I can’t think of anything to write this week, so instead, I’ve lovingly curated a collection of ten free nerdy crafts for you all. (If my Facebook friends come through with cool post ideas, there may be a second post this week to make up for this one!) It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, so I figured, why not? So, here we go – seven nerdy free crafts!
Every crafter has one (or more) – a tool kit they use to crank out their projects. I’ve actually got a handful of little tool kits, for each of my main hobbies. As I was digging around in my most frequently used one, my knit/crochet kit, I thought “hey, why not show off what’s in your yarn craft kit? Someone might find it useful to see what you’ve got!” And this week’s blog post was born.
This collection of goodies helps me while I make yarn crafts.
It’s a random assortment of goodies, but they all help me out while I craft! Here’s what I’ve got, top to bottom, leftish to right:
And that’s what I’ve got in my yarn tool kit! What do you all keep in your crafting kits?
While I don’t ramble about work often here, I’m sure most of you longtime followers know I work for UITS at Indiana University – and every year, UITS hosts the Statewide IT conference, which is a fun few days of seeing what colleagues are up to, learning new things, and for me, teaching a workshop or two. This year, they’re doing something a little different.
There’s going to be an Artists Showcase. And I’ve submitted a “proposal” to show my crochet!
Cue the excited flailing.
I’ll likely hear back in a few weeks about whether or not I’ll actually get a table there to show my work, but here’s hoping that I do. For the most part, my colleagues don’t really know about my crafty nerdiness, and tend to be surprised when I’m wearing something I made or have something flopped in my cube and realize I made it myself. It’ll be fun to get the chance to show things I’ve made, as well as hopefully make some new crafty friends who work for UITS as well.
I’ll keep everyone updated as to whether or not I get a table – given that my convention schedule is far lessened this summer due to wedding things, being able to show off my crafty goodness is probably going to be one of the high points of the Crafty Nerd’s year here. If I do get to show off my work, I may put up a poll to see what everyone thinks would be good for me to show off! (I may have to borrow my crocheted Toothless back from Morgan, to show off some of my awesome amigurumi skills…)
I apologize for the goofy picture, Siobhain!
First off, I’ll say this: I miss my classy crafting buddy, Siobhain. She graduated last May – but before that, whenever we were in class together, she’d knit and I’d crochet. And it was awesome. It made classes a little easier to pay attention in, and crafting together was better than awkwardly crocheting in the back corner of the room, like I do in Public Library Management nowadays. (I still proudly crochet in the front of the room for Metadata, though, as the professor for that class only remembers me because I used to do yarn-craft-stuff at the front of the room with Siobhain!) I’m the only one still doing any sort of yarn craft in my classes – unless I try to encourage people to craft with me, I guess. And that’s if they’re even interested in doing yarn stuff. I get a little bit of a social crafting fix when I crochet with Ellie on rainy Thursdays instead of going for our weekly walk, though, so that’s good! And this May, I’ll be graduating too, and then I won’t need a classy crafting buddy because I won’t be crafting in class! (Unless I go for the Specialist in Library/Info Science degree…)
But yes, classy crafting is in full force. And this semester, so far, I have made a pretty blanket (which lives at my desk), and I’m working on a delicate shawl to go with my wedding dress and the focus of my post today, an ugly blanket.
An ugly blanket, but oh so soft!
This blanket came about due to having a huge mess of Mighty Stitch yarn at home left over from the corner-to-corner blankets I made for Ross and myself – it’s so soft, and I love working with it, but the mess that’s left is an odd arrangement of blues and greens with some purple, gray, pink, and white thrown in. So, the only thing I can think of to do with all that yarn is to use two strands of it together and make a thick, snuggly, small, and ugly blanket. It’s actually a rather sentimental ugly blanket, considering it’s a combination of the yarn I used for both mine and Ross’s blankets, and it makes me feel warm and fuzzy, figuratively as well as literally, to work on it.
I haven’t done much work with two strands of yarn before – it’s a little trickier to work with, that’s for certain, but it results in a really unique look. One of my classmates in Metadata, Samantha, said that Ugly Blanket kind of resembles some of those woven rugs you might see in specialty shops, and I think she’s right. It doesn’t really stop it from being somewhat homely-looking, though – some of these colors don’t quite go together well, heheh.
