A mighty work!

A few weeks ago, I produced what I consider to be my journeyman project: A chainmail shirt. I had been working on it for about eight months, but the vast majority of the work was done between January and April. Altogether, I'd estimate it at about 40-50 man hours of labor.
The end result is naught but one thing: beauty.


This photo has a bit more glare than I'd like, but it gives a decent front overview of the shirt.



This back shot highlights what I consider to be the Pièce de résistance of the shirt: the scale mail shoulders. Each contains about two hundred scales, and is fastened to the shirt all along the edges to prevent them from flopping around.


Both the side laces and the belt serve the same dual function: firstly, they tighten the shirt around the body so as that less of the weight rests of the shoulders. Given the weight of chainmail, it makes for a tremendous difference in comfort depending on whether the belt is fasthened and the laces are tightened or not.
Secondly, it makes the shirt look more interesting and be something other than endless expanses of gray steel. My main inspiration for these additions were old-school motorycle jackets, and their plethora of fasteners and tighteners to keep wind out. I figured it should work for keeping weight off as well; and I was correct.



Well I couldn't very well not take a picture like this, could I?



After all that hard work, there's nothing quite like a refreshing bowl of cornflakes.

Val: Experimental Knitting and more!

Alright, so. Life has been a bit crazy lately, what with the wedding and moving and all. But, we're finally settled in, and still unemployed, so there's been an explosion of crafting.

First, before we moved, Mike and I spent a few days with Amanda and did some shopping. We found this great, huge, old desk for $20 at a university surplus sale!

Getting it the hour and a half back home with us was an interesting challenge, but Amanda generously loaned us the back of her pretend SUV and drove the hour and a half to drop it off at our house.

It obviously needs some work, but it's turning into a fun project for us. We're currently in the stripping/sanding stage, and we discovered a beautiful reddish wood underneath the gobs of light finish. More details as the project progresses.


Next up, I've been playing around with knitting. I'm really, really new to it - this is only my second project - but I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. I wanted to play around with knitting and purling, so I was planning on making a scarf using stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl one row). Well ... only a third of the way through it, I was getting a bit tired of the project and I realized that I wouldn't have enough yarn to make a proper scarf, so instead I turned it into the Etsy favorite: a cowl!

So, here's the process. I totally made this up as I went along, so no guarantees that I found the easiest way to do it.

The would-be scarf:


I had a lot of fun when I started knitting with this yarn because I had no idea how it was going to knit up. Once I decided to make my piece into a cowl, I knit a few more rows to make sure it would be large enough to go around my neck with a bit of overlap. When it seemed long enough, I cast off from my needles and sewed the extra yarn into the ends of the scarf. Just a warning, since it's stockinette stitch, the edges naturally curl a lot.

The cowl would have tried to suffocate me if I'd worked with it as is, not to mention being unruly from the curl, so I folded it in half (wrong side in) and bound the edges together essentially making a tube. I was lucky that my yarn made a striped pattern, because I was able to match up the lines and make sure that I was sewing evenly. When I was done with the side, I also bound one of the ends.


All bound up and ready for buttons:


I apologize for the slightly blurry photos, it wasn't until the next picture that I realized my camera has a manual focus that makes shots like these so much easier!


I had no idea how to make button holes, and I had a tiny inkling that I needed to have knit them into the piece itself, so I decided to use loops to secure my buttons instead. I braided three strands of the yarn together and eyeballed how long they needed to be to hook around my buttons (which I hadn't attached yet). I pulled the braid around a stitch and made sure both ends were tightly knotted. As an afterthought, I used normal sewing thread and sewed the knots together so they wouldn't pull back through the knitting.

To attach the buttons, I just threaded one short length of yarn through the button and the knitting and tied it tightly on the inside.

A note: While you're working on the loops and buttons, one hand needs to be inside the tube, so it can get a little awkward at times, but it isn't too bad. For the most part, I worked with my tube inside out so I could get to the knots easier.


Turn your work right-side out and you're done!


The next step is to put your cowl away somewhere safe and enjoy the rest of the summer!







Let me know if you have any questions!

Next up: A long sleeved t-shirt refashion.

Gini: Hats, Hats, Hats

I love making hats. They are my favourite thing to knit/crochet. I crocheted two hats this week, here they are:
This one I call my Rockin' Rainbow Hat. It is made of years of saved up Sugar n' Cream scraps, so it is 100% cotton. Great for summer! I can't decide if I want to sell it or keep it. It came out a bit larger than I planned. What do you think?






This hat is made out some some Lion Brand Vana's Choice that my mom picked up on clearance for a dollar at Wal-Mart. I plan on finding some funky/cheap ribbon to weave in the holes. It should be pretty rockin' itself when it is done.




