Wet Felting

It's a big day at our house when the wet felting tray comes out.  Cool things to be made!  (Go MaMa! - visit Colorado Felt and Fiber Arts!)

And this weekend my mother dear will be at the Fine and Funky Market at the Opera Galleria in downtown Fort Collins.  Lots of time being spent helping with that this week... more details to come!

Fall Preview

I've been completely hooked on bags this summer (can you tell?).  Last summer it was dresses and tanks...  to be completely truthful... I can't wait for fall.  Fall weather is just so much more crochet friendly.  I've been working on something I'm quite excited about... still in the perfecting stages.  Here's a preview of a little something long sleeved, backless, with diamond cutouts.  Perfect for fall.  Wearing it here over my favorite maxi dress...  pattern coming soon.  Hoorah!

Everything Flowers

I have a new favorite book that I found at the San Francisco Folk Art and Craft Museum.

It's called Everything Flowers and includes the artwork of Clare Rojas.

I'm head over heals in love with her use of color and shape! I bet it's a book you would like too!

This weeeek...

So this last Saturday, I hit the road again... I might as well officially be dubbed a nomad. I'm spending this week, and next, and maybe a couple more after that in Salt Lake City. My father dear is getting a brand spankin' new knee, and I am the official driver and food fetcher. I might have endless hours of boredom ahead (which I will crochet through...) or be running around like a crazy person... who knows? If blogs are MIA, it's cause I'm fetching coffee for a man getting used to some new hardware. Wish me luck!

And if you're thinking.. "Hey! That roll top backpack in the photo is new!" You're right! It is! I finished it on Friday! And will hopefully be working on the pattern as I chill in the hospital waiting room today! Coming soon!

Thank YOU!

To everyone who reads this blog, buys things from my shop, supports in any way the work that I do... Thank you! I appreciate you so very much!

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July! I'm spending my day stitching up this new bag... which happens to include some red white and blue.

I'll probably eat a lot of food too... of the BBQed and fried variety.

You know what I definitely will NOT be doing? Fireworks. No Fires, No Fireworks, No Exceptions here in Colorado! And while it may sometimes seem like fun to sneak a sparkler in there... I don't think any Colorado resident is even considering breaking these rules this year! Thank you, firefighters!

Notes On Color Changing

I'm really excited about some pretty fun patterns that all include the ability to change colors while crocheting to make geometrical shapes or otherwise cool designs. This process is NOT as hard as it looks, but it does require some practice. If you want to make sure you have color changing DOWN before you buy any pattern that involves it... this is your chance. Read on, and practice away!

When working with color changing patterns, you will trail both (or all) colors you are working with along the rows as pictured.

Whichever color you are not working with will be trailed along the back, inside the work. You will stitch around the trailed color so it is inside your single crochet stitch.

When it comes time to switch colors, you will finish the last “pull through 2 loops” with the color you are changing to. For example, if the pattern says “1 sc in each of the next 7 sc of previous row in black. In white, 1 sc in next sc,” you will make 6 regular sc in black with white trailing along the inside of the stitch. When you go to do the 7th sc, insert hook into the next st, pull through with black, leaving 2 loops left on hook. To finish the stitch, pull WHITE through. Now, insert hook into the next st, pull through with white (stitching around the black tail), leaving 2 loops left on hook. To finish the stitch pull BLACK through.

If the color change is done correctly, there will be a straight line of color change.

If it is done INCORRECTLY, there will be an awkward tail hanging over into the next stitch.

Working in the Round vs. Working Back and Forth

Working in the round is far easier when working with color changes, because you can keep the extra color consistently tucked along the back of the work so there is no chance of it peaking out between stitches.

When working back and forth, it is important to remember there is a “right side” and a “wrong side.”

When working with the right side facing front, you will keep the extra tails for your color changes running along the BACK and in between the stitches so they are as invisible as possible. It should look a bit like this…

When working with the wrong side facing front, you will keep the extra tails for your color changes running along the FRONT and in between the stitches so if they peak out from between the stitch it is visible on this “wrong side” and not on the right side. It should look a bit like this…

And there are all the secrets I know on color changing! It can be really frustrating at first (I quit probably the first 5 times I tried), but it comes more easily with practice! Email SansLimitesCrochet@gmail.com with additional questions and GOOD LUCK!

Laundromat

I tried making one of those super cool tribal looking bucket bags with tapestry crochet... didn't turn out AS awesomely as I thought.

Good news? When I avoid going to the laundromat for 3 weeks and need some extra space, it works splendidly.

Then I was walking through the mall and saw this beautiful dress at Madewell. I might have to get it to go with my laundry bag/backpack. The patterns work so well together. Isn't it funny when you make something and see something similar in a store a month later?

