Cheep Therapy

So the last few days of camp have been a lot more difficult than I expected. After being a counselor for four years, I decided to join the program staff and teach swimming lessons. It's a very scary transition for me because I don't always do well with change, and it's always difficult to step outside of your comfort zone, and I'm definitely doing that.

In reaction of being pushed out of my comfort zone, I've moved from Knitting (a new, uncertain craft for me) to crochet again, and I've been mass producing washcloths. I've got some cheep cotton yarn and I've been pumping them out. They're both simple and brightly colored and crochet, and they're a source of comfort- one of the first things I learned to use on the hook I got when I was seven, and single crochet... the simplest thing in crochet beyond the chain. I'll have to take some pictures of the ones I've made, but I'm a little behind on uploading pictures onto my computer and thus onto the net. It's been very very busy.

In other news, I'm rather excited because Secret Pal 12 is underway, and I've both contacted my Secret Palee and been contacted by my secret pal. For those of you who don't know, Secret Pal is a circle of people on the net that participate by sending fiber-themed care packages to each other. I have some ideas on what I want to do, but I have a question for those who have participated, and even those who have not. Have you ever received some really cool, creative packages? What made them special? I'm perfectly willing to mine good ideas off others (after all, copying is the highest form of flattery), or use others ideas to jump start my own. I want to make my packages special!

Let me know.

Missing my boyfriend

I've been feeling kinda low lately because my boyfriend and I are on two timezones apart. He works at Philmot, which is a boyscout camp in New Mexico, and I work at Camp Chimney Corners (an AMAZING camp) in Massachusetts. Days off are normally for 24 hours, and there's no way we can see each other all summer. Then, before we can get together I fly out to North Carolina where I go to school, and he is doing a semester at sea that goes out of Wood's Hole, MA. There's a good chance I might not see him until winter break.

So this summer we are going to be communicating entirely by handwritten letters, and last night was the last night I could talk to him via electronics. To compensate for missing him, I'm making him a pair of socks. As I knit the soft material, it's both soothing and fun to answer questions about him to my friends. Luckily, I'm now at camp working, so I have less time to be missing him. It's nice to watch the socks grow.

Do you use knitting or crochet as therapy?

Secret Pal 12!

Secret Pal 12!

I saw this before and decided I desperately wanted to join.

Here's the questionnaire:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
My favorite yarns to knit with tend to be different types of wool: plain sheep wool which I love to felt. I recently got some alpaca by Lavish (www.lavishfibres.com) which I'm making into socks for my boyfriend. I love just running it through my hands. I also like cotton such as Lily's Sugar 'n Cream line or Ty-Dy by... I can't think of the name right now.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
As of right now? An old case for glasses for my crochet hooks, and a plastic bag for my di-point knitting needles. I always intend to make something where I can carry and organize them all in, but I hesitate to buy something at the store because it often has only one place for a size hook, and often I have doubles of my favorite hooks because I want the hook to match the project. Sometimes I want aluminum for a project that I'm churning out, but if I'm doing it more for the pleasure, I might get out one of my beautiful wooden shaped hooks so I can more enjoy the process.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been crocheting since I was six or seven (I'm 21 now) and while I prefer to do more simple, clean lined projects, I would consider myself advanced in crochet.

Knitting is another matter. I learned to knit when I was ten, but never enjoyed it as much as I did crochet, probably because by that time I was rather quick at crochet, and awkward with my knitting needles. Recently, in the last six months, I've slowly picked up knitting again. I started with a pair of socks, which turned out well but large, because I do continental style knitting (feeding from my left hand almost like crochet) instead of the throwover method, and I've found that my gauge is a bit looser so I have to choose a smaller needle than the pattern dictates (sometimes I'll even go two sizes down).

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes! I love to read, but oftentimes don't have the money to buy the books I want, so I go on Amazon and pretend to shop by adding things to my wish list. It's like drinking water when you're hungry... eventually I'll eat but I can hold it off until I have some time.

It's located at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1NQLYUYXB2SEJ

5. What's your favorite scent?
I don't wear perfumes, but I do put vanilla bean sachets into my drawers (especially my sock ones). I like vanilla because it's subtle. I also like the Bath and Bodyworks lemon handsoap. A lot.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I do have a sweet tooth, but I've been on Weight Watchers for the last two years and have lost 55 lbs, so I humbly request that candy be sent in very small quantities because I have very little willpower. Given that, I love sugar free york peppermint patties, Weight Watchers bars and frutties, dried fruit (dried strawberries and kiwi are my favorites)

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I do spin, if badly, but I still enjoy it. I've never had formal instruction on how to spin, which I think might be part of it. I have a single drop spindle which is rather worn and well loved, and occasionally I'll treat myself to some fiber.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like country, oldies, musical soundtracks, folk music, irish music and am open to almost anything.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I tend to like blues and greens when choosing yarn, though I look better in brighter colors. I wear a lot of pink, light yellow, jewel tones, and bright blues. I'm not fond of muted colors, tans, dark greens, etc.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I'm the oldest of four children. I don't have any pets, except for my youngest brother. *wink* I'm a senior at Davidson College (our basketball team rocks!).

