Friday Finds: Learn to Crochet

Happy Friday everyone!

Today's find is an awesome tutorial I found on Pinterest. Vanessa of the Do You Mind if I Knit blog created the best crochet how-to I've ever seen.

Photo courtesy of Do You Mind If I Knit.

I'm going to make a definite goal for this summer...this girl is learning to crochet!

–Cassandra

Creative Legacy

I have a creative guardian angel. I'm serious. Her name is Mary (Maria on the Ellis Island records) and she was my great-grandmother.

You see, my Slovenian great-grandma Novak passed away when I was 6 months old. She was suffering with cancer and was only able to hold little baby me one time. But apparently once was enough. My mom's pretty sure when she held me, her soul jumped out of her ailing body into mine.

Relatives have told me my whole adult life that I remind them of her. Along with the obvious physical characteristics, we are almost eerily alike in our interests. We were/are both obsessive "makers". Now, I won't even claim that my skills can hold a candle to hers...but I'm working on it!

Sadly, we never got to know each other. I never got to take a piece of her wonderful bread or a bowl of her juha. She was plucked away from me too soon. Luckily, she left behind piles of beautiful lace, knitting, crocheting, sewing, and recipes. From these things I have a pretty good understanding of who she was, because I speak her language. I get it.

For Christmas this year, my mom gave me a quite a treasure. It's a lap blanket crocheted by my great-grandma that was made to grace the back of her couch. It's so warm, sturdy, and beautiful. It's the best gift my mom could have given me. Not to get too woo-woo here, but I it just vibrates with energy from the past.

I consider myself lucky because I not only have the finished object treasures like this blanket, I also have many of her tools. Her tatting pillow, knitting books (with her wonderful notations in Slovenian written in the margins), her rustic wood mortar, etc. Aside from the books, I am loathe to use her things. I sort of view them as sacred relics...like some Saint bone that's been proven to heal the blind. I have plans to make a very nice place for them in my future craft room.

This is a subject I've planned to introduce for some time, it's so personal to me so I think I put too much pressure on myself to do it right. I hope I did it justice. There's more about this lady to come.

–Cassandra

Friday Finds: Inspiration

Cassandra and I are always looking for inspiration - especially now that we're designing patterns - and I, personally, love learning new knitting techniques and stitch patterns. Put that all together and you've got...

New Stitch A Day!
knitting and crochet made simple.

This addictive site, founded by the charming Johnny Vasquez, is chock full of fantastic video tutorials, articles, and patterns. The video tutorials are very easy to follow and there are enough interesting knit/crochet patterns to keep me busy for a loooooong time. Plus, once a week Johnny does "This Week In Stitches" which contains all kinds of useful content and a video communication from Johnny about what's going on at New Stitch A Day. FUN!

Sign up for the email alerts and you'll get a new stitch pattern every day delivered right to your inbox (or you can get a once-a-week recap). ;)

I hope you find as much inspiration in it as I do!

- Alex

Friday Finds: Craft Gossip

Back in August, we mentioned that we'd had an influx of new readers from a website called Craft Gossip. Since then, we've spent a lot of time on that site and are real fans of its dedication to all crafts (not just the ones we're interested in!)

Craft Gossip is driven by user-generated content in every craft category known to man - well, nearly. Each category has an editor who's in charge of filtering through and publishing the content. This makes for a very dynamic site with constantly churning information on a huge variety of subjects.



Example of a free jewelry tutorial

 So...what do you get? Tutorials, free patterns, links to other great sites, give-aways, contests, and just about anything else you could ask for. Mighty Distractible has been blessed with having patterns featured at Craft Gossip twice - once for our embroidery patterns and once for the recently posted Pom Pon Hat pattern.

Check them out. Whether you're interested in jewelry making, scrapbooking, needlework, candle-making, quilting, edible crafts, and blah, blah, blah you'll find something to inspire you at Craft Gossip. Maybe you'll even discover a NEW craft to try. (like we need more, amirite?)

- Alex

Friday Finds: Evil-Cute Crochet

I can't remember where I saw the first piece of Shove Mink's art - it was probably on Twitter - but I can tell you that, as soon as I visited her Etsy store, I wanted EVERYTHING she's ever made.

