Craftini Marini

Feeling bored?  Poking around the internet? Facebook?  Why not come and check out my Facebook page and see some of the things I've made over the years!  And...if you like what you see, why not like the page too!

Have some more time on your hands? or want more frequent updates?  Find me on Twitter! @CraftiniMarini

Happy Crafting!!!

FO Friday!

I've noticed a trend across crafty-blogland that a lot of people are using certain days each week to post pictures of their projects.  Specifically WIP Wednesday (work in progress) and FO Friday (finish object).  I figured I should get on this bandwagon and do the same thing myself.  So, today being Friday, I figured it was a good motivation to post.  (I've been a little absent with my posts lately....mostly busy with school and work).

Drum roll please :).  I now present to you all of my recent FINISHED OBJECTS! (In no particular order).

Let's start with two throw pillows made for my friend Kerri and her new husband Bill for their wedding!!  Kerri loves polka dots, so I figured pillows with crocheted bobbles would be perfect!  They are in a neutral color to coordinate with Kerri and Bill's living room.

(Ok, so these aren't finished objects...but they are pictures of Kerri and Bill's wedding.)  Here is the lovely bride and groom and some of the bridal party :).

And here we have Kerri's mom, Kerri, Me, and my mom!  I've known Kerri since we were both very little, so this picture means a lot to me :).

Now back to the FOs!  This is a pair of knit slipper socks that I made for my mom for Mother's Day.  I used Lion Brand Homespun and large-ish needles (size 10? maybe).  They are a great quick present and a GREAT way to use up leftover yarn.  Side note, I hate Homespun....but it worked well for these!!!

This is my first knit wearable!!! It is the Ribbed Lace Bolero by Kelly Maher.  It took me about 2 weeks to make, but I only knit on the train to and from work....and one night at home to finish it.  I am quite happy with it and VERY excited that it is my first sweater-like object!!!!

Finally, I've been on a "let's redecorate/spruce up my apartment" kick lately.  These are one of my newest additions!  My living room was somewhat lacking in the artwork department....specifically on the wall that goes up my stairs.  Since I love yarn and crocheting and knitting so much, I decided it would be nice to frame some doilies!  I got these frames at Ikea for about $10 each, got the teal paper from Michaels for like $0.20 each or something like that, and I had the crochet thread already.  I made 3 different doilies from patterns in a book I have and from patterns on the web.  They are about 7ish inches in diameter.  The framing area is about 7.5in x 9.5 in (yes, weird I know..most are 8in x 10in hahaha, but Ikea had to be different :)).  I blocked each doily with water, let them dry overnight, and then used a light spray adhesive to make them tacky and place them in the frame.  I'm quite proud of myself!!

I hope to post an entry soon about my apartment improvements :)!  I also will be starting a KAL (knit along) with 2 of my friends and my friend's mom!  We are going to be knitting the Central Park Hoodie, and I'm SOOOOO excited!! Our first meeting is Sunday...woohooooo!! (I'll share a secret...I cast on already and have knit maybe 6 rows of the ribbing...shhhh).

Wine glass charms--Cancer Crushers Fundraiser

On April 30th I will be walking with team Cancer Crushers in the 2011 EIF Revlon Run/Walk For Women in New York City.  Part of my goal in participating in this event is to raise money for cancer research--together we can find a cure for this terrible disease.  As part of my fundraising efforts, I created five sets of wine glass charms.  Each set features a different theme of charms and colored glass beads.  For a donation of $10 you can receive one of the following sets.  

"Stars" is a set of five charms featuring different unique star shapes.  The colors included in this set are red, light blue, green, orange, and purple.  

"Birds" is a set of five charms as well.  Each features a unique bird along with different color beads.  Colors in this set are blue, yellow, green, red, and purple.

"Swirls" is a set of six charms all featuring identical swirly pendants.  The colors included in this set are dark blue, purple, orange, pink, green, and turquoise.

