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!