Friday, September 28, 2012

Friday Review: Bernat Cotton Twists

Cotton Twists

I'm realizing now that I buy a lot of Bernat yarn... I never noticed until I started writing things down on here. Anyway, this is the first 100% cotton yarn that I've used and I have to say, it takes some getting used to.

Cotton Twists

The blue one is what I used to make my seahorse on Moday; it's called Mod Twists, but I'm not sure why. The others are called Rose Twists and Barnboard Twists whose names seems a little more obvious.

Cotton Twists

Working with cotton seems stiff and uncomfortable but I think I just need to find the right projects for it. Also I think that other brands might be better, I've heard Sugar'n Cream is really nice to work with, so I'll pick up some of those next time. Have a fun weekend!

-merely

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

WIP Wednesday: Triceratops Beanie

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Hello all, happy Wednesday! Today's work in progress is a version of Micah York's Triceratops Hat. I'm sure mine would look better if I had paid for the pattern, but times being such as they are, I can't afford things like that. Here are some pictures:

Triceratops Face

Triceratops Body/Hat

Triceratops

I tried to make the eyes a little more cutesy, but I'm not sure that I pulled it off. The ear flaps are squared off to make them look more like legs. I'm debating adding a tail, thoughts? As you can see, all that's really left is the horns and then attaching the two pieces. I'm not sure why I put this off... maybe I don't like when projects are over... or maybe I'm lazy! Or maybe it's the A.D.D. (I wish that were a joke)? Right now I'm focusing more time onto my giant blanket, there's a lot of work to be done there. Here's an update:

Granny Stripe Blanket

Row Starts

I haven't done a large amount since my first WIP post. I had to start beginning rows in the middle because some colors ran out. It's not super noticeable and I kind of like it being imperfect. Not sure why though! I told you last time that I would have a pattern for you, but I'm really not good at that so here's a link to someone else's! I hope the rest of your week is wonderful!

-merely

Monday, September 24, 2012

Motif Monday: Seahorse Motif and Chinami Horiba

Seahorse Motif

Today's motif is a bit different from past Mondays because it's an animal! Things were getting boring doing a square every week so I decided to branch out. I took pictures of a few of the steps and also some close-ups. I'm going to post those all first and then I'll talk about the awesomeness of this motif and the designer, Chinami Horiba.

Seahorse Motif

Seahorse Motif

Seahorse Motif

Seahorse Motif

Seahorse Motif

Seahorse Motif

Seahorse Motif

Pretty neat, right? You should see how the designer intended it to look. I used a much thicker yarn than called for, so here's a link to her blog post about it. It's in Japanese so you may not be able to read it. Google does a translation for you, but it's not that great. The cool thing is she does diagrams so you don't need to know Japanese to make her motifs. Here's a link to her Facebook page and here's a link to her Ravelry page. Chinami is a genius when it comes to yarn. She always seems to have every aspect in mind; texture, flow, and even sunlight. I wish I spoke Japanese so I could tell her how amazing I think her designs are. I hope you decide to check them out and make a few for yourself.

-merely

Friday, September 21, 2012

Friday Review: Serenity Yarn Plus The Winter Bear

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Today I'm going to talk about two things: A yarn I used for the first time and the bear I used it on.

Winter Bear and Yarn

This yarn is from the Deborah Norville Collection, it's called Serenity Chunky Weight, and this color is called Seven Seas.

Seven Seas

I originally bought it as a candidate to become my bike seat cover but it was too blue. I like this yarn because it's soft and chunky yarns make projects go really fast. It is, however, somewhat frustrating because it's loosely spun and it's easy to get your hook in the wrong place. Other than that, I think it's great! I used it to make the hat and scarf for my winter time bear.

Winter Bear

Winter Bear

Winter Bear

There he is! I think he turned out pretty cute. I plan to make three more and then open a store on Etsy to sell them. I'm still nervous about it, but I'm feeling more comfortable with the prices I have in mind. I'll just try to think of it as a new adventure and maybe it'll seem fun instead of scary! Have a great weekend!

-merely

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

WIP Wednesday: Christmas Bear

Christmas Bear

Ain't he cute! I'm so in love with this bear! I made him with the Pipsqueak yarn and he's so soft! I'm hoping to have my Etsy debut with four of these guys. They'll have little Christmas scarves too.

Bear

I decided on scarves because I remember when I was a kid, I hated it when you couldn't make your seasonal stuffed animals into year-round ones. I ruined many a teddy trying...

Bear

He's about 9 1/2 inches tall and he was almost one complete skein except for one arm... which is kinda frustrating but whatever! I'm nervous about selling stuff online and I have no idea how to price things, but if I mark it too high I can always lower the price later, I guess. Blerg!

Tail!

My favorite is his cute little tail! I can't wait till he's finished!

-merely

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Motif Monday (Tuesday): Carnation Motif

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Today I've done a motif out of a book I have. All together I own three crochet books and I hardly use any of them, but this one is probably the one I've used the most.

