Halloween Crafts

So I finished these things a while back, but didn't want to post pictures until they were officially unveiled at our halloween party.

Here is my roommate Jenny with her Corgi-WeinerDog Kodi. I made his Candy Corn pet costume as a heavily modified version of this pattern which I found on Ravelry. Kodi is a lil chunky, so instead of working the yellow section in rounds, it is a belt that buttons at his belly. He didn't mind the costume at all and wore it all night.

My costume was the Liquor Fairy! I made garters that would hold flasks to match the shirt that I made from scrap fabric in my bin. The shirt pattern is from the new Generation-T book. I also crocheted the bandoleer and belt using a granny square style pattern, which allowed me to take the little holsters I made for the liquor bottles and slip those in between the shell stitches. I made the wings out of old beer boxes my bar tending friend Angela brought home from the bar for me. I made my tiara out of bottle caps, by drilling small holes in them and then using wire to secure them together. My wand is just a dowel with paint, ribbon, and a shot glass

November-December Hiatus

So, as usual, I put most of my crafting on hold during the month of November to participate in the National Novel Writing Month (aka Nanowrimo) where the challenge is to write 50,000 words of original fiction during the month of November. Ya know, on top of everything else in my life. This year, the challenge is doubled, since I have National Board Exams on Nov 12-14 and I refuse to start writing when I should be studying. So in an effort to become an awesome doctor, I won't be able to start writing until November 15th. 50,000 words in 15 days. Bring. It. On.

Aside from that, I am also putting any available craft time towards making christmas presents for friends and family. I can't just go shouting to the world what presents I am making for everyone. So no pictures or posts about christmas presents will be made until everyone gets their gifts, small as most of them will be.

I am still (slowly) working my way through the Humane Society Blankets, and seeing as those will be due to turn in at the beginning of December, I would like to get a picture of all of those to post. However, thats about all I will have time to work on aside from Boards, Nanowrimo, school, christmas gifts, clinicals, and the elusive opportunity to sleep.

Piece of cake.

Hats and Midterms

This week has been an eventful one, and thus I have done considerably less in the realm of projects. I had midterms all week, and then I had my wisdom teeth out yesterday, right after my last midterm. However, I still had time to get some things done.

As the weather gets cooler, I get more requests for hats and gloves and scarves. I hate making gloves, so I will probably put those off until people harass me into it. In the mean time, I made a hat for Sam on Sunday evening. It is a single crochet hat worked in a spiral. Pretty simple, but definitely warm and cozy.


While I was recovering in bed yesterday, I got a chance to finish the hat for Ali's early christmas present. I let her pick any pattern she wanted out of my "Stitch & Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker" book, and she selected the "Springtime in Winter" hat pattern. The yarn I had to work with was thinner than what I normally work with, so I used a smaller hook and added some extra stitches where necessary. Turned out pretty cute I think!

I'm back to working on the Humane Society blankets this afternoon, going to try and get a few more finished before boards roll around.

Grocery Bag Yarn

So I have been showing off my Grocery-Bag Bag that I made using old disposable plastic bags that you get en mass from the grocery store, and everyone seems in disbelief of how I turned grocery bags into workable "yarn". We all have them, by the dozens, and despite the number that get recycled as trash can liners, and lunch bags, and any other number of re-uses, we always seem to have plenty more to spare. So turn them into yarn! Using a sizable hook (at least 10mm) you can make bags, or anything else your imagination can come up with.

How to Make "Yarn" from Grocery Bags:

Take the bottom of the bag in your right hand, handles in the left, and stretch it out. Then, using sharp scissors, cut the bottom off of the bag, so that you remove all of the seams. Throw away the bottom of the bag. Keeping a trash can handy for the scraps is ideal.

Cut the bag into 1" pieces, moving from the bottom of the bag to the handles. When you reach the handles, make your last cut just below them (where the plastic still goes all the way around) and throw away the handles.

Continue until you have cut all the bags you have. It takes approximately 35 bags to make a grocery bag. I prefer to sort them by color so that each ball of "yarn" will be relatively consistent. When you are done cutting, grab one of the chunks and spread it out. You will find that you have a loop. Take 2 loops and slip-knot them together. Now slip-knot on another loop of plastic. Then another, then another. When they are all assembled, wind them up into a ball and secure the end with a pin.

Halloween Crochet

I have been working still on a number of projects, and that's always the way it goes. I have tabled my Avalon Sweater at least until I get some more things checked off my list. I have completed 2 blankets for the humane society, but I plan to keep working on those and using up as much scrap yarn as I can in the process. Ali wants a hat for her early-christmas present (no point in waiting until christmas when she'll have graduated already) and maybe a doggie sweater for her cute little Sadie (the Cavalier cockerspaniel).

I made Kodi (Jenny's weiner doggie) a candy corn sweater for his halloween costume. I worked my own pattern, but I used a pattern I found on Ravelry for inspiration. Kodi's has more of a belt and button method around his belly because he's a little chunky.

