Cylon Centurion

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

Purplethulhu

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

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

I'm happy for you to sell Chichesters made from my pattern, please just include a link to my pattern if selling online.

Freddes for sale

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wedding cross stitch, originally uploaded by blackic.

Cross stitch for some geeks who got married.

Space socks

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...

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

The Ballad of Peniston

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

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

G, originally uploaded by blackic.

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

Inappropriate Starches

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

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

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

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

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.