Miserable Monday = a need for H2O

It's unseasonably hot in the midwest today. We try not to use the air too much but it's just too miserable not to today. So I thought I'd post a few pictures from our trip to Starved Rock last weekend. A little water to cool things down.







It was alot of fun and ALOT of muddy hiking! As for today I think I'll stay in the cool house and sew and knit.

♥ Freckled Craftster

Winston Churchill the Dalek

Sorry all for the impromptu hiatus. I was so sick of the computer after finals that I took almost a week off of using it at all. Luckily my disdain for it has worn off and I'm ready to start posting what I've been up to these past two weeks! Cause I've been doing ALOT of crafting and I've got tons to show.

No better time to start than now, right?

Pattern: EXTERMIKNIT! by Peniwiper
Yarn: Vanna's Choice and Lionbrand Cotton from ze stash (triple stranded)
Needles: size 9s

Whovian craftters probably already know the pattern, it's kinda legendary. For those who don't know Daleks are the forever enemy of the Doctor. This is actually my second Dalek and it was my post semester project, started it on saturday after Matt's graduation on our way back home for the weekend. He's alot larger than my first dalek, Tegan and also alot heavier. I learned alot from making Tegan a year ago and put it to good work this time around, tons of mods!


As you can see he's quite large, also REALLY heavy, great for cuddling! As you can see he still needs something to stiffen his plunger arm, hopefully a zip tie will do the trick. While I was still working on the bobbles (OMG so many bobbles!) I had a thought that he'd make a great ironside from the current season episode Victory of the Daleks. Thus my next sewing project is a cargo belt pocket that will button on.


Mods:

• purl one stitch between bobble panels instead of two. I saw this mod on ravelry and it prevents the tiny head they get sometime
  
• knit two, purl two at the 'shoulders'
  
• duplicate stitches on the 'neck' so it looks more like grates
  
• eliminate three stockinette rounds on the bottom between the decrease rounds (this creates a flatter bottom so it doesn't sit funky)

As much as I love them you can see the Doctor feels a little differently :/


And of course the scene which made all the fangirls squee:

"Would you care for some TEEEAAAA?!"

♥ Freckled Crafter

Finished Project: Mini K-9

I made this last weekend in between writing bouts and I finally found a little time to post it! I'd been wanting to make this for such a long time and I finally just pulled out the yarn and cast on, it was perfect because whenever I took a mini break I'd knit one piece and then once I was done for the night I could sit down, enjoy some classic who and assemble my little friend!

Pattern: Mini K-9 by Helen Callis
Yarn: Scraps from my stash and embroidery thread.
Needles: US #3 I believe

I love how wonky he is! Perfection in the imperfection, I always like to think. He goes perfectly with my little handcrafted Five doll by InkyPaws. I'm seriously thinking about commissioning her to make me a four doll to match K-9 perfectly, her work is so cute and you all know how I love supporting hand made!


♥ Freckled Crafter

I've got a very busy week in which I've been staying up past midnight and waking up at 7 at the latest. The reason is because I'm finishing up all of my papers for the semester. But I'm slightly ahead of schedule this morning (I've written 3 pages before 9am!!!) so I thought I'd make a quick post with something lovely I recently bought.

My boyfriend graduates with a degree in computer science next weekend. I had no idea what to get him and wanted to find something both useful and fun. I did a little looking around etsy because although I don't have time to make him anything myself I still wanted something handmade with love. I found this perfect tie with a screen printed computer circuit design.

From the Projector Tie Workshop on Etsy

I think it's just abstract enough for him to wear it all the time. I chose the black one because I know it'll match a lot more of his dress clothes than the green. I'm so excited for it to get here and to give it to him next Saturday!

Have a great rest of the week everyone, I'll try to do a post this weekend, when I have at least more than five minutes to breath.
♥ Freckled Craftster

It's a rainy saturday and I've got a fun video!!!

I just found this GREAT video via Eskimimi, it's the story of how jumpers are made in Scotland. So cute, funny, and of course about one of my favorite subjects:

Pringle of Scotland has commissioned artist David Shrigley to create a humorous short animated film about life behind-the-scenes at Pringle to celebrate the brands return to Milan Fashion Week.

The animation, showcased during Pringle of Scotland's menswear show in Milan on 18th January, depicts the making of jumpers and cardigans over the past 195 year history of the Scottish brand.

Hope your weekend is full of joy and sun
♥ Freckled Crafter

PS: if it's not raining where you are check out rainymood.com for some great background music! I like to pair it with calm music or listen to it all by itself while I'm writing papers and such, it's so relaxing and calming.

Late is better than never right?! Well I've been busy this week with school and thus haven't had a lot of inspiration this week. Thus I took note from our changing weather and googled spring. Here's some inspiring images I found:

I love doing this one a nice sunny day! Can't wait till the weather is perfect and I've got my balcony garden going, I'll be doing this alot!