I’ve never actually worked on a blanket in class before. I figure at some point, it’ll get unwieldy, and I won’t be able to cart it along with me anymore. Until I get to that point, however, I’m gonna load it into Mia (or into my backpack, which I shall take on Mini-Mia, my new bike!), and drag it to Metadata and Public Library Management every week this semester, and keep adding onto this semester’s big classy crafting project: the ugly blanket.
A friend of mine (hi Ellie!) just got started crocheting, and asked me for a shawl pattern that was relatively simple for a beginner. I’ve been cranking out Corner to Corner blankets like nobody’s business for the past couple of months, and Ellie and I both figure that half of a Corner to Corner blanket would make a pretty awesome shawl. However, the pattern for the Corner to Corner blanket is written rather complicatedly, despite it being a simple pattern to work. So, here comes The Crafty Nerd’s first ever crochet pattern – even if it’s just a simplified writing of an existing pattern! And, of course, I’m including pictures.
Gah, my crocheting task lamp is way too bright for the whites in this yarn
Two awkward little squares
Squares, joined!
Our first full row!
Here’s the steps you’ll repeat until you get to the end of the row.
Here’s what you’ll come up with after one repeat…
…and after lots and lots and lots of repeats. (Granted, this is an entirely different project, but still the same corner-to-corner pattern!)
Once you get to the desired size, just fasten off your last stitch and you’re done!
If you learn better by watching, check out this video by Stitchinstacy on YouTube! She walks you through the process of doing the corner-to-corner stitch, but in more detail than the pictures I’ve got here.
If you work through this pattern and have questions, let me know in the comments! Or if there’s something that needs better explanation, let me know. I’ll happily rework this until it’s easy enough to understand for crocheters of all ages! (And if anyone wants me to break down the other half the blanket pattern… let me know!)
It’s been quite a while since I’ve done a Classy Crafting post – and I was particularly productive last semester when it came to crafts! I finished two shawls and started a third, and worked on a couple of other random projects that have ended up stuffed in my “in progress” pile in the basement… Here’s the crafts that I finished this semester, though, that I worked on during my spring classes!
I made this shawl as a birthday present for Ross’ mom, and draped it over Rarity (who was also part of the gift)! She absolutely loved it. I had a great time making the shawl – it was my first knitting project in a very long time, and my first project with sock yarn. The way the yarn striped as I worked on the pattern was awesome to see, too!
Pattern: Pretty Basic (Ravelry)
The idea for this shawl was born from a Knit Picks sampler pack of yarn I bought – I fell in love with the colors, and had been wanting to make this wrap for a while, and after some creative splitting up of the shawl so it could work with four colors instead of two, I got to crocheting. It ended up coming out beautifully, and the yarn is incredibly soft. I wore this with a matching dress to Ross’ mom’s wedding a few weeks ago, and got lots of compliments on it!
Pattern: Ocean Splash Wrap (Ravelry)
This one I didn’t end up finishing during class, but I did finish it up during finals week. This was the result of another pattern lingering in my Ravelry queue matching up with a Knit Picks sampler – and I think this is my most favorite project yet. While I wasn’t sure about the colors at first, I kept chugging through, and as it came together I fell more and more in love with it. I originally called it the Sunset Shawl, but then jokingly ended up calling it the Sunset Shimmer Shawl, due to it having a similar color scheme to the My Little Pony: Equestria Girls character of the same name…
… yeah, I do suppose I have to work some pony into everything I do, don’t I? 😀
Pattern: Perfectly Elegant Shawl (Ravelry)
I’ve got some more projects I’m working on, including some crafty nerdiness for my new car (yes, I’m finally learning how to drive) that I’ll show off when I’m done! 😀
Wow! My last post, about ten free nerdy cross-stitch patterns, was a huge hit – over 300 hits in two days! I take it that everyone’s looking for some new nerdy projects to keep themselves occupied with, so for my knitting fans, here’s ten awesome nerdy knitting projects – that are all free, of course!
TARDIS Socks (to go with the scarf!)
Double Knit One Ring Scarf (the one scarf to rule them all?)