And last but not least, here is a sneak preview of what Will has been working on for the shop:

New/old crafts from Kittie

Hi, Kittie here with some new stuff I've made over the past few weeks. Last week I was out visiting the in-laws-to-be and my family. So no crafting was done then. However, here are some new things I made, including a little experiment done today!


First off is this lovely duo. I wanted to make a case of some sort for my dad for his birthday. He likes Doctor Who and recently bought a Smart car and named it TARDIS. The spelling of Police Box is sloppily done, partially because it is so aggravating to do against crocheted yarn. My cell phone can fit in it, but I think dad's fancy shmancy camera can fit as well.

Next off are two commissions from my fiancé. He wanted me to make him a cool shirt and a backpack with drawstrings for him to use as a carry on when coming to visit me.


Last but not least, today I decided it'd be fun to try and make a pair of pants out of a shirt. Not regular pangs, just simple comfy pants. Yoga pants or whatever. It was pretty simple, just cutting off the sleeves and treating the material like a regular pants pattern. If I make another pair, I might put back pockets on it just for fun.

Announcements from Amanda's personal life

I've got a few announcements for you guys, starting with one big one:

I'M AN AUNT! My stepsister had a beautiful baby girl last Sunday! She's adorable and has a TON of deep brown hair. I can't wait to see her. I live three hours away, so I haven't had a chance to come see her yet. All I get are photos, for now.


Ok, now for the small stuff: I got a job! Moreover, it's the job I wanted! I've been trying to get a job at the local hospital for a long time.

This won't be the first time I've worked there. I did my Psychology Practicum there a year ago. It was a really fun and enlightening experience, I learned a lot, and I found out that I love working in a hospital setting. And - as you saw in the above picture - I got to wear scrubs, check it out:

I was so excited to wear scrubs. I got to carry a clipboard, too!

I even went out and bought a long-sleeve dark blue top to wear under my scrubs, so I could look like Elliot Reid from Scrubs.

Or, you know. A huge nerd. Whichever.

But this time around, I'll be working in the Food Services department, delivering trays to patients in their rooms. And I think it would be a little unsettling to have your food delivered by someone wearing scrubs. So instead, I get to wear this classy ensemble:

Ta-da! Has a bit of a stewardess look to it, don't you think?

I know, I know. The uniform is dorky. But it's okay, because it's an important job and I'm really excited to start.

So, the other bit of 'small stuff' personal news is related: Since I have a job, and can stay in Kalamazoo, Brandon and I have decided to move in together! We're moving into an apartment next week. Once we're all moved in, I'll post some pictures for you guys. ^_^


That's all for now! I've got some great crafting updates coming soon. I just have to find time to take photos. My house is full of boxes, it's a mess...

Personal Bios

Okay, Here's something a little more substantial than my curly hair to keep you amused while we're away. I went to the Etsy shop and FINALLY added our personal bios in the shop announcement!

Check it out and let us know what you think. Sitting back and reading the bios, I'm really impressed with the diversity of talent in our group. I hope these little paragraphs help people to feel inspired to commission us for a variety of personalized items!

Things sure are getting exciting around here...

Apologies from Amanda

I know one of the top ten rules of having a good blog is 'don't spend all your time apologizing for not posting often enough,' but this time I feel it's necessary.

Everyone at Nimble Toad is unbelievably busy lately, and not just with the Etsy shop launch, but with our personal lives as well. You see, most year-long leases in college towns end on August 1st, so we're all packing and cleaning and getting ready to move. And we're all either starting new jobs, new classes or new lives! It's a busy time for all of us.

But don't fret! We're still crafting up a storm, it's just taking longer than expected to get everything posted in the shop. Keep checking back, we're adding items as they come.

I personally have a lot to tell you about, so I'm going to put my blog to-do list here. That way, I'll remember to do it and you know what to expect to see soon:

1. I never did post pictures from Val's wedding, did I? I'll dig some up and tell you all about it.
2. I got a new job, and I'm moving into a new apartment. I have a tiny bit of news on that front, but more on that later!
3. Garage sale hunting. Boy, have I been busy. I think garage sale hunting is my new favorite hobby. I've got some photos for you.
4. A couple of knitting projects I'm very proud of. I need to take photos, and maybe you can expect to see some of them in the shop soon... I hope I'm getting you excited.

Alright, that's enough teasing. I have to go pack (I'm moving at the end of the week! Ack!), but I'll be back next week with more news.

Oh, and yes. I am, in fact, sorry for the lack of updates. Here, have a picture of my curly hair to keep you amused until I get back:

Curling irons are such an amazing invention.

See you next week! Check out Gini's jewelry in the shop!