Crochet Purse

Since my surgery. I've been dealing with bouts of insomnia. This has lead to some creative pieces of work. One being a crochet purse, which I gave to my mother. I worked this thing entirely out of my head. I wrote it down as I went. If there are any issues, let me know. 

Small Purse

1 skein color A

1 skein color B

1 skein color C

Front Panel

Make two

With color A, Chain 50

Row 1: sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc in each chain afterward, turn. 48 sc

Row 2: chain 1, sc in each sc, turn.  48 sc

Row 3-26: repeat row 2. Fasten off. 48 sc

Small Pockets

Make four

With color A, Chain 15

Row 1: sc 2nd chain from hook, sc in each chain afterward, turn.  13 sc 

Row 2: chain 1, sc in each sc, turn. 13 sc

Row 3-15:  repeat Row 2. Fasten off. 13 sc

Large Pockets

Make 2

With color A, Chain 37

Row 1: sc 2nd chain from hook, sc in each chain afterward, turn. 35 sc

Row 2: chain 1, sc in each sc, turn. 35 sc

Row 3-4: repeat Row 2. Connect B at last sc in Row 7. 35 sc

Row 5-15: repeat Row 2. Fasten off. 35 sc. 

Bottom

Make 1

With color B, Chain 15

Row 1: sc 2nd chain from hook, sc in each chain, turn. 13 sc

Row 2: chain 1, sc in each sc, turn. 13 sc

Row 3-57: repeat Row 2. Fasten off. 13 sc

Sides

Make 2

With Color B

Chain 14

Row 1: sc in 2nd chain from hook sc in each chain afterward. Turn 13 sc

Row 2: chain 1, sc in each sc. Turn. 13 sc

Row 3-27 repeat Row 2. Fasten off. 13 sc

Handles

Make 2

With Color B, Chain 5

Row 1: sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc in each chain afterward, turn. 5 sc

Row 2: chain 1, sc in each sc. Turn. 5 sc 

Row 3-80: repeat Row 2. Fasten off. 5 sc

Pocket Border

Make 4

With Color B, Chain 6

Row 1: sc 2nd chain from hook, sc in each chain afterward. Turn.  5 sc

Row 2: chain 1, sc in each sc. Turn. 5 sc

Row 3-44: repeat Row 2. Fasten off. 5 sc

Finishing:

With Color C, outline the handles using 1 sc in each stitch. Fasten off

Use Color C to put pieces together. I used 1 sc in each stitch.

Feel free to post any changes you've made to this pattern in the comments section. 

And please donate to my transplant fund (still have transplant expenses to cover) at 

http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

Ramen Soup

I've been on a long Hiatus. Being sick did not help my crafting ability. I had no energy to do simple things. Luckily, a new set of lungs became available just in time. Now my creative juices are starting to flow again.

Since transplant, I've been craving ramen soup. The instant kind is full of stuff that I would need a Chemistry degree to understand. In other words, completely unhealthy.  I steer clear of the stuff. It's just sodium and empty calories. But my cravings were getting so strong (and it didn't help that my sister loves it, so I was smelling it all the time). I finally decided to succumb to my craving. I made my own version of ramen soup.  And I must say, it's pretty tasty. Much better than the instant stuff. And smart me, I took notes while making it.

Ramen Soup

18 oz Chicken Stock

6 oz Water

1" Piece of Fresh Ginger, finely shredded

2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped

1 Bundle Japanese Udon Noodles (I use Tomoshiraga Somen Noodles)

2 Carrots, Sliced

2 Celery Sticks, Sliced

8oz mushrooms, chopped

3 Scallions, chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

Optional:

2 cups Cooked Chicken, Shredded

1 can Bamboo Shoots, drained

1 can Water Chestnuts, drained

1 Egg, boiled or whisked

1. Put the Chicken Stock, Water, Ginger, Garlic, and Scallions in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

2. Add Carrots, Celery, Mushrooms, Chicken, and Udon Noodles.  Bring back to a boil.  Simmer for amount of time needed to cook noodles.

3. 3 minutes before the Noodles are done add the Bamboo Shoots, Water Chestnuts and whisked Egg (whisk as you slowly pour the egg into the soup).

