Apocalypse Knits

Chichester the Pig on two needles

2012-01-27T10:10:00.003Z

Jen Sloan got in touch with me to share her adaptation of the Chichester the pig pattern for knitting on straight needles. Here it is! (and thank you Jen)

Make bobble (ear): Kfb, turn work, purl 2 sts, turn work, k2tog
Make bobble (leg): Kfbf, turn work, purl 3 sts, turn work, knit 3 sts, turn work, purl 3 sts, turn work, k3tog
Kfbf: knit into front of next st, then knit into back of the st, then into front again. Makes 3 sts from 1.

Row 1: On 3.25mm (10) needles and using DK yarn, long tail cast on 6 sts.
Row 2-3: Purl 2 rows
Row 4: Kfb whole row (12 sts)
Row 5: Purl row
Row 6: (Kfb, K1) whole row (18 sts)
Row 7: Purl row
Row 8: Knit 6 sts, make bobble (ear), knit 3 sts, make bobble (ear), knit 7 sts
Row 9: Purl row
Row 10: Knit 2 sts, make bobble (leg), knit 12 sts, make bobble (leg), knit 2 sts
Rows 11-13: Purl row, Knit row, Purl row
Row 14: Knit 2 sts, make bobble (leg), knit 12 sts, make bobble (leg), knit 2 sts
Row 15: Purl row
Row 16: Knit row
Row 17: P2tog whole row (9 sts)

Run yarn through remaining sts with tapestry needle and leave long end so as not to lose stitches.
With pig inside out, join seam from nose to tail.
Turn right way in
Stuff
Fasten loose end. Poke the yarn end out of the pig's bottom and cut it short to make a tail.
Sew eyes with black thread.

AntiCraft AntiCraft

2011-08-09T14:20:00.002+01:00

So I hear there's some awesome Evelyn Evelyn related amigurumi over at The AntiCraft...

Knitted chinchilla repost

2011-05-24T11:44:00.005+01:00

Reposting this on my craft blog, as Livejournal doesn't seem to be playing nice these days.

I wrote this pattern in 2006, and I suspect I have got better at pattern writing since then. Any errors are therefore because of History.

Knitted chinchilla pattern...

Materials:

Fun fur/eyelash yarn of your choice (uses about 2/3 of a 50g ball)
Base colour DK or aran yarn (same as above)
Pink DK yarn for ears (not much)

2 soft toy eyes, or buttons
Stuffing
A jumbo pipecleaner

Set of 4 6mm DPNs
4mm straight needles

Body

Knitting with the fun fur and base colour together (this makes the fluffy stuff _a lot_ easier to knit) CO 3sts (I used long tail cast on, but if you use another method just add another knit row after the cast on row). Put one stitch on each needle and start working in the round.

All odd numbered rounds - Knit
Round 2 - Kfb every stitch (6sts)
Round 4 - Kfb every stitch (12sts)
Round 6 - Kfb every stitch (24sts)
Round 8 - Kfb every stitch (48sts)
Round 10-14 - Knit
Round 16 - [K2tog, K14] three times (45sts)
Round 18 - [K2tog, K13] three times (42sts)
Round 20 - [K2tog, K12] three times (39sts)
Round 22 - [K2tog, K11] three times (36sts)
Round 24 - [K2tog, K10] three times (33sts)
Round 26 - [K2tog, K9] three times (30 sts)
Round 28 - Knit
Round 30 - K2tog x 15 (15sts)
Round 32 - K2tog x 7, k1 (8sts)

Stuff body firmly. Draw wool through remaining stitches.

Ears

Make 2 in pink yarn. I used two strands at once to ensure the ears would stand up on their own (although my wool was quite thin). Slip the first stitch of every row for a tidy edge.

CO 12sts on 4mm straight needles.
(add an extra k row here if you're not using long tail cast on)
Row 1 - Sl1, Kfb, K to last 2 sts, Kfb, K1. (14sts)
Row 2-5 - repeat row 1.(22 sts)
Row 6-9 - Knit.
Row 10 - Sl1, K2tog, K to last 3 sts, K2tog, K1. (20sts)
Row 11 - Knit.
Row 12 - K2tog x10 (10sts)
Row 13 - Knit.
Row 14 - K2tog x5 (5 sts)
Row 15 - BO.

Tail

Use same yarn as body.

CO 7sts on DPNs. The tail is worked in i-cord.
Row 1-10 - Knit.
Row 11-15 - Increase 1 every row to 12 sts
Row 16-17 - Knit two rows.
Row 18 - K2tog x6 (6sts)
Row 19 - Knit.
Row 20 - K2tog x3 (3sts)
Row 21 - BO.

Assembly

Tail - Fold your pipecleaner in half and stuff it into the tail, poking the pointy ends into the body to anchor it (ow!). You don't need to put stuffing in the tail. Stitch in place.

Ears - Now the ears are very important. The placement and shape of them is important to stop the chinchilla looking like a Furby. I used a real chinchilla for reference, but if you don't have one to hand then I recommend either looking at the picture below or looking at some pictures of chinchillas to figure out where their ears should be :) Attach ears to body.

Eyes and nose - Either embroider, or attach soft toy eyes or buttons (I'm rubbish at embroidery, so I did the latter). Again, have a look at pictures of some real chins for reference.

And you're done!

	Where to attach the ears and tail...
	Nibbler refuses to play nice.

