Save Handmade from the CPSIA!

Have you heard about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, or CPSIA for short? No? Well, our government has really done it this time!

The CPSIA is a new requirement for all items intended for babies and children. Its aim is good: keep kids safe from lead. But it's insane! Under its provisions, handmade items, especially one-of-a-kind handmade toys and clothes, are no longer feasible to make and sell.

In a nutshell, it requires that every single item intended for children and babies be tested for lead and the like, and have a tag permanently affixed to it. That may sound reasonable, right?

Think about it. If your neighbor is a seamstress who makes custom christening gowns for babies, she now has to make TWO IDENTICAL DRESSES and send one off to be tested (which destroys it). The remaining dress must have a permanent tag affixed to it, stating that it is safe.

If a handmade item is sold in a store, the store must display a certificate for that item, and for every other children's item! How does that work?

It's insane! For more information, see Craftzine's excellent post on the topic.

The Pink! It Burns!

Back in November I made a wavy hat for my mom, using Patons SWS (Natural Raisin and Natural Indigo from the Soy Wool Solids). It was the second chemo cap I made for her. Unfortunately for me, my sister saw it, and she wants one. And sadly, my sister likes pink.

So I'm crocheting with pink. Blech. I hate pink. In fact, I hate pink even more than orange…and I detest orange. One facet of pink that drives me nuts is the assumption that women want pink. Manufacturers look at their product and say, "Oh, we need to target the female market segment. Um, make it pink. What's next on the agenda?" It's insulting, really.

But that's a different rant. Back to the fiber-y goodness!

I decided that if I was going to crochet with pink, it was going to be good pink. This cap has one saving grace in my book: it's Malabrigo. Malabrigo Merino Worsted in 021 Cactus Flower, to be exact. And it is simply one of the most divine yarns on this planet. It's wonderfully soft, and the colors are gorgeous. It's kettle-dyed by a women's coop in Uruguay, and if you've never tried it you should run straight to your local yarn store and buy a skein or five.

Did I mention the wonderful colorways? The traditional Malabrigo–Merino Worsted, the one that made them famous–is available in true solids and semi-solids as well as variegated. All the colors are sublime. The dark colors are deep and rich with real dimension; the brights are clear and clean; the pastels are pure and soft. There are colors that I don't particularly care for (like pink), but there are no bad colors.

Oh, right, I'm making a hat. Back to the wavy hat.

If you like crocheted ripple afghans and you enjoy a little whimsy, you'll like this hat. It's from One-Skein Wonders by Judith Durant, and it uses the traditional ripple construction (grouped increases alternating with grouped decreases) to create the same type of points.

The top is very fun: each point is stitched together, so it creates a star shape when seen from above. In the book, it's stitched with a contrasting color, and a couple of dangling tassels are attached. This is my third wavy cap, and I haven't actually used the tassels yet. I do, however, use the contrasting stitching.

All in all, it's very quick to make; I started this one yesterday, and it should be finished tomorrow. That's only three days of rather limited crochet time.

It's a good thing I love my sister, because this pink overload may kill me!

Update: As you can see, I finished the hat. Trust me–it looks WAY better on my sister!

BPAL Felted Travel Case

A little over a year ago, I developed a love of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, an indie perfumery. If you've never tried their perfume oil, it's incredible; you can find reviews of the fragrances (and other information) at BPAL Madness, a fan forum. (Yes, a fan forum, with over 16,000 members. Yes, I said 16,000.) Go right now and pick out six general catalog scents you like. Then go and order a pack of 1 mL imp's ears!

Hooked yet? Good. You will soon have a deep-seated need to take BPAL with you everywhere. For most people, a couple of bottles or a handful of imps do the job, but that's never enough for me. In fact, I've developed a bit of a reputation for it. I'm not an addict, though; I can stop anytime. Really. If I wanted to, of course.

Anyway, I had a bit of Malabrigo Merino Worsted sitting around, left over from my lovely shawl. And I needed a way to carry my bottles, so I whipped this up while watching the Battlestar Galactica miniseries. Felted it, too, before it was finished. Total time was maybe two hours.

It will hold three bottles, or two bottles and a few imps. You can easily adapt the pattern to any size. (If you can really call something so simple a pattern, that is.)

Supplies
About a quarter of a skein Malabrigo Merino Worsted
Large button
Scrap thread to baste the button in place
Size I crochet hook
Tapestry needle
Split stitch marker
Two safety pins

Before you start, lay three 5mL perfume bottles in a row on a piece of plastic wrap. Securely wrap them in the plastic, then set them aside. You'll use these to gauge the size of your case as you work and to check the progress of your felting.

The entire piece is worked in a spiral until you reach the flap, which is worked back and forth.

Crocheting the Pouch
Chain 10 stitches for your foundation chain.

Round 1: SC into the second chain from your hook. This is your first stitch. Sc1 in each stitch until the last chain. Sc3 in the last chain. Do not turn the piece; instead, continue in the round, and sc1 in the other side of each stitch, until you are back at the first chain. Sc2 in that stitch, for a total of three single crochet stitches in each end chain. (20 stitches)

Check this against your bottles; it should be about the same length as the three bottles, and just a little less than one bottle wide. Round 2 will make a case a bit bigger than your bottles, to allow for light felting.

