FO: Weighted Companion Cube

A Day in the Life of a Companion Cube

* 8 am: Wake up in her rocking chair

* 9 am: Head to the kitchen to start grilling breakfast

* 10 am: Play with her owner

* 11 am: Let owner goof around and wonder what life would be like if she had a square head

* 2 pm: Check out what's on TV

* 4 pm: Play a game...

* 5 pm: Maybe even some Guitar Hero

* 6 pm: Consult the latest Knit.1 magazine

* 7 pm: Work on the Leaf Yoke Top

* 9 pm: Ahh, back to bed

This has been one of my longest FOs yet because I let it sit around and procrastinated on doing the assembly and finishing. My bf is an avid fan of video games and one of his favorite games is called Portal. In this game, you go around shooting things and you get through a level with the help of your trusty friend, the Weighted Companion Cube who lets you position it as a stepping device. However, to get to the next level, you have to throw your friend into the Incinerator. So I decided to make my bf a friend who never has to be burned. He loves it so much that I kinda regret making him that scarf that he never wears. Note to self: it's a safer bet to make geeky toys for your boy than an article of clothing. :-)

I'm very bad at motivating myself to finish/sew things up, so my bf helped with most of the sewing. In fact, he probably was responsible for at least 75% of that part. He spent one night staying up until 3 am to finish sewing up all her corners. I say "her" because he has decided that the Companion Cube will be a girl and that her official name is Kubie. :-P

I loved this pattern because I think the crochet and all those individual corners make her "pop" out more than the popular knitted version that most people have made on Ravelry. She is actually pretty similar to the plush Companion Cube seen here.

Pattern: Weighted Companion Cube from Craftster by sprocketfish

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Oxford Grey (darker grey) and Grey Heather (lighter grey) and Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in Pink

Amount: 3.5 balls - Oxford Grey, 3 balls - Grey Heather, and 1 ball of the pink

Hook: 4.00 mm (G)

Mods: None, except for crocheting the sides together instead of sewing to enforce stronger seams

FO: Cupcake

* Final cupcake for Christine

* Shocked and Pawed: I can haz cupcake?


* No, really?

* Omgomgomgomgomgomgomgomg

I haven't crocheted in a while since the Weighted Companion Cube (which technically is still missing her corners.) But I whipped up this cupcake last week for my friend Christine's birthday. She loves cupcakes and I thought this would be the perfect, fat-free gift for her. There are two cupcakes pictured. The first one came out a bit lopsided which bothered me so I made a second, better one which ended up going to her. The first one was filled only with polyfil, while the second one was filled with brown rice in a plastic bag for the bottom and polyfil for the top. I also added a round cardboard bottom for both of them.

Pattern: Cupcake by Ana Paula Rimoli

Yarn: Lily's Sugar 'N Creme - Cream for cupcake bottom, Lion Brand Vanna's Choice - Pink for icing, Lion Brand Micro Spun - Cherry for the cherry :-P

Amount: Minimal. I didn't measure.

Hook: G
Mods: None for the original cupcake. For the 2nd cupcake, I decreased one bottom row and increase one icing row.

In other news, I finished my 2nd Backward Cabled Pullover, but I still need to take FO pics. They'll be up soon, I promise! Also, I'm still working on the Leaf Yoke Top which I started the same day as the Backward Cabled Pullover. I finally buckled down and forced myself to not be scared of short rows the other night, and it's finally coming along. I can now do short rows! :-)

FO: Munny

Here's a FO that I finished over the weekend. Due to his ears, his name is Munny since he is half mouse, and half bunny!

From the front

From the back

With his new girlfriend, Garlands

Pattern: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Jessica Spencer
Hook: Size E
Yarn: Lily Sugar 'N Cream - Cream and Light Blue, also some pink felt for his inner ears
Amount: Less than a ball each of both colors
Mods:
1. Since I couldn't find any brown Sugar 'n Cream in stores, I made him with my cream-colored stash yarn.
2. Placement of ears (sewn on for a more floppy shape, vs. pointy bat-like ears)
3. 1 row shorter and narrower on the legs as my gauge might have been off
4. Thicker overall straps


I can't sew very well, (and perhaps lack the patience), therefore my wonderful bf did all of the sewing. I'm truly amazed he could do that considering he's never seamed amigurumi before. :-)


I love Munny so much! (Hehe.) Now that I've made my first amigurumi, I'm really interested in trying other patterns. My boyfriend recently bought a new video game called Little Big Planet that stars a little hand-knit looking character. One of the games' creators' mother can knit, and look what she made for him below!

Hello. I'm Sackboy!

