FO: Yoda

My first try at crocheted Amigurimi.  It was a little tricky and fiddly but I figured it out.  

Pattern: Yoda from Star Wars Crochet

Yarn: Included in kit

Hook: 3.5mm

Started: May 15, 2016

Finished: Sept 26, 2016

Definitely fun, much easier if you know what you are doing and its pretty quick to work up.  I have to work on my crochet tension, I tend to "throw" the yarn as if I was knitting and it makes for awkwardness and uneven tension.  

FO: Take it All Shawl

Pattern: Take it All by Lisa Hannes

Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Bare (dyed by me)

Cast On: 7/27/16

Finished: 8/24/16

This is a great pattern.  Its super simple, but never boring.  Its knit sideways starting with a few stitches that continually increases to 200+ at the end.  There are two options for the last section, I liked this one with the picot bind off.

The pattern called for one MC and 8 CC.  It suggested solid or tonal yarn (not striping or variegated).  Since most of my sock yarn stash is striping or wildly variegated, I decided to dye up some yarn!

I used Wilton's Color Performance System - a liquid food coloring.  This gives a much wider range of colors (while staying non toxic for the kitchen sink).

Just for curiosity sake I kept track of how long this shawl took to knit.  Ever have those non-knitters or crafters 1) ask you how long something took to make and 2) tell you that you should sell these things (to make money).  Well I now have an answer to them - I had a snarky ballpark comment I usually give - "Do you want to pay $350 for these socks?!?!" Now I know I wasn't that far off:

30 HOURS

It took 30 hours to knit this, that doesn't include weaving in the ends ...

Or blocking ...

Now you know ;)

FO: Moab Shawl

Pattern: Moab Shawl by verybusymonkey

Cast On: 2/8/16

Finished: 7/17/16

Yarn: Handspun Loop Bump Sugar Plum

There was some yarn chicken involved in this one ... above was all that was left after bind off.  I excluded a few rows at the end.

It was fun to knit something up with handspun and this shawl was specifically made for that and could easily be adjusted for different yardages.  This was one of my first handpun skeins and also a first for chain plying.

FO: C-3PO Socks

Pattern: My plain vanilla recipe - toe up Judy's Magic Cast On and Fish Lips Kiss Heel and EZ's Sewn Bind Off

Yarn: Must Stash Yarns Driods - C-3PO

Needles: Addi Sock Rockets US 1 (2.25mm)

Cast On: May 4, 2016

Finished: May 29, 2016

Love, love, love this yarn.  I tried these socks with 60 sts and they fit better.  I have very narrow feet and when I do 64 sts, the foot and leg fit fine, but the toe always had extra space.  I think next time though I will go up to 1.5 US, the instep and the heel are a tiny bit snug.

FO: SlipStripeSpiral Socks

Pattern: SlipStripeSpiral by Mylene Pijpers

Yarn: Left over Berroco Sox and Knit Picks Stroll

Needles: Addi Sock Rockets US 1 2.25mm

Start: 3/3/16

Finish: 4/2/16

This was the first Sock Madness 10 pattern to work to be eligible to get on a team.  I did not finish in time, but I did make it onto the Cheerleading Team, meaning I will still get all the patterns and be able to knit along, just not compete for prizes.  I am fine with that, because the breakneck speed of the competition is a little much for me, LOL!

This is a great pattern, I wasn't too sure about it when I saw it, but it turned out to not be fiddly at all.  The colors are worked as a spiral, so there are no floats, just one round in the MC and then drop that and pick up the CC and continue working in the round.  The slip stitch pattern gives it a great texture and made the socks fun to work.  

The toe is the Personal Footprints toe by Cat Bordhi, its very different, but pretty cool.  The heel is the Sweet Tomato Heel by Cat Bordhi and its worked in short row wedges, I wasn't sure how it was going to fit, but it worked out quite well.

Initially I couldn't figure out what colors to work, so I used the left over 1/4 balls from the Berroco Sox that I had already knit a pair of socks out of previously (so if this didn't work I didn't "waste" yarn) and paired it with a single ball of navy Knit Picks Stroll I had in my stash.  I am very happy with the color combo!

