NSCR Crafting

Balloon Flower Corsage

2010-02-11T12:54:00.001-08:00

Balloon Flower Corsage,
originally uploaded by NiaSkywalk.

Did I mention I learned how to twist balloons?

A few months back, a book from Klutz Press fell into my hands and I couldn't help but use it immediately. I learned how to twist balloons into various shapes. Not knowing what to do with my new skill, I quickly made a few things and left them to lie around the office. A snake hat for a co-worker who was feeling down who I knew would enjoy it, a saber and a couple flower corsages. I wasn't sure of the reception so I left them when I left at night after everyone else left.

The person who claimed the corsage enjoyed it and ended up wearing it all day. It looked very good on her and I did a mini photoshoot. You should be able to click through and see the finished results.

Creative Weekend

2009-12-28T14:04:00.000-08:00

This weekend was composed of December 24, 2009 through December 27, 2009. In other words it was a long weekend. While in the midst of said weekend, I rediscovered projects. I found the Klutz Press crocheting kit and began working projects.

I wound the skeins of yarn into balls, discovering a few breaks bad spots, then I began the projects. Project #1 was Envelope Purse. It is a very small purse, perfect for a clutch or a child's purse. My original thought was to use it as a bag for recharging my Wonder Warmers, but I soon discovered that it was much to fun to use it for such a thing. The instructions were simple and it crocheted together quickly. I used the large color amount and did the suggested edging in the contrast DK Mercerized Yarn I mentioned earlier in this blog. I even finished it off by sewing the button on. Later, I worked a few different flowers that I will add to the purse, also from the same book. Project #2 was a hat. This pretty much finished off the yarn from the kit. The hat came out all right, a netted thing, I might actually be warm, but more likely for those who get chilly in the summer instead. I thought I would do another with another yarn later.

I did a little more knitting on the Clapotis I am working on, but I didn't seem to be too interested in knitting so much as crocheting or some other project.

I felted a tight bit of wool into the rough shape of a cat. Since the most plentiful wool I have is purple it is causing a bit of a problem as I try to make it look more like a shape instead of a cylinder of felt. I might have to go out and get some other color to cover the base again. I haven't finished it, by any means, but I am rather happy with the current results.

I picked up a fuzzy yarn I had, it felt fun and soft, so I thought I would try my hand at making another hat, one that wouldn't look too bad on me perhaps. The hook was a bit small so I had to make adjustments. The project seemed to be going well, making a circular top by increasing in rounds not like a granny square, until I got to the point where the hat was supposed to stop growing and head downward. I discovered that it keep growing outward and the pattern wasn't working well. I decided it was time for a change in tactics. Since the yarn would have a lot of difficulty frogging, I instead changed to a smaller hook and decreased a couple stitches as I went around. The finished product now looks fine, more like a baker/artist/muffin hat than the pattern entailed, but very comfy and a bit fun.

I then picked up a few different yarns and made a couple of accenting flowers using the pattern in the Klutz book. My favorite was done with Crochet thread. It was the most satisfying.

All-in-all it was a fun and creative weekend. I have a couple pictures but no way to upload them at the moment. I just wanted to put out an update.

Needle Felting at Kinokuniya at Bryant Park

2009-10-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

Sunday, October 25, 2009 was spent in the company of Carol Cypher and fellow students on the second floor of Kinokuniya at Bryant Park as we learned the interesting -- and slightly dangerous -- art of Needle Felting.

In addition to the wonderful beading book and technique I encountered at a previous seminar at Kino, Carol has also written a couple books on various felting techniques and projects. How We Felt is like an interview of various other felt artists and their methods, while Hand Felted Jewelry and Beads holds 25 projects to complete and inspire. Once again, I felt privileged to be a student of Carol as she taught us in a simple and fun way how to make our ornaments and beads.

The materials needed for the project was a bit of various colored roving, felting needles and a block of foam or sponge to protect the working surface. According the Carol, there are various different types and sizes of felting needle, but they all have similar traits. The needle will be multi-surfaced with chips or grooves on the lower part that will grab the loose fibers and move them where we want them.

We began our project by taking what essentially became a filler color and felting it into a firm ball. Take a handfull of loose roving and scrunch it in your palm to get the approximate size you are looking for, pull it loose from the rest of the roving, then roll it tightly into a ball and hold it tightly on top of the block and begin poking the needle in an out, never deviating the angle once it enters the form. The needles are brittle and will break easily. The main danger is poking your fingers with VERY sharp needle. It is not something I would like try though I did come close quite a bit.

