The quickest turn-around time in a while

I just finished this project on Tuesday night, and here it's Saturday and I'm already uploading it!

As mentioned previously, I started a new job about two weeks ago. One of my coworkers and his wife are expecting their first baby, and someone asked them if they had a baby shower. They answered, "Oh, we don't have baby showers in Japan," to which the office replied, "You're in America now!", and threw a shower for them.

So of course, I had to knit.



I used the Lil' Devil Baby Hat pattern, with a chart borrowed from Knitting Year-Round's Rubber Ducky Pullover. In case you're keeping track, this is the third baby hat and and sixth hat total I've made using the Kittyville hat patterns. It's knit with Lion Cotton-Ease, Caron Simply Soft, and a mystery eyelash yarn, all of which came from my friend Nora's stashbusting party (which is another entry entirely).

Here's the hat being modeled by a penguin:

Crafts that aren't made of yarn (and some that are)

Not quite sure what's gotten into me, but I'm on a major beading kick right now. I had been working on a pin which I mentioned in my massive WIP entry, but I hit a sort of mental block about it. It's been years since I've worked with beads, and when I was younger it was mostly in the vein of beaded flower necklaces and things of that nature.

Anyway, I finally finished the pin and made another one as well.



(The DS is there to provide a point of reference on size. Oh, and to show off the nifty Plusle and Minun cover I bought at the Poke-center in Fukuoka).

The one on the right is the one I mentioned in the previous post, the pattern came from a Japanese book called Beads Box. It looks ok if you don't look to closely at it, but it's a little funky if you do. I've decided to keep that one and use the one on the left as part of the present the first one was originally intended for. The one on the left is a star from All Info About Jewelrymaking.

Here's the circular pin in action:


It's now officially the clasp for my Sweet Pea Shawl from SnB:HH. It's made from Denim something-or-other, 100% cotton. I found the yarn at my craft store, petted it, and knew I had to have it, so I bought the last 3 skeins of the purple colorway. Then I crocheted away with my typical disregard for gauge, knowing I wouldn't have quite enough anyway (mine ends with 3 shells left at the bottom instead of 1, and it's not quite as wide). Because it's a bit smaller, tying it is somewhat awkward, and I decided a snazzy pin was the answer, so there you have it.

As an added bonus, here's a scarf I made a hella long time ago:


It's a Yo, Drop It! scarf from SnBN. I made several as gifts out of some Joann brand ribbon yarn but don't have photos of those. This one is made from Lion Trellis on size US 13s instead of the recommended 11s (I was trying to stretch my yarn). It occasionally doubles as a belt.

Headwear Bonanza!

As I've said before, it is my firm belief that a person can never have too many scarves, armwarmers, or hats. Here are three FOs that support this theory, plus a fourth that more or less fits the category.



This is the first thing I ever crocheted. Back when I was stagnating in the "I can only knit stockinette rectangles" phase of my knitting career, I really wanted to learn how to make hats. A couple of my crocheting friends taught me how to make a basic beanie using single crochet worked in a spiral. This is the result, made from Lion Homespun in the now-discontinued disco colorway on a US K hook.




Fortunately, my crocheting abilities have progressed a bit since then, and I made this during a crochet-a-thon back in Februrary that also produced my Blue Star Cloche and Rose is a Rose Hat in the course of one week. This is the Dorothea hat from the Modern Flapper Hats collection. Like the other two, it's made with Motohiro Premium Merino (100% wool). The flower is a chain stitch flower made from leftover "Rose is a Rose" yarn and a bead stitched in the middle.




I made this in an attempt to use up stash yarn. It started life as Knitty's Coronet but went through a few alterations along the way. I had one skein each of Olympus John Lennon Peace (100%) and Katylana Soft Colorful (100% nylon), so I combined them. The John Lennon yarn is worsted weight, so I made the cable brim as instructed, but the Soft Colorful is bulky, so I used US 10 1/2 (6.5mm) needles and only picked up 54 stitches. When it ran out I switched back to the worsted yarn and US 8 (5mm) needles, increasing the number of stitches to fit. This pattern really suited the yarns well thanks to its fold-up brim construction; the wool yarn is a bit scratchy, so having it fold over the super-soft yarn works out perfectly.




