#30DaysofCreativity in June: Week 4 #Crochet, baby!

Week of June 24-30, 2011

What I did

 

Began a Double Stitch Shrunken Jacket in beautiful Filati Bridge yarn

• Wrote ii
• Stitched up a really dorky cotton visor to wear biking with my really dorky helmet.  Damn, I'm confident.  Maybe too confident. 
• Wrote iii
• Outlined 5 seasons of a podcast and started to DREAM BIG!
• Started the Boyfriend Hoodie!
• Inspired by the movie Fame, busted out a soulful rendition of "Out Here on My Own".

Thus ends my 30-day creative adventure.

Thank you, @createstuff, for leading the cause!

Hookin' Up #Crochet Blog Project

 I recently signed up to connect with and promote other crochet bloggers through the Crochet Concupiscence Hookin' Up blog project. 

This exciting project will run from July 1-31, and feature one blog per day in order to spread the crochet love!  Each blogger will feature a post about the next person scheduled.  I think this is really fun! If you write a crochet blog, you should sign up! I am pretty sure that there is still space left! :)

#30DaysofCreativity in June: Week 3 All #Crochet All the Time!

Week of June 16-22, 2011

What I did:

Worked on, altered, and completed my Will Schuester's Casual Cashmere Vest. (Rav link)

Knocked out a few little cutesy hairbands in Track ribbon yarn by Filati. (Rav link)

Inspired by a podcast episode, pulled out Crochet So Fine and began the Skinny Flower Scarf. 

Continued with my Robyn Chachula necklace.

Took some inspiration photos on a bike ride.

Wrote "i"

Cooked.  Yes, really.  Here's the recipe to prove it!

Cami's Bacon Pita Pizza with Chicken

1. Preheat toaster oven to 400 degrees
2. On top of a whole wheat pita, layer crushed canned tomatoes (60-80 g), italian spices (generous), and bacon bits (14 g).
3. Layer on grated parmesan cheese (10 g), and mozzarella cheese (28 g).
4. Layer on diced cooked chicken (56 g).
5. Bake on rack in toaster oven until cheese is bubbly and pita is crispy.

500 Calories and YUMMAY!!!

#30DaysofCreativity in June: Week 2

Week of June 9-15, 2011

What I did:

• Took scissors to an old t-shirt and came up with a wrap thingy.

• Spent WAY TOO MUCH TIME on the Les Paul Google Doodle.  Listen to "Art, Like Bread is creating every day" put to music on the keyboard guitar. :)
• Re-wrote "This Is How We Do It" to apply to Grammar, and performed it for my students.
• Started my second pass at "Short & Sweet" by Angela Best (who is the BEST) in black cashmere.  
•  Edited some karaoke photos in Picasa.  I feel digital scrapbooking coming on.

You should have seen the original.  I didn't keep a copy, but trust me, this is heavily doctored!

• Sang all kinda songs at karaoke (and danced like there was no tomorrow)!!

This one is not heavily doctored.  I'm just rockin' out!

What my students did:

• Folded orgami
• Kept up with the doodling tradition.

They really loved that muffin activity.  Since when do we put candles in muffins?

• Sang "We will rock you" during the last class! HA! :D  (I turned it into a grammar lesson anyway!)
• Practiced ballet.
• Made up a dance to Justin Bieber songs!
• Did some creative photo shoots and digital scrapbook editing.
• Practiced bass guitar.

Note:  This will be my students' last week as they are officially OUT OF SCHOOL! Congratulations, kids!

Spotted: The Entire History of Crochet in One Project!

I was clicking around the best social network ever, Ravelry, and I came across one of the most fascinating projects I've seen in a long time. 

Image used with permission of WarpSpeedLinda  | All Rights Reserved

 !!!

 So you may be thinking, 'Cami, it's just a spare tire. It's cute, but what's the big deal?'  The reason I was so worked up about this is that the project combines some of the essential elements of crochet and uses them in a new way.  The elements I see in this project are as follows:

• History - The doily is one of the oldest incarnations of crochet.  Crochet became popular in Europe in the 19th century, and white, crocheted lace doilies were a must-have accessory for any household.
• Innovation - Like all art forms, crochet has evolved through the ages and artists have incorporated the trends into their work.  Quick, chunky yarn projects are on trend right now, and so are modern, brightly-colored doilies.
• Relevance - In these difficult economic times, where petroleum costs are skyrocketing, I think it's interesting to see a petroleum-based (acrylic) yarn used to adorn a petroleum-driven machine.  Ironically, while gas prices rise, acrylic yarn remains very affordable.  It's the perfect yarn to use on this type of project. It will never lose its color and it will remain fresh in all kinds of weather.
• Self-Expression - This yellow doily on the yellow car is a bold statement to the world: I CROCHET!

(Okay, so maybe I read into things a bit too much.  I just really liked the project.) 

The above project was posted by Linda who blogs here.  I found it on her Ravelry page.  Linda did the right thing and mentioned her project inspiration, which was fellow Raveler, HapiKamper.  Below is one of HapiKamper's projects.

Image used with permission of HapiKamper | All Rights Reserved

 Thanks to WarpSpeedLinda and HapiKamper for letting me blog about these wonderful projects!

