Yarn Along - longie style!

Joining up with Ginny for the Yarn Along.



Okay. I have a "dark secret" - are you ready? I play video games. Not obsessively. But, I do enjoy them. Recently I've gotten into the first Assassin's Creed game (I won't bore you with the details). It's roughly about the Crusades (which I am fascinated by - with no personal interest in the religion aspect of it). So I'm rereading some yummy historical-fantasy (that's historical-fiction with some magical elements thrown in). It's, duh, set in the Crusades. Devil's Bargain by Judith Tarr was the first of her books that I ever read. She very quickly became one if my very favorite authors.

Knitting? Longies, of course! I'm using some Shepherd's Wool that I bought from a local yarn store and two lovely stripey yarns from the destash box I bought from Emily. I'm super excited!



These longies I just finished last night. They are superwash - so not the best for longies. But I had six (or so) balls left after making the sweater. And honestly, I didn't want to look at it for another sweater's worth of knitting. Not sure what I'll use the stuff I still have leftover for, though. Anyway! The Imp requested pockets in his longies. He's my scavenger - always picking up acorns and rocks (and promptly dumps them in the Elf's pockets). He decided on just the one pocket, though.



Yesterday I washed a stack of longies (that's what I was doing instead of "Crafting On" with Nicole). Today I noticed that one pair had two wee holes in the back - obviously a needle felted patch was in order (I offered another pocket but the Imp declined). And what better way to decorate a patch than with a little white Totoro?

Oink?

Two posts in one day?! Oh no!

The pig is finished! Also, I felted the first angry bird. Which was a mistake. It fuzzed big time. And most of the belly came off. But, I gave it a good shave and broke three needles needle felted some more wool on. Now it's just.. very dense. Ah well. Live, learn, repeat as necessary.






(Ravelry details)

B has requested a blue bird. The Elf wants me to try a yellow one. He also wants more pigs - soldiers, kings, sleepy ones. Oy. Will I ever be free of the Angry Birds?

An Angry Bird!

I finished my angry bird! Or rather, the Imp's angry bird.







I may (or may not) felt the whole thing. It turned out to be a combination of knitting and needle felting. Overall I'm really happy with it.

This is the pattern I used for the ball base.

For the top feathers I picked up four stitches and knit in stockinette for four rows, k2tog twice, and pulled through. On mine, the not-stockinette side is visible because the other side naturally laid back.

For the beak I cast on 18 or 20 (I don't remember now) stitches and knit in stockinette in the round for two rows and then switched to *k1, k2tog* repeated (if I had extra stitches at the end of rows that didn't fit in that pattern I just knit them), and finally pulled through and sewed it on (with stuffing).

For the eyebrows I cast on four stitches, knit in stockinette (seeing a trend here?) for a couple rows and the k2tog, k the rest for each row (purling in between). After ending up with just one stitch (for three rows) I switched the pattern to increasing (kfb instead of k2tog) and worked it in reverse order. I needle felted the eyes and then sewed the brows on.

The tail is: cast on 4, knit in stockinette for four rows, k2tog twice, purl a row, knit a row, pull through. I did that three times and then sewed them together at the small end before sewing them onto the bird. Then I needled felted the belly and voila!

Blerg. People who write patterns must have a lot more patience than I do. I winged most of it and probably typed half of it wrong.

Done!

I've gotten things done! It's amazing!

First up are the tree stumps for the "Waldorf stocking stuffer" swap through a Yahoo group. I was going to head to the post office today but it just never happened.





I've had moments of self doubt - thinking that they aren't good enough. That people won't like them. That I should have done something different, something more. Oh well.

Next is a swap organized by Jen of Sewn Natural and MommaRae. I wanted to find something that represented North Florida in fall and winter. The trouble is that aside from slightly cooler weather (sometimes) and less mosquitoes (if we're lucky), there isn't a lot to distinguish them from spring and summer.



First I wanted to knit little butterflies that would look vaguely like Monarchs since they migrate through here. But that seemed to flop. My next thought was of all the faerie rings of mushrooms that pop up in the fall. So I whipped up a knitted and felted mushroom. I have a deep desire to make a whole forest of these now.



My third idea was a tin of calendula salve. As the weather cools my skin dries out and I practically (okay, not really) bathe in this stuff. I'm embarrassingly proud of how the labeling turned out.



Aside from those, I've worked on the longies a bit and finally found the bottom of the hamper. Whee!

WIP Wednesday

Hey look! I managed to do this on the "proper" day! Here are some of my many works in progress - I won't even mention the ones that are still brewing in my head!



It's supposed to be a butterfly (I'm using the pattern here). The idea was to make it look like a Monarch. I don't think I've succeded very well. It's still a WIP because I'm thinking about felting it. It's for a seasonal swap I'm working on. The next few are going to be less Monarch-y, but hopefully more butterfly-like. I'd originally planned on needlefelting a butterfly but it was beginning to look like the work of a kindergartener so I've switched tactics.



These are longies for the Beast. They look way too small - which probably means they'll fit (because apparently I'm crazy). I lovelovelovelove the colors - even if it is just store-bought yarn. The stitch markers are to help my addled brain keep track of the ribbing.



These are the needlefelted tree stumps I'm making for a "Waldorf stocking stuffer" swap. While this is helping me refine my tree root making technique, I am perishing tired of making these.

What are you working on?

Belated WIP Wednesday

This week has been a whirlwind. So much so that I can't even pinpoint exactly why.



Currently I'm working on the Dreaded Longies, ten tree stumps, and a butterfly (yes, it currently looks like an orange heart). I started and frogged a coffee sleeve this week as well. That's what I get for starting a new knitting project in the car, in the dark, and without a pattern. Yes. I ask for chaos.



While I was taking these pictures two of my other works in progress decided to join me. One of them is currently less work than the other. Both are completely adorable, though.

Catch up and {this moment}

I've been slacking with the posting and image editing this week. So now I think I may try and compress it all into one post.

Let's see. Over a week ago the older boys and I painted blotter paper leaves. We tried several different methods and none of them worked exactly as I thought they would, but fun was had all the same.



I finished the dolls for my swap with TwoLittleSeeds and moved on to my swap with OutsideCat. I thought I'd do a quasi step-by-step photo thing. Of course, once I started adding color I sort of forgot to stop and take pictures. Oops.



I started out with a simple rolled piece of plain wool and felted it until it was firm and the right size.



Add four rolled cones. It's okay if they seem a little long or thin. When you add color it tends to thicken and shorten them. It gets shorter because it becomes more densely felted. I find it hard to do more than tack the original cones together.



Stick the cones on and there you go! A ghostly tree stump. Add color - dark for the bark and twisted lighter wool in a spiral pattern to make a tree ring-like pattern. And there you go!



I didn't take progress pictures of the mushroom house. So all you get is the finished product for now.





And finally. My moment. Which I'm going to cheat and explain. Two years ago (or so) we rescued a kitten being bled to death by fleas outside. We nursed him back to health and he's a happy, fluffy Faustus now. His litter-mate was not so easy to catch. In fact, we never did. He's a gorgeous feral fellow that I've named Constantine. In the past couple of months he's gotten more comfortable with us and is often seen in our driveway (when he isn't chowing down on the food we put out for him).

A Friday ritual inspired by Soulemama. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment to pause, savor and remember.



Whew. The end. For now!