This last FO isn't quite a hat, but it DOES get worn on the head, so I'm counting it anyway! I made this a really long time ago but somehow never got around to taking photos. It's the Head Hugger pattern from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation, with very little regard given to yarn type or gauge. I used the instructions for the neckwarmer, knit up in the now-discontinued Lion Kool Wool, which is a thicker yarn than the pattern calls for. The flowers are made with Micro-spun leftovers from my Pippi Kneestockings. It was the second pattern I completed from SnBN, and only the second item I've made using the actual colors from the pattern (the first being an Adults-Only Devil Hat).

Wow, I'm boring

Well, what do we have here? Oh, it's another Blue Star Cloche, made with... wait for it... leftover Wool-Ease.



I made the same alterations to it as my first one. The lady who owns the cafe where my friends and I meet for our weekly coffee/English conversation date loved it, so I offered to make her one. She gave all three of us free cake sets that day!

I've been meaning to catch up on posting the several FOs and gajillion WIPs I have kicking around the house. Maybe that'll be one of my projects this weekend....

They're like little bullseyes or something

Now that school's back in session I'll be spending less time at my office, which should translate to more internet time at home, which means I'll have access to my photos, which means pretty not-text-only updates! Yay!

Last month a friend of mine had a birthday, so I crocheted her some coasters as a present:





It was my first time changing colors on a project (I seriously don't know how I haven't done it before now), so there's a bit of a jog when I switch. They're made with Lion Wool-Ease which I had left over from another project and a size G (4mm) hook. Here's the pattern, which is fairly basic if you know how to crochet in a circle because that's pretty much what I did.

Super-Easy Birthday Coasters
Lion Brand Wool-Ease Worsted (80% acrylic/20% wool; 3 oz/85 g; 197 yds/180 m)
A: Blue Heather - 1 skein or color of your choice
B: White - 1 skein or color of your choice

US G/6 (4.0mm) crochet hook

With A, ch 2. Make 11 dc in second ch from hook, sl st to join (12 sts).
Rnd 1: Switch to B. Ch 3, dc in same st. 2 Dc in each dc around, sl st to join (24 sts).
Rnd 2: Switch to A. Ch 3, 2 dc in next st. *Dc in next dc, 2 dc in next dc* around, sl st to join (36 sts).
Rnd 3: Switch to B. Ch 3, dc in next st, 2 dc in next st. *Dc in next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st* around, sl st to join (48 sts). Fasten off.

Also, a random thought completely unrelated to crafting: M&Ms Speck-tacular Eggs are a bit disconcerting. They look like peanut M&Ms but when bitten into they're just solid chocolate. Where's the peanut??

Ahh, natural light!

I mentioned that I ran out of yarn while making a hat but never actually posted photos of the finished product. Here it is:




Look, I actually took them outside! Much better lighting than anywhere in my house, that's for sure.

The hat is made from Motohiro Premium Merino (100% wool) using the A Rose is a Rose pattern. For the accent I used a 100% cotton yarn purchased last summer and the Star Flower Pin pattern, although I stitched it to the hat rather than using a pin and added a bead to the center.

Scarves! Scarves! Scarves! (and a hat)

I strongly believe that you can never have too many scarves. Or hats. Or armwarmers. Here are three scarves which I've made, a new one each year:



The oldest is the seed-stitch scarf in the middle. It was done back in '04, and the only reason I even know that is because I remember working on it at my mom's old apartment before she moved.



It's knit from that perennial favorite, Lion Wool-Ease, on JPN 10(5.1mm) needles. I can't remember how many stitches I cast on, but there are 20 rows of each color.

