Dear John

My father came home with a plan Wednesday after an afternoon watching a soccer match with his pub buddies at the local Britannia Arms.  One of his friends is a tea drinker.  The Brit serves tea in a 4-cup pot that's often cold by the third or fourth cup.  Dad decided to recruit me to make a teapot cozy for the pub.

The whole process was a bit backward.  First we picked up the yarn he wanted and a hook, then we stopped by the pub and borrowed one of their pots and last we looked up a pattern for me to base my work off of.  Needless to say, the yarn wasn't what the pattern wanted, the hook wasn't exactly what the pattern or yarn wanted and the pattern wasn't exactly what I wanted.

I decided to use some of the leftover yarn from the Tweedle twins to give the piece a second (and third, and fourth) color.  The red was done 3dc with a K-10.5/6.5mm hook.  The zebra was done 5dc+1ch with an F-5/3.75mm hook.  The top row of red was done 2dc with the K hook.  The lid piece started with 6dc of the red in a magic circle and ended with 5dc+1ch of the zebra.

The button to keep the back bit under the handle was stolen from the odds and ends button container my mother has and sewn on until the thread I cut ran out.  It's got some sort of coat of arms on it.  My father decided on it because it looked "British."

He was asleep with I put the finished product in his lap.  I think he wrapped it up and will be taking it back to the Brit tomorrow, if he's feeling well enough.

Cthulhu Plush

A while back, one of my minions at my library job wanted help with a pattern she'd found.  I told her sure, since I was fairly confident in my crocheting, or at least my ability to fake it til I make it.  Turns out it was a little Lovecraftian cthulhu plush, with a very useful pattern full of tips and tricks.  She had a date mix-up and ended up being unable to learn that week, and by time we were able to sit down together, I had a good handful of the little buggers done.

I made the first one, a medley of greens.  I made a blue one to try again.  My housemates all wanted one.  So I made a hot pink one.  And a purple one.  Then an orange one.  And a fuzzy pale green one for a holiday gift exchange.  A tiny red one (the yarn was too small for the hook, so I had to downsize).  Finals were upon me but I managed to churn out another green one.  And finally, during my late-night shift at work, the yellow one.

At home before the holidays, I made another fuzzy pale green one and two black, white and grey ones I've deemed the twins.  Kinda want to name them Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.  But that's up to their owners.

Each came out of the mass of yarn I accumulated a month or so ago, when the local McMenamin's had an antique rummage sale and I got a whole mess for $10.  The only "special" one was the orange, as its recipient brought me the orange for the body and the neon green/brown for the wings.  They take no more than 3 hours maximum to make, and the effect on supplies is negligible.

I followed the pattern on all but the yellow, where I started with a magic circle of 12 double crochet rather than 6 single crochet, as they tend to have cone heads.  Used an F5/3.75mm hook on all but the red one, which used a 3 in what I believe are lace hooks.  Yarn, fiber fill and 9mm solid black shank-back eyes from Jo-Ann's.

Adorable little buggers, if I do say so myself.

Happy holidays from the whole cthulhu family.

Sky and White

I've made a number of dice bags in my day.  The first one was for myself just to prove I could - I had an excess of white yarn, so it's pure white and I didn't know how to make circles yet, so it's a rectangle folded with attached side panels.  More recently was a dark blue medley (the same yarn used here) almost tall enough for a wine bottle, with beaded drawstrings.  Then a green medley with white and yellow-pink-blue tinsel stripes.

This is the most recent one, made in a couple hours over two days right in front of its recipient, who couldn't guess what it was until I pulled the drawstrings through.  I hate working on a present in front of someone, but at the same time, when they can't figure out what it is and at least express some interest in its creation, it's fun.

It has almost a pear shape, because I started it too big and had to reduce.  It almost looks like one of those funny-shaped pots and I really rather like it.  Once I figured out what I would have to do to make it work, I had this vision of what I wanted it to look like in my head and it turned out exactly how I envisioned.

The white is the leftover Sugar 'n Cream from the Bender Hat, the blues are from a previous project as mentioned above.

Project pre-dates blog: Specific details unavailable.

Grasshopper Pie

I got bored one night and found a bunch of patterns that interested me from Michaels, including one for pie and ice cream.  A friend's birthday was coming up and because I'm out of state most of the year and because of his love of pie, I decided I would send him some.

I went through my yarn stash and pulled out the mint green I used on the sweater for Nerenya and a couple squares of brown I'd gotten from a random bag from a friend.  I tracked down the size 4 hook I used for the first baby sweater and was set.  In just a few hours while I was at work, I cranked out the crust and the filling, only stopping because my bag of fiber fill was at home.

It makes a wonderful projectile and solves the problem of how one mails pie to someone 600 miles away so that they can still enjoy it upon arrival.

Bender Hat

One of my friends found a wonderful picture on the Internet one day and, being the big kid he is, said
he wanted it.  I took a look at it and said sure, I can make that - and I can make it adult-sized (because honestly, why would you put Bender on a kid).

I picked up a ball of the soft Red Heart yarn in grey and a ball of pure white Sugar 'n Cream and got started.

The antenna was first.  I pulled it out and started over a number of times trying to get it round enough and then ended up over-stuffing it so it stretched out into an oval.  The shaft was a bit trickier, but I got it in one try and, of course, under-stuffed it, so it's more than a bit floppy and has been deemed quite a bit more phallic than intended.

The hat itself was next, which was a breeze with how many hats I've made.  The only tricky part was figuring out where to place the ear flaps and how big to make them.  The hat ended up a bit small, but it stretches, so it worked out.

