thomcat designs

Squirrelly Nuttiness!

2009-01-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

We got a snow day here in Raleigh, North Carolina. It's amazing how 5" of snow can make everyone so happy and child-like. We spent the morning watching kids sled down a hill just past the woods in our back yard and the afternoon watching a whole pack of squirrels forage for sunflowers seeds on our back porch. Ben took some shots of the squirrels and this one's my favorite.

Long Awaited Mario Afghan Directions

2009-01-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

Okay folks, I've had a zillion requests on Ravelry so here it is. I'm giving you the tools and the design is up to you!

Yarn: I used worsted weight acrylic in the brightest colors I could find. Red Heart Super Saver works well and is quite color fast. I used Turquoise for the sky, Carrot for bricks and goomba, and Spring Green for the hill. The rest are pretty self-explanatory.

Crochet Hook: Around a size I works well.

Other supplies: You will also need a tapestry needle.

Basic construction:
The entire afghan is single crochet with details cross-stitched over top afterwards. To begin start at the bottom edge (Carrot yarn) and I believe I chained about 200 stitches. Basically, just go until it feels wide enough for you. Turn and single crochet into the second chain from end and in each chain across. I literally made the rest up as I went along. The only part that is actually crocheted is the orange at the bottom, the green hill, the bricks (orange & yellow) and the sky. Everything else I added later. I apologize to all of you OCD folk that want detailed directions but frankly, I don't have any and I don't have the afghan anymore so I'm doing my best:) Before you actually start, sketch out where you would like the various elements on a piece of graph paper. That's what I did. It's crude but this is what I started with:
Here is a link to all the little graphs I did for the various characters.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomcatdesigns/sets/72157612493583253/

I didn't use them all in the afghan so feel free to use any you want. As far as the crosstitch part, use the character graphs and each square translates to an 'X' of crosstitch over one chain stitch. Whew! I know that's vauge but I hope this at least gives you a starting point!

I've also got a series of process shots here for reference:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomcatdesigns/sets/72157607204480386/

Good luck and I'd love to see your pictures!!

A thought on creativity and art

2009-01-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

A lot of times what makes art truly wonderful is the way in which an artist can see something completely different from what's in front of them and express it in an interesting and creative way. I found this picture on the web, thanks to my hubby, and it's simple in it's expression but in my opinion is the epitomy of creative genious. Oh, and it made me laugh A LOT!

Pie Area

Surviving germs

2008-12-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

I think I've made it past the worst of a cold I've fought all week but now I've given it to my dear sweet husband. It looks like he may not do as badly with it as I at least I hope so. I was, however, able to get some knitting done this weekend and need to sort out who is getting what. I've also posted a few more things for sale on etsy! Yay Holidays!!!

Knit-stravaganza!

2008-12-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

I've been knitting like a fiend lately! Here's a pile of things I've made recently. Been doing a lot of little cowl/neckwarmers.

Knitting for Christmas

2008-11-19T22:03:00.000-08:00

I've found a cool knitting project for some of the folks in my life to receive for Christmas. I won't give too much away but it does involve super bulky yarn which is awesomely warm and works up super fast. Yay!!

Cool New Stuff!

2008-10-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I got some new pictures taken of my most recent creations and added a bunch of things to my etsy site. Check it out at: thomcatdesigns.etsy.com!

Book Project

2008-10-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a project to possibly be in a book! The theme is "Beading with a Message" so my little story was going to be about how my nanna inspired me to craft and make things. She was always starting new projects before finishing current ones and I have inherited that same crafting trait. I finish a lot of projects but have so many more that are half-finished. We both just got so excited about the planning and starting process that we just couldn't help ourselves! Anyway, this necklace features a locket containing a beautiful shot of Nanna when she was probably even younger than I am now. The choker is a combination of Dupioni silk ribbon, book binding tape, and vintage lingerie ribbon sewn together. It's all topped off with some Swarovski crystal. I still need to add some text to the project but I have not decided what it should say yet. It will most likely be placed on the interior rim of the locket. I'll keep you posted on the status of the project and of the book!

Charm Swap!

