Mad Crochet

2009-11-10T20:58:00.000-08:00

2009-11-02T12:12:00.000-08:00

2009-10-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

Cake for Central Library's 5th birthday party

2009-04-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

2009-04-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

2008-11-23T23:16:00.000-08:00

Elf Hat

Chloe has always worn hats. I made her a monster hat a few days before she was born and that kinda set the tone. Where ever we went Chloe had a hat on her head. Until...fateful fish taco Friday. The kind lady told me how beautiful Chloe was and asked how I managed to keep a hat on her. You could see the light go on in Chloe's head as she reached up and snatched the hat off her head. sigh This was taken after 15 or so attempts and one nanosecond before it was snatched off. sigh

2008-09-14T06:46:00.000-07:00

Chloe Madness!!!

2008-09-11T20:32:00.000-07:00

Bass Cake

We got an airbrush at the bakery and I am in love.

2008-09-11T20:31:00.001-07:00

Hippo Cake

2008-09-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

Hippo Cake

2008-08-12T18:09:00.000-07:00

The power of love...

I've often said I hate to sew. It makes me tense and crabby and it never turns out the way I want to. I'm terrible at it. I failed Home Ec. because I couldn't make a pair of elastic waist shorts. (Sad) But I was drooling at the beautiful things on Etsy when I came across an incredible dress. What made it incredible wasn't it's construction, it's a fairly simple shirred dress with halter straps, but the choice of fabrics. It made me want to make (not buy) one for Chloe. Now all I have is a $10, straight stitch machine that Alicia (Hi Alicia!) bought me for my birthday 2 years ago. (Still in box.) Also I have no idea how to shir but I decided to Google it and voila! a tutorial. One that I semi understood no less. This is my practice run for the real thing. I'm still not ready, not too bad mind you, but defo not ready. Gonna try this out in different lengths add a band like the original, see if I can actually sew straight etc. and hopefully soon I can make that dress...but no shorts, yeah, no shorts.

2008-02-25T18:03:00.001-08:00

Monster hat for the little monster...

2007-06-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

Soooooooo, we're having a baby...

2007-05-23T19:44:00.001-07:00

b is is for...

2007-05-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

BEACH!!!

2007-03-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

The basket shelf we built, needs sanding and paint...

2007-03-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

Two free cabinets during the bolting process

"Don't be takin' my picture!"

Tile and trim and a wee bit o' caulk

2007-03-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

chandelier

2007-03-12T19:27:00.000-07:00

More "Kool" Stuff

Sometimes life is surprising. I'd just put my crocheted cell phone bag in the washer to felt when I heard a familiar voice behind me. I screamed so loud Karl heard me all the way upstairs. He came down to find me kissing and hugging another man. It was my little (if 6'5" is little) brother so all is well in the White household.

By the way this was made with the Kool Aid wool which I've named "tangy" and I crocheted it because I wanted instant gratification.

2007-03-11T16:43:00.000-07:00

Totally Kool (aid)

This is my first attempt at dyeing wool with Kool Aid. I started by winding Lion Wool around my long green Knifty Knitter loom to make a nice hank of yarn. (It wouldn't all fit so I made two) Then I protected my kitchen table with a large plastic trash bag and set up to go. There are good directions for dyeing yarn with Kool Aid all over the web but I used the ones from Knitty because they also showed variegated.

After mixing my Kool Aid (I also used a generic "fake" Kool Aid in Lemonade for my yellow) I spooned it on and pressed it into the yarn. I blotted it a little before setting it on a plate to be microwaved. It kinda looks like a citrus rainbow. And no, I could not get the stains out of the dishtowel later.

This photo shows the yarn being microwaved for two minutes and the fact that my microwave needs wiping down.

Rinsing the yarn out to remove the excess Kool Aid.

(Im)Patiently waiting for the yarn to dry.

Yarn of a different color...