I'm happy for you to share the link to this pattern and knit them for charity or for personal use. Please don't sell my chinchillas or my pattern for profit or reproduce my pattern without my permission :)

Do let me know if you have any suggestions or amendments that you think I should make. I'd love to see pictures of your finished chinchillas! x

Frog!

2011-03-15T17:18:00.000Z

Oh, forgot to post a picture of this one. Made a little frog for Flick so she can pretend to be Malificent, or something.

Let's hook up...

2011-03-15T17:12:00.001Z

Let's hook up..., originally uploaded by blackic.

Stitched this for Zabet of The AntiCraft because I adore her.

Cylon Centurion

2011-02-07T10:24:00.002Z

Little BSG Centurion, for Phil's birthday. He's less than 3 inches high!

Purplethulhu

2011-02-02T23:16:00.006Z

I made Purplethulhu for Abigail, who repaid me with tasty biscuits. I never fancied crafting for money, but crafting for biscuits, that's something I could get behind.

I'm working on a amigurumi ukulele at the moment, because I thought it was tragic that a Ravelry search for ukulele resulted only in a pattern for a pair of slippers.

I should post here more, shouldn't I?

H

Chichester the Pig

2010-08-07T12:39:00.009+01:00

Chichester the Pig was born when someone asked me for 26 knitted pigs for an event and I was forced to come up with a pattern that I could knit 26 times without it making me crazy. For me, this means no sewing. I'd just finished making some Mini Aliens from Barbara Prime's pattern and thought her no-sew techniques would be excellent for the borrowing for this project.

A German translation by Julie Röder is available here, and Jen Sloan's adaptation for knitting on two needles is here.

This pattern assumes you know how to knit in the round (using your favourite method, be it DPN, two circulars or magic loop), purl, increase (kfb, kfbf), decrease (k2tog, k3tog), and long tail cast on. I used DK but you could use any yarn, just upsize (or downsize, if you're a masochist) the needles appropriately.

Make bobble (ear): Kfb, turn work, purl 2 sts, turn work, k2tog

Make bobble (leg): Kfbf, turn work, purl 3 sts, turn work, knit 3 sts, turn work, purl 3 sts, turn work, k3tog

Kfbf: knit into front of next st, then knit into back of the st, then into front again. Makes 3 sts from 1.

Round 1: On 3.25mm needles and using DK yarn, long tail cast on 6 sts.

Round 2: Purl around

Round 3: Knit around

Round 4: Kfb around (12 sts)

Round 5: Knit around

Round 6: (Kfb, K1) around (18 sts)

Round 7: Knit around
Round 8: Knit 2 sts, make bobble (ear), knit 3 sts, make bobble (ear), knit 11 sts

Round 9: Knit around

Round 10: Knit 11 sts, make bobble (leg), knit 3 sts, make bobble (leg), knit 2 sts

Rounds 11-13: Knit around

Round 14: Knit 11 sts, make bobble (leg), knit 3 sts, make bobble (leg), knit 2 sts

Rounds 15-16: Knit around

Round 17: K2tog around (9 sts)

Stuff

Run yarn through remaining sts with tapestry needle and fasten. Poke the yarn end out of the pig's bottom and cut it short to make a tail.

I stitched the eyes with black yarn but you could use beads or little circles of black felt glued on. Or googly eyes.

Variations:

Pig Pig (yes, I'm still conjoining everything. What of it?)

Follow the pattern as above until the end of round 14. Then:

Round 15: Knit around

Round 16: (K2tog, K1) around (12 sts)

Round 17: Knit around

Round 18: K2tog around (6 sts)

Round 19: Knit around

Round 20: Purl around

Run yarn through remaining stitches. Use the yarn tail to try and make this snout look like the snout at the other end.

Baby Pig for Piggybacking Purposes (OK, I think this is the smallest I can make pigs)

Make bobble (baby leg): Kfbf, turn work, purl 3 sts, turn work, k3tog

Long tail cast on 3 sts

Round 1: Purl around (this is fiddly. Persevere.)

Round 2: Knit around

Round 3: Kfb around (6 sts)

Round 4: (Kfb, K1) around (9 sts)

Round 5: Knit around

Round 6: K1, make bobble (ear), k1, make bobble (ear), K2, Kfb, K2 (10 sts)

Round 7: knit around

Round 8: K6, make bobble (baby leg), k1, make bobble (baby leg), k1.

Round 9: knit around

Round 10: K6, make bobble (baby leg), k1, make bobble (baby leg), k1.

Round 11: Knit around

Round 12: K2tog around

Stuff (with a pointy thing)

Run yarn through remaining sts and make tail as per big pig.

Wingalid Pig

For the wings, with DK yarn and a 3mm hook:

Ch 4

Skipping first ch, sc 3 into ch, turn work

*ch3, sc*, repeat twice more

fo, attach to side of pig

Please let me know if you're interested in selling Chichesters, I'll probably say yes in exchange for a credit and a link. You can email me at shinyfeline[at]gmail.com .

Freddes for sale

2010-07-27T19:41:00.004+01:00

There's a couple of people I've given permission to to sell Fredde the Fishes, I thought I'd link them here in case any non-crocheters fancy purchasing one.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ishte

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Zaireac?section_id=7053472

http://www.etsy.com/shop/gettinghooked

Alice

2010-07-21T12:34:00.004+01:00

So we went to see a really dark adaptation of Alice in Wonderland at the Crucible in Sheffield a couple of weeks ago. It was really awesome. So I made a little Alice to celebrate. I may drop her off at the Crucible to confuse the cast.