Knitting and Crochet Stitches

It has a lot of different stuff in it; it teaches you basic stitches but has some advanced stuff too. At the end of the book there's a handful of motifs and that's where I found mine.

Carnation

In doing this motif I learned two new stitches! Stitches that I probably should have learned a long time ago; the popcorn stitch and the picot. Both used in the same row and yeah... that was the hardest row for me. If you already know these stitches this motif should be super easy. I can't exactly share it with you 'cause I don't want to get in trouble, but here's a picture of each row as I worked them (please ignore the cat fur):

Row One

Row Two

Row Three

Row Four

Row Five

And there it is! I made a few mistakes, I can tell, but for a couples of firsts, I think it's ok.

Finished

Tomorrow I'll be sharing something fun and fuzzy, I can't wait!

-merely

Monday, September 17, 2012

Manic Monday

I'm on the road today so I don't think I'll be able to do a post till tomorrow. I'm using my blogger app for the first time.Seems pretty handy.

-merely

Saturday, September 15, 2012

PREview Friday (Saturday): New Sewing Machine!

Sewing Machine

So today instead of a review I just wanted to share the new addition to my craft resource family. It's a sewing machine! I have no idea how to use it, but it was like 50% off, so I thought it would be a good time to learn.

Sewing Machine Box

I haven't set it up yet because I need to get a table or something to put it on. I'm hoping to integrate sewing into my crochet projects as well as using it on it's own. I'm excited!

Union Jack Pillow (Sepia)

This is the "sepia" version of the Union Jack pillow I made for my sister. I'm not sure it's exactly sepia, but these are the colors she picked out. I think it looks nice. Kind of like a vintage look, maybe? Here it is next to the original one:

Compared

Have a nice weekend!

-merely

Friday, September 14, 2012

Friday Review

Sorry friends, photobucket won't let me upload pics today, so you'll be getting Friday's post as soon as they let me.

-merely

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

WIP Wednesday: Poinsettia Scarf

Poinsettia Scarf

This week I'm bring out a project that I started nearly a year ago. This poinsettia scarf was supposed to be a Christmas gift last year and I didn't finish it in time, which lead me to put it off... I'm not sure why, it isn't a particularly difficult project. The holiday season tends to bring about a lot more crochet work because handmade gifts are so special. Also, for me, because it's colder. I don't really like working on blankets in the summer, for obvious reasons!

Poinsettia

I could be persuaded to make a pattern for this if anyone ever shows some interest, but at this point I'm sort of playing it by ear. The gold beads will eventually make it into the center of each flower. Here in Ventura where I live (or used to live, but still tell everyone I live) the poinsettia is the official city flower.

Gold Beads

I'm excited for the holiday season this year. I am most years, but this summer has been so hot! I can't wait for it to cool off, plus I love all of the flavors of autumn. I think in a few weeks I'll go apple picking with my parents to kick off the season!

You Had Me At Meow

This is my bag of unfinished projects, so there's a lot to look forward to! Someday I'd like to organize them better, but for now it's all I can to do keep them out of my way!

-merely

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Special Tuesday: Finished Union Jack Pillow

Union Jack!

I finish the pillow! It turned out even better than I thought and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I anticipated it might be. I decided to do it all without cutting the yarn because I had the idea that it might use less yarn. I'm not sure if it did or not, but it looks pretty cool!

Front and Back

I can't wait to give it to my friend! I think she'll love it. It's one of my favorite things I've made. I think I'll make myself one but in shades of green. Is that disrespectful? My sister has asked me to make one for her in "sepia tones" so I'll be doing that one first.

Pillow!

Here's one with my kitty in it! Her name is Boston and she's gonna be 13 this year. She likes to hang out with me while I crochet because her favorite toy is yarn. Cliché, I know...

Kitty!

I'd lastly like to acknowledge what day it is... After 11 years, 9/11 still brings tears to my eyes. It's a day I'll remember my whole life and I wish that my post today was more American, but at least it's red, white, and blue. On this day eleven years ago, my father was actually stuck in London. He was supposed to fly home that day, but had to stay another week while all the airports were shut down. I'm at a loss for words... God save the Queen. God bless America.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Motif Monday: Cotton Smile

Cotton Smile Motif

Today I was out of town and I didn't get back before dark, so my pictures are pretty lame. Also just as I went to take a picture of the first row, my camera died. All I've got are pictures of the fished project, but that's ok because this motif is pretty simple.

Motif

The instructions are in diagram form or I've also heard it referred to a Japanese patterns, but I'm not sure how accurate that is. I like this style of pattern because it's universal. It's tough when I find something i really wanna make and then the pattern is in like, Russian. Here's a link to the Raverly page.

Motif Angle

I have no idea why this motif is called the Cotton Smile; sounds pretty creepy to me, but I think it's lovely. I also don't know whst I'm going to use this for... Oh well!

Smile!

Maybe it's called Cotton Smile because the trebles looks like smiles? I didn't use cotton though so I guess this is the acrylic smile!

-merely