Lee Mac. Twenty-nine year old fibre artist. Crochet portraits = Obsession. I am surgically attached to my Ipod and crochet hook. Bookworm. Pop culture addict. M&ms are as important as oxygen. Einstein hit the nail on the head with "Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."
Reality has returned this week Study is NOT my buddy! Stupid friggin essay I need to remember that this is the last 3500 worded piece of "" for the semester. I just wish 9th June would come and GO!! Then i'd be freeeee
Trouble is, I have to write the damn thing first
But boring crap aside, i'm starting to get stoked for the gig up in Sydney this Saturday !!!
A tribute show for the one and only BON SCOTT with the finest crop of classic Aussie rockers. Man i'm gonna be in rock heaven for 3 hours
Which means there's a really good chance that the only part of my anatomy i'll be able to move without pain afterwards, will be my eyes. Cause i'll be going a little bit SPAZ on the dancefloor.
Moving along... As I mentioned on ravelry, I have less than 2 months to go before the exhibition, which gives me just enough time to complete one more piece to be featured. I have chosen this lil lady
At the moment, she's not much to look at...
But she will be by the time i'm through Stay tuned for updates through the week Lee xox
Hey Hey They're Finished!
28th May, 2011
HEY HEY IT'S THE MONKEES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The boys are together at last and i'm smiling like a knob!! THEY LOOK GREAT!!!
I have to extend an ENORMOUS"THANK YOU" to "tom-boyslytherin" aka Elizabeth on Ravelry for singling out the images from the closing credits video for me!! You're a STAR!!!!! Now the sewing together of the boys won't be happening for a teeny while as I want to feature them in the exhibition and if they were sewn together they'd be too awkward and heavy to hang. SO, I will be backing them individually and hanging them together yet as seperate pieces on the wall . However when the time comes to turn them into a blanket I PROMISE to document the process properly for those who have been after such a tutorial
In the meantime, AGHHHHHHHH THEY'RE DONE!!!!!!!!! LONG LIVE THE MONKEES!!!!!!!!
Lee xox
Yee-ha
26th May, 2011
60%!!
I'm a little bit of a nervous nancy thanks to the amount of background coloured yarn I have left... It's gonna be a little nervy to see if I have enough to last the distance, but i've found a shade in my stash that is so so sooooooo close that I COULD get away with it if it's needed. I should be able to get a fair chunk of his hair outta the way tonight, ha-le-luh-jah!!
Bet the young lad didn't realise how trippy and eerie a photo like this would prove to be....
Can you say FATE?!! Lee xox
1/2ways
25th May, 2011
We have a Mon people!!! Or a Kee?!?!?! Either or, we have HALF a Monkee
Looking pretty darn shnazzy ain't he!!! Very VERY giddy right now as I have another 10 or so rows of LCC's (Lotsa-Colour-Changes) which of course will be his cute lil eyes and then it's long strips of single colour territory Joy To The World!!! So my plan of attack is to get stuck into it this afternoon infront of taped eps of Project Runway [Season 4, because it has my most fave contestant ever in Christian Siriano - LOVE HIM!!]
I've also found that watching crafty/creative shows WHILST crocheting totally spurs me on! I completed the last 10 rows of Micky during 1 1/2 eps, so Hip Hooray Project Runway! Lee xox
Flowerghan
23rd May, 2011
So i've been dreaming of making a granny square blanket to cosy up with for quite a while now and this morning on my daily Ravelry search I came across the cutest square !!!
But WAIT!! There's MORE!!!
After following the links to the pattern, I discovered that this little square is doing some amazing things !!
Krochet Krystal is a charity blog and the pattern for this gorgeous little daisy square is available for free, however payment is asked by way of you sending a square to Krystal in order for it to be a part of an afghan with squares sent from all over the world!
The afghan's are then donated to several charities! WHAT A BRILLIANT IDEA!! !!!
If you are interested in being a part of this project (which I am about to be ) here are some helpful links! KROCHET KRYSTAL - Krochet Krystal's Blog, where you can read more about the project and see the afghans that have already been created by the hands of many!
KROCHET KRYSTAL RAVELRY GROUP - If your'e a member on Ravelry.com, become a member of Krystal's group for extra tips, tricks, etc.
KROCHET KRYSTAL YAHOO GROUP - Join Krystal's yahoo group to become a part of the project and recieve access to the pattern, tutorials, etc.
I can't WAIT to get started !!!!!! Side Note - If anyone wants to learn-along or get a little CAL going with me, we could set something up!! Because i'll sure as hell be needing some help lol ! Lee xox
Here He Comes
22nd May, 2011
"Here he comes...walking down the street..."
Looking MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCH better in the purples !!
You can see how much shading wasn't showing up in the yellows now eh ?! Such a shame, but well done purple for saving the day !!
It's all
for me this week!
I have to buy the final bits of backing board and material to mount the last couple of pieces for my exhibition
I have to write a fair chunk of my final piece of assessment for this semester aka. a 3500 word whopper on social capital. I realise you're jealous but no, you can't write it for me. I thank you kindly for the offer though
There may be another trip to the land of Sydney to visit my Auntie who's not well in hospital, I need to squeeze in a couple of dinners, food shopping, long walks (been a little naughty food-wise this week), see Pirates 4!!! AND get Mr. Dolenz here completed so as I can make a start on a lovely heart felt commission !
Also have a backload of washing aka my entire wardobe to do, so i'm afraid sleeping is on hiatis till next week! Lee xox
Ouu Lovely
19th May, 2011
Puuuuuuurty!!!!!
Lee xox
Defeated
18th May, 2011
GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! The colour YELLOW officially SUCKS!!!!!!!
I reached Micky's nose last night and let's just say... it was looking more like his SKULL than his face!!!! As soon as the black entered the picture it just looked AWFUL!!!
I think the brightness of the yellows are just too light to justify throwing black in there
Alternatively I could ditch the black as the darkest shade and use a really dark shade of yellow instead, but then the poor guy wouldn't fit in with the colouring of the other 3 !!! So, last night the decision was made. I am switching Micky to purples!!
Which is a bit sucky because I REALLY wanted him to be in sunshiney yellow but if I so much as look at a strand of yellow yarn right now, I feel i'll put my fist through a wall
So probably best for the health of my knuckles and sanity to switch... YELLOW 1 . ME 0 BUT! Alls good! I know for SURE that the purples will work, so our awesome foursome shall definitely be complete shortly
Just quietly, I think i'm going to have to crochet this picture as well!! TOO FREAKING ADORABLE!!! PLUS they all look GOOD!! As any Monkees fan will readily admit, to get a shot with all of them looking FAB is bloody tricky!! It's usually Mike's inability to smile that ruins things Lee xox
Not Bad
17th May, 2011
Hands up if Miss. Kitty there, had a more productive day than you did Lee....