Sackboy celebrating Chinese New Year

Don't you want one? Unfortunately, there's no pattern for him on Ravelry, or if there is, it's not public. I'm going to try to see if I can recreate him, wish me luck! The hardest part appears to be his mouth. I can't tell in the picture if it was simply embroidered on, or if it is actually indented and open.

Crochet and alpaca dreams...

My fall issue of Interweave Crochet finally arrived yesterday. There are several gorgeous sweater patterns that I would love to try. The one that caught my eye immediately is the Northern Dreams Pullover. It looks just like a crochet version of a Fair Isle sweater! Sigh. If I was to make the smallest size, it would still require 13 balls of baby alpaca. Looking online, that would bring the total to $91 before shipping! Even looking at cheaper substitutes would still total $70 if I want a sweater that is at least partially alpaca. Sigh. Maybe this is why I don't crochet sweaters and have turned to becoming an obsessive sweater knitter. Talia was amazingly budget-friendly. She only took less than 3 skeins of Cascade 220 that I bought on sale for $4.79, so even after shipping and buttons (that I got in Vancouver), the vest only came out to $20 total!

Northern Dreams Pullover

The other cardigan that stood out to me is the Stepping Stones Cardigan. It would require 12 balls for my size which would total $84 before shipping! Yikes! But so classy and beautiful.

Stepping Stones Cardigan

Besides my lovely magazine, my Custom Knits book arrived yesterday too! I was so happy with both book and magazine arriving on the same day. Custom Knits is the new book by Wendy Bernard whose blog Knit and Tonic I read religiously. She also designed the Opulent Raglan in the Fall 2008 Knitscene which is absolutely gorgeous. In fact, every time I go to B & N, I drool over the latest issue. I am majorly tempted to buy the issue just for that pattern, but I haven't made up my mind yet.

I have stopped work on Shalom Cardigan for a couple weeks. Frankly, she will probably get frogged as I am not completely loving working on it. To me, the pattern doesn't excite me and I really shouldn't work on projects that I don't LOVE. Lately, I've been very undecided on which major project to start next. A pattern from Custom Knits (there are too many beautiful ones to choose from!), Back to School Vest from Fitted Knits, Bluebell Pullover, Central Park Hoodie, Lush and Lacy (am I really advanced enough to make this?), arrghh...too many choices! I have decided to start the Easy Basketweave Vest from the September issue of Creative Knitting for my dad once the yarn arrives. They have the pattern for free on http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/. I'm also considering the Notting Hill Vest by Kathy Zimmerman, but it looks harder especially with all the cables. I don't know what my dad's bust size is, so I'm going to wing it and hope he's around a 50". He usually wears size Large in shirts and sweaters.

At the moment, I am currently using up my leftover yarn from a Newsboy Hat I crocheted a couple months ago for my dad. The pattern I'm using will look like this when I'm finished. (Of course, it won't be pink. Hehe.) I had to frog 6.5 inches of ribbing (which was nearly 60% of the hat) when I realized this hat should be worked in the round, but the pattern didn't specify. Technically, it can be knitted flat, but then you'll have to sew up the side seam, and it might show, especially with the turned-up brim. Plus, I love knitting in the round as my seaming/finishing skills are still very rudimentary. It looks like a very simple and generic pattern, even like a hat you could buy at Target or the mall.

Also, I bought a beautiful ball of Patons Classic Merino Wool at Michaels last weekend. I don't know if it's a new color, but I have never seen it in other stores. It's called Cognac Heather and I think it would make a wonderful Gretel for my mom (once I learn tubular cast-on!) My parents and I are probably going to San Francisco over my Christmas break, and I really want to get started on providing warm and stylish accessories. I don't know why, but fall really makes me want to jumpstart all these projects. Sadly, it's still in the 80s here in San Diego. I admit I wore Talia to work last week and turned up the A/C so that I could "enjoy" wearing her. Does this make me a bad person? So many projects to work on, and so little time!

FO: Babydoll Dress

This dress took me about a month to complete. After much frogging, frustration, and time, here she is!

Pattern: Babydoll Dress from Interweave Crochet Spring 2008
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Putty
Amount: 5 balls
Size: 32" bust
Hooks: E, G, H (yeah my gauge is always weird)

Man, I do have red eyes...

And should probably clean my mirrors before the photoshoot...

And here is my take on the classic 1960s sideways tilt angle that I see in vintage crochet/knitting magazines...

Last, but not least, here is the back...

If I ever decide to make another one, I would probably make it in the size 34" bust. I went down one size to create negative ease, but apparently the bodice section already has a bit of negative ease built in.

