More Creations

I enjoyed making the whale amigurumi so much I decided to give another one a try.  I've been holding on to this one for a long time because it is so cute.  I didn't really have anyone specific in mind when I made it but now it has a home and I'll be making more. 

This is Fruitloop made from a free pattern called Hermione the Unicorn by Dawn Toussaint.  I called her Fruitloop because the variegated yarn I used has the colors of fruitloops.  She was fun to make but it was hard on my hands so I had to take frequent breaks.  I made this mostly with yarn from my stash that I wasn't sure what to do with because there wasn't enough of it to make anything else.  The white and solid purple had no labels and is most likely discontinued anyway.  I'm really glad to be able to use it up.  I plan to make more of these to donate to pediatrics or the ER.  I think the kids there would love something like this to cheer them up.  I'm very grateful to Dawn Toussaint for the free pattern!  

I also made another whale because, well, why not?  I used up another small skein of stash yarn for this.  I thought I'd have enough to finish it but I was a nose short.  I just had to add some red heart in Royal to finish it and I also made one of his fins in that color so he has one in each shade of blue.  I think he's really cute.  His eyes look yellow but they are green.  The pattern for this guy is in my last post.  I can't think of anything but Free Willie for some reason.  

Happy Crafting,

DJ

I have been busy

I haven't posted here in a long, long time.  I tend to post more on my main blog (https://fiberplusalgia.blogspot.com/).  This is more stitchy related so I decided to post here.  I have been knitting and crocheting more lately and finished some things.

First, I finished a baby blanket for a friends little baby boy.  This is Baby Blanket Arthur, a pattern I purchased on Ravelry from Le Petit Mouton.  I love this pattern and plan to make it many, many times.  It is an easy pattern that works up quick and doesn't take much thinking.  I used the new Lion Brand Coboo yarn though and while the finished blanket feels really nice the yarn splits so bad it slowed me down.  The yarn is actually so loosely spun that it almost has no twist at all. 

The color in my pictures look more gray but it is a gray blue.  The color is called Denim.  I'll add a better picture of the ball of yarn that shows the color better.    

Since it is thinner and the individual threads are so thin I had to wear my glasses all the time to watch for missed threads.  I had to take out a lot of work to fix places were I missed one thread, usually of the back side from where I was working, and that was frustrating.  When I was blocking it out I found a few I missed too but they are hard to find, I hope.  Maybe I'm just blind.  I almost don't want to work with it again but the blanket feels amazing.  The drape is lovely.  I also love the colors it comes in.  After about half way though I found a groove and didn't have as much trouble.  I guess you just have to learn to work with it and then it isn't so bad.  I am sure I will buy more of it.  This blanket is perfect for summer time when you don't want something too hot. 

You can see in the picture below that my phone camera tends to loose blue tones.  Where you can see the foam mat the blanket is pinned on it looks yellow but it is actually bright green.  

I decided to make a toy whale to go with this blanket.  This is I think my first amigurumi if you don't count the little bone I crocheted for my dog buddy when he was a puppy.  Again, my counter he is on is sage green and it looks more yellow there and he is more blue.  This is a free pattern called M. Richard the Whale by Stacey Trock.  The yarn I used is Cotton Ease by Lion brand which I heard they discontinued.  That makes me sad because I used it so often.  They really shouldn't discontinue something that really is a staple item.  I hope they are going to come out with something good enough to replace it.  

This pattern is very fast to work up and I quickly got to the point where I needed to add the eyes and was stuck waiting for them to arrive in the mail.  I just had to have those eyes though.  I couldn't fit any felt behind them though or they wouldn't snap closed.  

Okay, I do have more to share but I'll end this post for now and later I'll post more of my creations.  

~DJ

YOP update

The first part of this week wasn't very productive since I wasn't feeling well but then the sun came out and I got a lot accomplished in the last part of the week. It was so nice to get outside too and enjoy the sunshine. It was so wet and yucky out for several weeks and there were mushrooms popping up all over my yard. They all died after a while with the sun out. It has been about 75f during the days but I feel the coolness of autumn coming in the evenings. I am actually looking forward to fall and the beautiful colors.  I am itching to make something in a goldenrod yellow color to wear this fall. The only drawback to fall here in Fairbanks, Alaska it is it so short lived and suddenly it will be winter so I'm glad we still have a little bit of summer left.

