Tag: DIY

Monthly Intent · To Be Read

Monthly Intent | August 2021

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Books I plan on reading this month!

Hello and welcome to my monthly intent post for August! I hope everyone has a lovely July, and August will even better! This month I have quite a few things I would like to see or give a try. I am really hoping the weather ends up cooperating because a lot of them are outdoorsy or a DIY I would need good ventilation.

Reading Plans

This upcoming month I have three books I really would love to get to. The first one being Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann, I have wanted to read this for months and for some reason I just have not picked it up. I was in a bit of a slump after the first few months of the year, so I am going to blame it on that. Thankfully, I think it is starting to go away since my reading has gone up a bit the last few months. Next, I really would love to read Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin. I read Fever Dream by the same author and I really loved it so I have very high hopes. Her last one had a bit of a horror twist that I was not expecting. I want to slowly read all of her stuff. Last, but not least is Writing on Stone by Christina Marsden Gillis. I recently picked this up, but I just want to get to it right away! It’s a nonfiction about a small island community in Maine.

Crochet Plans

This month I want to finally finish my Macchiato Crochet Poncho created by BrianaKdesigns. I am loving how it is coming out and I just cannot wait to get to wear it in the fall. Another thing I want to attempt to do is knit a pair of socks. I signed up for a class of sorts to try and learn, we shall see how it goes! I do not have the highest of hopes, BUT I am excited to give it a try and also have the support if I need it. Even if they come out wonky I will love them. I might just hang them on the wall as an art piece instead of functioning socks though. lol. If I happen to have time I have a few smaller projects I want to work on to try to get ahead on gifts during the holiday season.

Random Goals

This month I have it in my head to dye my own yarn. I found a method using blackbeans and I was thinking of giving it a go. The post I found is called Natural Dyeing with Black Beans by fiberartsy. I just need to find the right kind of yarn to dye, I feel like that is going to be the most difficult. I want to use a cotton, but we shall see! Next, I really want to go to an art museum of some sort. I have a few that are within my state so I am trying to decide which one I would feel the most comfortable going to.

What are you planning on doing this month?

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Monthly Digest

Monthly Digest | July 2021

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Hello and welcome to my monthly digest post where I talk about how the past month has gone in terms of reading, crafting, and random life events. This month was a really fun one. I did some reading I didn’t think I would get to and created quite a few things as well. I went on a few adventures, which was a great change of scenery since I have not really gone far from home over the last 15 months or so. Anyway, here is what happened over the past month!

Book stack of read books, current crochet project, and my D.I.Y. room spray.

Reading

  • Hauled The Domestic Life of the Jersey Devil by Bill Sprouse
  • Hauled Tokyo Ueno Station by Miri Yu
  • Read Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami
  • Read Later by Stephen King LOVED
  • Hauled The Field House by Robin Clifford Wood
  • Hauled The House of Lobster Cove by Jane Goodrich
  • Hauled Writing on Stone by Christina Marsden Gillis
  • Hauled A Haunting Fog by Heidi Martin Washburn
  • Hauled Wild! Weird! Wonderful Maine! by Earl D. Brechlin
  • Read Cursed Objects by J.W. Ocker
  • Read How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson LOVED
  • Read The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
  • Read Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power by Sady Doyle LOVED
  • Hauled and Read a story I cannot share, but know that it was great!

Total TBR Count: 35, Last Month: 33

Crochet & Crafting

Over this month I crocheted quite a bit, I made at least 4 market bags and gifted them to family members. I really need to make myself one in the future. Now that we can start using our own bags again I think it would be great to use for produce instead of the plastic bags. I did also made a ton of progress on the  Macchiato Crochet Poncho created by BrianaKdesigns. I am about 1/3 of the way done with it, but sadly I did not have the time to dedicate to it like I thought I would this month. I am planning on continuing this pattern in the upcoming month. Another crafting this I did this month was restore an antique picnic basket to use for my larger crochet projects because I have a few blankets I need to be making in the near future. I resealed it and even sewed a liner, a first for me! It even had button holes! As for the goal of making a room spray I ended up making the Mood-Boosting Blend room spray by Hello Glow. It included mixing up orange, lemon, eucalyptus, and peppermint essential oils with a little bit of vodka and filtered water. If you want to make some for yourself, I suggest checking out their post. I really loved how mine ended up smelling. I keep using it and I plan on making it again!