I hope that all you knitters out there find something awesome to keep your hands busy from this list of free patterns! Next up is going to be a whole stash of free crochet projects – so stay tuned! Oh, and here’s a handy image for those of you using Pinterest to help keep track of all your crafty to-do lists:
Four more days until I move! Oh, you have no idea how happy this makes me. Not only will I not be limited to wearing whatever clothes I didn’t shove into vacuum sealed bags and toss into the treacherous cave that is the storage unit, I will also have access to ALL my crafting stuff. Not just one crochet hook and a blanket that’s too warm to sit under while I crochet it. And there are a number of things I want to be making…
Amigurumi Toothless – yes, I want to make another one of these little guys. The one in the picture here, I ended up giving away to a friend – and they’re so quick to make, too, so why not make another one? (or six, or eleven, why not a whole tiny Toothless army?)
The Modern Poncho – It’s no surprise that I have a fondness addiction to making shawls and ponchos. And I think this one would look very lovely in a nice warm shade of brown or combo of browns and reds. It’s a good thing I’m moving closer to my favorite yarn shop…
I’d really like to finish the third Fourth Doctor scarf I’m working on – I’ve got less than a third of the scarf to go, and I was hoping it’d be done in time for GenCon this year, but no luck. Plus, the only part of my Fourth Doctor costume I can locate at the moment is the coat… so unless I can magically find all the other parts in the week before GenCon as I unpack, no Fourth Doctor for me this year… :/
Crocheted Scooter – In seafoam, naturally. Or I could make four of them – red, blue, seafoam, and red/cream, one for me and each of my housemates… And having at least one of these would be pretty cool, considering the theme for the living room in the new place is going to be scooters…
I’m going to be busy after I unpack, haha.
It’s been a while since I’ve done a craft roundup, and I’ve missed scouring the internet for cool craft project inspiration! So, without further ado, here are five awesome craft projects to add to your to-do list!
*hissssss-BOOM*
For those of you who love Minecraft (much like myself), or know someone who does, here’s a treat for you! This Creeper afghan looks pretty simple to put together, and would look cool in a geeky guest room or would make a great gift for someone who’s super obsessed with Minecraft! You can find the pattern here.
So adorable!
Here’s a cute little Charmander amigurumi plush that looks like it would crochet up pretty quickly – I love his happy little smile! I might add this little guy to my to-do pile, myself… The pattern for Charmander is on Ravelry, right here.
Nothing says awesome like a Nintendo controller purse.
Next up is a Nintendo controller purse! I’ve never seen anything like it – and it looks like it’d be fun to put together, too. You could probably up the size of the pattern and make a large book tote, too. Find the pattern here!
This is a perfect way to breathe some new life into a dead Nintendo controller…
And how about a wallet to go with the purse? This looks like the best use ever for a dead NES controller – and could be a fun afternoon project for a rainy day. The tutorial for making a controller-wallet of your own is here.
*vworp vworp*
This isn’t just one project, but a list of fifteen! Find some inspiration for your next cross-stitch project here.
Hope this gives you guys some inspiration for your own craft projects, or gives you some cool ideas of things to try! 😀
Well, I went on vacation to Florida for a week – which was a welcome respite from the crazy end-of-semester busy-ness. However, I came back to probably the coldest weather I’ve experienced in a decade! (And brought a cold home with me, to boot.) It was pretty, that’s for sure, but not the type of weather I enjoy…
Look at those pretty frosted branches!
What’s a snowed-in nerd to do?
Well, lots of things, actually. I may have spent the day listening to NPR on the radio, since the internet was out most of the day. And believe me, a snow day is the worst time to have the internet die on you. Thank goodness for the radio – I listened to classical music while working on some craft projects!
Scooter cross-stitch and the world’s first glimpse of my Doctor Who Season 18 scarf, take two!
This winter break has been lovely for working on projects – I’ve got a shawl in progress that I started on the way to Florida, I’ve got a counted cross-stitch project I started just after Christmas, and I’ve got my new Doctor Who scarf to boot! So while the snow blew around outside and the temperatures plummeted, I stayed warm on the couch and worked on nerdy crafts. (It was pretty much all I had the energy to do, anyway. Stupid chest cold.)
I also took some time to clean out my closet a little bit, and may have dug up some My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic goodies I might give away in a contest during this week… so stay tuned, pony fans! I promise I’ll start blogging more regularly, too.