Yahoo Groups

November 26th, 2006

I was at Yahoo Groups for another reason, but decided i would post a note about my absence in the artistamp, non_cents, and iouma mailing lists.

Dear Artistamp Friends,

I admit i was a lurker when i was “active.” I’ve been overwhelmed for some months, and still don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I haven’t been reading the list recently, deleting upon arrival, so i’m going to save a bit of bandwidth and go to no messages for a while.

I miss making artistamps and look forward to finding myself suddenly back in the groove!

Cheers!

judith aka judielaine

Recycled Candles, again

November 26th, 2006

A month or so ago, I wrote about not being able to get my recycled candles to burn well enough. I gave my attempt one more try with two innovations.

The first innovation was melting the wax in a recycled cereal bag. This worked very well. The plastic withstood the boiling water, the wax melted within, and cleanup was quite easy. I’m not sure how often one could use a bag over. I think i threw it out.

The second innovation was to use multiple wicks in the votive jars. Two wicks seem to burn off the wax at a rate that keeps up with the melting, so the wick doesn’t drown. The candles do burn down quickly, but also are quite bright.

A pleasant discovery in the waning light of the year.

Birthday Cat

November 7th, 2006

Birthday Cat

Originally uploaded by Elaine with Grey Cats.

Inspired by PhotoJoJo
www.photojojo.com/content/diy/how-to-make-a-postcard-mosa…
and
www.photojojo.com/content/tutorials/turn-photos-into-comi…
with additional help from
this color palette tool

I made a VERY LARGE version of this image for my nephew. I get to print and cut and then start mailing pieces to China….

It’s probably not that interesting at high res, but for a three year old, i think it will be OK.

Crochet work

November 4th, 2006

Crochet work

Originally uploaded by Elaine with Grey Cats.

I noticed the pile of mending and, not feeling well after a late work night, i puttered with yarn.

The yarn is from a stash of crewel work yarn i purchased off eBay. It required lots of dealing with ends, but worked out OK.

The motifs were to cover some holes worn in a pair of Christine’s jeans. Star? Flower? Pentagon? Not too cute or “sweet.” I would have done one more round with picots emphasizing the points to make it more star like, i think, but she liked the simplicity of this.
The "shaft" of the arrow was one long chain, then sc around. The arrow was ad libbed single crochet decreases, but turned out OK.

I noted the hem was fraying a bit, so i did a blanket stitch on which i hooked in to make a row of single crochet. "Behind" the sc i used a slip stitch to connect the picots.

Candles and recycling

October 19th, 2006

This link for olive oil lamps is inspiring. I’ve been pondering a replacement tea lights ever since corresponding with someone regarding soy tea lights. Their sustainability concern is the little metal cups. Skimming around the web i’m finding many different statements about olive oil lamps and other vegetable oil lamps. I note that there’s this floating vegetable oil light. They note “special wicks” for vegetable oil.

On the other hand, there are web assertions that any wick will do — the Lehmans’s construction looks pretty straightforward. Ponder.

Meanwhile, i don’t seem to be able to make decent candles recycling the stubs and wax. I don’t want to make pretty ones so much as just be able to use up the wax. I may make a trip to Michael’s to buy wicks. I have been using kitchen candles….

Read the rest of this entry »

Crochet pattern purchase

October 19th, 2006

I do like the oak leaf and acorn motif in this scarf, even though i don’t really like the scarf (scarflette) design. I can imagine incorporating the motifs into some neck-laces. So, i bought the pattern.

Here’s the description:

The Mighty Oak Scarflette is like an oak branch you can wear!
(Albeit, much much softer). Fun and whimsical acorns and oak leaves
adorn this mini-scarf. You can make the leaves and acorns in any
combination of colors; take inspiration from the different species of
oaks and different stages in the season.

Also, there’s Mighty Acorn – a sweet little friend you can crochet.
He’s bigger than the acorns in the scarflette but small enough to fit
in your hand, pocket, or whereever! AND, you get him at NO additional
charge if you buy the Mighty Oak Scarflette pattern – yay!

Book Arts Jam 2006

October 14th, 2006

I had GIS homework to do at Foothill’s campus so stopped at the Book Arts Jam. The exhibition was much more interactive than last year: more like vendors than a gallery. While i can see why exhibitors and most folks might like that better, i found it too crowded and contrary to my desires. there was a slide show of some Bay Area Book Arts‘ members work. I sat through some of that. At home i went through the URLs of exhibitors listed in the program. A set of those links are in a del.icio.us collection.

Yarn for cheap

October 4th, 2006

I just snagged eight balls of sage green suede yarn on sale for a dollar. Woo!

http://www.crochetme.com/sweet — pattern
http://www.crochetme.com/blog/amy — Crochet Along
http://skamama.blogspot.com/2006/09/its-up.html — deeper V

http://dawnscraft.blogspot.com/2006/09/crochet-along_27.html#links

Some time spent with hooks

September 18th, 2006

I’ve often looked at shrugs and just not “gotten it,” but it occurred to me this weekend that a shrug would be a perfect bed jacket to wear while sitting up and reading. Best part is only Christine will ever see it, so i can practice in making it and get utility out of it, even if it’s horrible.

I still need to get the baby blanket done (argh!), but i spent some time this weekend on making plastic yarn and then doing a row around the plastic tote. I’m not sure it’s going to bee a bike pannier at this point, just because i think i can get more utility out of a shopping tote. We’ll see.

I also experimented crocheting earrings to go with the green and gold necklace. The harvest festival is fast approaching!

Crochet Me Fall 2006 Issue

September 16th, 2006

This may be just the right “first sweater” pattern for me, assuming i ever get through the baby blanket. It seems from the article that the pattern gives all the guidance for making the general sweater, not a clone of a particular sweater.

The article on adding trim to thrift store sweaters is also inspiring. Of course, my problem with thrift store finds is not the tops but the bottoms. Crochet side panels in skirts so the fit better? Nah, i really need to get the sewing machine out if i’m headed in that direction!

The Fat Kitty toy is cute. I need to work on that wool stash i bought from Eliza for my nephews!