Before & After: The Tale of The Sparkly Pineapple Shirt

It all started in Kohl's. I had just gotten paid, and eager to spend all my money, went out to buy some (much needed) clothes. Mostly for work, I picked up jeans, looked at button up shirts, and even bought my first pair of leggings, but when I ended up in the clothing section to buy shirts I felt lost and confused. It had been so long since I bought clothes in an actual store (Thank you, TeeFury). From section to section I wandered. Some clothes seemed to be for 14-year-olds, and all the other clothes seemed to be for 40-year-olds. Annoyed, infuriated, and worst of all, holding an armful of nothing but work clothes, I made a declaration to "Just crochet all of my own shirts."

Everything looked awkward. Everything felt awkward. Even the models in the pictures, and the clothing on the mannequins didn't look appealing to me. Nothing was making sense. I was going to make my own clothes. 

I was half joking, but by the time I got home, and ended up alone on Ravelry for a good hour or two, I had looked through all kinds of shirt patterns. I was so excited, the very next day I went out and bought some cotton yarn, then started on a simple-looking shirt, Light and Lacy by Doris Chan.

I had finished it in an astounding 3 days. It worked up so fast, I was suddenly even more excited by my decision to make all of my clothes. The only problem? It fit about as well as an oversized grocery bag.

I told myself it was okay, that I had never made a form-sitting shirt before. At my size, I've never been a Small before, but it turns out that maybe I should have made a small for this shirt (I made the Medium). It was so baggy on me, that as I wore it, I swore it made me look 30 pounds heavier. I told myself it was okay, but I didn't even have the motivation to tie in the ends. I set it on my dresser, and feeling defeated, went to bed.

The "Before"

The next morning, I don't know if I had a dream, or if the answer was really just that simple all along, but I woke up so enthused, I knew I had figured out a way to fix my shirt to make it look better.

After much debating, and cringing, I (painfully) ripped out about 75% of my work, then made a band by decreasing the chain mesh.I was really happy that this had been a fast project, because even after ripping out most of my work, it still only took another 3 days to completely finish it. I could make two of these a week if I really wanted to supplement my wardrobe.

By making a band in the middle significantly smaller than the rest of the piece, this pulled it in a bit, then I increased it enough to have it bellow out again. It went from Potato sack to flattering A-Line piece.

(If you are looking for the technical things I did, and how to do this yourself to this shirt, you can look at the notes on my Ravelry Page.)

Ta da! New shirt!

I love it so much now, I can't wait to wear it! Although, with it being made of cotton, and in such sparkly and bright colors, I can't imagine wearing it any other time of year besides late spring and summer.

This was also nice, because now instead of just "dealing" with the style of a shirt (the way I would ahve if I had just bought a shirt the other day), I'm now actually looking forward to something. On top of that, I had so much fun working with the colors. The white, although you can't see it, is actually a "Holiday" yarn, so it has metallic tinsel throughout, and the blue-green stripes are Lily Sugar N' Cream "Country Stripes", a yarn I've had in my stash forever, but didn't know the perfect thing to use it on. The sparkles and the stripes give it an awesomely light oceany feel to it that I am so excited to wear around when the weather is warmer.

I have a lot of plans to make more clothes, of course. I even picked up a book from the library today, and without even noticing the author, I got it home, only to realize the patterns were from none other than Doris Chan herself. After finding Light and Lacy, I went through all her patterns to find that I love her style! I guess I can officially consider myself a fangirl, and I look forward to expanding my wardrobe over the next few months. With such a great start, how could I not be excited?

What I've been up to: New Years Edition

The first three weeks of 2013 have gone by mostly uneventfully. I've been listening to, and even reading, a lot of books, and I still have my crochet hooks stuck into many projects. I've been trying to challenge myself, as well as finish things I started awhile back and never managed to finish. Here are a few things I've done since the new year came around.

1. Butterfly Stitch Fingerless Gloves.

I spent literally 9 hours straining my eyes on January 1st making these. Having no real New Years resolutions, I was feeling kind of insecure and all I could think was about how I felt like I should at least greet the new year with a challenge. I had the pattern for these in my Ravelry queue for awhile, but had been too intimidated to make them- so they seemed like the perfect challenge for a new year.