She calls her work "anti-gurumi". It's evil, a little twisted, and only "cute" because it's mainly made with yarn. Her store is called "Croshame", which is funny in and of itself, and her work is nothing short of brilliant. Please note that, while these may look like dolls, they are not for children and are priced accordingly.

I often complain that people don't view "craft" as "art" and, as a result, don't value it more. However, this stuff can't be categorized as craft in any way, shape, or form. The attention to detail and the skill is just too fantastic.

So, for your enjoyment, I give you my two favorite pieces of Croshame art - The Krampus* and The Exorcist Playset:

 

* The Krampus will be mine at some point in the near future. I'm just sayin'.

So Much Yarn

http://theloophalifax.wordpress.com/

Cassandra and I have a tradition - when we travel, we try to check out yarn shops in other cities. And, while most yarn shops are eerily similar, it's cool to meet people from the crafting community when you're in a strange place. It's like making instant friends.

Of course, the danger of going to yarn stores while traveling is impulse purchasing and then having to pack your awesome finds.

Occasionally, a yarn shop will carry something you've never seen before or it will have a vibe that's different and interesting. These are the real gems and the reason that our tradition continues. You may remember that Cassandra visited Loopy Yarns in Chicago and found some gorgeous Madeline Tosh yarn that is currently being transformed into a sweater.

Sunny day in Seattle

While in Seattle recently, I had an afternoon away from my traveling companions and the convention. The weather was gorgeous so I decided to find a yarn shop and, if it was close enough, take a walk. I checked Yelp! (which, if you haven't used it, I highly recommend) and found a place that was just a few blocks away called So Much Yarn. The website wasn't great and the location was totally bizarre - on the second floor of a building above a Cost Plus World Market - but it was close by and would satisfy my craving for a yarn store visit.

As I traveled the five blocks to get there, I enjoyed the gorgeous sunny day as well as the discovery of streets I hadn't walked yet. I approached the Cost Plus, which is on a corner, and followed the directions I'd found on the website:

(We are located on Elliott Avenue, north of Lenora Street-the entrance is past Cost Plus.  Look for the tall black gate and take the elevator or stairs to the second floor, Suite 204)

Weird hall

Fortunately, the owners had seen fit to put a big, old sandwich board sign on the sidewalk so there was no mistaking the "tall black gate". I entered and headed up the stairs to a hallway of office suites. Very weird. Again, a well placed sign assuaged my confusion and sent me down to the end of the hall. As I got closer, I noticed that So Much Yarn was the only see-through glass door on the floor and I caught a glimpse of a wall of color. Honestly, it was kind of a relief.

I opened the door onto what can only be described as heaven. The shop is fairly small but makes use of every available bit of space. Floor to ceiling shelves are brimming with color and texture. It becomes immediately clear that Cascade is their work-horse yarn of choice - I've never seen such a large selection of Cascade varieties in one place. Obviously it would be impossible to carry the entire line however her representative sample is the one of the best I've seen. The shop also carries high-end favorites such as Noro, Malabrigo, and Shibui. There are a few novelty yarns as well as some unique items like the yarn made from sugar fiber which I was compelled to buy. In the center of the space, there's a "room" that has a large work table and some notions - like buttons. Behind the counter by the front door there's a spare but complete collection of needles and accessories.

I bee-lined to the back of the shop for some reason and found, in the back room, a small sale area and some of the more interesting yarns. This is where I discovered the sugar yarn. I also met a woman heavily laden with skeins who turned to me and said, "This place is amazing! I love everything in here!" I felt the same.

Sometimes it's the little touches that make a difference. The knitted samples on dress forms were all lovely - lots of Louisa Harding (I was told that the previous owner really loved Harding's stuff) - and there was a rack of finished scarves so customers could see how the various yarns knitted up. I was able to see how my sugar yarn would look when worked, which made the decision to buy it much easier. The store is neat as a pin and beautifully organized.

To be honest, I think that one of the reasons I love this shop so much is because the owner has a similar aesthetic to me. I'm not a huge fan of multiple colored or self-striping yarns. I don't like novelty yarns. And I don't like anything that's too fussy. So Much Yarn delivers exactly what I'm looking for - good quality yarns in beautiful colors without whimsy (I kind of hate whimsy).