2008-09-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

I work at Ornamentea, a fabulous bead store in downtown Raleigh, and we are having a charm swap! Basically, the way it works is that everyone that participates makes 10 charms (really anything that measures no more than 1"x1" and is ready to hang on a piece of jewelry) and will receive 10 charms made by other people. Fun stuff! Here are the first 6 of my 10 charms. Some of them are so cute that I might make duplicates for myself and make earrings. You too can participate by signing up at Ornamentea (919-834-6260) or Panopolie (919-872-4767). It costs $20 to participate but this cost covers yours truly sorting out all the charms and divying them out plus a super fun slumber party on Oct. 11th where you receive your charms and participate in three demos/classes with yummy goodies and wine. CHARMS ARE DUE SEPTEMBER 30TH!

Lastest Projects

2008-09-17T20:50:00.000-07:00

I finished up my companion cube tote. It looks pretty cute though I REALLY missed the Ravelympics deadline. Oh well! I also started a top and finished a fun dishcloth AND a bib. Knitting is fun!

My First Sweater (Hopefully!)

2008-09-02T09:22:00.001-07:00

I have started my first big knitting undertaking and so far it has gone well. It all started with a sweater I liked in last Fall's Knitscene magazine. The pattern assured me that it wasn't too hard so I scouted out some yarn and made the investment to buy 11 skeins! The knitting part has actually been fairly easy, however, the needles for the pattern are not very large so it's taking a LONG time to do...especially since I'm not the fastest knitter in the world. The sweater is in three parts and so far, I've finished the 'body tube' portion and I've started my first raglan sleeve. All in all, it's going well though and *maybe* I'll have a new sweater by the end of winter.

DIY lolcat

2008-08-19T11:24:00.001-07:00

I enjoy a good lolcat...especially one with a DIY reference:

more cat pictures

Crochet frustration

2008-08-18T22:17:00.000-07:00

I have been making a crocheted 'companion cube' tote and on Friday I ran into a bit of a snag. I had just spent about 2 hours making what I thought was good progress on the design when I realized that it was no longer symmetrical. I started undoing rows to get back to my goof (apparently I had skipped a stitch along the way) and was dismayed to discover that I had pretty much goofed right at the beginning of what I had started that day. Disgusted, I didn't work on it all weekend. However, I picked it back up this evening and now I'm almost finished with the front design! Here's how it's looking:

Second Bolero

2008-08-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

My second attempt at a bolero/shrug is finished! I'm really pleased with this one as I didn't mess up the pattern anywhere along the way. I still need to wash and block it but here's how it came out. I started a sweater last winter and this achievement might spur me on to pulling it back out since I'm getting faster at knitting.

Go Team Geek!

2008-08-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

The Ravelympics have begun on ravelry.com and I'm competing in the Free-for-All Freestyle for Team Geek. This event means I'm designing my own project and I happen to be making a crocheted tote bag that looks like the weighted companion cube from Portals (an Xbox game). I laid out a pattern in my trusty Rhodia pad and got to work this evening on the tote!

Etsy update

2008-08-07T19:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm not getting any stuff posted tonight, but I did take a lot of pictures and I updated my banner and avatar for thomcat designs. Check them out! More pretty jewelry to come.

I'm making a triumphant effort on Etsy

2008-08-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

I've been VERY bad about keeping my etsy sites updated so I decided to fix that problem starting TODAY! This evening I did updated photos of all the knit and crochet pieces I want to list on my craftnerd site and gave it a total revamp. I'm very pleased with the results. The plan is to tackle thomcatdesigns tomorrow which has about 5 times the pieces to photo so I'm going to try to take it easy and not let myself try to get EVERYTHING up tomorrow. Also, I've effectively figured out how to use the remote for my camera so I used myself as a model with some pretty good results! Yay!

Oh and since I can't do anything without drawing feline attention, I had 'help' with the light box.

Crafty Husband

2008-08-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

I'm not the only one that likes to make things. My hubby, Ben, is currently working on some cool Inuit-style sunglasses. The Inuit made theirs from whale bone carved with a slit in them to cut out much of the sun reflecting off the snow. Ben's going to try to make a wooden version. Here he's working out his design with paper.

Teaching

2008-08-01T20:27:00.000-07:00

I'm teaching a Resin class tomorrow. I go through 3 different types of clear resins and show folks how to use them and their pros and cons. It's a fun time! I think there's one more space left if you'd like to sign up, call Ornamentea at 919-834-6260.

Class Info

I can knit!...sort of...

2008-07-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to teach myself how to knit and I'm very excited to have made a project that has an actual pattern stitch and not just ribbing or stockinette stitch. It's a ribbed lace bolero and now that I've done one, I'm promptly making another since the first was more or less a practice run.