I did "BUGGER ALL" on my reseach critique today
A model uni student, I am not. However, I think I do fit under the category of 'typical' uni student fairly well
Only means i've just caused myself more stress by losing 12 hours that could of got a hefty chunk done, but instead I found it more interesting to re-arrange the site a little
I'm sorry, but let's all take a moment to play with the gallery widget..... HOW FUN IS IT!!?!
I love how it spins every which way! Only complaint is that it only shows the last 20 or so pictures added to my Flickr account (Hence the addition of the "more here" link underneath, in order to take you to others) but I Love playing around with it! Actually, I just realised, there is a lot of grey around the site now isn't there..... I don't really like grey....then again I spose you need a boring colour for everything else to POP More updates are on the way including tidying up that right hand side further AND the HBBlanket section all brand spankin new and shiny - including your fab re-creations !!!
Am now going to do my first productive thing of the day and go eat a sandwich. Yay for leading a cutting-edge existence lol Lee xox
Groovy Button
16th May, 2011
30%!!!!!
It is toe-freezing-off-ingly chilly here today!!! BRRRRRRRR!!!! so in between writing my essay that is due Friday I am going to aim for the 50% mark today Just hoping the colours are different enough to achieve enough shading but i'm sick of re-starting so i'm going to stick by this lot and see how we go Okay, time to get my 2nd coffee on and read artciles on 'communitarianism'.. Hooray !
In groovier news... "Hey, that's a groovy button..."
Classic. Lee xox
Dolenz
14th May, 2011
MAY MADNESS has set in here at Totallee.net!!!
The second half of this month is all about Mr. Dolenz and the completion of MY MONKEES BLANKET!!!GROUP HUG!! Now as we know there have been a few issues surrounding colour choices for Mr. Dolenz, but I believe i've got it this time !!!
He's currently at 4% after about 20mins of crocheting, so not much to see yet, but considering 1 row of Dan took 30 mins!! I should get through Micky fairly quickly PLUS I'll have the added bonus of listening to my Monkees playlist whilst working on him! Listening to the subject being crocheted really tends to speed things up for some reason OU! I also want to extend a MASSIVE "THANK YOU" to everyone for the bumper response I have received for the Radcliffe(s) piece!! It's even moved a couple of people to tears! Clearly Potter fans through and through LOVE IT!
You know what else I love....
When Monkees and Beatles unite !!!!!!!! Lee xox
Thank you Daniel Radcliffe
13th May, 2011
Lee xox
Grr University
12th May, 2011
So I have been studying like CrAzY for the past 2 DAYS only to spend the entire day today, trying to log in to take the damn test, only to find that their system wouldn't recognise me and therefore wouldn't allow me to log in and do the friggin thing !!!!!! "Talk to the elbow IT department, you ain't worth the extension!!" FRUSTRATING!!! Normally i'd be over the freaking moon to have another day of study time up my sleeve, but I've read, re-read and re-re-read all the material these past 2 days and feel so damn comfortable with it, I could proabably recite it all to you now off the top of my head
But I won't because it's beyond boring and I would like you to come back to my site in the future
So instead I thought i'd take the time to dish a little about my Melbourne trip and show you a few of my FAVE purchases !!
The apartment ended up being smack bang in the middle of Flinder's Lane and lemme tell you, if you're not familiar with Melbourne's CBD...it's pretty much smack bang in the middle of EVERYTHING!@@!#!! IT WAS BRILLLIANT !!!!!!
You literally fall out of bed and bang, you're in the hustle and bustle of everything!
The Tutankhamun exhibit was MIND BLOWING
Thankgod we got their for the 10am sesh, because on the way out we passed 100's of school kids. Phew.
We were told before going in to pace ouselves and try and get through under 75mins to allow them to send shifts of people in after us. Lee stayed in there for 3 hours. IT WAS AMAZING!!! My argument = When am I ever going to get the chance to see these pieces, most of which are over 3,200 YEARS OLD EVER AGAIN?!?!?!?
Answer = NEVER!! (Unless Mr. Moneybags Lotto man smiles upon me and I can catch a flight to Egypt of course )
Some of the artifacts that were there were just so precious, I can't understand how they let them out of Egypt. In saying that there did seem to be a security guard at every possible item. I just couldn't get over the fact that I was staring at pieces that were taken directly off the head dress of Tutankamun's mummy...incredible.
So if the exhibition ever comes to your area, or an area 2 states away like it did for me, get your arse in a car, train, bus or scooter and go see it!!!!!
Now.... Onto the fave purchases!!!!
My new winter coat!!! It has a detatchable fluffy lined hood and although you can't really tell from my appauling photography skills, the bottom actually fans out and is VERY A-line when you walk. So cute !!!
Love at first sight with this baby!! The pattern is gorgeous and the little 'wooden' type buttons on the neck = love! It's also really long and really snuggly. Perfect winter jumper!
My ABSOLUTE fave buy of the trip!! It's an all in one top and it's so damn CUTE!!! It nips you right in at the waist and then these layers of material flare out giving you an amazing hourglass shape! The frills of material continue round the back whcih gives it a bit of a sexy little bustle effect too
So all in all, a success I would say And they're only the fave buys!! Now, back onto important stuff. The Daniel piece. Is 5 rows + border from completion. This means. All going well. It shall be finished by this time-ish tomorrow night. This is exciting. Photos should be up tomorrow. Yayness. Be sure to check back. Peace out. Lee xox
Almost There
9th May, 2011
Helloooooooooooooooooo!!
I am back but thanks to a big-arse test I have in 2 days, I haven't had time for a proper update, but rest assured there's a massive one waiting in the wings when I get the time !!!! Since being back I HAVE been hitting the hook fairly hard at night, which has resulted in me having only a page and a smidge left of the Dan pattern !!!!!!!!
Exciting stuff eh?!?!?!
Yup....
So I won't be posting anymore picture updates until I have him polished off!! Then we can all spazz out together!!
Or just me....dancing around like a wally on my own.... WOO!!! Lee xox
Hoo Roo
2nd May, 2011
This little chickie babe is jet setting off to the fabulous city of MELBOURNE tomorrow !!!!
I've been so pumped for this trip since securing tickets to the Tutankhamun exhibition late last year !!!
Along with having my mind blown by viewing one of the world's most precious artifacts (I may have to instruct a guard upon entering said exhibition to move me along after a minute, because I think i'll have trouble breaking eye contact...and drooling...reminds me, i'd better bring a tarp along with me...I digress...)
i'll be spending an extra 3 days in the shopping/culture/music/ART/food capital of Australia!!! Going to be more than ace !!!
