Stitch Witch

As you’ll see, if you view Someday I’ll Fly Away , I’m taking my yarn addiction underground for a spell.  Therefore, you won’t see any new updates here at Stitch Witch.  If you need anything, have questions, or just want to get to know Mi better, you can visit me or shoot me an email.

Here are the places you’ll most easily locate me:

Twitter

Read Between My Lines

You can also email me at:  justamiragi (@) gmail dot com

My desire for freedom overrides my desire or ability to be constrained, hence I am taking my leave.  I don’t own this blog, however, so it will be here for the unforeseeable future, until Today should decide to remove it.  Thanks for your understanding!

XO

Mi

I have been a horrendous, despicable witch, I know. I realize I haven’t posted since the 15th, but that will be changing. I promise. Just to let you know, it really is NOT you, and it really IS me! Dealing with some personal issues on the home front, dealing with some health issues, and trying to hold it all together.

That being said, on this another Black Friday, I am NO WHERE near any commercial center of consumerism and am instead holed up on the homestead. At least, in my absence, I have been doing yarny things which can account for at least part of the missing time frame. Here are some updates and new findings among my unfinished and finished stashes:

Several weeks back, I mentioned a handbag/purse/clutch that I had begun, using Nylon crochet cord. (see So Many Yarns, So Few Hands for the original pic) Here, we now have two completed sides, and I just need to decide on how I want to approach the lining. I think I want to line the envelope-flap and inside as one solid piece, and I will have to stitch by hand, because I do not want thread showing up on outside of the bag.

Since this bag is obviously (in my head) going to be an accessory for evening wear, I am not going to attempt to go for durability, however, I still want a lining and function that will hold up. SO, it’s taking some more thought. Using black Dupioni silk for the lining. Want sharp folds to be the only thing visible, so, I’m thinking I’ll secure all exposed edging with (get this…..)Stitch Witchery….or Heat N Bond tape….in my experience, the Stitch Witchery is better for delicate fabrics. Heat N Bond gets really stiff and doesn’t lend itself to as much movement.

So yeah…that’s the scoop so far on the handbag. Any suggestions for handle (long, short, braided, straight, fabric, cording……I’d love to hear your input!)

Also, earlier this month, you might remember the utter mindless spree I went on over at Michael’s. (Yarn Fix #5052). I decided to pair the pale sage-colored Bamboo yarn with a gorgeous Merino-sparkly blend that I got at JoAnn back during a clearance sale, and that Khaki Green Mode Dea stuff.

So, yeah, I wanted something quick, something knit, and decided to go with a scarf on some rambunctious size 5000 needles. 1 skein of the Bamboo got me through probably 30+ inches of a decent-length scarf, using the 3-strand combo. HOWEVER, now that I’ve got that much done, I’m really not feeling it with that Mode Dea. I do NOT like the color scheme in person. It kind of just looks gaudy, and a much paler shade of the Mode Dea would have been much better suited. SO, looks to me like I’m gonna rip it out and either do a two strand with a matching bamboo oversized beret, or who knows. The softness of the Bamboo yarn needs to be in scarf form! Something that scrumptious should be something one can cuddle in to on a very frigid day!

Next up….this is a fairly skinny, 70″ scarf that I did with another shade of that Mode Dea yarn. This is ‘yarn’ in the loosest sense, because when you see it up close, it looks more like someone painstakingly cut 1/16″ strips of interfacing and then took the time to sew delicate, shimmery fibers in straight lines through each strip, but also then took the time to bobble (for lack of a more educated term) more shiny fibers to give it tremendous texture. I love this shade so much more than the Khaki….it’s a cross between periwinkle/cornflower and a dusty blue. Much less purply than it appears here. However, once it’s put into a project, you don’t see the minute interfacing detail, and it just looks all scrunchy and fun…and it’s not scratchy, it feels good!

And NOW, you see the real source of my distraction. This little piece of feline perfection is only home when my husband comes home, so of course, I spend more time getting my skin flayed and taking pictures than I do writing. My bad!! Meet Jezebel. Attention-whore extraordinaire!

This lovely piece of gorgeous red/gold/purple suede was the beginnings of a neck warmer that I was making to wear to work last year, when I still worked in the coolers of the produce department. 40 degrees is good after a month of 90 degree weather, but on a daily basis, it just starts to chip away at one’s ability to ever be warm! However, now that I’ve pulled it back out again, I’m thinking I’m going to destruct and reconstruct this one in a row of 3 largish cables. This yarn lends itself to bulky designs, so cabling, here I come.