From Alice

What's in Alice's pockets:

From Alice

If you're in Sheffield, you still have until Saturday to go and see Alice. You should.

Jen the Travelling Bunny

2010-06-23T10:52:00.005+01:00

From Jen the Bunny

Jen the Travelling Bunny was found on Jen's doorstep with a mysterious note. Since then she has travelled around the world, looking slightly concerned.

This is not the pattern for Jen the Travelling Bunny - I did not make her! It is just a tribute (also, I haven't tested it. Let me know if it works!).

3mm hook, DK yarn (I used black acrylic and Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK)

Worked in rounds so the stripes look better, so you'll need to add a ch1 at the beginning of each round and join with a slip stitch at the end of each round. You can work it in a spiral if you are opposed to rounds though (use a stitch marker to mark the beginning of rounds).

All terms are US terms, sorry. Assumes basic amigurumi knowledge (that you know how to increase, decrease and single crochet)

Body

(you're starting at the bottom of the body and working up)

SC 6 into magic ring

inc around (12 sts)

*1sc, inc* around (18 sts)

*2sc, inc* around (24 sts)

*3sc, inc* around (30 sts)

sc around in back loop

sc around for 2 rows

change colour

sc around for three rows

change colour

sc around for 3 rows

change colour

sc around

*sc, dec* around

sc around

change colour

sc around

stuff body (Jen has grit in her bottom to help her stand up)

*sc, dec* around

sc around

(thus ends the body and begins the head)

*sc, inc* around

sc around

*2sc, inc* around

sc around for four rows

(If you're using safety eyes you'll want to attach them now. Jen's bigger eye is a button with a hole drilled in it, with a safety eye through the hole)

*sc3, dec* around

*sc2, dec* around

*sc, dec* around

keep dec-ing until the hole is closed up.

ears (make 2!)
sc 6 into magic ring

inc around (12 sts)

*sc1, inc* around

sc around for two rounds

*sc1, dec* around

sc around for four rounds

(stuff ear)

*sc1, dec* around

sc around

fasten off

Sew on ears, you're done!

From Jen the Bunny

Let me know if you're interested in selling items made from my pattern, I'll probably say yes in exchange for a credit and a linkback.

Amigurumi tips

2010-06-23T10:16:00.006+01:00

I've got a few amigurumi patterns I've been working on, but find myself rewriting the same general advice over and over, so I thought I'd collate my general advice here so I can link to it :)

Helen's tips for successful crochet amigurumi:

1. Eyes (and mouths)

I've found that toys usually look better if you use safety eyes, rather than sewing them on. I tend to buy the little black plastic ones by the bucketload. Button eyes are only really good if you're going for ultracrafty/shabby chic/vintage, otherwise they tend to look a bit amateurish. I've never felt the need to give my amigurumi mouths. This is probably psychologically indicative of something.

2. Eye placement

This is probably the most important tip. Take time with eye placement, it is the number 1 thing that defines the personality of your amigurumi. Howie Woo has written a great article on this: Fundamentals of Cuteness 101 . As a general rule, I tend to favour widely spaced eyes about halfway up the head (depending on the physiology of the animal in question, of course).

3. Stuffing

Second most important tip! Take time with stuffing. Make sure any small appendages are stuffed first, using a crochet hook or DPN or barbeque skewer or whatever is to hand (lick the barbeque sauce off first). Make sure each part is firmly stuffed (but not so stuffed it starts to poke through the crochet!) so it is nicely rounded. As with people, if your amigurumi is nicely rounded it will be more pleasing.

4. Yarn

You can amigurumi with anything. Seriously. The cheapest, nastiest acrylic you can find will provide just as good a finished product (although the squeaking on the crochet hook may drive you mad).

5. Hooks

My gauge is screwed (I crochet pretty loosely). But as a rule of thumb, you should be using a crochet hook that gives you a fabric that is nicely floofy but tight enough to not have gaps when slightly stretched.

6. Approximate is OK

Amigurumi is forgiving with errors, mathematical inconsistencies and, um, design innovations. Because stuffing is so important, if your stitch counts don't add up, don't worry. Chances are everything will look fine at the end, even though it may not correlate exactly with the pattern.

7. Abbreviations

I'm a lazy, lazy pattern writer. Here are the abbreviations I use:

sc: single crochet (in American, double crochet in UKese.) It's the awesome little square stitch with only two loops, anyway.

inc: sc twice in the same stitch

dec: one of these

fo: fasten off

magic ring: nifty way of beginning without leaving a hole. Instructions here

*things in asterisks* - repeat until end of round/row

Pick up / pick up and sc - To avoid sewing on, I often crochet small extremities directly onto the amigurumi. Just stick your hook through a stitch and pull up a loop, ch1 and sc in same stitch, and then carrying on scing into as many stitches as you need.

I'm sure I'll add to this in the future!

Mini Me

2010-06-09T16:35:00.002+01:00

Mini Me, originally uploaded by blackic.

Mini Me for the Stitch Yourself project.

A little fat gothy lush, accompanied by a fluffy rabbit. Fairly accurate, I reckon.

Dr Fred and Nurse Edna cross stitch

2010-05-10T13:49:00.004+01:00

Dr Fred and Nurse Edna cross stitch, originally uploaded by blackic.

Maniac Mansion is one of my favourite computer games of all time! Decided to make some commemorative cross stitches based on the portraits in this screenshot.

If you want to make your own touching family portraits to hang either side of your bombproof security door, you can download the patterns here and here.