Sadly this means no updates till next week, but I did manage to rush in another 5% of Raddy before downing my hook
I hope you all have a fab week!!! Catch ya's on the flip side Lee xox
The Nez
1st May, 2011
Is it hot in here?! I believe it is. I also believe that it is due to May's Free Pattern Of The Month poster boy, Mr. Michael Nesmith
I'm not going to lie, I always had a bit of a 'thang' for Mike . Kinda weird considering I started watching and listening to the Monkees when I was 8 years old and Mike was technically 24-ish....and in real life 40/50ish....
Yup...awkward... But yay for fictional crushes right?! Right!
As always, don't be shy in giving him a crack and feel free to send in some progress pictures because I love watching these things come to life more than 'all you can eat' signage And guess what!! I have a double dose of goodies today!!!
G'Day and welcome to my lil gallery
Feel free to browse away to your eyes content, leave me a comment on the tag-board or just soak up some crocheted portraiture! I also really need to take 2 seconds here to extend the biggest of "THANK YOU!!!"'s to Lokesh Dhakar whose 'Lightbox2' script is the sickest thing since sliced bread I would seriously be stuffed without the aid of this coding brilliance, so MASSIVE KUDOS to you Mr. Dhakar You're a star man!! Lee xox
This lil' animation is topsy-turvy! The little dude should be chasing the BOOK, because that is what I plan to be doing more of in 2015 !
I was on the lookout for a reading challenge for 2015 that would: a) have a goal of reading 52 books b) pose a list of books that would challenge me to read more diversely (I usually drift towards biographies and classics), and c) have a cool title. Yup. I really am that shallow. !
So whilst drooling and scrolling through my latest batch of pins on Pinterest, I was pretty darn elated to happen upon the POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE!!
(Totallee cool name right ?!) I am already stoked to announce that I am totallee off and runningREADING and have already nailed my first challenge #WINNER!
Wow. Suffering a severe case of shiny face right there 'James Dean' by George Perry! So much for 'reading more diversely' eh?! Technically, this is a biography, but biographies are based on true 'stories' yeah?!? *sigh* I'm hopeless.
Alright i'm totallee cheating with this one, but I have been on such a Jimmy D kick lately that I had to read this!
As a result, I am now slightly obsessed
My goodness he was an amazing person! He faced such tragedy in his early life AND of course in his sudden death, but my word did he squeeze a lot of life out of his 24 years.
Twenty-four years... man it still makes my stomach drop to the floor...
The book provides a great insight into the light and dark shades of Jimmy's character and highlighted aspects of his life and his nature that really brought home what a complex and yet utterly relatable guy he was. Despite his tendency to be quite an introverted, surly and by some accounts outright rude kinda dude, there are stories of truly heart-warming gestures and a vulnerability about him that those close to him said shone through in his onscreen performances For a teeny bit more Jimmy gushing, check out my first Popsugar-related Youtube vid!
Yup! I have almost finished 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee and I have thoroughly enjoyed it I shall save my thoughts till I have finished, but can we all just take a moment to appreciate just how insanely AWESOME SCOUT IS!!! WHAT A LIL FIRECRACKER! LOVE HER ! If you are participating in the Popsugar reading challenge or any reading challenge this year, I would love to hear of your progress and what kind of books you are reading ! Be sure to leave me a tag or leave a link to your youtube book reviews! Now back to knocking over challenge number 2!!
Archived Vlogs!!!
Tutorials, ramblings and randomness...
G'Day G'Day!
This is the place to watch old vlogs!
Proceed with caution - as they're bloody awful!
Vlog #20 [1st May, 2012]
Vlog #19 [12th Mar, 2012]
Vlog #18 [2nd Jan, 2012]
Vlog #17 [28th Oct, 2011]
Vlog #16 [22nd Aug, 2011]
Vlog #15 [17th Aug, 2011]
Vlog #14 [30th July, 2011]
Vlog #13 [18th June, 2011]
Vlog #12 [30th Mar, 2011]
Vlog #11 [29th Mar, 2011]
Vlog #10 [20th Feb, 2011]
Vlog #9 [25th Jan, 2011]
Vlog #8 [15th Dec, 2010]
Vlog #7 [10th Nov, 2010]
Vlog #6 [17th July, 2010]
Vlog #5 [9th July, 2010]
Vlog #4 [8th June, 2010]
Vlog #3 [8th May, 2010]
Vlog #2 [9th Feb, 2010]
Vlog #1 [2nd Feb, 2010]
Pattern Archive!!!
Hooks @ the ready!!!
Welcome one and all to my pattern archive!
Here you will find the patterns I have popped up for you to get your hooks into !
Create your own crocheted portrait of the littlest Monkee! Please send pics of your finished pieces to be featured on Totallee.net!
I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to see em! Mail to poprocker85 [@] totallee [.] net
♥ Peter Tork [The Monkees]
Create your own crocheted portrait of Peter "The most lovable, gorgeous, hunk o' spunk" Tork! Please send pics of your finished pieces to be featured on Totallee.net! I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to see em! Mail to poprocker85 [@] totallee [.] net
♥ Micky Dolenz [The Monkees]
Create your own crocheted portrait of the zany, gorgeous, incomparable Micky <3!! Please send pics of your finished pieces to be featured on Totallee.net!
I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to see em! Mail to poprocker85 [@] totallee [.] net
♥ Michael Nesmith [The Monkees]
Create your own crocheted portrait of Mr. Wool Hat himself! Please send pics of your finished pieces to be featured on Totallee.net!
I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to see em! Mail to poprocker85 [@] totallee [.] net
♥ Jacob Black [Twilight]
Create your own crocheted portrait of this hunky werewolf to adorn your walls,
pillows, hell anywhere you wanna shove him! Please send pics of your finished pieces to be featured on Totallee.net!
I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to see em! Mail to poprocker85 [@] totallee [.] net
♥ Bella & Edward [Twilight]
Create your own crocheted portrait of the sparkly Edward and his awkward Bella! Please send pics of your finished pieces to be featured on Totallee.net!
I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to see em! Mail to poprocker85 [@] totallee [.] net
♥ Edward Cullen [Twilight]
Create your own crocheted portrait of Mr. Moody Bloodsucker Edward Cullen Please send pics of your finished pieces to be featured on Totallee.net!
I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to see em! Mail to poprocker85 [@] totallee [.] net
♥ Captain. Jack Sparrow
Create your own crocheted portrait of the sexy swashbuckler! Savvy?! Please send pics of your finished pieces to be featured on Totallee.net!
I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to see em! Mail to poprocker85 [@] totallee [.] net
♥ Sir. Paul McCartney
Create your own crocheted portrait of Sir. Paul McCartney! 'We're not worthy, we're not worthy!' Please send pics of your finished pieces to be featured on Totallee.net!
I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to see em! Mail to poprocker85 [@] totallee [.] net
♥ Marilyn Monroe
Create your own crocheted portrait of the eternal beauty, Marilyn Monroe!!
