Tiny Human Clothes

I found people to knit with!!! Woohoo! There were 5 people all together last night at the coffee shop, knitting/crocheting away at things to make preemie babies warm. Andrea gave me a very nice shout out in her blog, so I should mention that I was super impressed with her teeny tiny needles and adorable pink hat! I got pretty far on a little blue hat (chatting makes knitting go kinda slowly, but when you are talking about knitting, I think it counts!). Tonight I finished up the hat, then decided what the heck, I may as well make some little sock things, too. I just sort of invented a pattern, with a couple of short rows for the heel, and decreases at the toe.

So far I just have one little sock done, so we'll see if I ever actually make two. I am rather impressed that I even got this far. We'll see if I remember my made-up pattern when I go to make the next one! Maybe a kid will be born with only one foot and it will need clothes, too. Baby things are so tiny! And so darn cute! Hopefully I will remember to send these in when I finish them, instead of hiding them behind the chair for months. I work close to the hospital now, so I can probably just drop them off when I eat lunch there or something.

The yarn I am using is from my grandma. Knitting with it makes me think of her....

The biggest art project yet!

We are buying a house! That means there are zillions of square feet of walls that need painting!! We are planning to paint the entire house (lol) in the two days between when we close and when it is the weekend and we have a u-haul rented.
Here are some of them:



Here are the books I got at the library to help me figure out what to do with all the walls!


eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! I am so excited!

Btw, if anyone reads this and for some reason is looking for an apartment to sublet.... let me know. (=

Almost back!!

I am flying back from vacation today. I hate flying! Not flying, exactly. I hate paying hundreds of dollars to be treated like crap by the airlines. Take off your shoes, unpack your whole bag, your plane's delayed, we can't find you a seat, we'll put you next to a chain smoking chatty cathy, etc etc. It's ridiculous. Anyway, vacation was awesome!! Here is my favorite picture from it:

I got a surprisingly good start on this green aran tote that's been floating in my head for months since I bought a hank of yarn that's a really great color. Then I had to buy a couple more hanks once I decided what to do. The cables are from the book at the library Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore. I love the way the cable snakes around up and down in addition to side-to-side, if that makes any sense. Here's what I've got so far:
If all goes according to plan, I will have a cute little messenger bag/tote with a big fold-over flap and a zipper at the top and a magnetic button at the bottom (ooh maybe not if I want to put my computer in it, I should think about that...maybe a wood toggle or something instead) and a sewn fabric lining and a nice wide, strong strap and it will be wonderful! If all goes according to plan.

T-Shirt Quilt

As I went though undergrad, I seemed to collect T-shirts. Lots of them. Mostly for free. Now that I am all grown up (ha!), I decided that it's time to cut the shirts to bits and turn them into some sort of throw. Which, since I have so darn many, is quickly turning into at least a twin-size blanket. I keep having to go back to the store to buy more interfacing, as I am lining the knit T-shirt fabric to keep it from being stretchy. I can't decide if I want to make it 4 squares by 5 squares or by 6 squares. I think I will do some fabric math today to see if 6 yards of material will be enough for backing and for the sashing. I also need to decide how I want to layout the squares. That's always the challenge in quilting, eh? My first thought was to do it randomly, but I am also leaning toward making diagonal stripes of each color of shirt. Either way, it is sort of a lot of work for a silly T-shirt collection. I am really much more of a knitter!



Speaking of knitting, here is a piece of a preemie hat I started about 4 times while helping the high schoolers at Upward Bound to learn to knit. I have some purple polar fleece sitting in my closet that I will probably (at some point...) sew some flannel to so I can donate it. We'll see when that gets accomplished though... (and man, oh man is my couch ugly. I tried not to get a picture of the giant rips that my toes get caught in all the time, but even the pattern is awful...)



Also, this turtle pattern is the freaking cutest thing I've ever seen! http://crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=40998



I think my turtle's head turned out too big, so I sort of got frustrated and stopped for awhile. I'll probably finish it (and a few more!) this weekend. I dunno if I should start the head over, and try to use fewer stitches, or just have a giant head turtle. If I could get them as cute as on the website, I think they would make cute little gifts to give people who are nice!

Oscar Pattern

All right, here's the pattern. My excuse for not putting it up sooner is that we spent the weekend in Omaha watching Oregon State cream North Carolina for the second year in a row at the College World Series! Go Beavers!


