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Archive for the ‘things I’ve made’ Category

Hanging hoya

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

I made this hanging pot plant holder last Sunday. Once I had all the bits together (which took me about three weeks, not because they’re hard to get, just because I don’t get to hardware stores often) it was really easy – the hardest part was choosing a plant and a non-dripping container for it to sit in. This is a hoya, which we chose because it has beautifully shaped variegated leaves and apparently it will do ok inside (but won’t flower unless it gets good sunlight, which it won’t)… and because my mum and dad have a hoya which I love.

There’s a tutorial for this “not too desperately retro” macrame hanger and some inspiring photos on Skinny Laminx.

Paper anniversary

Sunday, January 22nd, 2012

Two dear friends of ours celebrated their first wedding anniversary last week, so I made them a card (they had gorgeous colourful bunting at their wedding..)

Paper is (one of) the traditional gifts for the first anniversary, so  it seemed appropriate. Plus I’ve been making a lot of pop-up cards recently, enough of them that working out the heights and measurements and where to put the cuts isn’t too stressful.

And the leftovers are often quite pretty too….

There’s a good introductory tutorial for pop-up cards at Oh Happy Day, if you’re interested.

Dyeing yarn with black beans

Sunday, November 14th, 2010

cotton yarn dyed with black beans

A couple of weeks ago I dyed some yarn with black beans. The results are above, a lovely silver-blue-grey colour which changes slightly depending on what’s around it and the light. (I didn’t tie my hank very well so that pile of yarn in the background is waiting to be untangled.)

My dyeing process, which I cobbled together from many places, is below, along with some links to general info on natural dyeing.

This is what the yarn looked like before:

(more…)

Shortcut necklace

Saturday, October 23rd, 2010

Finally, finally finished this necklace. It’s very hard to photograph! It hangs differently depending on where the silver section is around your neck. I’ll try to get some action shots soon. Each bead is hand-made from Fimo. It’s been years since I’ve used Fimo, but it’s so versatile and fun to use. I burned the first batch of beads (cooked them at at 230° Celsius instead of Fahrenheit, oops) but I liked the darker colour, and the burnt-ness on the silver ones, so I burned the rest of the batches too.

shortcut necklace - pieces of kate

Fans

Sunday, October 3rd, 2010

This is not what I thought I’d be making this week, but apparently when I’m stressed I turn to more traditional crafts…. not entirely original (still not acting on those half-formed ideas) but quite pretty. Back to less doily-like things now.

Pattern: Fan bookmark by Crochetroo on Ravelry and Crochetroo’s blog

a piece of kate: hair with hair

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

Yes, hair with hair. Because I’m just not feeling very inspired tonight. And my hair is just as hard to control with a needle as when I’m trying to style it.