Word of warning! This piece is a big'n!! 175 rows!! So if you are new to this form of crochet, I strongly suggest you have a go at the union jack swatch above, to get your fingers a workin'! Please send pics of your finished pieces to be featured on Totallee.net!
I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to see em! Mail to poprocker85 [@] totallee [.] net
2015 Totallee.net Crochet-along!!!
On your marks, get set, HOOK!!!!!.
Oh my goodness!! Only 5 spaces left already guys!! The FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC woman, the one and only VALERIE was the first member of the crochet-along!! and guys, we need to all rise from our chairs and applaude her for at least 5 minutes because Valerie has kindly offered to share HER chosen pattern !! THANK YOU VALERIE!! Wanna know the ultra fun-sexy-cool part?!?!
Take a squizz at who she has chosen....
JIMMY D!!!!! WE WILL BOTH be crocheting Jimmy!! So far it looks like I should have made it a Jimmy themed crochet along !!
Once I establish the measurements for Jimmy with Valerie, the pattern will be made available to you all A.S.A.P ouuu arm-flappingly-exciting!!!
I shall also be posting my Jimmy Dean pattern as soon as it is ready!! However, be warned, it will be MASSIVE!! I already got slightly over-excited and went and gathered my palette already...
Yep! I'm going to have a sexy smouldering sepia cowboy on my hands !!!
Wanna see the picture?!?!
Oh my word, tell me that is not the most perfect picture right there...
Wowzers....
Honestly.....
Not sure how well I will function on a day to day basis when I will eventually be faced with this staring back at me from my loungeroom wall !! Now at this stage, i'll wait to see if we reach 10 participants before deciding on a start date, but be assured that I will allow plenty of time for folks to gather their supplies etc.
Be sure to keep checking back to check on the participant numbers and to see which patterns will be on offer! Ou and be sure to shoot me off an e-mail if you would like to join us! Whilst there are still places left!
The e-mail is poprocker85[@]totallee[.]net! Woo!!
Question mark central!!
Frequently Asked Questions!
This is the place to come to ask your burning questions !!
I get asked a LOT of questions about my work and whilst most can be answered with one sentence, I really would like to help people out as much as I can !
Before submitting a question please be sure to have a quick scroll down to see if it has been answered.
If you have a question relating to the kind of crochet I do (because quite frankly I SUCK at any other kind !), please feel free to send your questions to
poprocker85[@]totallee[.]net
How can I make my own patterns?
This is DEFINTELY the number one question I receive on a daily basis !
Due to my reasons listed in the question below, I will not go into step-by-step details of how I create my patterns however due to mounting pressure I have put together a little list of some links to some freeware found around the web that many folks have found useful in converting their pictures into patterns! WARNING Please note - I have not utilised all of these programs. Therefore I can not validate the safety in downloading or using all of these programs. This is a list I have compiled based on recommendations that others have made to me. Therefore, use AT YOUR OWN RISK!! KPG Sourceforge (the pattern generator I use ) PictureCraftwork KnitPRO Free Pattern Wizard Pic2Pat Stoik Stitch Creator PM Stitch Creator 2.0 Please note - this is a short list! There are many graphing/cross-stitch/knitting generators out in the world wide web! However after trying a few on for size, you should be able to find a program that suits you down to the ground! It really is a matter of trying them out and playng around with them until you produce something you are happy with
How do you make your patterns?
I first began crocheting portraits when I discovered Todd Paschall and his incredible CBN technique in late 2008. I was gobsmacked (and continue to be) by his outstanding work and did not hesitate in paying for his services in creating patterns for a few special pictures I had until I figured out a way to generate my own patterns.
The last thing I would want to do is take business away from Todd's website CROCHET BY NUMBERS, where he has worked so hard to get CBN off the ground. Which is why I won't go into step-by-step instructions about how I convert my pictures. I figure that if folks are that desperate to figure it out, they can do it on their own like I did, then I won't feel like i'm intruding on Todd's hard work. Todd has been nothing but kind and supportive of my work, so I think it is the least I can do to support him.
Do you back your pieces?
I have made a lot of attempts at backing my pieces. I say attempts, because i'm still yet to find the perfect way, however I think it comes down to what the piece will be used for as far as choosing the right method goes.
In backing the Hogwarts Bunch Blanket, I hand-sewed black jersey (or stretchy t-shirt material) onto the back of each panel. It was tricky to keep the fabric flat, however I didn't want to add fleece or another bulky material to the back as I wanted to avoid adding weight to the final blanket. Thing thing already weighs 6000 tons
In the case of the pieces that were featured in my first public exhibition, I needed to back them onto solid boards in order to suit the needs of the hanging system in place at the cafe.
Here's cold-ridden me with a naughty labrador to try and explain how I went about it
I recently made my first commissioned pillow, which was backed differently again!
For this piece, I made the front panel, aka. the pretty 'Erika' panel, then crocheted a backing piece for it, using the same number of stitches and rows. I then hand stitched this onto the back of the pretty panel. The effect it had on the front was FANTASTIC!!!
It smoothed and stretched it out perfectly!
In the past, including the pieces featured in the exhibition, I had attatched the jersey material to the backs of the pieces before wrapping and stappling them to the mdf boards. Crocheting a back produces MUCH better results!
After attatching the crocheted back to the front, I then crocheted a third piece to be the BACK of the pillow. Attatching it on three sides, before filling with polyfill, before stitching up the final side!
I think THIS will be the way I back my pieces in the future! Whether they are intended to be hung on the wall, used as cushions, blankets, etc. if they have a crocheted back attatched to them first, you will get a flat, flawless frontage!
Naturally I would have preffered to have professionally framed most of my pieces, but having already shelled out to frame my Freddie Mercury piece ($500 Smackers!!), short of winning the lotto or putting everything I own up for sale on Ebay, including the house and possibly a kidney, I wouldn't be able to afford it! Therefore, D-I-Y Lee to the rescue!!
Can I have a copy of your patterns?
As you've proabably noticed, most of my pieces center around Musicians/Actors/Actresses/Film and Television. I am a pop culture Freak. I do not sell any patterns or pieces I have made that fit into these genre's as in most cases I do not know if the image I have used is under copywright. Any pieces I have made, I have NOT profitted from. Any patterns I have made I have NOT profitted from. Therefore any patterns I generate will not be made available to buy. However, if you take a stroll over to the Pattern Archive located on the navigation menu at the top of this page, you will find a selection of my patterns that I have popped up for free!
How many colours do you use in your pieces?
I have used as little as 4 and as many as 38 The more colours you use the more definition and detail the piece has. However it is a good idea to have a good look about at the colour range available to you in your local area before falling in love with the idea of doing a piece all in greens, only to find that there are only really 3 shades that go well together! (I have learnt this lesson the hard way people!! lol).
What yarn do you use in your pieces?!
