NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

It may look like I'm done blocking...

...but I'm not.

*sigh*

I went to Jo-Ann and got a fourth box of T-Pins. But I'm still don't have enough for the very edge. I may have been able to take some of the pins off the sides, but this project has been special since the beginning. I'm not going to skimp on the blocking now that I've come this far. I've already fudged the end because I was about to run into the wall, and I don't want to unpin the whole thing and move it. (Yes, the pins are in the carpet.)

While I was at Jo-Ann, I saw that the striping version of Jo-Ann Sensations Angel Hair is on clearance. In between that and the coupons for the Fourth of July weekend, I'm having to use restraint.

I also got a good look at Spa and Country from the new Naturally Caron line. Caron is the latest craft store brand to offer up baffling blends of luxury fibers and acrylic. (Bernat has some similar yarns in their Natural Blends collection.)

Intriguing, but I'm saving my money for The Knitting Nest's Tom Hanks Birthday Sale.

FO: Charity Slippers

I know last week I said I'd finish them in the same day, but they didn't get done until last night, at the Potluck at Gauge. I'll have more on that later.

(BTW - Check out Gauge's website. It's been revamped.)

I can now tell you that I used the Toesties pattern by Megan Mills. It was one of several the store had out on charity knitting day.

As I mentioned, I used US size 4 dpns (waaaayyy too small, but I made them work.) I also used a J hook for the crochet border (I doubled the pink yarn) and an E hook for the little rosebuds.

The rosebuds are my own improvised creation. I started by chaining 10, single crocheting ten, then increasing to 20, then to 40. Here is what they look like uncurled:
Then I curled them up and started sewing there wherever they seemed to need sewing. Their a little wonky and uneven, but they work.

Speaking of wonky, I kitchner stitched the back (which is optional in the pattern.) I made some mistakes, but I'm calling it close enough.

As I mentioned before, I think this is Caron Simply Soft, but the yarn had no labels, so there is no way to know for sure. It's a dusty pink and navy blue held together. (The lighting seems to be really off in these pictures, except for the first one, so the colors may look weird.)

These will go to an Austin hospice group, although I don't know exactly which one at this point. Gauge will be collecting charity items for them for a couple of months.

I just got back from Gauge...

...and boy are my arms tired. Seriously.

Gauge had it's charity knitting event today. They are knitting for a local hospice organization (I'm not sure which one at the moment.) I was hoping to finish these slippers before I left today, but it didn't happen. I'm still a seam short, plus I wanted to add some crochet trim.

They asked everyone to being in acrylic and other machine washable yarns. They were piled on a table and everyone got to pick what they wanted to use. I donated most of the yarn I got from friends last year. Hopefully it's not too scratchy. It really needs to be washed to soften up. Gauge plans to make this a monthly event, so I think it will get used eventually.

There were also free patterns for hats and for slippers. Some people made shawls. Really, anything that would be useful or comforting for people in hospice is welcome. I chose slippers because I wanted a challenge, but I didn't want something too time consuming.

I'll link to the pattern later, but I'm pretty sure there are many variations on this pattern out there. (I think there's one in The Workshop Book of Knitting, if I remember correctly.)

The problem was I brought my Boye Needlemaster, but I didn't make a point of bringing the dpns required for this pattern. They had easier two-needle slipper patterns, but I really wanted to try this one. I searched my bag and came up with a set in US size 4, and decided to go for it.

I chose what I'm pretty sure is Caron Simply Soft out of the yarn pile to knit with. It tends to be a little thinner than most acrylics, so I thought it would work with my too small needles.

Of course I didn't realize until I started that the yarn is doubled all the way through.

Amazingly, I got gauge, or at least pretty close. These slippers look like they could fit me, and I have pretty average sized feet. But between rushing in hopes of finishing before the store closed and using tiny needles, my hands and arms a little sore.

The deadline for the projects isn't for three months, but I want to finish them now so I can do something else next month. With any luck, you may see the finished product later tonight.

Early FOs: Two Crocheted Belts.

Are you getting tired of my early FOs? I'm not. I find them endlessly amusing.

