pack also comes with foil sheets and sticker tape to tape the foil down. Surprisingly, the foils more robust that they appear. As a last minute whim last night I got out the kit and card to give it a go. I found the shell in design space and set things up as instructed.  It came out of the Cricut looking like this. 

Next time I will take more care with the sticking down of the foil sheet and tautness. However, as I pulled back the foil after the Cricut had finished its job it all turned out ok. That first peek took my worries away. 


So pretty and shiny! Even the used foil held up to the light was wondrous to look at and play with in the light. 

I’m hoping to find a perfect family tree to try to do with this foiling technique because I am in love with it. Photos do not do it justice of how shiny and beautiful it came out. 

This design was about 3.4 inches tall I think it was so quite detailed for the size of it. I used the medium nib and one of the silver sheets of foil that came in the pack. It came with 6 each of silver and gold. 

Great tool to have in your repertoire, especially if you like to make cards and decorative bits and bobs. It can also foil faux leather I believe and will look into other materials it can be used on soon.