Blueprints

With our incredibly increase in usuable living space, the man and I are faced with a perplexing problem …

We don’t have a lot of furniture.

Take the cabin for instance. I’m still in the process of building a table and until then … it’s a difficult space to use! I can’t go out there and make something without a work surface. And currently, my work surface is still in pieces standing up against the wall in a corner. Grrrrr …

While I like this idea, it wouldn’t fit in my house. It just … wouldn’t. It would be great for our soon-to-be fully-functioning recording studio though!

Or even in the cabin!

It sounds a bit equipment intensive, though. I don’t know if I’m up for cutting L angles. However! I think it would be pretty easy to find L angles already cut in the size you’d like. We’ll see.

Well, people, I still can’t knit. But I CAN dream!

I need to learn - and I really want to make this. Especially since, for once, the yarn required is actually a decent price. And it’s bamboo to boot!

What a funny phrase … bamboo to boot.

It’s hard to gauge difficulty here, since, well, I can’t knit. Considering that a lot of this is done in the round, I wonder if I could convert it?

Hmmmm.

For all you knitters (damn you!), you can find the Purl Bee’s project sketchbook behind the links.

I’ve been a bad blogger. I know. Go ahead and say it.

There’s been a lot going on this week, so I haven’t been as diligent as I’d like. Plus, I’m in a scatterbrained place as I attempt to wrap up my two in-process pieces. One of them just needs to be out of my life.

The other I really need IN my life, but didn’t pick up the rest of the yarn to finish it until today. BF, as it turns out, does NOT sell Bamboo Ewe yarn (booo!)

My stash has gotten slightly absurd. In addition to the ten or so skeins I already had, the mans got me seven more, and I just picked up an additional SEVEN today. People, I cannot fit 25+ skeins in my sad lil stash basket. I NEED to finish that granny stash. TONIGHT.

So what am I doing?

Thinking of making the coasters pictured. Because I can hand sew them.

And they’re so cute and they’re felt and I don’t need a machine and oh my goodness I want to make them right now.

I need more art in my house. Even though I spent DAYS painting the new house, now I just want to buy and make art to cover it all.

A triptych-type of piece that I want to draw for my now-nautical-themed kitchen - a nautilus, jellyfish and anchor.

An old ink painting I need to restore or make a print of.

And this!

Paint swatches cut into cubes and arranged on a canvas? Hellooooo weekend project! Not that I ever accomplish any of my other weekend projects.

Well, everyone, my own personal apocalypse is almost complete. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, until I got the border.

People - this pattern is a hot mess. The counts are messed up, I got to the border two rows sooner than I should have AND with fewer single crochet stitches and too many chain spaces.

At this point you’re probably asking (or scoffing), “How do you know it wasn’t YOUR fault?”

Well, because other people on ravelry had the SAME issue. Also, this thing is small. Not nearly throw-sized. And one of the “special stitches” is impossible to figure out. SO impossible, in fact, that all others who attempted this throw and posted pictures on ravelry have left OUT the circles. I’m trying to manufacture an on-the-fly solution, but we’ll see how it goes.

So, personal apocalypse has been entirely anti-climactic. And of course, that means I need to find a NEW terribly crazy pattern to deal with.

Enter: The Wool Eater.

Photo by thornberry on flickr.

I’m making Swatch Portraits this weekend! I went (slightly) nuts at Ben Franklin last night and picked up a bunch of fat quarters. Using this super easy tutorial from the Purl Bee as my guide, I’m about to fill my freaking house with these.

Fat quarters are about a dollar. Embroidery hoops are about the same (for the smaller ones).

Q.E.D. I’m about to make a trillion of these for my kitchen, my bedroom, my bathroom …

Ohhh yeaaaa.  Also, for the record - my fabric is far more lovely than the weird “This Used to be my Grandmother’s Couch” stuff going on in the image above.

Now that I’ve posted a zillion updates about jewelry … time to get back to a balance of all kinds of posts.

Starting with this light fixture. I don’t know about you, but this screams: Holy SHIT, I can MAKE this????

Yep.

It’s gonna happen.

And the materials list isn’t even that intimidating (a little pricey though), despite the phrase “porcelain sockets” which is pretty scary in and of itself.

Readymade is down right now (am I the only one who thinks that happens a little TOO often?), but click through the pictures to land at the Re-Nest post.

UPDATE: Well, good thing this links to Re-Nest. Readymade is shutting its doors!!

Meep!

Right now at Casa de Blueprints, I have a bowl filled with stones waiting for the opportunity to become pieces of jewelry.

This makes me want to rush out and buy zillions of these to make into lovely glowing necklaces for everyone. I love the classy wirewrap around the top, especially since it makes this piece look very handmade - in a good way!

