Pages

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Episode 5 - Craft All The Things!

Hello fellow craft enthusiasts! Welcome to Episode 5, which is an eclectic mix of different crafts. Birthday invites, iron on t-shirts, knitting, sewing a super hero costume, perler beads and more! The CATT Lady has a lot on her plate this week!



Find me on Social Media everywhere! 
Notice I've changed my Ravelry name! I also changed my Twitter display name, but not the actual account name....

Facebook GroupHere
Ravelry Group: Here
Ravelry UsernametheCATTLady
Instagram Username: @the_catt_lady
Twitter: The CATT Lady (@MrsAndreazza)
PinterestMrs_Andreazza
Emailcraftycattlady@gmail.com


SHOW NOTES

Sunlight Shawl for Sad People

Project Bag with Zipper pocket

Polymer Whorl for drop spindle

PVC Swift

Make yarn from plastic bags - Plarn

Don't forget to check out my GIVEAWAY still going on!


****************


So I accidentally chopped off my thumb chopping tomatoes for dinner last night.  Went to the urgent care and luckily my smart husband grabbed the ever so disgusting missing piece, through it on ice and gave it the doctor.  They have reattached it, but it's a 50/50 chance wether or not it will take.  I head to my primary care tomorrow to see how it is doing - wish me luck!

So no knitting for a bit and even sewing is going to be a challenge.  I have a few things I HAVE to finish as mentioned in the podcast, so here's hoping the rest of the week goes smoothly.

Thumbs up!!

The CATT Lady

Friday, April 24, 2015

Mini-Episode 1 - Tinker Toy Swift

Just playing around with the idea of doing some demonstrations and tutorials perhaps. Here is the first "Mini" episode installment which shows the joys of using a DIY Tinker Toy swift!  It is functional, but not really practical.  It gets the job done,  however, and that's all that matters.

Enjoy!





Also, don't forget to enter the giveaway on facebook!

The time is here!! Giveaway time! Win a custom handmade Scarflet of your color choice or a custom handmade Perler Bead...
Posted by The CATT Lady - Craft All The Things on Thursday, April 23, 2015

Thursday, April 23, 2015

FACEBOOK GIVEAWAY TIME!

The time is here!! Giveaway time! Win a custom handmade Scarflet of your color choice or a custom handmade Perler Bead...
Posted by The CATT Lady - Craft All The Things on Thursday, April 23, 2015

Monday, April 20, 2015

Episode 4 - Birthday Blues

Hello and welcome back!  Hope you all had a lovely weekend.  It's been dreary and rainy around here, so I'm just sitting and enjoying my pretty flowers from the hubby!

Sit back and join me as I talk about my finished objects and updates on my current projects.  Also learn about my mom dilemna as I delve into trying to plan my kiddos birthday parties!





Find me on Social Media everywhere!

Facebook GroupHere
Ravelry Group: Here
Ravelry UsernameMrsAndreazzaKnits
Instagram Username: @the_catt_lady
PinterestMrs_Andreazza
Emailcraftycattlady@gmail.com


SHOW NOTES

DIY Cat bed out of an old sweater and pillow

Pirate Shirt (can't find the exact one I used - but this has a decent tutorial)

Pirate Vest

Beans the Cat

Symphony of the Goddesses - Legend of Zelda

Yesterdog

For all the birthday party inspirations - check out my boards on Pinterest!


Friday, April 17, 2015

Block Party!



When I started knitting, I was pretty much terrified of doing anything to my finished work in fear that I would ruin my precious knitted item.  So as far as blocking went - I just didn't do it.  And frankly, that was a bad idea.  Blocking makes everything so much better! And in the instance of these Anthro Inspired Scarflets I've been making - It's necessity.

Here is what a couple of them looked like pre-blocking:

100% Wool

Also 100% Wool

100% Acrylic

See how they are all a bit bunchy and curly at the ends.  When knitting a stockinette type of pattern (this wasn't straight stockinette, but enough that it made it curl), it tends to curl in on itself.  For some patterns it can be a design feature.  But these, not so much.  They just look funky.

Different materials require different blocking techniques.  Wool is the most forgiving and really the simplest.  You simply wet the item in question, and lay it out flat on a towel or blocking board, pin it to the shape you want, and let it dry. When it is completely dry, it will maintain that shape.  The one downside to wool is that it is typically hand wash only, and you need to lay it out flat and reshape it to dry each time.  For something like these scarves, that it pretty simple.  You wouldn't need to pin it each time - just be sure if you are giving it to someone as a gift (like I am), to tell them the washing instructions!

