Since I am trying to plot a move to SoCal in a couple of years-- assuming I can ever get my adult shit together, hah hah-- I did two calendars this year with the same theme. I found a smaller "make your own picture" calendar this year, which was fun. And ironically I found an LA calendar that the Internet supposedly couldn't order, but in a store at the mall. Go figure.
Anyhoo, here they are for the year.
So my mom and I are going to Disneyland after Christmas, and a few days ago I got the idea to make us Minnie Mouse hats for Christmas presents. If you've ever tried on the sort they sell at Disney, they are plastic and don't exactly fit the heads of adults so good, so I figured I'd do a crochet version.
I'm not sure what my mom thinks of it exactly (hence no pics of her in it), but what the hell.
I found that most of the ones on Ravelry were uh, kid-sized, so I ended up designing my own hat. Here's the pattern.
When making the hat, don't worry about the stitches coming out in any particular number order. I'll have you do repeated increases on rows, but if you get to the end and don't have enough space to do an entire sequence again, don't worry about it. I'm more concerned about getting it to contour to the head rather than come out at a specific stitch count. Keep trying it on to check.
Note: I made the hat in Caron Simply Soft and the ears/bow in Red Heart-- softness for the head, some extra stiffness for the ears.
Hat:
Round 1: Ch 2, 6 hdc in 1st ch, join to 1st st (and every round thereafter).
Round 2: Ch 2, [1 hdc in next st, 2 hdc in next st], repeat bracketed pattern to end, join.
Round 3: Ch 2, [1 hdc in next 2 sts, 2 hdc in next st], repeat bracketed pattern to end, join.
Round 4: Ch 2, [1 hdc in next 3 sts, 2 hdc in next st], repeat bracketed pattern to end, join.
Round 5: Ch 2, [1 hdc in next 4 sts, 2 hdc in next st], repeat bracketed pattern to end, join.
Next few rounds: hdc in every st and join at end of each round until the hat measures 3.5 inches from the crown.
Next sequence of increases:
Round 1: Ch 2, [1 hdc in next 5 sts, 2 hdc in next st], repeat bracketed pattern to end, join.
Round 2: Ch 2, [1 hdc in next 6 sts, 2 hdc in next st], repeat bracketed pattern to end, join.
Round 3: Ch 2, [1 hdc in next 7 sts, 2 hdc in next st], repeat bracketed pattern to end, join.
Round 4: Ch 2, [1 hdc in next 8 sts, 2 hdc in next st], repeat bracketed pattern to end, join.
Next few rounds: hdc in every st and join at end of each round until the hat measures 5.5 inches from crown.
Brim:
Round 1: Ch 3, dc in back loop of the first st and in the back loop of each st around, join (bpdc).
Round 2: Ch 3, dc in front loop of the first st and in the front loop of each st around, join (fpdc).
Round 3: repeat round 1.
Round 4: repeat round 2. Finish off.
Ears (make 2):
Ch 2 sts, make 6 hdc in 2nd ch from hook for round 1.
Round 2: 2 hdc in each st, repeat around.
Round 3: Ch 2, [2 hdc in next st, 1 hdc in next st], repeat bracketed pattern to end, join.
Round 4: Ch 2, [2 hdc in next st, 2 hdc in next st], repeat bracketed pattern to end, join.
Round 5: Ch 2, [2 hdc in next st, 3 hdc in next st], repeat bracketed pattern to end, join.
Round 6: Ch 2, [2 hdc in next st, 4 hdc in next st], repeat bracketed pattern to end, join.
Round 7: Ch 2, [2 hdc in next st, 5 hdc in next st], repeat bracketed pattern to end, join. Finish off.
Bow:
Chain 40, join in round. Get 4 stitch markers.
Round 1: Ch 1, sc in first 3 sts, place marker, then hdc in each st for 15 sts. Place marker, then sc for 5 sts, then place marker. Then hdc in each st for 15 sts, place marker, sc in final 2 sts, join with sl st.
Note: you will do 5 sc sts between the markers at every row.
Rounds 2-3: Ch 1, sc in first 3 sts, dc in each st until marker. 5 sc in next 5 sts, then dc in each st until marker, then 2 sc in next 2 sts.