4. Remove from heat and add sliced boiled Egg at this stage.

5.  Salt and Pepper to taste. Enjoy out of the pot or in a nice large bowl.

Note:

Can add any veggies you like. I tend to change mine every time I make Ramen Soup.

Can use pork, beef, or shrimp in place of Chicken.

If you like this soup, consider donating to my transplant fund. It covers ongoing expenses. 

http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

MIA

No updates for awhile. I'm in the hospital. Hopefully will be able to post more projects by next weekend.

Please donate to my transplant fund at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

One Woman's Trash is Another Woman's Treasure: Week 2

Sorry for not posting Friday. Internet was on the fritz. I suppose that means you get two posts this week, weather permitting. Basically whenever the weather gets crazy (snow, rain, wind) I lose internet. The joys of living in the mountains I guess. This weather is not typical for a California May. By now I usually have a nice tan going and have the best swimming spots picked out. With all the rain and cold, I haven't set foot in a body of water yet. And we don't get tornadoes that touch down. Wednesday, four touched down in my county. Luckily, no one was hurt. A lot of property damage but that can be fixed.

Having some camera issues, hopefully that will be worked out by the end of next week.

I am not a fan of the "holes in my jeans" style. I can't see spending money on jeans that are already ripped up. My sister is the opposite of me. She buys them with holes. If they don't have holes when she buys jeans then she will make tears herself.

I've decided to use a pair of these holey jeans as a canvas. I made patches to cover the holes. On these patches I figured it would be fun to put some sort of design. So I had to come up with a theme for my jeans. I figured that since I majored in Genetics putting "genes on my jeans" would be the way to go.

Using my genetics textbooks I drew out the structures for the nucleotide bases and twenty amino acids. I used a white dressmakers pencil to draw the structures on the fabric. I hemmed the raw edges back and then used a contrasting thread to stitch the structures (sort of a rustic form of embroidery).

After I finished with the structures, I hand stitched the patch over the hole. Then I turned the jeans inside out and used light weight fusible interfacing (followed package directions on application) on all the patched areas to add more strength and hold the stitches in place.

There's another pair of holey jeans in the pile. I'm thinking of making patches for all the cities I've been to and sewing them on. Sort of my version of "traveling pants."

Please consider donating to my transplant fund at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

One Woman's Trash is Another Woman's Treasure: Week 1

In the pile of clothes my sister gave me was this blue dress. I'm a sucker for blue. I just love it. I especially love how this shade of blue looks against my skin. And the brown makes a nice addition. So while I was in love with the fabric, I was not liking the style of the dress. I am a very small person and anything that doesn't have shape makes me look like I'm wearing a sack.

First I made a sketch of how I wanted the dress to look. I figured a band in the middle would add the shape I was looking for.

Once I had finished my sketch, I took out my scissors and started cutting. I removed the brown band from the bottom. I measured the band and found it to be the exact size of my waist so I put it aside to be used for later. I then cut the top from the bottom. I sewed the top portion to the brown band, creating a new bodice for my dress. The bottom part, I sewed godets in to add some flare. I then sewed the new skirt to the bottom of the brown band.

The end result was a dress with enough shape to make me look good. I did run into some problems. My serger went on strike. The foot pedal stopped working so I couldn't serge my seams and edges. My sewing machine has a fit when I work with knit material. So in the end I used my mother's machine. It's a Husqvarna Viking and it made quick work of my dress.

The cost to make this dress was $0. Since I like blue so much I tend to keep blue thread on hand. It also helps to keep a stash of black and white threads as well.

Because of the serger issues, it took me a day and a half from start to finish to complete the dress (that's including sketching and cutting).

The finished product.

Now I just need this rainy weather to clear up so I can wear this beauty.

If you enjoyed this article, consider donating to my transplant fund at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

One Woman's Trash is Another Woman's Treasure

wI know I've been gone for quite a while. A lot of things have been going on around here. Made it hard to get the creative juices flowing much less able to sit at a computer and blog about it all. Things seem to be calming down. At least there's an attempt at calmness. I'm hoping that it will at least last the rest of May. I need a break. And my sewing machine has been calling my name.