My two purchases - the tan is the sugar yarn

I know that the owner is concerned about her location but I'm not sure she needs to be. The steps she's taken - the signage, good directions on the site and on Yelp, etc. - help a lot. And, honestly, the place got really busy while I was in there. On a Friday, during work hours. Most everyone that came in bought something. And that woman with the armload of yarn... She's from Australia and was on her way to an Alaskan cruise. Based on what I saw in her hands, that wasn't stopping her. She may have been the shop's best sale of the day.

- Alex

So Much Yarn...

2107 Elliott Avenue, Suite 204

Seattle, WA 98121

Phone:  206-443-0727

Toll free:  866-443-0727                           

Store Hours: 

Mon: Noon-6 | Tues: 10-8 | Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat: 10-6 | Sun: Noon-5

Free Yarn (and a story of progress)

All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Check it out! I made two, crocheted washcloths! The square one was simply an exercise in practicing double crochet. I needed to work on rhythm and tension so I did one row of double then one row of single until I got sick of working on it. Then I made a little chain loop because...well... I figured that my stitches were actually nice enough that I didn't have to throw this swatch away so it could actually BE something (like a washcloth).

Washcloth number two... my very first, successful crochet-in-the-round. It's pretty sweet. My stitches look good and there are only a couple of "holes" where I think I may have missed a pick-up. Plus, it lays flat!

Previously, I mentioned that one of the inspirations for me to learn crochet were some free Lion Brand patterns that I'd gotten in their weekly newsletter. Specifically, I really wanted to make this washcloth.

I don't know what it is about this stupid thing that's so appealing to me but, for whatever reason, it was the impetus for my new crafting adventure.

So, attempt number three (attempts 1 and 2 were chronicled in an earlier post) was supposed to be "Alex follows a pattern" and, according to Lion Brand, this is an easy pattern. "Easy" is relative when you don't know anything at all.

My first challenge was with the abbreviations in the pattern. "ch 1", "sl st", and "dc" meant, literally, nothing. So, I broke out my library books and looked up the various definitions and instructions for each abbreviation. Challenge number two was with the language of the pattern. Some of the instructions were easily identified as variations on the language of knitting patterns but some was absolute Greek. "(2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in each ch-1 sp around" might mean something to even the novice crocheter but, to someone who has never, ever read a pattern before, it's complete gibberish - even with the abbreviations defined.

It's in Greek - istg

I sallied forth and attempted to do the pattern with my library books as instruction but I ended up with a morass of crazy that didn't remotely look like the washcloth of my dreams.

Back up and punt. I put the pattern away and decided to try to, at least, make something round. In my mind, if I could get the "round" part mastered, the pattern would be easier. Neither of my library books had a simple round pattern in it so off to the Interwebs I went. Can I just say...thank Babyjesus for YouTube and this woman:

Bthintx1's YouTube channel may become my de facto online home. She keeps it simple and explains EVERYTHING. So, basically, I started the video, paused, did what she did, re-started the video, paused, did what she did... etc. and I ended up with that awesome round washcloth above! Amazing.

Unfortunately, the video doesn't address my inability to read the pattern. For that, I bothered my co-worker, the lovely and talented Lisa, to help me decipher it. She was, in fact, very helpful - for the first few rows. By the time I hit row 4, there was a new instruction I didn't understand. So, I'll be back at her desk this afternoon for more one-on-one guidance. Which brings me to this thought...

When I learned to knit, I took a few classes. I've decided, after this experience, that teaching oneself pattern-based crafting is really an exercise in futility and frustration. It's just better when someone (even an anonymous, online someone) can show you what you need to do.

On a final note, I'd like to talk about the yarn I'm using for these washcloths. Cassandra and I attended the Sheep In The City convention in Milwaukee last winter and found some really gorgeous yarns there. One of the more interesting yarns we saw is made from corn fiber. The company, Corny Goodness, makes yarns of pure corn fiber or a wool/corn blend in some of the most beautiful colors you've ever seen. In the booth, they had a number of items knit with this amazing, hypoallergenic, vegan, yarn - and one of the coolest was a dishcloth. There's something about the weight and texture of the yarn that makes it perfect for this use. Plus, the fiber has some weird qualities, like it's antibacterial and dries extra fast, that make it really appealing for any cloth that's going to be getting wet.