The wonderful Kate has put forward a question I get asked quite a lot! Cheers Kate !!
QUESTION: "What brand/type of yarn do you use??"
The MOST IMPORTANT aspect of yarn choice when it comes to colourwork is the colour !
The CBN technique relies on you choosing progressive shades in the colour palette of your choice, be it greys, blues, pinks, etc... Typically a pattern will instruct which brand of yarn to use, and for those folks who find it frustrating or get a little overwhelmed when it comes to choosing colours, Todd has A LIST of blue and brown shades that work in the Red Heart range which may make life easier for you ! As for my yarn choices - they do tend to change with every piece!
After much browsing I have found a palette of greys that I am very happy with, however it does vary depending on whether i'd like the piece to have a black & white feel or a slight blue tinge running through it. It really does come down to trial and error for me!
I have never made a piece using the same brand of yarn for all colours. I always use many different kinds!
I get yarn from craft supply stores, discount stores, Kmart, Woolworths, my Mum's accumulated stash over the past 30 years, freebies from friends old stashes, etc...
Then it really is a case of mixing and matching to get the right degree of shading
The size of the ply I use also varies! For instance, in my GWTW piece, one of the lighter blues I really really wanted to use only came in 5 ply, much thinner than all the other colours that were 8 ply. So I bought 2 balls and worked two strands of the colour every time I used it, in order to balance the thickness. The important thing was that it was the RIGHT COLOUR for the job
Hence the reason as to why I cannot give brand names of the yarn I use in each pattern as it really is an eclectic ever-changing mix!
I guess the biggest barrier a lot of people have in giving work like this a go is the risky business of choosing colours and being afraid that they won't work as well as they want them too. Trust me, i've had my fair share of disasters! Exhibit A
I thought I was on a winner with my choices for a piece featuring Danny Jones from McFly I attempted a while ago...
So far so good...decided to keep going...
Yup! Loving that shine on the retro microphone! Kept going...
WAY TOO DARK!!! BIGGEST BUMMER!!! So the best advice I can give is to take your time in comparing and contrasting your shades! Sometimes projects will fail, sometimes you may have to put a project on hold until the right shade turns up in stock, sometimes you may have to change your entire palette depending on the colours you have available to you. Ply size you can work around, brands you can mix and match, but it's the colour choices that will be the difference between a good piece and one that POPS!
Aching Hands and Wrists?!?!?
The lovely Donna sent in a question!
QUESTION: " You work on so many different projects and seem to get them
out uber quick, do your hands hurt? The muscle around my thumb hurts
and I'm actually noticing rub marks from my hook on my fingers. What do you do for your
busy hands?"
Ah yes! The dreaded hand cramps ! When I first started crocheting properly at the end of 2008, I noticed that my hands started to cramp up quite quickly! I searched every forum you can imagine to get some tips on how to prevent my fingers seizing up after only half an hour of crocheting, so quickly tried them out. Some worked for me, some didn't. Some made perfect sense, others were perfectly ridiculous ! Here are some tips that help me BUCKETLOADS when it comes to hand cramps!
Take a break! Over time I have learnt to rest my fingers before going overboard. I start to get tingly sensations in my fingers and my wrists start to click, which is my flashing warning sign to give it a rest The worst thing you could do is try to push through the pain, even if you only have one row left! I was so eager to finish my AC/DC piece, I remember pushing through the clicks and cracks to knock off the last 12 rows and by god, I could hardly bend my fingers without searing pain for the next week, rendering me useless!! Pretzel-finger syndrome!!!
I now crochet in 15 minute blocks. After 15 mins, I stop, stand up, and do some basic hand exercises
Hand Exercises - after a quick search for "finger stretches, hand stretches, etc," I compiled a series of finger, hand and wrist stretches that I do in between 15 minute blocks of crocheting. First I tend to splay my fingers out, stretching them as far as they can go, before then curling them up to form a fist (repeat x 10), I then gently massage the palms of my hands, working from the middle of the palm out to the end of each finger. That usually takes about 5 mins for both hands. I then bend my wrists backwards and then forwards using my other hand like this...
Funnily enough, I don't tend to get too much pain in my crocheting hand. I actually get the most pain in the index finger of my left hand ! I tend to stick out my index finger as I hold my working yarn, which leaves it a bit stiff and sore! Which leads me to think that maybe trying a different grip on your hook may alleviate any pain your experienceing in your crocheting hand.
I've also noticed that MY NECK gets extremely stiff!! After I complete a row i'm finding that I have to do a few simple neck exercises (which make me look like a pidgeon...so attractive...)
I must get into the crocheting zone and look like a bloody statue sitting there cause my neck is completely set in stone sometimes! Very strange! So as long as you don't push yourself too hard and you take lots of little breaks, hopefully some simple exercises should help ease the pain and it'll be smooth sailing from here on in !
Press!
Making a splash!!!
The 26th day of July 2011, saw the launch of my very first exhibition! To say that I was BEYOND STOKED would be a tad of an understatement.
After months of planning, backing, staple-gunning, up's + down's, high's + low's, trialing and erroring, the 26th rocked around pretty quickly and my god WHAT A NIGHT!!!
I was lucky enough to have an opening night with close family and friends in attendance. So special and actually a bit overwhelmning to see the hours, days and months worth of your own work, created by your own hands, on display for everyone to see.
The exhibition was titled 'Off The Hook' and featured pieces such as 'Gone With the Wind', 'John Lennon', 'Elvis & Ann Margret' and 'The 2 Radcliffes'. It was warmly received and generated a lot of positive feedback which is obviously more than I could of hoped for!
Details of the exhibition were published in the 'Arts Section' of the city's newspaper and has generated a new awareness of crochet in the community and it's far-reaching possibilities!
Print!!!
Early in 2011 I awoke to a little opportunity sitting patiently in my inbox. Adrienne the deputy editor of Let's Knit UK magazine had asked if they could feature the Hogwarts Bunch Blanket in an upcoming issue!!
I preceeded to freak-the-shiz out and accepted immediately!!!
Published in a magazine!!!!! From the other side of the freaking planet!!!!! AGGHHHH!!!
As you can see I handled the whole propsal extremely professionally....
Adrienne sent along some questions and I sent her some pictures and you can imagine my surprise when I first laid eyes on issue #44.....
I scored an ENTIRE PAGE!!!
I'd like to extend another massive thank you to Adrienne and her team for this opportunity! TOO TOO AWESOME!!
World Wide Web!!!
The 22nd of August of 2011 saw the publication of my first guest blog!! Kathreen of Whip-up.net graciously asked if I would write a guest post for her site and I was stoked!
It went a little like this...