I have an FO!!  I finished my Easy Peasy Socks for First-Timers by Stacey Trock.  They were so much fun.  I had some issues with the second sock because I had fibro brain so I did a lot of tinking and had to use a lifeline once but I was determined to get it finished. I remember when I was working on it my feet were cold and instead of getting up and putting on a different pair of socks I just knit faster so I could wear these.  Of course, when I finally finished it was too hot to wear them.  

BTW, these are knit in a discontinued yarn called Red Heart Stripes - Cancun.  I know, I'm so sad that it is discontinued.  I would love more of the colorways they had.  It is a worsted weight yarn.  I bought this yarn a long time ago for a blanket I was knitting but it has been languishing in a tub for a while.  I decided to use the yarn for something else.  I also have some turquoise yarn to go with it and one other color that I can't remember right now.  So now I'm trying to think of things to use that yarn for since that is one of my goals for this year - to find all my MIA wips and either finish them or frog them and use the yarn for something else.  So that blanket is one of them but it isn't one I put in ravelry.  

I actually finished both my goals for this week even though I really did it all in just the last couple days.  The first was to finish my socks and the second was to write up the pattern for Buddy's Squeaky Bug and get it posted on my blog and listed as a free pattern on Ravelry.  I made another cuter one that looks like a ladybug and also made a simple version which I call Less Buggy Squeaky Bug.  Buddy loves them all and for the Less Buggy version I made him I let him pick the colors since he is always rooting around in my yarn and I am constantly having to take it away from him.  He picked out the green cotton I used for the bottom and then since he kept trying to steal my socks while I was working on them I used that yarn for the top of it.  If you look at the pictures below you can see how ratty looking the green was because he already grabbed the circle from me and played with it.  He even took it outside and brought it back in a few times.  He was chomping at the bits to get it from me so I had to quickly finish off and weave in the ends with him biting at it.  So that doesn't look so hot but he doesn't care. It reminds me of an eyeball.

I did find another MIA WIP - my Meandering Rib Scarf from Lionbrand.com.   I had forgotten that a cup of coffee got dumped over on it.  It was in a small tub with the yarn for it and the coffee dumped right in the tub.  I dumped out all that would come out and was so frustrated I just sat it aside to deal with later and then forgot about it.  I hadn't knit very much on it so it wasn't a big deal.  Well I frogged it and soaked the yarn and washed it.  It wasn't as difficult as I thought.  It is wood-ease by Lion Brand in Gray Heather.  It dried nicely and regained it's fluff.  So I only have one repeat of the pattern done right now.  I do have a lifeline in because it is so easy to get lost with this pattern.  I need to use a word processor program to edit the pattern to be easier to follow.  I did that last time but lost it.  Normally I just use a sticky note to keep track of where I am in a pattern but with this one I get to row 9 and it says "repeat row 6" so I need another sticky note to put at row 6.  Then I get to Rows 15 and 16 and it says "Repeat rows 11 and 12".... I go to Row 11 and it says "Rep row 4" and then row 12 says repeat row 3.  So I just take the pattern and make each row say the pattern to follow so I can just move down the list and not have to jump all over the place.  

I do like the pattern.  This is a gift for my husband but I want to make myself one too that will be slightly different.  Buddy the Beagle Baby finally has all his shots and is almost ready to go out in the world.  We just have to wait another week to make sure his last shots kick in.  We also have to get him a different food because the Vet thinks he may have a food allergy.  He has a few itchy spots where he chomped off his fur.  We have some ordered and I really hope it works for him.  

Squeaky Bug - Free pattern (updated)

Squeaky Bug *FREE pattern*

Buddy loves his squeaky bug and it was so easy to make.  Buddy is 4 months old now and loves toys that squeak so I bought a bag of medium sized replacement squeakers on Amazon.  They are 1 3/4" in diameter.  He is always snagging the squeakers from me when I'm trying to put them in a toy and he will run around the house like a mad dog with it in his mouth squeaking away.  So, I decided to make a toy that was just big enough to cover the squeaker and protect it from his teeth and keep him from chocking on it.  That way he could still run around with it in his mouth.

