by Nancy
I didn’t quite have my act together enough to post this on the last day of NaBloPoMo, but here it is today.
This was a very Crackpotty month for me, complete with a new crackpot activity – crochet! I think this cheeseburger pretty much sums it all up.
by Ann
Tah dah!! The curtain for the newly redecorated bathroom at the Cute Little House has been completed and hung. I like it! (And this post comes just in time for the finish of NoBloPoMo.)
By Ann
Crackpots are probably aware that tomorrow is the last day of NaBloPoMo. So if we’re gonna post, now is the time! Also, Nancy, do we do any sort of evaluation of NaBloPoMo? Other than that it was lots of Crackpotty fun? I didn’t think so. (-:
by Nancy
I’ve finished the 9-patch blocks for Gabe’s quilt and have laid the blocks out around the focus print in an order that I like. Earlier I had thought I might need a thin black solid border between the focus fabric and the blocks to tone things down a little, but now it doesn’t seem as wild to me as it did at first. 
Maybe it’s just because I’ve been looking at it for a while and I’ve gotten used to it! I do think I’d like a fairly thin border outside the blocks, either black or the green which is in the focus print. Any input from other Crackpots?
by Nancy
Here are my first two fabric bags. I followed an instruction sheet that I had from Fields and kept it simple by not inserting a ribbon or other tie. They came together quite quickly, and I’m pleased with the results!
by Nancy
This morning I went to the Handmade Market hosted by my town’s Art Center. I had never heard of it before, but it was advertised in the paper along with quite a few other Christmas craft shows. This one said it was focused on local artists and hand-made items, so it sounded promising. I was interested both in a little Christmas shopping and a chance to check it out as a possible place for Nancy’s Quilts for Kids to try again to sell some of its items. I have done very little with NQfK for quite some time after my two very disappointing craft shows, but I have been thinking about trying again, particularly as the boys are getting older and more independent and I have more time to dedicate to it. I’ve been working on getting up my courage (and my portfolio of my work) to approach the owner of an upscale children’s boutique located on the courthouse square about selling some of my things there. And pondering what other items smaller than a quilt (placemats, bibs, etc) might sell well. And my new-found interest in crochet has opened up some other possibilities for small children’s toys that might work.
I was very pleased with what I found at the Handmade Market. Lots of friendly, low-key, local people with pretty good stuff. There was much less “junk” than I’ve experienced at other craft shows. There were several knitters, a place selling soap, several places selling hand-made cards, etc. And there was quite a crowd shopping. So, I spoke to the woman in charge about participating in next year’s Market, and she took my email address to receive information about the next Market. Apparently they are thinking of doing one in June, and then they will do another one before Christmas. I think it might be a good place for me to have some success selling things, and I’m quite excited about it! (And I also got cool stocking stuffers for my kids and nephew!)
by Nancy
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any more crackpotty, there’s a crochet pattern for making a Barack Obama finger puppet!!!
No, I’m not trying to make it!
(In an effort to be bi-partisan, John McCain is available, too. )
by Nancy
…she’s likely to get carried away!
By Ann
Last Saturday I took an apron-making workshop at the living history site that is familiar to all of you. We were making 1920s period aprons, and made the simplest pattern available, the “Melinda.” I knew from previous experience with a Melinda apron that the standard one-size-fits-all pattern which has a one-piece yoke going around the neck, would be too long from the shoulders to the waist for me, so, with the help of the woman leading the workshop, I shortened the yoke. The first step in making the apron is to bind the inside edge of the yoke and attach it to the body of the apron. As soon as I started to pin the yoke to the body, I realized that the finished apron would never go over my head. Oooops! After much laughter and all sorts of suggestions from my fellow seamstresses, some of which I found totally incomprehensible, I decided that the simplest Plan B was to convert the yoke to ties. Hence the “Modified Melinda” below:
As you can see, it really is simple! I do plan to add pockets, but that will come after the next step in the process. Now that I have a lovely new apron, all I need is the dress to go with it. I found a lovely blue tone-on-tone at Joann’s when I bought the apron fabric, but I can’t buy the fabric for the dress until I alter the pattern to fit me. I found the pattern I want to use – it’s a 1920s pattern – and although it is labeled as medium, it is HUGE. I tried altering it myself, but it is definitely not a one-person job, so I plan to bring the pattern to the forthcoming holiday extravaganza and get some help from Marty before proceeding. (You have been forewarned, Marty!) And this time I plan to make a muslin before proceeding with the real fabric. The dress I have now, for which Marty and I altered the pattern, is still a bit looser than I would like across the shoulders, so I hope to do a bit better the second time around.
I’ve started on my next sweater, one that I’ve been thinking about for months. For two of those months, the color of yarn I wanted for the sweater body was back-ordered, which gave me time to work on Big Blankie 3.0 (all done except for more border rows, but completely usable now) and some other things. The yarn I’m using is Fresco by Classic Elite, a super-soft blend of wool, alpaca, and some angora. Due to the extreme softness, I expect that it won’t be the most hard-wearing sweater ever, but the yarn and the fabric it produces are so lovely that I’m willing to put up with the disadvantages of extra-cozy yarn.
I started on the sweater itself yesterday, and it’s not looking too exciting yet – but here’s a picture of the swatch I made.
Yes, it’s narrower at the top than the bottom – this is intentional, because the owls go around the yoke, and my neck is narrower than my shoulders. The background color is slightly greener than it appears in the picture (at least on my monitor, but I don’t trust its colors to be true enough to go to the hassle of color correction).
I’m using Kate Davies’ lovely Paper Dolls pattern for the sweater itself, exchanging the dolls for the owls from spillyjane’s Owlsocks. I didn’t come up with this pattern combination myself – props go to some brilliant folks on Ravelry. I’m also planning to make the sleeves full-length (assuming I don’t run out of yarn).