Threads:
Random jumble of (mostly) vintage threads, still, for completeness -
Green - V&A 815
Orange - Something by Anchor
Mid blue - No idea
Black - DMC 310
Dark blue - No idea
White - No idea
Dark gray - V&A 134
Light gray - No idea
Red - Clark's Chardonnet
Purple varigated - DMC 52

Wedding cross stitch

2010-05-10T13:47:00.001+01:00

Wedding cross stitch, originally uploaded by blackic.

Cross stitch for some geeks who got married.

Space socks

2010-01-28T23:02:00.001Z

Space socks, originally uploaded by blackic.

Found these stuffed down the back of the sofa so finished them off while I killed my brain with Celebrity Big Brother.

I bought this hideous fabulous yarn while on an expedition with my Knitpicking Homies, who laughed at me.

Oh, and while I'm back posting...

2009-12-30T16:10:00.001Z

My stitching appeared in The AntiCraft a bit ago. Nifty!

The Ballad of Peniston

2009-12-30T15:58:00.004Z

A tribute to http://www.rathergood.com/peniston (probably rather NSFW)...

Border was ~~adapted~~ corrupted from the Jane Seymour cuff pattern here, and if you want to, uh, recreate my masterpiece you can get my pattern here.

September FOs

2009-09-18T11:12:00.003+01:00

Oh hai. I appear to have had a bit of a finishing kick in the last month.

Two baby blankets:

A gnome:

And a cross stitch:

Excelsior!

G

2009-08-05T17:42:00.001+01:00

G, originally uploaded by blackic.

G! I intarsiaed fairly successfully here, wonder of wonders.

Inappropriate Starches

2009-08-02T09:08:00.002+01:00

Inappropriate Starches, originally uploaded by blackic.

Made this for Matt for his birthday. Think some of the colours might be a bit dark, but I'm pleased with miniTopher and MiniDeWitt.

Sorry I've been quiet, I've been working on super seckrit projects, and a baby blanket of doom.

Ikea cross stitch

2009-04-12T22:24:00.005+01:00

Ikea cross stitch, originally uploaded by blackic.

Finished this for my dad for his birthday a couple of weeks ago.

Just some oak and some pine and a handful of Norsemen...

Threads:
Anchor stranded cotton 776 (dark green)
V&A stranded cotton 5907 (blue)
Dewhurst's Silko 988 (yellow)
Anchor stranded cotton 502 (pink)
Anchor stranded cotton 774 (light green)
Anchor stranded cotton 303 (gold) - sub
Peri-Lusta 409c (brown)

16ct navy blue Aida

Phyllis Pamplemousse

2009-03-05T13:09:00.004Z

Phyllis Pamplemousse, originally uploaded by blackic.

I've been envying Ceri's Woolly Monsters for a while, so when she agreed to a socks-for-woolly-monster swap I was very excited.

Here is Phyllis in her new home with me. You can find out more about her here.

Free charts

2009-02-16T11:14:00.002Z

I've added the digitised charts for two more old cross stitch projects, the Eddie Izzard inspired Covered in Bees and a tribute to the famous sailors from Black and White. Links are over in the sidebar.

Summer Moth

2009-02-15T20:42:00.003Z

I'm digitising a load of bits of scribbly paper. Want a free cross stitch chart?

I made this for a friend last year, but figured that it was broad enough to appeal to the internets. I spent bloody ages looking for a cross stitch pattern for a moth, then gave up and made my own.

Chart is available here.

Tim's Silly Hat

2009-02-08T13:22:00.001Z

I challenged Tim to look all mean and moody whilst modelling his new hat. Ha.

Fredde the Fish pattern

2009-02-07T21:31:00.010Z

As requested by the Knitpickers SnB ladies, here is my crochet fish pattern. This was an attempt to create a baby / small child toy that is reasonably unlikely to cause anyone to choke and die.

Ingredients:
Scraps of DK yarns
Safety eyes
Crochet hook to give you a nice tight gauge for amigurumi. I used a 3mm hook, but I crochet loosely.

Fish is worked in rounds of single crochet (double crochet in UK terminology!), all rounds start with a ch1 and end with a sl st to join, this is to make the stripes look neat. If you aren't as obsessive as me, you can work it in a continuous spiral instead, just make sure to place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of rounds. The pattern starts at the head end of the fish and finishes at the tail end.

The '--'s denote where I changed colour for the orange stripes.

Rnd 1: Make a magic ring, sc 6 into ring, and tighten.
Rnd 2: 2sc in every stitch (henceforth known as inc)
Rnd 3: *sc, inc* around
Rnd 4: *2 sc, inc* around
Rnd 5: *3 sc, inc* around
Rnd 6: *4 sc, inc* around
Rnd 7: *5 sc, inc* around
Rnd 8: *6 sc, inc* around
Rnd 9: sc around
Rnd 10: *7 sc, inc* around
Rnd 11: sc around
--
Rnd 12 & 13: sc around
--
Rnd 14-18: sc around
--
Rnd 19-20: sc around
--
Rnd 21: sc around
Rnd 22: *7 sc, dec* around
Rnd 23: sc around
Rnd 24: *6 sc, dec* around
Rnd 25: sc around
Remember to put in the safety eyes somewhere round here
--
Rnd 26: *5 sc, dec* around
Rnd 27: sc around
--
Rnd 28: *4 sc, dec* around
Rnd 29: sc around
Rnd 30: *3 sc, dec* around
Rnd 31: sc around
Stuff
Rnd 32: *2 sc, dec* around
Rnd 33: sc around
Rnd 34: *sc, dec*
Dec around until hole is closed

Top fin
Row 1: Pick up and sc 10 sts
Row 2: inc in every st
--
Row 3 and 4: sc. Fasten off.
--
Row 5: sc around entire fin

Tail
Row 1: Pick up and sc 12
Row 2: inc in every st
Row 3: sc
--
Row 4: inc in every st
Row 5: sc
--
Row 6 & 7: sc
Fasten off.
--
Row 8: sc around entire tail

Bottom Fins x2
Row 1: Pick up and sc 6
Row 2: inc in every st
--
Row 3: sc
Row 4: sc, fasten off
--
Row 5: sc around entire fin

Comment and let me know if you need any further elaboration! Let me know if you're interested in selling items made from my pattern, I'll probably say yes in exchange for a credit and a linkback.

