Days 15, 16, 17: the Paper Days

I never was a fan of crafts that involve paper. Either they're too fiddly and precise, or else they involve glue (sometimes both). But I knew that if I was going to be at this for a while, I would soon come across things like origami. Which, I figured, is a good opportunity to get better acquainted with paper (and glue).

So, first of all. Day fifteen: Paper beads.
I found instructions in one of my craft books for rolling pieces of paper and making jewelry with them. On day fourteen, I picked the paper I would use (an extra copy of a Knit Picks catalog), then cut the paper intro triangles. Picking the pages I would use and cutting the colorful yarn pictures was probably my favorite part of the process.
The next day, I glued and rolled up the triangles to get these elongated beads.

I like that it looks like an abstract pattern, and you can't tell what the original page was. They're also really solid for paper and glue. I still wish they were more bead-looking, but I think that's more down to my technique than anything else...they started to look a lot better once I stopped squishing them with paperclips and started to puff them out. I've also heard that coating them with nail polish makes them look really glossy, so I might try that.
I haven't made enough beads to actually make jewelry yet, but I'll let you know when I do. I'm thinking earrings or possibly a hair clip.

Day sixteen was my first origami project: petals for a kusudama ball (thank you, Dot, for the suggestion!). You make individual petals, then glue them together into flowers, then glue the flowers together to create this fancy ball. I like this style of origami, where you make lots of little segments and then attach them. It feels much less fiddly than larger-scale folding.

I'm in the process of slowly gluing the petals together, so it doesn't look like much so far. More on this front as well.

Day seventeen was the Day of Many Stars. I learned how to fold these little origami stars from strips of paper. It's super easy and super fast, and I couldn't stop making them! I'm envisioning making a billion and putting them in a vase.

Those are all my paper projects so far. I don't think I'm done with origami (and similar stuff) yet, so expect to see more in the future!

Before I go, I have two questions: one, how much skill do you have to acquire before you can call yourself a [insertcrafthere]er? I've been knitting for over a year, and I could definitely say I'm a knitter, but I've been into macrame for far longer and am not sure I'd call myself a "knotter" or a "macrameer"...maybe because most of the knotting I've done falls into a very small niche. No real right answer here...I'm just curious.
Question two is: what crafts would you like to see me do in the future? I have a few ideas still, but I need some suggestions before I descend into "and today I did this kind of braid, which is totally different from my previous five thousand braids".

My week in D.A.C.

...Wherein I discover that it's not a good idea to let a week pass without posting.

I have to admit: I'm not totally sure I remember everything I did since my last post. Making a big catch-up post is, it turns out, not very beneficial to my project, mostly because I don't have time to focus on each craft in my attempt to catalog everything.
I'll give it a shot, though:

Day eight: The Suspended Mitten Cuff

I have this thick blue yarn that's leftover from a hat, and I always wanted to make mittens from it. Unfortunately I don't think I have enough for mittens, so instead my plan is to just make cuffs from the blue yarn, while the body will be made from something similar. I figured that now was a good time to get on it, since I could learn a new stitch pattern and complete my project for the day.
Because the yarn is fuzzy, it's pretty much impossible to unravel, so I had to use a totally different yarn to test the pattern. I tried to double the substitute (to simulate bulky weight), but using my size 7 needles and the "twisted rib" stitch pattern I ended up with an impenetrable fortress rather than a swatch. So I used a single strand and tried again:



I know, it's kind of hard to see. Trust me, there is a (new) stitch pattern there. I need to get bigger needles before I can work on the real yarn, so call this one a suspended project. I'll get back to it after I get those big needles.

Day nine:

I made a ribbon rose!



I saw a video online on how to make these a while back, and thought it looked totally adorable but really hard. I had some grosgrain ribbon (the recommended kind), though, so I decided to try it. I got so into following the video that it didn't occur to me until several minutes in that the technique isn't as precise as I was making it out to be. Basically, you wrap the ribbon around itself and make folds to create the flower petal effect.
My rose didn't turn out as well as the video's, but it was my first. I didn't glue it together, either, so it kind of falls apart if you handle it too much. I think I'll sew/glue/attach it once I figure out what to do with it...maybe a bouquet?
Oh yeah, and grosgrain ribbon is really the only way to go when you make these (at least, when you first start out). I tried it with other ribbons, but they were just too slippery.