Life

Yard when staying with family.

This month was filled with a ton of really memorable things. As I mentioned in the start of this post, I went on a few adventures. The first being an almost 2 hour trip (one way) with a friend to a indie yarn store called Yarnia. I went a little over the top with picking up yarn because there were so many beautiful options I don’t see normally. Also, can I just say the name of this place is just perfect! A pun involving reading and yarn, not easily topped. I also decided while I was here I would attempt to maybe learn how to knit…it isn’t going so well. I am a crocheter and to be honest, I think it is going to be hard to break away from that.

Another thing I did was finally visit with family I have not seen in nearly 2 years. We got to spend a week together in the middle of the woods. It was so peaceful and calming. It was just great to spend quality time with them once again and also not have to deal with all of the people and congestion that goes on in my daily life. I ended up doing a lot of reading, relaxing, and just spending time outside. Spending time outside and in nature really is something I treasure because it also grounds me no matter what is going on in my life. I really wish I made it more of a priority because it makes such a difference. I will for sure need to work on that going forward.

I hope you had a wonderful July and have a few great memories to dwell upon in the future. I would love it if you shared something you tried or did over the past month. I also hope you have a wonderful month ahead!

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Knitting, Crochet, Crafting, Art & More

Crochet Talk | Upcoming Projects

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Hello and welcome to this crochet talk post. I was planning on sharing some recently finished projects, but I am in the middle of two big ones that might take some time. So, I wanted to share some projects I plan on working on in the next month or two and the supplies I plan on using. I promise, the next post will be book related, but I love sharing all of my interests here.

Yarn in a basket and antique scissors, discussed below.

Toe Up Socks by Patons

A friend of mine who knits mentioned that she was making socks and then I realized I have never crocheted a pair of socks yet and I wanted to give it a try. I actually went onto youtube and looked up some tutorials and came across The Crochet Crowd who had a blog post and a video following Patons’ pattern. So, I picked up a few supplies to give this project a try. I picked up hopefully enough for 2 pairs, one a gift and one for myself. We shall see how it goes.

  • 2 skeins Patons Kroy Socks in Gray Brown Marl
  • 2 skeins Patons Kroy Socks in Brown Rose Marl
  • Clover Soft Touch 3.25-mm Crochet Hook, never used a hook this small befor.

Drawstring Pom Pom Bags by Wannipa Yunker

A bit ago my bag I keep my dice in broke and I realized I needed a new one. I also recently made myself something that needs a bag as a home so when I was at the yarn store I googled drawstring bag crochet and came across this pattern by Wannipa Yunker on KNITCROADDICT. I loved it right away and bought enough yarn to make it a few times, there was a sale on top of it so it worked out perfectly.

  • 1 skein Lion Brand Yarns Wool Ease in Gold
  • 1 skein Lion Brand Yarns Wool Ease in Denim
  • 1 skein Lion Brand Yarns Wool Ease in Wheat

Snoopy by Amigurinos softies

I have been meaning to make another stuffed animal as of late and I decided to make a snoopy for my mother as a gift. I am looking forward to giving it a go. I did end up buying yarn a heavier weight than called for hopefully making it a little bigger than the dimensions listed. Fingers crossed, but either way I think it will be adorable.

  • 1 skein Big Twist Soft in Black
  • 2 skeins Bg Twist Soft in White

So, there are the next few crochet projects I am planning on working on soon. I am hoping that I can finish all of these in a month or two, but we shall see.

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Knitting, Crochet, Crafting, Art & More

Crochet Talk | October – December 2020

bookishluna4 Comments

Hello and welcome to a bit of a round up of my most recent crochet projects. I have quite a few to share today because I didn’t want to post any gifts for anyone so I didn’t ruin a surprise so be warned, there are quite a few projects today. Anyway, on to the projects!

The Projects

I used Patons North America Shetland Chunky in Deep Moss to make this Cowl. I used one of the patterns in the post called 4 Fun Stitches for Chunky Crochet Cowls by Daisy Farm Crafts that uses a front two loop half double crochet. I made this cowl for myself because I needed a new scarf for the winter because last year mine started to fall apart. I thankfully beat the cold weather!

