Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which Ow.

There was a free clinic yesterday in my hometown. Free boosters to anyone without insurance. Guess who has no insurance? Of course me. I was lucky enough to live nearby so I ended up strolling in as the first stabee and I've been nursing my sore arm ever since lol.

I'm incredibly grateful to not have had any of the major side effects others in my family had. One of my siblings experienced pancreatitis! My mom and dad got chills & exhaustion! Most of my family & friends had exhaustion, actually.

I just get a sore arm. Maybe some chills last night, though it was about -2℉ (-18,9℃) so... maybe that was just my room being freezing cold. Could I sleep with the door open? Yes. Will I sleep with the door open? You bet your ass I won't.

Regardless, I got up this morning feeling like I had tried to force a door open with my shoulder, so I wasn't in the greatest mood for painting. I mean, I did it anyway, let's be real. I managed to get a nifty little bubble art out of it, too!

"Ring Game"; watercolor on paper; MB 2022

This piece is not my favorite, but since I made it in bad light with a sore arm, I'm pretty okay with it. I practiced a few techniques, explored how the colors work together, and figured out how to use that water brush from the Peter Pauper Press field kit (I was supposed to pull the little black stopper thingy out of the barrel, which was... not easy since I lack fingernails!). I think next time I'll practice sunsets, limit my color choices, and get some water out so I can do better wet blending. It's hard to do with the water brushes, believe it or not!

As for the missing "Talk About Tuesday" blog from this week... honestly, I just wasn't feeling it. I got super duper lazy and just wanted to snooze lol. No story there. I mean, there is one story from Tuesday: A deer came into my yard in broad daylight and raided the birdfeeder for moments. It must've heard my mom and I trying to get the cat to turn her stupid butt around so she could see the deer (she never did lol), and it bounded off. I'm mostly shocked my neighbor's dogs didn't scare the poor thing off before it got any food.

I think that'll about do it for me tonight. I'm very tired, and it's very cozy in here!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday

 

No One Asked For It, But Here It Is Anyway:

Hey, so it's uh... it's really hard to crochet 7644 tiny single crochet stitches when it's super cold (and it's been between 8℉ and 23℉ (-13,3℃ to -5℃) all week), so I haven't got the next part of the Secret Project done yet. 

It's going along, just... slowly. And with very cold knuckles.

Weirdly enough, I can still sew with cold hands, though I do risk stabbing myself with the needle more often that way lol. The difference is probably that when I'm making my draft dodgers, I'm using old towels, which have more loft and warmth to them than smooth, thin cotton thread in single crochet lol.

Speaking of which, you'll need the following if you want to recreate a draft dodger, a fabric tube designed to keep drafts from coming underneath a doorway or windowsill and a necessity in older homes in colder climates:

• An old bath towel
• Two old wash cloths
• Thread
• A curved mattress needle (available in a pack of upholstery needles at places like the Family Dollar stores for the grand price of a single American dollar... aka they're cheap and I'm wordy)
• Scissors (We'll just be using these for the thread)
• Pins (optional, since I couldn't find my t-pins lol)
• Patience & something to sip on when you get frustrated or just to warm your fingers with - I recommend either coffee or tea, since the warmth is very good for cold days and also I overindulge in both lol

Also, you may want a camera to photograph the process, but not one on an older Samsung Galaxy because apparently those die horrible deaths... Yeah, I'm a bit bitter over about 3/4 of my process shots coming out with black lines all across them. And also annoyed that it randomly crashes when I'm at around 50% battery... grumpgrumpgrump...

Now that my crankiness has subsided here is how you do this thing:

Step 1: Fold your towel in half lengthways.

Step 2: Roll your folded towel from the open side so that the ends are hidden inside the roll. Roll as tightly or loosely as you want. Tighter will have a narrower circumference (not great for blocking drafts on doors with wide gaps at the bottom, but great for jamming up against thinner spaces for a more aggressive stoppage), looser will be much floppier and better for taller gaps or places where you need to bend it (say, a window or a particularly poorly insulated section of your room). 

My desperate attempt to show how you roll a folded towel, though it's hard to tell...

It should kind of end up looking like this:

There should be no bound edges showing!

Step 3: Sewing Time! If you have pins, pin your folded edge down along the body of the dodger, then thread your needle. You'll first want to secure your thread at the start however you like (by knotting the thread, making some kind of stitch that knots things, or however you feel most comfortable and/or works best for you), and then start making a... it's called a ladder stitch? I think? I don't actually know.