I love pendants that utilize layers of visual interest and I’m enamored with this piece. The lobster-claww clasp is nearly a pendant in itself, and added to that, the chain loops through both sides.

Love!

This makes me want to be on the lookout for pendants that can be used to join a chain and an additional piece of interest.

I don’t wear earrings, but I want to make these and give them as gifts.

Also, they really make me want to get my ears re-pierced. The real way, and not with nickel-based posts that make my ears sad.

Day Two of textures, loops and jewlery I want to eat, er, be inspired by!

This may not be much of a DIY crafty type thing … but if I ever find a cabochon that glows this gorgeously, I will make it happen.

I seriously want to reach out and eat this little strawberry, it’s so pretty! It’s still very much (and very dangerously) for sale. Dangerous for my bank account that is.

These remind me of lovely, golden, delightful peas.

I like the champagne color, but I’d love to do a grey gradient within the loops instead. Something with some kind of linear motion to push back against all the loopiness.

Speaking of loopiness, this entry is starting to sound a little loopy itself.

I’m wondering if I’d prefer to see the string of pearls attached to the loop at the bottom too. What do you think?

I love love love love how unique this is. The rough, grainy texture of the stones is a gorgeous contrast to the smooth metal chain. Plus, in accord with my latest obsession with loops and jewlery elements, I like that these are on additional chain loops and then strong on the brassy-looking bar and THEN added to the chain.

So much more visual interest!

I need that mans to get his dremel!

Talk about lovely and simple! In like, the best way possible …

These are gorgeous while celebrating their rich color and unassuming design. They’re so vibrant!

I would love to make a set in every color I could find. Rich blues, frank greens … oh lord!

I love that the chain on this necklace does not join, but rather relies on the loop of swarovski crystal. It grounds the necklace’s design in the ring - the necklace literally couldn’t function without it. The delicate fleur de lis are quite a nice touch as well.

This reminds me the most of my jade bird necklace with its loops joined to the main cord.

Also, with this post, I need to reinforce that I do not intend to copy any of the etsy designs posted here for personal gain. While I say I would love to make something - yes, many of these things I would love to make. They’re incredibly inspiring and I’d love to swipe these ideas. However, DIY projects are one thing, and these designs are entirely another thing. They’re art, and I have no intention of copying the designs for personal gain. I merely find them inspiring.

Methinks this looks a lot like crochet - the yellow fiber anyway. I need to explore Ben Michael’s or a craft store and find some of cotton or macrame cords used for this. I have some lovely lapis beads I’d love to use for something similar …

Lately, I’ve been obsessed with the interaction of loops, chains and textures. I love how they play off each other in simple jewelry designs that are constructed thoughtfully. 

So, inspired by a recent birthday gift, I’ll be posting some inspiring jewelry pieces over the next few day(s). Depending on how busy RealJob is.

I actually already have a necklace similar to this. Mine is two jade birds attached by a strong cord to two jade rings. It’s one piece of jewelry that has already inspired me to think about loops on necklaces in a different way.

Lo siento for my absence dearest readers! The past week at La Oficina Blueprints has been buuuusssssyyyy.

I promise that things are slowing down now, and hopefully I can start posting more crafty goodness. I HAVE been bookmarking like mad, so just be ready.

Anyway - I feel like I ALWAYS see wire chairs like this one:

Everywhere, people. I’m telling you, they haunt my dreams.

So, to quash the nightmares and also make lovely outdoor furniture for myself, I really want to do, this:

Seriously, how has no one thought of this until now?

I am not a purse girl. At all. In fact, I can’t really buy a nice purse. At RealJob, I’m a writer and when I leave work, I tend to throw the pen I’m using into my bag before I walk out the door. My current bag is filled with uncapped red, blue and black ONYX uni-ball pens.

And people, let me tell you, they run and bleed like nobody’s business. Within a matter of weeks, the bottom of any bag I buy is discolored in varying shades of uni-ball. Tee-rific.

However. I still want to make this. Maybe in black so you can’t see all the nasty ink on the bottom.

On a sidenote - I love the craftsmanship of this. This looks well-crafted enough to sell at a big-box store, and it’s mostly because of the execution of the handle/strap. Love! The pattern is $3.99, but this looks like a simple matter of single crochet stitches, quickly increasing and building and then 5 or 6 rows of slight decrease.

Sorry people!

RealJob got RealBusy and I’ve had to take a break from Blueprints a bit this week. I’m hoping to be back in full form this afternoon with an update or two and some fun stuff. RealJob/BusyJob has not kept me from filling my desktop with bookmarks of stuff to add here!

Upholstery … what a scary word. But NOT today, with this terrific easy to follow project plan (linked to the images).