Ravelry link -->

Beige Baby

2009-01-21T16:38:00.001Z

DSCF1650, originally uploaded by blackic.

Finished these cabled baby things for an old friend's unborn sprog.

I never want to knit anything in beige ever again. Bleh.

dragons, also treasure

2009-01-15T18:55:00.001Z

dragons, originally uploaded by blackic.

Finished this kit (Dragon's Treasure by Cherrytree) that I've been poking away at for a few weeks.

Altered the eyes a little so they look more shifty cos, you know, dragons and treasure...

Corporate zombie Tim!

2008-11-17T17:10:00.001Z

Corporate zombie Tim!, originally uploaded by Miss Shine.

Had a lovely time at the recent Knitpickers knitting retreat organised by Nic, and made myself a tiny zombie boyfriend.

Cthulhu, lace

2008-10-14T14:49:00.004+01:00

It's been a while. I blame Ravelry (also the fact that I have three mahoosive mystery lace projects on the go and don't seem to have had any FOs to share for ages).

But look! Dark Roasted Blend featured a picture of my Knithulhu. Neat, huh?

Apparently I'm on a cross stitch kick...

2008-07-10T14:53:00.002+01:00

Here's the one I did for Matt and Jen's wedding yesterday (which was awesome)...

And here's a half-done one that I found in my grandma's house when we were going through her stuff and finished off for her birthday.

I've run out of bits of Aida now, so maybe I'll move on to something else...

Doily

2008-04-10T12:34:00.001+01:00

DSCF1439, originally uploaded by Miss Shine.

Finished crochet thing of doom that has been hanging around since last March :o

Really felt like setting this on fire by the end. I am coming to the conclusion that I just don't find crochet as therapeutic as knittery...

Geekery

2008-04-02T12:40:00.005+01:00

Hee, the GeekCraft group over on Ravelry crowned me 'Geek of the Week' for my Parsley Boobs rendition.

"On the crochet front, in a completely unrelated direction is Shine’s Parsley Boobs. They are based on characters from a company called Weebl’s Stuff but initially I mistakenly assumed that the characters were actually Weebles like these these Romper Room break outs. If you recognize those, I won’t be mean and put that ear worm of a jingle in your head. I was very, very wrong, though. For one thing Parsley Boobs would probably enjoy smacking Weebles around. Then again, who doesn’t really? There’s a Weebl character too though, and a Bob. But these are Parsley Boobs. I won’t front, I really know nothing about any of this, I just followed the link and watched the animated short. It’s funny. I recommend it. It’s also really, really short, like 2 minutes long short, so if you are randomly searching the forums anyway, this shouldn’t pull you away for that long. After seeing it, you see what truly impressive likenesses Shine achieved. Very nice."

I've been really super-busy lately, we've just finished running this year's Roleplaying and Wargaming Student Nationals, Tim's jetting about all over the place telling stories and we should soon be purchasing a house. Phew.

Craftwise, I'm currently getting close to finishing off Talia from the new Knitty, the bulk of which I knitted on a couple of five hour coach trips to and from London to see Jonathan Coulton's first UK gig, which of course was Made of Awesome.

Here's a photo of another Geek Project I never posted pictures of, a Black and White tribute for Alex's Yule/Christmas present:

And here's my reference screencap:

You can get the chart here

Malevolent freeform bag

2008-02-17T22:39:00.000Z

For Miss Jen Jen Jam, who is becoming a very competent crocheter who I now feel I need to oneup when making ridiculous creations.

I still have pictures to post from Christmas. But I can't do that now, cos I'm too busy melting plastic bags:

Christamocalypse crafting part deux - Eddie Izzard inspired...

2008-01-07T09:29:00.002Z

Hey, guess what? I'm covered in bees...

COVERED IN BEES!

(ahem)

More to come later, though I'll wait a bit so not to kill people on the LJ syndicated feed. Cos they moan at me.

Free chart here.

Christamocalypse crafting part un

2008-01-07T08:33:00.000Z

Vintage brass rubbings...

Vintage Whitby postcards...

Cherie Amour wip

2007-11-02T14:05:00.001Z

cheriamourwip, originally uploaded by Miss Shine.

Someone on Ravelry just made enquiries about the progress of this, so here's a picture.

Doesn't look like cheapy acrylic, does it?

Yarn: James C. Brett Marble Chunky
Pattern: Cherie Amour

SotS hint 2

2007-10-15T15:59:00.000+01:00

Still loving it :)

I suspect the guesses on the Yahoogroup of a starry or celestial theme might be more likely, but I have refined my personal guesses to those of ELECTRO-BEES, or butterflies with lasers.

Secret of the Stole hint 1

2007-10-11T17:45:00.000+01:00

Look! I made lace! I'm so surprised.