But if you are sick of them, don't worry, this is the last entry on them. At least until I find more in storage.

Here are two belts I crocheted. I'm not sure when. I think these were crocheted in elementary school, not middle school.

Attractive, I know. The only way this belt fit was by sucking in my stomach a little and putting it around the smallest part of my waist. (Which happens to be very high on my torso.)

It's crocheted out of some sort of cotton. It's a very simple single crochet pattern.

This belt is different. And smaller. It's not actually buttoned here. I'm holding it around my waist. Also, I used acrylic, not cotton.

I got this pattern out of a library book. I have no idea which one. I think it was an older, "experimental" crochet book with lots of unusual patterns. The library had a couple of those. I learned several variations on single crochet while crocheting this belt.

And of course, there's the awesome little pouch. It looks like it could hold a cell phone, which is ironic because this belt was made way before cell phones. (Or at least well before they would fit in a pouch this small.)

Early FOs: Amigurumi Before Amigurumi Was Cool

Back when I saw the Amigurumi issue of Crochet Me for the first time, I remember thinking about how the stuff I made in Middle School must have been ahead of its time.

Now I have proof.

For my next installment of FOs I found in storage, I present amigurumi. Of course back when I made it, it wasn't called amigurumi. They were just crocheted stuffed animals.

This first one is from a pamphlet of crocheted animals that I used a lot. I don't remember the name, but I think it had "egg" in the title. These patterns were supposed to be stuffed with pantyhose eggs. However, after the first elephant, I realized the bodies were too big for the eggs. So I just stuffed them with Polyfil. Then I realized my embroidery sucked, so I started using googly eyes. (Everything is better with googly eyes.)

The dog was just one of several patterns in the pamphlets. I think it was one of the first times (if not the first time) I did colorwork. (Look at the face.)

A while back I asked Mom what her childhood dog, Goober, looked like. For someone reason her description reminds me of this dog, even though she says Goober looked nothing like my dog. I think this dog has a new name anyway.

This turtle is from the same book as Goober. I was really proud of the webbed "shell" attached to the top of the body.

I'm pretty sure the pink yarn is Caron Simply Soft and the purple is the long discontinued Dazzleaire. But I'm not positive.

This is a very different type of crocheted turtle. This pattern is one of those freebie patterns they have in displays at craft stores. This one was crocheted with baby yarn. It was my first experience with popcorn stitches.

It's supposed to be a rattle. Inside the shell is a margarine tub filled with beans (or rice or something like that.) Like the pantyhose egg animals, the tub didn't quite fit. Apparently I had loosened up my gauge by then, but I hadn't learned t0 pay attention to my gauge.

And no, I don't know where the nasty brown stain came from. It came with age. The lesson: be careful when you store your hand knits (and hand crochets.)

(BTW - I took more pictures in natural light, but somehow the pictures in the kitchen turned out better. I think the cardboard box was reflecting too much light. Any tips?)

Early FO: The Floppy Horse Family

Meet the Floppy Horse Family. They have Floppy Horse Syndrome, a bone disease that makes it hard for them to stand up. So they decided to lie down for this picture.

Here's the Daddy Horse:

The Mommy Horse:

And the Baby Horse, who seems to have the most severe form of Floppy Horse Syndrome. His neck is twisted all the way around:

The Floppy Horse Family is another creation I knit in the third grade. The pattern is from The Workshop Book of Knitting by Ursula Von Wartburg. The horse pattern was a lot of fun. The horse is knit in one flat piece that was folded up and sewn together. There was a lot of stitches on stitch holders and casting on extra stitches. I remember how accomplished I felt knitting something so advanced.

Like most of my projects from this era, I think I used acrylic yarn from my Mom's stash and US size 9 Boye aluminum straights like these. I really like the tweedy yarn I used for the Daddy Horse. It seems like it came from somewhere besides my Mom's stash. Or maybe she frogged an old project. I'm not sure.

It's really a shame The Workshop Book of Knitting is out of print. Fortunately, Mom still has her copy (I think.)

Early FOs: Slipper Edition

Today I unearthed even more of my early knitting and crochet as we were going through storage. I'm breaking up the projects into several blog entries. I'm starting with the slippers I found.