Here is a very informative video on blocking various wool items: Click Here!

Here are the completed blocked wool scarves.

Bad Day Sparkle from The Lemonade Shop on Etsy!

Fishermen's Wool - Hand Dyed with Food Coloring

Fishermen's Wool - Also Hand Dyed with Food Coloring

As for acrylic yarn, a different technique needs to be used.  Simply wetting and drying won't change the structure of the yarn, and it will just dry and re-curl.  For acrylic, the steam blocking method needs to be used.  With a steady stream of hot steam, you are essentially breaking down and microscopically melting the acrylic to maintain the shape.  It relaxes, and evens out your stitches, just like the wool, and should maintain it's shape for life.

I haven't had to wash/dry a curled acrylic item yet, so I'm not 100% familiar with the process from start to finish.  If I were to wash a blocked acrylic item, I would probably still recommend drying it flat, in lieu of putting it through the dryer.  At some point I will have to do a test run on that.  In general, I prefer not to dry hand knitted items or most of my clothes in general since I feel they last a lot longer that way.  My husband has tshirts that fade and crack so fast, while mine still look practically new since I am not running them through the dryer weekly.

For steam blocking, you again pin out your object - except not wet, it remains dry. Take a steam iron or a clothing steamer and simply hold it about a half inch from your item and steam away.  I make two or three passes across and press on it gently with my hands - make sure not to steam your hands as you will most definitely burn yourself!  Let it sit a few minutes to dry - the steam will get it slightly damp.  Un-pin and it's good to go.  

DO NOT LET THE IRON TOUCH THE ACRYLIC.  It will melt the yarn and ruin the item unless that is the look you are going for.  This was part of the reason I was terrified of steam blocking my acrylic item.  I could see myself easily getting to close and bumping into the scarf.  I would be so bummed!

Check this out for a steam blocking tutorial! It's a shaky at home tutorial, but really shows how well the steam flattens what would be a very curled and bunched edging.

Here is the finished acrylic scarf.

Caron Simply Soft Paints in Colorway Rainbow Bright

So there you have it! I have one more scarflet to go and I can finally move on to something else! They are easy and quick knits, but I am ready for something new. I am still itching to move on to the shawl with my new acquired yarn from Florida, however, I also want to start a pair of socks. I don't think I'm going to make the Knit & Chat April Knit Along this time, but I'm guessing they will probably do one in May. So I may just end up making the shawl first.

Remember to check out my Facebook group - HERE

Also find me on Ravelry - HERE

Instagram @the_catt_lady (I went ahead and changed my name!)

And I also have a new Pinterest Board HERE.

See you next week!

The CATT Lady

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Episode 3 - The Name Game

Here we are, back on track with Episode 3! I am back from a lovely Florida vacation and looking forward to get back into a daily routine and resume my obsessive craft habit.

Episode 3 is a little all over the place and I already am noting a few things I forgot to mention and will be sure to bring up in Episode 4 next week.

If there is anything you'd like me to talk about please feel free to let me know! You can find me everywhere!

Facebook GroupHere
Ravelry Group: Here
Ravelry UsernameMrsAndreazzaKnits
Instagram Username: Mrs_Andreazza
Emailcraftycattlady@gmail.com


Episode 3 - The Name Game




Also, don't forget to vote on the fabric for my next project bag! Looking forward to getting that started. You can find the vote on my Ravelry group AND on the Facebook group.  Go check it out!



SHOW NOTES











Have a great week!

The CATT Lady

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Episode 2 - The Trouble With Socks

Hello and welcome back!

Episode 2 may be a tad confusing because it was actually recorded over a week ago!  Me and the family were out of town on vacation but I wanted to be able to have something ready to share as soon as I came home!

If you have been following me on Facebook and Instagram, you can see sneak peaks of what I've been up to.

Here's where to find me!


Facebook GroupHere
Ravelry Group: Here
Ravelry UsernameMrsAndreazzaKnits
Instagram Username: Mrs_Andreazza
Email: craftycattlady@gmail.com


Enjoy and as always, comments and feedback welcome and encouraged!


Episode 2 - The Trouble With Socks








Project Bag Fabric Vote:


Option 1: Chevron/Peace Signs

Option 2: Green/Blue




SHOW NOTES










Fulled Lopi Tote - Thinking of trying this one with the purple yarn I dyed



If I missed anything, please let me know and I'll add it asap!

See you next time!

The CATT Lady