After I made a ball of neutral grey and black wool, I grabbed some harvest colors and decided on making a pumpkin ornament. It is quite a simple process, laying out the wool in the shapes and forms I want, it was more difficult to attach it in the way I want to keep it. While I was doing the larger areas, Carol told us how to do smaller areas as well, and taught neat little techniques. In the end, I ended up adding a face, a vine and an attached leaf. Then I created a small form for the top stem and another form for a 3-d leaf. After about 2.5 hours, I had a pretty decent pumpkin. I moved onto trying to make a bead and was amazed at how ROUND it gets with all the poking.

Some other things she told us that I didn't know previously were that other materials may be used in the process. She pulled out a bit of synthetic fun fuzzy yarn type stuff and felted it onto a bit of material she pulled out. She showed us how to add bead and other items to embellish the projects and then informed us we don't need to use just wool, it would work with almost any natural fibers. This intrigued me.

After the seminar, after thanking Carol for a wonderful class, I went back to my apartment and proceeded to felt a Claddagh variation into my favorite zip sweatshirt jacket. I couldn't quite get the crown so it turned into a blue flame. The heart is bright pink and the arms are gold in the circle form with green cuffs. All felted. I think I will have to find some silver thread to embroider a crown into the image, and use some of my embroidery floss to define details. It'll be sure to reinforce the wool on the jacket and hold it a bit longer. ...I may have overdone the size.

I have pictures, but I haven't uploaded them yet. They aren't from the class, just the projects I worked on.

Anyway, be sure to visit Carol's website and watch for a seminar in your area. She will return to Kinokuniya on November 24, 2009 for a wet felting seminar. I can't wait, its a whole month away!

Buy Carol's books and encourage her delightful art. Visit Kinokuniya for all your gift, book, music, manga and anime needs. And don't forget Cafe Zaiya is on the second floor with wonderful treats and drinks to purchase. Oh hey, and invite me! I love going there :-)

Friendship Bracelets with Beads

2009-10-23T14:52:00.000-07:00

I acquired a book about making friendship bracelets recently. Its another Klutz Press release and as always it looks promising. Included with the kit were several lengths of various colored waxed cord, two small piles of small glass beads and six silver charms.

I opened the book and looked at all the available designs. After a moment of indecision I chose the first project to do. A very simple design I could do while watching my favorite anime. It is a simple three cord braid with a bead strung onto it at regular intervals, alternating with a straight braid.

I admit my first attempt was a little distracted, but it really was simple. The project had the artist adding several charms. It wasn't long before I realised if I wanted to use charms in any other project, I would need to either eliminate or limit the charms. After a bit I decided to eliminate them completely. Unfortunately, I had already done quite a bit, so I undid everything back far enough to take the charm out. It looked as it all was well. I chose the purple cord and used one of each of the colored glass beads in five sets of five separated by braid.

The finished product went directly on my wrist. Time to try it out.

A few things I have notice less than 24 hours later. The braid holds up just fine, but the cord that had been unwoven then rewoven has been causing difficulty. It is not staying where it supposed to stay. The part that was untouched after the initial braid stays a lot better.

Its been less than a whole 24 hours, but already I am wondering how long this will last. Wouldn't do to give away or sell a product that won't stand up to abuse.

Beading and Author Signing at Kinokuniya

2009-08-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

On July 4, 2009, I spent my day in a Japanese bookstore in the middle of New York City, beading.

Kinokuniya, my favorite bookstore next to The Bookie's Paperbacks, is a store specializing in Japanese books, stationery and other interesting bits and pieces of Japan. I visit frequently for manga in both English and Japanese as well as for events sponsored by the New York Anime Festival and New York Comic Con teams. As I was reading the MediumAtLarge.net one day, I noticed an event that enticed me to sign up and spend my Fourth of July doing something different. Beading.

I was entranced. Beading? At a Japanese Bookstore? Later, I found Kino has a pretty decent crafting section in both English and Japanese formats. I was sorely tempted to buy more than I already planned to buy.

After exchanging emails during the week with the store's manager, John Fuller, in an effort to make sure I had a seat at such an awesome event, I was nearly late to the event. I paid for my class at the front desk as I had been instructed and headed up to the event area. The table was wonderful, laid out with many Japanese Square Glass beads, fishing/beading wire, beading mats, scissors and a display of books. I couldn't wait to get started. I met both John Fuller and Carol Cypher—the author of the book titled Mastering Beadwork: A Comprehensive Guide to Off-loom Techniques and the person who was to run the class. After I introduced myself, I took a seat at the table. The class had not begun yet and I was excited to see what I would learn. Although there were few in the class and I need not have worried about having a spot in the class, we were constantly being approached by bookstore customers who all expressed interest and dismay that they didn't have time to join us.

Carol Cypher was wonderful, through her instruction, I finally understood how to do peyote beading. Despite my ability to catch onto what was being taught, I was slow. The bracelet/cuff I worked was only finished by the end of the time limit with help from Carol herself. It was a lot of fun and I would willingly do the same thing again.