Day ten:

I made a braid.



Not too exciting, but I ran out of time. I kind of like the woven effect...it reminds me of a friendship bracelet. And it totally counts as a new craft, because the other braids I did were finger loop and kumihimo, while this was the classic "single strands hanging down" braid! Totally different.

Day eleven: Linen stitch number two

Remember that neckwarmer-cowl-scarf thing I started on day four? Yeah...I kinda unraveled it. I had a new and exciting idea for this yarn: why not make a kerchief thing (Baktus, more specifically), in linen stitch? The "new" part of this project would be figuring out how to make increases on one side while keeping with the linen stitch pattern. I did a lot of scribbling on paper, but it didn't really click until I actually tried it with a test yarn. Don't ask me how it works...I couldn't tell you. It involves slowly including the extra stitches into the pattern, and...yeah. Maybe I'll actually write it down sometime.



I love the way the colors change for this one, but I'm starting to freak out because IT'S TOTALLY CURLING. Will it block, or is this like stockinette stitch in that it just curls and can never be fixed? Should I knit on a border? Do I just leave it, because it looks kind of cool? Many questions that will hopefully be answered once I get the needles back.
By the way, the reason this project doesn't have needles is...

...Day twelve:

I'm making this bracelet for a friend's (very belated) birthday present. Part of the reason for the delay was my fear of trying cables, which look Too Professional To Be Easy. Have you started to notice a pattern with my crafting? I'm always afraid something is more difficult than it is!



In this case, doing the cable was a LOT easier than trying to figure out the "mock cable" rib. And it looks soooo good with this yarn. I love it.

Day thirteen:
Saturdays, I'll warn you, are usually the days where I have no time to craft. Saying that, I made a valiant effort and made...



A wrap bracelet. I've tried them before, but this time I tried to do this crisscross thing with the yellow craft thread. It kinda failed, but at least I tried. And shortly after I made this I found a pattern that suggested wrapping embroidery floss around ear-bud cords to decorate them. I must try this!

Day fourteen (yesterday):

I wanted to try something new. If I'm going to get stuck in my quick-braided-or-wrapped-bracelet-world on Saturdays, I need something interesting to make up for it on Sundays. I went and dug around in my craft books (of which there are many. I was a really crafty kid, surprisingly. More on this topic in a less catch-uppy post), and found instructions on how to wrap beads from pieces of magazine paper. So last night I cut up lots of paper into triangles:



That's as far as I got, though, because I went to bed after that. However! Today I will actually roll the beads and try to make some kind of jewelry out of them. I know, I know, the same craft in two days sounds like cheating. I have two responses to this: One, nobody reads this blog anyway, so I can do whatever I want. Two, cutting up paper and rolling them into beads are totally different skills. This is my defense and I'm sticking to it! Maybe I'll start themed weeks where I do one step every day. HOW WOULD YOU LIKE THAT, VOICE IN MY HEAD?
Sorry. I've been writing this post for...a while. I was going to philosophize today, but this post is already long enough, so it'll have to wait for another day.
See you tomorrow!

D.A.C. Days six and seven

...Also known as the Beading Expedition.
On day six (Saturday), feeling slightly demoralized from the previous night's failed knotting, I decided to try something new. Since I was pretty busy last week I never really branched out from my "fiber artist" sphere of crafting, and what's the point of this challenge if not to branch out?
So, I dug through my closet of kits and craft stuff and found a pack of beads. I used to be really into beading when I was eight, but I dropped it at some point and never got back to it. So on day six, armed with a craft book and a teeny needle, I decided to try making a beaded bracelet.




