crochet cat toy: meet “giraffe guy”

Hi!  I’m Giraffe Guy!

Aren’t I cute?

Hi!  We should be friends!

Hi!  Hi!!

Do you like my catnip cologne?

Hehe!  That tickles!

Hehe… ow!

Wait!  Hey!!

aww…

—————————————

What do you do with a random little bit of bright yellow yarn?  Make a giraffe, of course!

I had a little bit of  yellow sugar n’ cream left over from making a Little Starbursts Dishcloth and I thought it would make a cute cat toy.  As part of my planning process, I made a list of what I think are the hallmarks of a good cat toy:

-Makes noise (An empty travel size shampoo bottle with some beans in it)

-Has floppy parts (I noticed that crochet doesn’t do this very well)

-Easy to pick up, carry around, and throw around

-Lots of places for teeth and claws to chew on

-Preferably all in one (oops five) piece(s), with no parts that might fall off (My cat has a tendency to mercilessly pull the eyes off of every handmade toy I give her!)

-Not made of wool (Cats tend to try to eat wool things)

But even with the best intentions of design, Giraffe Guy doesn’t seem to be that big of a hit.

Oh well.

[On Ravelry here]

birthday earrings! *free pattern*

A good friend of mine who I haven’t seen in far too long is having her 21st birthday today!  And because handmade gifts are always the best, I made her a couple of pairs of crochet earrings!

Actually, I only just made the second pair (the purple ones).  The first pair, I made for her a while ago when I first started learning to crochet, but I never got around to finishing them because I didn’t have earwires (silly excuse).  I don’t remember where I got the pattern for the first pair, or if it was something that I made up, so unfortunately I can’t give you a pattern for those…

But the purple ones I’d love to share.

Birthday Earrings

[on Ravelry here]

materials:

1.0 mm crochet hook

size 20 thread (I used Flora.  It’s very stiff and perfect for earrings)

two earwires

needlenose pliers (tweezers work okay in a pinch)

starch or water/glue mixture for blocking

* * *

Chain 8 and join in a loop

Round 1:  Ch 3 (count as first dc), 24 dc in loop, sl st to first dc

Round 2: Ch 1, sc in same st, *ch 5, skip 1 dc, sc in next dc* around until 1 dc away from first st, ch 2, dc in first st.

Round 3: Ch 3 (count as first dc), 3 dc in same space, *sc in next space, 4 dc in next space, ch 1, make 3-ch picot, ch 1, 4 dc in same space* 5 times, sc in next space, 4 dc in next space, ch 1, make 6-ch picot, ch 1, sl st to first dc.

Cut thread and weave in ends.

Wash and block gently to even out the stitches.  Spray with starch or soak in a glue and water solution.  Let dry, or if you’re impatient like me, gently press with an iron under a handkerchief on medium heat.

Open the bottom loop on an earwire with the pliers and slip the 6-ch picot into the loop.  Close the loop and repeat for the other earring.  Admire.

I am also gifting her with a handmade notebook.  These aren’t very good pictures to show how it came out, but here it is:

The cover is made from a dark green hanging file folder.

For the endpapers, I used this gorgeous handmade leaf paper.  I’m glad I decided not to make the cover out of this stuff… it was shedding dried leaf bits everywhere when I was cutting it!  I used some Japanese calligraphy paper for the signature on the inside.

Big Blue

Finally another finished project to write about!  I decided to take my unfinished shawl project (blogged about here and on ravelry here) to my grandma’s house yesterday so I could get some good quality knitting + chatting time in.  I’ve decided to give this one to my grandma, and I have enough yarn to make another one for myself (matchy matchy!)

I decided to modify the pattern a bit by adding a little bit of an (attempted) ruffle edge.  I increased the stitches for a ruffle, but then I realized that I only had enough yarn left in the ball to do one more row and then cast off.  It turned out nicely though.  Instead of becoming a ruffle, the edges just flare out a bit, which is perfect.

I think I’ll plan for a bigger ruffle when I do mine, but I think my minimalist grandmother will appreciate the lack of flounciness.

In other news, every time I’ve tried knitting this week, I’ve found that my new kitten has enthusiastically tried to “help.”

“kitty, I think I need my yarn back now”

[project page on ravelry here]

a wisp

More often than not, there’s usually a reason why yarn is on sale.  I picked up this skein of Tofutsies sock yarn at half price, thinking that it was a great excuse to crochet myself a pair of socks (I have no patience to knit socks as of yet, but that’s another story).  When I tried it out, however, I quickly learned that yarn that is really too variegated and crochet socks do not make good friends.  I was ending up with something that looked more like a dirty gerbil than a sock.

So I decided to make a Wisp (on Ravelry here), and after I finished blocking it, it got folded up and put in my closet for three months.  I keep bringing it out and taking it places with me, thinking that I might wear it… but I never do.

