hair accessories

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Originally uploaded by faemystique

Burnt flower headband

Finished my sisters garter!!!

Pattern soon to follow! I have also been making things for the Halloween swaps that I can't discuss because my partners may be lurking! Hehe but I'm liking it!

Felted sweater purse

Embroidering some fall leaves on this. I haven't been able to share what I have been working on because I am in two major Halloween swaps and can't share my crafting of said items until they are sent!! I still have to go back and finish the garter before too late. Sighs. Not enough time in my day!

Alaskan summer

Well jeanne and I took a road trip up to matanuska glacier and found a mess of ripe raspberries and explored a few places. I discovered that they have blocked the old hwy off by a massive gravel pile and I usually go pick blueberries down there. Might have to bring the bikes with us to pick up there. When we returned we made fresh salmon and salad from the garden. Fine thing eating mostly food from the land. Yum. Then we processed jakes fish after he got back at 2 am. We have to can salmon later today. 11 packs went vacuum sealed to the freezer.
Still awake at 515 am. Ugh.

Beautiful drive in to work. Love living in Alaska.

More garter progress

Picked up some notions for the garter today. I cant wait for the final result!!

Progress on garter

Adding a second layer of edging.

Another day of sourdough

Freshly baked and oh so scrumptious. If you want some dehydrated starter and instructions, send me an email. Faemystique at gmail dot com.
Oh and I am working on making a sellable pattern for my crocheted garter that I'm soon to finish. Will post updates when I have them.

Crochet lace garter

Making an heirloom garter for my sisters wedding.
Ivory mercerized size 10 cotton thread and size 7 steel hook.
After looking over some patterns I am developing my own. Will have picot edging as a third row of edging over the interrupted v stitches.

Earbuds finished

So the earbuds are covered in icord and it will soon be time to start my next project. I need to make a nice garter belt for my sisters wedding and something else I'm not sure what just yet. The sun has been beating down on me in this leather recliner and I'm sweating. Ugh. It's only 77 def I know but I'm an Alaskan what do you expect? Lol. An Alaskan without a uterus so I'm not sure how much of these hot episodes are faulty ovaries or not but I need to go shower and change to lighter clothes. ;)

IPhone earbud cozie

Enjoying the sunshine whilst knitting an icord around my earbuds. This yarn was on sale at joanns and I loved the colorways but it splits horribly often while knitting.

Bookmarks

I've been making tons of these and giving them away. I found the simple but lovely pattern for them on ravelry. I finally made this one for myself however!

Solara scrubbie dishcloth

Solara dishcloth scrubbie 

Worsted weight cotton, G hook, plastic dish scrubbie
Slip stitch into middle side of scrubbie
30 slip stitch around in scrubber
Slip stitch to join round
Ch 2, 2hdc in ea stitch around (60 hdc)
Ch5, (*dc in 2nd ch from hook, ch2) repeat * to end slip stitch to close
Slip stitch in ch2 space, sc, ch2, dc in ch2 space, ch1(*2dc in ch2 sp,ch1) repeat from * to end slip stitch in top of ch2
Ch1, sc in each stitch around to end slip stitch in 1st sc to close
Ch3,dc in next ch,(dc in next ch, 2dc in next ch) * repeat to end. last will be 1dc in same stitch as 1st ch 3, slip stitch in top of ch 3 to close
Ch 4, tr stitch in same ch as ch4, 2tr in ea ch around, slip stitch in top of ch4 to close. Finish off.

I would love to know of mistakes in the pattern or if it works out for you!  I wrote it after I crocheted it so I hope I got it right... enjoy!

Sourdough

Freshly baked. Yummm

If anyone is interested in sourdough baking and wants to get some dried starter, let me know.  This recipe is from an old Alaska Cooking book from the early fifties from an Anchorage Ladies Aide group.

In large glass mixing bowl:
1 cup sourdough starter (*should be the next day after feeding, lots of happy bubbles, stir well first)
2 cups warm water
2-3 cups flour
1/4 olive or reg oil
1/4 sugar
2 tsp salt

stir to make "sponge", should be like thick cake batter or so consistency.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set in warm place to rise overnight or 8 hours.  I set mine in my oven with the light on for warmth.  Then add 2-3 more cups of flour to make nice dough.  Don't over add flour!  Knead dough for 15 minutes, place in clean large mixing bowl coated with oil.  Roll dough on all sides to coat with oil.  Cover loosely and let rise 3-4 hours.  Knead dough for 10 minutes or so, separate into two loaves and place in greased bread baking pans.   Slit tops to allow for expansion.  Cover loosely and let rise for 2 hours or until doubled in bulk.  Set oven to 375 deg, I let mine stay in during preheat.  Set timer for 40-50 minutes.  Brush with butter when done.  Let cool on rack, bottom of loaf should be hollow sounding when thumped with wooden spoon or other utensil.  Cut a piece while its still warm, butter and enjoy the lovely sourdoughy goodness! ;)

Shall I attempt to keep a blog... again?

