Warm Fuzzies

Charade

When Sandra posted her pattern for Charade, a herringbone-stitch sock, I knew I had to make a pair for Kyle.  (He had wanted a hand-knit pair of socks for himself after seeing my first pair of socks.) 

I used a beautiful bamboo blend yarn (60% wool, 30% bamboo, 10% nylon) purchased from Ashley on Etsy , in her denim colorway.  I really like the idea of knitting socks with a bamboo yarn, since bamboo is naturally antibacterial and wonderfully soft.  Perfect for socks meant for stinky man-feet.

The only change I made to the pattern was casting on 72 instead of 64 stitches so that the sock would fit a larger foot.  The 2-row repeat for the herringbone pattern was easy to memorize and surprisingly fun to knit.   The second sock practically flew off my needles.

Kyle peeked over my shoulder just now and said, "I have such beautiful feet!"  He's such a big ham sometimes.  What he should have said is "I have such beautiful socks!"  Bah, men.  They never learn, do they? =D

Spring Chickens!

It's been a while since I've finished a crochet project, hasn't it?  I'm not sure exactly why, but I find that I seem to crochet a lot more during spring and summer time, and switch to knitting during fall and winter.  Weird, huh?  At any rate, I'm finally convinced that it's really spring because in addition to it being gorgeous outside, I've completed my first crochet project of the year.  Behold my new kitchen decor:

Not just one, but two spring chickens! 

The big, round chicken is a potholder that, quite honestly, I probably won't use much because I'm terrified of the inevitable: the bit of food that would fall just so on my beautiful white chicken, staining her forever.  Oh, the horror!  She works pretty well as wall art anyway, right?

And then there's the little shelf doll.  I call her Florence.  Or just Flo.  Depends on my mood.  I just love her little apron!  She was lots of fun to make, and although you can't see in this picture, she has a pretty feathered tail, too.  She keeps me company when I do the dishes.

The pattern that I used to make both chickens was available for free on this site last year, but it appears that they've taken it down.  Phooey.   I'm not exactly sure which crochet magazine the original pattern appeared in, but in case anyone's interested, I did a quick internet search, and was able to find this eBay listing for the pattern, cut out from the magazine in which it was originally printed (although the price for shipping's a bit steep).

Illustration Friday: Citrus

Here's a little something that I painted in Photoshop for this week's Illustration Friday.  I tried a more graphic, contemporary style this time around, and had lots of fun playing with the polygon lasso tool.  I first tried to paint her eye open, but it turned out a bit too freaky-looking for me.  I gave up after my third try and painted a closed eye instead.  I think the illo would read a bit better with an open eye, so someday, I'll come back and fiddle with it again.  But that day's not today, hehe.



I did another quick illustration, for the "citrus" theme, using a similar palette of colors.  Oscar just loves the smell of oranges, and sometimes he's lucky enough to get a small piece for a treat.  The illustration shows a rabbit (Oscar, perhaps?  hehe) looking up at a fruiting orange tree.  I think I am going to paint it on canvas, and hang it in Oscar's corner of the apartment.

A New Beginning

So, it's official.  I started my new job this Monday.  I have to commute all the way to the southern tip of Brooklyn, which takes about 90-100 minutes for me each way.  I figured that I would be able to sit down and get a bit of crafting or reading done during my commute...boy was I wrong.  The trains are incredibly crowded in early morning, and moreso in the evening.  I'm lucky if I get a seat during the last 30 minutes of the commute.  Haha, that pretty much throws my plans right out the window.  Oh, the things I would have made!  These things happen.  So...my hunt for some good audiobooks begins.

The people that I worked with previously got me a card, which they all signed, and flowers on my last day of work.  Many people came to me personally to wish me well.  The gesture made me a little misty-eyed.  I will definitely miss all the wonderful people that I was able to meet and work with.  Truly.

During the weekend, I went down to Union Square and purchased some organically grown herbs and planted them in a window box.  Guess who they're for??  Hehe.

Although I'm definitely excited about having fresh herbs on hand for cooking, I'm more excited thinking about how happy Oscar will be when he has a variety of fresh organically grown herbs to eat.  He frequently visits the kitchen in anticipation of getting a little taste of the herbs in addition to the other greens that have been gradually introduced into his diet.

Meanwhile, the lazy little bunny's been keeping me company by my feet when I use the computer in the early mornings, before I leave for work.  I know he doesn't look all that excited about the herbs right now (given my lack of a green thumb), but believe me, he's dreaming about them!  =)

Illustration Friday: Fortune

In celebration of the Year of the Golden Pig (a pig year coinciding with the element of gold happens only once every 60 years and signifies an extremely prosperous and lucky year), here's a pen and ink drawing of a pig and lucky rabbit that I did, in the style of a classic Chinese paper cutting.

Traditionally, the pig is already considered an animal of fortune, living a comfortable and carefree life.   In the Zodiac story, the Pig takes a nap and indulges in a snack in the middle of the race, yet he still manages to be one of the twelve winners. 

The pig is paired with a rabbit not only because there's a new Rabbit in my life (I'm a Pig), but because this year is particularly auspicious for people born in the year of the Rabbit.  Rabbits have the Midas touch this year; their careers will boom, bringing them new levels of wealth and success.  Fortune on top of fortune.  So my father (a Rabbit) tells me.  And, of course, red was my color of choice for the illustration - according to the Chinese, the color red is the very embodiment of luck and fortune. 

I had actually initially planned to illustrate something like this back when the Illustration Friday topic was "Red".  The concept was floating around in my head since then, but it was the "Fortune" topic that brought the idea back to center stage.  I think I may just use this illustration as a template to make a real traditional paper cutting.  *Adds yet another item to an ever-growing 'To do' list and laughs like a maniac*

Bunnies from Knitted Squares

My household has no shortage of bunnies, but I couldn't help myself.  Oscar needed friends.

Meet Susie and Moe.  Can you believe that they're made from a knitted square/swatch?  It's true.  Here's how.  While watching a DVD, I knit two little stockinette stitch squares from a mohair-blend yarn that I had purchased quite a while ago for a project that I had dreamed up, but never took the time to actually start.  I enjoyed the mindless knitting; it was perfect for a lazy weekend.



As you can see, Susie and Moe have a penchant for books.  Oscar does, too, but not so much for reading them as chewing them up with his razor-sharp bunny teeth.  But he's only doing what's natural for rabbits, and he's just so darn cute that I can't get mad at him.  It was my fault, anyway, for having books on a shelf low enough for Oscar to reach.  Nice bunny.  Bad human.  Poor The Red Tent.  I liked you.  But I digress.  Back to introducing our new knitted bunny friends.



Susie and Moe have been neighbors since childhood.  Moe's had a crush on Susie since forever, but he was never brave enough to do anything about it.



So Susie did.  Moe realized there was no reason to be shy.  It didn't take long for him to propose.

Susie said yes.  And so many, many more little knitted bunnies are to come.  The end.

*The bunnies are knitted with Lily Chin Greenwich Village on #7 needles, and I used pompoms for their tails.

Happy Easter!

Just a quick little post today.  Earlier this morning, I happened upon these instructions for a cute little pompom bunny, so I naturally dropped what I was doing to gather supplies and make one of my own.  She was a quick little project, and I really enjoyed working on her.

I can't exactly put my finger on why my bunny's a little "special" looking, but it gives her character, right?  Right.  I improvised for the wooden base by using a lid that I had saved from a sports drink.  It worked beautifully.

My bunny ended up being around 5" tall.  She's now enjoying her new home in the kitchen, ready to go a-hunting for eggs in a moment's notice.  But the poor dear already has her hands full...

And what has Oscar been up to?  Well, he's been busy getting to know some new friends.  They're all a bit busy hiding eggs right now, but they'll be sure to come out and play another day.  Cheers!

Leaves of Grass Anklet Socks

I did it.  I joined the millions of sock knitters out there and knit up my very first pair of socks.

When I was hunting around for a pattern that might portray my variegated, handpainted yarn favorably, I happened upon this pattern.  It didn't come with a picture of the finished product, but I decided to go with it anyway after reading the description: "The color choice here directly influenced the sock design - it's a pale green with subtle aqua and purple flecks in it."  Hmmm.  Pale green.  Check.  Aqua.  Double Check. Purple.  Yup.  Who cares if my yarn had aqua and purple segments rather than flecks?  The Leaves of Grass socks sounded perfect.

I have pretty narrow feet (my feet look pretty big in the picture, but I'm actually a size 6, 6.5; like I said, narrow feet), and since I like a tight-fitting sock, I used size 0 needles.  I actually started out with a very long circular needle using the magic loop method.  After all, there had to be a reason for its popularity.  I wasn't thrilled about the technique after completing my first 10 rounds, especially since the looping produced a slight laddering effect.  So I switched to dpn's.  Ahhhhh, much better.  I don't know why double pointed needles have such a bad rap, but I love them.   They're definitely going to be my weapon of choice for future socks.

I followed the pattern exactly: 1x1 rib for the cuff, knit a heel flap, pick up gusset stitches, decrease for a bit, knit a lace instep, and top it all off with kitchener stitch for the toe.  The 8-row repeat of the lace pattern was pretty easy to memorize, so the socks made for a great portable project.  I'm starting to understand why there are so many avid sock knitters out there.  Although I wouldn't say the socks were necessarily a quick knit for me, finishing the pair was very gratifying.  As a girl who's sock drawer is completely filled with either black or white socks (and socks with dancing cows and flying pigs hidden waaaay in the back), having this pair of socks on hand is very refreshing.  I've got to admit that I've only worn them around the house, and haven't yet mustered the courage to wear them outside, but that doesn't diminish my affection for them.  I love them.  They're my lounging socks.

Kyle's hinted that he wants a pair, too.  Except, no lace, he says.  And, um, a solid color.  I'll see what I can do.

Presents in the Mail

Kari sent me one of her yummy cashmere ribbon wristlets in the mail this week (she has some for sale in her Etsy shop, and some cute button bracelets, too).  I love everything about it; the purple flower button is the perfect touch!  And the cashmere.  *Drool*.  Such a treat for my wrist.  And I can tell from her choice of colors that she made it just for me.  Kari, you spoil me.  Truly. 

   

Speaking of awesome mail from Kari, I can't believe I haven't shared the belated Christmas package that she sent me.  Behold:

Kari sent a cute little card and some very nice Merlin the Cat superwash merino sock yarn in my colors.  Light green + lavender (and the occasional bit of aqua)= heaven.  I started working on my first pair of knitted socks using this yarn a couple weeks back, so I'm almost finished with them now.  Kari made a crochet hook holder for me, as well as a pair of her gorgeous tree branch earrings (she wrote a tutorial for these.  Check it out!).  Everything was individually wrapped, too, so I had the pleasure of opening several delightful little packages instead of just one big package.

I immediately transferred all my crochet hooks from their then-current resting places (e.g., the floor, on the nightstand, between the cushions of the couch, etc etc,) to their beautiful new home.  There were some empty pockets left, so I put my dpn's in the holder as well.  It's just what I needed to get a jump-start on organizing my craft supplies.   Unfortunately for me, my crochet hooks and dpn's are, to this day, still the only supplies that I have neatly in place.  Note to self: must organize.  Do some spring cleaning.  All that good stuff.

 

Kari celebrated her birthday in December, and this is the birthday/Christmas gift I sent her.  Macadamia nut chocolates, more chocolate, and fruit leather.  A pair of lacy crochet earrings.  Some yarn.  When I went to the LYS to pick out a special skein of yarn for her (Fiesta handpainted 100% silk yarn), I couldn't resist getting the Lantern Moon sheep tape measure for her, too.  I thought it was the cutest thing...you pull his tail to get the measuring tape to come out, and push on his fluffy little belly to retract it.  Heh.

Using the general instructions referenced in this Craftster post, I crocheted a Ribbed Earflap Hat with Pompoms for Kari in her favorite color.  Unfortunately, the first hat that I sent was too small for her, and as of yesterday, it looks like the second (bigger) hat that I sent is currently MIA.  Darn you, postal gods!  I had planned to make more of these hats (one for myself, at least, hehehe), but never got around to it.  Oh well, there's always next year...

Whew. I'm back.

I'm still alive.  Sorry about the long, unannounced hiatus.  Truth is, life had me a little stressed out, but the worst is over.  There was a death in Kyle's family.  Our wedding was postponed.  Funding for my position at work would run out soon.  I interviewed like a madwoman.  Went on a trip.  Won a prize from the Whiplash recycled crafts competition.  Celebrated a birthday.  Interviewed some more.  Led a team effort in a project for the first time.  Worked my butt off.  Pleased the people on top.  Received an offer for an interesting position elsewhere.  Got a call from my current employer.  Was offered a different position and a raise.  Couldn't figure out what to do.  Lost sleep.  Finally decided.  I think.

But I haven't yet mentioned the most significant thing that happened to me these past few weeks.  Kyle and I are now proud parents!  Meet our baby, Oscar.

He was gifted to us as an engagement present from some friends of mine.  And I love him so.  How can you not love him?  He's a ruby-eyed Netherlands dwarf.  He used to be about half this size, but alas, we never had a chance to take baby pictures of him.  He grows so fast!  Just days after he joined our family, we went on a previously planned trip to Minneapolis (the top picture of the frozen lake was taken there), leaving our little bunny in the care of a friend.  We came back to a, erm, slightly bigger bunny, hehe.  But that means all the more bunny to love, right? 

At any rate, it's good to be back.  I've a lot of catching up to do.  Can't wait to see what everyone has been crafting these past few weeks.  As for me...I see a lot of bunny-inspired projects in the future.