Now, for the PS de Resistawwwwnce-I present to you the progess as of yesterday during Thanksgiving Din-din on the Vogue pattern, also mentioned above (So Many Yarns, So Few Hands)

I’m up to about 50 rows thus far, and nearly on my 3rd skein of that Bernat Ebony Alpaca Blend. My opinion of this yarn…..it works up gorgeously, however, you must not be wearing anything that you don’t wish to turn into an Alpaca-adorned covering. Oh well, what’s one more animal hair here at the animal farm. I am dedicated to this one, no matter how many years it takes me, I WILL complete it!

Thusly, now I have concluded my total update inundation, and am in progress of preparing tomorrow’s post because I am no longer slacking off. Yarn IS my drug of choice, and thusly I should give it due praise on a daily basis!

Hope everyone had a lovely Turkey day, replete with all the gut-wrenching, taste-bud wooing favorites!

So, it’s Sunday.  Let’s review, shall we?

1.  By exponentially more than a hanging chad and a slim needle’s worth of hair, we can now safely sing praises to our newest fingerpuppet-elect, Barack Hussein Obama.  Whether he can uphold all the lofty campaign-trail promises or if he’s just another person who said what we all wanted to hear as a means to an end remains to be seen.  Yep, you guessed it….I am a cynical witch when it comes to politics and government.  It’s easy to get caught up in hype…..it’s hard work to make that hype into a valid reality.   I, however, shall save my political diadribbles for another forum.  We are here for the sake of many colorful and varied needly and hooky fibers!

2.  Remember the Deepest Sea Messy Handspun?  As luck would have it, once it arrives in the mail, I have BRAGGING RIGHTS!  That’s right……I waited two days.  I prayed.  I held seances.  I concocted spells and danced nekkid in the back yard.  (YEAH SURE I DID!).  Then, with my writing money, I was able to snag up the one remaining skein from Ms. Lindsay Luu at her gorgeous Etsy Shop:  Lonely Love Bird Supplies! Once it arrives, you’ll all be the firsts to know what I plan to do with it.  Firstly, I will open the package, and take it into my yarn-obsessed hands, and just sit quietly soaking up the luscious hues of blues!

3.  Yarn Whispering-Part Trois is a work in progress and will be posted at some point during the upcoming week.  Maybe I’m just a Leo who didn’t want it to get lost in the shuffle of all the political hubbubub Click here if you want to catch up by reading Yarn Whispering-Part Duh!

4.  Progress on my workings in progress:

• Started Vogue sweater.  Currently resting at row 7

• Almost completed side one of Elegant Woot Evening Bag.  Side two will be short work since it’s just going to be rectangularly in shape!  Then the fun part.  Making the lining, sewing it in-invisibly, creating a handle or strap (undecided), and the beading work and finally the clasp/closure!  It’s gonna rock.  Just watch!  I’ll post pics to update you as it comes along!  Exciting, I know!

• I have selected two other yarns to use with that splendidly supple Bamboo yarn purchased during my recent fit of yarn hysteria at Michael’s.  The colors are very mild and understated, so it’s perfect for anyone who shies away from vibrancy!  We cannot all be one with bedecking ourselves in brightly -hued pieces!  And mellow and light tones do have their place!  You’ll see.  Sorry for the shoddy pic, lighting quality is not abundant within the realm of my domicile! 

5.  Check out my lovely guide to caring for your hands, if you too, are a fiber artiste! It’s called (of all the blatantly obvious titles):  How to Protect A Fiber Artist’s Most Important Tool-The Hands

This is great for anyone who’s just delving into the finer addictions of yarns and fabrics.

6.  But not least, I would like to give a humonguous SHOUT OUT to Acadia over at The Superficial Gallery, for including me in his Super Saturday Links post! 

You gotta see his site, though.  I’m not much on the superficial stuff in life.  I can’t tell you the names of the hot pop groups right now, and I don’t care how much the latest Disney clone weighs, or if her eating disorder is hurting or helping her career.   I think the last time I cared about celebrity, Tom Cruise still had control of his mental faculties, Gary Oldman was perfecting Syd Vicious and Lindsay Lohan was just a comment on an egg floating in utero.

