the flake factory

high tech flake production

a medieval torture device

Blocking the first flake, spraying the stiffening solution and drying it turned out to be a messy process; much better to have a jig so I don't have to handle the soggy flake or the sticky solution. Gavin made me two jigs to block the snowflakes to a uniform and entirely symmetrical shape. The long nails suspend the snowflake above the wooden base allowing me to spray the stiffening solution on both sides, and, blow dry from both sides. From start to finish the blocking process now takes less than ten minutes. Now we're cooking.

On Wednesday I picked up a packet of larger eyes; last week's teeny tiny 7 mm eyes looked ridiculous. These are much better! I'll have to experiment to see what works best for noses and mouths. A paint pen that sounds like it might be easiest and afford me the greatest control, but if that doesn't work, plan B is to glue black yarn scraps in position.

Now for the real question: what kind of expressions should the flakes have? Of course there'll have to be some smiling flakes, but wouldn't some grumpy and goofy faces also be fun? After all, it takes all kinds, doesn't it?

And then there's the bonus question: spray glitter or not?

WIP Wednesday

24 squares and counting

For the last week or more I've been working away at these mitred blanket squares for Knit-A-Square - a charity that prefers wool and wool blends for warmth and for their fire retardant properties. All this wool was purchased years ago with the intention of knitting it up for a Canadian charity, but last year that charity changed to request only machine washable and dryable fibers. So I was pleased to see an opportunity with KAS to put this wool to good use.

FO Friday, here we come!

My stack of finished* squares is growing. And by finished* I mean the knitting is finished ... there are still a bunch of ends to be woven in as is clear from the photo. 24 squares and counting. As the stack of squares grows, the pile of unknit yarn is shrinks. I'm guessing I can get five, maybe six more squares out of what's left. With any luck I can get the whole thing done and ready to ship in time for Finished Object Friday. Boy, will it be a relief to knit anything but a mitred square for the next while!

It's been a busy morning already. We've been out to the municipal office to pick up our license for the big event in November. I thought that it would take a lot longer, but as it turned out, everyone in line ahead of us failed to complete the proper forms or bring the proper documentation, so we skipped ahead to the front of the line. We were in and out in 15 minutes. We stopped in to grocery shop on our way home, which I mention because it's rare for Gavin to come along for that. And no wonder; we came home with a completely different list of things - tuna, mackerel, peanut butter, crusty white bread, coke - I don't remember half of that being on my grocery list! We even came back with some paintbrushes. Who knew there was a hardware section in the grocery store? Perhaps it's best I shop on my own; we seem to buy more fruit and vegetables that way.

Check out Tami's Amis to see what everyone else has been up to!

the new moon in Libra

lots of scrap yarn

Today's Libra New Moon is "mighty powerful", the astrologers say:
It's no time to be passive or checked out. The Libra New Moon on September 27th is a call to be actively engaged in visioning, re-imagining what's possible. With your full engagement, you can move mountains, make epic changes or shift your attitude.

It's also a "super moon", the astronomers say:
"A supermoon occurs when the moon is at perigee and it's in either a full or new phase," said Raminder Singh Samra, an astronomer at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, Canada. "The upcoming moon on September 27, 2011, is set to be at perigee and at the new phase," Samra said, "so we won't be able to witness the event, as the moon and sun will be in the same region of the sky" and the lunar disk will be entirely dark.

My TUSAL jar hasn't seen much action lately. I've been furiously knitted mitred squares, but in most cases I haven't woven in the ends or trimmed the extra. Not many new scraps in; actually, I've been pulling waste yarn out to tie the little yarn bundles requested by the charity for seaming their blankets.  Looks like I can finish up these squares this week, so the next couple evenings may be dedicated to finishing instead of knitting. Yuck.

As for "re-imagining" what's possible I've been looking at my stash trying to envision how best to put the yarn to use. There's a bunch of Noro Kureyon oddballs leftover from a sweater I knit last year. I think I'm going to knit them up into felted mittens. I've never felted before; wish me luck!

going postal

a couple extra yards for sewing

Saturday morning I wrapped the squares for Janel and brought them to the Post Office to send them on their way. I stacked the four squares, one on top of the other, to create a small light parcel 6-1/2" x 6-1/2" x 0.75". Wrapped like this, as a small "parcel", the cost to post to North Carolina was over $20. That's crazy!

So I took them back home and rewrapped them in 2 piles of 2 squares. The new parcel, now 6.5" x 12.5" x 0.4", was classed as an "oversize letter" and the amended cost to post was $2.06. Away it went! And that's also crazy, in my opinion!

