A Bouquet for a Baby Hat

Being pregnant and having an idle mind had finally gotten to me enough that I opted to make something for baby. Having no idea of the gender, though seriously hoping for a girl, I opted to make something mostly "unisex" (although in retrospect this should never be put on a boy entirely too cutesy) and attempt a baby hat.

Having rifled through Ravelry's innumerable patterns and looking at both knitted and crocheted concoctions I settled on something simple for my pregnant brain that wouldn't tax my fingers or bore my mind with details while eagerly trying to finish my piece of work. And piece of work it turned out to be...

This is my first foray into using a pattern written with UK instruction and it definitely took a little thinking and reminding that when they said DC they meant SC. I am glad the pattern writer mentioned the use of UK abbreviations but I do honestly wish she had written out some of the instructions instead of assuming that someone knew how to increase a certain number evenly each row. I, for one, suck at math and the whole idea of counting stitches to find the number of my rows and rounds, much less stitches, is abhorrent but a necessary evil. However, the "math" involved in trying to figure out how to increase evenly without making horrible obvious gaps because I fudged a few, or several, stitches was not the most pleasurable part of the crocheting experience for me. While I understand that in art, and especially with crochet, math is an integral part of the process I still loathe it.

Perhaps the other horrid thing about this project, is the color choice...completely my fault, but it was for a baby - why not pink, blue, yellow, and white...Looking at the end result you see why it perhaps was not the best of choices and how it turned out much more girly than anticipated.

Lastly, and maybe worstly, (and yet I'm not surprised by this fact) is that it seems too big. While many children have "large" heads for their size - it's very common for a child to have to grow into their head - just looking at this and it seems....hugnormous.

O well, live and learn!

Sock this!

Woe to me who has entered the realms of begun, begun, and frogged. Our first sock project has met it's demise and we've tastefully decided that it will remain deceased and on our "To Do" list for sometime. Having never worked with DPed needles and using 2s at that (it is a sock after all) has become trying and just isn't working with our brain. SO in lieu of having an ultimate hissy fit and never trying a sock again we are frogging and putting away our project for another time and place.

For those who are curious we did have some pictures of the "somewhat" progress which show a wonderful color scheme emerging for our "One Day Soon" sock.

Cottage Crafts and Pottery...

Recently it came to our attention that we are very behind on updating some things with our store, blog, website etc. So today's project is to start catching up on some of that "work" that needs to be done. The first thing that is getting taken care of is to add things to our official website's page(s). Namely our "predecessor's" tribute pages and in particular examples of her work.

We're starting off with the pottery stylings of late artist Stephanie Wheeler who started Cottage Crafts and led to the creation, indirectly, of Faith Works itself. You can view the progress and updates via Twitter, FB, and Myspace which will all have references to the pages worked on as they have progress.

Enjoy and thanks for tuning in!

Aradia

of

Faith Works

Three-Color Square Mosaic Afghan

This is the beginning of a three color square block afghan. Each square is composed of a combination of 3 x 3 squares each made of three colors in a set number of patterns: ABC, BCA, CAB. (I decided not to make it too complicated by making all of the possible color combinations of the three and just switch them up simply.) As of now this afghan is intended to keep personally, however I do not object to making another one of similar design and/or color.

My First Quilting Project...

It's All (S)Crap!

Really it's just me tinkering around with fabric scraps. Nothing fancy or even visually attractive I might add (in fact I'll go so far as to say it is in fact hideous.) But really it's an experiment so I can take all the artistic license I want with it! HA! Whether it gets sold or not and when is all up in the air and may remain so as it's my 'first' so I might keep it for artistic/sentimental value. Nonetheless, there it is! :D Keep a paper bag handy.

Hot Runs Cold Blanket...

One of the many "ooo I wonder what will happen with these two colors intermingled..." projects that I have started. As an artist I really love "hot" and "cold" colors and putting them together and it just so happened that I had the perfect variegated yarn to accomplish this feet.

I am keeping it simple for the moment (read I ran out of one of the colors so I can't keep working on it at the moment), but may decide to incorporate other colors and rename the project...

"Water Lily" Baby Blanket - Part 2

I’ve been working on this blanket since the start of the last baby quilt I started and finished. I figured having made one for a boy, I should make one for a girl as well. Of a different concept than the first one, it heavily emphasizes the “join as you go” method and incorporates squares of different styles and sizes. The rounded look to the smaller squares mimics the look of a flower, hence the project’s name. on the outside of the assembled square I added some shell and picot embellishments to give it a more “girly” feel.

Daisy May Dishcloths!

Look at what’s in bloom! I recently came upon Lily Sugar ‘n Cream’s “Chrysanthemum Dishcloth”. At first some of the finer points of the pattern were lost on me, particularly with the edging that really “makes” the petals but upon deciphering the symbol and vernacular meanings I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. I originally chose two brightly colored yarns, a white & yellow variegated as well as a yellow, orange, and pink variegated yarn. Both combinations (I switched the trimming and the main body for the second one) make for a “happy” dishcloth!

