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Well Aren't You a [Craft]y one?
ahava
Call me Ahava ~~She/Her~~Move to New ZealandRegistered User regular
Call me Ahava ~~She/Her~~Move to New ZealandRegistered User regular
I've been debating this thread over and over in my mind for some time, and decided that why the hell not.
I want to know all about your crafty sides. And no, I'm not talking about the blue box full of dayglow orange cheesy goodness. I mean crafts. Do you make model planes? or ships in bottles? Do you knit or crochet? do you do origami or other fascinating things with paper? Can you take something that is a bunch of parts and make it into something wholly different and enticing to behold?
Myself? I crochet. I've been trying to teach myself off and on for the last 12 or so years, but finally, a few months ago, the lightning bolt struck, the light bulb flashed on and I suddenly understood what I was meant to be doing this whole time. Since then, I've moved away from simply making scarves in straight lines of the easiest stitch. I have created a whole kitchen set (coasters, potholder/trivet/tea cozy) for some friends, a blanket for myself and a kitchen rug for my flat. I'm currently working on a tote bag to carry all of my goodies in with me when I got to places where crocheting is going to be an option. It's going to be the most complicated thing I've done so far, simply because I'm taking an existing design and adding onto it with my own crazy inventions.
I want this thread to be a place where we can all come together, talk about our inner nesting tendencies, our creative outlets that don't produce food or even necessarily involve video games or advanced technology (I guess we can talk about programming and stuff, but I was hoping for something more touchy feely). I want us to share resources with each other, online and in the world, I was hoping to basically use you guys as a sounding board for my crazy ideas, show off some of my work, and ogle at your work as well.
I know there have to be some sort of creative people out there! I know you are! Show me what you have!
Oh, and obligatory links to some of my sources
There's this youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/bobwilson123?ob=0&feature=results_main It's bobwilson123, but her name is Clare. She's an aussie and it was through watching some of her videos that my lightbulb went on. She's got some really cool projects, mostly hats. She uses US terminology for all of her projects (because US terms in crochet are different than UK/Aus)
Then, there is Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com Ravelry is a huge international online community for crafters of the knitting and crocheting variety. Thousands of free patterns and projects, even more patterns that you can purchase. A huge database of yarns from around the world, plus links to sources to purchase yarn and other things. Ravelry gives you a free account and on that account you can keep track of your yarn stash, your hooks, your patterns you want to try, your projects that you're working on and have completed. It's a great resource.
And then, there is Craftsy: http://www.craftsy.com I haven't gotten very into Craftsy just yet, but they offer online courses to help you better your skills. And they're not just for Knit or Crochet. There's sewing, quilting, papercrafts, and I think even some gardening and cake decorating as well. I've been lucky enough to get one of the crochet courses as a gift, and it has been fantastic. Super knowledgeable instructor, relevant information. Really, nothing bad I can think of saying about this site.
So c'mon guys and gals! I know I'm not completely alone in this awesome venture!
I want to know all about your crafty sides. And no, I'm not talking about the blue box full of dayglow orange cheesy goodness. I mean crafts. Do you make model planes? or ships in bottles? Do you knit or crochet? do you do origami or other fascinating things with paper? Can you take something that is a bunch of parts and make it into something wholly different and enticing to behold?
Myself? I crochet. I've been trying to teach myself off and on for the last 12 or so years, but finally, a few months ago, the lightning bolt struck, the light bulb flashed on and I suddenly understood what I was meant to be doing this whole time. Since then, I've moved away from simply making scarves in straight lines of the easiest stitch. I have created a whole kitchen set (coasters, potholder/trivet/tea cozy) for some friends, a blanket for myself and a kitchen rug for my flat. I'm currently working on a tote bag to carry all of my goodies in with me when I got to places where crocheting is going to be an option. It's going to be the most complicated thing I've done so far, simply because I'm taking an existing design and adding onto it with my own crazy inventions.
I want this thread to be a place where we can all come together, talk about our inner nesting tendencies, our creative outlets that don't produce food or even necessarily involve video games or advanced technology (I guess we can talk about programming and stuff, but I was hoping for something more touchy feely). I want us to share resources with each other, online and in the world, I was hoping to basically use you guys as a sounding board for my crazy ideas, show off some of my work, and ogle at your work as well.
I know there have to be some sort of creative people out there! I know you are! Show me what you have!
Oh, and obligatory links to some of my sources
There's this youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/bobwilson123?ob=0&feature=results_main It's bobwilson123, but her name is Clare. She's an aussie and it was through watching some of her videos that my lightbulb went on. She's got some really cool projects, mostly hats. She uses US terminology for all of her projects (because US terms in crochet are different than UK/Aus)
Then, there is Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com Ravelry is a huge international online community for crafters of the knitting and crocheting variety. Thousands of free patterns and projects, even more patterns that you can purchase. A huge database of yarns from around the world, plus links to sources to purchase yarn and other things. Ravelry gives you a free account and on that account you can keep track of your yarn stash, your hooks, your patterns you want to try, your projects that you're working on and have completed. It's a great resource.