FO: Peacock's Tale

Pattern: The Peacock's Tale by Nim Teasdale

Yarn: Berocco Ultra Alpaca Fine

Needles: US 6 4.0mm and US 8 5.0mm (US 11 to bind off)

Start Date: January 17, 2016

Finish Date: February 27, 2016

This is a phenomenal pattern.  The charts flow excellently into each other, the stitch patterns are easy to memorize and follow from the previous rows by eye.  It is adjustable, so you can repeat each chart as many times as you want and there's a variation on the edging if you want.  The beading slowed it down a bit (and actually I did most of the knitting in 2 weeks).

Watching the shawl go from rumpled mess to beautifully blocked was amazing! 

I do need to invest in some more blocking mats though, I kept having to shift them around since this wasn't a usual shape.  I either got it right or just gave up and it came out OK - I'm not sure which actually occurred, LOL!

FO: Little Owl

I managed to squeak out a Christmas Gift at the last minute.  A friend's parents were in (New England) from Wisconsin and his mom knits and loves the handcrafted stuff ... she's also a fan of owls.

Pattern: Little Owl by Susan B. Anderson

Yarn: Scraps of Cascade 220 Superwash, Cascade 220 and Knit Picks Swish

Needles: US 5 DPNs

Dates: 12/22-12/23/15

Here he is with the one I made previously.  Its a great little pattern and a super quick knit.  The wings and feet are picked up, so there's no sewing on.  The top and feet are kitchener stitch to close.

FO: Happy Frog

Pattern: Happy Frog  by Emily Stoneking

Yarn: Left overs of Ella Rae Cozy Prints

Needles: US 3 DPNs

Cast On: December 2, 2015

Finished: December 6, 2015

This is a super cute and quick pattern.  The only issues - which had nothing to do with the pattern was sewing on the eyes, the safety eyes are so heavy they caused the little eye pieces to flop all over while I was trying to sew them down.  I coined a new phrase to indicate something is annoying and difficult while doing it, "Its like trying to sew eyes on a frog."

I also had fun singing "Blockin' the Frog, Blockin' the Frog" to the tune of Judas Priest's Breakin' the Law while I was pinning down the arms and legs.

While I was half way through the knitting, my husband went shopping one day and said he saw something he had to get for me and had a little present ... it was this other frog, LOL!  And I had not shown him the knitted frog yet - he had no idea I was currently knitting a frog ... LOL!

FO: Stripey Socks

Pattern: This is my own recipe, I used Judy's Magic Cast On, Fish Lips Kiss Heel and worked them toe up at 64 sts with EZ's sewn bind off.

Yarn: Dyed by me with food coloring.

Cast On: Sept 9, 2015

Finished: Nov 17, 2015

The knitting was done for some time, I just hadn't bound off the second sock for a few weeks.  They fit nicely and I love how the Fish Lips Kiss heel worked with the stripes.

FO: Vladimir the Vampbot

Pattern: Louie the Lovebot by Rebecca Danger

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash

Needles: US 5 (3.75mm) 40" magic loop

Cast On: 9/20/15

Finished: 10/5/15

I altered the pattern to make a vampire for a Halloween swap on the Rebecca Danger group on Ravelry.

Including a knitted cape!

FO: Undine Socks

Pattern: Undine by Valerie Johnson

Yarn:  Premier Yarns Deborah Norville Serenity Sock Weight Prints (Merino/Bamboo blend)

Needles: Addi Sock Rockets US 1 (2.5mm)

Cast On: August 21, 2015

Finished: September 7, 2015

These were a quick and fun knit!  

FO: Worsted Ribbed Cap

Hat for Homeless Vets - if you are interested in knitting or crocheting a hat hop on over to the thread on Ravelry on the Just for Fun Crochet Q & A board.

Pattern: Encore Worsted Ribbed Hat (free)
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Colorspun Worsted (left over from sweater)
Needles: US 8
Cast On: 8-10-15
Finished: 8-17-15


I modified the pattern, just made it a bit longer so the brim flipped over.