Make a stitch on one side of the seam you're making, pulling the thread all the way through

Then make a stitch on the other side of the seam, trying
to start it parallel to where you finished off your last stitch!
Tighten your stitches as you go and they should disappear!

Stitch all the way down the length of the seam. Yes, you're trying to connect two floppy rounded pieces together. No it doesn't matter if it's perfect your first time, but at least forcing the needle through one layer of actual towel and not thicker fabric like the bound edges  is really easy, so it's worth doing it this way. I recommend pinning, though I didn't have mine on hand, since if you pin the seam in place, it won't squish and flop all over the place like mine did and that will cut down massively on frustration! Once you reach the end of your long, long seam, secure that end as well.

Something I learned from hand-sewists on YouTube is that you shouldn't have too long a thread or it will get tangled. They're right. You probably don't want your initial thread to be longer than your armspan, and if you're being very cautious, maybe don't make your initial thread longer than a single arm. I went for armspan and it only took two threads to get from one end to the other. I am very short, though, so your mileage may vary. Literally.

Step 4: Let's cover the ends!

This step is optional, but I find it looks nicer if you do it,
since your stitches will stand out a lot on the thinner sections
and the end of the roll is pretty ugly, tbh

First, take one of your washcloths/face cloths, and lay your tube about halfway up it:

As seen here

Then wrap the tube in the cloth:

Like the ferrule on a pencil!

Here's where I got a bit... artsy. You can actually just fold the top over and sew it all together so it's a little bag, but I liked the idea of folding things all creative-like...

Sorta folded the top of the cloth down like a present?

And then crossed those corners over each other

Now unfortunately, all of the images I took of me sewing this section came out with black stripes and bars across them, rendering them useless, but basically I sewed the corners together, then sewed the folded-down hem to the rest of the cloth, then sewed the bottom of the wash cloth to the actual tube itself, making an origami-like cap to the end of the tube!

Repeat the process on the other end, and you have a draft dodger! Or draught sausage! Or whatever you want to call it (door snake? Should I add googly eyes?!)

A completed Draft Dodger!

I will admit, it's not the prettiest thing in the world, and I do worry that the ones I made might lose stitches here & there because I'm not the most confident hand-sewer (which looks like such a dreadful word in print...) but I am assured that they work! I made a smaller one by rolling half of a towel, sewing that into a tube, then cutting off a leg from a pair of torn-out leggings and sewing the cut end shut, putting the towel tube into the legging bag, and tying a knot to keep the towel-tube in place - that one's for a window specifically.

In the future, since I'm getting better at hand sewing, they'll look nicer, but what works works and I won't feel bad about helping someone keep warm! If you live in a cold place with a drafty house and you have some grungy towels you don't mind sewing up on-hand, I strongly recommend trying this out. If you're a strong handiworker you may even be able to machine-wash these without them coming all undone lol!

That'll about do it for me, guys. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them (I'll see them - I get an email when you try to post comments so that I don't get anymore spammers :|)

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

In Which I Review A Palette!

 Christmas saw me getting a lot (and I mean a lot) of pajamas, but also some other fun stuff, including a very cool blue sweater and a gift card to a local bookstore from my younger sibling! It has taken me until now to use that gift card, and here is what I got:

The Peter Pauper Press Studio Series Watercolor Field Kit
With 48 Brilliant Colors!

This kit fits in my purse, is easy to carry, is relatively strong plastic, opens easily, and does in fact contain everything advertised (mixing palette, 48 colors, aqua brush, sturdy case, and a sponge). It has a foldable loop on the bottom for easy balancing in one hand.

The mixing palette lifts out on pegs!

Those are some fresh paints lol

A clearer view of the paints

A Swatch using both paints & brush!

So let's talk contents. 

The palette is a palette. There's not a ton to talk about with it - it works and it's pretty decent!

The sponge is a tiny sponge, and I don't hold much hope for its long-term survival, nor am I 100% certain what the sponges are used for, since I usually travel with tissues that I use for cleanup.

The brush... the brush is weird. I've used water brushes before, but they're usually as easy to fill as "unscrew brush from handle, pour water into handle, screw back together, voila". This one is... weird. It has a little black thingy over the opening in the handle when you unscrew it, and that prevents you from just filling it from the tap like the other water brushes I have. It's also very short, so it doesn't hold very much water when you do fill it, which you do by holding it underwater, squeezing the air out of it, and letting the water fill it up. The whole time, you've got your hand underwater and cold and it feels like you're going to break the brush handle. All in all, the worst water brush I've ever used, filling-wise. Actually using it is great, though. It seems to have a more consistent flow than other brushes. I'd say it evens out, frustration in filling vs ease of use.