Hello Whipup.net'ers! Kathreen has graciously invited me to be a guest blogger on her fabulous site and I'm very thankful for the opportunity! Thank you Kathreen! xox
The Girl
My name is Lee and I'm a twenty-six year old textile/fibre/crochet artist born, bred and based in Canberra, Australia {find out more about me and my work on my blog}. I was about seven or eight years old when I first asked my Mum to show me how to 'do that thing with the hook'. The fascination lasted about two weeks and produced a basic knee rug that was comprised of more holes than actual crochet. The world of crochet was quickly forgotten as I moved on to tennis lessons instead. Which, come to think of it, also lasted about two weeks...
In late 2008 I remember stumbling upon the world of amigurumi (small crocheted animals/toys). I made a few little pieces before yet again my severe lack of an attention span kicked in and I found myself on the search for something new and exciting to try.
The Technique
My search came to an abrupt halt in 2008 when my jaw hit the floor and my eyes were glued to the incredible crochet portraits by Todd Paschall of Crochet by numbers. I remember the first time I clapped eyes on his smiling portrait of President Barack Obama and I was in awe.
A squillion questions sprang to mind, the biggest one being, How in the world do you DO that?! When I discovered that Todd was sharing his technique and also offered to convert any picture into an easy to follow pattern, I knew I had to give it a try.
I began by getting the basic stitches down pat. The crochet-by-numbers technique only requires you to know how to 'chain' and 'single crochet', so I began by practicing with little square swatches. Within a matter of days I was ready to have a go at the training patterns featured on Todd's site. At first these were the 'scary ones' I was a little anxious about trying as they involved the dreaded practice of colour changing! I soon discovered that it was nothing to fear and was actually quite fun!
Todd's technique does not require you to 'carry yarn' or weave in any loose ends, instead every colour change is accompanied by a cut and tie-off. Although many folks have shivered at the prospect of cutting and tying-off at every single colour change, I've found it can actually be quite relaxing! Although I do often warn those who are thinking of giving it a go, to be prepared to be patient, have a fully stocked chocolate stash beside them and one hell of a comfy chair!
As my confidence grew and I knew I was hooked (sorry, pun was begging to be used), I moved on to much larger pieces, with much more detail (aka. more colours and more colour changes!). Pretty quickly I discovered that crocheting portraits had become incredibly fun, exciting and important to me. Ideas about future pieces, possible colour palettes and the never ending string of possibilities had actually started to keep me awake at night. Visits to local yarn stores quickly became a compulsory stopping point every time I left the house. It soon became glaringly obvious that a hook and a ball of yarn offered so much more than a way to while away spare hours.
The Result
As my work will illustrate, I'm a bit of a pop culture fanatic. I have a wide interest in film, music and literature as well as the era's that go along with them. Musically speaking I am drawn to the 1950s and 60s in particular. The Monkees, The Beatles and The King to name a few!
I also have a love for the glory days of Hollywood and the actors that created true magic with their presence on the silver screen.
It is also a poorly kept secret that I am a bit of a Harry Potter fanatic. I use the term 'fanatic' there, when really the word 'MASSIVE' should go in front of it. I don't know what it is about the books and movies that continues to take hold of my hook, but I keep being drawn back to the wonderful characters and world of Hogwarts, time and time again.
This piece featuring Daniel Radcliffe as a young Harry Potter and as the young man he has become has certainly earned a spot in my top three favourite pieces to date. Not only does it have the most clarity of any piece I have done, it is the first time I was aiming for the 'sepia effect' and it was the first time I nailed it! It is also the largest piece I have tackled to date at a staggering 32,000 stitches.
I also get immense joy out of creating pieces that conjure up personal memories for loved ones. In particular, is a piece I put together for my Dad's 50th birthday. It features a picture of him as a finger-snapping two year old boy in the backyard of his childhood home in Sydney. As a life-long radio fanatic, I decided to surround him with radio paraphernalia, including a retro-styled radio, microphone and the logo of his favourite radio station throughout his adolescent years.
It remains my favourite piece to date. Not only because it's so monumentally personal, but because of the reaction it received from my Dad upon seeing it for the first time. I stood in the living room and holding it up and outstretched before calling him into the room. He stopped dead in his tracks, gasped, muttered a few choice expletives against the palm of his hand that had shot up to hide his open mouth and smiled. We then both proceeded to get a little misty eyed (balled our eyes out actually!). His reaction meant that the sixty plus hours spent on it was forgotten instantly and I knew then that I had found a truly remarkable way to express love and pay tribute to the many people, musicians, actors, films and loved ones that I have and continue to admire.
Recently the world of crochet portraiture has begun to open some really exciting doors for me too! Earlier this year, my Hogwarts Bunch Blanket was featured in 'Let's Knit UK' magazine and for the past three weeks, ten of my pieces have been adorning the walls of a local cafe/bar in my first ever exhibition!
If you have ever wanted to give crochet a go, by all means pick up a hook and get cracking! You never know where it might take you!!
(It is well worth clicking the picture at the top of this post to take you to the published blog on whip-up.net to get the flow of it all with the pictures included -_^!)
Hogwarts Bunch Blanket!
Here's the story, of a boy named Harry...!!!
It's only now as I come to write this that I realise the first time I picked up a copy of 'The Philosopher's Stone' was in 1999. It's only now that I realise that that was 13 YEARS AGO. By God. I could really use that time-turning hourglass of Hermione's right now....
Anywayz! Mid way through 2009, I decided to have a crack at making my own crochet patterns and guess who I decided to do first?!? Young Mister. Potter As far as first impressions go I was pretty chuffed! At least it looked like him and of course the bigger plus - it only used 4 colours (which therefore made it cheap as chips to make!)
At first I thought it would make a cute cushion for the lounge but then inspiration reared it's beautiful head! Why not make lonely Harry a couple of friends to accompany him on said couch?!? It wasn't until I had them all lined up on the floor that I thought 'this screams Brady Bunch...'
So taking inspiration from the opening and closing credit's of "Here's the story, of a lovely lady..", I went about choosing 9 characters for a Hogwarts Bunch Blanket! NOT AN EASY TASK!!!!!
SOO many too choose from! So many faves! But as of December 2010, I managed to whittle the selection down to 9 and complete them!
The next step was to border and back them all individually before the daunting task of Hand Sewing (blurgh. )
I bordered each one with about 4 rows of black before sewing some cheap black jersey material to the backs. I then joined the panels together with black yarn by going in and out of the holes conveniently made by the single crochet stitches. This produced a lovely flat join that can hardly be seen ! (on the right side up of course -_^!)
The blanket has received an enormous amount of love so i'd just like to send vitual hugs , kisses and high fives to EVERYONE who has followed and supported me though the making of this project via the many places i've posted my progress! Major kudos to you guys
Our New Celebrity
Earlier this year I awoke to a little opportunity sitting patiently in my inbox. Adrienne the deputy editor of Let's Knit UK magazine had asked if they could feature the Hogwarts Bunch Blanket in an upcoming issue!!