Now that this little guy is done, I am working frantically on turning all my OSU t-shirts (I literally have about 30, mostly ones I got for free from helping at outreaches) into a quilt. It sounds easier than it has been so far, mostly because I am trying to cut 15" squares on an 11" cutting mat, and apparently interfacing comes in skinny bolts, not 1 yd bolts like other fabric so I didn't buy enough. I am sure it will turn out great, though, in like a month.

Anyway, without further ado...

Oscar Pattern!

Yarn
2 balls of Salsa/ Brazilian in Lime Green (I don’t know if this is still available, but you’ll find something that will work, I’m sure)
1-2 hank of Cascade 220 in Grey Tweed
1 ball of Lion Brand Microspun in Black
1 ball of Lion Brand Microspun in Fuschia
1 ball of Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Grey (if you don’t want to get two of Cascade 220)
A bit of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Taupe

Needles
Size 10.5 (6.5 mm) straight needles
Size 10.5 (6.5 mm) double pointed needles (4 or 5)
Size 15 (10 mm) circular needle (16”)
Size 6 (4 mm) straight needles
Size H (5 mm) crochet hook

Notions
Googly eyes
Tapestry needle
Glue
Grey sewing thread and needle
Polyester fiberfill

Pattern

Head
Work back and forth with 2 strands of Salsa held together, using 10.5 straight needles.

CO 20
Work 8 rows of garter st.

Increase section (work increases by knitting into each strand of the stitch)
R1: *K2, K both strands. Repeat from * across. (26 st)
R2: K
R3: *K2, K both strands. Repeat from * across. (35 st)
R4: K
R5: *K4, K both strands. Repeat from * across. (42 st)
R6: K
R7: (Mouth opening) K13, BO 16, K13.
R8: K13, CO 16, K13.
R9-12: K
R13: (eye indent decreases) K16, K3tog, K4, K3tog, K16.
R14-16: K
R17: (eye indent increases) K16, K 1st strand of next st f&b, K 2nd strand of st, K4, K 1st strand of next st, K 2nd strand of st f&b, K16.
R18: K
R19: *K4, K2tog. Repeat from * across. (35 st)
R20: K
R21: *K2, K2tog. Repeat from * across. (27 st)
R22: K
R23: *K2, K2tog. Repeat from * across. (21 st)
R24: K
R25: *K1, K2tog. Repeat from * across. (14 st)
R26: *K2tog. Repeat from * across. (7 st)
R27: *K2tog. Repeat from * across. K1. (4 st)

Break yarn, thread needle, draw yarn through last 4 st. Use the tail of the yarn to sew up the back of the head, leaving the neck open to attach to body.

Mouth
Work back and forth following chart in st st using Lion Brand Microspun in black and fuschia with size 6 needles.

With black: CO 8
R1: Kf&b, P6, Kf&b. (10 st)
R2: Kf&b, K8, Kf&b. (12 st)
R3: Kf&b, P10, Kf&b. (14 st)
R4: Kf&b, K12, Kf&b. (16 st)
R5: Kf&b, P14, Kf&b. (18 st)
R6: Kf&b, K16, Kf&b. (20 st)
R7: P across.
R8: Kf&b, K18, Kf&b. (22 st)
R9: P across.
R10: Kf&b, K20, Kf&b. (24 st)
R11: P across.
R12 (middle row): K across.
R13 (begin following color chart from the top down): P across.
R14: K2tog, K20, K2tog. (22 st)
R15: P across.
R16: K2tog, K18, K2tog. (20 st)
R17: P across.
R18: K2tog, K16, K2tog. (18 st)
R19: P2tog, P14, P2tog. (16 st)
R20: K2tog, K12, K2tog. (14 st)
R21: P2tog, P10, P2tog. (12 st)
R22: K2tog, K8, K2tog. (10 st)
R23: P2tog, P6, P2tog. (8 st)
BO.

Break yarn, weave in ends. With black end nearest bottom of tongue, weave up the center of tongue to create a line.

Using one strand of Salsa, whipstitch the mouth into the hole in the head.


Body
Work in the round in st st using 2 strands of Salsa held together with 10.5 dpns.

CO 20, join to work in the round.
K around for ~1 inch (I did 3” and it’s just too long…).
Next row: *Kf&b. Repeat from * across.
Next row: K around.
Next row: *K2, Kf&b. Repeat from * across.
K around until almost out of yarn, leaving enough to bind off and sew any remaining seams.
BO.

