FO!

The finished afghan from the previous 12" Square CAL on Craftster, organized by Homerof2. I'm organizing one for this year ~ starts January 1!

Lobster! :)

I came across the cutest knitted lobster and the designer generously posted a link to her pattern!

http://community.livejournal.com/knitting/9108534.html?#cutid1

I'm going to make one, in live lobster colors. *goes off to search for lobster pics*

Recycled Ornaments

OK, so here's my version of directions on making that most famous of crafty ornaments: the recycled Christmas card ball. I was going to accompany this with step by step photos but honestly... it'd probably take me til July. So here's the written. (the tea box just happened to be in the photo and has nothing to do with ornament construction, lol)

So without further ado....

Cut out twenty circles from old Christmas cards, calendar pages, or photos. Neatness counts.
Fold an equilateral triangle into the center of each circle.
How do you get/make/find/create/locate an equilateral triangle in the center of a circle, you ask?
Well, first find the center point of the circle by creasing it in half one way and then the other. Now fold one edge of the circle in until it meets that center point. Fold the next edge in, too, so that it forms a neat point with the first edge you did. Fold the third edge in, forming three points. Voila. I suggest you make a template to base your triangles on so you can fold your pieces without excessive creasing.
Now you have twenty triangles with flaps.
Top of Ornament: take five of these critters and glue them so that all their top points meet in the center.
Bottom of Ornament: take five more and glue them together the same way.
Center of Ornament: take the remaining ten pieces and glue them so they form a straight row - to do this you will have pointy-end-up triangles ^ alternating with pointy-end-down triangles. V Then glue one end of your row to the other to make a ring.
Now: Put the top dome on top of the center band, and the bottom dome upside down under the center band and glue everybody together. Again I say, voila.

Variants:
You can glue them together with the flaps inside the ball instead of out.
You can also glue a top and bottom piece together with no center band, for a smaller ball.

Helpful hint:

Remember to center any focal points so they’ll land within the triangle.

Christmas Ornaments

Last year I made one of those famous Christmas Card balls out of all our cards, and several out of that year's calendar pages as well. You know, the kind where you cut out twenty circles and fold equilateral triangles into them? I might post a tutorial, I've seen instructions around on how to make them, but I'd like to do a version.

Rosie ~ My Beloved Girl

Her name was Rosie.

I usually called her Little Dog, or Wombat, because she was just so cute. My dad usually called her Woofie. She answered to all of these pet names.

Her favorite trick was to bring me a piece of paper or anything else that she found on the floor, and bring it to me for trade. You could point to something and say “Pick it up” and she’d rush to get it. If you dropped a pen, she’d rush to get it, and then put it gently in your hand. Trade it in for a dog cookie, or ‘bisky’ .

She was an accommodating little dog. If you wanted to sleep in for just five more minutes, she was fine with that, she’d snooze patiently until you were good and ready to start the day. When the moment arrived, however, she was on her feet in a flash, wagging her tail, nose at the door, big smile on her face as she waited for you to get up and start the routine.

The routine was to let the cat on the porch, and then Rosie would follow, and then me. It was always the cat first, even if you had to wait for her at the open door. (we knew who was boss) Then came walkies, and then breakfast. Rosie would finish first and stand at the glass sliding door and watch the cat eat. You could tell when the cat was done, the excitement would build and build and then yay! The cat was finished, and Rosie was let out to swoop onto the leftovers. That dog loved cat food. (Sometimes I would give her a whole can on top of her dog food, just because she liked it.)

I think she was probably part bird-dog or pointer. She would focus on what she wanted and stare and stare. She had such eyes, so dark and intense. Sometimes she would be staring like that at your dinner, and you would feel warm breath at your elbow. She wasn’t pushy about it, she would just gaze, and it was very effective. If one of our pet birds got onto the floor she would run over to it and point at it with her nose, so careful and so gentle, just to let you know it was there.

It was hard to keep your lips off Rosie. She was so cute you just wanted to kiss her all the time. She had a quiet reservation about affection though, the best time to catch her was when she was waiting to be let in the glass sliding door, then you could dip down and give her a quick hug and a kiss on the snout. She wasn’t a licker, but sometimes you would be giving her a kiss and her little tongue would dart out and catch you on the nose.

In later times, she mostly slept on the floor, but she used to spend some time on the bed with me. She’d nap on the foot of the bed, with her nose in the left corner, her back pressed along the soles of my feet. Every once in a while she’d heave a sigh, and ripple like a caterpillar against my feet.

