It's Getting Bigger!

My little Virus Blanket made of scraps is moving right along!  It's just eating up these leftovers and I'm really happy with the way it looks.  Working in fingering weight scraps means it's not growing very quickly, but this wasn't started as a project I need to finish quickly.  I started it to get sock leftovers under control and have something pretty when I'm done.  The pattern is easy to work (the video included with the free pattern is very helpful for clearing up anything that isn't quite clear in the written pattern), and easy to memorize.  Since I'm working with leftovers, I just join the next color wherever the previous color runs out.  As I've got kind of a fade going, it's not super obvious where I switch, and I'm able to use every inch of my yarns. 

Since I last blogged about this project, I've added Three Irish Girls Adorn Luxe in My Cherie Amour and I'm now crocheting with Farmer's Daughter Fibers Rocky Mountain Purls in Strawberry Shortcake. I've got two more yarns planned for this, and I might or might not use a darker color for the very end, just so the edges aren't white, but I haven't decided yet.

Have a great weekend, and stay hydrated! 

A New Scrap Blanket

Fresh off the high of finishing my Button Box Throw, I immediately wanted to keep using those scraps!  This time around I decided to use a crochet pattern worked from the center out - The Virus Blanket.  Once again I got out my leftover partial balls and little bits of superwash fingering yarns and put them into a kind of fade.  And this is the beginning! (It's actually, part way through a round, which is why one side of the square looks different from the other side - I had to get a photograph while the light was good.)

I'm still on the first color, but I'm going to be changing colors either this round or the next.  I have made a virus blanket before. (I made one in 2020 for Mr. Noodle when he came to live with us, then he turned out to love wool too much, so he has to be supervised with it.)  I remembered enjoying making it, and I thought it would be a pretty way to use up some leftovers that were floating around in bags, tangling up with each other.  I will admit that getting started this time was a bit of a struggle, but I'm sorted now, and have the repeat memorized so I can work without the pattern.  The pattern itself is free, but the written pattern is a little confusing (at least to me).  Fortunately, the designer also has a video, so by referring to the video where the written directions were confusing me, I've got it figured out!  According to notes in some other projects, I'm not the only one who needed the video to clear up some confusion.

Again, I have no definite plans for this blanket, other than turning yarn scraps into something usable.  I'll keep going until I have run out of this set of scraps or when I decide the blanket is big enough.  Big Enough is something to be decided when I get there!

Since I've been having so much fun using up yarn scraps, I noticed some fabric scraps sitting around the sewing room.  I'll show you the fabric plan later this week!  (Yep, I'm currently a scrap busting machine!) 

Not A Sock

I did a quick, non-sock project!  This is the Red Clover crochet Shawl, made in a single ball of Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball in the Tonspur colorway.  

The pattern is available free on the designer's website, or you can purchase an ad free (and quite a bit easier to read) version through Ravelry.  Once I memorized the pattern and figured out how the pattern worked, it was easy to make. 

The pattern was perfect for the single skein of yarn that I had, although it would be easy to make bigger if you had more yarn.  It's been a little while since I made a crochet anything that wasn't an animal, so this was a fun project and I could definitely see myself making it again.

Time For A New Scrap Buster!

Periodically, when I go stash diving, I notice that I've got a lot of little partial balls of leftover yarn.  Not the kind of leftovers where I've got more than half a ball left - those are Leftovers With Potential.  The kind of leftovers that are like 10-20% of the original ball: not enough to really be useful, but too much to toss.  This is when it's time to start a scrap buster project.

 It's time.

I chose the Battenberg Blanket (another free pattern!) for this scrap buster because the squares are fast and easy, I memorized the pattern pretty quickly, and you can make all your multicolored squares first and then go back and join them to the background color at the end.  That way I can arrange the colors any way I want to!  

I'm making it in fingering weight leftovers and once I finish with a color I'm weaving in the ends.  Right now I'm just working in cool colors, but I'll probably add in my warm colored scraps later as well - I think having the background squares makes it possible to combine as many colors as you want!  I don't know if I'll use a creamy white or go with a gray or use something else entirely.  I don't have to figure that out just yet.  This will be an ongoing project and may start and stop periodically, so it won't be all over the blog constantly moving forward.  I'll just show you what's going on when there's actual progress.

Have a great weekend! 

A Stunt Double

A year ago Caleb was about to begin a Micro Paleontology course, so I made him a Tiny Dinosaur.  This fall's classes don't really lend themselves as obviously to specific mascots so I made him a Stunt Noodle.  The Stunt Noodle is a versatile helper, ready to offer assistance with all subjects in a less chaotic way than the original, back home.  Also, there is no pet deposit with the Stunt Noodle.  