Update 4/5/11--"Swirls" are no longer available! :)

"Hearts" is a set of six charms featuring identical heart charms with engraved details on the front.  Colors contained in this set are teal, light blue, orange, yellow, green, and purple.

"Starfish" is a set of six charms with identical starfish charms.  The colors contained in this set are light blue, red, yellow, green, deep blue, and orange.

To make a donation and receive one of these wine glass charm sets do the following:

• Email me, comment on this blog post, or comment on Craftini Marini's Facebook page and let me know which set you desire.  Once you do this I will place the set on hold.
• Next, make your $10 donation using this website or contact me for paypal information.  
• Once your donation is made, let me know via email or comment that you made your donation and you will get your wine charms.

Thank you for your help in supporting this very worthy cause.  Remember these five sets are first come first serve!!

Stitch markers

My very good friend Lindsey recently had a birthday.  As her gift, I decided to make her a set of 9 stitch markers.  They were pretty fun and simple-ish to make once I got the hang of them and got the correct length "head pins."  To make them you need some sort of ring--I used the circular part of a toggle clasp, head pins to put beads on, beads, round nosed pliers, and wire cutters.  I also used flat head pliers (not actually sure that is their name...but the head was flat lol) to hold the toggle/head pin as I wrapped it around itself.  Once I figured out how to properly hold what I was making it got easier.  I didn't write up a tutorial for them, but you can find a good one here.

And for the final result....drum roll please......

All nine markers--3 orange, 3 teal, 3 purple.

1/12th of 2011 done!

I think I've had a pretty productive 2011 so far--in crafting, school, and life!  I've been working on a few new projects and I've been commissioned to make two more baby blankets for the first half of the year ;) YES!

I have a deadline of March coming up for blankets for twins--a boy and a girl.  I'm not a fan of giving very gendered gifts myself, but my mom wanted a "boy" colored blanket and a "girl" one....so I do what my mom says (well, when they are for her friend hehee).  I'm just about done with the "boy" one and have started the "girl" one.

The "boy" one :)

Beginning of the "girl" :).

I've also been busy on the train working on my accordion scarf! Interning 3 days a week plus going to see my advisor at least once a week makes for a lot of time commuting!  Especially with all this snow...lol things are delayed!  I took this picture a few days ago, I'm actually further along!

Oh and not related to yarn per say (except that I *was* knitting as I was waiting for the class to begin....) I participated in the 90 minute challenge at CKO on 1/15/11.  It was awesome as usual.  Each trainer trained us for 10 minutes and kept switching.  Class is usually 60 minutes and you can burn at least 800 calories, so 90 minutes is quite the challenge!

Annnnnnd, since I don't like to make things easy or back down, this past Monday night I created my own "120 minute challenge."  I took two back to back classes with my favorite trainer (and in my opinion one of the harder ones).  My friend Steph and I rocked the two hours...I feel so good that I wish I could do that EVERY single day!

This is "my" bag....I <3 it.  I've kicked off 3 to date....

And I've officially started work on my dissertation!  Last semester was sort of a preview of what I thought I'd be doing, but now it is official!  My advisor even estimates that I might be able to have my proposal done by the end of the semester, which would be fantastic!  The research has to do with causal inference and the effect of being place into a remedial course (or some other sort of course that placement occurs by using a cut score) on students that are virtually the same except being placed differently.  More to come when I have more written out :).

Welcome 2011, hope you bring lots of crafty time!

It is 2011 and I still have projects started "last year" (and years ago) to finish.  I've made some crafting resolutions to finish as many WIPs (works in progress) as I can this year.  I very much need to finish the blanket that I started for myself in 2008 when I was moving to my apartment....that's the rainbow stripe one that I blogged about in July of 2010.  All the strips are done and a few are sewn together, but I need to finish sewing the rest and the put a border on them.  Another craft resolution is to organize my stash better and to DESTASH more....seriously, my one bedroom apartment is slowing being taken over by yarn and other crafty things.