I am notoriously terrible at both journaling and blogging.  Terribly bad at keeping a picture record of all my crafts just for ravelry or otherwise.  Pretty pathetic overall really.  Well tonight I whipped up a scrubbie cloth.  I have never made one, nor read a pattern for one but I think I really like the way it turned out.   I wrote out what I hope was the correct pattern.  I wrote it after I made it so I am crossing my fingers that it will work for others as well.  I will post it from my phone soon.
I have so many ideas in my head that I want to create, that is my biggest challenge.  I tend to have crafty inspiration overload and can't keep myself on track to save my life.  I make a few things in one category then on to the next and sometimes forget all sorts I had plans for along the way.  Maybe I can be more proactive using my iPhone to its full potential coordinating with this blog? I am not holding my breath but still, I am ever hopeful as always that I can carry something through fully and completely!!!  Hey I made it through college, so somewhere I must have the ability to stick with it... smiles!

I reconstituted my sourdough starter a couple of weeks ago and made two fresh sourdough loaves today.  I just love the simplicity of sourdough.  The fact that I can bake delishous bread with so few ingredients in a traditional way makes me glad.  These were perhaps some of my best, nice light sour flavor, moist bread, and hard crust.  The sourdough starter is a few years old now, and was quite happy before I made the loaves.  I brought some starter down for my friends Jeanne and Rebekah in Homer, Alaska this last week.  I hope they can enjoy some of their own soon as well!

If anyone wants my recipe just leave a comment...

Tunisian Crochet

I have found another double ended crochet hook at the thrift store, renewing my interest in this type of crocheting.  I found a great website with video tutorials for several stitches and utilizing this I launched into a set of hand warmers and a dishcloth straight away! 

While the girls participated in Alaska's Second Annual Fast and Female cross country skiing event with our local olympian Kikkan Randall, I created the first of the hand warmers.

I am making the second one of the hand warmers to make the pair, and considering writing the pattern up for sale.  That is, hoping people would like them!

lost posts somewhere

There is snow falling gently outside, a good thing, considering the 3 days of 80 mile an hour gusts drove all the snow off the ice baring it to our detriment and dismay.  Its slippery and cold out, but the snow is promising a warmer time ahead! perhaps some more cross country skiing this weekend.

Some things I have worked on lately are the Nordstrom Hobo Bag, which EVERYONE loves!

Tunisian Crocheted Washcloth

Tunisian Wristlets

I also made some washcloths for the gals at work for Christmas.  A IV Team nurse keeps asking me if I have ever done craft fairs or bazaars, and is really pushing me to do so.  Its been on my to do list, I have a problem mass producing my designs unfortunately.  But it is one of my new years resolutions.  I have some ideas in my head about these Tunisian stitches I am learning and some cute things I can make with them.

I am quite bad at this blog thing... one would think that no one reads this much because its a might bit boring at the moment... that and I really have NO IDEA how to market myself!

I am in the midst of workers compensation claim drama, perhaps its my own drama really.  But isn't workman's comp designed in such a way as to make a person give up on their claim before they actually ever get taken care of?  I had one in 2002 and I gave up and left the whole situation frustrated really.  I am crossing my fingers hoping that this time the company I work for is much more supportive.  I have worked in Rehab for two years and not hurt my back bad enough to quit work for one night.  I called in to work the next day and went to a chiropractor.  First time ever.  We shall see how things go.  Sometimes I am curious as to what the point of all the visits are if you only see them for a minuscule amount of time.  The techs do more with me than what he does.  Interesting.