I also made another cowl from 4 Fun Stitches for Chunky Crochet Cowls by Daisy Farm Crafts post. In this one I used the Crumpled Griddle Stitch. I don’t remember the yarn I used, but it colors changed from a dark brown to tan to green. I really liked how this one came out, it was the first time that I used a color changing yarn.

Next I made another cowl, but I made this one out of Bernat Crushed Velvet in Deep Gray. I followed another Daisy Farm Crafts pattern, this one is called Crochet Velvet Infinity Scarf. This yarn is so soft I ended up buying more of it to make some other projects. The pattern took advantage of working around posts in the stitches, which was fun and gave a ridged pattern. This is is another pattern that I ended up using a few times because it was so textural and has more dimension.

Next I made a tic-tac-toe game for a family member. I didn’t follow a written pattern, but I did follow a video Crochet Tic Tac Toe Game | Truc Nguyen Handmade. I used a few shades of blue to differentiate the different pieces, but still tied together. I thought it would also be helpful for my family member to teach shades of color etc. I also like how textural this pattern is with the yarn crocheted through the other parts to create writing of sorts. It was a challenge to complete, but I am really happy with how it came out.

I then got very excited to get my roller skates and decided to crochet a skate leash. I followed the pattern called, Crochet Roller Skate Leash by Crafting Callie. I used a gray cotton and I really loved how it came out. It also looks like a yoga mat strap. I can’t wait to use it when I get my skate in a few weeks.

My most recent project was a snake that I made with Bernat Crushed Velvet in a green color. I followed a pattern by  @niyazova_toys on instagram, but also off of this website called https://amigurum.com/. It was a lot of fun to make a stuffed animal and it is so soft because it is made from this velvet yarn. It also gave it a scaly look as well! I made this one for myself since it was something new and I don’t like to give someone my first attempt at something new. Happily, it came out near perfect.

What have you be doing to pass the time as of late?

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Hauls & Unboxings

Crochet Haul | The Hook Nook

bookishluna5 Comments

Hello and welcome to a crochet centered post. I recently ordered from a crochet and knitting company that I have never heard of before called The Hook Nook which was founded by Jessica Carey. I will openly admit this, I am envious of her vibe and I have more outfit inspiration than I thought I could ever have found on her social media. Of course this led me to her website and I ordered quite a few things.

THN Iridescent Ends Weaver – Currently $10

Last year I made a beautiful temperature blanket and I really loved the process. That is until I have to weave in the ends of 366 ends thanks to leap year. Turns out there is a nifty little tool that can help with this process and I cannot wait to give it a try.

THN Skein Savers – Acrylic (Gold and Silver) – Currently $8

I don’t know about other crocheters, but I always end up with an open skein of yarn that I barely used in a current project. I try to put the wrapper back on, but the size is too different and the ends come loose and end up making a huge mess. This is the meant to help with that. It is a stretchy band that keeps your opened and used skein in order and stop them from making a birds nest while in storage waiting to be used in another project.

THN Designer Interchangeable Crochet Hook Set – Currently $40

Lastly, is this really nifty interchangeable crochet hook set. I have been seeing them for years, but never came across ones while I shopped in person. My go to hooks are Clover, but I really wanted a set I can easily take with me while in the car or somewhere where I have size options. Plus, they came in a really nice carrying case. I tried them out briefly and they felt great in my hand, but I suggest giving them a quick wipe down before using. They had a bit of gunk on them from manufacturing.

Some nice bonus items that they sent my way are a few branded stickers, a pin, and aa yummy serving of yogi Honey Lavender Stress Tea. All of which was a really nice touch and the branded items were adorable and I can’t wait to stick them on things.

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Knitting, Crochet, Crafting, Art & More

Crafting | Making My Own Book Sleeve

bookishluna16 Comments

Hello and welcome to a DIY testing post! I have always loved using book sleeves for my books since I always am carrying one around with me. Well, I recently picked up a sewing machines and I wanted to finally give making one on my own a try. I came across the following video tutorial on youtube and it seemed very simple. I made a few following the tutorial perfectly and another adapting it for my ereader. This tutorial is called: DIY | Book Sleeve | Tutorial by Craftastic Artist. I highly suggest taking a look at it yourself, it is only about 1 min and 30 sec.