Now that the mans and I have so much space, we don’t know what to do with our scant amount of furniture. We went from 3 or 4 rooms with teeny 3 closets, to 5ish rooms with 5 big closets, plus an attic, garage/recording studio, workout room and log cabin studio.

And we don’t have enough furniture for all that!

So, cute lil galvanized bucket ottoman … you and I are about to get reallllly friendly. Plus, how much do I want to use this for extra yarn storage?? WIN!

So, I’ve already addressed my love affair with napkins. I assure you all that I’m seeking help.

Now I’m on to placemats. Because these are a pretty little mix of lovely and adorable, and I would love love love love to give them as gifts this holiday season.

Yes, people, I’m already thinking of December. Only because my list is seventeen items long, and I really only started thinking about it now. I keep running into wonderful ideas and putting them on a master list housed on my desktop at work.

And now that list includes these damn placemats.

((Check out the Sewing Daisies blog here!))

One of the zillion things I love about the new house is the patio right outside the log cabin studio. It’s perfect. Little stone bences, just enough room for 5 or 6 chairs and a firepit. It’s lovely, I assure you.

And, soon, it will be even more lovely with this built-in scrabble board!

Seriously.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

This idea is work intensive, and involves working with cement, which scares me slightly. I’m also concerned about making sure that I draw the scores straight and that the craftsmanship on the board and the wooden tiles looks good. This could very easily be botched … but it could also very easily be wonderful.

Well, no pattern behind this one, but if you’ve been crocheting for even a modest amount of time, then you know the Granny Square.

The gist of this pattern is: 5 large granny squares crocheted together, with a handle to make a basket. In place of the handle, I’ll probably do a crocheted i-cord.

I’m working on this now actually, because I need another basket to separate my WIPs and my yarn.

So, I posted about this memory game a little while ago, and today I have another great idea in a similar vein!

Abbey of Aesthetic Outburst (who I’ve talked about before!) has this neatzos DIY over at A Beautiful Mess.

Imagine making sets of these as little kits for kids? What a neat present idea or party favor, right? I can image these being a terrific idea for kid-friendly party favors for a wedding to keep the wee ones busy while the adults enjoy the ceremony and festivites.

Also, a teeny little side-story: My friend Steve (the man’s brother’s wife’s brother) is a real-life rocket scientist. I kid you not! He actually was a big part of the project a few years ago that smashed a rocket into the moon and found water. The neat part? The Friday that the project was completed was the day before his own wedding! And what a wonderful wedding it was! After the ceremony, as the reception started, he tapped a keg of his own, homemade ale … called, appropriately, Moonsmasher Ale.

Win!

Anyway, tutorial for these dominoes is at A Beautiful Mess, and be sure to …

… check out more of Abbey’s terrific creations and giveaways (swoon!) at Aesthetic Outburst.

!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness I love these. I love pillows - all pillows - but these are about to replace my ugly as sin couch pillows.

Want. Want want want want want.

Also, still haven’t matched all my doorknobs yet, but when I do, they’re all going to be old ones that need skeleton keys to open.

Just sayin’.

Check out more of sugarandfig’s work by clicking the pictures!

You know what I love? Simple, lovely, elegant things. Something that isn’t so complex it leaves your mind spinning, but something you stop and look at.

I also love feathers, and I definitely love glass globes suspended from the ceiling.

Not sure how I could do these myself, other than using clear Christmas ornaments. Which, truth be told I might like better. I love the differences in feathers, but I might adore the uniformity of the circular shapes …

Either way, I want to make this happen, maybe above the breakfast nook?

Upward! I adore Ravelry. At first I only used it to find patterns, but I’ve started to keep track of my projects on there as well, though I don’t stash yarn  =)

If you see me on there, go ahead and add me as a friend!

Dear hanging day bed,

We are going to be great friends. In fact, as soon as I finish the table, I’m going to consider building you!

Ridiculous love letter aside, I kind of adore this idea. However, it does require some careful carpentry, knowledge of load capacity (never thought I’d say THAT phrase), and probably a trustfund quite a bit of money, considering you’d need to get another mattress.

One day, cute hanging little bed, one day.

Do you have any tips, or things you’ve learned from knitting/crocheting?

Well, I liked the way that cinnamonzen answered this, so I’m moving in a similar direction …

• Even if it sounds complex, or complicated, try it.
• YouTube tutorials are your friend.
• Nothing is a mistake. It’s either a success, a trial, or a learning experience.
• Learn to love your yarn. Embrace the millions of dollars you will spend on it.
• While I understand the need for some to use the Red Heart Super Saver yarn … I heartily encourage you to put it down, walk away … and let it go. Just, resist.
• Twine is a bad idea. Say it with me. Twine. Is a bad. Idea.