Swap love

I can't believe I didn't discover online swaps until a year ago! It's so me: I love making stuff, and I really appreciate handmade things other people make. But the best part? I love finding ways to add a little extra something to make my partner smile! It's almost like planning a surprise party...

I remember first reading about artist trading cards sometime around 2005, and I was so excited. I immediately rummaged through my supplies and whipped up a couple. Only one problem: no one–and I mean no one–wanted to do ATCs! How was I supposed to trade my artist trading cards if no one made any to trade with me? So unfair!

Fast forward to early this year. Somehow, I magically discovered the ATC section on Craftster. (Okay, I'm slow; I know it's been there forever...) Suddenly, I could trade with more people than I could ever imagine! Finally, in April, I did my first real swap: Artist's Choice ATCs! Could it GET any easier?

Since then I've done a few different ATC swaps, but I recently found any even better way to swap: Swap-Bot! I can't explain why, but I think I like it even better than Craftster for swapping. Right now, I'm signed up for or already participating in five, ranging from ATCs to saved images to pressed pennies!

My photo shows some of the wonderful goodies I've received this year; sorry about the dead grass, but once I realized how long it would take to find a large enough piece of fabric that was not covered in cat hair, I decided to take pride in my adherence to the watering ban (serious drought in Georgia). So, that a dishcloth, Bible verse, and chocolate from anxiousdog at Ravelry; a glass jar of goodies and PotC cross stitch kit from Jenlar at Craft Wonderland; ball of yarn to contribute to my Rapunzel scarf out of a big box from Swap-Bot; and an owl ATC and tea from Raven, also at Swap-Bot.

And speaking of Swap-Bot swaps... If you're one of my Blog Love 2 partners, welcome! :)

As if ATCs aren't addictive enough...

I just discovered inchies. Yes, inchies. What's that, you ask? Well, best as I can figure, they're little one inch square pieces of art. The ones you see here are by soleclaw23; I found them on Flickr. (And yes, they have a Creative Commons license!)

You thought ATCs were challenging? That's almost nine square inches! Now make one square inch visually interesting and unique!

I think I'll like these, too. Just think, I can make inchies, and then put them ON ATCs, which I can then use in a scrapbook page...

Hmm...seems inchies might make interesting adornments for the fronts of my album-style books, too. There's an idea for my (still empty) Etsy store! I really need to photograph my books and get them listed!

I <3 Knit Picks Options!

I've been meaning to try magic loop for practically forever. Er, six months. Whatever...just glad I finally got around to it.

Anyway, I never tried knitting in the round, because I couldnt' justify buying a totally new set of needles! Think what else I could do with the money!

But it's my favorite needles that finally got me going. I use the Knit Picks Options needles, and now I have a couple of the Harmony needle tips. If you aren't familiar with them, they are absolutely wonderful interchangeable needle sets. The Options needles are an incredibly smooth nickle-plated brass; the Harmony needles are wood. Beautiful, and very high quality.

The great thing about them, though, is that they have the most wonderful cables: incredibly flexible. So they're perfect for magic loop, and it's only a few dollars more! I can't wait to buy more needles, and a second set of long 47" cables, so I can jump projects more.

Wait, maybe that isn't the best idea...

Magic Loop for the Win!

I've never learned to knit in the round, but I've been meaning to. But frankly, double-pointed needles seem a bit unappealing to me: they're unwieldy, and I would have to buy whole new sets of needles. So I decided months ago that I would learn to knit small-diameter items on long circulars.

Finally, I followed through. I'm doing magic loop, and I love it! For one thing, I only had to buy a new cable to go with my Knit Picks Options set, which is great! I would much rather buy a $6 set of two cables and be set to knit with whatever needle size I need.

But really, it's kinda fun! And it's easy to keep track of the beginning of the round, since your knitting stays in two halves. I'm making the leg warmers out of One Skein, and it's turning out great. I'm incredibly slow (no news there), but it's great.

The Fluffy Tribble!

I crocheted a tribble today. What did you do?

Yes, that's right. For reasons I can't even begin to explain, I decided to crochet a tribble. Finally a use for that eyelash yarn I bought in a fit of insanity last winter!

Anyway, if you want your own tribble, it's a very simple pattern. I'm only posting it because a friend wants it.


Supplies
Yarn Bee Wild Child, Port Wine (one half skein)
Yarn Bee Wild Child, Swiss Alm (one half skein)

K hook
Yarn needle

Three handfuls of polyester stuffing

Hold two strands together throughout. It can be the same yarn, or two different ones.

Top half
Round 1: Using the magic adjustable ring, ch 1, then sc 8. Join.

Round 2: Ch 1 for the turning ch, then sc 2 in ea sc. (16 st)

Round 3: Ch 1 for turning ch, *sc 2 in next sc, sc 1 in next sc* repeat 7 more times, then join. (24 st)

Round 4: Ch 1 for turning ch, *sc 1 in next 2 sc, sc 2 in next sc* repeat 7 more times, then join. (32 st)

Round 5: Ch 1 for turning ch, *sc 2 in first sc, sc 1 in next 7 sc* repeat 3 more times, then join. (36 st)

Round 6: Ch 1 for turning ch, sc 1 in ea sc, join. (36 st)

Round 7: repeat

Round 8: repeat

Round 9: repeat

Leave a very long tail on this, three to four times the circumference of the piece; you'll use it to sew the pieces together.


Bottom Half
Round 1: Using the magic adjustable ring, ch 1, then sc 8. Join.

Round 2: Ch 1 for the turning ch, then sc 2 in ea sc. (16 st)

Round 3: Ch 1 for turning ch, *sc 2 in next sc, sc 1 in next sc* repeat 7 more times, then join. (24 st)

Round 4: Ch 1 for turning ch, *sc 1 in 5 next sc, sc 2 in next sc* repeat 3 more times, then join. (28 st)

Round 5: Ch 1 for turning ch, *sc 2 in next sc, sc 1 in next 6 sc*, repeat 3 more times, then join. (32 st)

Round 6: Ch 1 for turning ch, *sc 1 in next 7 sc, sc 2 in next sc* repeat 3 more times, then join. (36 st)

Round 7: Ch 1 for turning ch, sc 1 in ea sc. (36 st)


Assembly
I won't even pretend this is the best way to sew together a tribble; but it worked.

First, look at your tribble pieces and decide which side you want to be on the outside. It's quite possible that the wrong side will be fluffier; it was on mine. If necessary, use a yarn needle to pull the tails from the adjustable ring to the inside.

Place the wrong sides together. Thread your yarn needle with the long tails from the top half. Line up the stitches, and whipstitch the two pieces together using one or two stitches per pair of single crochet stitches. (Your two halves will probably have slightly different diameters, but both have the exact same number of stitches. As long as you line up the stitches, it will all work out.) Leave enough of a gap to turn your tribble right side out.

Once you've turned the tribble, stuff it. You don't want it packed firm, but you will probably need more stuffing that you think. (Unless you've made lots of stuffed toys.) Once you like your results, stitch the opening shut.

Knot the ends, then thread the needle with only one strand of the yarn. Squeeze the tribble flat, then push the needle into the seam near the knot and pull it out through the top or bottom of the tribble. Still squeezing the tribble, trim the end close to the piece. Once you let it go, the end will disappear into the body. Repeat with the other strand of yarn.

The seam will probably be very visible, but you can fix that. The long fluffy pieces will be stuck in the seam. Use your needle or fingers to pull the fibers loose, and the stitching will disappear. Take care, though, that you don't snag the body of the yarn (the thick part you crocheted with.)


And that's it. This is my first time writing out a pattern, so I hope it makes sense.