A challenge they were indeed. It certainly took a lot of patience and focus, but I managed to finish both of them before bedtime. They look really awesome, and add a nice antique/vintage touch to my outfits. The "Dusty Blue" was the perfect color for them, too. It almost feels like a faded blue in an old picture.

The butterfly stitch was easy enough, it was just fiddling with things such as the size and the thumbhole that gave me a real challenge. Lots of improvising happened, but they both fit and look nice, and isn't that what really matters?

2. Senorita Skirt

I found this pattern in the May/June 2012 Issue of Crochet Today, and I did in fact start it back in June. Unfortunately, I have a tendency to get bored really easily with repetitive patterns. Despite the fact that the shells in this pattern changed from row to row, I still found myself exhausted by shells 75% of the way through. Long story short, I put this down for nearly six months before deciding to dedicate a day to finishing it up.

After I finished it, I was pretty mad at myself. I LOVE THIS SKIRT. I love how it fits, I love how I managed to make it the perfect size, and I love how it flares out. The day after I finished it, I went out to buy some faux-cabled sweater tights so I wouldn't have to wait until summer to wear this. If only I hadn't put it down for 6 months to do 2 hours worth of work, I could have been wearing this all along! What an awesome (and seasonably versatile) addition to my wardrobe.

3. I KNITTED THIS COWL.

Here's the doozy, guys. I knitted something. I was so proud of myself when I finished this last night at 1 AM, that instead of folding it up and putting it somewhere safe, I squished it against myself like a security blanket to sleep beside.

For months I have been trying to knit, only for my stitches to slide off of my needles and my day to end in a frustrating yell-a-thon. This time, though, instead of trying the same thing I've tried and failed with 100 times, I switched it up a bit. I got some GIGANTIC yarn (To be exact, Lion Brand's Hometown USA in Oklahoma Green), and then I dug out my Size 19 needles and went to town!

With the giant yarn and dangerously big plastic needles, I only had a couple stitches drop off, which I managed to slip back on. The experienced knitter could certainly find my mistakes, but all in all, I'm really happy that I manged to cast on, bind off, and everything in between to make a soft, fluffy, functional cowl. I used a garter stitch, because I liked the texture it gave to an otherwise plain cowl, but hopefully I will find something I want to make with Stockinette stitch next.

I was so happy to not have my stitches fall off, and get an idea for the tension the yarn should be at, that I genuinely can't wait to knit again. I kept thinking about getting glasses. I remember thinking about how hard I thought school used to be, how all school equalled to me was headaches and squinting, then how much glasses improved my experience. I feel like using metal needles made me think that knitting was this impossible thing that only really talented and smart people could accomplish, at least until I got the right tools, and now everything is so much clearer.

What else have I been up to? Mostly just buying stuff I want to show off.

I used to have a "Crochet Dude" crochet hook case, but last week when the pockets for my tapestry needles ripped, and I opened it one day to find ALL OF MY TAPESTRY NEEDLES GONE, I decided I needed to fix this problem. At Michaels' I found a little Avengers Coin Purse that was Tapestry Needle Sized, along with a matching Avengers Pencil Pouch that was Crochet Hook sized. Best solution, or best solution?

As you can see, I also bought some bamboo knitting needles. I'm hoping these will solve the issue of dropping stitches once I graduate from gigantic needles to more normal sized needles.

As you may also be able to see, I bought the (LAST!!) Rosewood crochet hook at Michael's. They were on sale for $6 (as opposed to $13), and while I'm not entirely sure what the benefits of a rosewood hook are, I do know that I like wasting money on nice things, and this seemed right up my alley.

FANCY.

So what's in store? Well, I can tell you that one of my biggest projects is still consistently being picked up everyday, and I still have about 25 hours left on it (I can't waaaaaaaait to show that one off!), and considering how warm and fuzzy I feel when I think about my knitting needles, I can definitely tell you that there will be a lot more of that. Not to mention, my bamboo needles still need to be put to use!

2012 Reflections

In my mind's eye, I thought it might be appropriate to make a long-winded, big deal of an emotionally saturated reflection entry for this year. I did, afterall, accomplish much. But instead, you're getting a bullet point list and some questionable metaphors. Could you really ask for anymore? I don't even think so.

I became so healthy as a vegetarian, my lung capacity has DOUBLED since this day one year ago.