But, I digress, because you see, the Superficial Gallery is NOT JUST about the superficial :)  It’s chock full of all kinds of good, fun, quirky stuff that can keep you entertained for eons!  And, for those who simply adore the superficiality of life, there are pages upon pages of just that for your inquiring eyes to look at!  Go CHECK IT OUT!  You can even fondle your fibers whilst visiting!

You ever have one of those days where you just start taking stock of exactly EVERYTHING you’ve got going on? Today is my day. Decided I would put all my projects in a duckly row and figure out where I’m going with each one. And YOU, lucky yarnizens get to see inside the mind of maniacal yarn addict with the attention span of a flea! Follow along, and be stunned, won’t you?

For starters, we have a piece of knitting sparked by my muse. In the course of creating my Etsy store (as yet fully unnamed), I knew I wanted to use up my stash of black yarns, threads and other assorted fibers first. This lovely unfinished ensemble is constructed of J&P Coats 100% Crochet Nylon, which is great for purses, jewelry, home dec stuff and whatever else your little needling fingers can make! Mainly because I am enamored of the clutches and handbags, circa 1930-60, I wanted to try my own hand at making an elegant bag for evening wear. Woot! Elegant=Woot. It does!

The picture makes the thread look way shinier than it actually is, and yet it’s got a lustrous sheen to it which will be absolute perfection for beadwork later on. I’m thinking of lining with some black dupioni silk (if the shades of blacks match). Not sure how big it will end up being, or which end of the scale-gaudy or classic-it will land on. Who cares, just know it will look smashing, because I say so. And, I might add, this thread is super easy to work with, it’s inexpensive and it feels smooth to the touch, not hard or plastick-y! And that’s just ONE thing I have on the back yarn burner!

As you can see, I’ve got my pattern all printed out on crispy white paper, dug out the appropriately sized needles, and 1 lonely ball of Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends in Ebony. This time, I am going to use a separate piece of paper to record each row. You cycle through broken rib, small cable and large cable sets for 8-9 rows, before repeating, so it’s good to keep track of exactly what row you are on, in case of an emergency yarn evacuation! I cannot WAIT to get started on this. Morning comes, coffee brews, and I start this pattern anew, with the new yarn!

This silvery gray number below was the trial run, using cheap yarn. Good yarn, but cheap, and not the desired bulk to fully support the scrumptious cabling. Now, the silvery piece will be used for some sort of free form project perhaps, or disassembled and placed within the confines of another pattern!

This cornflowery bluish purple piece is also another one bound for free-form success. Just as the perfected shade of the richest handspun yarn can steal your breath, so too can a really good cover of Vogue Knitting! This pattern came from the first copy that I ever purchased, and was my first major excursion into following semi-complex patterning. I was hooked (all while abandoning my hooks for long, sleek needles, no less)!

These two particularly bland (the photo does them both way TOO much justice) lap blankets are on their way to bigger, better and prettier pastures. I’m thinking an entrelac throw, adding in some mustardy yellow, and perhaps a good shade of green, but that’s questionable. (In fact, about the only place that would look good would be on Bourbon St., in the wee hours of the morn after Mardi Gras! It would take the consumption of several tasty Hurricanes (that’s a drink name, not me being facetious!) in order to be taken even slightly seriously! Or maybe 5-6 shades of purple in varied bulks? Or, I did run across an idea in Crochet Today magazine for ‘repurposing’ (I HATE buzz-terms!!) granny squares into pillows…maybe I could make throw pillows with yarn fronts, and fabric backings? I just don’t know yet.

So, there you have it. That’s the short list of things yarny, I am contending with, willingly and not so willingly.

The Slippy Sleeves Project was unavailable at publication time, due to an unfortunate slip of the senses by the knitter who changed her mind and ripped it all back to a ball of yarn.

Stay Tuned! There’s a new installment of Yarn Whispering that should be hitting your monitors by tomorrow!

Yeah, so I went a little mad in Michael’s this evening. I HAD TO!!! It was a new store! Had to check out the yarn selection (which I might add is MUCHLY diminished from years past…This saddens me, but then again, it also opens me up to the limitless possibilities that abound all over internet-world! Besides, there’s an Alpaccccccccca farm right down the road. I can adapt ninja-like stealth, don some shears, and go collect some natural fibers as needed (JUST KIDDING!!)

