Monday 26 January 2009

Another finished item

My enthusiasm for the weaving
project was on the wane, so on my way to work on Thursday, I decided to finish the length of yarn I
had and then take the piece off the loom/cardstock. As I cut the warp
strings and tied them in place, I was worried that it wouldn't be nice,
or would fall apart! (My worries were probably causing the wane of enthusiasm.) But when I took the weaving off the card my
instant reaction was "It's so cute!"


bus woven bag

Technically, as a weaving it has several problems. I started pulling
on the string more as I went along, so the top is tighter than the
bottom. There are loose strings everywhere, and the warp is most untidy.


But I do think it is cute- like a bag for a doll, hence the Pincess Leia model. Maybe I'll do some card weaving for a strap sometime- but i don't think I could get the tensioning right on the bus. (I have done mini-mobile card weaving on a train, pinning the warp to the knee of my jeans, but I don't fancy trying that with my office trousers.)


My verdict: Small scale weaving is a good craft for the bus ride. If I try it
again, I think I'll aim for something more controlled, maybe with a
representational pattern in different colours. I'm thinking it may be a method of making a patch, or something to add embroidery to. And I'll go read Tanglecrafts for
more inspiration!

So, all that was from last week, but I've had a long weekend (visit from the in-laws and my birthday). I don't have a craft planned for tomorrow, but something will come up, I'm sure.




Tuesday 20 January 2009

Happy

sparkle hatYes, I'm happy that Barack Obama is now President of the United States of America. I sort of accidently arranged a celebratory lunch (I brought vegan hot dogs- very popular) at the office. Loads of people joined in bringing food and decorations- including this hat for me and a matching one for the other American in the office.

I did wear the hat home (it wouldn't fit in my bag). As I was crossing to the bus stop, I notice a student-ish guy on his bike was staring at me. "Happy Obama Day!" I shouted, and he shouted back "Happy Obama Day!"



Wednesday 14 January 2009

Know your limits

I can't hold a bag of groceries, my office knit club clanger project, plan our Obama Inauguration celebration lunch and weave on the bus. I know this now.



Friday 9 January 2009

Dry thumbs

This must be something that happens every winter, but I've only really noticed it this year because I've been playing with yarn so much: the skin on the inside of my thumbs is slightly chapped, just enough to catch on the fibers of the yarn (a recycled glove) that I've been using. It isn't so bad that it is annoying, just curious.

The weaving itself is curious as well. I'm thinking of calling it crazy weaving, like crazy quilting, suggesting a 'try anything' attitude. Because of the way I've wrapped the card, I have to intentionally mis-weave every so often. I can't be more accurate than that, because I think I'm unintentionally mis-weaving as well. The fabric I'm building up is very fluffy, and I'm not sure if it will hold together when I take it off the card. I'm also wondering if it feels softer because my hands are chapped?

Anyway, I had considered taking it apart and starting again with a closer wrapped warp, but decided to stick with it the way it is. I'm curious to see how it will come out.

On a non-bus crafting note, some quick maths has led me to the conclusion that I was rather un-realistic in thinking I can finish the pocket quilt this winter. It takes me about a week to add a row to it, and there are about 20 rows to add. So, with holidays, that makes it possible to finish in May, unless I dedicate some weekends to the project. As P has pointed out, it is already functional as it is big enough to keep my lap warm as I work on it. At the moment, I'll feel accomplished if I can complete one row a week, and if that means finishing in May rather than March, then that's the way it will have to be.



Thursday 1 January 2009

Happy 2009!

It’s the new year! This year, I’m not going to make any resolutions- I’m not looking to make any changes to my life right now, just try to keep up with what I’ve got to do. But there are things I want to do, or would like to get done, and done this year. Not 100 things, but for example:


  • Finish the pocket quilt I started in Oct 07 (ideally this winter, as it isn’t a good warm weather project)

  • Patch the kimonos

  • Cover P’s old headphones

  • Finish the Sprite Thief story

  • Mad Scientist episode 2

  • Get kitchen re-modelled

  • Start bento boxing for lunch at work

  • Go through recipe files and un-fileds

  • Make an apron (I promised this to myself ages ago, well, I think last summer)

  • The secret-great-present-for-P (possibly for August)

  • Finish the robot toy I started designing

  • Trolleys for plants

  • Finish the de-mildew process



There are other, less concrete things as well: comment on blogs, remember birthdays, ideas for drawings or comics or stories, trying to garden on the balcony, tidying the apartment, try crazy quilting.

And I’d like to try new things in 2009. I think I’ve become a bit too reticent, too habitual, too afraid to take small risks. So, just as a way of nudging my decision processes this year, I’m going to try new things, generally speaking, rather than opting for the same old thing.

So, how does this tie in with buscrafting? Well, I had been planning to do finish another wrapped flower, but now I’m going to try weaving instead! I finally visited the Tanglecrafts blog, and her weave-on-anything attitude has rekindled my interest in weaving. I usually think of weaving as a super precise craft, and thus outside my crafting abilities. But it seems Su Mwamba, who is much more knowledgeable than me on these matters, feels weaving is more free-form than embroidery. A mini-weaving on a bit of card seems perfect for the bus as well. And I’ll have to comment on her blog as well…

On a non-buscraft note, I’ve spent the intercalation doing a lot of embroidery.