Tag: DailyCreative

Blender? Let’s Learn Blender

For a few years now I have been following some 3D artists who use Blender to render World of Warcraft scenes – and I have wanted to do exactly that. I love the idea of making a scene with all of my characters, or just creating little scenes for friends. Or just on a whim. The problem is it involves using a handful of programs that I know NOTHING about – the biggest one being Blender. I’ve been meaning to try to learn it for a long while, but I never made time. That’s the biggest downside to having so many interest and hobbies, finding / making time.

I am working out a schedule where I can dedicate two days (evenings) a week to this, and hopefully I’ll make a little progress. I’ve downloaded the programs required and started with the YouTube video above, and joined a discord owned by the same person. I know it won’t be a quick learn, but I feel like this is a natural progression from my digital art that I’ve been working on. OK maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but at least I’m hoping it will be interesting.

August 7, 2022 August 10, 2022 By stargrace In , No Comment

Final Project for 2021 – Completed

One of my major goals for this month was to finish my Cable Crush Hoodie – and I did it! I love it. The yarn cost me a total of about $25 from a KnitPicks sale last year. I knit a 2XL – and I love every inch of it. I can’t wait to see what 2022 brings. Right now, I have zero WIP on the go, and it feels odd, because I think every year prior I’ve always had something on my needles to finish off.

So here’s to 2022 and everything it brings.

December 31, 2021 January 3, 2022 By stargrace In , No Comment

DailyCreative Goals – December 2021

Completed:

November was a pretty good month as far as knitting goes. I finished four socks on my circular sock knitting machine (gifts for Christmas) and I also knit a Christmas ball (I know the goal was two, and technically I DID knit two, but the second one just wasn’t working at all and I frogged it) – AND I made progress on my cable crush hoodie. I just have one sleeve and the hood left to knit. I decided to chart out how much yarn I used over the year vs. how much yarn I purchased, and I was pleasantly surprised. If I manage to finish my cable crush hoodie that’s another 2100 yards of yarn out vs. in, and that will put me in a pretty large deficit for this year. That’s going to be the goal for December. Of course I also didn’t make that many purchases this year, and I don’t have any advent calendars going or anything like that, so even with minimal knitting, I would not be far behind. My goal for this hobby is to use more yarn than I bring in – or at least keep it equal. Granted, I already have quite a yarn stash from previous years, but I’d like to keep it (somewhat) under control. I’m also not including spun yarn in this math, because that’s a whole other ball game.

WIP:

  • Cable Crush Hoodie

December Goals:

  • Complete cable crush hoodie
  • Complete 1-2 more Christmas balls
  • Complete one or more other creative pieces (drawing etc)

I know December tends to be pretty hectic and I don’t expect this one to be any different – but I do have all of my gifts completed, so we’ll just have to see. I hope everyone has an amazing month, no matter what it brings.

December 1, 2021 December 2, 2021 By stargrace In , No Comment

DailyCreative Goals – October 2021

Normally I have this categorized as ‘knitting’ goals each month – but I do a lot of creative stuff, and I was feeling a bit off about the label so moving forward we’re just going to call this DailyCreative goals. Again the inspiration (and motivation) comes from this amazing blog that I’ve followed for years now. It just puts me in such a happy place. Anyway, it’s a new month so let’s see how we did.

Completed:

  • I didn’t complete any projects for the month of September, but I did get a lot of progress done, and that’s always nice.

WIP:

  • I finished off the front of my cable crush hoodie and am now working the back. Once the back is done I’ll seam the shoulders and I believe the sleeves will be next, then the hood. I’m trying not to stress about the hood because I really want it to turn out but I’ve never knit one before.
  • I also started my very first stitch a long! It’s a Halloween one, and we’re 15 days in so far. This gives lots of time to finish before Halloween so I can use it as decoration. I’m not an enormous fan of the daily images, but adding some backstitch has helped.
  • Scrap blanket is still in the works, but I’m thinking of changing it to a 10 stitch blanket instead of squares that I keep having to seam together. We’ll see how that goes.
  • I did crank out some tubes for socks, but the gauge was off, so I frogged them and need to start over. On the plus side, my circular sock knitting machine is oiled and ready to go.

October goals:

  • Finish off the cross stitch SAL – I am HOPING I’m able to complete this. So far I’ve managed just fine, but I never know with my hands.
  • Complete the back to my cable crush hoodie. I was feeling a little too adventurous thinking I’d be completely done it by now, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make some awesome progress on it.
  • Finish one more creative project, either a smaller knit project or maybe a smaller cross stitch kit. I have a few now that I’ve been saving up and they’d make perfect weekend projects to gift to friends.
October 1, 2021 October 1, 2021 By stargrace In No Comment

A lot of Sweater

Even though most of this month has been taken up my my cross stitch SAL and poor days with MS issues, I haven’t forgotten about my cable crush hoodie. I’ve been working away on it slowly, I separated the back and front, and now I’m just working on the front. It’s a lot of sweater, and so squishy and soft. I’m really looking forward to being able to wear it once our winters drop to -40C. At this rate it won’t be too much longer before we’ll be seeing snowflakes.