The yarn has a slight sheen that is really appealing and the colorways are incredible. My one complaint is that working with it is a bit of a chore. It's "sticky" - kind of like the way cotton feels sticky after working with wool, but 10 times mores so. And it tends to be a bit splitty, which is only really a problem because I'm still learning how to use the crochet hook properly. The skeins aren't cheap - $14 US per - but they're huge. The DK weight comes in around 100 grams or 240 yards of yarn. That's a LOT of washcloths.

So...I have two skeins of Corny Goodness DK weight in colorway Orville's Ocean Light (see above) and I'd like to give one away to you guys. If you'd like to be entered into a random drawing for this skein of yarn, simply comment below before 3pm CST Friday August 19. (Comments now closed please see here for winner.) All eligible names will be put into a hat and we'll do a random drawing to see who wins. If you enter, please remember that we need a way to contact you so, if you aren't registered with Blogspot you'll need to send us an email so we can let you know if you won.

I love giveaways!

- Alex

Hooking (and not the bad kind)

So...here's what I'm discovering about crochet:


1. It's not knitting (ha!)
2. It's really, really fast (if you're doing it right)
3. It's addictive


I'm down to two books from the library - having returned the other five. I kept Pauline Turner's Beginner's Guide to Crochet and Single Crochet for Beginners. Of the books I checked out, these two were my favorites. I prefer the patterns in the Turner book but Single Crochet for Beginners is the one that's helped me figure out where I've gone (terribly) wrong.


You may remember from my previous crochet post that I was trying to use a bamboo hook. This was the one I already had in my knitting arsenal. As a knitter, one needs the occasional crochet hook to help you pick up dropped stitches or fix errant pulls. Since I knit with bamboo needles, it only made sense to buy a bamboo crochet hook.

Every book that I read showed metal hooks - aluminum or steel (the steel ones are really small) - and I knew there had to be a reason why. So, the other day, I stopped at my local Ben Franklin on the way home. I find Ben Franklin to be a great resource for those quickie things you need on the fly - like a random crochet hook. So, I grabbed on that seemed suitably sized, not too big or too small, and I went home to try again.

My first crochet hook!

WOW! What a difference!

The bit I was struggling with when using the bamboo was picking up the stitch to start doing a single crochet. With the metal hook, picking up is a dream - the hook just slides into the stitch like butter. I found myself flying through rows in no time.

Now the bits I'm struggling with are primarily knitting habits that need to be broken. I keep trying to hold my working yarn in my right hand (I'm a thrower, not a picker) and I really want my tension to be tighter. I'm not sure if we've ever addressed this before but my local knitting friends know me as the "angry knitter" because my stitches are so tight. Gauge is a bitch in my world.  So... I find myself having to move the working yarn into my left hand a lot (it's amazing how much faster it is to pick) and I'm working hard at finding a good tension balance.

The INCORRECT way to hold the yarn

Here are my two attempts thus far:

This is my first attempt. Note how tight the stitches are. They look pretty nice, even though there are tons of mistakes in there. Also, if you'll note the sides, I'm inadvertently reducing.

Not bad. Good, tight stitches!

My second attempt is a bit better. Now my tension is almost too loose - note the big gaps in my work (granted a couple of those are mistakes) - and my stitches are really uneven. However, my "chains" at the top of each row are much cleaner and easier to pick up. Obviously, I haven't corrected the reduction problem. LOL  Although my co-worker, the lovely and talented Lisa, helped me figure out that I was skipping the first stitch on each row and that's why I was losing stitches.

Seriously wonky... you can see where I corrected the reductions

 Attempt number three is going to be to follow a pattern. That should be a laugh-riot. I'll be sure to take pictures and/or video so you all can laugh along with me.

- Alex

Coming Soon to a Blogpost Near You...

