My new code name and why you want to know it

For the last three Tuesdays I've been talking about the Colorfully Modern Cardigan that I'm crocheting.  It's the Lion Brand Fall 2013 Crochet-Along, and I've been having a lot of fun making it knowing that there's a bunch of people doing it at the same time.  If you've missed my posts (and pictures of Frisco, our kitten), click here and read from bottom up.  If you don't read from bottom up, you'll wonder why the sweater keeps getting smaller.

The one thing I have not enjoyed is finding the yarn.  I have ranted about the dreaded dye lot and how for the yarn I've chosen there seems to be two factions: high variegation contrast and low variegation contrast.  I have gone to four Michaels in the area, and I've gotten confused on who had what, especially if I've purchased all high contrast balls from them.

Last week I had a doctor's visit (a routine visit - nothing to worry about!), so since I'm lazy I like to group errands, I decided to call the Michaels closest to the doctor's office to see if they had the yarn.  I talked with Kris, and we tried to figure out if they had high or low contrast, and she said it seemed pretty high.  I decided to take a chance and check it out.  I brought along a wad of yarn so I could compare.

I was pleasantly surprised when all 5 balls belonged to the right faction.  One of them didn't have a wrapper, and I was curious if it was the same amount of yarn as the other balls.  It just looked smaller, but that could have been because Vanna White's face wasn't staring out at me.

Someone located Kris for me, and I have to say she looked stunning in a Halloween-themed hat.  It was a little thing, jauntily perched on her head, and I declared it was adorable and must be a fascinator (here are images of other fascinators).

We chatted about the yarn and about the Crochet-Along, and I gave her my card in case she wanted to read my blog and see pictures of the cardigan and of Frisco.  Hi, Kris!  If you're reading this, please send me a picture of you in that fascinator at traci@creative-pursuits.biz, and I'll post it here.

I asked about the wrapper-less yarn and if it was a full ball.  She said it should be, but she could take 10% off for damaged goods just in case.  I thought that was great, and she called up to the cashier, Amanda, to ask her to take the discount off.  She said it was Vanna's Choice purple.  "Well, purple mist, but you don't really need to know that."  Kris's little aside was just like something I would say!

I wandered around a little bit more then went up to check out.  I walked up to the cashier and asked if she was Amanda.  She said she was, and I said, "I am Purple Mist."  Then I laughed and said, "That sounds like a code name!"  Amanda agreed, and we decided that Purple Mist would now be my code name.

Since I seem to be prone to daydreams lately, I had one where I was a super hero called Purple Mist.  I carried a spritzer of lavender essential oil, and I sprayed bad guys with it so they'd calm down and stop being all mean and villainous.  I also envisioned myself being a lot slimmer so I wouldn't look like an eggplant in my purple spandex outfit.

There's no sense having a code name if it's not good for anything, so I am instituting a new discount program:

• Anyone coming to any of my shows (craft shows or bead shows) who calls me "Purple Mist" or works "Purple Mist" into conversation (for example, "Did you see the purple mist in last night's sunset?") will get 20% off their purchase.
   
• If you take a class with me where I'm selling supplies, the same thing applies.  I really didn't mean for that rhyme; that seems to happen all the time.  I can't take 20% off of class fees or kits, but I can on extra purchases.
   
• Also, there is a coupon code on Etsy, PURPLEMIST, which can be used for 20% off anything in my store.

This discount program and Etsy coupon code is good until my 100th birthday, 8/22/2071.  If I happen to live that long, I'm sure by that point I'll just give you the stuff to get it out of my house.  Don't wait until then, though - all the good stuff will be gone.

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Crochet-Along update:

Since I last updated you, I have finished the back and crocheted the two pocket linings, and I've started on the left front panel.

This left front has been a bit of a trial.  First I crocheted far too loosely, and after three rows I determined it was huge.  Ripped it out and started it again really tight.  I loosened up as I went, and after about ten rows it looked like an isosceles trapezoid (upside down from the one pictured here), and I ripped it out again.  The third time was the charm, but I am a little concerned it's going to be too big.

I then added the pocket where it was supposed to be, but then I ended up ripping it out and adding it lower.  Since I'm very short, I didn't want the cardigan to be as long as they suggested.  It would have ended up down to my knees, which is not a good look for me.  So after I added the pocket and did ten more rows, I decided that the pocket would probably be up by my ribs, which is also not a good look for me ("You kids get offa my lawn and stop throwing Cognac bottles in it!" Yes, we recently picked up many pieces of Cognac bottle from our yard.).  I ripped out the ten rows after the pocket and another six or so rows before re-adding the pocket.

Fortunately I've been taking copious notes in the pattern using knitCompanion (if you missed my review of that app, check it out here) so for the right front and for subsequent sweaters I know just what to do.

A bunch of people on the Ravelry discussion group expressed concern about the pockets.  They were having all sorts of trouble with them, so I got concerned that I would have problems, too.  I had this vision in my head of me trying to crochet into air to have a gap where the pocket was, and how on earth was I to do that?  There was nothing in the instructions or in Lion Brand's blog post discussing the pocket that explained how to crochet into air for 17 stitches.  It didn't say to chain 17 stitches then pick up on the other side and crochet into that 17-stitch chain on the next row.  Nothing like that.  I assumed that there would be a gap up and down where the pocket was.  Left-to-right: no problem.  Up-and-down: air.  I knew I was crocheting on the pocket lining but just couldn't figure out what to do after that.