I know, right?

I think I crocheted both pairs of slippers in the sixth grade. The pattern came from on of the many pattern pamphlets I got at local craft stores. There was a basic slipper pattern and a whole bunch of variations on it. Both were crocheted holding two strands of acrylic yarn together.

These are the Bunny Slippers, obviously. These are pretty close to the original pattern. The fringe took a lot of time. Pulling the plies apart was especially time consuming.

I went a little off the pattern on this one. These are my Mom and Dad Slippers. The one with glasses is my Mom. The one with the mustache is my Dad. I'm pretty sure these were made from Caron Simply Soft, but I'm not positive.

I know I wore both pairs a few times, but obviously they didn't get a lot of heavy use. (And don't worry, I'm not getting rid of these.)

Early FO: Needle Wallet

In my efforts to declutter, I've been taking pictures of some of my crap stuff before I get rid of it. It's about holding onto the memory and not the stuff.

But not everything I took pictures of was thrown away. A couple of weeks ago I uncovered the first of what will probably be many items I made when I first learn how to knit in elementary school.

This is a needle wallet I made in my early knitting years, probably third or fourth grade.

I learned to knit from my Mom and The Workshop Book of Knitting. I was surprised to find it on Amazon. I think it's been out of print for ages. I knit many of the patterns in that book, including this one.

This is acrylic yarn from my Mom's stash. The exact brand and colorway has been lost to the ages. I'm pretty sure I used US size 9 Boye aluminum straights like these, because I used those on just about everything back then. (In fact, I'm pretty sure they were gold.)

Believe or not, back then my knitting was very tight, and I knit English. When I picked it back up later on, I loosened up and switched (unknowingly at the time) to Continental.

Some things did stay the same, however. I still love my aluminum Boye needles, and while I love natural fibers, I'm not afraid of some acrylic yarn.

I see I used a crochet chain for the ties here. I'm surprised, because the book has a tutorial on a twisted cord that was incorporated into some of the patterns. I was into the twisted cord thing for a while, but I must have switched to the chain at this point.

I didn't do the best sewing job with the inside, but it's still functional. (I found it with needles inside.) I probably end up using it.

FO: Red Blood Cell

Cross posted at Sally Comes Unraveled and Year Long Gift-A-Long.

My mother has had serious problems with anemia in the past year or so. She's adopted the phrase "Don't take your hemoglobin for granted" as her new motto. (It was on a pamphlet at the doctor's office.)

A while back I sent her a link to this picture. She replied "I hope mine are that pretty."

So it seemed fitting to crochet her a red blood cell for her birthday.

Of course, now that I compare the finished product with the photo that inspired it, I realize just how far off I was.

If I had kept trying, I may have gotten closer to the "biconcave disc shape." I realize now I should have focused more on making a dent in the middle and less on creating a ridge around the outside. (Basically, I should have listened to Lyndsey, but I had this all figured out in my mind.)

There isn't really a ridge to speak of, just a puckery edge:

The other thing I could have tried was sewing a strip around the edge and filling it with stuffing.

And yes, that is a zipper you see. This red blood cell is also a coin purse. Or a make up bag. Or something.

Mainly, I wanted Mom to be able to see the "hemoglobin" inside. I used curling ribbon, which I decided was close enough for a red blood cell with 10mm
"Googly Eyes" sewn on it. (I probably should have used bigger eyes.)

Everything is better with Googly Eyes. I'm convinced this red blood cell talks like Insanity Prawn Boy from On The Moon.

Here is a look of the haphazard way I sewed in the zipper. (I know it's hard to see with the red on red.) I think it's a running stitch. I used the same yarn and a fairly sharp tapestry needle. I used a six inch zipper, so I didn't have to trim it.

I also used a US H aluminum crochet hook and some Pop'n Yarn that only seems to exist on eBay and at the Goodwill. I found mine at Goodwill. (I keep old acrylic yarn like this around for occasions like this.) I used color 218 Flame Red. I think I used about half of a 3.5 ounce skein.

At some point, I might write this pattern out, or try to make it better. We shall see.