Spring into Spring

With Spring upon us and finals thankfully a memory of last week, here are some lovelies I managed to finish in between finals, and a mini road trip to Kentucky (more on that later).

First, some crocheted armwarmers, made from 100% recycled yarn and reclaimed buttons.













I really adore buttons. Really adore them. And I am head over heels for these little fellas.




















Next are probably the most elegant pair of armwarmers I've ever made or seen, and they are PERFECT for spring. 100% acrylic (leftover from the Madeleine Tam), upcycled lace, and beads from my stash make a lovely combo.










So does the picot edging! it really turned these into something beautiful, rather than the original simple armwarmers I had planned.














Mmm, lace! The lace is girly, but the deep blue gives it a funky edge.




















Flirtatious, funky, feminine, and all around awesome.















More on my rav page, and if you want these to be your very own, check them out on etsy!



I promise to blog more later this week. Next up, the whisper cardigan, and (hopefully) a sneak preview of the launch of a new etsy line/brainchild!

Don't Do it!

Okay, another post today. Someone posted this on Ravelry, and I found it too funy not to share it.

Here is the original text from NPR, and here are my favorite points, the discussions I shy away from the most, the ones that make me reach for a beer.

by Linda Holmes

Don't do it. You may want to do it, but don't do it. You may think you are among friends, but you only think that because you have not brought up any of these topics yet. Tempers will flare. Nothing good will come of it.

1. Home schooling. This one combines the explosive issue of child-rearing with religion and stay-at-home versus work-outside-the-home parents. Always a delicious stew of vitriol. Wait for the moment when someone brings up that girl who spelled "euonym" to win the National Spelling Bee.

2. Bikes versus cars versus pedestrians. In this discussion, every car is that one that opened its door and almost clobbered you while you were ferrying a basket of native prairie grasses for replanting in an urban greenway, and every bike-rider is that one that swerved in front of you while giving you the finger and wearing a T-shirt that says "Anarchy." Eventually, someone will wish broken bones upon someone else, and it's all downhill from there.

.

4. Declawing cats. I am seriously not even going to describe this debate, because I am that afraid of it.

The last six, including an HBO cliffhanger, the clash of the titans, and that one band you hate, after the jump...

5. Music piracy/copying/sharing/theft/freedom. Go ahead and try. You're better off trying to get people to reach consensus about Star Trek and Star Wars.

6. Breastfeeding. All the emotional complexity of motherhood, all the economic complexity of work arrangements, and all the idiot-attracting power of anything that has anything to do with breasts. Avoid at all costs.

8. Twitter. One important thing about this list is that it is a living thing. If this were 2000, it would include Elian Gonzalez. The most recent addition is Twitter, which is a good example of something you should never attempt to debate, because it generally morphs into a heated argument about the merits of something between people who use and people who don't -- it's like arguing about a movie with people who haven't seen it. They know they haven't seen it, they don't want to see it, and the more you say "But you haven't seen it!", the more they will say, "THAT'S RIGHT, AND I NEVER WILL." And thus do you go round and round and round in the circle game.

The plarn continues

In awesome ways! Look at this plarn! Given, the only thing it makes me think of is muppets, or pubes, or muppet pubes, as I posted about in another forum. Which kind of gives me the willies.


Oh, the things you can do with plarn. I think this yarn is another great example of the unlimited nature of alternative yarns. This yarn is most definitely art yarn, but can also be used to crochet with. It's amazingly funky, and it makes me look at the materials around me in a whole new way.


When I started spinning it I had no idea it would end up like this. I envisioned the onion bags (the orange mesh) to stay, well, mesh, and to lie neatly next to the plastic bag. Clearly it did not.

It's crazy and spiky and kind of reminds me of cacti. The orange mesh sticks up every which way, and is very tactile. Surprisingly, though, it's not painful! I can't stop touching it.


I am not sure what to DO with such an invention though. Any ideas? All I can think of is muppets, and that is not productive. I'm already amassing more onion bags, in the hopes of getting another skein of this spun up this weekend.

I'm thinking it would make good:
-Cat toys
-scrubbies
-crazy bags

but that's all I've got. All suggestions are recommended! You know how I love crocheting with plarn.

There is some more info on my rav page, in the stash section as well!

Of Plarn and Kittens

I'm having so much fun with the alternative yarns I've been spinning. I picked up several t-shirts this weekend for more t-shirt yarn, and spent a good chunk of today making plarn.

After homework, vacuuming, and laundry, I sat down with a huge pile of plastic bags. A little while later, I got this:

Several balls of plarn, ready to ply with other reused materials, and the rest of the bags neatly stacked, ready to be cut.

There are a lot of great tutorials on how to make plastic bags into plarn. If you are interested, I suggest doing a google search, as well as a you-tube search. It took me a long time to find the way that works best for me, but when I did, it was such a revelation.

And, now that I have all these bags ready to go (and some even spun already!) I'm ready to start hunting for more. It's nice to get them in colors--like the B&N bag you can see in the picture, and I'm toying with the idea of plying colored bags with white bags to create a more interesting yarn. As I keep saying, the sky is the limit with these sorts of things!

And, here is a gratuitous picture of Roo-san, with his favorite toy (much to my chagrin).















Have a good Sunday afternoon everyone! I don't know about you, but I'm missing that hour of sleep we sacrificed this morning.

Whisper

With Spring on the way (maybe? It is Michigan after all, it may not be spring until July) I am feeling the urge to knit cardigans. Airy, open cardigans with single buttons. Three-quarter length sleeves, with lacy repeats. Cardigans that, paired with casual jeans and ballet flats, lend themselves to barbecues and sitting on the porch. Cardigans as cheery as the spring.

Which is why, when I got the Spring Interweave Knits a few weeks ago, I was instantly drawn to the Whisper Cardigan, by Hannah Fettig. And, a few nights ago, on a whim, I cast on. Yesterday I "finished" but decided I wanted it to be a little longer, so now I'm just working in stockinette, and hoping spring will come.
The yarn I'm using,Artful Yarns Fragrance, is a heavier weight than the pattern called for, so my cardigan may not be the airy, dreamy, ephemeral one in the picture, but it is soft, cozy, and perfect for sitting on the porch with a cold beer.

Now, if only it weren't 25 degrees out, I'd be doing just that!

Woo!

Hey,

Psst...

Look at the sidebar...

I finally got some items listed on etsy! I'm super excited.

Now to go ply more yarn, and play with my Roo!