Tuesday, December 4, 2012

R2D2 Beanie

Photobucket

I know it's been quite a while since I've posted. Let's call it a mourning period... I'm not 100% yet, but I feel spirited enough to start my blog back up. I'm going to try something new this month, seeing as it's now December. I think most crafters would agree that this time of year is by far the busiest. Firstly because of all the gifts you want to make for friends and family (that you should have started much earlier). And secondly because of all the requests to make things from friends and family for them to give others. So this month I will be posting as things are finished and I'm starting with this R2D2 beanie!

Front

Back

This was a request from a friend's boyfriend's mother for an 8 year old nephew. It was my first time making such a detailed beanie but I think it turned out pretty great. Of course, I love Star Wars so I'm already jealous of this kid. Maybe after Christmas I can make one for myself!

The pattern which I based this on can be found here. I strayed a little from the directions, but they're a little loose anyway.

Have a very crafty holiday season! I hope to be posting again soon!

-merely

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

RIP Squishy

sorry i haven't been posting. i buried my cat today... haven't felt much like doing anything. she was going to be 13 next week. she was with me for half my life. i ache thinking of her in the cold ground. it was a rough battle with lymphoma cancer to which she succumbed gracefully. she was the sweetest kitty i've ever known. loving without being needy, playful without being mean, cute and beautiful at the same time. she loved to cuddle and always blessed me when i sneezed (seriously, she'd meow every time). she was with me through the hardest times in my life. she was with me as i struggled through high school. she was with me when i moved away from home for the first time. she was with me when i first picked up a crochet hook (and yarn was her favorite toy ever since). she was definitely the most important thing in my life and i wish there had been more i could have done for her...

Boston

Rest in peace, Boston. I love you forever.

Monday, November 5, 2012

No-tif Monday

I was working on my motif for today and I totally failed. Some how I ended up with too many loops! I'm not sure if it was me or the pattern or what, but I'll deal with it tomorrow. I'll either be fixing it or doing a completely new one... we'll see.

I would have tried harder today, but I think I caught a cold from my dad... bleh...

-merely

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Wednesday Update: Bamboo Purse Finished!

Bamboo Purse Happy Halloween! I finished my bamboo purse last night. Of course it was last minute! My original plan for today was going to be another free pattern, but things have been to crazy around here. I think I'll save it for later. Here's the purse:

Bamboo Purse

Bamboo Purse
Bamboo Purse

My plan for this seemed simple but pulling it off was harder than I thought. The actual pocket part of the purse doesn't look like much, but it probably took the longest. I lined the inside with felt and a thin plastic to give it some stability, but getting it to fit right was complicated. It will serve its purpose though, so I'm happy with it. Have a fun night, and play safe!

-merely

Monday, October 29, 2012

Motif Monday: Mount Vernon Square

Mount Vernon Square

Hello blog, it's been a while. My cat is doing better, but not great. My sadness has left me unmotivated, but I need to get my mind off things so I've decided it's for the best if I continue to post. Sorry to be a downer... bleh...

So anyway, this weeks motif was not especially difficult except that the pattern is written weird. Here's the link! I had kind of a hard time following it, but I managed to work it out. Maybe seeing the steps will help you if you try to make one; here are the pics:

Row One

Row Two

Row Three

Row Four

Row Five

Row Six

Row Seven

I tried something new with my background; instead of my normal blah brown carpet, I got this fabric remnant with pretty blue flowers. Does it look better? I know I need to iron it, but other than that, I think it's a step in the right direction. I hope one day to get a proper light to help make my photos a bit better. I hope you have a spooky, fun Halloween week!

-merely

P.S. I'd appreciate any religious readers to pray for my kitty, I fear the worst.