Why my sewing machine would be calling my name? I have no clue. I guess it's feeling neglected. Each time I use it though, it complains the entire time. Material is too thick, material is too thin. Rarely does it do exactly what I want it to unless I do some major tweaking. I suppose if I was just making plain fabric pillow cases my machine would be happy. But I like doing crazy stuff like button holes, and sewing in zippers. And my machine needs a bit of persuasion to accomplish the task.

I suppose this is great training for the day I can afford an upgrade. After all the frustrations with my sewing machine, a new one would seem like a God send.

Anyways, the old lady is going to be put to work again. See my sister cleaned out her wardrobe and was going to toss out two large black garbage bags worth of clothes. I convinced her to let me have the bags. After sifting through them and tossing what really should be tossed (never hand down underwear, it's just nasty), I found some gems. These clothes are currently too big for me and some aren't even my style. But the fabric is great and my clothes budget is nonexistent these past months. So I'm taking some inspiration from the blog New Dress A Day and am going to turn my sister's toss outs into new duds for myself.

So my challenge for myself is to turn my sister's old gothic punk clothing into classy pieces with a touch of whimsy.  My goal is to produce something new each week. I'm allowing $5 to be spent on notions (thread, ribbon, lace, buttons, zippers, needles) for each project. The bulk of the item has to be from the discarded clothes.

Wish me luck.

It would be encouraging if you considered donating to my transplant find at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

2010 Project Gallery

Here are photos of my completed projects this year.  Some I have blogged about, and others I haven't.  I plan on posting links to the blog articles as I get more organized.  New pictures will be added as I finish my projects.  Older pictures are on the bottom and newer ones are on top.  Enjoy.

October 2010. Black Pearl Bracelet with silver findings.

October 2010.  Black Pearl Necklace with silver findings.

August 2010.  Winter Robe I made for myself.

August 2010. Flannel pants with a skull pattern.

July 2010.  Winter nightgown for myself.

July 2010.  Doll for niece.  Has own little doll.  Still need to make some clothes for her.

May 2010. Birthday gift for friend.

June 2010. Summer poncho for myself

May 2010. Graduation gift for sister.

May 2010. Birthday gift for mother.

April 2010.  Upcycling experiment.

April 2010.  Upcycling experiment.

April 2010.  Birthday gift for grandmother.

March 2010.  Hair piece for self.

March 2010.  St. Patrick's Day

Please consider donating to my transplant fund at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

Fan Hair Clip

Last week was my sister's graduation.  And me, being completely broke, decided to make her a graduation gift.  Now I didn't come to this decision lightly.  My sister is not the type of person who enjoys homemade gifts.  She likes brand names and the latest styles.  She has changed her look so many times within the year that it's hard to know what she'll do next. 

I love my sister, but making something for her is a daunting task.  Unfortunately, my dog needed a trip to the vet and my finances would not allow me to buy her a gift for such an important event.  I took all my crafting supplies, put them on the table, and looked for inspiration.  I examined each piece trying to see if I could turn it into something she would enjoy. 

Despite all the fashion changes two things have remained constant for my sister, her love of skulls, and her love of Asian design.  I currently don't have any skull items in my possession (wait till after Halloween to stock up), but I do have a lot of Asian pieces.  I isolated those to figure out what to make.

I ended up taking a fan pendant, originally designed for a necklace, and adding feathers to it.  Then I added a felt backing to hide all the feather ends.  After a two hour drying time, I glued an alligator clip to the felt.  Then the piece went through a 24 hour curing time. 

I have to say that the piece came out nicely.  I almost want to make one for myself.  My sister actually seemed to like it. 

If you enjoyed this tutorial, consider donating to my transplant fund at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

Native American Doll

I didn't post anything on Friday because my project of the week was my mother's birthday gift.  Since she likes to read my blogs I couldn't post about her gift till after her birthday, which was Monday.

In 2008 I gave my mother a Native American doll.  She liked it so much that she told me she wanted a whole collection of these dolls.

A couple of months ago, I found a kit for another doll.  I was pretty excited.  I needed an idea for a gift and this kit provided the perfect opportunity.

Getting to work on the doll was a challenge.  I had been hospitalized in Stanford during April, which took time away from the project.  I live with my mother, so working on the doll in secret proved a challenge.

I managed to finish the doll Saturday evening, before my mother returned home form work.  That marked the end of my having to dash to my room to hide the doll so my mother wouldn't see it.