As for the paints, they're pretty! They're very nice, and they go on very smooth! They do smell... bandaid-y, though. That's odd, but not too unusual for watercolors lol. I think they just contain a lot of gum arabic. No idea about their lightfastness, but since this is a travel set, rather than a proper in-studio set of paints, I'm gonna say they'd be ideal for watercolor sketching rather than permanent art. I will also say that some of the colors are water-hogs. That second lavender on the 4th row down especially soaks up water when you dampen the pans and it ends up not looking like any of the paint reconstituted. Don't believe its lies, it's perfectly fine, it just doesn't swell lol.

The pans after the first wetting/use, also the brush.

One last note on that weird lil water brush: it stains just the same as all the other nylon-tipped water brushes I've used lol. Does anyone else have that problem? It doesn't spread the color, it just completely stains!

But as we all know, the real test of a watercolor kit isn't what it looks like or smells like in a box or on swatches, it's what it looks like when you use it! And here we see my first use of this kit:

"Sketching With Dedbert"; PPP watercolor on watercolor paper with Micron ink; 2022

I think that with a more robust brush, this paint will be fantastic even at home, and on the go I usually have at least 3 brushes on-hand at any given time just bc I'm paranoid about running out of water (a real concern with the weird filling-method on this new one!). I did forget to erase the pencil lines, so sorry about that! But this was a lot of fun, and it's given me ideas on what else to do with my future art!

And that about covers today's art adventure! My conclusion is this: this kit is worth the $20 I spent on it and I encourage anyone on the fence as to whether or not to pick up a Peter Pauper Press field kit to go for it!

Don't forget to Go Enjoy Something!!!

Talk About Tuesday

 

Tired Sounds

I am so incredibly sleepy lol.

There's no excuse for me not writing today's blog on time. Well, kind of, I was trying to be available online to my boyfriend who had his birthday today!

So I'll make today's blog brief!

Q: How is my finger doing after stabbing it yesterday?

A: If I didn't have written evidence, I'd never know it happened lol. Honestly, the scratches I have from my cat being indiscriminate with her claws while kneading are more painful than the jab is.

Q: What are my plans for the blog in the next 7 days?

A: Some kind of art for Thursday, hopefully more Mystery Project next Monday, hopefully coherent rambling next Tuesday. Anything else is gravy.

Q: How's the weather?

A: Cold. Sometimes. It got up to 50℉ (10℃) the other day, but right now it's about 8℉ (-13,3℃) and tomorrow it might be around 32℉ (0℃) but it'll feel like 22℉ (-5,6℃), so there's that.

Q: Cat update?

A: Poor Evie hasn't been feeling great and I'm pretty sure the antibiotics gave her a bad stomach ache until recently. We let her eat whatever she'll eat (as long as it's non-toxic) when she is off her feed, and she has yet to become overweight. Unfortunately, she doesn't like peas, hates to drink water, and will not touch eggs (unless they're cooked in bacon fat, which we have done exactly once because a coronary doesn't sound fun), so we just slipped her some oatmeal & water and she decided between that and her actual cat food, she'd take the cat food and like it lol. Also, she demanded to go out today. Again, it's cold, and she hates the wind, so I told her "you aren't gonna like it" and scooped her up. I stood on the deck with her in the cold wind until she threw a look at the kitchen door and started squirming. She pouted the rest of the night because we cruel humans have clearly turned the good weather off and stolen her grass.

And that's about it for burning questions on the blog.

I will say this, though.

My guy has an author friend whose book just came out. The author is Jonathan Evison, the book is Small World, and it's brilliant. If you're looking for a book to read right now, regardless of what your usual genre is, give it a try, because it almost certainly has something for you in it. I am too sleepy to do justice to what the book is and what it's about but think of this:

I am someone who almost exclusively read fantasy, horror, and Sherlock Holmes until fairly recently, and I fell in love with Evison's previous book, Lawn Boy. From what I've seen leafing through the gorgeous hardcover my guy bought on Sunday and from descriptions around the net, Small World blows Lawn Boy out of the water, and I am obsessed with Lawn Boy, so...

You're probably gonna love it.