When I started trying to expand my crochet knowledge last winter beyond chains and single crochet, I selected a shell and wave scarf pattern from http://crochet.about.com/


It's looking a bit haggard at this point, I've worn it a lot, and I attempted several projects with it before this one so the yarn was already a bit stressed out from being frogged so many times. It's Diamond Diaparterre (50/50 alpaca/acrylic), the same yarn I used for my Clapotis. Strangely enough, as soft and wonderful as the Clap is, this scarf can feel scratchy at times (probably due to all that frogging). The coolest part is how, thanks to the shells, the color pattern comes out in splotches and zigzags instead of stripes.

After that scarf, I fell away from crochet again, went through a few (relatively unproductive) cosplay and (somewhat productive) knitting phases, and didn't come back to it until this winter. I put the purple merino I bought to good use and made the One-Skein Scarf from SnB: The Happy Hooker(which was a misnomer in my case, since it took 2 1/2 skeins).


I never really bother with checking gauges when it comes to scarves and just adjust accordingly to suit my specifications. In this case, I increased the repeats from 3 rows to 5 and added an extra scallop on each end to compensate. I'm still working on my crochet technique and am much better at working in the round than straight; my chain edges always seem to be tight and make the whole piece curve, even when I cast on with larger hooks (as I did in this case). Maybe a good blocking would fix it, but it doesn't matter too much when I wear it, so it's really not a priority.

I had 1 1/2 skeins left over, so I made a hat to match:



It's the Blue Star Cloche from Hook Me Up! Crochet, although the star on it is actually this pattern and made out of leftover Clap yarn. I used an I hook instead of the recommended H since I wanted it to be a bit longer.

Good FOs, Bad Photography

In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the slickest with a camera. Here are a couple FOs I made that didn't quite translate well to film (or a Sony Cybershot, as the case may be). One I could attempt to reshoot but eh, the other is no longer in my possession.

Here's my third hat based off the Kittyville devil hat pattern. I made my first a long time ago as my first experience with knitting in the round, and my second I styled after Lum from the series Urusei Yatsura (which is the hat I'm wearing in my profile pic). As an aside, since she's based after the oni, I wear the hat to school on Setsubun, and the kids love it (they always recognize the oni horns).


I knit the pattern as written on US 7(4.5mm)circs and DPNs, but this time I substituted a 2x2 rib for the seed stitch and knit the ear flaps in stockinette with garter stitch selveges to prevent curling, and on all of them I widened the ear flaps by 2 stitches. The ties are just twisted cords. I used Hamanaka Men's Club Master (60% wool 40% acrylic) that was left over from another project, and the variegated yarn is some type of Noro I got out of a clearance bin (without even realizing it was Noro, I couldn't read the kanji at the time. Had I known, I would have bought a lot more of it, it was dirt cheap). The fair isle pattern came from Big Needle Knit Afghans, and the stripes were on a whim.

Speaking of Big Needle Knit Afghans, I actually knit one for a friend of mine. My former coworker was pregnant with her third child, so I made the Morning Sunlight afghan for her:


It's knit on US size 17 circs (to accomodate the stitches), triple-stranded Caron Simply Soft (100% acrylic and machine washable, a good idea for baby goods). Easy-peasy, not much to say about it. I took these photos before blocking it (which, in the case of acrylic, means throwing it in the washer to even out the stitches), so it looks a bit wobbly.

Sweater-rama

After knitting for a while, I got it into my head that I had to make a sweater. After all, what self-respecting knitter doesn't prove her prowess with a full knitted garment?

The problem was, I didn't really like sweaters very much, so it took a long time to find one I wanted to make. One that wouldn't be horrifically unflattering. One that wouldn't make me schvitz to death. One that would actually be worth the time it took to make.

I finally found my answer in Hip Knits: the True-Colors Zip Up. Even if I didn't end up liking it, it was knitted on US 13(9mm) and 15(10mm) needles, perfect for my short attention span.