Recently, we've enjoyed an influx of new readers thanks to being mentioned on two really fun sites - Craft Gossip and Friend-Stitch. We're thrilled to have you all with us and hope to continue to offer relevant and fun content that keeps you coming back.

We love hearing your comments and encouragement. As a matter of fact, based on some feedback we received from one reader, we added more instruction and a color/stitch chart to our embroidery patterns. The only way we can improve is when you all tell us what works!

So, today, we'd like to let you know about some of the things we plan to cover in upcoming posts. This is not a comprehensive list by any means and, of course, we're sure to get distracted and write about whatever floats our boat in that moment (as usual.) Without further ado, here's some of what you can expect from Mighty Distractible....

Upcoming Distractions
As you all know, we can't seem to stay focused on a single thing. We have noticed, however, that most of our crafts include some manner of needle work or fiber - including the new skills that we want to try.

Cross-Stitch - Alex is fascinated with samplers, mostly when they're really edgy. The dichotomy of a sweet handicraft turned on its head is really appealing.




Quilting - Cassandra caught the bug when we made quilts for the earthquake victims in Japan. She's working on some ideas for kid-sized quilts for Thing 1 and Thing 2.



 Needlepoint - Years ago, Alex saw needlepoint squares used to upholster the seats of dining room chairs. Every since, she's been obsessed with the idea of covering her chairs similarly.  Specifically, she wants to use some ridiculously intricate William Morris-style patterns. This is why the project hasn't left the ground yet.

Only slightly complicated Wm Morris design

More crochet - Alex has already started down this path. Now it's Cassandra's turn. She's taken one of the library books home so expect to hear about her foray into hooking pretty soon.

Serging - Both Alex and Cassandra love the idea of using a serger and are dying to get their hands on one and see what can be done with it.

Upcoming Free Stuff
As promised, we will continue to offer free downloads and tutorials as often as possible. On our list of things to give you are a variety of patterns in different disciplines. We're in various stages of creation on these - writing them up, testing the patterns, etc. - but know that we'll have plenty for you to enjoy soon.

Love this wavy stitch

Knitting patterns - Alex is working on a set of three patterns - a scarf, a hat, and fingerless gloves (aka: wrist warmers). All of them use a unique stitch that she learned from a stranger at a protest knit-in at Madison's Capitol back in February. 

Sewing patterns - Cassandra recently spent some time learning to lay in zippers and, for practice, developed a pattern for a simple, but very pretty, zippered pouch. They make great notion bags and are so easy you can make a few in an afternoon. Additionally, Alex keeps threatening to make a pattern for a knock-off apron that she saw at a trendy store.

Embroidery and cross-stitch patterns - We like to thank everyone for the warm reception to the first two patterns in the Woodland Series. There will be two more to come - Bear and Fox. Also, Alex is excited to design some cross-stitch patterns so, yeah....we'll see how that goes.


Upcoming Giveaways
We've done one giveaway so far and would like to do more. Basically, we're interested in reviewing things - books, supplies, etc - and then giving the reviewed item away to you! We think the easiest way to do this is to have people comment within a certain time frame and then we'll do a random drawing from qualified names.

We'd love your feedback on this idea. What items would you like us to review? Does the "random drawing" process seem fair or can you suggest a better way to pick a winner? Any advice would be appreciated!

So...that's a little bit of what we have in store for you. We hope this sounds intriguing and that you'll stick with us on this journey. We're having a BLAST and hope you are too. Don't forget, we love hearing from you and can only improve from your input.

Happy crafting!

- Alex & Cassandra

The Business of Knitting.

The vendors get me every time...

This past Saturday was the Madison Knitter's Guild Annual Knit-In. This is a one-day extravaganza of yarn hobbies - specifically knitting, crocheting, and spinning. There are classes and speakers and a nice-sized vendor room (which is the siren that hypnotizes me every time.)

The Madison Knitter's Guild has been around a while and has a large, active membership. As a result, they're able to attract incredibly good guests to their monthly meetings and nation/international yarn-centric folks for the Knit-In. Granted this doesn't mean much to the average bear but, if you're a yarn hobbiest, names like The Mason-Dixon Girls or The Yarn Harlot or The Team from Ravelry make you weak in the knees. These are our celebrities (among many others) and, because knitters are all pretty friendly, these folks are actually accessible while being famous within our community. This is a huge draw.