Round 2: Ch1, then sc1 in each stitch until you reach the end of the oval. Sc3 in that stitch, then sc1 in each st until you reach the other end. Sc2 in the same stitch you made the first sc in. (24 stitches)

You are now finished with the base and will start up the sides. Place a split marker (or safety pin) at the start of the round and move it up as you work, even though you'll be working in a spiral. It makes it easier when you get to the flap.

Round 3: Sc1 in each sc. Repeat until it's about 2.5" high.

Check the height against your bottles. You want it a little less than .5" higher than your bottles when they're in the case.

Flap row 1: Begin the flap at the start of a round. Ch1 then sc1 in the first sc. Sc1 in each of the next 10 st, then ch1 and turn.

Repeat row 1 until the flap is the desired length. (Mine was about 2.5" long, which gave me plenty of overlap and placed the button in the center of the front panel.) Fasten off your last stitch, and leave enough of a tail to weave in the ends.

The Button Loop
Place your perfumes back in the case, and fold over the flap. Determine where you want the button and baste it in place; you'll sew it on permanently once the case is felted. (If you use a button with a shank, you can attach it with a safety pin.) Look at the button and figure out where you want the button loop. Mark attachment points for the loop with safety pins. (Remember that you'll be felting your piece, so make the loop a little longer than it needs to be.) Once you've got the flap marked, you can remove the bottles.

Place the hook through the edge stitch closest to the first safety pin and pull your yarn through, leaving enough of an end to weave it in. Chain a cord for the button loop. Attach the last stitch to the flap at the second safety pin, just as you attached the yarn at the beginning. Fasten off your yarn.

Before you cut the yarn, test it with the bottles again. Does the flap close and button securely? Good. Weave in your ends, keeping in mind that the felting will help hold them in place. Cut off the excess and proceed to felting. (I recommend removing the button now and sewing it back on when you're through.)

Felting the Pouch
There are excellent instructions for felting all over the internet, including Knitty, and I bet a lot of you know far more about it than I do. I used a big mixing bowl and dish gloves to felt mine, since the washing machine seemed wasteful for such a small item.

Remember how you wrapped your bottles in plastic wrap? It made them easier to work with before, but now it's essential. You need to check your progress as you felt. If you stick unprotected bottles in a wet pouch, you'll damage the labels. My Boomslang, Rose Red, and Peacock Queen bear mute testimony to this sad fact...

Once your case is felted down to size, get the water out of it (spin cycle or rolling it up in a towel and squeezing it) and put the bottles back in. Wrap the flap back into position, and leave it to dry. The button can be sewn back on once it's mostly dry.


And you're finished! The Precious will be much safer in its soft little home.

Crafting Like Crazy

So, it's only fifteen days until Christmas, and I still have lots of holiday gifts to make. I've already missed the deadline for my dance instructor's Ogee Lace Skirt, so that one won't happen until the new year, when classes start back. But I have to send out an ATC for a swap soon, as well as twelve Christmas ATCs which I offered to do instead of Christmas cards for a swap at Fans for Christ. I have to knit hats for my two nephews by December 26. (Did I mention I've never knit a hat?)

On top of that, I just remembered that I had decided to knit a shawl and maybe crochet a purse for my bosses' daughter...and that would be for Friday night. Eek. I am using Rowan Handknit Cotton in two shades of pink, which was in my stash, and the Simple yet Effective Shawl pattern from Cosmopluto Knits. (I made myself a shawl using the pattern, and it was very easy.)

Don't expect to be doing anything else anytime soon. Let's hope I make my deadlines!

A Dearth of Creative Activity

Since June, I've had very few opportunities for creativity. I spent most of June packing up our stuff, in preparation for our move in July. Unfortunately, I had to do it almost by myself, since my husband was spending eight to twelve hours a day working on assignments for his THREE summer classes.

July, we moved. And then moved more stuff. And unpacked stuff, and rearranged stuff, and brought more stuff over from storage. We also bought a Billy bookcase from Ikea. That lead to yet another trip to Ikea, since we had so many books that we needed two extra shelves! (And we could really use another bookcase just as large; there are still tons of books in boxes!)

I also had lots of furniture to assemble, since we had purchased a Noresund bed when it was on sale, in anticipation of our move. There was also the Majiker sideboard I had bought a year and a half ago, when it was put on clearance.

I did get a spinning wheel, which is so incredibly wonderful. Seriously, you wouldn't believe how much I squeed when we picked it up. It was a bit sad... So it took me two evenings to assemble it, and I got to use it exactly once. I've been way too busy, and I had to miss my spinning guild meeting, so I missed the opportunity to get help.

I was so very sure I would have lots of time to do creative stuff this month, but it hasn't been the case. The apartment is still in a state of semi-chaos, and my craft space is the worst. I can't slack off, either, since I have friends coming to stay with us in a couple of weeks.

So I've had to satisfy myself with knitting. I love knitting; don't get me wrong. And I'm happy with the progress I've made with my Malabrigo simple shawl. I even started a sock, but the tiny double pointed needles and skinny yarn are driving me nuts, so it's on hold.

I can't even remember the last time I put some real time in with my art journal. I pray it will all come together soon!