I wrote a book, a script, and honed my writing skills by 1,000% after participating in writers group(s).

I crocheted so much, and took on so many new projects, big and small, this year - I can hardly believe it.

I even made some of my own patterns.

I went to school, albeit only a semester, but I went.

I left a job. I got let go from a job. I got a new job. I am happy.

I quit drinking.

I got my Etsy store up and running - properly.

I became productive, creative, poor, rich, poor again, insightful, humbled, enlightened, humbled again. I became healthy, I did acupuncture, I left my comfort zone to learn and give. I gained friends. I lost them.

In the past, when I've looked out onto a new year, my thoughts have always been pretty much the same. I felt as though I was looking out onto a blank canvas, something white and clean, perfect and waiting to be painted on. Something untouched, full of promise. Patient and worried, I would normally look out onto that canvas, reluctantly start sketching, only to erase it all, and walk away from it. Too scared of ruining it to actually do anything with it.

But now, in this moment, looking out at 2013, I see more than that. I see a canvas, covered in lines and scratches. Splotches of paint, and covered in glitter and duct tape, with rainbows of swatches everywhere around it. The sound of coffee brewing and music playing beside it, paintbrushes in all shapes and sizes already wet with water and paint, being thrown down onto it without any real pattern, but a picture forming. I see 2012 has left it's beautiful mark, and it's up to 2013 to make those plans, sketches, swatches, ideas and inspiration into a masterpiece.

So, instead of looking at the clock striking midnight as being ushered onto a new canvas, I'm going to see it as something much more. I'm going to see it as a canvas just getting bigger. As a crudely taped canvas being crudely glued to the old one, as if to say "THIS IS GOING TO BE MESSY AND BEAUTIFUL," and hopefully without even missing a beat, and I can keep throwing paint and glitter onto my beautiful mess of a canvas the way I have been for the last week, the last month, and of course, for all of last year.

I just might use some different colors.

Late Night Obligatory "What I'm Thankful For" Post

I recently reactivated my Facebook account after a three-month hiatus. With it being very close to Thanksgiving, it was a nice transition to come back to a feed full of goodwill, and lists of things all my friends and family are thankful for. I tried my hand at it, but after countless backspacing and retyping, I just don't think a Facebook status is the proper medium for everything I have to say.

See, reactivating my Facebook account wasn't the only thing that happened this week, my place of employment went out of business, leaving me jobless, and I am currently on Day 6 of having lost my voice.

These two things have been making me feel bitter and helpless the last few days. If you should ever get let go, or have your job go under, for an entire day, pretend like you can't talk. You can't yell or cuss, or even talk it out to try to figure out what you're going to do. It's frustrating. So the other day when I was given the news, and I returned home, I tried my hardest to keep it to myself, but I ended up screaming in the loudest whisper I could muster.

That night I looked at Gabe, and I said (whispered, rather) "I'm jobless, I'm voiceless, and I'm terrified that on Thanksgiving when we all inevitably go around the table to say what we're thankful for, I'm not going to have a single thing to say!"

And hand to God, tears in my eyes, I believed it. But, this whole year hasn't been bad, and something about hitting a moment like one, hopeless and afraid, made me want to dig deep inside myself and find the things I'm thankful for.

First and foremost, NaNoWriMo. I wasn't terribly excited about it this year. And despite my story being pretty solid, well written, and pretty damn interesting, it's just felt like a chore above anything else. However, when you can't talk to anyone, it's nice to be able to write for hours, and have some kind of means of self-expression. Besides that, it's nice to kill off people and slap people in their imaginary faces when I'm down. Just tonight, all of my rage boiled down to a scene where one girl is trying to take advantage of another girl, when the victim girl rips off a chunk of the girl's neck, and spits it back at her. Something I never would have experienced, or thought of writing, without NaNoWriMo.

Crocheting, of course. I've crocheted a lot this year. I've made a lot of things, and I like spending my time making whatever it is that looks cute or fun, but it wasn't until today that I realized how much I appreciated it. Earlier today, I found myself listening to the Chrono Cross soundtrack, and for the first time a VERY very long time, I was yearning for the sea. I haven't seen in it four years, and I thought about how much I just wanted to jump into it, and let it wash all my problems away. Then, there was this beautiful scarf pattern I started to make in wool, a dark blue and an off white with speckles. Looking down at it, it resembles the salt and the foam and the water of the ocean, and now I can wrap myself within it anytime I want. I do that with so many of my creations, whether it reminds me of the ocean, or someone beautiful, or just a color I saw in a painting once. How satisfying to wear something with such meaning, instead of just looking at it.

