Spinalcat's Crafty Adventures

1. How long have you been knitting/crocheting/spinning? Knitting for 15 months, spinning for 8 months (1 month with wheel). I don't really crochet except for edgings, though I'm not opposed to the idea. 2. Do you consider yourself a beginner, novice or experienced yarn artist? Experienced- I tend towards being a "process" knitter, always trying new techniques. The more complicated the better. I'm trying to get started designing soon. 3. What fibers (materials) have you knit/crochet with? Wool, cotton (not my fave), acrylic (yuk!), silk and soysilk blends, viscose, alpaca, mohair, bamboo 4. What are your favorite yarns? Any bamboo, soysilk/wool blend, or merino wools. Specific yarns I use a lot or would like to use again are Lamb's Pride (usually bulky for felting, but worsted would be good since I can't find it locally), any Knitpicks sock yarn, Koigu sock yarn, Paton's Soy Wool Stripes, Misti Alpaca, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, or any Noro (mostly...

Beaded wire knitting Originally uploaded by Buxtrosion . It's knitting, but shiny! How cool is that?

Heart-shaped box Originally uploaded by Buxtrosion . Pattern from anticraft.com. Used 28 gauge beading wire, pattern called for 24 gauge. A little bit floppy, but pretty fun. I've heard sometimes people can only do a little bit of wire knitting at a time, but I didn't have any discomfort with this thin wire. The pattern called for washers and nuts instead of beads. I liked that look, but I started this late at night without a car and I happened to have a bunch of small beads on hand.

Milanese lace scarf Originally uploaded by Buxtrosion . Vintage mohair scarf using Milanese lace pattern from one of the Barbara Walker books. I got the yarn at a swap but it originally came from Sears! I'll photo the label soon. The pattern is visible enough in real life without blocking, but I just couldn't get it to photograph well today. My tripod is on vacation, and I happen to be working on 3 red projects at the moment. Not the best photo day.

Core-spun mohair on bobbin Originally uploaded by Buxtrosion . I'm spinning dyed mohair locks around sewing thread. I've got to tease the heck out of the locks to get the grass seeds and other junk out. Evil grass seeds. . . Should have looked closer before buying!

Pre-kitty hat Originally uploaded by Buxtrosion . It used to have one ear, but I wan't happy with the size or placement. So now the hat is awaiting ears once again. Kittyville hat pattern from Stitch n Bitch book, using Misti Alpaca worsted.

Puffy Sleeve Shrug Originally uploaded by Buxtrosion . Puffy sleeve shrug from knit.1 magazine. Although I knew there might be sleeve length issues (http://sweaterweather.typepad.com), I went along with the pattern. So after seaming, the sleeves are too long, not puffy in the right way, and too wide. It makes my arms look HUGE. So sleeves will be redone. Just because I'm busty doesn't mean I have linebacker arms with knuckles that drag the ground.

Mini cable dishrag Originally uploaded by Buxtrosion .

Mini cable dishrag Originally uploaded by Buxtrosion . Used a JoAnn's Sensations yarn with weird meshy scrubbyness around the main yarn. Did the whole thing continental for practice (I'm usually a thrower). I used the mock cable method in one of the Barbara Walker books (k2tog without dropping from left needle, then knit just the rightmost stitch and drop the two stitches from the left needle).

Garter rib sock Originally uploaded by Buxtrosion .

Garter Rib Socks Originally uploaded by Buxtrosion . Used Knitpicks Dancing in colorway Hula. I like the little blips of color, but didn't like the dark green/orange striping at first. It grew on me after a while, though. The stripes ended up matching prettty closely between socks. I started from both balls at the same point in the color progression, but I wasn't super picky about where I started my long tail cast-on.