Squeaky Bugs are fun for other pets too.  You can even skip the squeaker and stuff them with pillow guts, yarn tails or scraps of fleece etc and slip in a little cat nip for your kitty!

I would love to see all the crazy Squeaky Bugs (including the Less Buggy Squeaky Bugs!) that people make.  If you send me a picture to donnaj71@gmail.com with a name to display I'll put the picture on my blog in my Squeaky Bug Exhibit.  I will assume you are giving me permission to post your picture on my blog if you email it to me.

Here is what you need:

• Worsted weight yarn in whatever color you want your bug to be.  I like to use 100% cotton yarn (like Sugar N'Cream, Peaches & Creme, Lion Brand Kitchen Cotton etc) because it holds up better for a pet toy than acrylic yarn but you can use any kind of yarn.  I have found that acrylic yarn can split and get fuzzy when working with smaller hooks and tight stitches.  Cotton yarn doesn't do that.  You can try a size larger hook if you are having a problem with your yarn splitting.  
• G size hook (4.25 mm)
• A darning needle
• 1 Medium sized round replacement squeaker 1 3/4" in diameter.  

Gauge: The circles for the body of the bug should be about 3" in diameter when flat.  You want to work tight so if your circle comes out bigger try changing to a smaller hook.  

Body

The body is constructed of two circles, one colored and one black.  They cup a little to hold the squeaker.

1. Start off with a magic circle, chain 1 and work 6 hdc (half double crochet) into the circle. Join with slip stitch to the first hdc.
2. Chain 1, starting in the same stitch as join, work 2 hdc into each stitch.  Join with slip stitch to first hdc. (12 sts)
3. Chain 1, starting in the same stitch as join, *work 2 hdc, 1 hdc in next stitch* repeat around to the end and join with slip stitch to the first hdc (18 sts)
4. Chain 1, starting in the same stitch as join, *work 2 hdc, 1 hdc in each of next 2 stitches* repeat around to the end and join with slip stitch to the first hdc (24 sts)
5. Chain 1, starting in the same stitch as join, *work 2 hdc, 1 hdc in each of next 3 stitches* repeat around to the start and join with slip stitch to first hdc (30 sts)  fasten off and weave in ends. (when you make your black circle for the bottom do not fasten off)

Now, take the colored one and add your buggy details.  You can use your darning needle to stitch the lines on or you can use surface crochet.  Using the black yarn stitch a half circle to create the head of the bug and a line down the middle of the back.  Then add two eyes and some spots to each side of the bug.  Of course you can add the details however you want and get super creative.  Make loads of crazy bugs!  I can't wait to see what everyone makes!  Just make sure you stitch them in good and weave in the ends so your pet can't get them loose.  I actually knot mine since it is on the inside anyway and won't be seen.  You can also use safety eyes instead of stitching them on.

For this one (my first one) I used surface crochet for the lines and that was super quick and easy.  I was a little impatient when doing the dots and you can tell.  I just whip stitched this bug together working around the legs.

For this one I used 6 mm safety eyes and used a back stitch for the lines and french knots with 3 wraps for the dots.  He doesn't have a mouth but his eyes are smiling.

Bug Legs

After you finish your black circle don't fasten off after joining.

1. Chain 1 and turn it to the back of your circle and slip stitch to the horizontal bar on the back of the stitch (marked in blue in the picture below).  

Note: I found it is easiest to hold the circle so your thumb is on the right side of the work so you can work on the back edge like in the picture below.

2. Next, chain 6.  Slip stitch into second chain from hook and down to last chain and then slip stitch back into the same horizontal loop where you started.  -1 leg!

3. Slip stitch into the next two stitches (horizontal bars)
4. Chain 6 and slip stitche back down and then back into the horizontal bar again - 2nd leg!

5. Repeat step 3 and 4 one more time and then fasten off. - 3 bug legs!

Turn your circle around and repeat the same for the other side.  When you are done it should look something like this from the right side.  

Joining your Squeaky Bug

So now you have all your parts you need to make a bug sandwich.  Make sure both of your circles are right side out. 

Joining the layers together is super quick and easy with surface crochet (slip stitch).  Use yarn to match the top of your bug.  I'm using red.  Make a slip knot in your yarn but don't put it on your hook yet.  Stick your needle through both layers of your bug starting from the top, then stick your slip knot on the hook from the back.