At this early stage my prediction is that the theme of the stole will be Egypt. Or creepy crawly insects.

Pattern: Secret of the Stole - hint 1
Yarn: Colourmart 100% silk
Beads: A random assortment painstakingly sorted out from a load of other seed beads in the interest of Frugality and Reuse.

p.s. my carpet is grubby. Please disregard.

Catch up

2007-10-11T17:23:00.000+01:00

I need to catch up before I post my SotS progress! So here's some FOage...

Cursed sweater complete. Cursed boyfriend still present, who would have thought? You will note that he is also wearing my Fetching. Hmph.

Pattern: Curse Your Boyfriend from the fabulous Anticraft. Love love love.
Yarn: Some antiquated green stuff from eBay.

Look! Little hats for Innocent's Big Knit. I sent off 63 teeny tiny hats this morning, courtesy of the Sheffield Knitpickers. Woo!

Also, I've spent some time in the last few weeks messing up the Anemoi
pattern. All my fault, nothing to do with the cunning pattern. I've given up on these for a bit, and am concentrating on lace! Lace lace lace lace.

Oh - and because I apparantly do not have enough things to do - I set up a Ravelry group for the celebration of all things squamous, Cthulhoid and tentacular. Because, for some reason, one didn't exist.

Secret of the Stole Swatch

2007-09-14T16:47:00.000+01:00

So this misshapen piece of fabric is my swatch for the Secret of the Stole knitalong. My knitting is not normally this wonky, I was trying out a couple of different needle sizes, also my blocking leaves a bit to be desired.

I'm using ColourmartUK 100% silk in Anthracite, and I'm rather excited. This will be the first proper lace I've knit since Sarah's wedding garter drove me mad around this time last year... :P

Parsley Boobs!

2007-09-14T12:32:00.000+01:00

So my friend Matt has this bizarre obsession with a strange flash cartoon called Parsley Boobs, and it was his birthday. What else could I do but render Carl Honduras and Minky Steve through the wonderful medium of crochet?

Tiny little baby socks!

2007-09-13T17:19:00.001+01:00

Oh dear, I have lots to post about but everything needs photographing. So for now here is a tiny pair of socks I made for baby Isabella Grace who arrived last week.

Yay!

I can't find which pattern I used. Oops. Yarn is leftover Lisa Souza.

Couple of pairs of socks done...

2007-06-18T10:35:00.000+01:00

Monkey socks from Lisa Souza Sock! in Petroglyph.

Falling Leaves socks from Lisa Souza Sock! in Emerald City.

And another 900 yards for the Lime & Violet sock marathon....

Shopping bags for lesbians

2007-06-18T10:15:00.001+01:00

So, despite many fabulous suggestions on my LJ for presents for my friend from school Sara's wedding last weekend, I eventually panicked and made them a sensible gift of some reusable shopping bags. My personal favourite idea was the hers and hers knitted rock cosies (Sara and Mrs Sara are geologists) but it was raining and I didn't feel like going outside to hunt for rocks.

A big silly black and white cat is staying with us this week. In this photo I learned that my usual trick of taking pictures of stuff on my living room rug doesn't work when a feline is about.

(A few wedding pictures can be found on my Facebook account)

Cthulhuesque hat

2007-05-30T09:40:00.000+01:00

Jacquie from Knitpickers hinted that she might like a "Cthulhuesque hat, with tentacles".

With four different kinds of tentacle! I was going to add lots of eyes but figured that "hat with eyes" might be a whole other brief.

L&V Sock Marathon #7

2007-04-27T08:54:00.001+01:00

L&V Sock Marathon #7, originally uploaded by Miss Shine.

Another pair nailed.

This was Colinette Jitterbug yarn, and the stitch pattern from Magknits' Tropicana sock pattern.

While I love the effect the Tropicana pattern made, I did get a little fed up with it at the end as there were a lot of increases and decreases which seemed to make my hands hurt a lot.

I used up all but about two feet of this yarn, and the sock cuffs are still very short. I think i've been spoiled by Lisa Souza's super generous skeins - I know I have big feet, but it would have been nice to be able to make the cuff longer.

L&V swap goodness!

2007-04-17T22:22:00.000+01:00

Look what arrived at my door today!

A whole box of goodies from the lovely Attachic, with sheeps, and chocolate and FABULOUS STRIPY ORANGE YARN OF DOOM. Ahem. Thank you so much!

Socktastic!

2007-04-17T09:18:00.000+01:00

I've been finishing off socks!

Klein dice bag

2007-04-04T21:03:00.000+01:00

Matt's Klein dice bag.

It's a three dimensional representation of a four dimensional object, apparently. All I know is it makes the physics geeks squeeee.

x-posted to my livejournal

Colinette Jitterbug and Brittany DPNs

2007-03-14T11:15:00.000Z

So last week I received my birthday Colinette order, two skeins of Jitterbug sock yarn in Sahara and Florentina. I had intended to keep the Sahara and send the Florentina to my L&V swap partner as I know Colinette is sometimes tricky to get hold of in the US. But, man, this stuff is nice. Even Tim squeeed a little bit when he saw it. The colours are incredibly deep and vibrant.

I also ordered a Brittany crochet hook (cos I seem to have lost my 5mm hook in the move) and some 5" DPNs. I've never been too sold on either non-metal needles or The Pointy Sticks of Doom but I can see why people like them for socks :) I cast on a plain sock out of Opal Rainforest - the caterpillar one. It looks extremely ugly, but in a cool way :)

I bought the needles and stuff from Purlescence who seem very nice and shipped the stuff in very funky triangular packaging.

