Burning Man Hammocks, A Wedding, and My stash busting project

Yesterday, I want to a wedding. The coolest wedding EVER! It was full of street performers, and great music, and lots of alcohol (I don't drink beer, but hubby was happy) and homemade chicken burritos, and a variety show and live bands, and lots of fun stuff.

One of the coolest things, for the time before and after (it was a 4 day campout) was a gazebo set up that was constructed entirely of wood, no bolts, screws, nails, or metal reinforcements... It was well engineered, and the cross bars and frame was held together with 2 in wide 10 in long wooden pegs, driven into the frame pieces. From it was strung 10 hammocks, and a swinging chair. I fell in love with one style of hammock, and I wanted to get myself one. I have been researching buying or making and mounting a hammock in our new house... BTW, we are moving.. again.

I found the style of hammock that I used all afternoon yesterday (Mexican or Mayan)... and realized I do not want to pay that much for one, so I have decided to take their design, and create my own... wish me luck.. I will post pics and pattern when I am done.

Here is where it all comes together. The Gazebo set up is the bride and groom's own burning man camp setup. The groom designed it for the Burning Man event in particular. I fell in love with the hammocks, and decided to make my own using the acrylic and cotton stash I need to use up. See, it all works out!

So far, I have decided on a design concept, and am figuring out how to make it work.. I feel 550 paracord will be involved... and perhaps climbing style carabeners for mounting in my garage, or on my new back porch...


 

Summer catch-up!

It seems that my summer ran away and hid... it got a late start, and now it is nearly over! School starts back up for me in a week and a half!

I have been trying to do EVERYTHING and therefore have gotten NOTHING done! Go figure, right?

I have restored my account on Etsy, and listed a few hats, hoping to get some other stuff on there soon.

And, I received 2 custom orders in the last week!

One is for a pair of Mary Jane style slippers in rainbow stripes (a trade for crafty goodness of Chrissy)

And the other is for 2 custom designed Owl Cowls for a friend from high school. (Shantae)

I am super excited, because with custom orders, I get to communicate with the customer, and get a feel for JUST what they want! And I know that they will be enjoyed, because in this case, I know both of the customers personally.

 

Faith

So, I dont know who knows my faith, or who doesnt, but what you need to know is that I have faith in something.

This week has been a test of that faith, our car broke down during the busiest week of our entire summer.

Today, after being told by my insurance company that I could not get my car towed (even though I pay for towing services) I was frantic. We were told we could try to limp the car home, and hope we didn't get stranded along side the road, or we could be stranded where we were.

I looked down onto my seat to think about the choice, and the things hanging from my mirror created a goddess shadow across my seat. I took it as a sign that I would make it home. We made it home without incident.

 

Mission Stashbust!

So, summer term is almost over, I have the worst sunburn of the season, and I have made the commitment to participate in a holiday show in November. Lots going on.

Here is my plan!

I have a large plastic tote of yarn, 3/4 of it is cheap acrylic that is uncomfy to wear. So I making it into purses, and Christmas stockings.. at least... thats the plan.

After my last final...

And I'll post pics as we go!
 

Tundra: a pattern

I posted about Tundra, Caramel, and Woodland hats.

I promised a pattern for each of those hats... and so here they are!

I will post 1 pattern each day until I have them all up.

Tundra:

Round 1: ch 3 (counts as base, and first dbl) 11 dbl in 3rd chain from hook, slip into top of start chain.
Round 2: chain 2 (counts as first dbl) dbl in base of chain 2, 2 dbl in each stitch around, slip to top of first stitch.
Round 3: chain 2, dbl in base of chain. *dbl in next stitch, 2 dbl in next* to end, slip to top of start chain
Round 4: chain 2, dbl in base of chain, *dbl in next 2 stitches, 2 dbl in next* to end, slip to top of start chain
Round 5-8: repeat previous round, EXCEPT, add another dbl between each 2 dbl for each row.
Round 9-10: chain 2, dbl in each stitch around, slip to top of begin ch.
Round 11: (decrease rounds) ch 2, *dbl in each of the first 6, dbl2tog* to end.
Round 12 - ?: repeat round 11, decreasing the number of stitches between the dbl2tog
Round ?-?: Building your brim, details below

The hat pictured above has a simple, 2 in dbl brim. For this, you dbl in each remaining stitch, sl st to top of chain, dbl around, fasten off, weave in ends.

There is also the option of a more stable brim, from the end of your dec round, you will sc in each stitch around, NOT connecting the end of the row, but continuing the spiral.

OR you can do a sturdy Tunisian style brim, this give stability and fashion. and offers a better base for extras such as buttons or ribbon.

You will finish your decrease round, and sl st to first ch.
chain 4 (5), then start your Tunisian.
insert hook in first loop, yo and pull loop through (2 loops on hook)
insert hook in next loop, yo and pull loop through (3 loops on hook)
insert hook in next loop , yo and pull loop through (4 loops on hook)
If you only chained 4, follow this, if you chained 5, do the last step 1 more time, then move on to this.
insert hook in first stitch of hat base, yo and pull loop through.
yo, pull through 2 loops, yo pull through 2, until only 1 loop remains.
repeat this process using the "bars" you will see forming on the front of the work to build into. This stitch will cause a mild curl to form, but when you are finished, you will not be able to tell.

