Tuesday's Temptation

It's Tuesday so lets get tempted.  Today I want to point you in the direction of Yoola.  Yoola offers Unique Crochet Wire Jewelry Patterns kits in PDF and VIDEO!  As you may have noticed from my previous post, I am very interested in beading and jewelry making at the moment, so finding this site is very exciting for me.   Best of all, she has some on sale!

Happy Creativity to you all!

Beads!

Recently I have been having a blast with beads!  I have been making spiral crochet bead necklaces and bracelets and loving it.  It takes me quite a while to string all the beads so that I can make them, but it is so satisfying to create.

I think I will have to invest in a bead spinner to speed up the bead stringing process.  Also, I need to get some better display props for taking the photos of the pieces for this blog, Ravelry, and my Etsy shop.

Once I became proficient at this technique, I started looking for more beading challenges.  I found an ebook on Amazon that demonstrated a wonderful beading method for making rings:  Simple Seed Bead Rings You Can Make by Janis Websdale.  It is very easy to follow with good photos and it only cost $3.99 to download to my Kindle Cloud Reader (this is a free Kindle app from Amazon).  This pearl and blue ring is my first attempt at a project from the ebook.

Now, just in case you wonder where the yarn went in my life, have no fear.  I have several WIPs of yarny goodness in progress, so stay tuned for more.

Happy Creativity to you all!

Tuesday's Temptation....a day late!

I'm so sorry that I forgot what day it was yesterday!  Especially since I have found a fabulous fiber artist that I want to share with you.

Claw Tree Fibers has some amazing colorways that I just adore.  Her spinning fibers look yummy and the prices are right.  As an added bonus, if you don't spin, she sells her handspun for your knitting or crocheting pleasure!   Check out her shop and be prepared to pull out the plastic.

Happy Creativity to you all!

Do you wish you could chart?

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while probably know that I have written a few patterns.  I certainly don't consider myself a real designer.  I am just a person who will try creating stuff and share them if it accidentally works out.

Recently, the wonderful man in my life gave me a book, 400 Knitting Stitches: A Complete Dictionary of Essential Stitch Patterns.  With all these stitch patterns at my finger tips, I was itching to put it to use.  Many of the stitch patterns are charted and I have been personally challenging myself to become more comfortable at working with charts by knitting a few shawls.  (I will share pictures of the shawls as soon as my blocking mats are delivered and I get my camera to work again.)

Sooooooooo........How do I take the charts from the page of the book, combine them in a cohesive manner, and make them usable?  ♫ Hello Google my old friend, I've come to search you once again. ♫  I found KnitChart.  This is an extremely basic, free online thing-a-ma-jig (I just don't know if it is an app, or software or just a customizable website or something completely unnamed) that will help you to chart whatever you can imagine. Scroll to the bottom of the page for instructions.  It will not save your work for you, but you can take a screenshot of your design and save it in Word or whatever your preferred word processor is.  

I was able to take 2 stitch charts from the book, combine, adjust, repeat, expand, and mirror image them into a pattern for a sock that I am now knitting.  I am using my favorite sock toe and after-thought heel with the charts.  Easy-peasy!  If you have knit a sock before, then you can do this too!  Please stretch your creative wings and try making your own charted design, then let me know how it went for you.

Happy Creativity to you all!