After making sure both Carol and John knew of my opinion, I turned to grab one of the few remaining Mastering Beadwork books in the store—there was apparently a rush on them during the week—to see if it was as detailed and instructive as the author herself was. I was not disappointed and made the decision to make the purchase. I bought the book and had it signed by Carol.

After the class, after the signing, after the purchase, I chose to relax for a drink in Cafe Zaiya, the cafe that is in the upper floor of the bookstore. I pulled out my new purchase to page through and admire the photos and occasionally a detail in the directions. It was an inspiring skim and I really wanted to get my fingers on some more beads right that minute.

As I was sipping my frappe and doing my gleeful book skimming, Carol joined me at my table. We had a chat where I learned about her blogs, her website and about other crafts she does and writes about. Not long after we began our conversation, I decided I needed another frappe and went to the counter to order it. When I returned to the table, John was sitting in the next seat over and chatting with Carol. I felt out of place, but I sat down all the same. It was an interesting conversation in which Carol made plans to come back to the store to do more crafts. I must say I am looking forward to her Oct 25 2009 return to learn needle felting! I can't wait for that event to come around as I have some loose roving. While I do enjoy spinning on a drop-spindle—despite how horrid I am at such an activity—I really never get to it. It'll be interesting to learn something new to make with all that wool.

There will be another class beyond that and it will be about wet felting, but let's get through this one first.

Visit Carol's Calendar for the places she visits year round, maybe she's in your area this weekend!

Carol does write ups of her events, here is the write up of the event I attended! w/ Pictures of us and the cuffs(mine is the blue one)!

Carol Cypher's Official Website

Kinokuniya at Bryant Park's Facebook Page

New York Anime Festival

New York Comic Con

Learn Japanese and help me to learn too! at JapanesePod101.com

Clapotis Update

2009-03-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

After taking a while to back into knitting again. I picked up the Clapotis that I put down in January. It hasn't been too long and really I do want to actually finish this project. I am quite happy. I figure I am about 1/3 of the way finished. If it continues to be as simple as I feel it will be from here on out, I might just continue with a crazy plan I came up with based on something another person once did. I am not going to be more specific at this date and time because it is not something I want everyone to think about yet. Maybe after I click finished on ravelry. We'll see.

I am not sure if I actually blogged about starting the Clapotis... I guess I will mention it now. I wasn't planning on actually doing the product when I went shopping on my visit to Tinley Park this winter. I was actually thinking of another product and I was trying to get ideas for my above mentioned super secret dumb idea.... so I had the instructions with me for the yarn idea. My hand was running over the yarns... yes, I DO have to touch. I am a tactile person after all. Anyway, my fingers landed on the NaturallyCaron.com Spa yarn and I was hooked. I picked up a taupe color, checked the requirements and a few hours later, I was attempting to cast on.

It took quite a bit to start and I ripped out more than I wanted to until I caught onto the trick. After a while I started getting a nice rhythm and pattern going.... then I couldn't get to my stitch markers ... so I had to waste time using other yarn (while sitting in an airport waiting for boarding area) to make stitch markers. At some point I just got tired and set the project aside.

When I started learning PHP a couple weeks ago, I found there were times when my hands were doing nothing while I was listening to the video lesson.... so I decided to pick up my pretty, soft bit of yarn again.

Several Projects started

2008-06-09T08:19:00.001-07:00

Crafting- CrossStitch Wizard,
originally uploaded by NiaSkywalk.

This past weekend, I started several projects. Two crochet and one cross-stitch, with plans for more. I wanted to try to the projects in the Klutz book I got from work, so I started the Soap Bag using a DK mercerized cotton and a 4.00mm hook. I like it. It is crocheting up easily and it looks quite elegant. I might modify it at another time for something like my PDA or NintendoDS or something along those lines. Perhaps it will also make a nice project bag with a slightly heavier yarn and larger hook. Interesting concepts.

I also started a Lotus Flower band. I have the idea that I want to make a few of these for gifts in the future and my unique cotton threads would be very helpful to the ideas. So. I won't state who may be getting them .... or why.

The Counted CrossStitch pattern I started is called "Magic In Motion" and is a wizard with a crystal ball and a book. There is some interesting parts of this project if I ever get near completion it will be fun. There is gold thread in this and I actually can't wait to get that far. So far I have had a few setbacks. I miscounted a couple rows and ended up skipping a few, which I found when I actually started on a new color.... I had to rip out a whole segment and restitch it. I hope this trend doesn't continue, I really wanted to get farther than a sleeve... you know?