Especially if you love history, trains, the American West, and rooting for the underdog.

So yeah, go check out Small World by Jonathan Evison.

That's my plug for the night!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday

 

Owie

Something you have to keep in mind if you're going to do anything in the fiber arts is this: pins & needles are sharp, and sometimes they can hurt you.

I stabbed myself in the finger today lol.

Now, usually, this isn't much of a big deal. I would just work through it. And this one wouldn't have been a big deal if I hadn't apparently jabbed right into a nerve on the knuckle of my ring finger. Because it felt like I was stabbing myself every single time the thread passed over the wound. It literally only bled for a second, but the ouch remained for hours. I didn't get the next batch of rounds done on the Secret Project.

I did bind off the ends of the zipper, though!!!

End #1

End #2

The Honkin Huge Needle (owie)

The cannibalized ribbon

So here's how I bound off those ends (which were fraying like mad!):

Step 1: Find yourself a binding material. I used a ribbon off of an Amazon gift bag. Feel free to use any fabric ribbon you have!

Step 2: Snip off two sections, making sure they're long enough and also wide enough! This part can be hard. You can kind of tell that this ribbon was maybe a little thin and the pieces I cut a little too long.

Step 3: Fold in the cut ends so they won't fray! This took some finessing because I cut them long, but basically, you just want to make sure there are no raw (cut) edges. I made sure there was a tiny bit of wiggle room so that I could sew through all 4 layers of ribbon more easily (hopefully you don't stab yourself...)

Step 4: Fold in half over the end of the zipper, making sure the end is fully covered. For me, it was a bit of a squeeze, since the ribbon was so narrow, but if you chose 3/4" or 1" ribbon, it'd probably work better.

Step 5: Sew the ends of the ribbon shut so it sits over the zipper like a little hat. This is where I stabbed myself. You are going through four layers of ribbon and maybe even some zipper band if you're being very adventurous. Your goal is to make sure that those folded ends on the ribbon don't pop out and fray, and also to fully encapsulate either side of the zipper. And yes, it'll basically be a little hat/endcap on the zipper at this point.

Step 6: Sew along the bottom of the ribbon, affixing to the zipper. This was the hardest part, despite it only being two layers of ribbon and one of zipper band. The problem is the zipper itself! It's big and chunky and right in the middle. So I skipped it. Literally, I just stitched up to one side of the zipper teeth and then made one long stitch from one side of the plastic zipper to the other. If I was being even more careful, I'd have made that long stitch several times, but I'm lazy and by then my finger hurt (and I didn't want to bleed on the project!), so one stitch it is. Then I finished stitching along the opposite zipper band and ribbon edge until I reached the end. 

Boom. Endpiece sewn. Fraying abated. Repeat on other end.

Now, if I'd found my thimble, the stabbing wouldn't have happened. I have 3 - an antique steel one for pushing needles through thick material, a newer steel one that doesn't fit anything but my pinky (I can't even find it - it's probably in a box somewhere) and another missing one, this one made of silicone and bright freaking green. It may have ended up in a project bag I lost. I'd use the silicone one as a "catching" thimble to stop needles coming out of fabric so fast lol.

I have also been thinking of making a thimble, but I'd need to find a single or damaged leather work glove for that and also I'm lazy.

Stupid injuries and blather aside, I have another fairly easy sewing project I could do a mini tutorial on, if anyone's interested. If you'd like to see me sew up a draft-dodger/draft-sausage/door-blocker out of old towels, drop a comment either here or on the Tweet I post this on (or my FB if you're friends/family ;) ). Let me know if that's something you'd like to learn how to make!

It's shockingly easy, and if you have actual sewing skills, they might even be a durable, affordable option for blocking cold air in the winter!

That'll about do it for me today.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC 

Thursday Art Walk

 

Still sleepy as heck, but I still drew/painted a bit

Some weeks, you slam out a bunch of amigurumi and paintings, and some weeks you want to crawl into hibernation and do nothing whatsoever. This has been one of the latter weeks. Is this burnout? Eh, maybe. I still *want* to draw and paint I'm just super sleepy.

Part of the reason I'm so tired is the oft-mentioned pilling of my cat. The last few pillings have been pretty hard - she's been stealthily spitting the pills out, and she went on a hunger strike that just made the antibiotics hurt her belly, so that has sucked. She finally ate tonight after giving her a bunch of choices (including cold oatmeal and lettuce because she's weird), and she let us pill her at 8PM so that was nice.