Mum's knitted boobs!

2007-03-11T22:47:00.001Z

CIMG1166, originally uploaded by Miss Shine.

My goodness, my mother has been busy. Puts my single knitted boob to shame.

Questionnaire for the Lime and Violet Pr0n Exchange!

2007-03-01T08:35:00.000Z

Hopefully not too overdue for my swap pal :)

1. What kind of fibers do you prefer?

Wool, all the way. As for more exotic fibres, I'm not allergical to anything, as far as I know. I have yet to try any angora (but would love to!)

2. What kind of weight do you prefer (sock, worsted, bulky)?

Sock or worsted.

3. Do you spin?

Why yes, I am a newbie spinner.

4. Do you crochet?

Why yes, I am bicraftual.

5. Are there any books, patterns, magazines would you like to own that you don't?

I wouldn't mind that Spin to Knit book. I live in hope that I will find a spinning book that doesn't go completely over my head after the first few pages. I think I have a mental block about anything involving whorl and treadle ratios. Otherwise, I'm a bit of a sucker for any kind of crochet book / magazine. Generally, anything with plus size patterns in would be great.

6. Are you participating in any themed a-longs like the Project Spectrum?

Nope. Only the sock marathon.

7. Do you have a wishlist on Amazon.com or Half.com? (provide a link)

Amazon wishlist here...

8. Any Etsy stores that you would love to get something from?

Not specifically, but everything I've received from Etsy has been totally lush!

9. What other crafty things are you involved in (quilting, drawing, painting)?

Button making. Hair extensions. Animal photography.

10. What is your favorite sort of scent?

I really like spicy scents.

11. Do you have a sweet tooth and what kind of sweets do you like best?

Dark chocolate, truffles, sour and fizzy sweets!

12. What kind of music do you like?

Folk, country, rock (in that order!) I'll listen to anything! :)

13. What do you like to knit? And for whom?

I mostly knit socks. For me. They're small enough for my short attention span! I tend to crochet anything bigger than socks :D

14. What sort of things do you like to collect?

Mice. Hamsters. Rats. Bunnies. Yarn. Nuns! (no, not a hoarder!)

15. Do you want needles? And what kind do you prefer?

More 2.5mm needles are always appreciated. I'm just starting to expand my collection of non-metal needles, so bamboo or hardwood long circs or dpns would be very welcome...

I hope this gives you something to work with. Seriously, I'm not fussy. I like lots of stuff! I especially like bright colours and lots of contrast in varigated yarns. Big stripes make me happy. Orange and black are my absolute favourite colours at the moment.

L&V Sock Marathon: Sock Hop(ish) RPMs

2007-02-27T11:34:00.001Z

L&V Sock Marathon: Sock Hop(ish) RPMs, originally uploaded by Miss Shine.

These were dead quick. I've mostly only been knitting them while playing Guild Wars...

Pattern: RPMs from Knitty
Yarn: Handspun from Crown Mountain Farms roving - 'It Takes Two Baby'

I was aiming for sock weight but it turned out more of a sport weight (my excuse - my first time spinning merino!) - which actually worked out quite well cos I didn't have to adjust the pattern at all to fit my monster feet. Also my first time using bamboo needles!

Stash!

2007-02-27T11:31:00.001Z

stash, originally uploaded by Miss Shine.

Here's my yarn stash incumbent in its new home after the move. Yay!

Boob!

2007-02-27T11:28:00.001Z

DSCF1019, originally uploaded by Miss Shine.

Yay!

Lime n Violet socks

2007-01-11T16:09:00.000Z

I started these several months ago however they were relegated to the bottom of the To Be Knit pile after I messed up the heel. I finally got round to undoing and redoing the heel about a week ago, and finished them off today.

Pattern: My own devising, with minicable stripe down the side.
Yarn: Lisa Souza's Lime n Violet (of course)

I'm counting 220 yards towards my Sock Marathon total, as I think 2/3 of them were knit since Jan 1st... Although this is my second pair of socks finished for the marathon, I suspect my sprint start will quickly be overtaken as I start having to knit entire pairs of socks... :)

Yarn day! Today not only arrived the first installment of the Fyberspates sock club (my first alpaca! Lush) but my long overdue Christmas present, 2.5kg of soysilk sock weight yarn.

My brain can't even begin to calculate the yardage on this lot. Maybe later :P

Starr's scarf

2007-01-11T16:08:00.001Z

Starr's scarf, originally uploaded by Miss Shine.

Crazy crochet scarf. Why yes, I am trying to use up novelty yarn.

This thing turned out in excess of 7 feet long. Terrifying.

Caps to the Capital

2007-01-07T17:18:00.001Z

littlehats01, originally uploaded by Miss Shine.

Little hats for the Save the Children Caps to the Capital appeal (now closed).

Miss Shine's Sock Yarn Stash

2007-01-06T13:08:00.001Z

Miss Shine's Sock Yarn Stash, originally uploaded by Miss Shine.

My starting picture for the Lime & Violet sock marathon - a comparatively meagre 4.36 miles in total.

But I'm still waiting for my Christmas sock yarn (hmph) and my first sock club package from Fyberspates...

Jaywalkers in Lisa Souza Little Devil

2007-01-06T13:06:00.001Z

Jaywalkers in Lisa Souza Little Devil, originally uploaded by Miss Shine.