And then, there is Craftsy: http://www.craftsy.com I haven't gotten very into Craftsy just yet, but they offer online courses to help you better your skills. And they're not just for Knit or Crochet. There's sewing, quilting, papercrafts, and I think even some gardening and cake decorating as well. I've been lucky enough to get one of the crochet courses as a gift, and it has been fantastic. Super knowledgeable instructor, relevant information. Really, nothing bad I can think of saying about this site.
So c'mon guys and gals! I know I'm not completely alone in this awesome venture!
ahava on
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Has anybody other than you told her that lately?
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
I hate you.
I'll make sure to tell her you said so, Ahava.
You're pretty rocktacular, yourself.
But yes, my wife rocks to a level at which I think massively undermines any potential relative comparison. Put it this way: my grandmothers call her for recipe ideas.
- Mega Man
- Lrrr of Omicron Persei 8
- the duck from Dunk Hunt
- Nibbler the Nibblonian
But my blanket is one I'm most happy with lately.
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
Well, I'm more of a tinkerer myself. I just occasionally get the urge to just make shit. I've carved a bow(which I sadly lost in a move two years back), I've done a lot of woodworking and general fiddling with tools and whatnot, and my plans for the next summer are to carve a didgeridoo, refurbish a 60-year old axe, gather and make some chaga tea, probably do some leatherworking to make an axe sheath, fix some old camping gear etc. I was also thinking about going to some traditional birch bark crafts, which are a traditionally a big thing where I'm from. It's just that gathering enough bark for anything substantial can be difficult, so I'll have to find some land owner who'll let me do that.
I'm basically a bushcrafter/tinkerer. I don't have any photos to post though, since all of my stuff is in another country at the moment.
Here's a load of sea creatures she made for her nieces and nephews.
They have magnets inside them (she also made some fishing rods, so you can catch them)
She also has a habit of doing things for whenever a friend spawns. Recently, some cubes were shipped off to the states (there was another with the numbers on it)
It's a bit of a blurred photo
I helped by making the box for the cubes to go into and ensuring it was water proof and the like. I hear it rains in Seattle.
those blocks are fantastic!
I'm getting into a bit of a 'nesting' mode, but I'm making for other people's babies now.
Although my project right now is a tote bag to carry around all my crochet stuff. I get tired of dumping it in and out of my purse, I want a dedicated bag for my stuff.
After that bag is done (i'm hoping to finish it up tomorrow sometime) i'm going to work on pockets for inside it, and some shopping bags.
I love doing this.
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One of the things I made is this:
i took a pre-existing piggy bank and doctored it with an epoxy putty called Magic Sculpt, and then painted accordingly.
Uncanny Magazine!
The Mad Writers Union
That piggy bank is just perfect! I know at least 3 people that would make a great gift for!
Ohmygoodness. A sonic screwdriver. That is epicness!
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
The upside is that it's unlikely to rust as easily in the future. And I sorta like the pattern. It does look better IRL though, the photo doesn't show all the lighter hues on the blade.
it's like a camo knife that i would expect Snake to carry around.
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"I don't understand! How are you cutting me by waving that wooden handle around?!"
Chainmail is fun, but once my eye sight went south, it became a pain.
my crocheting has taken a life of its own.
I need more storage boxes.
On the plus side, I've got this awesome bag now! It's big enough to fit a small child (probably up to 4 years old). It's got buttons sewn along the side for me to hang my detachables on (a pouch for crochet hooks and scissors, a pocket for patterns and wallets, and a water bottle holder).
Next up! Fingerless gloves because it's getting cold down here. And then, a commission! I'll be making a little owl hat for a friends niece! score!
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not well but oh well it's fun
I got about 5 feet of it knitted in the theater thanks to size 15 needles, easy pattern repeats, and huge yarn, but I actually got a longer scarf than I anticipated so I am pretty happy with it. Now to bind off and block it out... Fun times.
handmade stuff is starting to pile up in my apartment again... I should really think about reopening my Etsy shop or something (ugh)
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so far i've made stuff that I'm happy with, but it's been mostly for myself.
I did make a set of coasters, pot holder/trivot, and a tea cozy for some friends and their new house. But I dunno about selling things. not yet. lol. Be kind of cool if I could though!
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I also don't know if I would do well on any of the other handmade marketplaces; I never really "got" Artfire or any of the other ones. Mehhh.
In any case, starting to get back to Preposterous Pile of Hats stage again, yikes
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i'd probably set myself up on something like that before doing etsy.
I've been considering it.
I really should finish up that pillow sham that I started....
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
Who knows what I'll do with it, I pretty much never have watches or bracelets or anything on, since I always lose them.
:O
I'm making an owl hat for a friend's niece, and another friend has asked me to make her some fingerless gloves.
They're both going to be paying me.
Like, real money and stuff.
Weird.
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
Cheers for making them the proper way! Although I don't think I could take money for the things I make, I feel weird taking money from friends. Maybe if they'll buy the materials for me to make things with, or something. I dunno. Haven't had any commissions yet, luckily. Well, apart from one hammock mosquito net, but that was a one-off.
but i'm also unemployed so they're kind of also pressing the money on me.
it's a good start to maybe starting my own business....
maybe. who knows.
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It's a nice secondary income if you have the time for it
really the biggest thing with selling handmade items online is having enough time to make your things and market them. I also do things slightly different, I guess? since I make things I like but make more of them than I could ever really use
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