I used the Patons Melody (68% acrylic 32% nylon)recommended in the pattern but substituted triple-stranded Lion brand Microspun (100% microfibre acrylic) for the triple-stranded Patons Look At Me (which I had never even heard of before). I've changed to a dull blue zipper instead of the shiny black one pictured here, which was actually a bit too long and made the front pucker. I've worn it a few times, and it was really nice last winter when it was a lot colder here, but I wore it home to Chicago and left it there during winter break. I might be outgrowing my "garish pink" phase anyway.

Of course, after knitting my first sweater, I came to the conclusion that I do like sweaters after all. I had a formal event to attend last March, so I decided to knit a sweater for it. I chose White Lies Designs' Milinda Pullover.


I used Olympus Alpaca Concerto, the same yarn as the blue Fetching from a few entries ago, (which were an attempt to use up the leftovers), JPN 8 needles (4.5mm, the same as US 7s, which the pattern called for).

Here's a detail of the lace:


This pattern also started my love affair with short row bust shaping, but I think I'll save that for another installment.

I think it's a requirement to make one these days

Time for a story: Once upon a time (embarassingly enough not that long ago), my knitting consisted exclusively of stockinette stitch rectangles that I liked to call "scarves". I made them for myself. I subjected friends and family to them. My ex-boyfriend was actually kind enough to wear his, he was a good man.

During this period I created a monstrosity affectionately referred to as "Super Scarf". Super Scarf was three skeins of Lion brand Homespun (chunky weight) knit on US 11(8mm) needles, worked across about 64 stitches. This thing was more than a scarf. Sure, with the way stockinette rolls up on itself I could use it as such. But I could also unfurl it and use it as a shawl. I could wrap it around my neck, head, face, and shoulders when I went out in a blizzard (oh how I loved that thing while waiting for the El). I could fit two of my friends in there with me. It truly lived up to its name.

Now, having expanded my knitting knowledge, I realize just how crude a piece of knitting it was. Still, it was undeniably cozy and useful. And that's where today's FO comes in: Knitty's Clapotis. The first time I saw the pattern, I wasn't all that impressed with it. Then I started to see people posting their versions, and seeing the pattern in action I thought, "wow, those are awesome!" So I decided to make my own:



It's knit from Diamond brand Diaparterre, a 50/50 alpaca/acrylic blend that's a bit expensive but wonderfully soft. The pattern itself annoyed me though-- it differentiates between knitting and knitting through the back loop. Somehow when I learned to knit I learned to do so tbl, so that's my default. Forcing myself to knit properly made the project a lot slower at the getgo. In the end, however, I'm glad I pushed myself through it, since I can knit through the front loop a lot quicker now, which is useful for lace patterns which similarly differentiate between the stitches.

Now, you're probably asking how this relates to the Super Scarf narration. Simple- the Clap is really just an upgraded Super Scarf! I can scrunch it up and use it as a scarf, or I can unfurl it (thanks to the drop stitches) and use it as a shawl. I can't quite fit three people in it, but certain concessions must be made for fashionability, after all. Actually, I take that back, I can fit three people in it, if two of them happen to be first graders (wear scarves to elementary schools at your own risk). It took a really long time to make, and I don't think I ever want to make another one (sorry Mom, I'll teach you to make your own), but it's one of my favorite things I've finished and I get a lot of use out of it.

Random Thought for the Day 2/2

As much as I adore legwear, I've never really been a big sock knitter. I've made exactly one pair of socks, the Pippi Kneestockings pattern from SnB (Lion Microspun, 100% microfibre acrylic):


You'd think that since I love socks so much, and I love knitting so much, that the two would go together perfectly. Maybe it just takes too long to knit socks. Or maybe I realize that it's much easier to buy socks with hedgehogs or Jack Skellington on them than to knit a pair.

I ♥ Armwear!

Ever since I made the Hurry Up Spring Armwarmers from Stitch n Bitch Nation, I've had a bit of a thing for armwarmers and fingerless gloves.

I'd post a pic of that first pair, but they're currently MIA somewhere in the house, so, um, I can't right now. I do have another pair I made though, using the same pattern but substituting the cable chart from these gloves.