Recent Creations

2008-07-26T11:37:00.001-07:00

Here are some recent jewelry creations. All three pieces are centered around some beautiful clay pieces made by the lovely Elaine Ray.

I can't believe I didn't post this!

2008-06-18T06:25:00.000-07:00

I finished the Mario Bros. afghan for my brother! Here's a picture of it in all it's glory. He loved it and is currently deciding on a place of honor for it on a wall in his home.

Slack blogger is back (hopefully!)

2008-06-18T06:14:00.000-07:00

So I kind of quit blogging because I was keeping up with my flickr site but I've gotten several comments on posts recently so I guess people are actually reading it! I promise to do a better job. Here's what I've been making recently, a ripple crochet afghan. I needed something easy/mind-numbing because that's all I've felt like doing in the evenings lately. However, I jazzed it up by using fun colors!Kitties love eating yarn...nom...nom

I won!

2008-03-03T10:43:00.000-08:00

I won the monthly contest at the Art Bead Scene flickr site! My prizes are a free chain maille book (super exciting!) and a free pair of Lindstrom bent nose pliers. These are NICE pliers and cost about $40. Sweet!!

Getting closer

2008-02-27T19:11:00.000-08:00

I've been industrious with the afghan since I got more turquoise yarn, but it's definitely not going to be finished by the time my brother moves in on Friday. I'm not even sure he remembers I'm making it so it'll be a surprise! I've almost got one cloud finished and I'm getting ready to start a second. I drew out a little diagram on engineering paper from a video game screen shot. Fun!

The yarn has arrived!

2008-02-17T22:24:00.000-08:00

After a very weird incident where UPS thought I'd moved and then sent the yarn I'd ordered to my mother-in-law, I finally got the turquoise yarn I needed to continue work on the Mario Brothers afghan. I celebrated by doing about 10 more rows of turquoise last night. This is going to be the coolest lap blanket ever!

More crafting 'help'

2008-02-08T21:38:00.000-08:00

Reverend alternated between sleeping and attacking as I assembled a crocheted tote bag. Ain't he adorable?

Furry help

2008-02-05T21:39:00.000-08:00

I took some jewelry shots in my light box today which tends to attract kitties. Red was actually good and just feel asleep next to me but Reverend kept deciding that he needed to be in front of the camera.

Two-headed Monster...rarrr!

2008-02-03T21:34:00.000-08:00

This guy(s) was inspired by a project from Craft: magazine and a sketch by my friend Amos. He's the cuddliest monster ever!

Red kitten likes him too!

Working on a tote

2008-02-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

Well, Bro's afghan has been put on hold as I ran out of turquoise yarn and had to order more. I did find some different blue yarn though and used it to make this tote! It also has a Mario Bros. theme. I finished the body and the goomba today and started the strap. Fun!

Birdies!

2008-01-28T21:29:00.000-08:00

I made these super cute felt bird pins on Saturday. I taught a class on it at Ornamentea, a Raleigh area bead store. I had such a great time with the 5 ladies in the class and everyone left with at least two adorable birds. I got so excited about making the birds that I went home and made these guys. They are now up for sale on my Craftnerd etsy site.

Crafting away at the afghan

2008-01-25T14:32:00.000-08:00

I have made some jewelry this week as well, but my main crafting focus has been this Mario Bros. afghan for my brother. I've worked on it every night this week and here's where I'm at. I've roughed out the blocks (the yellow one will get a question mark later) and once I've done a bit more sky, I'll add a few clouds. Fun!

Afghan for my Bro

2008-01-21T20:40:00.001-08:00

My brother is buying his first house at the end of February and as he does like the video games, I'm making him a Mario Bros. themed afghan for his new house. I started the blanket right after Christmas but have been working on it more vigorously the past several days. Keep an eye out for more updated photos of the process.

Crafting 365

2008-01-19T14:04:00.000-08:00

Okay, so to explain the previous post, I have joined a Flickr group called Crafting 365. The group's goal is for each member to craft EVERYDAY for an entire year. You are suppose to keep up with what you been working on via photos and then upload them to the photo pool. You can check out what everyone's working on at http://www.flickr.com/groups/crafting365/!

Crafting -Day 2

2008-01-19T13:55:00.000-08:00

Day 2 was not as productive as day 1 but still had some nice results. These are earrings and a pendant that I finished on day 1 but I patina'd them on day 2. That means I blackened them. I used a cool technique that involves enclosing the items in a container with a boiled egg. The sulfur from the egg oxidizes them. Woo chemistry!