The Mason-Dixon Girls @ 2010 Knit-In (Madison)

This year's "celebrity speaker" was the core team from Ravelry.com. We've spoken about the site a lot here at Ooo! Shiny!  There are myriad reasons to sing the praises of Ravelry - not the least of which is how incredibly well-thought-out the site is - so the possibility of hearing the founders and operators of the site speak was pretty irresistible.

The lovely folks from Ravelry

These are, essentially, kids (well, they're about 1/2 my age) who came up with a good idea, developed it a bit, and then took its evolution so slowly that they were able to make good business decisions along the way. While stumbling forward they've kept their values and their humility and they are still seemingly shocked at their own success. And this is my one, huge complaint...

I realize that, when you're consumed by a project it's easy to have a skewed perspective, but it's really annoying to learn that they are SO humble about their project that they don't even seem to realize that they've changed the face of our community. I have no idea HOW they can't know this, but they don't - or, at least, they put on that they don't. As a business person, this drives me insane because all I can see is a giant pile of opportunity being approached with a very zen-like, slow-moving attitude.

I want them to have a little swagger and some better business acumen and make a boat-load of money. At this point, they seem so devoid of actual strategy (other than ensuring that the site stays free and that they don't bum anyone out) that I'm afraid that they're ripe for a buyout. And that would suck because we'll lose the one thing that makes Ravelry really different from, say, Facebook - the values of the owners.

Of course, the right buyer would make them really, really rich and, in the end, they really deserve that.

- Alex

Worlds Collide

As we've mentioned here and there, Alex and I work at Company X. It is a big place, very corporate, very typical. We are creatives in a sea of non-creatives. Sometimes that can be a little lonely and, occasionally, frustrating. But, there are moments when we hit the happiness jackpot... and it keeps us sane. Yesterday we had one of those moments.

First some background: A few years back, we did an ad campaign that featured squirrels. There were huge squirrels on billboards, small ones on mailers, millions of them on newspaper inserts, and chattering squirrels on radio ads. The "sales" response rate was respectable, but the emotional response it generated was amazing. It was the only time we've ever had customers show up in our lobby looking to meet our creative/marketing staff, and to see if they could get their hands on more printed copies. The most notable of these visitors were the local firefighters from Ladder 2 who showed up, in full gear, after having responded to a call across the street. We were so proud. Then sales started dropping, and reluctantly we had to move on to a new, non-squirrel campaign. But, we always hoped to resurrect the squirrels again at some point.

Our Spokesquirrel: Chopper Crazypaws

Time shift to this past summer: Our senior-management team was out in the field. They were visiting offices around the country and they kept hearing how much people loved the squirrels and hoped to see them again. When they came back and reported this to marketing, a testing plan was hatched. Fourth quarter this year, we pulled out a sample group to send a "squirrel" version against our (non-squirrel) control. I am sad to report that the control was the winner and the squirrels will not be gracing billboards anytime soon. But, at the end of the day, it was amazing that customers had such an emotional tie to these "characters" that we actually took the time to test the campaign again.

What does this have to do with crafting, you ask? Well, as a result of this latest squirrel test, one of our customers sent us some hand-made goodness. I'm telling you the truth! Because she was responding to a "holiday card" (which was a thinly disguised sales message about our latest promotion) she sent us a crocheted angel ornament AND a crocheted squirrel magnet! The "card" that she was responding to was co-signed by the president of our company and our spokes-squirrel, Chopper Crazypaws - so she wanted to send both a gift. How sweet is that?

Crocheted Squirrel Magnet on Whiteboard

Crocheted Angel Ornament in Corporate Setting

Like the title of this post says, worlds collide. As marketing people, Alex and I are just amazed at how fond people are of a silly promotional tool like the squirrels. As crafters, we are especially touched by this gesture from one, loyal and sweet customer. It is one thing to give a gift, yet another to give such a thoughtful hand-made gift. So...Miss Nancy from Indiana, thank you! You are a treasure.

–Cassandra