Caleb has no idea that I made the Stunt Noodle and I've hidden it, packed with his stuff.  When we move him into his apartment I will set it out on his desk and surprise him with it.  I can't tell you how many times I just started giggling as I was crocheting him and I think Caleb will get a kick out him.

The pattern is Toby the Siamese Cat, but I've obviously adjusted colors to match Mr. Noodle, the original.  The main body color is Squoosh Fiberarts Beefcake Sock in Mocha.  The dark points (face, ears, tail, and paws) are Cascade Heritage Sock in 5609 Bark.  I also used a tiny bit of Madelinetosh Twist Light in Kitten for his inner ears, whiskers, and tummy.  I used regular, round eyes instead of cat eyes because when he (the Original Noodle) does the Crazy Eyes, right before the does the Crazy Things, his eyes are round.  Caleb knows the expression well.

Hopefully, the Stunt Noodle will add a welcome taste of home to Caleb's first apartment, as he starts his first semester at College Station!

A Finished Blanket!

I finished Caleb's Aggie Stripes blanket!  This was a fun project, perfect for brainless TV watching, and he was happy about it when I gave it to him.  I followed the directions for the Attic 24 Granny Stripe blanket, but I used my own stripe pattern- seven stripes of gray, one of maroon.  Just a note, this pattern is written using UK terms.  Switching to US terms isn't a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it.  By the time you've worked a few stripes you'll have memorized the pattern and the terms won't matter.

I used Cascade 220 Superwash in 1946 Silver Gray for the main color and 879 Very Berry for the Maroon.  I actually tried to match the maroon from the Texas A&M website as closely as I could, and I'm happy with it.  The colors in the photos for today's post are the closest I've gotten as far as accuracy goes.  For the edging, I followed the pattern directions for a round of granny pattern, but then I worked one round of single crochet to finish it off.  I didn't want anything too fussy for a border, but I wanted to finish it off nicely.  The finished blanket is 48 inches x 55 inches, which is a nice size to sit under on a sofa or a desk chair.  Caleb has already given it a spin while online gaming the other night.

Of course, the second I finished taking the first two photos and measured the finished blanket, the Quality Control Cat went to work.  He burrowed right under there and fell asleep until dinner time.  It was good to know that the blanket was working properly before I gave it to Caleb!

Blanket Update

I'm still working on the Aggie Stripes blanket.  I've got the fourth maroon stripe done, and I still haven't taken a good picture of it.  Morning light is very warm!  I've slowed down on this blanket a bit because I was finishing the Ebb Tide capelet and my third Ambiente, but I hope to spend more time on it again.

I'm not hiding this project, but I think Caleb is so used to seeing me messing with yarn that he just doesn't pay attention anymore.  I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know I'm making it.

Have a great weekend!

Blanket-ing Along!

I'm moving along on Caleb's Aggie Stripes blanket.  I had to take a break because I was messing up my shoulder again, but I remembered enough from the last time I overdid it with crochet and I stopped.  I'm about to start working on it again, but I will be alternating with knitting, and I'll be watching my posture and arm motion.

As you can see, I've just worked my third maroon stripe.  I think there will be seven maroon stripes total in the blanket, but I'll have to double check my yarn amounts when I get there.  When I bought yarn (2 skeins of maroon, 15 skeins of gray) I kind of just guessed.  I hope to use most of it, if not all, so who knows how big this will be?

Aggie Stripes

For the last two years Caleb has lived in the dorms at Texas A&M Galveston.  This fall he will be in his very first apartment at Texas A&M College Station.  That means he'll have a sofa!  (In addition to a kitchen and washer and dryer and all sorts of other amenities.)  So I decided he might want a throw blanket for his sofa, so I ordered some Cascade 220 Superwash and got to work!

I decided to use Lucy of Attic 24's* Granny Stripe Blanket directions, but switched up the stripe pattern.  I decided to make him an Aggie Stripe blanket, but making a white blanket for anyone (let alone a 21 year old and whoever comes over to hang out) sounds like a nightmare.  So while I'm fully aware that A&M's colors are maroon and white, I'm using maroon and pale gray.  I decided to make the majority of the blanket gray and use narrower maroon stripes.  It's overcast this morning, so the maroon looks darker than it is, but it's a good match for the maroon used on the A&M website.  I'm almost finished with my second wide, gray stripe.  