Pull the yarn to the front (but don't pull the slip knot all the way out) and then stick your hook back down into the next space, yarn over and pull it to the front of the work.  Work a slip stitch and repeat all the way around.  When you get to the end to where there is just one space left you will have to finish with a darning needle.  Just pull your last loop out long and snip it leaving you with at least 5 or 6 inches.  Thread the yarn onto a darning needle and stick your needle flat to the work at slide it under both loops of the first surface crochet stitch.  Then, slick the needle back down where it is coming from to complete the last chain.  Take the two pieces of red yarn at the back and tie a knot. Then just use your needle to take your yarn into the body of the bug and out through the top.  Snip the yarn and give the bug a tug (hey that rhymes!) so the yarn tail ends up inside and not showing.  

This is what it looks like on the back

Less Buggy Squeaky Bug

Simple Version

This is a simplified version that can be made super quick.  Just take your two completed circles and put them together right sides out with your squeaker in the middle.  You can add some small safety eyes if you want or just skip adding any details all together and single crochet (US Terms) the two layers together.  

Put your squeaker between two 3" circles.  Please excuse my green circle looking a little ratty.  My puppy kept snagging it so it has already been played with some.  Make sure you secure your magic circle really well on the wrong side.  

If you just finished your last circle you can just chain 1 and then insert your hook through the top loops of both circles, yarn over and work a single crochet.  Work all the way around and then join to your first single crochet and fasten off.  

The finished squeaky bug is only slightly bigger than 3" and is ready to play with!

YOP update and some Major (crochet) surgery

This week I have 5 finished projects and I'm so glad to be able to work on something else for a change.

I have my crochet baby dress (Frilly Dress) finished finally but there were some problems.  It is a beautiful dress and I love it but there are some errors in the pattern; some were fixed and the pattern updated but they didn't fix them all.  I made notes of the problems I found as I worked on my Ravelry project page here. Besides those more obvious mistakes the straps are too long.  I'm new at making baby clothes and my kids are grown so I didn't realize until too late that the straps were way too long and besides that they stretch out under the weight of the dress and it ends up looking like a vintage strongman's outfit.  With the help of someone in a facebook crochet group who shared this chart I learned that the straps should be about 2.25" so now I have to fix them. I've never had to fix something like this before and I did a lot of googling to see if someone else had a better way but of course I found nothing.  I also asked in the crochet group but other than lots of suggestions on how much I should shorten the straps or that I should add buttons etc, I got no suggestions on the actual process.  So here is what I decided to do with some pictures.

Here is a picture showing the straps laying flat.  I measured 3.5" and I decided to take out about 1.5".  I turned the dress inside-out and safety-pinned the two layers together so it wouldn't shift while working on it.  I measured back from the top of the shoulder about 2" and placed a safety pin there.  Then I used matching sewing thread and sewed a line just above the pin.  I took scissors (and prayed) and snipped across at the top of the shoulders and then used the eye of a needle to pick out the stitches (much easier said than done) leaving me with long lengths of yarn to work with.  The trim on this is added after the main body was complete so I had to pick that out separately and then had to use a safety pin to hold the the last loop to

keep it from unraveling past my new seam.  In this picture (left) you can see my safety pin holding the two layers together but you probably can't see the hand sewn stitches across I made with sewing thread.  This was a very slow process and took a lot of patience since the stitches didn't easily come out and where I wove in the ends in from my edging I really had a tough time.  After I got everything unraveled to one row above my sewn line I used a darning needle and used the lavender yarn from one side to seam the two sides together and then carefully wove in the ends, including the lavender yarn from the other side.  Then I had to use the darning needle to sew the edging sides together to look like it was uninterrupted.  I also folded the seamed section (which is about a half inch) to one side and secured it in place.

Besides the strap issue, this dress is not really very practical and is more of a photo-op dress.  The skirt is so full and heavy with yarn that it would probably be hard for a child this age, who is just learning to walk, to walk in without falling.  This dress is pretty much floor length.  Another person on ravelry who made this dress told me it is very difficult to fasten the car seat strap over the bulk of the dress so it is better to wait to put the dress on after coming out of the car seat.  I think it would be much better to make the newborn to 3 month size since there are less problems with it than with the larger sizes. There are less rounds (so less increases and less bulk). Plus, from what I can see most of the errors are in the larger sizes.