This was made with the same principals just a slightly different method. Gel food color (I am a cake decorator.) was mixed with lemon juice and spooned on. This was my sub for Kool Aid) So far it seems fine. There was very little dye in the rinse water and the colors are very vibrant. I think I'm going to knit a hat with it once it's dry.

Shameful secret- I did have to break my vow of not buying more yarn to do this project. I can't even justify it by saying it's the first time. I had a moment of weakness in Chicago and bought some ribbon yarn I've been coveting. It was on sale for two dollars though...

2007-02-11T20:05:00.000-08:00

Three New Hats

2007-02-11T19:08:00.001-08:00

Doo duh...

doo duh...

doo duh...

Eeeh eeh eeeh Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRP!!!

2007-02-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

Indianapolis Colts Super Bowl XLI Champs
Go Peyton it's yer' birthday!
Oh, and that ain't sunshine that bear is sittin' in.

2007-02-05T17:59:00.000-08:00

A hat for Siamese twins?

Graci and George model their crazy Aunt Kristi's latest creation...

Is it really?

   Nah...as Graci shows us it's just a funny, extra long hat.

   And George shows us it's reversible!!!

The pompons that seem like mere decoration are actually cleverly disguising drawstrings to close the end opposite of the one you wish to wear.

Directions, after a fashion...
First, I'm just assuming you know how to color work already, also how to follow a chart. I'm not the best person for explaining this sort of thing and instructions are readily available at sites such as Purling Sprite and Decor Accents. Knowing how to make a pompon is useful but tassels or cute buttons would work as well.

Materials
1 skein color A (I used Caron's Simply Soft Berry Blue)
1 skein color B (I used Caron's Simply Soft Chocolate)
Knifty Kniitter Loom of your choice (Example was made on the red one)
Crochet Hook
Yarn Needle

Instructions
With 2 strands of color A held together as one, cast on the loom and knit for 14 rows. Pull up bottom row to make a brim. Continue knitting with color A for 9 rows.

Begin Chart
  Fairly straight forward, the chart is designed to fade from Color A to Color B. You don't really have to make your hat this ridiculously long. You can choose any pattern that gets heavy on the secondary color as you go. (Progressively wider stripes of Color B or Half Color A, Half Color B. Maybe Using Color A as one brim, Color B as the second brim and using a strand of each as the middle...anyway you get the idea)

Once you've worked The Chart Continue knitting with Color B for nine rows.

The Tricky Bit
You need to mark this next row to make it easier to find. I took a long piece of Color A yarn And held it in the front between the wraps on each peg, then knit over it to trap it in place. It was secure but still easy to pull out when I didn't need it anymore. This is marked row is row 1. You'll need to knit 13 more rows.

Following down from any peg, reach inside the tube and pull up one loop from the marked row. Place the loop on the corresponding peg. (If you accidentally pick up the marker yarn, slip it off the peg.) Continue picking up loops from the inside and placing them on the pegs until every peg has a loop. Knit the loops. Bind off hat in the manner you prefer most. (I used the crochet method because I wanted to see if I could do it.) Remove the marker yarn.

Finishing
Make 4 small pompons (I used 2 strands of A and one strand of B for the A side and switched it for the B side)

or tassels or buttons or whatever.

Chain stitch a length of (A for A, B for B) yarn that is equal to the length of the hat at it's most stretched. Attach a pompon to one end and thread the other end through the stitches right above the brim. Tie the other end to the other pompon.

Repeat for the other side.

2007-01-24T20:17:00.000-08:00

Hello my name is Kristi...

It may be entirely possible that I am addicted to yarn. We recently bought one of those long, double sided, under bed storage totes to hold all of my yarn. Karl had doubts that I could fill it but I knew the score. One stuffed yarn bin later and still not enough room for all I have...sigh.

I made a promise to use up one third of the stash before I would purchase anymore yarn. The only exception would be if I needed more yarn to finish a project.

Or if I was buying yarn for someone else.

Or...

No, I must be strong...no new yarn until I've used a good portion of the stuff I already have.

I wonder if there is therapy for this sort of thing...possibly massage therapy?