Regardless, back to the excursion to Michael’s. Although we (my daughter and I) probably only covered 1/2 the store’s contents, this is the booty we ended up with:

• 1 large Sketch Book

• 1 pack of Anime/Manga Markers

• 1 Silver/Gold/Wiry Cross pendant

• 1 Velvet Choker Chain (for said pendant)

• 1 pack of beading needles

• 1 roll of superfine Silver beading wire

• 2 strands of assorted larger beads

• 1 tube of hematite seed beads

• 1 Heart-shaped pendant

• 8 Skeins of Bernat Alpaca Blend yarn (see the lovely shadings of grey?)

• 2 Skeins of Bernat Bamboo yarn (can’t tell, but it’s a splendid shade of palest olive/sage green)

• 2 Skeins of Caron Simply Soft Bulky yarn for my cousins Arm Warmers (think Leg-warmers but for the arms, eh!?)

• 1 Entirely KICK-A$$ Paper Cutter by our Lady of Homemaking, Martha Stewart, in the most spectacularly-detailed shape of a (ahem) WITCH!!! (I sense labels being made with this very shortly!!

———–

Grand Total: A very stomach-churning $113.00

I want to crawl in a hole and punish myself now. But NOW, dearly beloved yarnies, NOW, I can truly complete that Vogue sweater pattern with almost identical shading and texture (what’s REALLY the difference betwixt Alpacas and LLLLLLLLlamas, I ask you?)

That sage/olive bamboo yarn is going to blend exquisitely with some Moda Dea yarn that I got last year on clearance. Probably in the form of a hat/scarf combo, or just scarf and wrist warmers, maybe. I cannot WAIT to work with it, it feels like baby bottoms after bathtime, freshly powdered with the beloved scent of Baby Magic!!! It is divine!

So, this concludes my entirely humiliating, money-gobbling adventure into Michael’s. See, THIS is why I am a hermit. When I go out in public, I cannot be controlled, especially when confronted with yarn and crafty things! Maybe I should’ve bought a wand, or learned to wiggle my nose, so I could instantaneously create all these things, and prove that I’m actually going to USE all this stuff!!

Stumble It!

The other day I mentioned something about doing some research on the benefits of joining the ranks of Etsy. After much thought and consideration, I have decided that I do, indeed, want to start up my own Etsy store, and also that I am going to document the trials and tribulations and unexpected joys that come from this process!

I’m really kind of stoked about this venture, because it combines everything I love with the ability to make some potentially excellent income for my art.  Yarn-good.  Creativity-good.  Writing-good.  Money-good.  What’s not to love about this new project, I ask you? Phase 1 began yesterday, with my 2nd visit to Etsy.  I’ve read several online articles touting the joys and benefits of selling through this innovative site, as well as a write up about the original founder, in the recent issue of Inc. magazine.  I’m intrigued by young entrepreneurs and how they develop successful startups seemingly right out of the gate!  So yeah, I’m willing to give it a try!

I spent some time reading through the registration process, and the seller FAQ’s, just to get an idea of how to start formulating my store.   As with any new business venture, it’s imperative to give the following factors some much needed consideration:

• Effective and catchy business name
• What exactly am I going to offer?
• What is my overhead?
• How will I market my store?
• Pricing
• Customer service-policies and procedures

Those are just a few of the things that I need to sit down and take stock of…..but right now, my Chili is almost done, so I’ve gots to go start some grilled cheeses and feed the hungry masses before they take it upon themselves to delve into cannibalism or some other heinous feeding practice

I’m not sure in which direction Part 2 will go, but if you want to follow along with the creation and development of my soon-to-be-fabulous Etsy store, please make sure to subscribe to the RSS feed, or add me to your blog roll. Also, if you or someone you know if part of Etsy or if you have ideas, do not hesitate to contribute!  

Happy Sunday, Faithful Yarnies!

Truth be told, I owe my love of all things threadly to this beloved gem of crocheted wisdom.  Thread crochet work was one of the first variants that sparked my interest, and pretty much where I learned what to do.

 This wondrous publication served me well through all the issues that I was able to get my hands on!  But, alas, as the art of thread is waning, so too died off this magazine.  Now, the only way to get your hands on a copy is to hope, pray, and chant that someone is hoarding a collection somewhere and has decided to sell the prized possessions on eBay, or elsewhere online.