PS the DIY this week is easy and fun... but there are no pictures of it... how do I get so behind on picture taking? It's coming soon!

The Power of Craft - a personal share (and THANK YOU)

I've gone back and forth in my mind many a time as to whether or not this is a story I want to share. Ahead is a very very personal story, brought to you in a very public setting... and it's a little scary to send it out into internet land...

But, I am currently sitting in my room, in the house where I grew up, packing up a good part of my life, preparing to embark on a new adventure. I am so incredibly grateful for this opportunity and all the support I have gotten from those who read this blog and the crafting community in general. I find myself continually telling those who buy my patterns or the things that I have made that "I can't tell you how much I appreciate it." But I can tell you... and so now I am going to... here is my story.

The background ... I started to crochet when I was in the 4th grade- but it's not something I've kept up with through the years. I often was too side-tracked with dance rehearsals, homework, or a night out with friends to show my crochet hook any love... but it has always been there for me when I needed it most.

I moved away to college and didn't bring a single skein with me. Starting my sophomore year, after having my heart broken, scuffles with roommates, and feeling terribly alone, I found myself with yarn and a hook once again. And the very next summer I started Sans Limites Crochet. I kept up with it here and there as a way to make some extra cash while I was in school. It was also a great way to relax and regain my sanity after a very very long demanding day of dancing (my college degree is in modern dance...).

Fast forward a couple years and I found myself done with my dance degree, and not dancing for the first time in 18 years. I was back in school, not really fitting in with my classmates and feeling totally uncertain in the path I had chosen. My dear dance friends (and soul mates) were moving away one by one and leaving me behind to follow their dreams (YAY) - and I found I had lost track of my dreams. I didn't even know what I wanted from life anymore. I was feeling about as lost as a person could be.

Then I spent a month in Uganda. It was the most amazing high to find myself amongst people who were struggling but finding ways to overcome it and to feel like I could maybe, in the slightest way, make a difference in their life. I loved the learning experience and man, did I learn a lot (visit 101 Things I Learned in Africa). On the trip, I felt like I had found my calling. My goal in life was, and still is, to make a difference in the lives of people who live in poverty and have been dealt a life so much harder than mine.

And then I came home. I was blasted away by culture shock. My friends complained about the lack of air-conditioning, and my parents complained of work. I felt so lost coming home to a world where those are valid complaints (and they are) after seeing children with no food, or parents, or shoes... and the culture shock collided with the lost feeling I already had and I fell victim to something so many people suffer from- D-E-P-R-E-S-S-I-O-N.

I was so miserable and confused about what to do with my life, and now completely torn apart by guilt that I was letting such relatively minor problems in my life get me down. People in Africa have REAL problems (was what I kept telling myself). It was bad. I could hardly make it to class. I didn't feel like myself enough to see my friends. I couldn't sleep at night. I lost 15 pounds. I found myself sobbing to the point of exhaustion. I never wanted to leave my apartment. I was embarrassed I was getting so worked up over such little things. I was always on the verge of tears.

I was in baaaaad shape. And as I found myself sitting alone and unhappy... I picked up my yarn, started making patterns, and actually wrote them down... and people bought them. I still to this day, do not know how I could have made it through the darkest times in my life had I not been a stitcher. It gave me the opportunity to feel like I was being productive when I could barely face the world. And the love and support I got from you - the crafting world - (although you didn't know it) gave me confidence and a belief in myself when I had none.

This is an amazing community we are a part of. The creativity, love, support, and friendship that comes from a fellow stitcher still blows my mind each and every day. And when I say, "I can't tell you how much it means to me," I mean it. I can't tell you how much your support, no matter how small, has meant to me and how much it has helped me.

So what came from a place of despair has turned into something awesome and I'm filled with a reassuring faith that everything happens for a reason. I'm getting ready to head to California for a few months and stitch my heart out for Krochet Kids International. A company that uses CROCHET of all things to help women rise above poverty. Even a brief chance to work there is, in every sense of the word, a dream come true, and I couldn't have done it without you.

Not only does crochet give women in Uganda jobs and a way to change their futures... the power of craft will give them so much more than that. They are now a part of this awesome community where they will find so much more than a way to sustain their families... they may even find themselves -as I did. Coming together in a group, the pride in using your hands to make something, working with those that support you, feeling like you belong - THAT is the power of craft.

Thank you for every word of encouragement, comment, purchase, piece of feedback, idea, reference, or collaboration you have ever given me! It has meant so very much.

Love,
Sara

I tried to make the shoes... and this is what I learned...