FO: Green Newsboy Cap

Another crochet newsboy cap. I don't know why I keep making hats that I never wear. Not sure if I like it enough to keep it. I might frog it and use it to make something else. If I frog it, I will have 3 balls of this yarn to perhaps make a shrug?

Pattern: Same as the brown newsboy one
Yarn: Vanna's Choice in Olive
Amount: 2 balls
Hooks: J and L

FO: Short 'N Sweet

I have been so bad at keeping up with my blog. But now I present to you a series of FOs!

Pattern: Short 'N Sweet from SnB: The Happy Hooker
Yarn: Tahki Cotton Classic in a royal purple
Amount: 5 skeins
Hook: Size H

And close-up of detailed lace...


It is still missing a purple button to be attached, but I'll do that once I can find a needle small enough to go through the hole.

FO: Short 'N Sweet in Cream

Technically, this was finished in February with all the ends woven in and everything blocked. But I never got around to buying the button for it until last month and I didn't actually sew the button and a loop for it until last night when I was inspired by my trip to Macy's. (Tell you more later.) Yes, I am very bad when it comes to procrastinating the small details. Truth was, I didn't truly love this bolero until the button was all sewn in and I realized how it truly made the garment.

Pattern: Short 'N Sweet from SnB: The Happy Hooker

Yarn: Patons Classic Merino Wool in Aran

Amount: 3 balls ~ 660 yards

Hook: size H

With a sweet spring cami...

Laying flat...

FO: Newsboy Cap

I didn't have the heart to frog my babydoll's sleeve so I whipped this up in about 1.50 hours tonight.

Channeling my inner serenity.

I'm sexy and I know it.

Wannabe model look

Pattern: Etsy

Yarn: Patons Classic Merino Wool in Black

Amount: 2 balls

Hooks: L and J

Babydoll frogged and redone

I never got around to making the newsboy cap last night because I decided to give the dress another whirl before completely frogging. And I am glad I did. After using a H hook and rethinking the set-up single crochet (crochet in every single stitch vs. crochet in every other stitch), I finally got it to fit me!

Updated progress picture:

Yay! No flare, or can't-even-fit-over-head syndrome!

And my WEBS order finally arrived today! I came home from work and checked the mail, but no luck. I live in an apartment complex, and quite often packages can get stolen which left me fretting. That is, until I noticed a UPS truck located a building away from me. Wasting no time, I dashed upstairs, printed out a copy of package tracking record, and leaped back down the stairs to the UPS truck. I showed the guy my sheet and lo, and behold, HE HAD THE PACKAGE!!!! Whew! I was so relieved! Last Christmas, my friend Christine sent me Friends Season 6 and it was delivered to my door, but ended up stolen. Thank god, I was there to safely rescue my $100 order of yarn. (Hey, it was on sale!)

Pictures of my new yarn. Is it weird I held them up to my cheeks, cuddled them, and whispered sweet nothings into their...strands? :-D

And a side view...

Sorry I am not a very good photographer. I own a Canon PowerShot SD550, but I have yet to learn the cool intricacies of my camera.

The list...

2 skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Woodland Mix (for a Irish Hiking Scarf or Newsboy Hat)

5 skeins of Cascade 220 in Burgundy (for a Bluebell Boatneck)

5 skeins of Cascade 220 in Olive Heather (for a Bluebell Boatneck)

3 skeins of Cascade 220 in Dark Plum (for a Back to School U-neck Vest)

3 skeins of Cascade 220 in Straw (for a Back to School U-neck Vest).

Now that I have actually seen and fondled Cascade 220, I am sorely tempted to go back and buy more next month. (What has happened to the frugal girl I once was?!) This is the best sale of the year for Cascade 220. They were only $4.89 per skein. Hopefully, it will last me about 6-9 months worth of projects?

Well, I'm off to do more work on my babydoll. Ciao!

Babydoll progress

I spent most of the past weekend working on my Babydoll dress. Of course, there might have been a short expedition to downtown La Jolla where I might have "accidentally" bought two back issues of Interweave Knits (Winter 2005 and Winter 2006). The Winter 2006 had at least 5 patterns that I really love. "Love" is the keyword. I don't think I'm nowhere near that level to create them yet, but one can always hope. And I also "accidentally" bought another bottle of Soak (this time in the Flora scent) because the salesgirl seemed genuinely nice and helpful. Okay, okay. It was not an accident. I can't seem to help myself when it comes to knitting/crochet related materials. The good news is that the back issues were only $2 each. :-)

Back to the topic, the lovely Babydoll dress. Unfortunately, my dress is not coming out quite so lovely. I finished assembling the bodice and actually wove in all the ends (to prevent future laziness in finishing the dress). However, the lace section started coming out too small. Therefore, I frogged and tried again. I didn't want to frog the ribbing section or else I would be basically starting over from scratch. After adding a round of increases and doing a couple inches of lace, it was coming out flared and too big! Gah! So I frogged again and did another couple inches. Still too small. I frogged all the lace last night and now I am seriously considering to rip out the ribbing section and start anew.