While I am happy with how the doll turned out, I don't think I will be working from a kit again.  The kit contained less than half of the yarn needed to complete the dress.  I had to improvise to complete everything. 

The doll does not look like the one in the pattern.  But now my mother can claim that it's truly unique.

I'm happy to report that my mother likes her new doll.  It's currently sitting in a glass cabinet next to the first one I made.  I also have collected enough patterns to make her eight more dolls.  My mother is going to need a larger cabinet.

Two pals chilling out in the cabinet.  Doll on left is the most recently finished.

Please donate to my transplant fund at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

Updates: May 2010

I made my goal for April.  I did not buy any crafting supplies.  I have to say it was hard.  Joanne's ended up having this sale on dress forms.  I've been wanting one for quite some time and just haven't been able to afford it.  Then Joanne's put the exact one I wanted for less than half the price.  I almost broke and bought the thing, but I managed to hold out.  Unfortunately, once April was over so was the sale. Hopefully there will be another sale again soon.  If not, I'm just going to have to keep saving my pennies.

My being in the hospital didn't help me much either.  I was too far from home to send someone to get a project for me from home.  I ended up spending a lot of time colouring in a colouring book I had brought for my trip to Stanford.  It did make me think a bit though.  Since I spend so much time in the hospital, I should include a crafting project in my emergency hospital bag.  That way, I'll always have something to work on, and won't need to send someone out to get me something.

I did enjoy all the creative ideas I got while trying to achieve my goal for the month.  It made me look at old things around the house and think of new ways to use them.  I had more ideas than I could achieve in a month.  So I plan on doing this again next April.  Hopefully, I won't spend half of it in the hospital again.

Even though April is over, I still haven't bought more supplies.  I'm currently broke (a trip to the hospital will do that to a person) and I still have tons of supplies at home to wade through.  I guess I'm too much of a pack rat. 

I am trying to work down my yarn stash.  A couple of years ago all my friends were having babies and I bought a ton of baby yarn to make shower gifts for all of them.  While I did complete each project, I had tons of yarn left over.  I have been making little toys for my niece ever since and the stash still doesn't seem to go down.  I'm thinking of making a couple of blankets to sell at the church Christmas sale.  It'll help me bring down my stash and allow me to make some cash.

Some of my homemade items can be found in my Etsy store.  It is still a work in progress, but I am hoping it will help bring in a little income to support my crafting habit.  Else my kitties will have to go hunting for their own food so Mommy can keep playing with all the yarn :)

Please consider donating to my transplant find at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

Celebrate Earth Day In Style

In honour of Earth Day I was planning on keeping up with my Upcycling theme and write about a T-shirt project I was planning on doing.  Unfortunately, I have found myself in the hospital since Thursday.  Sort of makes it difficult to work on any projects.  I still decided to stick to my not buying any new crafting supplies for the month of April goal.  So that means I can't just send a family member to pick up something for me to work on while I'm here.  The other issue is that I am in Stanford Hospital which is over four hours away from home.  Else I would have had my mother pick up my supplies from home and bring them to me. 

So I've decided to give you a crafting book review.  In keeping with my Upcycling theme, I decided to give you a taste of Generation T: 108 Ways To Transform A T-Shirt.

I first found this book in my college bookstore.  They had this little corner where the books no one really cared about were stashed.  Usually I could find some pretty good Sci-Fi books there.  This time I found Generation T. 

Like many people, I was suffering from T-Shirtitis (T-shirts spilling from your closets and dressers) and needed to find a cure.  This book provides the perfect remedy.  It has ideas for any type of style.  And you can easily change designs to suit your personal taste.  And in the back of the book is a section for you to fill in your own ideas.

My first project was transforming a t-shirt into a cute tube top.  I found the directions to be easy to follow.  Even if you aren't a sewer the directions are simple.  The diagrams provided are helpful.  They aren't complex, and leave no room for guessing.  There's little side notes on changes you can make to the design.  And some projects don't require any sewing.

They even include a wedding dress design.  All entirely made out of t-shirts!

Throughout the book, you will also find random t-shirt trivia.

So pull out all those old t-shirts that you love so much and give them new life with the ideas from Generation T: 108 Ways To Transform A T-Shirt. 