All the baby leaves are coming in!

And all the blossoms make the trees so pretty, I just want to curl up under one and take a nap! You'd wake up smelling of flowers ♥

I admit, I'm 24 years old and have bubbles, I love imagining people down the street seeing random bubbles floating by and smiling!

And this one is just too awesome not to share! I don't quite understand how these hot springs do this but it's gorgeous!

Happy weekend!
♥ Freckled Crafter

Going vegg

So after many years of wishing I've finally decided to go vegetarian. I'm not quite sure what sparked it but I love the idea. I'm not eating beef or pork but I'm still eating fish and for now chicken. I would love to drop chicken too but I feel that would make it a little too hard, perhaps sometime in the future. For now though I'm just eating lots of fruits and veggies and fish.

I'm doing it in attempts to force myself to eat better. I just thought it would be something fun to try and hopefully something I can stick to. I also picked up some seeds so I can try my own little balcony garden this summer. I bought green beans, spinach, bell peppers, and basal and chamomile for the kitchen window. I just love the idea of being self sufficient.

Show and Tell Week Day 5: SOCKS!

So for my final show and tell this week I wanted to show off my current project. I used to be someone who had a billion projects going at once but the Ravelympics really helped me control myself and I'm a pretty good monogamous knitter these days.

Socks have always seemed like a coveted project for knitters. There's alot of reasons but I figured it was about time I figured out for myself. My summer project is to knit at least a few pairs of socks.

Pattern: Pine Tree Toe Up Socks by Kim Salazar
Yarn: Opal
Mods: I wear an 8-8.5 and ended up leaving out one increase row. Granted the pattern maker has size 10 feet so that's probably the size difference.

Here it was on monday...

...and this is what they look like right now (thus crappy night shot)!

I'm pretty proud of them and since they're so portable they're a great project for how on the go I've been lately.

Have a great weekend everyone, I'll be at a cosplay photoshoot all day tomorrow so I should have some great pics to show off soon!
♥ Freckled Crafter

First off I'd like to point out the new banner I just finished. I liked the old banner but it felt a little awkward and a little grainy. I knew I could do better! I went to ployvore.com (oh my gosh, I've got a serious obsession!) and started searching things I like or that inspire me and adding layers. The new banner makes me smile a lot, I feel as if it really expresses a lot of different aspects of me.



Yarn, thread, sewing machine, teacup, nail polish, Alice in Wonderland, the TARDIS; these are all things that make my heart happy! I also changed the layout so it's more streamlined and the banner is more centered. I'm trying to decide if I want a background of some sort on the sides or if I want to keep it simple and white. I guess blogs constantly evolve.

Now on to some serious inspiration! This week I've been saving Alice in Wonderland themed items to share and here they all are:


Lots and lots of ruffles and lace! I'd love to make this...maybe it should be my summer project?

This is a still from Bright Star, a gorgeous movie about a seamstress and a poet. Tons of eye candy.

I can imagine Alice getting married in this!


The costume designer for the latest movie was AMAZING! I haven't even begun looking at all the beautiful inspiring outfits.


More ruffles and lace! This one is a little more wearable and I HAVE to make this one! I think I'll find pretty white lace at a reasonable price and play around with dyeing it myself.

I love this whole photoshoot!

And the first polyvore I made, all things inspired by Alice mashed into one!

Alice in Wonderland Inspirations by freckledcraftster featuring Forever21 dresses

Items in this set:
Whitney crystal-embellished dress, $1,525
SHOP BY COLOUR - Pastels - Forever Unique, 150 GBP
Under the Seafoam Dress-Mod Retro Indie Clothing & Vintage Clothes, $215
Metallic Bubble Dress, $40
Forever21.com - Dresses - Casual - 2074072455, $20

I love the blogger tool! It automatically adds all the links for you.

Back in a bit with my WIP!
♥ Freckled Crafter

Day 4 of Show and Tell Week: Seven Circle

(holy cow! windy much?!)

Sorry about last night. Sometimes the days just get away from me before I get things done that I plan. So here's the late thursday show and tell.


Pattern: Seven Circle by Kristen Johnston
Yarn: random unknown wool from a kit I bought ages ago
Mods: I started by following the pattern but ended up being lazy and casting on however much I felt like for each round.
Notes: Fun project, great FO! My only complaint is all the casting on and binding off but what can you do? Plan to make more of these in the future, maybe some in cotton for summer :D


Like my new FO layout? I think it's much easier to read and more organized (which I could always use, haha)

Back later after class with my current work in progress and then friday inspiration. Three posts in a day?! That's crazy!!!

♥ Freckled Crafter