If you, too, were once a fan of Magic Crochet, here’s one such place that still has a few copies left: Crochet Doiles.com

eBay is quite a good resource for finding old publications that contain some of the better and more original patterns for thread, aka Filet, crochet.  Just hit up the site, and type “Crochet magazines” or “thread crochet” or “filet crochet” into the search engine.  If you’re just looking for patterns, and don’t really have a hankering for a highly collectible, frame-able work of art, then you can snag some pretty sweet deals!

In addition to all the tasty morsels of patterny delight, you can also get some EXCELLENT deals on threads and yarns, however, here is where you’ve gotta do your homework, and know your medium!  Ask questions, get proof of things like:

• dye lots
• actual colors
• damage or fading
• age and condition

If you’re buying 30 balls of thread for a large and engrossing project, you certainly don’t want to end up with water or smoke-damaged threads, or some that’s faded from sitting in a store window.  Also, when buying the colored threads, remember that the older yarns are definitely NOT as colorfast as today’s fibers!

See the royal blue thread in the midst of this pic?  I learned the hard way that the color likes to stay with the hooker and will embed itself in skin, nails, and even clothing, when working with it for long periods of time!  Today’s colored threads are pretty colorfast, and don’t tend to wear away like those of old, however, I wouldn’t wear white when working with them!

Stay tuned, faithful yarnies.  Tomorrow, I’m digging up some research on the makings of an Etsy venture.  We can all learn together!

Today, on this sunny, breezy fall afternoon, Every Witch Way brings you the ultimate resource for all things yarny and spectacular.  From eco-friendly and exotic fibers to luxurious merino wools and exquisite hand-painted strands, you’ll be hard-pressed to surf away from this site with an empty yarn bag! 

I bring you:  The Yarn Market

Enjoy!

In the world of Crochet!

Is it just me, or are these not creepy?

Brought to yarnies worldwide by our friends at Lion Brand Yarns, this is the latest ‘craft’ that you can create and enjoy with all your friends and fellow voters.

Here is where I veer off course!  Who decided, or better yet, who got paid to present these finger puppets of doom to the world?  I wanna know, because if someone can get paid some really good cash to invent and advertise this level of creepiness and pass it off as cute and playful, then I wanna sign up.  I shall create the world’s first Bin Laden and Hussein finger puppets.  Or, how about a Kim Jong-il finger puppet? Hitler, even!

I’m sorry, however, I truly believe that politics and yarn make for some most strange bedfellows, and never the twain should ever, ever meet!   My fiber art removes me from the ridiculous, depressing, and downtrodden world of politics and other assorted crap; therefore, why in the WORLD would I ever want to create FINGER PUPPETS from my beloved stash of yarn?  Why, I ask you?

Perhaps some will find me “unpatriotic” for my vehement loathing of this particular craft, and to them I say:  “Whatever wraps your yarn around your fingers”….Maybe black SUV’s with mirrored sunglass-bespectacled, suit wearing agents will pull up in front of my home, and I will have to don my tinfoil helmet once again, but you will never convince me that political finger puppeting is the craft of the future!

My fellow yarnies, we not only need change for the ‘middle class, we need change for the ‘yarn class’.

 PS:  Don’t forget to vote!  If you’re not sure where to go, read this.

and crochet too….

If you discover that freeforming isn’t your thing, you can still make use of all those remnants, and skeins of yarn that you bought (but can’t remember why)!  The Knit One, Save One campaign is part of the Save The Children organization and is dedicated to providing hats or caps to babies worldwide who are in need of the simplest elements in order to stay alive. 

Babies need warmth.  They just came out of an incubator with the ultimate warmth (their mother), and still need at least an inkling of that precious heat to thrive. We forget that the tools and baubles and trinkets that we are bombarded with on a daily basis are no where close to readily available in third-world countries.  I hate the term “third-world”, because quite frankly, we ALL live on this one planet…..and when do you ever hear anyone speak of a “second-world” country?  Seriously!   All ranting aside, you may seriously want to consider donating even just an hour of your time, and your scraps of yarn.  One cap is one cap, and it will cover one tiny little head.  

When you visit the Knit One, Save One page, you’ll have access to the Action Kit which gives you more information on where your caps will go, patterns for knitting and crochet, and other ways that you can participate in this life-saving program.  Give it some thought.  

Then go here.

Image Credit:  http://vhanna26.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/03/24/cable_baby_hats_finished.jpg

(sweet work, go check it out!)