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I occasionally wear scarves if they're soft and warm. I love mittens, socks and hats (thought I don't always look good wearing hats). I've actually haven't owned a poncho since the winter of ninth grade (it was black and I was trying to be a goth which lasted until the spring) so I think I would wear one if I had one.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Well, I haven't been seriously knitting for all that long, so I've been doing simple things- socks for the most part. But I don't normally do socks in sock yarn unless it is on the thicker side of sock yarn (or worsted) because I'm still slower at knitting than crochet and I do like to feel like I'm making progress. Thing sock yarn feels much too SLOW.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Socks for my boyfriend. Thick yarn not made for socks, but they're turning out good.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
I do, mostly because none of my friends are as crafty as I am, so I don't get them.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? If it's crochet I like aluminum (Boye- I'm picky), though I already have a large collection. I also love wood for crochet needles, as long as they're well polished.

Knitting needles I have full sets in in 6" and 10" di-point needles (from 0-10.5) I also have lots of plastic circular, but I don't like the feel of them so I don't use them that much. For knitting I prefer bamboo, because I need a little bit more friction. Aluminum tends to just slip too much for me.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
No to both, and god how I'd love them.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Four years. It's my christmas/summer ripple crochet blanket, because those are the only times I work on it.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Halloween and St. Patrick's day. It's a tie, and each of them happens in a different semester so it counts. Why? because for both of them I dress up and go all-out. My father is a Shriners clown by the name of Shamrock, so it's rather necessary that I dress up on St. Patrick's day.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
My Little Ponies... but not in a serious way. More like I'll be in the store and see one I like and buy it. It goes back to when I was a kid.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I don't have a subscription to any magazines, much to my disappointment. As for patterns, I tend to like to play, or wing-it. Patterns are guidelines. I'm very visual, so I like to look at crochet things at the store so I can copy them. Recently I got a book of different advanced crochet stitches that I love (blanking on the name and it's still in my boxes that I have yet to unpack from college) to just play and experiment with.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Hairpin lace.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes, I've knit socks. I also crochet them though it doesn't work as well.

Foot Measurements?: Heel to toe: just short of nine inches. Base of little toe to bottom of my arch, where the heel begins: just shy of four and three quarters inches. Widest part of my foot: four inches.

23. When is your birthday? April 24th

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
Yes. jecrowley

Because it's just that cool

Go check out Revelry if you haven't yet. It's a great site for those of you yarn lovers out there. It's a mix between a social networking site, a place to brag about your projects, share them with others, catalog the projects you want to do, have done, and really like. It's neat, and even better, it's free!

Right now it's still in the Beta Stage, but still, it's pretty damn cool.

Go take a look.

Angsty Crochet

Ok, so it really isn't that angsty, but sometimes you don't want a sweater in bright colors, or you have a friend that is more of the... Goth persuasion. Or maybe Emo. (Though my understanding of Emo is a little less clear so don't quote me on that)

Still, there isn't that much out there. After digging quite a bit, I came up with these helpful resources for your viewing pleasure.

Anticraft. This site is quite wonderful, and they recently put out a book to go along with the site. While not all crochet or knit (they have some really great crafts too) it's full of dark colored clothing and spiderwebs. My favorite function about this site is how knowledgeable they are about their craft. While the knitting I do tends to be quite secondary to my crochet, they know what their talking about. Their magazine they put out is always full of some great ideas to spur your imagination. Also, they are sympathetic to people of the more generous persuasion, so they always note when a pattern is good for different body types.

Rather unrelated, but still great, there is in Utah a Goth Crochet Club. You can adopt bats. It's worth going to check out, even if you don't live in Utah.

Ok, and I totally admit it, this is rather off topic (though not REALLY) but here's a great pattern for a mini boa. *drools* Boas.

A story

I first became aware of it when I came to Stockholm to study for a semester. My adventures about that can be found here. I was walking in Gammla Stan in Stockholm when I happened to notice... a streetsign had a scarf wrapped around it. There was a website attached to the odd, brightly colored piece of knitting, and I copied it down, curious what it was about.

It was only after I noticed the pieces in other places that I actually remembered to check it out.

That's how I found out about Masquerade, an urban twist on both Graffiti and knitting (or sticka in Swedish.)

From there I discovered Knitta, another site that documents the beginning of a fun, lighthearted way to take knitting and crochet and make a statement of it.

I have to say, in Stockholm, in the winter, when it is almost always cold and dark? These little pieces of art, so unexpected, brighten my day.

As the Knitta website explains the movement:

Knitta began in August 2005, when the soon-to-be-Knittas were discussing their frustration over unfinished knitting projects: half-knitted sweaters and balls of yarn gathering dust. That afternoon, they knit their first door handle. Then it dawned on them… a tag crew of knitters, bombing the inner city with vibrant, stitched works of art, wrapped around everything from beer bottles on easy nights to public monuments and utility poles on more ambitious outings. With a mix of clandestine moves and gangsta rap — Knitta was born! Today, Knitta is a group of ladies of all ages, nationalities, and… gender.

So go take a look at the websites and let me know what you think.

Garnfiti

Garnfiti is my own attempt to make yarn into an art form. The word comes from Garn, the Swedish word for yarn, and Graffiti- an urban art movement that can range from the beautiful to the obscene. I'm mostly a crochetifile, who sometimes delves into the mysterious world of knitting, and the unique and quirky world of afghan crochet. It's a place to post about patterns I've come across, things in the yarn world, and other thoughts I have on art.