Finished on New Years Day! Made as per the pattern, but with 1x1 ribbing instead of 2x2 (it's still a bit loose). Otherwise I love this yarn and pattern :)

Christmas knitting...

2006-12-28T10:08:00.000Z

...is done and suitably appreciated.

My lot:

Chaos machine knit scarf, with random stripes decided on by rolling a couple of D6. This was a bit of a test project really, but Tim asked if he could have it.

My grandma (who is 85 next week!) modelling the Shelly scarf from CrochetMe. She's been wearing it ever since...

My mum, another happy Fetching recipient.

Christmas gnome from Simply Knitting, for my dad. This took ages, even though I substantially altered the pattern to do most of it in the round. Made from some of the Mountain of Handspun, some of which I dyed. This little guy looks a lot more disreputable than the picture in the pattern, he reminds me of a pirate gnome, whatever that is.

Ubiquitous curly scarf, for my BCUK Secret Father Christmas partner.

I've just realised that's two FOs in a row that include fun fur. I'll lose my membership to the Snobby Knitters Club at this rate :D

Tim's lot:

Yet another curly scarf for Tim's mum.

Sweetpea shawl from the Happy Hooker for Tim's grandma. She really liked this, Tim and his mum went to see her at the nursing home the next day and she was still wearing it :D

Crochet scarf for Jess, Tim's sister, made from recycled sari silk. She seemed to really like this too, she wore it all Christmas day :D

Tychus hat for Tim's little bro, Tom. Modelled here by Tim.

Phew! Glad that's over.

Now all I have on the needles is the pair of Little Devil Jaywalkers (which are nearly finished with all the travelling we did in the last few days) and the L&V socks (which need the heels ripping out and redoing, cos I'm a spatchcock*).

*new word discovered over Christmas

Giftmas knitting,...

2006-12-21T22:32:00.000Z

Made great progress, only the curly scarf left to be done.

Sweetpea shawl is blocking and has gone HUGE. I hope it doesn't eat granny.

End in sight

2006-12-20T17:13:00.000Z

My holiday knitting is (shhhh) nearly finished...

I have left -
about half a row on a curly crochet scarf
A couple more inches on Shelly from CrochetMe .
About eight more rows and the thumbs on a pair of Fetching
The fringe, wash & block Sweet Pea shawl from the Happy Hooker

and I have given up on
Anything for Tim's step-dad. The only clue Tim gave me for what he might like is a beret, and while I am sure my skills are up to the job, I will not knit a grown man a beret.
Ravenclaw scarf for Tim's brainy bro. Although not as daunting a task as this one sounds (as I'll be machine knitting), the wool I bought on Ebay, while very nice, turned out to be just too light and girly a shade of blue. So I'm going to have a go at overdying it, but no way is that going to happen before Christmas.

So the end is in sight! And then I can knit socks, nothing but socks forever! Mwahahaha!

Sad story about frogging!

2006-12-17T14:11:00.000Z

Here's a sad story about frogging, but don't worry, it has a happy ending.

Here is a pair of Purl When Ready 2x2 ribbed socks, toe-up, short row heel, complete to the ankle. They are made from Lisa Souza's Little Devil Sock! yarn, which is fabulous, and stripes beautifully.

They were languishing in my knitting bag because, despite being nearly finished, I wasn't happy with the texture, they were kinda lumpy.

So after putting off the inevitable for a month or so, I finally frogged this weekend...

... and cast on some Jaywalkers, cuff down, as Great Cthulhu intended. I love the way this is striping, these are going to be some seriously eye-catching socks. Yay!

Spinning pron!

2006-12-17T13:56:00.000Z

I had great fun spinning the 'Gemstones' roving from The Flying Ewe's Etsy shop! I'm definately getting the hang of pre-drafting now, and I'm getting a bit more consistent. I plied some of it with itself and some of it with some grey long staple fluffy wool that came with my spinning wheel. I haven't decided what to make with it yet though...

Penguin!

2006-12-17T13:45:00.000Z

First of all, here's a crochet penguin I made for Adam's birthday.

I seriously made this in about an hour and a half, having the bright idea of making him a gift a few hours before his birthday party!

I used the free pattern here. He is apparently safely sitting atop Ad's Christmas tree.

Squid!

2006-11-24T18:28:00.000Z

And here's some pressies I made for my friend Angyl and his mum's birthday:

Pink fluffy squid, by request. Pattern here, but I crocheted most of the tentacles instead of knitting them, due to lack of time.

Yet another curly crochet scarf, with a great big purple goth flower :)

Fetching!

2006-11-24T18:16:00.000Z

OK, now I see why everyone likes this pattern so much :)

My first proper cabled project (I've been doing mini-cables on my L&V sock). The Debbie Bliss Cashmerino is lush.

... and I only had to redo the picot bind off three times :) I've got another ball of dark green so I'm going to make a pair for my mum for Yule.

Hello!

2006-11-22T10:10:00.000Z

This is a diversion of my infrequently updated real life journal at http://perditaxknit.livejournal.com . There's a couple of reasons why I decided to start a dedicated craft journal - all the cool kids seem to use blogspot and I don't want to feel guilty about inflicting mahoosive pictures or really over-excited squeeing about yarn on my Friends list. Too much.

I did consider transferring previous posts from my LJ over here, but have come to the conclusion that this would be an unnecessary and Herculean task when one could be fashioning string out of sheep, and string into stuff.

As people probably know, I'm currently out of work and have no money at all. This is why it is Very Very Bad that I have just bought this roving -

The pretty colours made me do it.