Embroidered Peacocks

I picked up Jenny Hart‘s Embroider Effects a few weeks ago and after stitching the sampler from the book I decided to jump on her peacocks design.

I went with slightly realistic colors. So far it remains to be seen what will happen to peacock #2 over there on the left. Is it another he? Or a she?…

I’m uber excited about how its all turning out. And how well I did this side-by-side stem stitch thing.

I’m in love with embroidery. But it really hurts my hands! I have to knit for an hour to compensate 20 minutes of embroidery. Its a good thing I’m also in love with knitting. Still.

Project of Olympic Proportions

If you knit you might be aware of the Knitting Olympics or Ravelympics. Long ago in 2006, Yarn Harlot (aka Stephanie Pearl McPhee) envisioned knitters everywhere challenging themselves during the greatest world-wide athletics challenge– The Winter Olympics. Knit or crochet a challenging project over the 16 days of Olympic games. You had to cast off when the flame went out!

In 2008, Ravelers couldn’t wait until 2010 for the next winter Olympics and the Ravelympics 2008 were born! Occuring every two years instead of only during the winter games, the Ravelympics  dominated the Ravelry forums and project pages.

This year, 2010, the Knitting Olympics hosted by Yarn Harlot are back and the Ravelympics 2010 are in full force.

Participating in the Knitting Olympics or Ravelympics? What are you knitting/crocheting?! Not a knitter but have a super awesome project going? Share it in the comments! Here’s what I’m knitting…

The Yarn

Hand Dyed Laceweight by Me in “Serenity”

The Pattern

Citron by Hillary Smith Callis

The Progress

I didn’t get a whole lot done during the opening ceremonies themselves. I was too stunned with the floor projector technology. O.O That was, simply put, amazing. I’m about halfway through section 2 of 5.

Fruition Arm Warmers in Progress

I hope you got some use out of the Valentines Day post from yesterday and that you have a great weekend! For this Fab Friday I’m showing off what’s in my project bag right now, which would be Fruition by Machelle Salmeen from Chopped Tomatoes. I love how different it is from any standard arm warmer I’ve seen. And I have plenty of arm warmers so I’d know!

I just have the top cuff and the thumb to do. Oh… and the whole other arm warmer. >.< But the second one always goes faster for me. Except with socks… Don’t get me started on how many pairs of socks I have not finished. I used Knit Picks Swish DK and I love this yarn. Its soft, inexpensive and comes in a slew of colors. I had a hard time only picking two. I finally decided on Amethyst Heather and Marble Heather. I wanted pink but I also wanted a heather… and they didn’t have a pink heather! Blasphemy! I should write a letter….

The pattern has a tucked cuff, which I’ve not so successfully done in the past with a not so finished hat that’s been laying around for… 4 years. However, the instructions for the tuck are included in the pattern in great pictorial detail! Machelle did a fantastic job with the explanation and the pictures. She also explains how you can sidestep the tucked cuff and sew it together later if its too confusing. But really, if you can knit and pick up stitches– you can do this. I promise.

The lace in the pattern is really stretchy but still retains its pretty and delicate look. I can pull them all the way up to my elbows (yes, that are that long!) and they stay there comfortably. That tucked cuff is very resilient. I puttered around in the half finished arm warmer for 30 minutes and they didn’t slip down at all.

Overall the pattern is well written and easy to follow. Did I mention how pretty the lace is? Even scrunched up its gorgeous.

Debut Post and DIY Valentines Gift Roundup

This is the debut post of Shiny Crafts– A blog for all crafts! This blog will cover everything from knitting to paper craft and everything in between. I’ll be featuring work of my own, work around the net and work of my fellow crafters. Keep checking back for new and fun stuff craft related! Tomorrow will be a knitting post.

Since Valentines Day is right around the corner I’ve got a few quick and easy ideas and projects to share with those who, like me, have put it all off until the last minute!

Mini Hearts from Mochi Mochi

Knit Hearts

One of my favorite knitting blogs, Mochi Mochi has this free heart knitting pattern. Quick and adorable. You don’t need to be a master knitter to work these up either.

Crochet

Pop Heart from MyGurumi

MyGurumi designed this free Pop Retro Heart crochet pattern. A little twist to the traditional heart and cute as ever. A snap to crochet too!

Heart Garland from Skip to my Lou

Skip To My Lou posted this quick and easy Valentines decoration. Make as many or as few as you need. You could even nix the garland portion (a simple chain) and give them away as Valentines themselves. Or dd a pin on the pack and wear it on your sleeve!

Tiny Hearts from Julie K.

Julie K. shares another cute crochet heart pattern. Small enough to slip into one of those teeny Valentines Day Card envelopes or to sneak into someones pocket in the morning. They crochet up fast too, imagine how many you could make in a few days!

Embroidery

Vintage Valentines from Crafty Minx

Crafty Minx took some vintage Valentines and made them into embroidery patterns. If you’ve got all of Saturday you could totally churn one of these adorable designs out into a unique and interesting Valentine!

Sewing

Sweetheart Pincushion from Happy Together

Happy Together has a tutorial on how to make a cute heart pin cushion. Something you could use for Valentines Day and all year round.

Heart Sachets from CraftyStylish

CraftyStylish Shares a pattern for a heart shaped sachet. You can fill it with polyfil or make it smell sweet with some potpourri. Or make an over-sized version and fill it with rice and a little lavender to make a heart you can pop in the microwave to warm your hands this winter!

Papercraft

Origami Hearts from Kitty Baby Love

Kitty Baby Love shares a folding technique to make little Origami hearts. I think my heart just stopped… I love origami.

DIY Tea Bags from Craft: Magazine

Craft Magazine posts an article on making “Heart Tea.” Its a simple paper pattern that you can fill with actual tea or sweet little toys for your sweetie. Or even chocolate… just don’t put it in a cup of hot water! Or… maybe you should. Mmm… chocolate.

DIY Valentine Coupon Book from Kind Over Matter

Kind Over Matter (one of my new favorite blogs, thanks Bridget!) has a DIY tutorial on how to make your own “non-cheesy” coupon books! Finally some cool designs for these things! Print them out and write in what you will. Super easy and super quick for those of us who have waited until the very. Last. Minute.

A Work In Progress

I noticed that a lot of my craft related posts don’t have anything to do with knitting, especially as I start to explore needle crafts in great detail. The point is– I spend a lot of my free time crafting, its not just knitting and crochet anymore!

So I decided to merge Shiny Knits into Shiny Crafts and post about anything and everything craft and art related! The blog isn’t complete yet, so hold tight and check back later!

Aside from updates on my own crafting I want to know what you guys are crafting too. At least twice a month (maybe more) I’m going to do an artist feature. It will be a platform for a fellow crafter to show off their work, pimp their own site or store and answer interesting questions. If you’re interested in being featured please contact me by leaving a comment below.