She was timid but brave at the same time. Cautious, I guess, is the word. But whatever I wanted to do, she was game. If I asked her to get in the car, she’d bound on in. If I wanted to walk down the street, she was ready to go. She trusted me, and I was honored by that, because it wasn’t something she gave lightly or often.

She loved to stand in the kitchen doorway and watch me prepare meals, but somehow she always knew if I was handling dog-approved food or not . If I was making vegetables or something, she’d stay in the living room, but as soon as I picked up cheese or lunchmeat, she would appear, and I always gave her something. She wouldn’t get underfoot, either, she would stand at the doorway where the carpet met the linoleum and wait. If you dropped something, she would venture in to get it. If it was edible, she’d eat it, considering it fair game, if it wasn’t, she would return it to you for trade. She was very handy, if you dropped something and couldn’t find it on the patterned floor ,she would come in, find it, and point at it for you. Sometimes we would do a little cha-cha in the kitchen, back and forth.

I feel like I never really had to teach her anything, she just knew. I could go to the store and not worry, I knew exactly what she was doing, which was napping until I got home.

Her favorite toys were paper of any kind, which she enjoyed shredding into confetti, and squeaker toys. She loved the squeaker toys. She would stand next to you and squeak the toy in her mouth and if you looked over and said something she would squeak the toy like she was replying to you. This was always an easy cookie, it was so funny. We also used to give her some of the junk mail, the plain paper pieces, which became known as “Woofie Mail”, she liked to take it from your hand and trot off with it.

She could sit up on her back feet if she wanted a cookie. For a big dog, this was pretty impressive, she would balance very delicately and could stay there quite a while. If she still needed to get your attention she would raise her front paws up in the air or reach out with one and delicately tag your hand.

She was a quiet dog. Not a barker. If there was someone at the door, she’d let you know by pacing around and making funny little huffing noises. The only time she barked was for joy when my Dad came home, and then all of a sudden this quiet little dog would start booming out these amazingly loud barks. If you were outside you would think she was a Rottweiler.

I remember the sound of her nails clicking on linoleum. I remember that she always backed out of the kitchen. I remember she was good in the car. I remember the cool, sweet spot just on the top of her nose where the fur started. I remember the smell of the soft fur on the back of her ears. I remember the color of her coat in the sunshine. I named her Rosie because of that color. Because she surprised me by being a girl, and therefore needed the most feminine of names. Because she needed the most beautiful of names. She was a beautiful dog, my Rosie.

Squares, Squares Everywhere

Yesterday I finally found my Leisure Arts pamphlet for the famous 63 squares heirloom afghan. CrochetNinja has started a CAL for this over on Craftster:

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=204168.0

which I've joined, and yesterday I posted a ticker here on the blog for the project. I figure if I do one a day, I will have it done by January 18. I'm definitely weaving in ends, adding borders, and joining as I go along...these are 7 inch squares so there will be a lot of joining. Inspired by the colors in the ticker, I think I will do the squares in green, yellow, and orange, and border with brown, because I think it will look like a vegetable garden!

I finished the 12" squares afghan a long time ago, I took pictures of it but still need to use the rest of the roll before I take it in to get developed. I adore this afghan so much, it is so fascinating to look at and very cozy.

I've also made a pet blanket out of plain single crochet 7" squares. It's twelve squares in various colors, and bordered in cream. It came out very nicely.

I also made a checkerboard blanket for my cat, nine light cream and beige squares, and edged with three rows of ruffly dark chocolate brown.

Vegetable Patch

:D

Here she is! Le Pumpkin!

PIP III

We're getting there...... almost there.......

PIP II

The flip side. (yeah, I knit inside-out on dpn's) About halfway there!

"Pumpkin In Progress" or... PIP!

Just cast on for a little pumpkin knitted in the round. I haven't made a sock in so long I was a bit worried about trying to get started on the double-points, but it all came right back to me. The whole thing is jingly with stitch-markers. It's like jewelry for your knitting. :)

Pattern: The Curly Purly Pumpkin Pattern

Merlin

Moda Dea Spellbound in "Merlin".

Rosie :)

Harry Potter ~ Book 7!

So Friday the 20th I was all set... see above :D ... had my advance purchase ticket, a box of Turtles and a bottle of green tea chillin' in the fridge. Saturday morning I got my book and read for three days. It was great! I enjoyed it so much.

Knotwork

My dad made a keychain, woven directly through the key. This example of knotwork is called "a three line, five bite Turk's Head around a double rose"

Kitty Helps Out

Quality Control Manager makes sure my crochet square stays securely in place so it can be photographed for the 12" Square CAL.