Another reason for my chronic sleepiness is that it's deeeeeep winter where I live. Yes, there are colder places and snowier places even in this state, but let me just say I'm glad today was 32℉ (0℃) because on Saturday it'll feel like -26℉ (-32℃) and I am not at all down with that.

Thank goodness I have warm fuzzy things to wear and curl up in (like the sweater I made! And some cozy pajamas I got for Christmas along with some super comfy slippers)!

I also have my boy Dedbert to keep me company.

"Here Comes The Boy"; watercolor pencil & Pigma micron; 2022

I hope I can get together enough motivation and focus to do more art next week. I'd really like to be making more art! Hopefully after I'm done pilling the cat, I'll be more rested and can do more & better art.

How is the winter treating y'all? Hope you're warm and safe (or cool & safe if you're in the southern hemisphere!). 

That'll do it for me tonight lol.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I Am Very Tired

I am, as the caption says, very tired. Poor Evie the cat is back on her antibiotics again, but we did get good news from the vet saying that her kidney values are down, and it seems to support my theory that her upper respiratory infection was a bit more widespread than they'd initially thought. She's coughing a lot (probably because the meds are draining her sinuses and loosening gunk in her chest) but she was just playing like mad downstairs, so I think she's actually feeling much better.

The back half of December is always tricky for me. I rarely buy presents for people, preferring by far to make things for them. Unfortunately, I'm also an over-committer. I make too many things all at once and I don't plan accordingly.

I have 2 parents, 3 grandparents, 3 siblings with a partner each, 3 niblings, an incredible boyfriend, some friends, and a cat. I also have the time management skills of an overstimulated toddler.

Did I mention that some of these folks have birthdays this winter? Yeah, that's also a thing.

My final count of Making for the holidays was:

• 20+ snowflake ornaments
• 1 pair socks
• 3 amigurumi (2 cat cupcakes and 1 chibi dragon)
• 3 doilies
• 1 bag of popcorn (not crafted, but purchased!)
• 1 set of fingerless gloves
• a mouse that has already found its way under the couch beyond the reach of the yardstick

Needless to say, I was unable to find time to work on that Mystery Project I thought I'd finish in November (ha!).

Then I went shopping with Christmas money and realized that the jumbo skeins of Red Heart Super Saver Neon Stripe were very in-budget.

I've had an ongoing promise to myself ever since I first encountered the colorway that I would make myself a sweater from it one day and after bullying my way back through old Lion Brand Patterns, I chose the "One-Stitch Adult Cardigan" (pattern #957). 

It took just about 4 skeins of the RHSS in Neon Stripe and a week to achieve my dream. I lined the pockets and finished the seams with a jumbo skein of solid black I had on-hand, and next thing I knew, it was not only finished, but I have worn it pretty much every day since I made it!!!

Behold, the reason I haven't been posting lately :P

I even made the buttons myself (because I hated the selection in Wal-Mart and the local sewing shop wasn't open that day. I have one sleeve stuffed in the pocket because I didn't want to back all the way up lol. And yes, that black triangle on the sleeve is natural pooling.

The post-Christmas exhaustion was to be expected, but as I've mentioned, I also have to help pill poor Evie every morning and night. I'm one of those perpetually-exhausted-pigeon people - neither an early bird nor a night owl. I also don't get to sleep easily. And I cannot fall back asleep once I've stood up, so that means I've been exhausted for the past several days. You wouldn't think an 8AM-8PM schedule would be so grueling when I'm not doing anything else to exhaust myself!

And yet here I am, midnight rolling past me once again, and I'm stupidly tired.

At least the cat is fairly easy to pill this time around. I've got it so I hold her like we're just cuddling, but I have her paws on my right bicep while my left arm curls around her haunches and that hand gently holds her back feet. Then I press my cheek gently into the back of her head so she has nowhere to twist her face. At that point, my mother quickly apologizes to Evie and forces the pill into her mouth. We've got it down to a 30 second job that mostly involves me trying to collect the cat for pilling.

Heck, I've pilled her solo twice now with very little difficulty. The first time, my mother was busy during an evening pilling so I was alone and managed to lay down next to her on the carpet, snake an arm around her to keep her from running, and stuck the pill (and most of my finger) into her mouth. The second time I ambushed her during Wheel of Fortune because she was asleep on my mother (and waking her up would've made pilling her harder). That time I literally just petted her a few times before slipping the pill into her mouth. She did not appreciate that at all and coughed at me accusingly for a bit.