I made several attempts at this triangle bracelet: one with fishing line that wouldn't go through the seed beads, a second with beading thread that tangled horribly, and the (successful) third with really thin fishing line, as well as several attempts in between where I experimented with the beads and was unsatisfied/got tangled in the thread.
It's really weird how similar beading is to sewing. You have a needle and thread, and you have to insert it in the correct way or it'll mess up. And it's so. Fiddly. Beads are so pretty, but seriously...yarn doesn't scatter and disappear if it falls on the ground!
Despite all of the mess, though, it was surprisingly fun. I remembered why I liked beading in the first place - you get to play with colors, and the end result looks really good. It's also a lot faster than knotted bracelets.

On day seven (the first week of the project!), I continued with the beading thing. I remembered receiving a bead loom for a birthday present. I had used a shoebox loom before, but by the time I got the "professional" one I had stopped beading, so the loom waited patiently in the craft closet.

UNTIL NOW.




I was afraid it would be too complicated, but I actually like bead-looming more than normal beading. I guess it's more like weaving than sewing, but I've never tried weaving (or sewing, for that matter) so I'm not sure. The pattern is mostly from my beading book, but I added the little center diamonds in my version.

Bonus craft from days five and six:




I made an amazing discovery: you can finger-loop braid with polypropylene cord. (You still end up having to knot the ends, but it's some progress). This is a harder finger-loop braid that involves putting the loops through each other while trading them on your fingers. It took me a couple of tries to get it, but the result is worth it - it's all twisty and looks like some sort of complicated knot. I'm really liking finger-loop braiding...I'm glad I decided to try it. Apparently it was popular in Medieval Europe...who knew?

D.A.C. Days three, four, five

Day three:
When I proposed the idea of my challenge to a friend, she suggested baking as a craft. Since I know basically nothing about cooking, I think there's a lot of potential in this area.
So, on day three of the craft challenge, I made brownies (with advice from my bakey mother).




They're made with oats instead of flour and eggs, so they're supposedly really healthy.



They turned out awesomely gooey and chocolatey.

Day four:
My first knitting day. I decided to try a new stitch pattern, the linen stitch, since it's supposed to go well with crazy variegated yarn. (Which I have a tendency to buy because of "Ooh, pretty! Lookit the colors!")



I'm not sure what it is. It was supposed to be a scarf. I cast on enough stitches to make sure the blue didn't line up, and it turned out a little wide. Maybe a neckwarmer/cowl thing?



There's the back. I'm liking it so far, and the linen stitch was really easy to learn.

Day five:
I tried to learn this using this polypropylene cord I bought a while ago when I was trying to do more macrame. The polypropylene? The bane of my existence. It's stiff and slippery, and can barely hold an overhand knot. One day I'll find a use for this cord. (Maybe it can be knitted?) Weird choice for material, right? Well, I figured maybe it would work since the guy in the video was tying his cords loosely.



Nope. It just slipped apart before I could get anywhere.

Okay, so I needed something thicker. What about yarn? I have lots of it.



Well, it's better. The knots stayed, and I managed to get through one full set of knotting. But it looks pretty fuzzy and doesn't show the pattern well. I would have tried with a smoother yarn, but pretty much all yarn has some fuzz, and I needed something really crisp like the cord.

Oh, I know! I'll use DOUBLED polypropylene cord. If I tie each color together, they'll make one strand and won't slide apart, plus this way it'll be thick like the yarn! HAH!



*sigh*. See you on day six.

D.A.C.: Day two

Today's craft, along the same lines as yesterday's kumihimo braid, is finger-loop braiding!



I remembered seeing a Youtuber that I follow make a tutorial for these, so I figured now was a good time to try it.
It looks like a basic three-strand braid, but it's actually made with five loops that you hook on your fingers and shift around. (Apparently these were popular in camps...I never went to camp so I don't know.)
Today's craft was, evidently, also Creative Thinking Photography. How do you take a picture of yourself when your hands are keeping the braid from unraveling?




These things are SO FAST to make. I made my first in about ten minutes.



Then I made a second one.



Then I made a third one.



