Crafts
Crafturday: “Welcome to the Hipster Hut” cross-stitch pattern
At work, I sit in a U-shaped pair of desks with another bespectacled female tech writer. Although we’re pretty sure we’re not hipsters in the traditional sense (well, I suppose I mean in the negative sense), we’ve got something of a reputation as the ‘Office Hipsters’.
Since we both like to do crafts, we thought we should make some things to decorate our corner of the office. I thought a cross-stitch sampler would be appropriate, and after some discussion, we thought it should say ‘Welcome to the Hipster Hut’.
This morning, I worked on a pattern for the sampler. I went for a simple, bordered design with only three thread colours. I added a pair of cat-eye glasses at the bottom, because that’s the frame shape I wear most often.
You can find the pattern here, if you also live or work in a Hipster Hut.
Link and Zelda cross-stitch
Inspired by this sweet Mario and Toadstool cross-stitch piece on Pinterest, I wanted to make a small Link and Zelda cross-stitch piece; after a bit of work, I came up with a pattern.
The finished product:
If you’re interested in stitching your own, you can find the Zelda-II pattern here.
Katamari needle felting
Inspired by a project in the needle-felting book I read, I tried my hand at sculpting a little Prince and katamari from wool roving. They aren’t magnetic or anything fancy like that; just tiny little figurines to keep by my monitor.
Brandon suggested trying to make Link and Zelda from the Wind Waker game, because the simple colour schemes would work really well, based on this style, and I agree… but I would definitely make bigger figures in the future. Trying to make a face on a Prince shorter than my fingers was precision work!
Review: I Felt Awesome: Tips and Tricks for 35+ Needle-Poked Projects
I Felt Awesome: Tips and Tricks for 35+ Needle-Poked Projects by Moxie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a good basic overview of needle felting, and includes some cute projects for beginners to try. I’m interested in starting needle felting, so it was a good book to start with to learn some tips and techniques. More advanced felters would probably do better to find a book that focuses more on project ideas and higher level techniques, but this was a great start for me. The Katamari project is adorable, and I think it may be one of my first forays into the world of needle-poked projects.
DIY: fringed scarf to infinity scarf
I am a sucker for grab bags. Stores can take any of their old, clearance products and put them in a sealed, opaque bag, and I will shell out a handful of cash to find out what’s inside. Recently, I bought two grab bags from Ardene at $4 a piece, and inside I found a ton of winter accessories. It worked out to around a dollar per item, and among them was this soft, chocolate brown scarf. It’s thick, warm, and cozy. However, it’s also very long, and the fringe makes it even longer.
I’ve been looking at buying an infinity scarf this season, but couldn’t find one for the right price that impressed me enough to invest. Since this scarf seemed long enough to wrap around me several times, I decided to convert it into the infinity scarf I’ve been searching for.
First, I removed all of the fringe. Then, I twisted the scarf once and stitched the ends together using a few of the strands. I tied the strands off tightly, wrapped it around my shoulders, and voila! An infinity scarf, for about a buck!