I am incredibly thankful for the improvements my asthma has made over the last year. While it's still not close to perfect, and may never be, I learned a lot about asthma in the last year, and between becoming a vegetarian, my brief (but hopefully not permanently finished) brush with acupuncture, learning about teas and herbs, my lungs have come a very long way from where they were last year. I hope they will continue to improve, but for now, I'm just glad that I can walk as fast as I can without getting winded, and don't fear things like parking far away from a building, or looking for my keys before I take my steroids. This time last year, things were so bad I couldn't do these things without stopping to rest, and I can't be thankful enough for how much improvement there has been.

Of course, Gabe. We have our days, but when money is tight, even for both of us, he does everything he can to make sure we can eat, hell, even to make sure we have ice cream. He hugs me when the price of my medication goes up. He puts his hand right over my lungs when we hug and my lungs happen to be bad that day. He listens to me yell about bad days, and smiles at me when I dance around a bit when I tell him about my good days. He treats our animals like they're human, and he reminds me to feed my spiders, because he knows I only feed animals like Walter, who have to remind me to feed them. He buys the eight pound bag of fries (But still won't let me prove that I could eat all of it in one sitting, which is nice in and of itself, even though I love fries). He helps me pick out colors of yarn, because I have NO idea what colors match other colors, and he even made me a dragon egg full or yarn for my birthday. He asks me questions, makes me think, encourages me to do bigger and better things all the time. Tells me I can kiss girls if I want to, even though I don't. Makes dinner. Introduced me to Star Trek. I could, of course, go on for much longer about all the things Gabe has done for me this year, and in years past. The point is, without him, I don't know where I'd be. He is my rock.

And finally, the thing I am always THE MOST thankful for, every year: Indoor plumbing! Isn't life awesome!?

My list could go on. From fries, to watercolors, to blankets, to laundry detergent, I am thankful for a lot. So, even if you're having a rough week, a rough month, or even if 2012 hasn't been the best to you, I hope you'll still take some time to think about everything in your life that you have. I can honestly say that once I started thinking about it a little, the rough patch I'm enduring suddenly didn't seem so bad.

(Take care, and have a Happy Thanksgiving <3)

One Skein Weekend (First Edition)

I've had quite a bit of free time on my hands as of late. It's bittersweet, because while I enjoy hanging out, crocheting, writing, and eating Klondike bars, I also like doing things like making rent, paying my bills, and having enough money to buy more Klondike Bars when I run out. Since my hours have been cut so significantly at work, and I'm juggling my free time with being really poor, I thought I'd try something out for my fellow poor people.

In an attempt to help us out, I'm going to try a new thing I call One Skein Weekend. It's basically a few small projects that can be made with nothing more than a single skein of yarn. So if you have a full skein of yarn stashed away, or only want to spend less than $5 to keep yourself occupied over the period of a day or two, then maybe I can help you out. I am also, of course, only using patterns that are available for free, and will do my best to make things that make sense (So you don't have 4 hats in the same color, a bracelet made of wool, or a mug cozy made of thread, etc.).

This week I made three projects that all go together nicely in kind of a Spanish Pirate theme; A Lace Shawl, Mesh Wristers, and a Flower Headband. So, let's get started.

Here's the stats of what exactly I used:


Yarn: Bernat Satin
Color: Fern
Yardage: 200 Yards
Weight: Worsted
Price: (Not sure, it was a gift)
Extra stuff: One button (50 cents from Wal Mart)

First up is the "Lace So Simple" Shawl (The pattern can be found here)

This is 7 rounds, and uses an N hook. Big hook, a few rows? Takes a few hours, and probably about half of our allotted yarn (including the long tassels). I also used a button on this so it stays on my shoulders easier, and also easily turns into kind of a cool, Bohemian style scarf, the button clasp adding a little extra personality.

The actual pattern calls for teardrop crystals to hang off of the picots, but just looping the tassles through the right places looks fine, and costs less.