If you have questions about ordering your own or have your color scheme in mind send us an email and we can make yours to match your kitchen!

First Felting Project

Very interesting little creations, I had never tried to felt, honestly, being a little nervous about the whole application. Would I waste my time, though I thought I understood the process did I really, or would I misjudge a critical step and mess the whole ordeal up? So I avoided it, but having come to the end of a ball of yarn of 100% pure new wool. Perfect for felting…

The resulting bowls have a random pattern (for the smaller one done in single crochet) versus a more diagonal pattern, for the larger bowl (done in half double crochet).

Desert Rose Throw

Yet another throw courtesy of our favorite pattern! The colors chosen were originally meant to be mimicking a grapevine, but upon working with the yarn I decided that it appeared more like a cactus flower or some sort of wild rose - hence the name "Desert Rose". So far it's partially finished, with one and a half balls of of yarn crocheted up.

Three Color Thick & Chunky Scarf

This is one of my lovely "accidental" designs. In reality it's a partial amount of progress from a throw I just started working on. A friend met with me and we went out while I was working on the piece and instead of setting it aside I opted to take it with me and threw it around my neck, placing the ball in my pocket and the hook through the holes in the design - however I liked it so much as it was that I opted to leave it that length and width.

Knit Me Frenzy

Lately I have joined the "dark side" and come into the world of knitting. Having resisted it for years because it looked "too hard" I finally succumbed due to the large variety of "cool" and otherwise nifty things that could only be accomplished properly through knitting. Since then I have been on a "knit frenzy" and randomly picking up any and all scrap yarn I have to turn it into everything from tightly formal stockinette stitches to more bold and lacy patterns.

*For more interesting projects check out the following blog posts: "Pink Loveliness Prayer Shawl", "Multi-color Lace Away Scarf" on the store's blog & "Mini Prayer Squares" on PhoenixFlame Healing Center's blog!

Bobble Me Not Cowl

According to the pattern it's supposed to go around your head, much like a hat with no backing. However, it didn't quite turn out that way, more like a hat than any kind of headband it seems that this is too big to serve as it should have been. What I soon discovered is that it functions much better as a cowl than a headscarf. Just as well however, it makes for an interesting project and story!

"Water Lily" Baby Blanket 1

Working on a new project and very excited about it! The idea came to me when noting the colorful creations of another crocheter in her tutorial about "joining as you go" in crochet with rounded granny squares. Having used this technique several times now I've grown fond of it and it's working quite well. I opted to combine some sun yellow, lilac, eggplant, and emerald green together in a mocking of an iris, pansies, or as it looks to me water lilies.

The combination is so far made up of 4 types of squares, 2 three round versions, and 2 six round version all in some combination of the aforementioned colors.

"Square A"

"Square B"

"Square 1"

Mid May Updates!

The middle of the month is approaching and if you've been paying attention you'll have noticed a lot of "sudden" activity around our sites. We've started posting lots of "in progress" pictures to our Facebook page for one, then there have been a few more blogs put out about some of our longer and innovative projects, there's also the activity of new listings in the store!

It seems around here it's project time and we hope you're enjoying the new influx of activity as much as we are!

A number of projects have had major changes to them, including the "Ugh-ly Afhghan" which is now 2 squares instead of just one:

Our scrap granny square has grown with a couple of colors and we've incorporated a new joining technique into our repertoire with motifs with the "join as you go" method.

On today's list is the possibility of a new tarot/oracle card bag, worked as one piece instead of back and forth as a large rectangle and sewn together. (If we're satisfied we might post pictures and some thoughts on it later.)

Recently started in a "stashbusting expedition" was a bit of Tunisian crochet, however there is no set use for our project and it may end up getting "frogged" and turned into motif or perhaps a pair of barefoot sandals or some other small project.

We'll see you as we thread along, weaving new wonders with a wave of our magic wand (hook/needles)...

Mommy & Me Shawl - Silly Lil Monkey

I just finally finished the other shawl made for the two mothers that had children last August (just in time for Mother's Day too!) Of a different make then the first shawl, this wears close around the shoulders and neck and is held in place with a shawl pin (a crochet hook is used in the picture but anything can be used!) As with the first shawl it is made from the leftover yarn from a baby blanket in the order in which it was used in the pattern. As the original blanket incorporates "granny squares" the shawl was done with a variation of the same concept in a half square shape resulting in a rectangle. It measures out at 31" x 16.5". Much the same as the other shawl since it is made of an acrylic yarn it has an easy care and may be machine washed and dried.

Upcoming Projects!

Here are some projects that haven't been started but are in the making (this means the materials have been set aside and/or the pattern is being made or improvised):

• 5 1/2 Hour Afghan (with Vanna's Choice "Magenta", "Honey", and "Olive")
• 2 Tarot bags (one with variegated shades of gray, the other variegated blues, greens, & purples)
• Altar cloth

Current WIPs!

Here are some updates as April draws to a close. Recently there hasn't been a lot of activity with the store but here are some pieces that are currently in the works at various stages!