So now that I'm done it looks like this.  These pictures are dark since it is night time now so the color is actually much lighter.

My second finished project was a headband to match.  I used this free pattern for the band except that I only used 5 stitches so it would be narrower.  I also used left over yarn from the dress which is DK so I used an E hook or 3.5mm.   I used this free pattern for the columbine flower.

My third project was a quick little crochet washcloth which was a CAL with the ravelry group called Dishcloth Weekly Knitalong.  They have KAL/CALS using free patterns every week and is a fun group of people.  

Flower Power dishcloth

The next two patterns were also quick ones.  I finished them both on Saturday even though it is still

Weeping Willow Sun hat (free pattern)

raining continuously and I've been in even more pain then before because of a Fibromyalgia flare up.  Some areas are on flood watch actually because of all the rain.  It had been drizzling pretty consistently for quite a while but the last couple days we have been getting heavier rain.  I actually slept most of the day and spent the time I was awake in bed/pajamas.

I had planned to make this hat for my great niece Maya in her great grandmother's favorite color red. She is only two and never got to meet her great grandma who passed away in 2008.  I made this hat to go with a cute little heart-shaped purse I made her in May.  I sewed a zippered pouch (putting in my first zipper ever) and I used a red vintage zipper from my mom's sewing table.  My mom would be so happy to know I used something of hers to make this little gift for her great grand-daughter.

While I was working on that hat, Buddy the beagle baby kept stealing my ball of yarn or the project. I had already noticed he seems to really like the color red (or dark pink) and anytime I try to work with that color I have to fight him off.  Since he just turned 4 months old I thought I should make him a little toy using red yarn.  I came up with my own pattern that I will write up later and post here on my blog.  For now I want to see how this first one holds up.  Here is Buddy's Squeaky Bug which he really loves.

Well, this week was fun and I really enjoyed being able to work on some new things.  I can't wait to see what next week brings - hopefully sun.

YOP Update

Today I am contemplative and moody - don't know why.  I also can't seem to spell today... or type. What you see has been severely edited.  I guess it's just another manic Sunday.  

Anyway, some stuff's been going on around here.  I'm not even sure where to start.  Well, how about the fact that the sun came out finally.  It's been raining a ton... I'm pretty sure it's been 40 days and 40 nights plus a few afternoons.  I'm thinking Noah forgot to invite me into the ark.  That must mean I need another beagle puppy - a girl to go with my boy. Too bad my husband wouldn't buy that story. Anyway, my fibro-riddled body feels a little better this morning and some of my lilies have opened up!  

Speaking of Buddy the Beagle Baby, he has been learning some tricks!  He learned "sit" really fast but the others not so much.  He just finally learned "lay down" and "leave it."  He also came to me right away when I said "come."  The best thing though is that I just got a potty training bell.  I have only had it about a day and a half and this morning he rang the bell.  It was kind of funny because it is so new I hesitated a minute thinking "what the heck is that noise?"  lol  Well, only a few seconds and then I somehow FLEW over there and let him out.  Not only did he go pee but he also went poop which he usually prefers to deposit in my entryway whenever it is raining and/or wet out.  I was so SO happy!  Oh, and Buddy also has a new confinement space.  He does not like our wall (Mexico did not pay for it btw)

Oh, and I made a tumblr account.  I used to have one but never really used it much.  I tried to sign in but it said I didn't have an account.  Boo.  Oh well, I started over.  My new account name is DJCstitches (which I'm pretty sure is what my old one was) and I have no friends. That is very sad so please be my friend if you tumble with tumblr.  