Round 4: Ch 1, sc in first 3 sts, hdc in each st through back loop only until marker. 5 sc in next 5 sts, then hdc in each st through back loop until marker, 2 sc in next 2 sts.
Round 5: repeat round 2.
Round 6: Ch 1, sc in first 3 sts, hdc in next st, dc in next st, then triple crochet until 2 sts before marker. Then dc, then hdc, then do 5 sc in next 5 sts. Hdc in next st, dc in next st, then triple crochet until 2 sts before marker. Then dc, then hdc, then do 2 sc in next 2 sts.
Round 7: repeat round 1.
When you are at the end, sl st to end of 5 st block. Start doing sc rows for 5 sts along center of bow for 13 rows, making an attached band. Pull band tightly around entire bow, sew or sc together at top, finish off.
Polka dots (make 20):
Use magic loop method sc 6 times in magic loop, sl st to start and finish off. Leave long tail to sew dots on.
Pin ears to hat and pin bow in between ears. Sew ear, then bow, then ear to hat. Then sew the edges of the bows to the ears to hold it more stiffly.
So, even in California it's cold outside. I know, it's not snow, it's not Arctic tundra, but what with my not having a car, I spend more time outside than most people and I notice this stuff more than everyone else. So I tend to be waddling around in enough layers to pass as the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man when I go to work in the mornings. Most days I am wearing leggings + sweatpants + pants or a giant skirt on the bottom alone. I'd like to wear some of my nicer/dressier skirts, but it takes some doing in the winter. People actually complain to me that I am wearing darker/more boring clothes in the winter and they find this disappointing! (This is a bit shocking. I can't imagine walking up to someone and telling them that when they wear turd brown every day, that gets kind of boring too! I guess they're all living vicariously?) Uh...well, I don't like it either, but that's weather and practicality for you.
Most leggings are sold in the color black. This looks good under darker-colored clothes (dark purple, blue, red), but not so much if you want to wear anything light pink or yellow. For years I have tried to find some white or cream or otherwise light-colored leggings (NOT TIGHTS, I am done with tights now that I no longer take ballet, and they don't keep your legs warm anyway), and have struck out for years. I found a pair of gray ones once. ONCE. And one time I resorted to ordering what looked like cream leggings online, only to find that they were actually a nasty mustard color. What the hell? I next thought about solving this problem by making different colored legwarmers to go over the black. I have one pair of thigh-high legwarmers I filched from my mom years ago that are very helpful in cold weather, but they don't always stay up. I made some cream-colored (boring, but oh well) legwarmers last year, but they didn't come out terribly great. Finally I decided that I should just knit an entire pair of leggings, using some pastel-shade yarn I was going to make a dress out of, but the dress did not work well when you have small back + giant boobs and I had to scrap it.
(Note: ironically, I finally found a pair of white legwarmers the day after I started knitting these things. Oh well, layers...)
I was using this Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern, "Nether Garments", which works off of her percentage method.
However, when it came to making legs, I found that I needed to customize it more. After awhile she just has the legs get wider and wider, and my knees and thighs uh...didn't need to be THAT wide. So I tried them on a lot, didn't enlarge it much at the hips, added a short row panel at the back so I didn't go all plumber's crack, and... voila, took me about 2.5 weeks to do (I took a few days off due to aforementioned hand issues). I am wearing them today and they are marvelously warm, like wearing sweatpants to work. Except dressier. Also, I'm not frequently stopping on the street to hike them up, looking like I'm in Pretty Woman or something.
Here they are with a knitted skirt I did.
Yes, I know they look ridiculous in that Easter colored yarn. I think this is the one thing I've knit in public that does NOT get compliments. But I don't care. I like 'em. And if you think these are weird, I saw FAR WEIRDER ones on Ravelry. Seriously, these are tame, comparatively speaking.
I kinda want to make another pair. These are fun. Maybe in red, or a nice tie-dye-y blue/purple yarn, or purple...
This is what I did to customize them:
CO 38 sts, knit in k1, p1 rib for 10 rows. Switch to stockinette, knit for 3 inches. Place marker at center back of leg and start doing the increases (1 on each side of the back 2sts on side of marker, every 3 rows) for 13 increases (12 inches from bottom) = 64 stitches.
Start decreasing by 2 every 3 rows for 4 repeats = 56 inches. Should be at 56 stitches by 13 inches long. Knit for 3 more inches until leg is 16 inches long (to top of knee).