September 16, 2021 September 18, 2021 By stargrace In , No Comment

Storybook Halloween SAL

I signed up to join in my very first ‘SAL’ – also known as stitch a long. It’s a Halloween cross stitch, where each day you get a little square to fill in and at the end of the month you have a completed piece. I’ve done a few cross stitch pieces before, but I’ve never participated in a SAL, and I’m really excited about it. The piece is also framed with cross stitch squares, which is what I’m working on in the screenshot above. We got the pattern early so that we’re ready to go when the SAL begins. I decided to splurge and I purchased a kit for this one that came with all sorts of little treats and goodies, but you can also just sign up and do it with your own items, too. It’s all about the community of crafters coming together, and that’s what I love to see.

September 6, 2021 September 6, 2021 By stargrace In , No Comment

Knitting Goals – September 2021

Completed in August:

  • I managed to finish my TAAT socks! Goal accomplished. They turned out beautiful and I am really pleased that they’re done.

Current WIPS:

  • Scrap Blanket
  • Cable Crush Hoodie

September Goals:

  • I’d like to finish my Cable Crush Hoodie that I started so I can wear it for October, but I’m not sure if that’s a realistic goal or not. Maybe if it was the only thing I was working on for the entire month. I had myself on a bit of a schedule with it to start but I’ve fallen from that because I physically haven’t been able to keep up.
  • I’d like to also knit two pairs of socks on my circular sock knitting machine. This should be pretty simple – in theory. I’m trying to figure out which tension is best for my socks, and that involves a little trial and error. I have a lot of sock yarn to get through and I’d love to be able to showcase it more. I think completing two socks is very do-able, but again it depends on my physical limitations and how busy the month is.
  • I’d also like to start a 10 stitch blanket with my odds and ends that I’ve been collecting. I know I have the scrap yarn blanket on the go, but I’m looking for something that might be even easier for me to manage. The scrap yarn blanket is lovely, but it means a lot of weaving in ends, and a lot of little squares that are all different sizes as my tension changes. This would be an ongoing WIP, and maybe I’ll scrap the (har) scrap blanket, and make it a doll sized one for my kids to play with.

Not overly ambitious goals, but it should be enough to keep me busy!

September 1, 2021 September 1, 2021 By stargrace In , No Comment

Cable Hoodie – Update 2

The upcycled yarn I decided to go with for this cable crush hoodie is rustic and beautiful to knit with, but it’s hard to get the overall effect of the texture because I’m using 22″ needles that are quite small for the project that I’m working on (I decided to make this shirt oversized, so I’m knitting a 2XL which is one up from my actual size). The knitting on this stretch of 40 stitches is methodic and calming, out of a 10 row repeat only one of them is knitting the actual cables. I’ve been sticking with my goal of knitting 5 rows a day but it does take a few hours. I’ve also dropped a few stitches but I managed to pick them all up. I think I’m in good shape for whatever comes next. The project has “bat wing” sleeves, which means when you raise your arms it looks like giant bat wings, and I’ve never done those before. I’m cautious about the hood portion, and I just hope the whole thing turns out well. For now I’m just taking it step by step and doing one row at a time.

Happy knitting!

August 23, 2021 August 24, 2021 By stargrace In , No Comment

Cable Hoodie – Update1

Now that I’ve finished my TAAT socks (picture will be posted once I actually weave in my ends, so sometime by 2025 I’m sure) I’ve decided on my next project. It’s called Cable Crush Hoodie and it’s a pattern by Chantal Miyagishima (Knitatude) which you can find on Ravelry and on her own site as well. It’s an absolutely beautiful sweater that includes cables in the front and back, a batwing sleeve construction, and a hood with icord draw string. I’m knitting it in upcycled wool from knitpicks, which is basically wool constructed of bits and pieces of other wool that wasn’t enough to make an entire skein of type A. Chantal’s patterns are easy to follow and use lovely construction, my silver bell sweater was also one of her designs and had I used the appropriate yarn I’m sure mine would have turned out better (not that it isn’t lovely, it is). I’m hoping to do well with this one, and have it turn out as beautiful as all of the others. I have never knit a hood before, but I have done quite a few cables. It’s knit in worsted yarn, so I’m also hoping it doesn’t drag on forever and maybe I can get it completed before Halloween. We’ll see. I’m a bit further along than this picture shows, I’ve done 8 rows of ribbing, and I’m on row 6 of the body. I’ll do row 1-10 4 times, so I’m 6/40. That’s something, at least. The sweater starts out at 230 stitches and grows to 310 – I’m hoping to knit 5 rows a day. Let’s see if I can do it!

August 18, 2021 August 18, 2021 By stargrace In , No Comment

TAAT Progress – Update 5

I’ve been working on these socks off and on since February, and normally it doesn’t take me that long to knit a pair of socks but these ones seem to be dragging on. That being said, I love the simple pattern and I know they’ll be worth it in the end. I’ve also been distracted by other projects, having completed 9 so far for 2021 (my goal is to complete 12 projects, one per month, no matter how big or small). I know splitting my time between other hobbies as well as gaming (which I suppose is a hobby) cuts into all this time I could spend knitting, but my hands honestly couldn’t take all of that anyway.

Just a few more rows for the leg, then a nice 2×2 ribbed cuff (through the back loop to keep it tidy) and a stretchy bind off – I’m confident I can get these done in August at least. I also plan on charting how much yarn I purchased for 2021 vs. how much yarn I actually used – I want to have more yarn going out than coming in (ideally). Plus who doesn’t like to track things. I probably spend more time making spreadsheets than anything else in my life, lol.

Happy knitting!

August 7, 2021 August 7, 2021 By stargrace In , No Comment
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