After I took some time to think about it, I felt utterly stupid.  When joining the pocket you crochet the front panel for 10 stitches then crochet across the pocket lining (skipping the first and last stitches of the lining so there's overlap).  Then you skip 17 stitches of the front panel and crochet the remaining stitches on the other side of the front panel.  There are two join points - one at either end of the pocket lining.  For subsequent rows, you just keep crocheting.  The gap in the front panel is the opening to the pocket, and by crocheting on top of the pocket lining, that becomes the front panel.  The only tricky thing was adding the ribbing in the right place, but I didn't have any problems with that.  The rest of the pocket is sewn on after everything is done.

Everything's easy once you know how, huh?

I tried to get Frisco to demonstrate the pocket, but he was being uncooperative.

I stopped trying after he pulled on a few loops of the pocket opening.  Oops!  I guess I won't do that again.  Fortunately the loops weren't very big.

At the risk of sounding like the Pointer Sisters...

I'm so excited!

I know it's been months again since my last post.  Sorry, but I've been pretty busy!

When I last posted I had just done the Milwaukee Bead Show and had just found out that my Shadowed Diamonds class was accepted by the Bead&Button Show.  I posted about four shows I had coming up in the holiday season, and about a potential article coming out in Bead Style magazine.

I did not jinx the article by posting about it before signing the paperwork.  I made use of the Otte Courier System (Steve bringing items home from Kalmbach and taking things back) to sign the paperwork, to receive the check, and to receive my bracelet and the advanced copies of the magazine.  I am a published artist!!  The magazines have just been sent out to subscribers, and if they're not in stores yet, they soon will be.  In case you'll be on the lookout for it, here's what the cover looks like:

 And here's a look at my bracelet again:

Referenced in the article is my "Parenthetical Statements" bracelet which was the inspiration for this one.  The two bracelets look similar, but the techniques really are quite different.  I've listed the tutorial on my Etsy shop plus kits in four different colorways.


Here's what that bracelet looks like:

On to the shows.  I did very well at Loominosity and Jewelry at the Domes in November.  St. John's in Waukegan was pretty good, but St. Francis De Sales in Lake Geneva was a bust.  My own Saint John (my stepfather) saved that one by buying one of my most expensive necklaces for my mother, and he commissioned earrings to match.  I also slipped into another sale at the German Immersion School very close to home here in Milwaukee.  Except for maybe one class in English a day, all teaching is done in German, even in K4 (that's Kindergarten for 4 year olds in case you don't have it in your area)!  I find it fascinating and hope one day I'll have a child of my own to send there.  Fingers crossed - time is ticking!

The rest of the time since my last post has been spent finishing up my inventory program (getting all of the beads and materials entered that I bought before 2011 - it was quite a bit!), wrapping up the year for taxes, and planning for the future.  I'm working on another project that I hope will make it into Bead&Button magazine this time (the stitching is not as suited to Bead Style, I believe).

I recently taught a class at a local bead store, Knot Just Beads, and I have a few more coming up in the next few months.

The biggest thing coming up is my class at the Bead&Button Show in June.  I've been obsessed with checking my Teacher Inventory Report.  Fifteen minutes after the registration opened I had one student signed up.  I was thrilled and for three days I refreshed the screen about 100 times a day.  Now I'm checking only 20 times a day.  :D  As of right now I have four students.  I'm hoping for more, so if you like stitching and are going to be at the Show, please check out my class.  The class information can be found here.  If you know of anyone who fits that bill, please send them my way!

Shadowed Diamonds

Goodness!  I'm tired just listing all that out!  In between things I've also been knitting that sweater I posted about over a year ago?!?  I'm done with the back and am working on one of the front panels.  It took me 10 attempts to finish the back - that blog post will be coming up.... soon?

Do me a favor?  Poke me if I take too long between posts?  Thanks!

When looking for the post about the sweater I found that I posted 76 times in 2010 and only 8 last year.  Do I still have readers left?  Please leave me a comment and tell me what kinds of things you'd like me to post about, and I'll do my darndest to do it!

Holy Etsy, Batman!

This week I have been quite productive!  I started cleaning my studio and moved a table in.  This was no easy feat - I didn't really have room for it, but I stacked my paper holder cart things on top of each other and moved other things around.  I wanted a better Cricut station - where I had the machine before the cutting mat drooped down unless I held it, and with the weight of the magnets it fell out or moved enough to screw up the cuts.  Also, since I've been working with polymer clay more, I wanted a permanent place for my pasta machine.  My desk is too thick for the clamp, and I wouldn't have wanted it there anyway.  The room still needs lots of cleaning, but at least I have some open workspace on my desk and more space to spread out to if needed.

The other thing I've done is add many listings on Etsy.  Now, I'm not planning on "promoting" Etsy listings here (have I said that before?), but I did want to mention what I've been up to and to show you pictures of some of the new polymer clay pieces I've made since the Christi Friesen classes I took in August.  No, I'm not yet ready to show you what I scribbled about in my last blog post.  Not yet, but soon.

Here are some hearts:

Chunky heart

Heart with flower

Twisty heart

A few flowers:

Purple flower

Blue flower

Yellow flower

What's interesting about the above flowers is that they're created with the same clay, but using different colors of PearlEx changes the look completely!

Here are a few more flowers:

Blue flower adjustable ring

Blue starflower

Finally, here's a pair of "California Roll" earrings.  I also have a ring up on Etsy, and other California Roll items will be added soon.  See the second picture for the details.

Post earrings

That's not all of it, but it gives you an idea of what I've been up to.  I guess I've been busier than I thought!