Critter Pix :)

Rosie:


Lily:

Hibiscus

Some hibiscus from the yard.
Hibiscii? Hibiscuses?
Pretty flowers. :)

Log Cabin

I sat down last night to try to unlock the mysteries of log cabin knitting. Thank goodness for Craftster and the good advice contained therein! I made a wee little start of just three colors, with my wee little bow tied on the front so I would know when I was on the right side (you always bind-off with the right side facing) , and gosh if it wasn't pretty cute at that point, so I finished it and called it an art project, lol. I might knit a backing for it and make it a sachet for lavender.

It's Always Square!

I've been wanting to try this pattern out for a while now, so last night I settled in with the leftover Strawberry from the previous dishcloth, and knitted until I had this:

It's an ingenious design ... (mitered, I believe).... because, as she says in the directions, no matter how much or how little you knit, it stays square. So not only can you use up leftover balls of cotton regardless of their size, you can make yourself the perfectly customized cloth. (I like my dishcloths a little on the smaller side than average) To top it off, it's fun to knit and the design is pretty! I think there will be lots of these adorning the kitchen of Chez Squirrel.
Pattern:

http://sasw.blogspot.com/2005/01/dishcloths.html

Rosie

My baby. :)

Happy 07/07/07!

Rose

Rose from Crochet Today! July/Aug issue.

4 More Corners!

Another Four Corners washcloth! Loooooooove this pattern!

My 7's are going to be occupied for a while with July's dishcloth on the KAL, but now my 8's are free for a new one. What shall it be? The little frog? The yellow duck? Swatch up a square of linen stitch with some variegated? Another 4 Corners in green? We shall see. :)

Bunny!

Is this bunny just the cutest dishcloth ever in the history of dishcloths? I think it might be.

Pattern:

 http://dishclothcorner.blogspot.com/2006/05/bunny-dishcloth.html

Yarn: Sugar n' Cream in "Jute"

Needles: 7's

Remember in Stuart Little when it said something like 'few people could look in a mouse's ear without laughing'? Well, I think few knitters could make this little bunny without laughing. I mean, check out the little garter-stitch tail puff.

4 Corners Dishcloth

Pattern: "4 Corners Dishcloth"
http://1870pearl.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/01/pocket_knitting.html


I had SO much fun knitting this! (Sugar n' Cream in "Strawberry") I didn't know how to do the invisible cast on to start it or the garter graft to finish it, so I just winged both and I think it's fine. It's an ingenious pattern... I believe this is called 'modular' .... once you get used to the pattern you don't need to refer to the instructions for every row and can just knit away happily. I love what it does to the variegated yarn. I definitely want to knit more of these!

I got "Mason Dixon Knitting" from the library today, I've been leafing through that and it looks really promising. There are some good-looking dishcloths! :)

Ladybugs

I couldn't resist these cute ladybug cupcakes at the store this morning. (chocolate cake with white icing is totally my favorite.)


I also happen to have a ladybug spoonrest in the kitchen (a long-ago ebay find):


and a ladybug keychain:


Rosie has a ladybug collar with a round red tag. (you know you're a dog lover when you buy a matching collar and keychain set!)

The collars are beautiful, very vibrant colors. They're made by:
http://lupinepet.com/

and I ordered the collar and keychain from:
http://fouryourpawsonly.com/mm5/merchant.mvc

The super tags, which are also very vibrant, were made by:
http://www.laserdogtags.com/
(They're "laserdog" on ebay)

She also has the "Ruby" collar with a big purple diamond-shaped tag. I need to get some film for the camera and take some fashion pix of her in the garden in her stylin' collars.

Soap Sachet

This came out rather nicely, I think. (It's a much prettier pink IRL.) Sugar n' Cream cotton. Kirk's Castile Soap inside. Purl side out for extra scrubbiness. :)

Pattern:
http://knitting.about.com/od/knittingpatterns/p/drop_soap_sack.htm

Milk & Coffee

Clouds in my coffee? Actually it's more of a perfect sun with long rays shape. I don't know if it shows up in the pic, but trust me, it's there. Some scientific phenomenon at work here, I'm sure, but I just think it's cute. Sorry if you're now humming "You're So Vain". lol.

I bought a copy of Crochet Today. I don't usually buy craft mags but some people on Craftster totally talked me into it. :D It's an excellent issue (July/Aug) ~ I've already made a lovely rose embellishment that I'm saving to put on a bag.

For the World's Cutest Dog....