I will start off by saying the instructions are really straight forward and the video is done in such a wonderful way you can actually see everything and hands don’t get in the way. I was able to follow along wonderfully. My first few attempts I followed the tutorial to a T and here are the results.

I will start off by saying I loved this green colored fabric the the pin up zombies were fun for Halloween. I actually made three of these and gifted them to friends and loved ones. I made the mistake of placinbg the pattern upside down, but other than that I loved pretty much everything. One thing I would have liked would have been the edge that is sewn with a lip, I would have preferred that to be bigger. Also, this side only fits mid sized paperbacks and smaller. So, I would modify the measurements in the future, but the tutorial is good. I just wish the pattern stated book size plus a length to aid in adapting it.

Adapting

So the second time around I wanted to make a cover for my kobo reader. So, I needed to adapt the pattern a bit. I ended up cutting the fabric 8.5 inches by 16 inches. The one thing I realized about this pattern when adapting it was you use A LOT of fabric with the two different levels of sewing. The first being attaching all of the pieces of fabric together and the second is creating the pouch. Even though I added more than 2 inches of extra fabric this almost ended up being too small. In the future I would add an additional inch height-wise and maybe another inch width. But, I am no professional since sewing is new to me.

In the above picture you can really see the two “levels” of sewing you are doing and you can see how much space is lost in this manner. But, I think I learned a lot from this and it still managed to fit my ereader sideways so it is protected and I am happy.

If you could not tell from my tarot covered fabric I took advance of halloween fabric being on sale, but I really do like the muted colors used. I think it came out better the second time because I learned a lot and was more aware of my placement and pinning of things. I think going forward I am going to get even better at it and make changes as needed.

Overall, I really liked how straightforward and simple this tutorial is. It was helpful to see them planning it all out and their clear pictures. I might try to find a tutorial for a bigger size to try and compare the two patterns and see if I can find a style that better suits my needs and wants. I hope you liked a little peak at my sewing adventures, if you know any good tutorials for a beginner like me, please send them my way!

Do you use a book sleeves? Have you ever made one before?

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Knitting, Crochet, Crafting, Art & More

DIY Adventure | Plant Stand

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DIY12:17

Hello and welcome to me sharing a recent DIY I made! I am by no means a professional builder nor is this post a tutorial or building instructions. This is just for entertainment and to share what I made. I recently realized I needed more room for my plants by my window sill. My current method was using my TBR cart. Well, with 10 plants, it isn’t really doable anymore. I searched for months and I could not find a stand or bench that fit my needs so I then searched for a DIY and I came across Shabby Grace Blog’s $10 DIY Plant Stand and it was just what I was looking for. The size I would be able to adjust and the paint pallet as well.

So, I will say I came across a few issues with this DIY, the main issue being the size of the screws. I needed a max of 2 1/2 inches, for some reason this DIY called for 4. inches. If I did that with 2×4 like she used I would have gone right through the top. I also did not have a table saw so cutting a 2×4 along the length was not possible so it stayed the same width. But, I think it was a great guide and jumping point for me.

Here is a picture where I already started attaching the legs to the top of the table. I have to say that this design I found to be really stable. It has the three 2×4 screwed together by the base holding the legs on. Then the legs are supported by another piece of wood, which you will see in the next picture.

In this picture you can see I stained the top a dark gray color, you can also see the support against the back collecting the two legs as well. As I said, this is a pretty stable table, I think it will be more than perfect for my plants. Following the stain I sealed it and the next step was to paint the legs white for a it of a contrast. I will admit I am not the best when it comes to being neat and painting or staining so I had a bit of a clean up to do before painting the legs.

Lastly, here is a picture of the finished product! The legs are a very bright white and the top is just dark enough of a gray stain to be a contrast, but not too dark for this room. I decided to place my giant green jug underneath to add a bit of a decoration, at least for the time being. On top you can see my pilea plant, my ZZ plant I just propagated, that was an experience! Next to that is my snake plant and my mother ZZ plant.

I am really in love with how this came out and to believe I made it with my own two hands! It is empowering to be able to make something like this for yourself. Especially when you have been looking for month and months and nothing you found in the store was quite right. Well, thank-you for reading about my adventure.