I was at a loss for my own halloween costume. The concept is easy: I'm going to be the Liquor Fairy, everyone's favorite halloween fairy! So I have spent the last year collecting bottlecaps and little mini bottles of rum and vodka and such to build my costume. I wired the bottlecaps together to make a tiara, but I was stuck on how to attach all the little bottles onto my belt. I wanted to be able to remove them at will and serve them to people. So, I decided to play to my strengths and crochet! Each bottle sits in a little round base, with a strap that carries up to the neck of the bottle and around. I think it should work. Now I just have to finish all the little crochet liquor holsters, and figure out where, besides the traditional belt, I will attach them to my costume.

Sunday Afternoon Scarf

So, April asked for a handmade scarf, and since I had this new 11.5mm hook (which I bought for the Grocery-Bag Bag a little while back) I decided to do a nice chunky scarf with it.

I asked her for some colors that she liked, and bought 3 different skeins of the Red Heart Super Saver, my all time favorite (cheap) yarn. One skein black, one pink, and one that was a gradient from blue to purple to green. I used all three yarns together as if they were one.You could also do this with only 2 strands for a less bulky scarf.

The Pattern:
Started with a Ch14, and then 10 triple crochet across. Turn, ch4, triple 10 st. rinse, repeat. Until the damn thing is long enough to go from my ankles, around the back of my neck, and back to my ankles. Then I added a single crochet border around the outside, using just the black, and added fringe on the ends. Tah dah!

Red Wings Hat

So, I created the pattern for this hat a long time ago, and finally decided to try it out. My plan was to be able to make these are christmas presents for my friends/family who are big Wings fans, but I'm not sure how much I'm loving the colorwork on the front. I think my white yarn should have been bulkier, and like I said, I'm not sure if I like it, so feel free to share your opinion! Is this a craft disaster??

Red Wings Hat Pattern

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver
(1 skein red, 1 skein white with plenty of each left over)

Hook: 6.5mm

Size: Men's Medium to Large
(adjustments for making a smaller/women's size are listed within the pattern)

Additional Supplies: 2-3 Stitch Markers, Yarn Needle

With Red, Ch 4 and sl st in first ch to join.

Round 1: Ch 1, 9 sc into ring, sl st into ch 1 that began the round to join. (10 st)

Round 2: Ch 1, sc in 1^st st, 2 sc in each st around, sl st into ch 1 that began the round to join. (20 st)

Round 3: Ch1, 2 sc in next st, *sc in next st, 2 sc into following st* repeat from * to * around. sl st into ch 1 that began the round to join. (30 st)

Round 4: Ch 1, sc in the next st, 2 sc in the following st, *sc in each of the next 2 st, 2 sc in the following st* repeat from * to * around. sl st into ch 1 that began the round to join. (40 st)

Round 5: Ch 1, sc in each of the next 2 st, 2 sc in following st, *sc in each of the next 3 st, 2 sc into the following st* repeat from * to * around. sl st into ch 1 that began the round to join. (50 st)

Round 6: Ch 1, sc in each of the next 3 st, 2 sc in following st, *sc in each of the next 4 st, 2 sc into the following st* repeat from * to * around. sl st into ch 1 that began the round to join. (60 st)

(For slightly smaller sizing: Ch 1, sc in each of the next 8 st, 2 sc in following st, *sc in each of the next 9 st, 2 sc into the following st* repeat from * to * around. sl st into ch 1 that began the round to join. 55 st)

Round 7-13: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st into ch 1 that began the round to join.

(Smaller sizes, stop at row 10)

Join White yarn. Mark center of hat (between 2 sts) and place a marker 13 st away from your center point on either side. These markers indicate the boundaries for the below chart (markers are the last sts inside the chart).

Rounds 14-24: Using red, ch1, sc in each st to 1^st marker, follow chart between markers, continue with red from the 2^nd marker until end of the round. sl st into ch 1 that began the round to join.

 

Next 2 Rounds: Using red, ch 1, sc in each st, sl st into ch 1 that began the round to join.

Final Round: Usng White, ch 1, sc in each st, sl st into ch 1 that began the round to join.

Embelishments: Using yarn needle and white yarn, add lines to complete the logo.

Cold Classroom Shrug

So, the classrooms at school are always ridiculously cold. And ironically, its usually worse in the summer when the AC is cranked up. I promised Vicky a shrug to help keep her shoulders warm, though admittedly, that was about a year ago. Last week she presented me with a partly used skein of purple yarn and told me to have fun with it.

I used a pattern that I found on CrochetMe through Ravelry: Maui Shrug

Turned out pretty cute I think! I may have to re-use the fan stitch pattern for a scarf or something.

Just keep crochetting....

As always, too many projects in progress. Working on a shrug for Vicky out of the skein that she gave me. Its looking pretty cute, and I am about half-way. To my surprise, the partly-used skein seems to have enough on it to make the shrug as the pattern calls for, plus I may be able to make the sleeves a bit longer how Vicky wants. I do have a bit of black yarn that is the same fuzzy texture, and I plan to edge it all with some black shell stitches.

I finished the first of the blankets for the Humane Society, and I have put that task on hold while I finish Vicky's shrug (that I have been promising her for ages) and since it is finally getting chilly, I think she can make use of it as soon as its finished.

I am also still in progress on my Avalon sweater, but it too is on hold while I work on everything else. I would like to get it finished so that I can wear it by Christmas, but then again, I have plenty of other things to work on before then. I always like to have some kind of crochet project to sit and work on while with the rest of the family on Thanksgiving, so maybe that's when it will get finished.