The World's Cutest Dog Toy

Glitter of Gold

I've been using stash yarn for the 12" Squares crochet-a-long, but trying to stay in the range of creams, whites, and browns. Yesterday I was going through bags trying to find something suitably neutral, and found an old ball of light brown with a pretty metallic gold threaded through it. I had just enough to make December's Experienced Square (Octagon Medallion), which is my new favorite! (well, it's a tie with Butterfly Garden) I made the whole thing in one day, because between the fascinating pattern and the beautiful yarn I just couldn't bring myself to set it down. Projects like that are such a joy.



http://members.aol.com/crochetalong/hexpill.html

Granny Square Kitty Blanket

details:
uses the Simple Square Pattern:
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/lffunt/flatbraid.htm
.
small: one round of pattern
medium: three rounds, used single instead of double on round 3
large: five rounds
(basically just adjusted heights as needed to make four small squares equal one medium square, and four mediums equal one large.)

New Techniques

Modular:

Star Coaster from Knitty Gritty
.
Mitered:

Mitered Dishcloth
.
Entrelac:

Garterlac Dishcloth

For My Own Reference:

Craftster 12" Square Craftalong
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=117318.0

.

24 Finished Squares:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/97382664@N00/sets/72157601268384069/

.
Oct

.
Solid Stripe:

http://www.texasdg.net/daynascrochet/pattern.asp?id=22

.
Birthday Flower:

http://www.geocities.com/cdjsimon/birthday_flower.html

.
Nov

.
Racing Stripes:

http://www.texasdg.net/daynascrochet/pattern.asp?id=71

.
Dutch Square:

http://www.jpfun.com/patterns/01granny/dutchsquare.shtml

.

Dec

.
Maggie's Square:

http://www.heartmadeblessings.org/patterns/Maggiessquare.asp

.
Octagon Medallion:

http://members.aol.com/crochetalong/hexpill.html

.

Jan

.
January Square:

http://www.heartmadeblessings.org/patterns/jansquare.asp
(see page 20 of Craftster thread for correction)

.
New Year's Eve:

http://www.heartmadeblessings.org/patterns/newyearseve.asp

.

Feb

.
Cable Hearts:

http://www.geocities.com/cdjsimon/cableheart.html

.
Center Heart Square:

http://www.heartmadeblessings.org/patterns/Centerheart.asp

.

Mar

.
Pinwheel:

http://dayna.tdgservices.com/ShowPattern.aspx?PatternID=23#

.
Schoharie Spring:

http://maryatthemanor.blogspot.com/2005/09/schoharie-spring-12-square-pattern.html

.

Apr

.
Butterfly Garden:

http://www.geocities.com/cdjsimon/butterfly_garden.html

.

Floral Overlay:

http://www.pandacrochet.8m.com/floral-overlay.html

.

May

.
Windowpane:

http://www.pandacrochet.8m.com/floral-overlay.html

.

Waldo's Puzzle:

http://www.geocities.com/cdjsimon/waldos_puzzle.html

.

June:

.

Tilt-a-whirl
http://www.geocities.com/cdjsimon/tiltawhirl.html

.
Cherries Jubilee (see correction on craftster thread page 37)
http://maryatthemanor.blogspot.com/2005/09/cherries-jubilee-12-square.html

.

July:

.

Pineapple Square
http://pandacrochet.8m.com/pandapineapple.html

.

Square in a Square

http://www.p2designs.com/pdfs/grannyquilt-SqInSq.pdf

.
Aug:

.

Circles on the Square

http://www.heartmadeblessings.org/patterns/circlesonthesquare.asp

.

Maple Leaf
http://www.p2designs.com/pdfs/grannyquilt-maple.pdf

.
Sep:

.

http://pandacrochet.8m.com/pandamanlysq.html

.

http://www.p2designs.com/pdfs/grannyquilt-4sq.pdf

.

Other interesting-looking squares to try~

.
Victorian Dream: http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/patterns/victorian_dream_square.php

.
* Star Overlay:

http://www.geocities.com/cdjsimon/star_overlay.html

.
'I Love the V-stitch':

http://dayna.tdgservices.com/ShowPattern.aspx?PatternID=42

.

Crochet Pattern Central list of 12" squares~
http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/directory/12in_squares.php

.

Dayna's Crochet 12" squares:

http://dayna.tdgservices.com/Patterns.aspx

.

Flat Braid Joining Method ~ (also has Simple Square pattern)
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/lffunt/flatbraid.htm

.

Basic Granny Square~
http://www.jpfun.com/patterns/free/101/f101101_basicgranny.shtml