Frogged section (note the wide flare):

What do you think? When I try on the bodice section, it comes out very close-fitting. (Plus, if you look closely, one of the shoulder straps is longer than the other one and one of the bodice halves is wider than the other.)

I think I will let it sit tonight, and work on something quick and easy. Last month, I bought this Etsy pattern and yesterday my Joann's order of Clover circular needles and that truly hard-to-find size L crochet hook arrived. Tomorrow, my order from WEBS consisting of Cascade 220 and Berroco Ultra Alpaca will be arriving. I never thought I would actually say this, but I think I might have to turn to knitting to take a break from this dress.

Speaking of knitting, I love seeing how knit and crochet fashions are becoming trendy in stores. I was cruising the Bloomingdale's website earlier and I found this sweater.

Isn't it pretty? It's on sale for $82.99, down from $139. (Which to me, still isn't a sale!)

And I found this American Eagle Babydoll Cardigan on Ravelry...

It's on sale for $34.95 at the AE website, but I haven't seen it in stores.

And look, crochet sweaters are becoming popular! I am so happy for crochet! Although I knit too, my first love will always be crochet and I feel sad whenever I hear/see knitters dissing crochet.

Babydoll Dress

I received my trial issue of the Winter 2007 Interweave Crochet magazine a couple weeks ago, but I wasn't sure if I was going to fully subscribe. Of course, this was until I realized they put up the preview for the Spring issue earlier this week.

And there it was...

The pattern I had fallen in love with at first sight...

The babydoll dress!

And sleeve detailing...

Yay! I was so excited that I immediately paid for the subscription. Hehe. I checked the IC website earlier, and it said my mag will probably be mailed out on 4/17. But it comes out on newstands on 4/1! Sigh. I don't live near any places that carry IC. After taking a stroll around my neighborhood Von's last night, I discovered they carried two knitting magazines: Interweave Knits and Knit Simple. Can you imagine that? Two knitting magazines, but not one single crochet magazine! Oh, the injustice in this world!

I think I will go order the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece for this pattern to appease myself.

I got into Ravelry!

Finally, I got into Ravelry today! Woohoo! I heard so many wonderful things about this online community of knitters and hookers that I just had to join. It took probably over a month for me to get my invitation. Apparently, it's National Crochet Month this month. No wonder I was a March baby! :-)

In other crochet news, I started working on a hat last night with my new Bernat Softee Chunky that I picked up on Sunday. If you look closely at my previous bookshelf picture, you can see it on the top shelf. (It was only $1.87 per ball at Wal-Mart.) Even though I haven't bought yarn at Wal-Mart in years, I couldn't pass it up since I could never find Softee Chunky at Michael's. For an acrylic yarn, it feels surprisingly soft. Also, it's really bulky. I am used to working with worsted weight yarns so the bulkiness felt a bit awkward to me initially.

Update at 10:10 pm: Finished the Ribbed Newsboy Hat. Since I didn't print out the last two rows of the pattern, (and the pattern has been pulled off the author's website), I changed the brim to make it wider and more tapered than the original. I found my inspiration in Hip Hats and Cool Caps by Afya Ibomu. Although I didn't find any hats in there that I was dying to make, she did have some really good brim instructions. Here are some pictures of my finished hat!

Sitting by itself. I took the picture before I shaped the brim. Brim looks much better now.

A side view of the hat.

Short 'N Sweet

I finished my Short 'N Sweet last night, weaved in all the ends, and steam-blocked it. I took some pictures but haven't had time to upload them yet. It looked really bulky when I tried it on unblocked, but has better drape after blocking. I can't decide if I should use Patons Grace or Elann.com's Sonata for my second Short 'N Sweet. Any suggestions for a really good yet affordable 100% mercerized cotton?

The pattern calls for Karabella Zodiac, but I haven't been able to find any in my LYS, so I subbed Patons Classic Merino wool (yes, yes my go-to yarn) in Aran. Not the best sub since it should be done in 100% mercerized cotton, but I don't want to go too overboard on my first major project.

For a while, I was stuck on joining the body since the instructions in the pattern weren't very clear. However, for you people out there who might encounter the same problem, I went to the official Stitch 'N Bitch web forum and also to the particular designer's website La Vonne's Knot Just Knits. She has some diagrams on how to do the right and left front shaping, plus reading the crochet charts can be more helpful than reading words. :-P