More handles

Ok, so I am really getting into making these things. It's pretty fun. I did 3 more today. Here's how they came out:

The collection thus far:

Personalized crochet hook handles

I found this great video on youtube talking about how to make your own handles for your crochet hooks. I had to try it. So today I went to Michael's craft store and got some Sculpey clay in a couple sparkly colors and 2 new silver crochet hooks, size F and H. I really wanted a size G but that store was totally out of size G hooks in all the brands. What the heck?

Here's the materials I used:

Each bar of Sculpey is scored into 4 segments. I tore off 1 segment each from 2 colors and kneaded them together and twisted it to make a swirly pattern. I rolled it into the shape of a hot dog and then pushed the hook down inside. Then I squeezed the clay at the top to close it upon the needle and rolled it on the table til nice and smooth. Then I took a toothpick and made indents in the shape of an F and an H in order to mark what size the hook was. Then I placed them on a cookie sheet lined with foil and baked them for about 40 minutes at 275 degrees.





After they came out of the oven and cooled, I painted them with some Sculpey brand gloss glaze. It really brought out the sparkle. Here are the finished products:

I will definitely make more of these in different sizes!

The video that inspired me

The Neverending Sweater ... ended?

Yes! I finished it up late last night after annoying myself for a few hours by doing the crochet trim on it. I steam blocked the bottom half and let it dry overnight. Today I went to JoAnn Fabrics and got some ribbon to thread through to create a tie belt. Here are some pics:



I think it came out pretty good. I knit it tighter than the pattern gauge, so its a little smaller on me than I would have liked. I could have gone up a needle size or two probably.


I'm still trying to decide on the best way to work the tie belt thing. Right now it is one long ribbon threaded through from one end to the other. I'm sure there's a logical way to do it but that is eluding me.


I'm really proud of myself for finishing such a big and ambitious project. Really this was the first sweater I ever made despite my finishing 2 since I started this.


I've got a million other things I want to work on, so now I am giving myself the freedom to start on some new things since this work-in-progress is now checked off the list =)

Helooooooo Kitty!

I finished my first Hello Kitty amigurumi today. The original pattern in the book “Hello Kitty Vol. 3 Knit Dolls and Goods” is written in Japanese, which I am unable to read. I followed the charts and illustrations in order to make the doll as similar as I could to what was pictured in the book.

I improvised a little on the dress, adding 4 rows of 2sc per row on each side of the front to make straps to go up over her shoulders and connect to the back. The dress was a bit snug on her, and I left the bottom of the back open a little for her tail to show through and give the dress a little more room.

I also added an extra row to the end of the head portion that included 4 sc decreases to take the total final number of stitches on the head opening down to 16 sc to match the 16 sc of the neck opening.

I cut out little felt ovals to use for the nose and eyes and glued them on with fabric glue.

My doll measures roughly 14 cm to the top of her head in her seated position. The pattern indicates 18.5 cm finished height.

She came out really cute and Neil just loves her.

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So now I am back to Giselle again... I am determined to get this sweater finished. I have completed all of the knitting, and I have also done a quick steam blocking of the top portion and sleeves (pictured below). All that's left is to crochet the trim on the bottom half and join the 2 halves together and do a final blocking where needed.

(Blocking using my garment steamer, a bath towel laid out on a cork board, and thumb tacks to hold the sweater in place while drying to retain shape.)

I spent tonight listening to the most recent Stitch It!, Lime & Violet, and Stash and Burn podcasts while working on the final knitting of Giselle. But now that I have stayed up half the night, I think I will go to bed.

Fuzzy ballet sweater complete!

Today I sat in front of the tv watching the inauguration and finishing up my sweater. I think that it came out really well. It is really soft and cozy. At first I was intimidated by the idea of having to sew all the pieces together nicely, but it ended up working out pretty easy and was not a problem at all. I really enjoyed knitting this one and I would definitely make another one sometime.

I am a tight knitter!

No, I don't mean "tight" like the appreciative slang term. I mean my gauge is way off...

Late last night I started on a new sweater. I think I found the perfect pattern to use up my fabdabulous Moda Dea Aerie yarn that I have had in my stash for who knows how long. I got it on clearance a long time ago at Michaels, I bought all they had which was 7 balls. I loved the mauvy pink color of it and the crazy soft feel. I had no idea what I would use it for but I knew it had to be something great.

The pattern is one that I had been eyeing up on Ravelry for a while. I finally ordered the book "Speed Knitting" by Kris Percival from amazon and got it in the mail yesterday. I am making the "Fuzzy Ballet Sweater". I was so into working on it last night that I had a really hard time convincing myself, even by 4am, that I needed to quit and go to bed. I started working on it again after I got the kids off to school. After doing about 30 rows or so, I reached the point where I had about 6.5 inches of fabric which is when I am supposed to start doing the armhole shaping. So I stopped to do a few measurements and sure enough I was way off. The pattern's gauge calls for 2.5 stitches and 4 rows per inch in stockinette. I was getting more like 5 stitches per inch on the recommended size 9 needles.

So I set that work aside and grabbed a 10.5 needle. (That's a nice thing about having purchased this Knitpicks Options needle kit, its easy to switch out stuff.) I knit up 4 rows with it and i was still getting over 3 stitches per inch. I ripped that out and switched up to a size 11. Now I am getting right about the correct gauge. The fabric is a lot different now, much lighter.

Normally I *hate* starting over on things. But luckily this yarn is so fun to touch and work with that I don't really mind. And the yarn is happier at this size anyway, so that makes me happy. Well I'm off to work on it some more, or maybe to take a nap.... zzzZZZzzzZZZ

(Photo taken last night before the start-over)

Penguin for Lance

I put this adorable little dude together today. I plan on sending him to Lance as a surprise. Shhhh! Don't tell him!

Kyuuto!

I received an awesome book for Christmas from my cousin Laura called "Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts Amigurumi". According to my book, in Japanese "kyuuto" = "cute" and "amigurumi" = "small crochet animal toys".
I really wanted to get started making something on New Years Day, and my mom happened to have some yellow yarn. The "Little Duckling" pattern seemed a great choice for my first try. I just finished him today and he turned out great!



My duckling ended up being a good bit larger than the one in the pattern. The author must have used laceweight yarn or something. I used worsted/aran and a G-sized hook which made the fabric really dense and stiff for holding its shape. My duckling measures about 7.5” tall from top of the head to bottom of the foot. He has 12mm brown safety animal eyes that I got at JoAnn. I put a small ziploc bag filled with "poly-pellets" in his body section for weight. The rest of him is stuffed with poly-fil.

The crochet itself was pretty easy. Lining the parts up and sewing them on where I wanted them was more of a challenge. He turned out really cute and I am proud of my first amigurumi.