The way the pattern is written, each color is worked for two rows and I'm keeping things in pairs as well.  I'm working seven pairs of gray rows and one pair of maroon rows for each repeat.  I've just carried the gray up the side since the maroon is so narrow, but I'm cutting and restarting the maroon.  I haven't decided if I'll add a border or not, but I'll probably do something narrow for stability.  It's going to be a very simple blanket, but I think that's the kind of blanket Caleb would prefer.

*I've said it before and I'll continue saying it, she writes the BEST crochet tutorials!  You need to know the difference between US and UK crochet terms (she always states which one she's using), but she uses very clear pictures and good directions to walk you step by step through a pattern.  If you ever want to learn to crochet, Attic 24 is a great place to start.

A Big Project

At the first of the year, I showed you the above photo of yarn.

I also showed you the same yarn skeined up.  (So.  Much.  Winding.)  It's time to talk about what all that yarn is becoming! 

I've started a Mystical Lanterns Blanket.  I love this design and purchased the yarn ages ago.  Then we got Mr. Noodle, who tends to steal wool blankets, but I decided to just go ahead and make it.  Mr. Noodle is maturing so maybe by the time I finish it, he'll stop his thieving ways.  Maybe.

Anyway, I'm making my blanket a little bigger than the pattern blanket and I decided to start with getting all of the center rounds done in all the colors.  At this point I've only got four or five (maybe six) colors left to go (I'm using 18).  Once I have all the center rounds done, I'll mix them all up and pull them randomly from a bag to add the next rounds.  I'm trying to be random here.  Mostly.  I've already decided that no motif should have the gold and one of the pinks in it.  Those colors will be what jumps out in the finished blanket and what moves your eye around, and I'm pretty sure that having more than one of this in a single motif would be like a giant bullseye and be the only thing anyone can see on the finished blanket.

This is going to be a long project, but I'm looking forward to it!

(Oh, and I just realized I forgot to mention, all the yarn is Dream in Color Classy.)

New Year, New Projects, New Photos, No Words

Teacup Rex

This fall Caleb is taking a class called Micro Paleontology.  When he told me about it, my brain started working through the definition of the class title and I said, "Tiny Dinosaurs?"  Yes, he's going to be learning about Tiny Dinosaurs!  Naturally, I decided he needed a little moral support for the class so I made him a little Teacup Rex!*

This is the Timothy the T-Rex pattern, which I've always thought was adorable, but had never made.  I used Malabrigo Rios in Lettuce for the main color and Squoosh Fiberarts Ultra Worsted in Event Horizon for the stripes.

The pattern calls for 10mm eyes, but all I had was 9mm or 12 mm.  When it comes to eyes, bigger is usually better (unless you're going for a beady eyed look), so I used the 12mm eyes.

This was a great pattern and had some of the best sewing up directions I've seen.  She tells you exactly where to put the arms, legs, and tail as you're adding them to the body.  This means he stands up nicely!  There's no wobble to this guy.  He's extremely stable, which doesn't always happen in crocheted critters.  I think he's adorable and can't wait to give him to Caleb when we move him back into school for fall.

*The actual class is taught through the Marine Sciences department so I seriously doubt they will be learning about the elusive Teacup Rex, since they were a land dinosaur.

Some Crochet

I've been a busy little hooker around here.  (Words my mother never wanted to hear.)  Last week was Spirit Week for ESK and one of the challenges was to make a mascot.  I'm on the Fiber Flock team so I found a flamingo pattern and got to work!  I used the Floyd the Flamingo pattern and some yarn leftover from other projects (which is why he's such a dark pink/red violet color).  I absolutely fell in love with his rose wings!

He was a fun little project to make and I'm happy with my finished flamingo!

I also finished my Mable doily and got it blocked.  I actually stopped two rounds before what's supposed to be the end because I couldn't figure out how to get the next round to look right and line up with what I had.  I went back and double checked and my previous rounds were correct, so it wasn't a case of making up my own round again.  

I looked at the pattern, checked my crochet book, and even spent time watching YouTube videos of crochet trying to figure out what was going on.  Finally, I admitted defeat (or maybe I was just emotionally done at that point) and called it finished.  I'm super happy with how it looks after blocking and I bet you'd have never known that I skipped the last two rounds if I hadn't have told you.

This finished at 16 inches across after blocking.  I crocheted it on a 3.25mm hook with fingering weight yarn.  Obviously Newton approves of it, since he's trying to steal it for his own use.  

Both the doily and the flamingo are put away now where he can't get them.  I don't want him eating anything strange.  Again.

It Is Finished

 Leviathan is all finished.