She's such a gentle cat, too!

At every juncture of the pilling process, she could easily gouge at either one of us with her little razor claws or bite me right in my fat stupid face but she refuses to do more than turn her head like the slightly cranky baby she is. We really, really lucked out with her, health problems and all.

I think that does about cover things from me this week.

I plan to do some more art on Thursday, finish more of the Mystery Project for Monday, and blather at you all again next Tuesday, but aside from that, it's too cold and precipitative for me to make any kinds of plans. Seriously, it never got above 7℉ (-13.9℃) today and we're supposed to get another storm (our 3rd this month!) on Sunday. Bleh.

I hope you guys are having a restful beginning of the year, and if not, then I hope you can at least find some time and energy to be creative!

For now though,

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday

I'm Back And Hard At Work!

 I took the last half of December off from any crochet but Christmas crochet, and until this week, I have also been working on other projects for myself and my boyfriend. I made my first sweater! I'll take pics of that for tomorrow, but for now, let's show off what I've done this week on the Mystery Project!

First, here it is from the top:

Round 1: sc 6 into magic ring (6 sc)

R2: 2sc around (12 sc)
R3: [2sc, sc] around (18 sc)
R4: [sc, 2sc, sc] (24 sc)
R5: [2sc, sc in next 3 sts] (30 sc)
R6: sc around (30 sc)
R7: [sc in next 2 sts, 2sc, sc in next 2 sts] around (36 sc)
R8: [2sc, sc in next 5 sts] around (42 sc)
R9: [sc in next 3 sts, 2sc, sc in next 3 sts] around (48 sc)
R10: [2sc, sc in next 7 sts] around (54 sts)
R11: [sc in next 4 sts, 2sc, sc in next 4 sts] around (60 sc)
R12-13: sc around (60 sc)
R14: [2sc, sc in next 9 sts] around (66 sc)
R15: [sc in next 5 sts, 2sc, sc in next 5 sts] around (72 sc)
R16: [2sc, sc in next 11 sts] around (78 sc)
R17: [sc in next 6 sts, 2sc, sc in next 6 sts] around (84 sc)
R18: [2sc, sc in next 13 sts] around (90 sc)
R19-21: sc around (90 sc)
R22: [sc in next 7 sts, 2sc, sc in next 7 sts] around (96 sc)
R23: [2sc, sc in next 15 sts] around (102 sc)
R24: [sc in next 8 sts, 2sc, sc in next 8 sts] around (108 sc)
R25: [2sc, sc in next 17 sts] around (114 sc)
R26: [sc in next 9 sts, 2sc, sc in next 9 sts] around (120 sc)
R27-30: sc around (120 sc)
R31: [2sc, sc in next 19 sts] around (126 sc)
R32: [sc in next 10 sts, 2sc, sc in next 10 sts] around (132 sc)
R33: [2sc, sc in next 21 sts] around (138 sc)
R34: [sc in next 11 sts, 2sc, sc in next 11 sts] around (144 sc)
R35: [2sc, sc in next 23 sts] around (150 sc)
R36-40: sc around (150 sc)
R41: [sc 2 together, sc 23] around (144 sc)
R42-47: sc around (144 sc)
R48: [sc 11, sc 2 together, sc 11] around (138 sc)
R49-55: sc around (138 sc)
R56: [sc 2 together, sc 21] around (132 sc)
R57-64: sc around (132sc)
R65: [sc 10, sc 2 tog, sc 10] around (126 sc)
R66-74: sc around (126 sc)
R75: [sc 2 tog, sc 19] around (120 sc)
R76-84: sc around (120 sc)
R85: sc around, sl st to first sc (120 sc)
R86: ch3 (counts as 1^st dc), dc in each sc around, sl st in top of ch3 (120 sc)
R87: ch3 (counts as 1^st dc), dc in next 10 dc; yarn over, insert hook into next dc, pull through 1 loop, yarn over, pull through 2 loops, yarn over, pull through 2 loops (does not count as 1^st foundation dc), foundation dc next 96 stitches, then (being careful not to twist) dc in the 12^th dc from the end of the round, dc to the end of the round (24 dc, 96 foundation dc = 120 dc); sl st to top of ch3, fasten off.

You should now have something that looks like a hinged ring or a handle attached to an odd, pear-shaped pouch. Now we’ll begin the underside of the lid (this is going to be weird, I’m sorry).