Maybe it’s the color of the yarn, or maybe it’s the material.  Because it’s soysilk, it just tends to flop and not have much structure.  Or maybe I just need to stop being so critical and give it a little love.

We’ll see.

[project page on ravelry here]

crochet and conversation

One thing I’ve decided it’s impossible to do is hold a conversation and count stitches at the same time.  And the thinner the thread, the harder those stitches are to see.  The harder the stitches are to see, the longer it takes to realize that four rows down you skipped three stitches of the pattern.  And the more tedious the pattern… the more heartbreaking it is to have to rip back four rows and put yourself through the same struggle again of trying to talk, listen, and count stitches at the same time.

I think this project may have been cursed from the start.  As you can see, I somehow managed to buy two slightly different colors of perle cotton.  Yay!

[project page on ravelry here]

on how I hate to do motifs…

As a crocheter, I think some of the greatest, most beautiful, impressive patterns are done in crochet motifs.  I would love to complete something as intricate and gorgeous as some of these patterns (okay, that last one is kind of tacky but you get what I mean).  Somehow, though, every time I try starting myself on a motif project, I get bored.  I tried starting on a granny square vest once and got through three squares before I gave up.  I started on a cotton motif blanket and got through three motifs before forgetting about it.  Later, when I tried to start it again, I’d forgotten what hook I’d used and thus ended up with four more motifs that were half an inch larger than the first three.

So I tried starting on this motif project, thinking I would be inspired by the lovely picture on the front cover of the book.  I love the way this pattern looks, and the motif pattern looks interesting enough to keep me engaged throughout the project.  Even better, there are only four motifs to complete (join as you go), and only one row of edging at the end.  I thought, “I’ve done four motifs before… this should be simple!”

Well that was two months ago.

I really don’t get what my problem is with motifs.  I have several patterns which I like a lot that I’ve made several times.  I have one favorite coaster pattern which I think I’ve done eight times in different colors.  I think, however, that I really like the feeling of being done once you get to the end of the pattern and cut the thread.  I get discouraged when I finish one motif and think, “Here is one out of five hundred more I have to do…”

Whenever I bring my crochet with me out in public people always say, “you must have a lot of patience to do that.”  I don’t know a thing about patience.  As crocheters go, I have no patience.

[project page on ravelry here]

I’m not a beginner. I just might look like one.

I get tired of doing lace sometimes.  After finishing that camisole, I was itching to do something big, mindless, and garter stitch.  So with some bright blue Moda Dea Cartwheel that I had in my stash, I decided to start this (or here if you’re not on ravelry).  Okay, it’s got some stockinette thrown in there, but who doesn’t love a few purls here and there?  anyone?

And maybe this wasn’t such a great project to start on…  I don’t have too many sets of knitting needles, and these size 13 circulars I have are one of three pairs of circular knitting needles I own (the other two are much smaller).  Normally this would be a mile-a-minute piece of cake, but since I feel like I’m knitting with crayons, I keep putting it down.

And between the bright blue yarn, the big fat needles, and the super simple stitch pattern, this looks like a total beginner’s piece.  If I ever get to the end, maybe I’ll add a ruffle edge… just for a bit of flair .

[project page on ravelry here]

pretending to be cool

Here’s a balmy bit of knitting for a hot day… I just finished this camisole from this Japanese knitting and crochet book, and since it’s the first time I’ve managed to finish any knitted garment that’s not a hat or a scarf, I feel pretty accomplished!  I used some light pink Bollicine Dolly that I picked up at The Little Knittery in Silverlake.

This would be the perfect piece of cute, summery knitting were it not for the fact that I’d made it of wool.  I went to my lys hoping to find a nice light cotton or silky bamboo DK, but there was none to be had.  Me, stubbornly wanting to start knitting today, settled for wool.  In a different yarn, the fabric might have worked up more drapey than fluffy and structural, but I suppose this will keep me warm and cozy come Autumn.  In the meantime, I can just pretend that it’s summery…

I’m fairly familiar with reading Japanese crochet patterns, but this was my first time reading a Japanese knitting pattern.  I aimed to start with the simplest pattern in the book, which I think was this one.  It’s basically two lace rectangles with some garter stitch straps at the top.  I had to take out one lace pattern repeat because I was afraid that I was running out of yarn, but otherwise the pattern worked up just fine!

I absolutely adore the book that the pattern came from (you can buy it here, but I just got it at Kinokuniya Bookstore in Little Tokyo).  The model is so freakin’ cute that I want to make every garment in the book so I can aspire to that level of cuteness.  (I secretly wish I could live life like it is in Japanese craft books… is that wrong?)

[project page on ravelry here]

New Blog!

So I’ve gone and finally started a blog… where I can proudly show off all of my FO’s and not risk annoying my friends and family… or I can chatter and chatter about lace patterns and not start to feel like I’ve gone too far off the deep end.

I like to make lace, and I am proud of it!