When the time came to sew the eyes and eyelids on, Newton generously assisted.  With his help, I was able to get them sewn on in twice the time it would have taken if I had been forced to do them alone.

I am really happy with the finished project and can't wait to give him to Caleb for Christmas!

Have a great weekend!  I'm going to go knit something!

Progress!

Once I finished the suckers, Leviathan has really flown off the hook!  I got this picture yesterday afternoon and this is before I stuffed the body and closed up his underbelly side.  (Unfortunately, getting a photo this morning isn't working because it's so dark in the mornings here.)  If you've ever made a stuffed animal, you know how they can take an insane amount of stuffing before they feel firm.  I felt like the body was never going to be full!

Today I will be starting the eyes and, believe it or not, they're the last part of this project!  I'm really, really hoping I can have a finished octopus to show you Thursday or Friday!  As you can see, Newton is really excited about my progress too.

On a completely different topic, we've done something here that we NEVER do - we got the Christmas tree up.  I usually wait until after the first week of December, but this year we decided as a family to put it up early.  Why?  Because Professor Newtonium is crazy.  We decided that it might be better for him to get used to the tree for a couple of weeks before we put ornaments on it.  Also, I can decide if we're going to actually use ornaments or if I'll just decorate with the big ribbons, pop the angel on top and call it a day.  I usually use just the ribbons when we have baby animals, but since Newton will be almost 10 months old by Christmas day, it's possible that we might be able to have ornaments.  I put it up yesterday afternoon and so far he's been very impressed that I can make a tree in the living room, but otherwise hasn't really messed with it.  I wasn't sure what he'd do overnight while the rest of us slept, but it was still standing this morning. 

50% More Tentacles Than Two Days Ago!

I have finished half of my tentacles!  Actually I've finished half of Levi's* tentacles, and I'm almost finished with tentacle number five!  I hope to get them all finished this week and start joining them and working on the body.  I've had to be very careful to keep the tentacles put up when I'm not right there watching them.  

Someone (who happens to be the color of hot cocoa) is really interested in them.  He showed up to "help" me with blog photos this morning and I'm pretty sure if he had a chance, he would absolutely steal one or more tentacle.  Honestly, I'm pretty sure that the finished critter is going to have to go back to college with Caleb for it's own safety.  Newton likes to steal things he can drag around the house.

He has also been helping with laundry around here.  I went into the laundry room to get a load out of the washer and put it into the dryer, flipped on the light, and saw this.  I screamed (as you do).  He didn't really care, and wasn't concerned about me starting the dryer either.  He's a different sort of cat!

Have a great weekend and I hope you have laundry help too, if you want it!

*I've given the octopus a working name of Leviathan and have been calling him Levi for short.  I have no idea what Caleb will name him.

Tentacles!

I've finished all of the suckers on all of the tentacles, woven in all of their ends, removed the markers for the suckers and added tentacle markers!

I've also started to finish my first tentacle!  The black poly stuffing I ordered for this project was definitely worth it just to prevent show through.  I am now in tentacle finishing mode and it feels much faster than suckers!

Now With 60% Suckers!

Yes, I've finished the third type of suckers, all of my ends are woven in, and I'm about to start the fourth type.  I realize that from this angle there's not much difference between the sizes of suckers, but the first ones are the flattest, and they get a little bit taller each time.  I think types four and five will be both taller and wider in diameter than these first three types.

At this point, I'm hopeful that I will meet my progress goals for this project!  Have a great weekend, I'm going to be making more suckers and weaving in ends (SO. MANY. ENDS.)

All Suckers, All the Time

That pretty much sums up what I'm working on here.  My goal is to have the suckers completely finished by Halloween, and the entire creature finished by Thanksgiving week, before Caleb comes home.  I've now finished the second type of sucker (you can see how they're just a little bigger than the first type), and woven in the ends.  I've actually started the third type of sucker (there are five types total, for each tentacle), but this time I'm weaving in the ends as I finish each tentacle, instead of waiting until I'm finished with all eight tentacles for each sucker type.  Make sense?  Don't worry, neither does making a giant octopus with hundreds of suckers, but it's so awesome, I'm doing it anyway! 

Suckers

I have been adding suckers to the undersides of Levi's tentacles.  The good news is I've gotten 20% of them done.  The bad news is I still have 80% of them to go.  Also, I have to weave in ends.  For each sucker.  I'm weaving in each time I finish a section in an attempt to keep them under control.  (I don't think there's any way to avoid the weaving in of ends.  Fortunately, I truly believe that the suckers really make this pattern, and knowing that I'd be disappointed if I didn't add them makes it slightly easier.)

I'm going to be here a while!