Move the increase point to 14 stitches over (right or left side), start increases again in same manner for 3 repeats (62 stitches). Switch from DPN's to 16 inch circulars here. Continue in stockinette for another 16 inches/until leg hits your crotch region. Repeat for other leg. Put stitches on a longer circular needle, 20something inches (I forget what cord I used for this, whatever works for you).
Put 19 stitches on inseam of each leg onto another strand of yarn, put all remaining stitches onto circular needle and start knitting in the round. After 10 rows, place markers on the side of each hip (22 stitches in), do 5 increases in same method as patt. Knit in round for 5 inches.
Now, when I tried them on at this point they fit fine in the front, but were likely to have "plumber's crack" in the back. So at this point I did 14 rows of short rows on the back side from marker to marker, then did another row in the round connecting them all together. I placed a marker when I got back to the original short row starting point. Then I knit in k1, p1 rib for 2.5 inches, bound off, and sewed the crotch together by winding the needle through the open stitches. I did not need to size down the needles for the ribbing at any point.
The sweater looks great. I just want to know why my hair looks doofy in EVERY PICTURE.
So while I was on vacation I bought a metric asston of charms related to the move I am planning to make next September. I'm still trying to get used to the idea of the whole thing, so I was going to make a bracelet to replace one I'd lost in August.
And I did...but honestly, putting it on was like wearing a freaking porcupine. Memory wire bracelets probably should not be massive charm bracelets. So it didn't seem right to me, but I didn't know what else I wanted to do with all of those charms.
Then while at a liquidation book sale (sigh) this weekend, I found a book: Crafts for the Spirit: 30 Beautiful Projects to Enhance Your Personal Journey. And it had an idea for a travel altar with beads and charms hanging off of it. That combined with me going to a Day of the Dead exhibit that night and I thought, "milagros! That's what all these charms are anyway, really."
What are those? Here's a good explanation.
"As part of a religious ritual or an act of devotion, milagros can be offered to a saint as a reminder of a petitioner’s particular need. They are normally placed by worshipers onto altars, religious shrines and on sacred objects. They are used to assist in focusing attention towards a specific ailment, based on the type of charm used. They are also offered as thanks for answered prayers, so that others can receive the benefits for their own ailments or needs. Milagros come in many shapes, each shape representing one or more needs or prayers."
That sounded about right.
So I went to the dollar store, where I found a small wooden oval with a hanger attached. I cut out some fabric and sewed it to the wood around the edges (note: you can't do the usual "sew it inside out and flip it" with wood), then ended up sewing lace around the edges to cover up my bad sewing. And then I sewed my entire freaking charm collection to the new portable shrine.
I think I'll hang it up at work.
Following these instructions... I did the same old design I do everywhere else:
Here it is inside the case.
Also from Knitted Icons: the Godzilla doll, done for a friend's birthday.
Note: man, that book is cute, but instructional information is left out all over the damn place. In the case of this pattern, it doesn't tell you very well at all how to stitch up the body, and frankly, I think there's a whopping typo in the "how to put the spikes on" section because it just plain doesn't work if you do it as typed. Where the hell is errata/corrections for this, anyway?
So I wanted to design the new Best Costume trophy at work, because I wanted to keep my own that I won last year.
Here it is!
I bought a foam donut and a foam block from the dollar store, needlefelted the white and cobwebs onto them, and glued the structure to a foam gravestone (also from the dollar store), with trophy on top and stickers from the dollar store again. Then I crocheted the pumpkin, which comes with a hole in it for holding something, and needlefelted 3 faces onto it for "costume.", and made a doll from the Knitted Icons book, knitting the pants, T-shirt, and sweater that have patterns in there. I altered the neckline a bit to make it look blazer-y, and made up a red cape. I needlefelted his face on.
This is what it looks like so far. Ish.
Pattern for this is here.
I did end up sizing down the back considerably (did about 13 rows rather than 19 on the two back panels), because big honkers + small back = ... yeah. I probably could have taken it in a bit more in the back, but oh well, I didn't want to remake it a third time.
I never could figure out the "ruffles" on this, when I did the bottom as the pattern said and "evenly" to me came out like this. Oh, whatever....