Bracelet becomes necklace or Day 1

2008-01-18T13:45:00.000-08:00

I had a friend over last night to make jewelry and this is probably the most exciting thing I worked on. It started out as a filigree brass cuff bracelet but that was too easy because it had come that way so I decided it needed to be a choker. I'm not sure if it's 'finished' yet as I may add some more sparkly things to it but it does need a bit of filing or something along the edges as it is not super comfortable to wear. Pretty fun though, eh?

I'm back on the internet!

2008-01-16T19:51:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm proud of myself because I finally posted a bunch of new pictures to my etsy site on Monday. I should have done it ages ago because I've already sold a few things. I had fabulous help taking pictures (of the four legged and furry variety) as you can see. He parked his furry little butt in the light box. Check out all the new stuff I've post at thomcatdesigns.etsy.com. Oh! And I've added a second etsy site to encompass all my other crafting and it's call craftnerd.etsy.com. Check it out too!

Moon Pearl

2007-03-14T14:02:00.000-07:00

Mountain River

2007-03-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

Chili Peppers

2007-03-14T13:44:00.001-07:00

Monkey Wrench!

2007-01-02T20:54:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the lack of posts...here's what's been going on:

1. I'm the assistant manager at a retail establishment and during the holidays that means BUSY!

2. My husband, Ben, broke his ankle at the beginning of December (poor guy) and that has kept me busy as well.

Hopefully, things will settle a bit with the beginning of the year and I can get some more beautiful things up!

Gold Leaf and Silver = Beautiful!

2006-12-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

I thought I had already posted these, but apparently I had not. These are some sterling silver earrings I made in a metalsmithing class. I learned to use a rolling mill to create the image and then fused gold leaf to the piece using heat. Then, when I buffed the piece, it left the gold leaf just in the low parts of the image to create these lovely earrings!

Citrine and Gold Necklace

2006-12-10T08:04:00.000-08:00

Hello all! I apologize for being so lax about getting things up this month. November was crazy! I hope everyone had a lovely Turkey Day. Here are some lovely citrines delicately wire-wrapped to a dainty gold chain with some Swarovski crystals to boot! Enjoy!

Imperial Jasper

2006-11-02T09:12:00.000-08:00

This necklace is made with my FAVORITE stone...imperial jasper. The colors are always beautiful and it polishes really well. I have a half a strand of these that I splurged and bought back near my birthday and I've slowly been using a few here and there in my pieces. In this necklace, they are spaced with tiny grey Swarovski crystals and the chain is doubled sterling silver.

Filigree Earrings

2006-11-01T13:51:00.000-08:00

Yet another pair of earrings...I promised several, didn't I? These are sterling plated filigree pieces linked together to make a light, swingy earring.

Sweet and Simple Coral Earrings

2006-10-31T15:52:00.000-08:00

Greetings on this All Hallows Eve! I have spent all day dressed as a pirate (Argh!). Here is another pair of earrings to check out. They are made with pink coral and are quite cute.

Fun with a Rolling Mill

2006-10-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

Here's what you can do with a rolling mill and sheet silver. These are my favorite pair of earrings.

Earrings!

2006-10-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

Bunches of them! Over the next few days, I'll post different earrings I've made. These guys are quite simple but really cute...the flowers are stone beads (amazonite, maybe?) and they are just strung on some simple sterling silver hoops.

Elaine Ray Pieces

2006-10-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

These are a few pieces I made using ceramic beads made by Elaine Ray. She is a local artist in Cary, NC and her pieces are for sale at www.ornamentea.com. I had fun making both necklaces!

Space Invaders

2006-10-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

...or Space Armada if you grew up with an Intellivision instead of an Atari. I learned how to make patterns in crochet and decided I needed a Space Invaders purse. As you can see, I'm quite excited about it. I've got a different alien on each side. I've been carrying it for weeks now and it has held up well. I'm making another one to sell so let me know if you are dying to have one.

Mermaid Necklace

2006-10-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

If I were a mermaid, this is what I'd wear. Well, I wear it anyway really. This was my first freeform crocheted wire piece. Not only is it very ornate, it's very light considering how large the necklace is. Fun stuff!

Labradorite Set

2006-10-22T08:18:00.000-07:00

My mom-in-law got me some lovely labradorite beads with great fire and here's what I made with them. I wrestled with the best way to showcase them and I'm very happy with the way everything came out.