futuregirl craft blogThe crafty adventures of futuregirl.If There's A Crochet Heaven, I'm In It- August 29, 2008 I've been fantasizing about owning this book since I first saw it in April. I can't believe how patient I've been! It's the sister-book to the crochet pattern book Alex sent me. And now that I see it again (and it's mine-all-mine) it's even more beautiful than I remember. I ordered it from Saucylouise on Etsy.There is something magical about Japanese craft books. It's more than the photos, the graphic design, the color styling, the patterns, or the choice of projects. Whenever I open...http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2008/8/if-theres-a-crochet-heaven.aspx Childhood Travel Bag- August 28, 2008 The whole time I was making the grocery bags, I was thinking about the travel bags my mom made for all of us. This is a picture of me in our van getting settled for hours and hours of travel.We took countless road trips to visit family growing up. We'd pile into the van, or station wagon, or Suburban and head off on the highway. Before one of those trips, Mom whipped up bags for each of us to pack up with things to do.She picked the fabrics especially for each of us. I don't think the pink..http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2008/8/childhood-travel-bag.aspx Grocery Bags- August 27, 2008 I've been meaning to make some heavy duty grocery bags for years. Every time we go to the bulk store (CostcoBJs) and we would struggle to get all the giant-sized mouth washes and monster boxes of pasta into the house (they don't give you bags), I would say, "I'm going to make us some grocery bags out of that denim I bought years ago."Yeah, right.Well, now that we don't have a car we needed to have some reusable bags that could take some abuse. The ready-made reusable bags seem to be...http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2008/8/grocery-bags.aspx Green Kitchen's Wrist Pincusion Tutorial- August 27, 2008 I was hoping to complete an awesome wrist pin cushions using Michelle's great tutorial before I posted my review, but I don't think I should wait. That's her awesome photo above.Her tutorial is detailed and well-photographed. The pincushion she made is absolutely the cutest. Where in the world does one find Little Red Riding Hood ribbon! And, on top of all that, she's giving away the wristlet that's the star of the tutorial. It doesn't get better than that!I'm going to make one of them...http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2008/8/green-kitchen-wrist-pincushion-tutorial.aspx Making A Dream A Reality- August 22, 2008 It's utterly absurd how happy it makes me that (after much thinking and experimenting and cord making) the giant wall doily is becoming a reality.Absurd.Some people dream of fame, world peace, riches ... I dream of giant wall doilies. Well, at least I can achieve my dreams, rightIf anyone knows of an automatic (like, hand cranked) spool knitter (i-cord maker), let me know. I found this one with Sonya's help, but it doesn't handle worsted weight yarn.It's excruciating to manually spool knit...http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2008/8/making-a-dream-a-reality.aspx T Minus 2 ... and counting- August 19, 2008 I only have two more pages to fill up in my old notebook before I get to switch to my new one. To get the new one ready, I hand-sewed clear vinyl pockets into it. Because of it's thickness and rigidity, I can't sew it with the machine.I pre-poked the holes with a pin. I used the leaf pattern to make them evenly-spaced. If you need to do this on plain paper, you could sandwich a piece of graph paper between the paper and the vinyl to use as a guide for poking your holes before you sew it...http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2008/8/t-minus-2-and-counting.aspx I'm A Cry Baby And Cactus Update - August- August 19, 2008 Cry BabyI feel like a whiner for complaining about not having enough time in my last post. Who does have enough time Or money Or chocolateSometimes I get so focused on the projects I haven't finished, the projects I haven't started, the patterns I haven't published, the posts I haven't written, the crafting supplies I haven't purchased, the thank yous I haven't sent ... that I fail to see all the things I actually have accomplished. I have a lot to be proud of. Thanks for pointing that out.http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2008/8/cry-baby.aspx Effing Memes- August 16, 2008 I like to play the crusty curmudgeon (and maybe I am). I feel the same way Korallin feels about memes and web awards (and I often need a nap, too). But (but!) sometimes I enjoy a little of the blog-meme action (like I did here, and here, and here, and here).Futuregirl AvatarSo this week I found myself making an avatar after seeing Green Kitchen's and thinking, "Wow, that really looks kinda like her." (and her Sis', too!) And now, going back to see them to make the links, I realize we all...http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2008/8/effing-memes.aspx No Time For Love Dr. Jones, Part 2- August 15, 2008 I've been missing crochet so much. After making a whole handbag on Saturday, I didn't want to stop. I decided to make one that could be lined with the awesome fabric Veronica sent me December 2007.The stitch pattern is 3 sc, 3 hdc, 3 dc, 3 hdc And there are some single crochet rows thrown in there, too.I did a little test swatch. I love the way the anarchy waves look. There was no forethought and each row has a different stitch pattern. But that just wasn't going to work on a handbag...http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2008/8/no-time-for-love-dr-jones-part-2.aspx No Time For Love Dr. Jones- August 14, 2008 After getting the box o' yarny love from Shannon last weekend, I had to do some crocheting. The package contained a wonderful variegated yarn that I really wanted to see as a handbag. There was some major blue-pooling when I was doing the base which I wasn't loving (see bottom right in photo).I noticed that the green didn't look like it was pooling, just the blue. Like one was negative and one was positive. There was a skein of green in the box, too, so I decided to do every third row in...http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2008/8/no-time-for-love-dr-jones.aspx |