But on to the new projects!  I still am finishing up my mom's Christmas Blanket...well I should say working on it, not finishing it up.  It is taking a while, but at least I've gone through one set of balls of yarn....I think I bought 5 sets of the 3 colors.....woo.  I posted about it at the end of my last project post (maybe 2 posts ago).  Since that post I've completed a few projects :)


My mom requested a quick scarf for a woman at her school.  This is knit in seed stitch holding 4 strands of yarn together on US 50 knitting needles :)

This pink scarf was made for my friend Steph (she also does my hair yay!!!).  It is a combo of the "Amy" scarf I've made before and the "Mega Cabled Scarf."  Knit on US 17 needles it is knit in k1p1 ribbing with cables, making it reversible!

Scarf for a friend.  He liked a scarf I had from Express, so I mimicked the pattern and viola a very wide/long scarf.

This is maybe my 4th pair of fingerless gloves/mittens.  Made for Matty :).  They are an alpaca blend and very soft and in a nice neutral color.  Just what Matt likes!  Given during the Blizzard of 2010 they came in handy in the snow!

Little lion for my cousin Corinne :).  She fell in love with my mom's--when I got her name in our family secret santa, I knew that I just had to include a lion as part of the gift!

Last year I made my mom dish towels with a crocheted edging.  This year I decided to applique some flowers on towels for her.  I think they came out nicely and made a wonderful quick gift!

Here is the 3rd and final monster (aka my artistic interpretation of a Zergling) for Sue.   She was very happy with them, and enjoyed playing with them at the Cheesecake Factory :).

I have at least one other project that I can't blog about yet, because I still haven't given it away!

Much more crafting to come in 2011!!! (as well as more blogging!)

I'm ok!

So my last update was about a month ago, right before my surgery.  Well my surgery went well and I'm basically all recovered!  When I was recovering I had a lot of time to be crafty!


I finished a baby blanket for one of the teachers at my mom's school....

Made a hat just "because"....it looks a bit odd on my head however, but c'est la vie.

 My friend really likes the game Starcraft and she asked me to make her plushies that looked (as close as I could get to the "Zergling")....these are two of them.

Also made this hat for Chris's birthday.

My other friend asked me to make her a "Sackboy" from the game Little Big Planet, this is the one I made using Alan Dart's pattern for sackboy.

Here is a hat and scarf set made for one of my mom's friend's daughters for Hanukkah.

 Made this scarf as a present for one of my friends.  It is a combination of the "Amy" pattern found on Ravelry and the "Mega Cabled Scarf" also found on Ravelry.

And this is the beginning of my mom's blanket for Christmas :).  She got a lovely new comforter and I'm making something to match.  Her comforter is green with white, cream, and a bronzey brown running through it, so I figured these colors would match nicely!  Hopefully I finish it in time.....and if not, it will be a present for Orthodox Christmas (which is our *real* holiday).

I really want to make a sweater...

Obviously, as the title says, I really want to make a sweater, specifically for myself.  And I think that I would like to knit it.  I'm still looking for the right pattern for me to use...it has to be something some what simple (since I'm a less advanced knitter than I am crocheter) and it needs to be pretty and fun looking.  I would like something with a simple cable, I think--though I've yet to even try cables, I've read about them and they seem not so bad.  [Maybe I need to make a little ipod cozy or something to try it first.]

Oh, and not to worry, ye people of blog-dome!  I have been crocheting, WILDLY!  I just can't post about it yet, since it is a secret!  ;).  As soon as said secret is delivered to said secret party, I will post about it and share pictures and all sorts of wonderful goodies!  [NOTE: for those of you that are ravelry friends, be sure to check out my project page....the most recent project is the one I'm working on!!!]