I preceeded to freak-the-shiz out and accepted immediately!!!
Published in a magazine!!!!! From the other side of the freaking planet!!!!! AGGHHHH!!!
As you can see I handled the whole propsal extremely professionally....
Adrienne sent along some questions and I sent her some pictures and you can imagine my surprise when I first laid eyes on issue #44.....
I scored an ENTIRE PAGE!!!
I'd like to extend another massive thank you to Adrienne and her team for this opportunity! TOO TOO AWESOME!!
♥ Potter Patterns!
Due to overwhelming demand, I decided to pop up my HP panel patterns for free ! If you're a beginner or are new to the CBN technique, it might be worth having a go at the Union Jack CAL found under the 'Get Hooked' tab at the top of the page first. It has a step by step vlog to help you learn the basics, which will get you all ready to rock n roll with the Hogwarts Bunch !
For those ready to dive right in, pick your Potter pal and get hooking ! Harry Potter Ronald Weasley Hermione Granger Ginny Weasley Draco Malfoy Severus Snape Albus Dumbledore Rubeus Hagrid Tom Riddle
For those wanting different characters, if you're a member of Ravelry, have a search for a raveller named 'Candice' She has a BUNCH of character graphs for free in her patterns section Please note- I do not produce patterns on request. For reasons why, please see the Frequently Asked Questions Section
If you do have a crack at a character, please feel free to send me pictures to be featured here on Totallee.net! Like the beautiful angels below!!!
poprocker [@] totallee [.] net !
Your Potter Panels!
Get ready to get your applause on whilst browsing this section!!
This section is to show off the incredible crocheting magic of those who have had a crack at the Potter Panels and have beyond succeeded !!
If you have sent me a picture of your potter panel and don't see it featured, first, please forgive me and secondly, please resend it! I'm a fully qualified scatterbrain and have clearly misplaced it! Again if you would like to have your finished piece featured, please pop a couple of images into an e-mail and send it to poprocker [@] totallee [.] net!
Lee Mac. Twenty-nine year old fibre artist. Crochet portraits = Obsession. I am surgically attached to my Ipod and crochet hook.
Bookworm. Pop culture addict. M&ms are as important as oxygen. Einstein hit the nail on the head with "Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." 
Study Suucks
Study is NOT my buddy! Stupid friggin essay 
I need to remember that this is the last 3500 worded piece of "
" for the semester. I just wish 
9th June would come and GO!! Then i'd be freeeee 
BON SCOTT 
SPAZ on the dancefloor.
As I mentioned on ravelry, I have less than 2 months to go before the exhibition, which gives me just enough time to complete one more piece to be featured. I have chosen this lil lady 
Stay tuned for updates through the week 
Lee xox
The boys are together at last and i'm smiling like a knob!! THEY LOOK GREAT!!! 
!!!
. However when the time comes to turn them into a blanket I PROMISE to document the process properly for those who have been after such a tutorial 
60%!!
I'm a little bit of a nervous nancy thanks to the amount of background coloured yarn I have left...
It's gonna be a little nervy to see if I have enough to last the distance, but i've found a shade in my stash that is so so sooooooo close that I COULD get away with it if it's needed.
I should be able to get a fair chunk of his 
hair outta the way tonight, ha-le-luh-jah!!
Very VERY giddy right now as I have another 10 or so rows of LCC's (Lotsa-Colour-Changes) which of course will be his cute lil eyes and then it's long strips of single colour territory 
So my plan of attack is to get stuck into it this afternoon infront of taped eps of 
Christian Siriano - LOVE HIM!!]
So i've been dreaming of making a granny square blanket to cosy up with for quite a while now and this morning on my daily Ravelry search I came across the cutest square 
!!!
After following the links to the pattern, I discovered that this little square is doing some amazing things 
daisy square is available for free, however payment is asked by way of you sending a square to Krystal in order for it to be a part of an afghan with squares sent from all over the 
world!
) here are some helpful links!
KROCHET KRYSTAL - Krochet Krystal's Blog, where you can read more about the project and see the afghans that have already been created by the hands of many!
!!!!!!
Side Note - If anyone wants to learn-along or get a little CAL going with me, we could set something up!! Because i'll sure as hell be needing some help lol 
!
"Here he comes...walking down the street..."
Looking MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCH better in the purples 
?! Such a shame, but well done purple for saving the day 
!!
!!!
So, last night the decision was made. I am switching Micky to 
Just quietly, I think i'm going to have to crochet this picture as well!! TOO FREAKING ADORABLE!!! PLUS they all look GOOD!! As any Monkees fan will readily admit, to get a shot with all of them looking FAB is bloody tricky!! It's usually Mike's inability to smile that ruins things 
Love playing around with it!
Actually, I just realised, there is a lot of grey around the site now isn't there..... I don't really like grey....then again I spose you need a boring colour for everything else to POP 
More updates are on the way including tidying up that right hand side further AND the HBBlanket section all brand spankin new and shiny - including your fab re-creations 
!!!
It is toe-freezing-off-ingly chilly here today!!! BRRRRRRRR!!!! so in between writing my essay that is due Friday 
I am going to aim for the 
Just hoping the colours are different enough to achieve enough shading but i'm sick of re-starting so i'm going to stick by this lot and see how we go 
Okay, time to get my 2nd coffee on and read artciles on 'communitarianism'.. Hooray 
!
"Hey, that's a groovy button..."
Classic.
GROUP HUG!!
PLUS I'll have the added bonus of 
listening to my Monkees playlist whilst working on him! Listening to the subject being crocheted really tends to speed things up for some reason 
It's even moved a couple of people to tears! Clearly Potter fans through and through 
!!!!!!!!
So I have been studying like CrAzY for the past 2 DAYS only to spend the entire day today, trying to log in to take the damn test, only to find that their system wouldn't recognise me and therefore wouldn't allow me to log in and do the friggin thing 
"Talk to the elbow IT department, you ain't worth the extension!!"
!!
smiles upon me and I can catch a 
flight to Egypt of course 
Onto the fave purchases!!!!
Love at first sight with this baby!! The pattern is gorgeous and the little 'wooden' type buttons on the neck = love! It's also really long and really snuggly. Perfect winter jumper!
My ABSOLUTE fave buy of the trip!! It's an all in one top and it's so damn 
Helloooooooooooooooooo!!
!!!!
Since being back I HAVE been hitting the hook fairly hard at night, which has resulted in me having only a page and a smidge left of the Dan pattern 
!!!!!!!!
spazz out together!!
!!!!
!!!