Do this last step until you reach the last stitch before the hat brim began, fasten off, and cut leaving about 10-12 inch of yarn left. use this to sew up the 2 edges, and add some accent to hide this seam if you'd like.

This pattern can easily be made for a small head, by following the pattern, but only going to to 5 or 6 rounds before starting decreases.

If there is anything that I need to clear up, message me on Ravelry or leave a comment!

Want to track your progress?

Ravelry: Tundra Tam

Also, when in need of a photo prop to hold the hat... and there is no willing child or roommates, I can always rely on my hubby's Nalgene to stand perfectly still.
 

HATS HATS HATS HATS! And a Hair clip or 20!

I have been a hat making maniac the last few days... I took a look around the WWW, and didnt find ANYTHING I liked. So what's a girl to do?

MAKE HER OWN PATTERN!

This is what I came up with:

This is Tundra, crocheted with Lion Brand Tweed Stripes... a super soft, super warm 100% acrylic striped tweed... (go figure read the name) I bought it at Wal-mart for 3.95 a ball or so.

This is Caramel, same details as above, but in the Caramel colorway (discontinued)

This is Woodland, same details as above, slightly different pattern (not by much) and this yarn is also a discontinued colorway.

That's what I have for now, however, I will post the patterns over the next week or so.

I have another pattern all together on the hook now. Still need to try to knit this yarn, just to see how it looks that way.

Tomorrow, you'll see my hairclip madness. I have 4 shops in the local area who want to consign my hair clips, so I am crocheting them up like a crazy woman! I'll have a pattern for the clips, and a tut for the boards I have backed them with in just a day or two.

Food for thought: copyrights

Now... the question I am posing is this: if you are looking for a design, but don't find one, and end up using another persons work for inspiration does it count as copyright infringement? I have an uncanny ability to look at a project for a few min, decipher it, and then recreate something very similar without ever paying a penny for the original pattern. Since I am not using their pattern, is it copyright infringement if I sell the items I make from the inspiration of the item?

 

denim daze!

Ok, so I can't give you the tute yet, but it is on its way... has anyone else seen these quilts?

Well, I am making a tote bag from this concept... only I am drawing on the blocks with my own designs! Super excited to show everyone this rad idea! whoever thought of this was a genius!

 

A tribute to Harry Potter, and an era at an end (Spoiler Alert)

(Spoiler Alert)

Along my side bar, you will find a countdown.

This countdown is the end to an era, and an end to my favorite series, both in Novel and Movie format.  This countdown marks the release of the final movie in the Harry Potter series.

If you, like me, wish to honor and pay tribute to the franchise that brought reading back to an entire generation, that brought generations back together for mutual entertainment, and kept people guessing and creating, then keep reading.

If you are not a great fan of Harry Potter, then this is not the blog post for you.

 
When Dumbledore fell from that tower, and the crowd began to gather (movie) they used their lit wands and their tears to honor Dumbledore and clear the sky of the dark mark. What a way to honor the fallen.

 (SPOILER! SPOILER! Don't read ANY farther if you have not read ALL of Deathly Hallows)

In Deathly Hallows P1, Moody was murdered trying to safely escort Harry away from the Dursley's, Hedwig was killed trying to protect Harry from the Death Eaters (Movie) and is dropped from the side cart (Book), and in both cases, Dobby finds himself run through with Beletrix's blade while taking Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ollivander, Luna, and Griphook to safety from the Malfoy's Mansion just before Voldemort is summoned.

In Deathly Hallows P2, many more will die, or will be injured gravely.

How better to honor the fallen than to follow suit.

I post a challenge to the true fans, who will be going to the midnight premier of the final installment of this beloved series.

At the end of the movie, once credits have finished rolling, raise your wand (or wand hand) and whisper, or yell (comfort levels) "Mischief Managed" as tribute to the characters, and the story itself.

What do you think?


 

3 bean chili

For some reason, summer makes me crave 2 things.

Fruit and Spicy

I can't get fruit right now, so instead, I catered to my spicy craving.

Homemade, 3 bean chili

Recipe as follows:

Ingredients

1 1/3 C Pinto Beans

2/3 C Navy Beans

1 2/3 C Black Beans

2 Lbs of ground beef (you could use stew meat)

1 Can Swanson's Beef broth

1 Can whole yellow corn

1 package of McCormick chili seasoning

soak beans overnight.
place beans in crock pot on high with enough water to cover about an inch over the top of the beans.
pour in the can of beef broth and the can of corn and package of chili seasoning
let simmer for 5 hours, or until beans are soft.
brown the beef, and add it in (add the grease too, it helps flavor)
Simmer an additional 30 min, add cheese on top and any other things you like with chili.

Serve on it's own with some cheese and sourcream, or over hotdogs or fries.

Let me know if you try it..