FO: Destash Kitty

Pattern: Tabitha the Destash Kitty

Yarn: Left over Plymouth Yarn Encore in Grey and Green

Needle: US 5 DPNs

Cast On: July 9, 2015

Finished: July 12, 2015

This was a super quick and fun knit!

FO: Little Owl

Pattern: Little Owl by Susan B. Anderson

Yarn: Left overs of Cascade 220 Superwash; Plymouth Encore Colorspun and Knit Picks Swish Worsted

Needles: US 5 (3.75mm) DPNs

This is a cute one - and quick ... I thought it would take 2 days to knit and finish, but just one (maybe 4-5 hours).  No sewing up - kitchener stitch instead.  I think the hardest parts were cutting circles from felt that actually looked like circles and embroidering that beak to look like a beak.

He stands at 4.5" tall.

Very nice pattern - I would knit this one again ... and again ...

FO: Crocus

Pattern: Crocuses: Knit a spring flower by Alexis Hamann-Nazaroff
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes
Needles: US 8 and 5 DPNs
Cast On: 5/11/15
Finish: 5/12/15

Just a little something to get my crafting juju back in order :o)

FO: Undersized Unicorn

Pattern: Undersized Unicorn by Rebecca Danger

Yarrn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes

Needles: US 5 (3.75mm)

Cast on: April 16, 2015

Finished: April 19, 2015

This one was a lot of fun.  The entire project was knit magic loop, which is my preferred method for in the round knitting.  The parts were all picked up, no sewing except for weaving in the ends (of which there were quite a few).

I find I finish stuffies quite quickly, I have a real issue with bodies without appendages ... it really bothers me.    

FO: Down the Rabbit Hole

Pattern: Down the Rabbit Hole by Purrlescent

Yarn: Beyond Basic Knits in Squirt

Needles: US 1 (2.25mm) Addi Sock Rockets

Cast On: February 9, 2015

Finish: April 15, 2015

“Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end!” –Alice in Wonderland

I used to listen to this on an audio book, the narrator had a wonderful voice, an old English  man.  I remember this line and the way he enunciated it, "Down, doownn, dooowwwnn."

This was a very fun knit, never boring.  I did finally get the hang of which sock I was working on and how to work the stitches after a while.

FO: Irvina the Ice Box Monster

Pattern: Irving the Ice Box Monster by Rebecca Danger

Yarn: Left Overs of Dream in Color Starry and Mad Tosh Sport

Needles: US 1.5 (2.5mm)

Started: 3/10/15

Finished: 3/11/15

So I stumbled upon the sign up for the Traveling Monsters on Rebecca Danger's Ravelry Group (I think I saw it before, but forgot) on the LAST DAY to sign up and sign up I did.  Monsters have to be mailed at the end of the month.  I wanted to make sure I was done in time ... not anticipating it would only take 2 days to knit, LOL!!

I think I am going to call her Irvina (the original is Irving from the pattern) ... I think it looks more like a girl???

She will travel from house to house 2 weeks at a time (for as many participants as there are) and return to me at the end of her travels.  I likewise will have house guests.  These guests will be taken out and shown around town (with photos to go back to their families).

Silly fun, LOL!

FO: Voodoo You Love Me?

Pattern: Voodoo you love me? by Susan Claudino

Yarn: Left over of Swan Island Worsted Natural Colors in Charcoal

Needles: US 6 DPNs

Dates: 2/22/15 to 3/4/15

Love this pattern.  It was getting a little tedious on the limbs ... you make 4 of the same ... but they are small and quick.  I finished the legs today and all the finishing.  The finished Voodoo is about 12" tall.  Very fun knit.

FO: Fish Lips Kiss Heel Socks

Pattern: Fish Lips Kiss Heel Socks

Yarn: Knit Picks Felici - Goth

Needles: Knit Picks US 1 32"

Started: Oct. 19, 2013

Finished: May 6, 2014

I started these socks way back to try out the heel, and since they are plain vanilla socks ... I'd knit a little, then they would sit for weeks, then I'd knit a little more and they would sit again while I knit other things.  I LOVE the heel.