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What have you been making lately?
Inspired by a recent thread, and how reticent some folks seemed to be about creating topics or even new groups dedicated to making things, I figured it would be nice to have a topic where we can share these things. Whether it's an electronic widget, a piece of knitting or crochet, retrofitting a bike with a motor, or whatever else, let's share what we've been up to.
I'll share some of mine. I still feel a bit weird sharing things like this here because it feels so very "LOOK AT ME" but I'll try and get over it.
https://imgur.com/a/GZIF4Az
a) The first pic is of a sweater I'm putting together for myself. I'm taking another pattern and modifying it - the striped pattern is my own, and I'm using different sized needles to get a different gauge on the yarn. I'm hopeful it'll be a nice and thick wool sweater that I can wear over layers in the fall, winter, and spring. It's slow going and I expect to be working on it through the next month.
b) The second piece is something I recently finished only to discover to my dismay that it is just too small for me - I was aiming for a men's medium, but it turned out to be more of a small. I'm trying to find a buyer for it so I can at least recoup the yarn costs, so wish me luck! It was a lot of fun to create and I'll likely try the pattern again sometime.
c) The third work is one I made for my son. He chose the pattern, yarn colors, and off I went. It worked up quickly - it only took about a week or two to complete. Of course, he refuses to wear it because it's too warm! Suffering from success.
Future projects I have in mind:
a) I've promised my nephew a Mario themed hat. It shouldn't take long but I need to get the proper yarn colors for it.
b) I want to add another stuffy to my collection (I have a couple frogs and a bunny with interchangeable clothes which the kids in my classroom enjoy playing with) and it will likely be a little bear plush.
c) I'm thinking about making either a woolen poncho or jacket for my son for spring and fall. He loves the color yellow and I have a couple skeins of beautiful yellow yarn lying around begging to be used.
d) If I've got nothing else I'm working on, I have a full size blanket I'm knitting up that's going to likely take literal years to finish. It's mindless work so I get bored a lot while working on it.
The Dino sweater is so cute! I love the colors you chose for it!
I want to try a sweater someday! I'm partway through a hat for my partner. But I need to get it done so it's still cold when he wears it
So I made recently custom drawers for my Ikea nightstands.
Original Ikea page. I forgot to take a picture of them in their original state, but this gives you an idea of what they are like, with just a void of where a drawer could be.
Before and after pictures in our place
The first picture is with a plastic container as a drawer. This is how we used them for the past few years. However, they were starting to clash with other decor as we were starting to use more earth tones in our decor, and the mint tub was getting quite limiting. So we wanted to switch to something else but wicker baskets are weirdly expensive, and we were limited on dimensions. So I decided to make custom drawers instead
That is a gorgeous drawer front, definitely improves the look! (And the functionality over the drawless and binless base).
Yeah, I tended to not store much in my bin, but my wife used hers quite heavily. Now with the drawers, I have started storing more, which is helpful
This is quite nice! It really does match well, I think you did a great job at modifying this piece for your space.
Thank you. Sadly I did not quite match the stain to some framed prints we have in the room, as my drawers have a red undertone whereas the wooden framed prints have no red undertones. I was initially envisioning black handles on the drawers to tie them in a bit more, but my wife wanted brass, since we have some black and brass furniture pieces elsewhere in our place. The brass did turn out quite well, so I am pleased with the project
Thank you for creating a post! I saw the other thread and am happy to find that there are others that are into fiber arts! There were a couple of us that participated in TiMaSoMo (I totally didn't finish my project in time and never went back to post final pictures).
Here's what I've recently completed/am currently working on: https://imgur.com/a/kF4hdfq
Baby blanket for my friends that are expecting their first child soon! I totally broke my New Year's Resolution of not starting new projects until I finish all my WIPs, but I already had the yarn and pattern so it was kind of already a WIP (or at least that's what I tell myself to make me feel better).
My first pair of socks knit two-at-a-time. I totally love this method and will never go back. I just need to figure out a stretchy 2x2 bind off that I like. I've tried a couple but pulled them out for one reason or another. My local group suggested 2 different ones that I'm going to try.
This is my first knitted sweater. The pattern is one that I previously made as a cowl/shawl so I already felt comfortable with the motifs. It's going really well and I'm actually closer to being done than the photo shows, since I haven't taken one recently. I am about halfway through with the 2nd sleeve.
This is gorgeous, I love the design.
I have a few questions. First off, how difficult is 2 at a time? I've made socks before but often fall afoul of second sock syndrome. Secondly, what on earth is that heel turn? Is it comfortable? Finally, for the bind off, have you tried the extra stretchy bind off? It isn't difficult, and made a world of difference on the neck hole of that green sweater I posted.
Do you have a pattern for this? I feel my wife would love it.
Thank you so much! The designer is Nessa of Hooked on Sunshine. She has so many incredible designs.
2 at a time isn't really difficult. Just make sure you have a really long cord for the magic loop. I think mine is 37". The biggest challenge I've had with this pattern is that it's written for DPNs so the heel turns took some time for me to wrap my head around with the magic loop. The heel turn is a Turkish heel. I honestly don't know if it's comfortable since it's my first time using this pattern. While trying it on to check the fit, it felt normal so I'm guessing I'll like it. I did try the extra stretchy bindoff but I didnt like the way the cuff flared. One of the suggestions I got was for a modified stretchy bindoff that should have less flare.
The pattern is called Killer Queen Pullover by Lyrical Knits. The best part of it is that it isn't actually colorwork - you only use one color per row! She is currently my favorite designer - I started (and almost finished) her As You Wish wrap for TiMaSoMo.
Calling it "making" or a "project" is probably over-selling it massively, but finishing getting my little emulation corner set up in my room. Comfy chair + reused old PC hardware and peripherals + an IKEA cart to put a monitor on and store peripherals. Reconfiguring an old ER-X router that had some minor issues as a simple switch for running a cable to the PC for fast internet/syncing.
Using Batocera (emulation linux distro) as the front-end for the system. It has Syncthing built-in which I'll use to sync my game library and potentially saves too between multiple devices.
I mentioned it somewhere in that thread, but I've been homebrewing a little bit. Admittedly far less since my daughter was born. I thought it would be cool to have a homemade ginger beer and have been trying to do that. There are a few routes, but I decided to try one that is low alcohol. It should turn out under 1% if done right.
The first attempt just outright did not work. The native yeast didn't ferment nearly as much as I expected and then I think it also got infected during bottling. I'm not entirely sure what I did wrong to cause not fermenting enough, but I do wonder if it's maybe just a bit cold in my house and I didn't give it enough time when accounting for that.
The second attempt seems to be going better even though I didn't change much about the process. More rigorous sanitization than the instructions such that it's in line with the alcoholic products I've made, but that's about it. I tried one bottle of it after a few days, which the instructions said is when it would be done, and it seemed closer. It was definitely under carbonated and too sweet, but that is in line with what I'd expect if it just needs to sit in the bottle longer. I'm currently hopeful that if I just wait a bit before I open the next bottle I'll finally have what I was hoping for.