Please consider donating to my transplant fund at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

Upcycled Flowers

April 22, is Earth Day.  To honour that, I am doing upcycling projects for the month of April.  Upcycling is basically taking something that has little to no value (usually headed to the garbage bin) and turning it into something that has added value.  Basically, it's keeping more things from landing in our landfills.  I hope you enjoyed my Upcycled Armwarmers from last week.

This week I made Upcycled Flowers.  Basically, I found myself in the position of several unwanted ties.  I didn't want to toss them and didn't know of anyone who would wear them.  So I decided to turned them into something I can use.

Materials:

Old ties (make sure they are clean)
Feathers
Unwanted buttons or beads
Thread
Felt
Glue
Flower template (I use flower cookie cutters and traced them)
Scissors
Sewing needle
Pen

Directions:

Turn the tie over so the back side is facing you on the table and cut open the seams so you have a long strip of fabric.  You can iron the strip at this point to flatten out the folds.

Take your Flower template and trace it on the wrong side of the fabric using the pen.  For each finished piece, you want to trace four flowers.

Cut the shapes out using the scissors.  Put the unused fabric aside for more flowers later.

With the needle and thread, knot the end of the thread and pull it through the middle of all four flower shapes. twists the shapes so that the petals are not sitting on top of each other.  Then sew an X through the middle to secure the pieces in place.

Sew or glue a button in the center of the flower.

Cut a 1 inch square of felt.  Glue two or three feathers so that they stick out of the left corner of the square.

Glue the flower onto the square, making sure that the feathers stick out looking like leaves.

Once the glue dries, you have a beautiful flower.  You can make a brooch out of it, a hair piece, or make a stem for it and stick it in a vase.

If you want more upcycling ideas, I suggest reading AlterNation by Shannon Okey and Alexandra Underhill.  This book has lots of fun ideas involving clothes and accessories.  They even have some more tie ideas.  I like the project for make a dressy outfit out of bed sheets and pillow case.

If you like this tutorial, consider donating to my transplant fund at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

Upcycled Arm Warmers

I woke up this morning and it was snowing.  Snow in April!  Gives the feeling that warm weather is never going to come around.  It does make this weeks project very appropriate though.

Every have that favorite pair of socks? That pair that has holes in the toes and heels, but you can't bare to toss out so you just keep repairing the holes. Well, I have a pair like that. And after pulling them out of the wash for repairs for the hundredth time, I wondered if it was even worth the time. The thought of tossing them out made my stomach feel all knotted. I had spent forever looking for these socks, and was thrilled the day I found them. They are toasty warm, and have cute designs. I set them on the table and pondered what their future could possibly be.

Here's what I came up with. It's cold out, electricity isn't cheap, and nor is clothing. I can't afford to raise the thermostat, and going out to buy another sweater isn't going to fit into my budget. So how do I stay warm in my house without breaking the bank or resorting to wrapping myself in a thick quilt all day? Turn my favorite, worn out socks, into arm warmers of course!

Materials Needed:

Old pair of socks (clean of course)

Needle

Thread

Scissors

Bobby Pins

Measuring Tape

Ruler

Step 1. Turn the socks inside out. Cut a straight line across just above the heel. If it makes you feel better, use a ruler on this part as a guideline. Put the foot pieces aside to use as bedding for your hamster, chew toys for your puppy, or dust rags for your TV.

Step 2. Measure and fold 1/4" from cut edge and pin with bobby pins. Pin all the way around.

Step 3. Using the needle and thread sew the folded edge. I sort of eyeballed it and sew across the middle of what I had folded up.

Step 4. Measure and fold 1'' from bottom and pin with bobby pins. Pin all the way around.

Step 5. Sew the newly folded edge down. This makes a clean seam with no raw edges sticking out. I used a back stitch on this part.

This project took me less than a day from start to finish. In fact the first set of arm warmers turned out so well that I made two more sets in the same day.

So now I have three sets of arm warmers to get me through the rest of this winter. All without spending a single penny.

Note: I hand stitched this entire project since my sewing machine is hanging out at my mother's at the moment. So if you want to use a sewing machine, the time spent on this project will be greatly reduced (as if it's not quick enough to begin with).

If you like this tutorial, consider donating to my transplant fund at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/