They're made with Lion Brand Wool-Ease in some sort of "autumn" color. To put it bluntly, they're pretty ugly. The yarn looked much prettier on the skein, but when I knit it up, I wasn't crazy about how the colors turned out. I think that if each color had gone a bit longer, more like stripes, it would have had a nicer effect. Nevertheless, these unattractive armwarmers do keep me warm, and they're particularly nice to have at school, where there's usually only a heater in the staff room and not the classrooms.

I tried making a pair of Knitty's Fetching for myself out of some leftover yarn from a sweater I made last winter, but one of my friends really liked them, so I ended up giving them to her. I knit another pair as a present as well.


The blue ones are made from Olympus Alpaca Concerto, an alpaca/wool/acrylic blend.


The pink ones are made from Daiso Soft Type Tweed, an acrylic/wool blend I bought at the 100 yen store (see, I told you there was some nice yarn there).


I modified the pattern by using US size 7s instead of 6s, simply because that's what I had. To compensate, I worked it over 40 stitches instead of 45, and the thumb is 15 sts instead of 17.

Yesterday I started working on a pair of Knitty's
Knucks using a yarn called Applause, 100% polyester chenille, left over from a holiday present I knitted for a friend.


So far they've been a bit tedious, probably because the chenille is kind of a pain in the butt when it comes to picking up stitches and placing the fingers back on the needles. They're a bit bulky but very warm, and I think they'll also be great for unheated classrooms. That is, if I can get myself to finish them.

Child's Play

No, not the horror movies featuring that killer doll (which, incidentally, traumatized me so badly as a kid that I refused to go to a movie theater or video store from the ages of 8 to 13), but things for children to play with!

Back in college I spent a semester studying in Osaka, and I won the host family jackpot, living with one of the sweetest families you could ask for. Since I moved back to Japan, I visit them periodically. Last year during Spring Break they invited me to come up, so I whipped up some toys for my host nieces, ages 8 and 2:




The penguin is Knitty's Pasha, and the octopus is based on one my great grandma made me when I was little. Both are made out of yarn I picked up at the 100 yen store (the Japanese version of a dollar store). Everything except Pasha's beak and feet is 100% acrylic, the yellow yarn is a really soft wool/acrylic blend. Surprisingly, there are some very nice yarns to be had at the 100 yen store, I also have some great cotton/acrylic yarn they had for sale last summer.

I swear Pasha has eyes, they're just black on a black background, not very photogenic. I've made two of these penguins so far, and both times my beaks came out like in these photos, much wider than in the pattern pictures.

The funny thing about the octopus is that my host brother couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be. The Japanese concept of an octopus looks something like this:


so I guess it threw him off a bit, what with the smiley face and non-curly tentacles and all.

For those of you who want an octopus of your own, here's what you need:

-1 skein of yarn in the color of your choice, plus scraps for the face and, if desired, snazzy hat
-A wad of scrap fabric to stuff the head
-Scissors or other cutting implement of your choice
-A tape measure
-A crochet hook, if you want the aforementioned snazzy hat (I suppose you could knit or sew one too)

And here's what you do:

1. Cut 48 strands of yarn, each 24" in length.
2. Divide yarn into 4 bundles of 12 strands.
3. Arrange the bundles so they intersect in the middle, they'll look a bit like an asterisk or the spokes of a wheel.
4. Using the scrap fabric as a core, wrap yarn around it to make a form for the head.
5. When the head is the desired size, place it in the middle of the yarn "wheel" and gather the "spokes" around it. Wrap and tie a length of yarn underneath the head to secure it in place, letting the spokes dangle. Since they've been folded in half around the head, there will now be 8 legs.
6. Braid each of the legs and fasten them at the bottom with pieces of yarn.
7. Embroider a face, make a hat- embellish it however you want. Go nuts!

I hope that explanation makes sense. The photo might help give you an idea of what goes where, if my steps aren't clear.