Friday, October 19, 2012

fyi friday

i haven't been posting lately because my kitty is really sick and i'm dealing with that. i'm hoping to get things back to normal by next week. sorry :(

Monday, October 15, 2012

Motif Monday: Crown Jewels

Crown Jewels Motif

It seems that this might actually end up a Tuesday post. I was out of town today (as it seems I am a lot on Mondays) and I tried to crochet this motif while I was gone, but I didn't quite succeed. Half of it is from my sister's house and the other half was after I got home (hence the bad pictures taken in the dark). Here it is!:

Row One

Row Two

Row Three

Row Four

Row Five

Row Six

Row Seven

Row Eight

Row Nine

Row Ten

I don't recommend doing this motif unless you absolutely-I'm-gonna-die-love it because the pattern is really annoying. Firstly, it's not done all in one go, I had to tie off and start again twice, so it's really three parts. Secondly, it's not evenly spaced and my OCD was freaking out. I tried to even it a little, but it's still irking me. It is pretty though and when it's all done you can't tell it has those issues anyway. But it's also more solid that I usually like; I really prefer the lacier looking ones. Here's a link to the pattern if you wanna give it a go! Have a nice week!

-merely

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Bonus Sunday: Free Bamboo Pattern!

Bamboo Pattern

Last week I said I would have a free pattern for you... so did you get the clue? Panda, bamboo. I guess it wasn't a great hint.

Panda Hat and Bamboo

This is my first real pattern, I hope you like it! I made three different sizes, the one i have to share is the largest, but I'll tell you how to adjust it for other sizes. I'm going to be using these to fashion a purse together for my panda costume. I'll have pictures when it's finished, but for now here's the pattern:

The yarn I used is Vanna's Choice in Kelly Green and Fern, it calls for a "J" hook so that's what these patterns are for (though a smaller gauge would probably still look nice).

Row 1: Start with a “magic ring” (here’s a link to a site that will show you how, if you don’t already know). Only chain once and then SC 7 then slip stitch into the first chain.
Row 2: Chain 1, SC into the same spot. SC 2 into each stitch all the way around. Slip stitch into beginning chain.
Row 3: Chain 1. SC 2 into next stitch. *SC 1, then SC 2 into the same stitch* repeat* 6 times. Slip stitch into beginning chain. Tie off.

You will need two of these.

Ends

Base: Chain 24.
Row 1: Slip stitch into first chain, chain 1. SC 23. Slip stitch into beginning chain.
Row 2: Chain 1. SC 5, decrease 1. *SC 6. decrease 1* repeat* once. (you should now have 21 instead of 24) Slip stitch into beginning chain.
Row 3: Chain 1, SC 4, decrease 1. *SC 5, decrease 1* repeat* once. (you should now have 18 instead of 21) Slip stitch into beginning chain.

Rows 1-4

row 4-10: Chain 1, SC 17, Slip stitch into beginning chain. (repeat)

Rows 1-10

After row 4 I added on the first end, you don't need to do that know though. To attach the first end I put a slip knot on my hook then put it through the bottom of the base chain and front loop of the stitches around the end. That sounds a little confusing so here's a picture:

First Ending

Then you just single crochet all the way around; make sure you're going through the right loops. At the end I SC into the first stitch again, I just think it looks better that way. After that I tied the two ends together (double knot). The reason you only go through the front loop is because I think it gives it this nice ring:

End Ring

Ok, now back to the pattern...

Row 11: Chain 1, SC 4, increase 1. *SC 5, increase 1* repeat* once. (you should now have 21 instead of 18) Slip stitch into beginning chain.
Row 12: Chain 1. SC 5, increase 1. *SC 6. increase 1* repeat* once. (you should now have 21 instead of 24) Slip stitch into beginning chain.
Row 13: Chain 1, SC 23. Slip stitch into beginning chain.
Row 14: Chain 1. SC 5, decrease 1. *SC 6. decrease 1* repeat* once. (you should now have 21 instead of 24) Slip stitch into beginning chain.
Row 15: Chain 1, SC 4, decrease 1. *SC 5, decrease 1* repeat* once. (you should now have 18 instead of 21) Slip stitch into beginning chain.