Head finishing
Lightly stuff the head to see how it will be shaped. Glue googly eyes into the indented place above the mouth. Let dry completely. If you are giving this to kids, use eyes that you can sew on tightly instead of gluing.

To make eyebrows, cut about a 1’ strand of Wool-Ease Thick & Quick. Pull the two plies of the yarn apart. Gently pull each of these plies apart. Hold all four pieces together, and thread the tapestry needle. Beginning at the outer corner of one eye, leave a few-inch-long tail and loosely whipstitch across the top of the eye to create an eyebrow. End in between the eyes. Pull the end of the yarn back through all stitches created. Do the same with the tail at the beginning. Repeat for the other eye. Fluff up the eyebrows by pulling the wool apart a bit more. Make sure to place the eyebrows correctly or they look ridiculous (see picture). ☺

Sew the head to the body at the neck parts of each.

The head is shaped in three places: 1) to pull the eyes into the head to make him look grumpier. 2) to pull the back of the mouth in so it doesn’t pop out when stuffed. 3) to pull the chin down on the neck so he isn’t looking upward. To do each of these shapings, thread a tapestry needle with about a foot of one strand of Salsa for 1 and 3, or with grey wool-ease for 2. For shaping 1) stab the bottom of the head leaving a tail, push it through to where the nose would be, grab a couple of stitches, and push it back down to the starting place. Pull until the eyes are as far into the head as you like, tie a knot, weave in the ends. For shaping 2) stab the back of the head in the same way, grab a strand of mouth yarn, stab it back out and tie a knot. For shaping 3) grab a couple of stitches from both the chin and the neck and tie them together. These instructions probably don’t make sense, but it will be ok if you don’t do them.


Arms (make 2)
Work back and forth in St st with 2 strands of Salsa held together using size 10.5 straight needles.

CO 20
R1: BO 5, P15.
R2: K15, CO5.
Repeat rows 1&2 four more times.
BO 20.

Break yarn. With the yarn end nearest the fingers, weave through a finger until yarn is at the wrist. Draw the end through both sides of the wrist to make a cylinder with the purl side out. Tie a knot. Finish weaving in ends.


Garbage Can

Work in the round in K4 P4 rib using Cascade 220 with size 15 circular needles.

CO 48, join to work in the round.
K 2 rounds.
Next row: *K5, Kf&b. Repeat from * across. (56 st)
Next row: *K5, P2, K1. Repeat from * across.
Next row: *K4, P4. Repeat from * across.
Repeat this row until garbage can measures about 11.”
Next row: *K5, P2, K1. Repeat from * across.
K 2 rounds.
BO.

Put in a zippered pillowcase. Throw in the washing machine with some jeans to felt it. (Don’t over-felt or he won’t fit inside!) Pull to shape, let dry.

Garbage Can Bottom
Use grey Wool-Ease and a size H crochet hook. You can use Cascade 220 if you’d like.

Make a loop of yarn.
Sc 6 stitches into the loop, sl st to join in the round. Pull the loop to get rid of the hole.
*Sc in next st, 2 sc in next st. Repeat from * around.
*Sc in next two sts, 2 sc in next st. Repeat from * around.
Continue crocheting around like this, increasing by sc 2 st in a stitch to keep it flat, until the circle is the same size as the bottom of the garbage can.

Using one strand of whatever yarn used to crochet it, whipstitch to the bottom of the can.

Finishing
Stuff the head, body and garbage can. Using the sewing needle and thread, sew the body to the inside of the can. Using one strand of Salsa, sew the arms to the sides of the body. Shape, and enjoy!

Piggy bank

I decided today that since my coin bank (glass with Micky and Minnie on the sides that I've had since I was like 8) was full, it was time to empty it out (which is no easy feat since there is only the little slot in the top to get out the money). I further decided that since it was just coins that had bugged me while they were in my wallet that I could spend them on yarn. I diplomatically told my DH that he could have half of the loot to spend on cables or electronics or whatever. Anyway, guess how much money the coins added up to? $85!!! That's a ton of money! Even the half that is mine is like, enough for a whole project!!! What a great day!

Oscar!!!

Oscar, my entry into the craftster knitting challenge is done!! The pattern is here