What is the last thing you made?

Have you ever made furniture before?

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Knitting, Crochet, Crafting, Art & More

Crochet Talk | April 2020

bookishluna5 Comments

Crochet Talk

Hello and welcome to another post. This time around I am going to be sharing some of my more resent crochet projects. I don’t know about you, but I have a bit more time to work on my other hobbies with everything going on. I have done a few of these posts in the past, Crochet Talk | January 2020 and Crochet Projects | July 2019.

This first project I have totally completed is a baby blanket for a friend of mine having a baby in the summer, I thought since I had the time I would be proactive and finish it now. I am so thrilled how it came out, it is actually my first blanket with a border so I was a bit worried at first. This pattern was developed by Daisy Farm Crafts it is called Crochet Even Squares Baby Blanket, which you can find on their website. I really love their blanket patterns because they usually have a youtube video along with it to help. While I can get their patterns for free, I tend to buy them off their Etsy site to be ad free and support them.

Now, this second one has been a project I have been working on for about a year, but I have not touched it in about 10 months or so? I can’t fully remember the last time I worked on it, but I decided to pick it back up again. This is also another pattern by Daisy Farm Crafts. This one is called Modern Double Crochet V-Stitch Blanket, I modified this one a bit and have chosen colors that match my own room since this blanket is just for me. That is the main reason this has gone on the back burner. Since picking it back up I have added about half a foot, so I am working at a good pace. I am hoping that past me has boughten enough yarn to finish this project, but time will tell.

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Crochet Talk | January 2020

bookishluna20 Comments

Crochet Talk

Hello and welcome to a non-bookish post. Having had my Operation Find Hobby Series, I found a hobby I love and I want to continue to share with everyone here. I have decided to post once a month to update you all on the projects I have finished and the ones I am working on. I know it is something different, but I love sharing these parts of my life as well and I hope you enjoy looking and reading my updates. Now, onto my current projects!

The first one is a temperature blanket I have been working on since July 2019. Pretty much each day I pick a color yarn to complete a row of the blanket. This color is determined by the temperature of the day of my location. I first mentioned this project in my post: Crochet Projects | July 2019. Here is its current state.

This second one is a swatch for a baby blanket I might me making. I think I am just going to continue this swatch and make it into a baby blanket, this pattern is created by Daisy Craft Farms, it is called the Navy Gingham Crochet Blanket Pattern. They also have a youtube channel under the same name as their shop with a lot of fun tutorials and helpful tips. Anyway, here is the swatch and possible scarf.

Do you crochet?

Do you have any other hobby outside of reading? I would love for you to share, I love trying new things!

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Knitting, Crochet, Crafting, Art & More

Crochet Projects | July 2019

bookishluna4 Comments

DIY12:17

So, if you were not aware, I love to crochet. I have done it for years, but this year I have really fell in love with it. I have made blankets, hats, and other goodies and I only want to keep going. I wanted to make a point of sharing more of the things I love outside of reading so I thought I would do a monthly post about my WIPs and completed projects.

In the past I shared a post called, Crochet Project | Making a “Project Bag”. I loved sharing this, but I make a lot of things and I didn’t want to overload my blog with projects. So, I figured a monthly check in would be a good balance. Let me know what you think. Anyway, here are my WIPs!

-Temperature Blanket-

So, if you are unfamiliar with a temperature blanket pretty much you have how many colors you want and you assign a temperature range to them. So, as you crochet the colors you use are determined by the temperature of the day. I tend to wait until I have a few days worth of data, but other people crochet a row a day. I started this in June, so I will finish this May 31st, 2020! Note, only June is pictured below. I will put an updated picture in the next update!

Ravelry Link with Notes: Crochet Temperature Blanket

Inspiration: Knitalieco 2017 Temperature Blanket

-Crochet Tarot Pouch-

So, this one I am pretty happy with, it is the first item I have ever made without a pattern. I just mashed together a few different stitches I have learned over the last year and came up with this. It is a cute little envelope pouch with a loose tie to hold it closed. I was thinking about putting on a button, but I love this boho look. I also love that this can be used for so many different things, just need to adjust the length of the starting chain.

Ravelry Link with Notes: Crochet Pouch

What should I try to make in the future?
What did you think about my projects?

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