Rows 7-15

At this point you will need to do the first ring around. You could do it at the end, but I find that it's easier to do now. It's similar to how you attach the end, here's a picture of how to insert your hook:

Ring Hook

You're basically going to be covering up row 13 with single crochets. Here's a picture with a few on:

Ring Stitches

These rings are the reason this pattern is so annoying. What do I mean by annoying? Well, normally with a project like this I would just spiral up instead of all this "slip stitch into chain, chain one" nonsense. But if I did just spiral, the rings wouldn't match up and it would look weird, so the annoyingness wins. Back to the pattern!

Row 1-15 with Ring

At this point its kind of all the same.

Row 16-22: Chain 1, SC 17, Slip stitch into beginning chain. (repeat)
Row 23: Chain 1, SC 4, increase 1. *SC 5, increase 1* repeat* once. (you should now have 21 instead of 18) Slip stitch into beginning chain.
Row 24: Chain 1. SC 5, increase 1. *SC 6. increase 1* repeat* once. (you should now have 21 instead of 24) Slip stitch into beginning chain.
Row 25: Chain 1, SC 23. Slip stitch into beginning chain.
Row 26: Chain 1. SC 5, decrease 1. *SC 6. decrease 1* repeat* once. (you should now have 21 instead of 24) Slip stitch into beginning chain.
Row 27: Chain 1, SC 4, decrease 1. *SC 5, decrease 1* repeat* once. (you should now have 18 instead of 21) Slip stitch into beginning chain.

Do the second ring around row 25

Second Ring

Row 28-34: Chain 1, SC 17, Slip stitch into beginning chain. (repeat)
Row 35: Chain 1, SC 4, increase 1. *SC 5, increase 1* repeat* once. (you should now have 21 instead of 18) Slip stitch into beginning chain.
Row 36: Chain 1. SC 5, increase 1. *SC 6. increase 1* repeat* once. (you should now have 21 instead of 24) Slip stitch into beginning chain.
Row 37: Chain 1, SC 23. Slip stitch into beginning chain. Tie off.

Length

Next add the stuffing. I used very little compared to other projects, only enough to keep its shape. Crochet on the end, it's a bit different than the other end, here's a pic:

End!

Finito

Then the last thing to do is hide the ends of your yarn. I just put them inside with the stuffing using a yarn needle. And if you want to do different sizing like I have, the only difference is the amount of rows in between the bumps, so play around with it. No bamboo is exactly alike.

I hope you like this pattern. I included a lot of pictures because that's the way I prefer to have patterns; I think it helps me to not get lost.

Tops

Trio

Please let me know if I messed anything up, as this is my first pattern, I'm sure I did. I would also love to see any pictures of ones you make, so please share!

-merely

Friday, October 12, 2012

Friday Review: Red Heart Soft Yarn

Red Heart Soft

Red Heart Soft is one of those "go-to" yarns for me. They have a lot of colors, which is great, and it's a good size for most projects.

Red Heart Soft

This yarn seems especially shiny which can work for or against you, depending on what you're making. The only thing I don't like about this yarn is that it's really easy to get your hook through the strands. There are quite a few yarns out there that I have this problem with, but this one has shone me to be the worst. That's just a small problem though.

Red Heart Soft

It also holds up to its namesake and is pretty soft. All in all, this is a good yarn for the price and I will continue to buy it. If you like these colors the yellowish one is called Honey and the tan one is Wheat.

And here is a preview of my Halloween costume and also a clue to my first free pattern, coming up next week!

Panda Beanie

I'm excited for Halloween, it's such a great time of year to be crafty! I hope you all have a fun weekend!

-merely

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

WIP Wednesday: Dissectible Frog

Dissectible Frog

This little guy was supposed to be a birthday present for a friend LAST May... Oops... I ran out of time before the birthday so I gave up, but I think he should be finished because it's a fun idea.

Dissectible Frog

I have a zipper to put in his stomach and then I'm going to fill him with little crocheted organs! It's going to be awesome. Here's some close ups (sorry the pics aren't great, I had trouble with lighting):

Dissectible Frog

Dissectible Frog

Dissectible Frog

I sort of think I made the head too small so I might redo that, but otherwise I think it's a cool concept. We'll see if I can pull it off though. Till next time!

-merely