Ravelry.com

2008-06-05T17:25:00.001-07:00

I have just joined Ravelry.com. It is the best, most comprehensive BINDER for all projects knitting and crocheting. Totally the best reference tool I have ever seen short of creating a physical binder.... and it is still better than that because it updates its own self! It links to blog posts, you can add patterns and to-do lists, list your stash, needles, books, magazine and more. I have been on it for less than a day and I have already joined several groups and have friends from my old SNB group added.

The only downside is that it is in Beta right now and you need to add yourself to a waiting list to be added. According to the site, the wait is short just so that they have the ability to make sure the whole site won't crash on us. It is ingenious how they use the RSS feeds and community share sites like Flickr and photobucket to do your own stash and project photos.

Way to go using new technology guys! I can't wait to see what more future innovations will be thought of... now if only there was a way for ME to carry this stuff in my pocket and access it regularly... ooh... like a user app.... interesting....

Knitting: Knitterary Scarf

2008-03-17T13:21:00.001-07:00

As is posted on my other blogs (http://niaskywalk.blogspot.com and http://niaskywalk.livejournal.com), I have been working on what I am calling my Knitterary Scarf.

The scarf is a turquoise color and made all lovely with cabling that was redesigned by The Knitterary (http://knitterary.blogspot.com). She claims it isn't hers, but I saw her struggling with the 5-cable pattern long enough to call it hers anyway. I was intrigued in the finished result and was determined to make it as well.

I fairly flew (for me anyway) through Part A, which she gave me on our last meeting before I moved in January 2007, but it took a while for Part B to get to me. When it finally did, I was on another project, then I got sick and/or disinterested in anything remotely resembling knitting (!!! Yes, scary, right?). It was map... not really a chart. An item with familiar landmarks and a big X marking the spot (ok, so it was a LOT of LITTLE X's in the shape of cable, allow me my creativity). She warned about something, and I recall that she warned me. She even mentioned a column she added to the spreadsheet. I even remember reassuring her that I understood and that I understood for a reason.

By the time I picked it up again, I could not remember the warning, or the reason, only that it was there. So I cautiously picked up the work again and thought very carefully before each crossover row before knitting it.

Somehow, despite the worry and the racking of my brains and the careful thought I put into each crossed cable, sure enough, I got past the awkward part and saw how my cables were coming along.... and finally remembered the warning.

This is like a Celtic Knot right here, make sure the cables cross differently here and here and here, etc, where I added 'cable to the front' or something of that nature. I was drawing Celtic Knots a lot before this and I knew what she meant. At the time.

Well. When I did that viewing of the piece, I saw the awful mistake. I hadn't crossed the cables properly, I was thinking too much.

TINK. Never liked that word, or the action associated with it... but in order to save my work, I had to take the time to do so.

In the big scheme of things, this is not something I do very often simply because I do not do a lot of knitting overall... or at least compared to my Tinley Park SNB friends and most bloggers. I prefer to not do it. It isn't fun and if it has been messy, there is a likelihood that the yarn will be ruined. I lucked out.

I not only repaired it by tinking back, but my yarn survived and now I am almost back where I started... I don't have a pic of before and after which is most annoying, but I was away from my Camera when all this happened and in the middle of a laundromat. However, I will have to post once I have Part B done :-) Then I will be 2/5 done :-) I am just worrying that the amount of yarn I have left won't make for a very large center section.

I have also begun to worry about continuing on the other side since I will have to do Part B and then Part A... but then, how much middle ribbing (Part C?) do I do? I am rather large in the neck and if it is too short, I would never wear the thing.... should I just do the second half independently and then join the two parts with the three needle bind off? Stuff to worry about soon.

In the meantime, I am enjoying my yarn and thinking on blogging a bit more often. What do you think?

NSCR Crafting

2008-02-25T07:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome to NSCR Crafting - The official infrequent crafting blog of Nia Skywalk's CrossRoads.

NSCR = Nia Skywalk's CrossRoads

Crafting = Knitting, Crocheting, Chainmaille, Embroidery, etc. Anything crafty should go here.

Why?

I like to have a blog to publish random stuff in and that is still NSCR ~ Random Thoughts and Essays, but I wanted to have one that was completely dedicated to my crafts so that anyone who just wants to know about them will have the ability to see only them.

The main difficulty with this idea is I am not a frequent poster. I post when the mood strikes. So if you have found this blog, I am sure you were either lucky to find it, or were informed deliberately. I will also link to other crafting person blogs and sites as I can, and perhaps I will feature the blog or projects of a friend or two in place of blogging about my own stuff.

Comments encourage me, no comments don't discourage me. If you find something interesting I have mentioned in passing and want to know more about it, please comment or send an email to me. I am out there and easy to find if for some reason the email address is missing from this blog. Just Google niaskywalk.

I hope you have a pleasant day now.