First attempt at yarn bowl

First, I'd like to inform that I finally got an Instagram account, I would be very happy if you would follow me there! My username is by_moe, and it will feature my finished products etc.

Ok, so a friend of mine tagged me in a post about yarn bowls on facebook the other day. I decided I would try to make one myself. The next day I went to the crafts store Panduro to buy some clay:

About half a package is enough for one bowl.

Start by rolling out the clay like you would a pizza dough, just not as thin. Then, cheat a bit by placing it over a plastic or glass bowl, to help you with the shape. I tried freebasing one first, looked like something a five year old with free reins made... Try to make it as smooth and even as possible, and cut off excess clay to make the rim:

Cut out the swirly part(or which ever shape you'd like), but make sure it won't be too small/thin when it dries or it might be fragile and snap:

Get some water on your fingers to smooth out the surface as much as you can, this will save you some work later on:

Roll out a thin piece of clay and place it on the bottom of the bowl(press it on to the bowl so it sticks, of course), this is to prevent it from being wobbly. Like the wannabe artist I am, I added my initials and the year at the bottom :)

Now here comes the dreary part: drying time is two days! Since I was not familiar with this clay I didn't want to put it in or close to an oven, fearing it would crack or something.

When it is dry, pry it carefully off of the "cheat bowl". It will have an uneven finish and have marks after some pesky air bubbles(I have to find a way to avoid those), and have rough edges. Solution: very fine sand paper. Go over the entire bowl, inside and out with the sandpaper, to make it more even and smooth. Cut a small, thin piece to work the swirl better. Careful, careful.

All the dust that comes from the sandpaper treatment I used to make a paste to fill in dents and crevices, all I did was to add some water! Thankfully, the drying of this only took two hours or so. Then I went over the fillings with sandpaper too.

FINALLY, it was time to paint it! After the paint, I added a coat of varnish to make the colors more durable.

Ta-daa!

It is far from perfect, but I think it'll serve its purpose. At this time, it is gift wrapped, ready to be given to my mother for Christmas. It's like I'm ten years old again, giving away self made pottery as presents! ;D

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Jake, the crocheted dog

Today I decided to make an Adventure Time key ring for my fiance. It is disproportionate and poorly made, as I lost patience with the little sucker towards the end, but it's made with heaps of love :P
I will definitely make another one at some point, and adjust the work a little. And breathe more steadily ;)

First, I made four chain stitches, which I then connected into a loop:

Then I made 8 single stitches in the loop. After that I increased continuously a few rounds, making two single stitches in every other stitch in the previous round, until I felt like the bottom/top of Jake's body was big enough. To make a sylinder shape, I just made one stitch in every stitch, until the body was long enough.

Bottom is big enough now.

One single stitch in every previous stitch to make it go upwards. This is with the inside out, which automatically happens when doing this technique. 

 Flipped right side out.

The body is long enough.

Stuff the cylinder with wadding, before closing it up. To close, do the opposite as in the beginning: skip making stitches in every other previous stitch.

Now this is what killed it for me- finding out how to do all the small parts. As I improvise everything, experimenting can take a lot of time. But, I ended up with limbs and whatnot anyway:

Sewing them on(and eyes, mouth and ears) late in the evening when you should have eaten something a long time ago is nothing I would recommend. This is where my patience with Jake, and the universe in general, flew out the window. But, I got through that too, stubborn as I am. Last thing to to was to attach the key ring itself through Jake's head, and I could finally present it to a very happy guy :)

Now, late night snack!

The end.

Holiday crafts

This summer my fiance and I went to Greece, going to different islands. I didn't bring any crafts with me other than pencils and sketching paper. Problem was, I haven't been in drawing mode for years, so I was constantly looking for a crafts shop. There were a lot of shops with crafts in them, but not much supplies. Until we got to Naxos, there I found a shop called Beads, which had a very small selection of beads and cords etc, but it was super expensive and choices were limited. But, it was enough to soothe my crafts itch for a while. Then, a few days later, we walked past a yarn shop! So of course I bought some yarn! I tried explaining to the Greek lady that spoke no English, what a tatting needle was, but I gave up and just got a regular crochet needle.

At Beads I found relatively good cords, but the beads I will probably donate to a kindergarten(I bought a bulk bag for 3 euros, which was the best deal I could find there).

 Some typical holiday bracelets, top one has a turquoise on it.

A few days after that, in a random supermarket one night, I found a package of needles, where one was long and thin enough to use as a tatting needle. Also found safety pins, so that bracelet making would be easier.

The yarn I bought. These would cost me 6 euros a piece here in Norway, there i got them for 2,5 euros.

The project I ended up spending most time on is this. It will be a back piece for a top. Hope it works out the way I want it to, as I am, like with everything, winging it :P

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work

Thomas Edison's words, which I believe to be true.

The museum shop that took my products in for sale told me that since my items were sold, they wanted more. Of course, I was over joyed! :D
The manager is on holiday right now, but I've decided to finally start making the loooong overdue product catalog.
I've been thinking about making such a catalog forever, but since that meant a lot of work, I have been putting it off forever. But, now that the opportunity is so much more in reach, which makes it so much easier and motivating!

And a lot of work it is: setting up for a photo shoot (yay, photography, my favorite thing! not), taking pictures of everything(man, I've been productive! so many things..), editing the pictures(enhancing the lighting and cropping away unnecessary space etc), putting them into a catalog template and writing product info and prices. Tho, couldn't find a fitting template, so my man helped me make one :)
I am going on a holiday myself tomorrow, so I won't get it finished before I go, but I am very close! :D

Number of final photos, ready to be put in to the template: 244, one pic for each product. And that's without all the things I've made that are totally crap, suited for the bargain box.

A small selection for you:

Finally!

My products are for sale. In a real shop!
They are on display, and for sale, in a real, physical shop! :D
It is the museum shop at the city museum here in Oslo that has been so kind as to give me a break, and for the summer, they have chosen two necklaces and four pairs of earrings. They will have more MOE-products for sale sometime during the autumn.

One of the necklaces started here; the planning stage, before hours of detailed work and focus in dim lighting commenced:

The finished product. I've always distinguished this from the rest by calling it the elf necklace. 

Why yes, I am a nerd. 

Here is a terrible picture of the display case they're in, the elf necklace to the right:

 

Crocheted baskets

Something easy, fitting for mid week handcrafts: crocheted baskets.

I went and bought something they call t-shirt yarn. Yarn that has the same quality as a t-shirt ripped to shreds. Litteraly shreds.

You'll need a big hook for this, it says size 12 on the label. The biggest I have is size 10. It was a bit tight, but it worked, and the baskets got a nice finish, me thinks.

I started with four chain stitches, which I then made into a loop.

Believe it or not, this is a loop..

 

Then, I made 12 single crochets in the loop.

 

Going around and around in spirals can be tricky considering you have to increase for every round, so that the circle expands. What I did here is that I increased with two single crochets in  every other stitch in the previous round. I did this for the first two rounds, after that I increased with two single crochets in every third stitch.

I tried to draw a chart of the increasing, but it sucked, so I changed my mind.

When I felt that the bottom circle was big enough, I stopped increasing, and instead made one single crochet per stitch, which automatically created the walls of the basket.

 

I wanted them to look a little more finished, so I pulled some ribbon through along the edge, and put a little charm in the knot.

Ta- daaaa!

Total effective time for these two baskets: 4 hours