Category: Crafts

Craft projects of mine

  • Easter Show Knitting

    This year I set a record in finishing THREE projects for the Easter Show knitting competitions. I probably shouldn’t blog about them yet – because, you know, SPIES and whatnot – but I can’t be bothered. I never win anyway, so there’s no point in being coy. As you will see, I stuck to my customary themes of “Giant Cabled Thing,” “Non-Traditional Colours,” and “Toys Based on Australian Children’s Literature.” Oh, and this year I added a new one: “Disturbing Accessories.” I even freaked myself out.

    Rhiannon SocksFirst, the Giant Cabled Thing in Non-Traditional Colours. It’s Cookie A’s Rhiannon Socks knitted in hot pink Wollmeise. Yes, really. Longtime readers will remember that I actually tried to knit these socks four years ago and failed miserably. There are some truly diabolical cable stitches in there (increasing four stitches while cabling at the same time, for example), but this time I cracked it. I knitted them both at the same time on my usual 2.75mm circs. This photo, of course, is from before they were finished. They were blocking for the past few days so I didn’t even have time to get a proper finished photo! Hopefully the Easter Show display monkeys don’t, like, cut holes in them when they display them. (If you want more details, check out the Ravelry page.)

    Sam SawnoffNext is my toy entry. Two years ago I knitted Albert from The Magic Pudding, and this year I decided to knit Sam Sawnoff. Sam, of course, is a penguin and a loyal member of the Noble Society of Pudding Owners. I used the Norman Lindsay watercolour as my model, basing the body off the “Fairy Penguin” pattern in the “Cleckheaton Wildlife in 8ply” book. I actually used two strands of 8ply wool throughout to make him bigger, and I improvised the feet and wings a bit (since the pattern instructions were incomprehensible). His eyes are felt, and his trousers are calico. They turned out a bit more nappy-like than I wanted, but I don’t think it can be helped given the realities of penguin anatomy. Incidentally, I’m pretty sure Norman Lindsay never even saw a real penguin. Sam is WACK. (More details on Ravelry here.)

    BokaclavaAnd now we come to DISTURBING: the Bokaclava. I’m not sure how I came across this free pattern, but somehow a few years ago I agreed to knit one for my colleague Sean. It sat hibernating for a long time til I was inspired to finish it. My goal, of course, was to completely freak out the Show judges. And given how much it freaked ME out every time I tried it on, I think I will succeed. I knitted it out of some random Aran wool that I was gifted, and the thing looks more like something you’d buy in a Newtown fetish shop than something entered in a country show. And really, that’s pretty much what I was going for! BOOYAH. (And the Rav page is here.)

    And now to wait and see the results of the judging. Any bets?

  • Government Free VJJ | Dear Men in Congress: If we knit you a uterus, will you stay out of ours?

    Government Free VJJ | Dear Men in Congress: If we knit you a uterus, will you stay out of ours? – Hahahaha! Hear, hear! (Link courtesy of @stufromoz.)

    I’d be lying if I said a small part of my brain wasn’t considering knitting a VAGINA for the EASTER SHOW NEXT YEAR…

  • Photo post

    MY CREATION LIVES! (Well, he still needs wings. And eyes. And pants.)

    MY CREATION LIVES! (Well, he still needs wings. And eyes. And pants.)

  • The Hunger Games Craft Roundup @Craftzine.com blog

    The Hunger Games Craft Roundup @Craftzine.com blog – That embroidered map is pretty amazing. Not sure about the shoes though… 🙂

  • Photo post

    Finally nearing the end of these socks! Which is good, because I'm sick of them.

    Finally nearing the end of these socks! Which is good, because I’m sick of them.

  • MetaQuilter

    Last year I decided to try something different so I signed up for a quilting club with some of the fine folks from MeFi. It’s called MetaQuilter, and I’m in the “adventurous” group. Each month a different member (the “designer”) sends out fabric and instructions for making blocks. The rest of us all sew the blocks and then send them back to the designer. I’ve just finished February’s blocks so I thought I’d show off what I’ve done so far:

    The first four were for January. The block pattern is called Nonesuch. They were trickier than they look. One of the group members figured out a paper piecing technique that made things a lot simpler. Apparently the finished quilt is going to look something like this. So it’ll be a traditional pattern in some distinctly modern colours!

    The other two blocks are called New York Beauty, and they were definitely a challenge. The pointy bits in the arcs were done with proper paper piecing, and at first it broke my brain. I watched YouTube videos; I read tutorials; and I still did everything wrong. My seam ripper definitely saw some use. But then after setting it aside for a few days – it totally clicked! I figured it out. I even made the second one a bit more complicated just for fun. Sewing the curved bits together was stressful but I didn’t do too badly. I can’t wait to see what this finished quilt looks like…

  • PIGEON

    PIGEON – A cute knitted pigeon. I was going to leave it at that, but – $64?!!! Knitted out of baby alpaca in Bolivia by a self-managed community of indigenous women?!!! This is Portlandia in real life.