They're not really bracelets, since the ends aren't long enough to tie. I just braided until the embroidery floss ran out. Maybe I'll make them into keychains.
I didn't expect to like finger-looping as much as I did. It's fast and easy. Unlike most friendship bracelets, they're quite tactile, so it's possible to make one by touch while watching videos. And it also uses shorter lengths of embroidery floss than a knotted bracelet, so I was able to use up some scraps. Yay!

Tomorrow I'm going to strive to make something that isn't a friendship bracelet. Not sure what that is yet, but we'll see!

The Daily Artisan challenge: Day one

Day one:
I started this challenge because I'd been itching to try some new things. When I get into something (like knotted friendship bracelets), I go a little insane. I do lots of research on the thing, lurk on forums, and generally build up a mental system. Anything outside the system (non-bracelet macrame, bracelets that don't use the right knot) will be determinedly ignored (note that I still do other stuff besides that one thing...I just ignore similar crafts). Eventually, I expand the system to include other stuff (the square knot), and usually at this point the whole thing breaks down and I move onto a new interest. This happened with all sorts of stuff, from flowers to fantasy to bracelets. Most recently my obsession was knitting (which works a lot better than an obsession with knotted friendship bracelets), but recently I found myself wondering what it would be like to try something new (even contemplating...*gasp*...crochet).

Enter day one's project: the kumihimo bracelet.


I found a foam disk in my bag of macrame stuff, along with the beginnings of a bracelet. I had bought it several years ago during another "let's-branch-out" phase. Unfortunately, it messed up after the first centimeter and, frustrated, I abandoned it in my bag. But yesterday I rescued it, undid my work, and restarted.
The label just said "friendship bracelet maker", but I found out it's a fancy Japanese braiding technique called kumihimo. They're traditionally made on a frame/loom called a maru dai (according to Google), but disks with slots work quite well.

The bracelet is made by removing threads from their slots...



...and fitting them into new slots on the opposite side of the disk.



The bracelet grows through the hole in the middle.



Basically, it's 3D braiding without having to hold all the strings. At first I would keep getting confused with all the strands, and had to repeat "right to right", "left to left" all the time...but after a while I got into the rhythm. The whole thing only took me a couple hours, and that's including the unbraiding I did from my first attempt.

Final product:



Pros: I like that it looks like knotting, and that it's fairly fast while still looking intricate. Cons: it was still a little slow, though, and I got bored as I was nearing the end. Overall, pretty cool. I'd be curious to try this with more colors.

The Daily Artisan challenge

Hello! Sorry I disappeared for a year. To tell you the truth, I've been having doubts about what this blog is supposed to be...about. I mean, nobody (from my limited experience) is interested in reading a "general life stuff" blog, but I don't want to just limit myself to one topic, and if I do limit myself to one topic maybe I need a separate blog, in which case there will be nothing to write about here... *angst* *ponder* *philosophize* *reminisce*

Anyway. Blog-existentialism aside, I came up with a challenge for myself: try one new craft/art a day, and write about the experience. Originally I was thinking of making it into a vlog, but I realized it wouldn't make a very interesting video. I think the blog medium works better for this kind of challenge.
More on this later, but the guidelines I will follow are:

1. The craft doesn't have to be something I haven't ever tried, as long as there is something new to it (for example: I knit quite a lot, but have never tried the technique of making cables).
2. No repeats. I can continue something if I find I like it, but it won't count if I write about friendship bracelets twice.
3. I have to blog about every craft/art/technique, but I don't have to write every day. I can make one huge post a week, if I want.
4. By now you're probably wondering how long I'm going to do this. My first idea was to go for a full year, which I think will be entertaining once I start running out of crafts ("Today I learned how to...rake leaves..."). However, I don't want to be stuck doing this for so long if I start to hate it, so my current goal is "go until I fail", and we'll see from there.

If you're interested in my idea, I would appreciate suggestions for crafts/arts/artisan-things to do over the [undisclosed period of time].

Sorry this post is rushed. I wanted to get the introduction out of the way so I can move on with the challenge. Wish me luck!