I had a lot of fun with this one, and I think it looks really nice. the sheen of the green yarn I used adds an extra magical element, and it's really good for covering shoulders (something I spend my days and nights looking for!). I think as a scarf it's good for fall, and as a wrap it's good for spring, and I've been using it indoors when I'm at home, not quite cold enough for a blanket or sweater, but just want something over my shoulders. These are also elegant and bohemian enough to whip up for some last minute Christmas gifts.

Next up are our Ivy Wristers (Pattern can be found here, as a free Ravelry download)

These use an I hook, and are the fastest wrist warmers I have ever made. I adapted the pattern a bit, with a starting chain of 35 instead of 29, and I did 12 rows instead of 10. They fit nicely, and are perfect for when my hands get chilly during NaNoWriMo (or blogging...yes, I am wearing them right now :)). Normally I'm a bit wary of the wrist warmer method of making a rectangle and folding it over, but this pattern is small enough that it works really well without being clunky, and actually fits the hand shape nicely.

The pattern itself took only a little while, and is just a quick motif repeated over and over and over again, making for an interesting pattern.

....Now~ ...

...Before you run off and make these, I have a bit of a disclaimer. Since I adapted the pattern to be bigger, I came VERY close to running out of yarn before finishing the final project. This is how much yarn I had left:

So, if you don't want to cut it that close, I recommend doing less than twelve rows. But, if you like to live on the edge, then go for it! Just be conservative with your yarn from here on out. Let me know how it goes for you!

And finally, our flower headband (Pattern can be found here)

This was a super cute project, and was rather interesting to put together (sewing the large flower to the 3 chain headband). I used an H hook for the flower, and an F Hook for the chains (the F hook being very important to not running out of yarn :P). Despite how big the flower is, I was actually surprised at how cute it turned out. I don't feel like it's gaudy at all, I just don't know when I'm going to wear it! Hopefully I'll manage to get some use out of it.

All together now!

So this is what it all comes together to be! Mine is a nice...radioactive hobo Spanish pirate theme :)

Isn't stash busting fun? I've been making a lot of little projects lately, and since I don't have any extra money to buy more yarn, my stash is certainly dwindling beautifully :P

Want more stash busters? Wanna see the other cool projects I've been working on? You know I'll be back with some kind of goodies soon enough.

Crocheted Crescent Moon Wand, and a contest to get the pattern!

Hey guys! I'm here to shake it up a bit. In this post, I'm going to be holding kind of a "Contest" in order to give out the pattern for my newest creation: A Crocheted Crescent Moon Wand! I've never held any kind of contest before, but I have my reasons, and it's something I've always wanted to do.

When I posted the pattern for my Eternal Sailor Scout Transformation Wand, I didn't get exactly the constructive criticism I would have liked. I put a lot of effort and energy into something I loved, and being the good, sharing person I am, I provided it for free to whoever wanted it.

The response I was hoping for was, of course, something positive, but even something negative, or how I could have corrected it, would have been appreciated. Instead, I got rude, crude and insensitive comments about it, with no help about how to move forward with my new pattern-making endeavours. While I received some positive comments, and I appreciated them sincerely, compared to the sea of rude and generally unrelated comments I got, it was hard to appreciate them.
 

So, in order to get this pattern, here's what you need to do:

Leave a comment on this entry with:

- Your name (or handle you'd like to be called by)
- Your Email (Does anyone know how to screen comments? Otherwise, I will happily delete your comment after I send you the .pdf, so no one else gets your email)
- A 100+ word constructive comment about this item. What do you like? What don't you like? What questions do you have about it? What would you change? What needs to stay the same? Keep it constructive, and keep it focused on the Crescent Moon Wand.

That's it! Once I approve your comment, I will Email you a .pdf of the pattern. There is currently no limit of people who can get the pattern, and I'm not currently setting a time limit on this "contest". This may change in the future, but until then, I will be sending the pattern to everyone who earns it.


I hope this works out, and I hope you understand why I am taking these measures. From here on out, I will continue to provide patterns for free and without any hoop-jumping, but if I'm going to continue making high quality patterns, I am going to need to know where I need to go, and the only way I can further improve my patterns is from my fellow crocheters. And considering I'm in the eye of the 50,000 word storm known as NaNoWriMo, I figured 100 words wouldn't be a problem for you.