Then the eye guard thing.  That took all of five minutes, if one doesn't count the time to figure out how much to chain.  The eyes didn't take very long either; the most difficult bit was making sure they were the same size.  The pupils took even less time.

Attaching everything, though annoying, wasn't difficult.  It turned out really great and was worn to a party on its first night of existence.  It immediately became the drinking hat.

Project pre-dates blog: Specific details unavailable.

Nerenya

Pleased with the experience from the first pattern, I tried another one, pattern 106, for another couple of expectant friends.  This one was also only the sweater.

Knowing the mother wasn't a fan of stereotypical boy and girl colors, I debated for the longest time between mint green and lavender, eventually settling on the mint green, which I was quite pleased with.

I had to pull it out and start over because I realized I was adding stitches because I didn't understand the pattern, but once I figured it out, it was almost intuitive.  I only had to reference the pattern a few times to make sure I was doing the right number of stitches.  The main body used the back loops of the stitches, giving the sweater a delightful texture of ridges and valleys.

This piece was a lot of fun and turned out absolutely gorgeous with a slender white ribbon with silver trim as the tie-closure and its "bead" trim around the whole piece.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture before I presented it to dad to take home.

Daniel Erik

The first pattern I ever followed was for a baby sweater.  It came out of a 1950s pattern book my friend's ex-wife had - she couldn't crochet, so she asked if I would be willing to make one of them.

I picked pattern 103 and made just the sweater, as that was all the yarn allowed.  At the local Jo-Ann's, I texted the dad "blue or orange, no questions" and ended up going for a blue and white baby yarn that was super-soft.

I've always been hesitant to use patterns, one because they have that language all their own that they can't decipher for you because you have to know it before you're allowed to use patterns.  Two because they aren't always clear with what you're supposed to be doing or which stitch you're supposed to be working off of or what stitch you're supposed to be using.  Three because it's no fun.

However, this one was easy to follow and was quite a bit of fun because it forced me to learn multiple stitches I hadn't worked with before and taught me ways to combine stitches to make new patterns.

And it turned out really nice, I think.  Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of it after I finished it (a habit I really need to get out of), so the above is the only documentation I have of it.

Zaage Scarf 2

Also in Japan, I made my Vampire: the Masquerade live-action role-play character a new scarf, as the original one I knitted a number of years ago was starting to show its age.

The yarn was 105 yen a ball, just over a dollar.  I picked up two orange, one green and one purple and was quite content with myself until I actually started crocheting.  My color vision was not happy for the duration of this project, but the compliments I've gotten on its loudness have been well worth it.

One of my first longer (length-wise) projects, I ended up tightening my stitches as I went, so the whole thing twists pretty badly when worn.  There are probably a vast number of things I could do to try and fix the problem, but I'm content with it how it is, so I'll be leaving it.

The scarf ends reach just above my ankles (I'm 5-foot-4) when wrapped around my neck once.

Project pre-dates blog: Specific details unavailable.

Mr. Fats

While I was in Japan, I picked up a bunch of Pretty Mohair with the intention of making parting gifts for my host family.  For my 3-year-old host-nephew, I decided to make a stuffed animal.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to make, so I just kinda went with it and Mr. Fats is what resulted.

He's a hodgepodge of leftover yarn and experimentation, and for such is rather adorable.

Mr. Fats was made piece by piece - each color change or half circle/oval was made independently and stitched together (which is why his head looks funny).  He's stuffed, but his head is under-stuffed and his body is over-stuffed, hence his name.

He was quite the hit among my host mother and host sisters, though the nephew he was intended for didn't take to him as quickly as I might have hoped.  I just hope he stood up to a toddler.

Again, he's mostly Pretty Mohair (purple mix, pastel rainbow and green), save the blue, which is a thicker yarn.  He was done with a size 5 crochet hook (which wasn't nearly small enough but was the smallest I had).

Project pre-dates blog: Specific details unavailable.

Big Enough

On one of my adventures in Japan, my friend and I finally found the local craft shop.  He'd been sad for quite a while because he couldn't find a hat in the country that fit him, so I told him to pick out what yarn he wanted and I'd make him one.  He picked out some heavier weight red and black and wanted them together.

Luckily one of the hooks I'd picked up at the 100 yen store was big enough to work two yarns together.  When I had the main body done, it just looked a bit too plain, so I pulled some of the smaller balls I'd purchased out and did the trim and ball on top for accent.

This little beauty is what resulted, and I have to say that I was quite pleased with the result.  Technically my first commission ever, even if I didn't make anything other than good feelings off of it.

Made with 1 ball each red and black wool, 1 ball each red and black chenille fun yarn and a size 8 crochet hook.

Project pre-dates blog: Specific details unavailable.

Mint Chocolate Chip Scarf

One of the first things I made after I taught myself to purl was this mint green and brown/copper scarf.  It was originally supposed to be for myself, but because my boyfriend-at-the-time's favorite color was green and I didn't have a holiday gift for him yet, it turned into one.  To be fair, he treasured it and was legitimately heartbroken that he lost it, but it's one of the little things I'll probably never quite get completely over.

It was alternating chunks pure green purl and green/brown knit with two-tone tassels.  I only messed up one stitch, and such was because I went through the yarn rather than around it and hence had an odd little runt-stitch.  Otherwise it was absolutely perfect.

22 stitches wide, 10 row high purl, 8 row high knit (except the ends, which were 15).  I want to say the needles used were size 5 or 7.  I don't recall how many repetitions there were and this is the sole surviving photographic evidence.

If I were to attempt it again, it would need something to keep it from curling.  Despite the knit anchors, the purl was still strong enough the whole scarf rolled up length-wise.

Project pre-dates blog: Specific details unavailable.