Form a magic ring from the same color as you’ve been using. I use a double-magic-ring for added security but you can start this in the round however you like.

R1: ch3 (counts as 1^st dc here and throughout), dc 11 in ring, sl st to the top of the ch3 (12dc)
R2: ch3, fpdc in same dc, (dc in next dc, fpdc in same dc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (12dc, 12fpdc = 24st)
R3: ch3, dc in next st, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 2 st, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (24dc, 12fpdc = 36st)
R4: ch3, dc in next 2 sts, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 3 sts, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (36dc, 12fpdc = 48st)
R5: ch3, dc in next 3 sts, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 4 sts, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (48dc, 12fpdc = 60st)
R6: ch3, dc in next 4 sts, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 5 sts, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (60dc, 12fpdc = 72st)
R7: ch3, dc in next 5 sts, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 6 sts, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (72dc, 12fpdc = 84st)
R8: ch3, dc in next 6 sts, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 7 sts, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (84dc, 12fpdc = 96st)
R9: ch3, dc in next 7 sts, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 8 sts, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (96dc, 12fpdc = 108st)
R10: ch3, dc in next 8 sts, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 9 sts, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (108dc, 12fpdc = 120st)

Take your hook out of the disc you formed (which we will now refer to as the “Lid”), then choose a spot to attach it to on the weird flap/hinge part of the first piece (which we’ll now refer to as the “Body”). With the ridged pattern facing downward (towards the open mouth of the Body), insert your hook back through one stitch of the Body’s hinge/flap and back into the loop of the Lid. We will be making our stitches through the hinge/flap stitches and back into the Lid for this round.

R11: ch3 (pull the first loop all the way through the hinge/flap stitch to make your 1^st ch), dc in next 9 dc going through the corresponding flap/hinge stitches as you go; on the next stitch, do not go back through the hinge/flap stitch to make your fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 10 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around until the last fpdc, which is basically impossible (if you figure it out, great!) so just fake it til you make it; sl st in top of ch3. (120dc + 12fpdc = 132 sts)

You should have something that looks a bit like a sand dollar stuck in a ring.

R12: ch3, dc in next 10 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 11 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (132dc + 12fpdc = 144 sts)

R13: ch3, dc in next 11 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 12 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (144dc + 12fpdc = 156 sts)

R14: ch3, dc in next 12 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 13 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (156dc + 12fpdc = 168sts)
R15: ch3, dc in next 13 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 14 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (168dc + 12fpdc = 180sts)

This week:

R16: ch3, dc in next 14 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 15 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (180dc + 12fpdc = 192sts)

R17: ch3, dc in next 15 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 16 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (192dc + 12fpdc = 204sts)

R18: ch3, dc in next 16 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 17 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (204dc + 12fpdc = 216sts)

R19: ch3, dc in next 17 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 18 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (216dc + 12fpdc = 228sts)

R20: ch3, dc in next 18 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 19 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (228dc + 12fpdc = 240sts)

And here's what I've done this week:

R21: ch3, dc in next 19 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 20 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (240dc + 12fpdc = 252sts)

R22: ch3, dc in next 20 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 21 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (252dc + 12fpdc = 264sts)

R23: ch3, dc in next 21 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 22 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (264dc + 12fpdc = 276sts)

R24: ch3, dc in next 22 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 23 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (276dc + 12fpdc = 288sts)

R25: ch3, dc in next 23 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 24 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (288dc + 12fpdc = 300sts)

You'll have a nice big weird ribbed disc now, but we're not done yet!

R26: ch3, insert hook through back loops of next dc - by this I mean the back loop usually used and there should be a very small wrapped section just below that loop that you can wiggle the hook onto. If you cannot find that, don't worry, just work in back loops only to the end of the round, otherwise, dc into both loops around, change to your second color in the end of the last dc, sl st in top of ch3 to join. (300 sts)

R27: ch3, dc in next 74 dc, hdc in next dc, sc in next dc, sl st in next 146 dc, sc in next dc, hdc in next dc, dc in last 75 dc, sl st to top of ch 3 to join. (150 dc, 2 hdc, 2sc, 146 sl st = 300 sts)

This week we'll need to do some foundation double crochet:

R28: ch3, dc in next 74 dc, foundation dc 150 stitches, skip the sc, hdc, and sl st, dc in next 75 dc, sl st in top of ch 3 to join. (300 dc)

R29-32: ch2, hdc around, sl st in top of ch2 to join. (300 hdc)

After this row, work in a spiral without joining

R33-47: sc around (300 sc)

At any point in these single crochet rounds, you should start to sew in your zipper!

