The three last January crafts

Here's how the rest of January went in terms of crafting:
Day twenty-one:

I had lots of purple yarn left over from my bangle project, so I saw this project I got very excited. It’s lots of I-cord (a tube of knitting) sewn together, so I figured it would be a really easy but interesting new thing to make. I’m thinking of making a tea cozy instead of a mug cozy…so, lots of I-cord to make! Here’s how it looks so far:



Day twenty-two:

I (finally) managed to successfully explore a new type of knot.



This is my tiny pouch, made using this video. I found it several days earlier, but I didn’t have any of the recommended cord, and I didn’t want to use polypropylene or yarn again, so I spent the next few days making two long knotted chains from craft thread. Something that is made so fast in bracelet-form feels so much longer when you need to make twelve feet of it! I ended up running out of thread at around six feet, so I made a very short pouch. Technically it isn’t finished, because I’m trying to decide if I should add more thread to the ends.
It’s made from a combination of slip knots, which is really awesome because it’s rarely used as a decorative knot (you often use slip knots at the beginning of knitting and crochet projects). I also liked how fast it was to make, and how pretty it looks at the end.


("Octopus bag will eat you!")

The one downside is that my knotted cord is very bumpy, and doesn’t show off the knot texture very well. Also, like I said, it’s too short to actually hold anything. However…I didn’t want to abandon the idea of a knotted pouch, so…

Day twenty-three:

I wanted another knotted pouch. My problem: I didn’t have twenty-four feet of smooth cord that would show off the stitches nicely. I thought, “What is the recommended cord made out of?” Well, I’m told it has some sort of solid core, but the outside looks woven or braided. Hmm…braiding…didn’t I make a braided cord on day one?



Sorry for the blurriness. I was trying to show the pattern, but my camera was having none of it. You get the idea, I hope.

I'm making it using an easy kumihimo pattern I found online. It’s similar to the first one I made, but it uses fewer threads. Since I’m using full skeins of craft thread, I should have enough to make twelve feet.
As you can see, I went all high-tech and used bobbins. I practically need a wooden stand, like all the professional kumihimers.
It’s only about a foot and a half so far, so I’m going to need to make a LOT more (and then I’ll have to do it all over again to make the second cord). It’ll be a while before you see it again, but I think the pouch is going to look awesome. The cord is exactly what I need. It’s really fun to be resourceful about this, instead of having to wait to buy paracord. See? My artisan dreams are already coming true!


And that concludes the January edition of the daily artisan challenge! I feel it was a good establishing month. I've gotten into the habit of making stuff, and I know how much time it takes me to make a blog post. Over the next few months (hopefully when I'm more free), I want to try to make more diverse crafts more often, instead of falling back on the "new technique" thing every day. I was also thinking of writing some more wordy posts, where I either explain/discuss a technique, or philosophize about crafts or life in general. And...who knows...maybe even a video at some point?
We shall see how the project progresses from here! Watch this space.