With that being said, I want to talk a little bit about this project. It was a pretty easy, quick project. It measures 16" from bottom of stick, to the top of the crescent. It's rather sturdy, but the crescent is pretty heavy, so it's a good idea to secure it tightly.

I'm having a lot of fun making Sailor Moon wands, so don't be surprised if more of them show up over the next few weeks/months. With NaNoWriMo in full swing, I don't know how many more "big" projects I can create, but we'll see where the wind takes me, I guess.

Anyway, see you guys soon, and I look forward to your critiques :)

Pokeball Deck Bag

My relationship with Pokemon is kind of a strange one. I only have two very strong memories related to it, and as I was making the pattern and crocheting up this bag for Pokemon cards, they were the only things I could think about.

I was about 10 when I got into anime, and Sailor Moon was my drug of choice. Something about Pokemon didn't really appeal to me, and while my friends sat on the curb outside their apartment buildings trading cards, I didn't want to be left out, so I feigned interest.

I liked talking to my friends about the different kinds of Pokemon, and I remember sitting outside, in the middle of the hot Virginia summer, with my binder of all kinds of cards, trading cards with everyone else who had their binders of cards. This is the first memory I really treasure about Pokemon.

I never became obsessed, really. But I certainly had a place for Charmander in my heart.

As a stocking stuffer one Christmas, my Dad, not knowing the difference between Pokemon and all those other animes I was into, got me a sparkly little bouncy ball with Charmander in the center. As I crocheted this Pokeball, I could clearly remember standing in front of my Christmas tree that night, the lights wrapped around the tree sparkling, my face and hands warm from the heaters, and my Charmander bouncy ball firmly in my hand, and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to take care of him. So twenty seconds of a fragment of a memory of pretty lights and the smell of Christmas still hanging in the air is my 2nd nice memory of Pokemon.

This was all happening around the same time I spoke of in my last post, when I spent my days drawing Sailor Scouts, watching animes, writing fanfiction and just making my own universe. I've never felt more magical, and so even though Pokemon was never a vice of mine, it still holds a special place in my heart.

So, without further delay, here is that pattern for my Pokeball Pokemon card deck bag!

Pokeball Deck Bag

Pokemon and Pokeball (TM) Satoshi Tajiri

Original Pattern created by Pam Gabriel

Please do not sell products made from this pattern without permission.

PamGabriel@Gmail.com

This is a crocheted bag designed to hold decks for the Pokemon card game.

What you'll need:

• H Hook
• Less than a skein of worsted weight yarns in:
  • White
  • Red
  • Black

Abbreviations:

Chain (ch)

Single Crochet (sc)

Skip (sk)

How to do it:

With White, ch 31:

Row 1: sc in 2^nd ch from hook, and in each sc across, ch 1, turn. (30 sc)

Row 2 - 10: sk next sc, sc to end of row, ch 1, turn. (30 sc)

Row 11: sk next sc, sc to end of row. (30 sc) (Do NOT ch 1 at end of this row.)

Finish off white.

Attach Black.

Row 12: Ch 1, sk next sc, sc to end of row. (30 sc)

Finish off black.

Attach Red.

Row 13: Ch 1, sk next sc, sc to end of row, ch 1, turn. (30 sc)

Row 14 - 22: sk next sc, sc to end of row, ch 1, turn. (30 sc)

Row 23 (Beaded Row): sk next sc, sc in next 2 spaces *ch 1, sk next sc, sc* Repeat * to end of row, ch 1, turn (16 sc, 14 ch1 spaces)

Row 24: sc in each ch1 space and in each sc. (30 sc)

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Weave in ends.

Use a whip stitch to sew the side and bottom together. Switch to white yarn when you get to the white part of the bag.

Drawstring:

Using red, make a chain of desired length, and weave through the holes made by the chain spaces in the beaded row.

Button:

With white:

Round 1: Ch 2, 6 sc in 2^nd ch from hook. Finish off white.

Attach black.

Round 2: 2sc in each sc around (12 sc). Finish off, leaving a long tail.

Sew button to center of front side of bag.

So, how did it go? Was it big? Small? Do you even use Pokemon cards anymore? Are you using it as a bag for something else? Let me know!

Next time! More deck bags are in the works, along with a Sailor Moon challenge (on a few different levels), and who knows...maybe even a NaNoWriMo update.