After this post on Stitched Up Shoes from Corinne's Craft Closet, I COULD NOT WAIT to try this out...

So here's how I did it on the cheap...

-I have never been much of a wedge wearer, and after having no luck at Arc Thrift or Repeat Boutique (which I love), I turned to Old Faithful... Target. They currently have a very decent selection of big wedge shoes and I found mine on clearance for $15 (SCORE!).

- I found my crochet doilies (I wanted the shoes too badly to take the time to make them... terrible to admit for a crochet-aholic, I know, I know) at Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts. And lucky for me, the store in my town is closing so they can open a bigger more awesome one in a new location next month... all their stuff (what's left) is 50% off... (SCORE AGAIN!).

-Mod Podge you can find at Michael's or Hobby Lobby... you pick. Make sure you get the Mat finish kind... unless you want your shoes to look glossy...

And ta da... Man do I love the crafting community and all those really creative and stylish ladies out there! YOU ROCK!

Some things I learned while doing this project...
- My feet still do not feel that happy in wedges.
- Overdoing the Mod Podge will guarantee that those doilies will stay on there... they will also guarantee that your shoes will become hard as a rock.
- Zippers are really hard to open/close if you get glue on them, so seriously watch out for that, and really don't let it dry on there!
-The least amount of doily pieces the better- cause getting those "seems" to look pretty is really hard.

To be completely truthful, I'm a decent stitcher, but the rest of the crafting world can be hard for me sometimes... as apparent in these shoes... but I'm going to love them and had a blast making them - and that's what it's really about!

Happy Mod Podging!

The Best Inspiration

Image from Inspiration Feed.

I love this little saying... perhaps because I am a chronic journal collector.

The three notebooks I can't go without...

My big idea sketchbook... for sketching and pasting in photos from catalogs I like.

My little happiness journal... where I put pictures and drawings of the little daily things that make me really happy.

My notebook... for random junk that doesn't fit anywhere else like grocery lists and notes on patterns... bonus for this little notebook though - it was small enough to fit in my purse in Italy, so it also has all the notes from our Pompei tours. Love.

The best inspiration really is a blank page... I'd be lost without them!

New pattern on the way...

Branching out from the wearable this week, with a new pattern in mind!

With the cool tribal stitches in style this year... and thinking ahead to my work with Krochet Kids (which you can read about HERE)... and thinking back to the BEAUTIFUL baskets made by the people in Uganda... I've got a fresh idea.

Combine that with the perfect timing of finding this obscenely huge roll of thick hemp in my basement last week... and we have some perfect timing.

Yes siree bob. I'm playing with some crochet basket making and tapestry crochet this week! Some perfecting left and hopefully a nifty pattern will come of it!

Finally... a cape.

You may remember from this post, I've really been working hard on making a knit cape pattern. There was so much about the first 2 I just didn't like... but third time is the charm. Finally, a Knit Cable Cape I can be happy with.

This was also my first attempt at writing an actually kind of complicated KNIT pattern (my home is crochet). So yay for adventures in all things challenging.

Organize Yourself!

If you follow me on Pinterest, you already know I spend more time on there than I should (but man do I have so so many crochet ideas!). BUT - sometimes you can find things on there that are perfectly logical and absolutely needed!

For the slightly scatter-brained creative types out there - you need this. Found on Pinterest. Pinned from Life's a Journal. I'm so excited to get a reasonable to do list going! Enjoy!

Knit Cape Experiment

I've been working hard on a knit cape that I'm really excited about. It's taking a few versions to get this one just the way I want (and a lot a lot a lot of knitting), but it'll be worth it in the end!

Version ONE...

Shoulders and neckline too big, buttonholes weird, and cable pattern too confusing!
Also... it started out with a hood that was a disaster, so I took it out and put a collar on it instead... but I still want a hood.

Version TWO...

Slightly better - this time shoulders are too small, buttonholes still a bit funky, hood is bit pointy... but progress has been made.

More awesome bulky yarn is in the mail headed my way... here's hoping Version THREE is the perfect one! Pattern coming soon!

Capes - not just for Wonder Woman

I've been wanting to knit a cape for a long time. So last weekend, I began with version ONE. ...eh too big. Mostly done with version TWO. ... perhaps too small? (but luckily my shoulders are mutant tiny, so good for me, not good for a pattern.) Hoping really really a lot that, like Goldy Locks, the THIRD will be just right.

Here are some cape images that have me inspired. Isn't Pinterest AWESOME!?!?

Images from:
www.ilovelowie.com
usa.frenchconnection.com
twistcollective.com
www.etsy.com/shop/kalliedesigns

Happy Friday! <3