I want to say THANK YOU! to all the people that gave me advice for fixing the snag in my Frilly

Dress (baby dress) and helped me decide on which color to use for the trim.  I did decide to go with the Caron Simply soft Party in purple sparkle.  The baby this dress is for has a darker skin tone and I think the color will look perfect on her.  I'm really hoping I will get a picture of her in the dress that I can share.  I am currently working on adding the trim edging to the bottom of the dress (pictures of the top are in the previous post) and I've already used up one whole skein of the purple sparkle (while marathon watching the 9th season of Criminal Minds). After I saw how that was going to look I really fell in love with it.  It really sets off all of those ruffles.  I do think this dress is more of a 12 month size and not 6-9 months but I'll find out once they get it and try it on her.  I am sure I have enough time to whip up a matching flower headband.  Of course I already added one to my list of projects.  Oh, and after adding the edging to the straps thay are less stretchy.  It really helped to stabilize them some but I will probably still add some ribbon or fabric

Update: You won't believe this but I can't find my second ball of that dark purple Caron Simply Soft Party ANYWHERE.  I got half way around the hemline and ran out.  I have turned the living room upside-down and now I'v sent out a text-plea to my hubby to grab a ball for me on his way home.   

Second Update: I got it!  Hubby made a special trip by Joanns to get it for me and bring it home BEFORE he went to play golf.  Isn't he the best?

I finally got a new set of size 9 needle tips for my Boye Needlemaster knitting needle set. I think it was back in January when I broke mine. I was knitting and got up for some reason and laid my project down on the couch (which will never happen again).  When I sat down I folded my leg underneath me like I always do and my knee pressed down right on one of the needles and snapped the threaded part in the cable.  I've actually done that once before and quickly was able to get a replacement cable and needle tips. This time however I could only get the cable. The other replacement parts were no longer on amazon.com and the whole Needlemaster replacement parts section on their website was gone.  I was freaking out thinking they were discontinuing the set all together.  I have been watching for them on ebay and etsy ever since.  I finally found a store on ebay that had them plus they have other brands, sock boards, crochet hooks, pattern books and some cross stitch kits etc.  The seller is super nice too because I accidentally ordered some connectors for the knit picks needles instead of the Boye and they were kind enough to fix that for me.  I have some OCD issues so it has been driving me insane that I didn't have a complete set.  It made me not want to knit at all and when I did finally make a washcloth I used straights instead. It is so nice to see my set complete again!  (I do realize there is a size 2 missing but it is actually attached to a project with a stop on the other end of the cable).

Okay, so I know I had more things that I intended to add here but I forgot what they were.  I guess I will save them for later since this is long enough.  I hope everyone had a very productive and fun crafting week.  

SNAG!

So Buddy the Beagle Baby, the angel that he is, got his chops into my cute little baby dress I've been working on.  I thought I'd saved it at the time but just now noticed this snag just as I finished weaving in the yarn ends.  So the dress is finished now except for the trim which is a decorative edge around the bottom, neckline and sleeve edges.  I have pulled the snag through to the inside of the dress and you can't tell anything from the front side now.  It is a double crochet stitch (US) that is snagged but the stitch is fine.  The yarn strands have separated and one is pulled farther out.  This snag is about .5 to .75 of an inch.

Does anyone know the best way to fix something like this?

Other than that the dress is finished now except for the trim and I don't have enough yarn to finish that.  I will either have to get another skein or use a contrasting color.  Or, I have thought about just not adding the trim.  The trim is a simple chain 1, slip stitch in next stitch around which just gives it a small rippled edge which reminds me of a row of garter stitch in knitting.  I tried to get some pictures but I didn't have anyone to hold it for me and I don't want to put it on a hanger again because I'm worried about the straps getting stretched out from the weight of the skirt.  I still have to get some ribbon to strengthen them.

So here is a picture of the top as it is now. The trim would go around the neckline and edges of the straps and underarm and also bottom of the skirt.  I do have 2 skeins of this Caron Simply soft Party with a metallic purple thread in it.  You can see a strand of it over the dress.  What do you think?

Should I....

1. Use the contrasting color
2. Get another skein of the same yarn or
3. Skip trim all together

Here is a picture with the whole ball of yarn.  It looks a little more blue than it is.  It is more of a plum color.  What you can't see in this picture is where the light hits the metallic thread it has a hot-pinkish purple shine to it.

Below is a picture of the skirt portion of the dress.  It was a hard shot to get since I had to hold it with one hand and take the picture with the other.  It doesn't lay flat very well.

P.s. Buddy says "I'm the baby, gotta love me!"

Okay, here is another picture where I added the edging to the top but I didn't weave in the ends so I can undo it if I want. I'm a bit of a chicken liver and can't quite commit to the darker edging yet.