Australia!!! Going to be more than ace 
Is it hot in here?! I believe it is. I also believe that it is due to May's Free Pattern Of The Month poster boy, Mr. Michael Nesmith 
. Kinda weird considering I started watching and listening to the Monkees when I was 8 years old and Mike was technically 24-ish....and in real life 40/50ish....
send in some progress pictures because I love watching these things come to life more than 'all you can eat' signage 
January
I also really need to take 2 seconds here to extend the biggest of "THANK YOU!!!"'s to 
This lil' animation is topsy-turvy! The little dude should be chasing the BOOK, because that is what I plan to be doing more of in 2015 
!
a) have a goal of reading 52 books
b) pose a list of books that would challenge me to read more diversely (I usually 
drift towards biographies and classics), and
c) have a cool title. Yup. I really am that shallow. 
!
drooling and scrolling through my latest batch of pins on Pinterest, I was pretty darn elated to happen upon the 
!!
?!)
I am already stoked to announce that I am totallee off and 
#WINNER!
Wow. Suffering a severe case of shiny face right there 
'James Dean' by George Perry! So much for 'reading more diversely' eh?! Technically, this is a biography, but biographies are based on true 'stories' yeah?!? 
*sigh* I'm hopeless.
tragedy in his early life AND of course in his sudden death, but my word did he squeeze a lot of life out of his 24 years.
man it still makes my stomach drop to the floor...
Despite his tendency to be quite an introverted, surly and by some accounts outright rude kinda dude, there are stories of truly heart-warming gestures and a vulnerability about him that those close to him said shone through in his onscreen performances 
For a teeny bit more Jimmy gushing, check out my first 
Popsugar-related Youtube vid!
Yup! I have almost finished 
I shall save my thoughts till I have finished, but can we all just 
!
If you are participating in the Popsugar reading challenge or any reading challenge this year, I would love to hear of your progress and what kind of books you are reading 
! Be sure to leave me a tag or leave a link to your youtube book reviews!
Now back to knocking over challenge number 2!! 
G'Day G'Day!
Vlog #20 [1st May, 2012]
Welcome one and all to my pattern archive!
On your marks, get set, HOOK!!!!!.
Oh my goodness!! Only 5 spaces left already guys!! The FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC woman, the one and only 
Wanna know the ultra fun-sexy-cool part?!?!
JIMMY D!!!!! 
WE WILL BOTH be crocheting Jimmy!! So far it looks like I should have made it a Jimmy themed crochet along 
!!
pattern will be made available to you all A.S.A.P 
ouuu arm-flappingly-exciting!!!
Yep! I'm going to have a sexy smouldering sepia cowboy on my hands 
!!!
Oh my word, tell me that is not the most perfect picture right there...
!!
Now at this stage, i'll wait to see if we reach 10 participants before deciding on a start date, but be assured that I will allow plenty of time for folks to gather their supplies etc. 
e-mail if you would like to join us! Whilst there are still places left!
This is the place to come to ask your 
burning questions 
!!
!), please feel free to send your questions to
This is DEFINTELY the number one question I receive on a daily basis 
!
WARNING Please note - I have not utilised all of these programs. Therefore I can not validate the safety in downloading or using all of these programs. This is a list I have compiled based on recommendations that others have made to me. Therefore, use AT YOUR OWN RISK!!
)
Please note - this is a short list! There are many graphing/cross-stitch/knitting generators out in the 
Do you back your pieces?
naughty labrador to try and explain how I went about it
sale on Ebay, including the house and possibly a kidney, I wouldn't be able to afford it! Therefore, 
D-I-Y Lee to the rescue!!
. I do not sell any patterns or pieces I have made that fit into these genre's as in most cases I do not know if the image I have used is under copywright. Any pieces I have made, I have NOT profitted from. Any patterns I have made I have NOT profitted from. Therefore any patterns I generate will not be made available to buy.
The more colours you use the more definition and detail the piece has. However it is a good idea to have a good look about at the colour range available to you in your local area before falling in love with the idea of doing a piece all in greens, only to find that there are only really 3 shades that go well together! (I have learnt this lesson the hard way people!! lol).
The wonderful Kate has put forward a question I get asked quite a lot! Cheers Kate 
The MOST IMPORTANT aspect of yarn choice when it comes to colourwork is the colour 
colour palette of your choice, be it greys, blues, pinks, etc...
Typically a pattern will instruct which brand of yarn to use, and for those folks who find it frustrating or get a little overwhelmed when it comes to choosing colours, Todd has 
very happy with, however it does vary depending on whether i'd like the piece to have a black & white feel or a slight blue tinge running through it. It really does come down to trial and error for me!
mixing and matching to get the right degree of shading 
WAY TOO DARK!!! BIGGEST BUMMER!!!
So the best advice I can give is to take your time in comparing and contrasting your shades! Sometimes projects will fail, sometimes you may have to put a project on hold until the right shade turns up in stock, sometimes you may have to change your entire palette depending on the colours you have available to you. Ply size you can work around, brands you can mix and match, but it's the colour choices that will be the difference between a good piece and one that 
!
!
BUCKETLOADS when it comes to hand cramps!
AC/DC piece, I remember pushing through the clicks and cracks to knock off the last 12 rows and by god, I could hardly bend my fingers without searing pain for the next week, rendering me useless!! 
quick search for "finger stretches, hand stretches, etc," I compiled a series of finger, hand and wrist stretches that I do in between 15 minute blocks of crocheting. First I tend to splay my fingers out, stretching them as far as they can go, before then curling them up to form a fist (repeat x 10), I then gently massage the palms of my hands, working from the middle of the palm out to the end of each finger. That usually takes about 5 mins for both hands. I then bend my wrists backwards and then forwards using my other hand like this...
Funnily enough, I don't tend to get too much pain in my crocheting hand. I actually get the most pain in the index finger of my left hand 
! I tend to stick out my index finger as I hold my working yarn, which leaves it a bit stiff and sore! Which leads me to think that maybe trying a different grip on your hook may alleviate any pain your experienceing in your crocheting hand.
!
The 26th day of July 2011, saw the launch of my very first exhibition! To say that I was BEYOND STOKED would be a tad of an understatement.
Early in 2011 I awoke to a little opportunity sitting patiently in my inbox. Adrienne the deputy editor of 
I scored an ENTIRE PAGE!!!
It's only now as I come to write this that I realise the first time I picked up a copy of 'The Philosopher's Stone' was in 1999. It's only now that I realise that that was 13 YEARS AGO. By God. I could really use that time-turning hourglass of Hermione's right now....
It wasn't until I had them all lined up on the floor that I thought 'this screams Brady Bunch...' 
! (on the right side up of course -_^!)
, kisses 
and high fives 
to EVERYONE who has followed and supported me though the making of this project via the many places i've posted my progress! Major kudos to you guys 
!
send me pictures to be featured here on Totallee.net! Like the beautiful angels below!!!
If you have sent me a picture of your potter panel and don't see it featured, first, please forgive me and secondly, please resend it! I'm a fully qualified scatterbrain and have clearly misplaced it!