#30DaysofCreativity in June: Week 1

June 2-8, 2011

What I did:

Madison Scarf, designed by Robyn Chachula

• Made shorts out of my jeans by cutting off the legs.
• Made a really cute hairclip/pin out of the jean legs.
• Crocheted a Madison Scarf for a friend.
• Played my mini-violin like a total rock star!
• Sang the song "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette for my English classes in order to teach the concept of irony. (Only one good example there!)
• Crocheted a Lacy Crochet Wrap with ingenious yarn-blending!

In-progress pics (before the ingenious yarn blending)

• Crocheted a tiny crocheted lace motif.  

What my students did:

• Sang a beautiful rendition of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance"
• Folded a paper airplane
• Geometric pencil drawings
• 2 cute cartoon caracatures
• Wrote 53 wonderful, descriptive essays!
• Attended ballet class
• Practiced guitar
• Performed several original, Greek Mythology-themed plays with costumes and props

In Fashion: Sandra Backlund

While reading through the April 2011 issue of KAL Media's Inside Crochet, I came across a review of Swedish crocheter Sandra Backlund's new website. While browsing through her most recent collection, I came across these.

Image Source- Sandra Backlund

Image Source - Sandra Backlund

Image Source - Sandra Backlund

Image Source - Sandra Backlund

From Stashin' to Fashion

Etna yarn by Mondial

I bought about 9 balls of this gorgeous, pink-purple variegated, Italian yarn at 75% off in a posh local yarn shop.  Because it was thin (sport weight or a little lighter), I had intended to use it on a project from Crochet So Fine by Kristin Omdahl.

So, what's the problem?

The problem revealed itself when I tried to crochet the sport-weight yarn.  This yarn is lively.  It's springy.  Drape is not part of this yarn's repertoire.  The construction is difficult to explain, but let me try.  It is a cotton (66%), nylon (32%), metal (2%) blend.  Imagine the nylon as a sheath surrounding a core of cotton.  The metal is interwoven in the nylon.

I wished to make the beautiful, simple, elegant Sprout Chains Shawlette by Kristin Omdahl, but when I started stitching, I just got more and more frustrated.

Can you see why I was frustrated?

Was blocking going to help this mess?  (And it was a HOT MESS.)  

I felt it was a cape worthy of a poodle, but I myself had no desire to emulate poodle style, no matter how adorable my dear, sweet doggie is. 

After stashing the yarn away, and wondering what the heck I could do with it for months, I had a brainwave!  What would happen if I combined the problematic fiber with an easy-going cotton?  I had about 3 spare balls of Omega Trigo, which is available in Mexico.  It was already in my consciousness because I had forced myself to "finish" my Lacy Cropped Cardi by Robin Chachula.  For the entire traumatic story (which starts in 2009) see my Ravelry page.

But I digress.  I put together the Trigo and the Etna, and magic happened.  The yarn was thick enough to complete the Gypsy Duster by the Double Stitch Twins.  The color combination was beautiful.  I had a problem with the pink alone.  Could I bear an entire sweater out in that pink mess?  The lavender mellowed it out and also gave it enough weight to have a beautiful drape.

Voila!

In addition, the pattern was quick and the beautiful open weave made the color not too overpowering.  The subtle glint of the metal gave it just enough shine.  I felt like I had won the crochet lottery!

I still have a couple of balls of the Etna, but I'm no longer worried.  I am thinking a market bag or even a hat would be perfect!

#30DaysofCreativity in June: Day 1

June 1, 2011

What I did:

I wove in the ends on my fabulous crocheted duster. At this rate, I can wear it tomorrow!

Blog post on this baby coming up!

What my students did:

One of my Language classes tried their hands at rhythmic clapping.  I tried to upload the audio, but I haven't figured it out yet!

One of my uber-talented 7th graders did an AMAZINGLY DETAILED pencil drawing.  I swear sometimes I am completely bowled over by the talent that runs through their fingers. By the way, he did the whole drawing today, and each character has a personality and a story.  This kid is GOOD!

Thanks for joining me this week for #30DaysofCreativity!  TWEET or SHARE this post if you think it's creative!

A Gift for Dad

Father's Day is coming on June 19th.  What are you making for your father?  Here's an idea.  My dad got this for Christmas, but it would totally work for Father's Day.  Everyone knows that the best gifts are the handmade ones.  If they are recycled/re-purposed, even better!

Dads like to be stylish and clean while smelling good.

 It's one of those toiletry bags they give you on the airplane.  Just waiting to be personalized.

In progress!

 I cut out letters from cardstock and outlined them in pencil before coloring them in with a sharpie.  I had to clip the bag to my lap desk for security. It worked perfectly.

I free-handed a couple of spades because Dad loves poker.

 Keeping with the card theme, I whipped out the yarn stash and hook and went to it.

I love how the colors look.  The shape?  Well...

Oops! This started out kind of even...

Looking better.

Perfect! Dad will never know!

 The gift bag

For the gift bag- cover up the silly names!  Dad doesn't like "Poopsie's" shoe store.  ;)

Perfect with the color scheme and the card motif.

I taped it closed with some sparkly tape.  I'm finding all kinds of uses for that!

And I also covered the name and address of Poopsie's.  Sorry, Poopsie! 

All in all, I was really proud of the project, and Dad loved it!