After I finish this project, I need to make two other baby blankets!  Sheesh I'm busy!  My mom has so many teacher friends that are having babies, it is incredible!  I really want to work on the blanket I started for myself, ummmm 2 years ago!  It is so simple, and it is double stranded, yet I'm only like 50% done!  Here is that project.  I originally started it in like June of 2008, but it was HUGE--like HUGE hahah, and I had to frog it, then I restarted it New Years of 2009....and I'm still only half way done. I just want to finish it so that I have a blanket of my own to snuggle under!!!

Here is the original

Yeah, hi, that's way too big hahaha.  ANYWAY, I need to work on that.  I just can't wait to do a whole bunch of crafting!!  I have some paintings to make too--I'm thinking "plaid" made using painters tape and diluted paints, but we'll see!

I've been working a lot, so that's kept me busy, but I LOVE IT!  I have to switch my schedule a bit, but that's ok!! This summer has been way better than last summer so far!

OH, and I'll be going to Florida in like 2 weeks, so I *need* to decide on a project or two to take with me!!!

<3

Home sweet home!

Ahhh, I'm home!!! It felt REALLY good to sleep in my own bed last night!  I had a really nice time in Denver.  The meetings were very informative and educational.  I hope to have at least a poster to present at next years meeting in NOLA! :)

In fibery news, I did end up going on a solo adventure to Fancy Tiger Crafts.  The store was absolutely awesome!  There was tons of beautiful fabric and tons of beautiful yarn.  They even sold vintage buttons and all sorts of sewing additions like rick-rack and other fun things.  I was able to take a quick photo of some of their yarn!

I spent more time in that store than I should have and was *slightly* late to the next session of meetings I wanted to attend--at least I didn't miss my friend's presentation :-D.

Soooo, I bet you're wondering what I purchased (cause you KNOW I bought something!) Well, I got some cool yarn made from banana leaves.  It's called "Fabjous Fibers Banana Silk Yarn" and I can't wait to make something--I think I'm going to crochet a pillow cover with it :).  I also got some fabric squares and 3 small pieces of fabric to try my hand at a patchwork pillow cover.  I think I'm obsessed with pillows...lol.  Oh yeah, and I purchased a "I <3 Hand Made" pin and a handy tape measure!  These are probably the best souvenirs I ever got on a trip!

Here's a little better close up of the yarn:

The Office

Being a Graduate Assistant, I get the lovely perk of having an on campus office :) (which is shared with one of my fellow GAs--who also crochets and knits yay!).  Anywho, the office is very very boring and honestly, quite ugly.  The walls are bare and unfortunately we have data stored everywhere.  However, as long as my office mate agrees, I'd like to try and spruce it up a bit for next year.  Obviously we can't paint or anything, but I was hoping to come up with some creative decorating ideas (including crochet and or knitting!).

Here's some photos of the office.  You can see our two desks and bulletin board, along with the gigantic printer, printer, and scanner.

This is our one and only window with the built-in (I think it's built-in at least) book case.  That radiator gets *SOOOOO* hot when the heat is on!

The door :).  See all the boxes of data?  YIKES!

And finally, the refrigerator and microwave wall.

The office isn't much to look at right now, but I think that it has some potential.  The walls are messy when you look at them close up, the paint is peeling in some places or it has chipped off, and there are nail marks from where things used to be hanging.  I think this probably is the only arrangement of the room that is going to work since we have to fit all of this stuff in here.

I definitely would like to add some framed photos or posters of some sort, a lamp (maybe) and some decorations.  Any suggestions?  Obviously everything has to be low low low low cost (aka free or found).

I guess this is a good summer project!  I know that I've seen a bunch of fun stuff on the Attic24 blog that I would love to make.  Lucy is such an inspiration!!  I love her flowers, heart bunting/garland, pillows, etc.  I think some of that would be very nice in the office--and I know I'd like a nice desk cushion to sit on--I HATE my chair hahaha.

:) Ok, I better get back to studying for my final that is in 1/2 an hour!

I created a bag from plastic bags that I had saved. I fused the plastic into different shaped pieces then sewed them together. It has a rough around the edges look that I really like. Now to make another one! :)
This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!
To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.
Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.