When I've had time to knit this weekend, I've spent it on these mitred squares. Those are the next things I want to get into the mail. Can't wait to see the cost for shipping these to South Africa! I had a couple of hours of knitting time last night when Gavin and I sat down to watch Bridesmaids. It started a bit slow but pretty soon it was completely hilarious. Melissa McCarthy was particularly funny. We were still laughing over it hours later. In fact, we're kind of sorry we rented it instead of buying it outright. It's one of those movies we could watch over and over and over again. There's a day or two left on the rental; we'll probably watch it again tonight. And I'll be knitting still another mitred square.

for Kate's blanket

Flowers in the Snow

Dear Janel,

These four squares are in the mail. I wish I could do more.

quoted from her Ravelry post:

I am writing this post to ask you all for your help. My very dear friend, Kate, is dying of stage IV breast cancer. Kate is only 31 years old and the mother of two young boys. Five years ago, she became a widow while pregnant with her second child - her husband was killed by a drunk driver. Then two and a half years ago she was diagnosed with stage IV cancer & has been giving it a tough fight. Recently, Kate was informed that the cancer has now spread to her ribs, liver and brain. She has accepted that she will not be with us much longer but is struggling with leaving her two beautiful boys behind. Thankfully, just before she was diagnosed she met her wonderfully, supportive boyfriend. He has stayed by her side through her diagnosis, her treatments and her difficult days. He not only fell in love with Kate but he fell in love with her boys as well. He is currently in the process of adopting both boys and will continue raising them as his own once Kate has passed. All of us who know and love Kate are devastated and heartbroken at the thought of losing her.

What I am asking of all of you is to help me make a blanket for her while she receives her dialysis & chemo treatments and then to use while she rests at home. She gets incredibly chilly & I thought it would be nice to give her something handmade to snuggle up with. The problem is, she needs something quickly and I don’t think I can create something fast enough for her. I tend to be a bit slow as I am still fairly new to crochet. I wanted to keep it simple so I choose Flowers in the Snow. I love how bright & cheery the colors are in Solveig’s blanket with the white border – perfect for Kate. (I should say that it’s a crochet blanket.) I thought maybe if a few of you - or many of you - could each make just a few squares each then we can get it done fairly quickly. Of course, I will be making as many I can, too. I think it would be best to use Red Heart Super Saver solid colors because there are no dye lots & they’re widely available. Yes, I know acrylic isn’t ideal but it’s machine-washable, durable and I can make it as soft as a baby’s butt. As I receive the squares, I will sew them together. I know she would be so surprised & ever so grateful to receive a blanket made by so many people who are praying for her & wishing her well.

I understand this may seem like a lot to ask to do for a complete stranger but she’s my friend & I would do anything for her. I’m hoping to have this done in the next week or so. Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll PM you my info on where to send it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your time and for your prayers.

Love,
Janel

blocking and stiffening

blocking: before and after

I was at the fabric store shopping for table runner material when I spotted this: a spray bottle of "Stiffening Stuff" Reading the label more closely I see "Perfect for bows, lace doilies, silk flowers & crochet work". Isn't that exactly what these little snowflakes need?

Some suggested a sugar/water solution to stiffen it but I'm hesitant about that because I've heard that it can yellow within months and may need to be washed out and reapplied regularly. Many warned that laundry starch won't give enough stiffness to the work. I also considered thinning some white craft glue or modge podge but I've read that the spray stuff gives a better, less rigid and shiny result. So I thought I'd give this a try.

It's definitely stiffer. It also blocked out bigger with more defined points. That's the good news. But the side that I sprayed is left with a slightly crusty texture and there's stiffening stuff attached to the fuzzy fibres within the lacy holes. That's the bad news.

Gavin has agreed to make me a blocking jig for the snowflakes with wood and finishing nails - think nail and thread art. Today I have to make up a template for him so that he knows exactly where to position the nails. Once he's made the jig I'll fit a crocheted snowflake onto the nails, hopefully leaving it suspended above the base - allowing me to spray Stiffening Stuff on both sides. Then while the flake is still on the blocking jig I can use a blow dryer to dry it. With luck the blow dryer will clean out the solution from the lacy holes and leave it a bit fuzzier. I hope it works!

slow and steady

isn't the middle of a yarn ball cool?

• Slow and steady wins the race - Aesop
• A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step - Confucious
• Constant dripping hollows out a stone - Lucretius
• Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did - Newt Gingrich
• He conquers who endures - Persius
• Stubbornly persist and you will find that the limits of your stubbornness go well beyond the stubbornness of your limits - Robert Brault
• But the moment you turn a corner you see another straight stretch ahead and there comes some further challenge to your ambition - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
• I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday - anonymous

Motivational quotes? I got plenty of them as I continue to plug away at these mitred squares. I think I may adopt that last one as my mantra. Because I really am closer to finishing these than I was yesterday.