Destashing madness

I am up late, doing my Night Nurse Insomnia craftiness and internet browsing.  I randomly ran out to the garage to my very sweet but neglected of late, crafting area, to retrieve randomly mixed yarn media.  Novelty yarns galore with some Lion Brand Landscapes (previously washed from a dog induced mess in the garage last year, so it is slightly fulled to itself... oops  My dogs literally climbed a shelf, tore down a tote and started spreading my yarn everywhere... by mess I didn't mean stinky mess...just rubbed into garage floor with the dogs... so I threw away or washed and dried what I thought could be salvaged) and I grabbed a large crochet hook and viola... destashing baskets... Basket one in progress, I feel many more to come...

Finally a Camera! Yay for holidays!

DH bought me a Canon PowerShot camera... not my fave in size or looks but it has some nice features and 10x OPTICAL zoom, 12 megapixels... So I can finally add pictures to my posts.  I am currently knitting my second sock, technically.  The first I recently frogged.  I quit knitting it mid foot last year because when I went to get out of the car at the high school for my daughters track meet, I lost my needle and didn't have any more that size at home. Luckily I found the needle last month in the pocket of the door of my car. Needless to say, since I frogged my sweater a few weeks ago, I feel liberated enough to rip out other WIPs that could sacrifice their petty non-knitted existence for the use of the yarn... haha.

So, I picked up my book Sensational Knitted Socks (previously thought of by me as being confusing as heck ...) picked out Garter Rib Socks (eyed up on Ravelry) and am mid way through the instep of my sock with Regia variegated sock yarn.  I have big calves and big feet. I  followed the instructions but it seems the heel and instep are too wide.  I would probably decrease the stitches in the next set.  I do love the colors of this sock though!  I can't wait to finish so I can actually complete the second one and contemplate knitting up some hats and such.  I might take a break between socks but I would fear my tension would be off if I don't knit one after the other.

But my  head is swimming with ideas for spats, for lacy wristlets, and hats! I stopped at sports authority today and swooned over the knitted hats... trying to remember ideas for patterns.  Hence my sordid desire to throw down my sock once its done to do the hat...


Random image to prove this is my blog may appear here<--

Alas I long for a camera again

I broke our camera this summer on this beautiful trip to Cooper Lake in Cooper Landing Alaska. When we were at the waterfall across the lake my hubby tossed  handed me the camera after coming down from the top of the waterfalls.  It landed on a rock, it works but the screen is broken and there is no viewfinder so...

I am focused on stash-busting.  I drool at my WEBS catalog and the only thing I think I will allow myself to buy is a ball winder.  My thoughts are that if I can wind all my totes full of yarn into nice balls in symmetrical sizes it might help my storage and my knitting in the long run... but I am staying away from buying more yarn.  Thrift shopping doesn't count however! I just nabbed four skeins of Classic Elite Bubbles the other day. 

So I frogged the nearly completed back of my cardigan sweater I was working on.  I discovered that it was far too large, believe it or not!  So I used the yarn (Northampton from Valley Yarns: Dark Grey) to make In a Twist Wristwarmers (Claire Compton in A Knitters Bible).  The only thing is? The yarn is SOSOSOSOSO elastic, it stretches to gargantuan proportions.  I don't know whether I knit it too loosely or just that this yarn is that way.  I bought a front load washer last year, which kinda ruins machine fulling for me... So I attempted hand fulling to no avail. Boiling hot water, tons of swishing and scrubbing and swishing... it still stretches to beat heck.  Tempted to wash and throw in the dryer...

Otherwise on the stash-busting and Christmas Season front, I am making Korknisse!  I come from a Strong Danish Heritage and so these really appealed to me, but not only that they are so cute!  I am using yarns that I got at the thrift store and never used!  I wish I had a camera... When I do get one (DH should take the hint and get me one for Christmas if the DD#1 and DD#2 do a good job helping him shop...haha) I will take pictures and edit these posts.

I am finding myself wanting to make several things for this stashbusting.  Bags crocheted with odds and ends of yarns.  Leg warmers in multicolors.  Wristwarmers in multicolors.  Crocheted hats, knitted hats, dishcloths, dishtowels, facecloths, etc etc...

Also on the warm and fuzzy home front, we decided to can the after thanksgiving turkey soup I made.  We canned four quarts.  I don't know why I didn't do this sooner in my life?  Saves wasting soup after people get tired of having it for days! A gallon put away for a rainy day!  I still have to redo my failed jelly, though I think I will sample a small jar and perhaps it will serve well as syrup!

Well time is winding down and its my day to start the work week.  I work nights at a hospital in Anchorage, so I usually nap at this time but since I slept in I think I will retire to the couch and my korknisse knitting...