I used a backstitch for mine, but you can use whatever stitch you know how to do!

Honestly, though, I'd most strongly suggest using a sewing machine for this.

This is me trying (badly) to show you that I sewed into the notch left by the top of our second flap!

Another variation on the backstitch

The Zipper stitched in place!

Now you may be wondering where this zipper came from?

I cannibalized it from a ripped project bag (aka a reused plastic zipper bag from a set of sheets we bought ages ago where the plastic was starting to give out) and stitched that into the bag. You may have also noticed that the red part got a bit puckered. That's because I do not hand-sew well yet. I will get there eventually, and I'm sure that if I'd had a working machine (and if I remembered how to use one) it'd have been way neater, but it is what it is.

I had a lot of difficulty with the zipper at any rate. It was frayed at the ends, had no stoppers, and the zipper pull itself had fallen off! I had to very patiently get that back onto the zipper sides, zip the zipper shut, and sew it into place. Then I made homemade zipper stops by sewing the zipper (and only the zipper!) at either end, pushing the needle through one side very close to the teeth and back up through the other side as close to the teeth there, too. I did that ten times per side, making a couple of pretty hefty bands of doubled-over thread.

I'd definitely recommend two things for the zippers:

1) use shorter lengths of thread for hand sewing to avoid tangling (or just use a sewing machine if you have one!)

2) just buy a new zipper that's the right length if you have that option.

It's been alternatively too cold, too snowy/wet, or nothing has been open for me to buy zippers, so I just went and reused one we had laying around.

My finishing touches on the zipper will be to sew pieces of ribbon on either end as a way to keep the cloth bands from fraying out (the short end is already fraying!) and to maybe fold in the bottom edge because it's actually a little lower down than the lip we left for a zipper.

Your mileage may vary!

As for the rest of the top, we're getting there, my lovelies. You may have noticed that if you take the stitch heights and how many rows we've done, we've got the equivalent of 25 rows of single crochet in red, now. It's not actually that many rows, of course, but the math is this: 2 rows of dc = 4 rows sc, 4 rows hdc = 6 rows sc, and then we've got 15 rows of actual sc. That brings us to 25, see?

Next week we'll start decreasing and you'll see why I've done it this way. I think. I hope. 

And once we're done decreasing, there's only embellishments/accessorizing and finishing to do!

We're getting there, folks!

I promise!

Maybe we can finish before spring? That'd rock.

(That's up to my lazy butt, though, so we'll see :P )

Anywho, that'll do it from me, but let me know if you've got any questions!

And don't forget to Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which I Am Back!

Welcome to 2022! Kinda a lot like 2021 (thankfully sans crazy people trying to break into the US Capitol!) but a fresh new year when we can do anything we want!

You haven't heard from me since before Christmas, huh. I'm sorry about that, but I've been quite busy! I'll talk more about that on Tuesday, but I've got a lot of stuff to blather about lol.

For today, though, I'll show you a very very nice gift my boyfriend got me for Christmas:

A lovely set of watercolors!

So pretty and metallic/pearlescent!!!

They do swatch up pretty nice, too!

This paint set has 36 gorgeous shiny paints in it. When it shipped, I'm sure it was all in order, but at some point it must've tilted because the pans were in disarray when I opened it up. As you may be able to tell from the stains on the sponge and the lid, I had already started swatching it.

It came with a pencil, a thin brush, a water brush, the dampening-sponge, and an eraser, and I have to say, both pencil & eraser are fantastic! I sharpened the pencil up so I could use it to draw a nice little New Year's painting!

"Happy New Year 2022!"; watercolor & Pigma pen; 2022

I have to say, at first I was unimpressed with the pigmentation of these paints, but then I realized that I have been using pans incorrectly.

Apparently, you have to rehydrate them a bit before painting with them (a quick spritz or drop of water left to soften the paint for a moment before you try to load your brush is recommended). Once I dripped water into the pans, it layered on beautifully! It's hard to see how bright and rich the colors are in that picture, because with how reflective these paints are, the light kind of bounces all over the place! Those feet are super orange-copper!

A very shiny birb!

Thank you for coming back to see my art, and I hope you'll stick around for Monday when one of the reasons for my blog silence will be made obvious, and then Tuesday when I'll explain myself even better!

Hope this year is treating you well so far!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC