Crafty Pants!

As usual, I am avoiding what I should be doing, and instead doing what I want. Now that I can create my own themes, I have been daydreaming about what I might want to do. To start, I want to create a beautiful hand crafted header (like this or this). I’m not very skilled with the needle but I can crochet, so inspired by these I’ve begun crocheting “Crafty Pants.” It’s quite nice to pick up the hook after a few weeks, and it turns out letters are quite simple!

As usual, I don’t have my camera (’extended’ loan) but I attempted to get a decent shot with my camera phone. Mind you, the letters are meant to be sewn down, so they are a bit out of shape. Now for the ‘pants!’

This winter got cold. Really cold. So cold, it felt like my ears would freeze right off my head! So to prevent that, I crocheted myself this ear-flap hat, as I posted about before.

I used two strands or yarn together, one soft and one sparkly. I’m not sure if the yarns were too thin, but the hat turned out far too large and airy the first try. I then went down one hook size to a N hook, but it was still too big for me. To make it warmer, I lined it with some white sweatshirt material from an old sweatshirt. That seemed to help make it fit better too. Next time, I’d go down even smaller, to an M hook.

Sorry for the poor quality pictures, my camera is out of commission for a while.

Overall, not a bad pattern. I think I need to trim my pom-poms down, they are huge!

I’ve actually made quite a few things this summer, but I can’t find my camera charger, so until then, no pictures! However, I did finally get my web-cam installed (Is amazing for video calls, makes long distance relationships much more bearable). Here is my super darling headband. I made it in-between classes, and is a very quick project.

You can get the headband pattern here.  I think I may make another, but in the narrow version.

I've lost my camera!! It seems I can't keep a camera for more than 1.5 years… I either lose it, or lend it to someone and they break it (this has happened twice, an no, they never reimbursed me). I just bought a new laptop, so buying a new camera is out of the picture:(

 Hopefully it shows up in the next couple of days. I have a remarkable talent where I 'lose' things in odd places. In the meantime, I'll have to use my ancient camera phone. 

These pictures are of a 'kitty' I started a few months ago. After I made the face and body, I was so disappointed with him (no one thought he was a cat!) that I set him aside. While looking though my yarn, I saw him lying there, no arms or legs. He looked so sad! So I finished him up and named him Gremlin, because he looks more like one than a cat! His fugliness is his charm;)

 I put wire in his tail so you can pose it.

Don't feed him after midnight or give him a bath! 

Over spring break I managed to get my grubby little fingers on Debbie Stroller's The Happy Hooker. I adore the patterns in this book! I have a few other books, and not a single one has any garments I would even dare to wear, but the Happy Hooker does. I'm dead set on making the Prepster; hopefully I can get the yarn and have it done by next fall:PI didn't have much time to make anything, but I did manage to make a modified version of the one skein scarf. I had a ball of yarn with beads (they don't show up in the photo) on it that was only 75 yards. I made it thinner and shorter, and managed to use all but one foot of the yarn! Talk about lucky! It's just long enough to wrap around once and have both ends hit at my waist.

I also had some chunky yarn that was only 34 yards. I used the Knifty Knitter to knit it up (because knitting uses less yarn). The brooch was only $2.00 at Joann's, yay! It's just long enough to surround my neck and keep the chilly wind away.

I didn’t get a good picture of this before I gave it away, but it is basically an egg shaped bunny using the last of my angel hair yarn. I forgot to stuff it with beans, so I decided to make something for it to sit in. Since Easter is coming up, I thought a basket would be cute, and I freehanded one. It turned out rather well for me just making it up on the fly.

I thought I was being oh-so-clever when I made the basket, but later I realized I had seen something similar by roxycraft. So I went from feeling like I had made something fantastic, to feeling like I made a cheap knock-off. It seems like no matter what I make, someone else has made something just like it before me! It makes me feel very un-creative and unoriginal.

I think I need to stop browsing other people’s work, because it is ‘inspiring’ me far too much!

I decided to crochet instead of do homework this week. While it increased my academic related stress, it filled that gaping hole in my soul that I get when I don’t make anything. I used the rest of my purple Joann’s Angel Hair that I made the ruffle scarf with. I love using up scraps!

I made an amigurumi style baby bunny, and another birdie (since I donated all my others to charity). I’m not sure I like the bunny’s face but it was the best I could do.

Here is momma birdie. *Chirp Chirp*

And baby bunny.

Momma birdie tried to feed baby bunny, but I’m not sure if bunny really wants what she is offering…

Edit: The bird pattern is from here (alternative wing pattern), and the bunny is from this booklet, although it is so simple I didn’t actually use it. I don’t recommend the booklet though, it is not worth the price; poor quality and the patterns aren’t special.

I taught my brother how to use the Knifty Knitter to make hats, and he went crazy making hats! After using up all his cheapo yarn, he bought two skeins of the Lion Suede yarn. Man is that stuff pricey! He made two darling hats for the baby of his closest friend, and I crocheted ears to make them into bear cub hats. As thanks for me making the ears, he gave me the leftovers of the yarn. W00!

I thought it would be cute to make a matching toy for the baby, and I worked hard on making it baby safe (no plastic eyes, extra secure stitching). When I finished, I tossed it to my boyfriend for him to look at. When I asked for it back, he gave me the saddest puppy dog look and said, “You mean, you didn’t make it for me?” He thought I made it for him, and it was his “lucky poker bear.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him otherwise, so I guess I’ll be making two!

He’s a wee one!

Aww!

This little guy needs a bit of an explanation…. A few weeks ago, some good friends of mine gave me a brand new bottle of Grey Goose vodka, for no reason at all. So to show them my appreciation, I decided to crochet them some things. The girl was obvious; I made her some cupcakes (because she is so sweet) and plan to make an ice-cream cone when I can find the right yarn. The guy was a little bit harder… What would a guy like?

He is quite an unusual person, the kind that tells bizarre stories and you cannot quite tell if he is telling the truth or pulling your leg. I am usually hoping he is pulling my leg but I have a feeling most of the stories are actually true… So I had to think: what is the weirdest, craziest thing I could ever crochet?

And then it hit me. Inspired by this chick, I decided to make… Balut!

For those not familiar with balut, it is:

A delicacy of Southeast Asia and especially the Philippines, a balut is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. Their high protein content is complimentary to the consumption of beer.

From Wikipedia.

I used a blue-ish fuzzy yarn from Target and a pale yellow yarn. Everyone I show him to gives me the weirdest looks…

He can come out of his shell to play.

He likes to wear it on his head and pretend he is a soldier.

He also likes to play superhero and pretend to fly!

I love these little cupcakes! I got the pattern on craftster. They are so easy and quick to make. I carry around a small ball of brown and a small ball of another color (usually pink) and I have managed to make over a dozen.

These ones are not my cutest. The cutest (with sprinkles!) were given away as presents.