New Pretty!

I totally forgot to post this, too!

Lovely new pin by Oh My Cavalier!, as modeled by my little fox pal... just when you thought he couldn't get cuter! I was thinking of selling him on Etsy, but I just couldn't part with him, especially since I would have nowhere to store my pin! The gracious Julianna made the pin to order, when I just just had to have the Pet Fox drawing on a simpler pin than she had already for sale... What a sweet piece from a sweet artist.

Foxiness

Psssst.... I made a fox.

He likes to play hide and seek.

I got the pattern from a japanese book, but the instructions were for a solid colored one.

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Also, I've been working on the dollies...

Cotton (in green) and my still unnamed J-Doll got new lip paint:

And, I started my first custom Blythe:

Wish me luck!

Bits & Bobs

Here's what I've been up to lately...

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Trying out for dream jobs...

Sketches and miniature display for a Display Coordiator job at Anthropologie... I didn't get it :( But I can use the display at home for spring!

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Playing with dolls...

In the dollhouse I just finished making! I'll post more/better pics when I get some furniture done. By the by, these dollies still need names. I'm thinking of "Wren" for the Petite Blythe (2nd one)...

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Making crazy posters.

Poster I made for my friend Todd's movie (his design).

Lil' Brown Bat

For Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee'en!

Pattern here. Knit in Patons Classic Merino & Cascade 220.

I’m making some pumpkins from a different pattern to go with him…

He’ll go into my woodland pals display when he’s not

Hallowe’en decor!

Winter Hare

My version of the genius Hansigurumi's latest pattern, the Jackalope:

I just left off the antlers to make it a hare...

She's part of my growing woodland display!

Muuuuuushrooms!

I knitted some.

Free pattern here.

New Sewing...

Oddly, I did not have a pincushion, soooo...

A strawberry pincushion...

I made it with vintage and new velvet, and wool felt.

The pink baby strawberry is filled with emery, for sharpening needles.

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And the Bag to end all Bags (Hopefully.)

It's the Birdie Sling pattern from Amy Butler,

with Amy Butler fabric for the main panels.

I added an additional panel with pockets to the inside to divide it,

which turned out to be much more difficult than it sounds...

lesson learned, I suppose.

I love it- I can fit all the usual junk,

plus knitting and reading material!

It's a little ridiculous trying to find my keys in it, though.

Barn Owl!

Yup, I made a Barn Owl.

It's another Hansigurumi!

It's the Horned Owl pattern, without the horns.

'Cause it's a Barn Owl.

Last of the Sea Creatures (for a while)...

Here's my latest Hansigurumi:

A Hermit Crab! I love him.

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He'll be the last Sea Creature for awhile...

I'm moving onto Woodland Creatures next!

Here they are in their natural environment- my bathroom.

They each have their own scientific label with info such as:

Dumbo Octopus: Genus Grimpoteuthis,

Species Octopoda, Benthic 300-400 meters

or

The Loch Ness Monster (Nessiteras rhombopteryx).

More Gifties

For Doug's Birthday:

Pattern from Animal Mascots

(ISBN-10: 4391624206, ISBN-13: 978-4391624205)

On Crafting Japanese

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For Rhiannon's (FIRST!) Birthday:

My own pattern!

Because she's a cowgirl.

See?

I'm hungry.

Can you tell?

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Chocolate Doughnut for Jamie

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Strawberry Pincushion for Etsy

A couple more Sea Creatures...

They both join the other sea creatures in the bathroom.

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Squid

Pattern:
Squid-A-Licious by Hansigurumi

The only mod I made was making the body in one piece instead of two. I just ran a length of yarn through the middle and tightened it to make up for that.
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Cuddle-Fish

Pattern: Cuttlefish by Hansigurumi

I used to eat copious amounts of dried cuttlefish (as a child).

They're not really "fish". Obviously.
I really had to force myself to finish this one. There were many mistakes in the pattern (very unusual for Hansi… she’s pretty much a genius) (*I included my Errata below). It’s also a bit bigger than the other cepholopods- I’d probably would have used sport-ish weight if I thought ahead… I embroidered him with some stripeys to make him a bit more realistic, and cast off the fins with white for a little extra detail.

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And speaking of Sea Creatures:

I'm pretty sure Maggie is an otter. There's more new pics of her here.

And her BFF, Laika, of course.

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My Hansigurumi Cuttlefish Errata:

Page 4, Section 4 (last on page): Even Rows- do not wrap and turn, as you are at the end of the rows.

Hansi's Errata: Page 6, should read "Using Figure 1 as a guide, use MC and pick up a total of 34 stitches from the top selvedge of arms as follows...", and Row 1 should read "P22, w&t"

Page 6: Row 21: P25
Page 7 (top): Row 22: K9, SSK, k2tog, SSK, K2tog, K9. Place remaining 22 stitches...

Page 7 (middle): Clarification- When picking up 5 sts from the underside of the outermost arms, do not pick up from the webbing area.

Page 7 (bottom): Round 4: K1, *K2tog, repeat from * to the end of the round, end K1. (20 stitches)

Page 8: Round 7: (*K2tog, KI), repeat from * to last 2 stitches, K2tog. (6 stitches)

Page 11: Round 4: *SSK, (K1, KLR, K1) 3 times, (K1, KLR) 56 times, (K1, KLR, K1)...

Japanese Super Fun Animal Plush!

I acquired some Japanese craft books via Etsy to help in my sewing endeavors... I'd like to make my own patterns, so I wanted some help in the construction, since I'm quite a beginner. My first project from them was this:

Alligator from Animal Mascot

(ISBN-10: 4391624206, ISBN-13: 978-4391624205 )

On Crafting Japanese

For Kathryn's (belated) B-Day,

made with vintage velvet from my bedspread as a child,

cotton fabric, wool felt, beads, and embroidery floss.

This book is pretty popular and fairly easy to find (on Etsy or Ebay) and has super cute designs with clear pictorial instructions (the text is all in japanese). I also picked up a couple without names (as in, I can't translate the names):

I haven't seen these anywhere else (I got them on Etsy), and they are pretty fantastic. The instructions are not as clear as Animal Mascots (and the projects are a bit more advanced), but I think I'll do alright with them still... There are more pics of them on my Flickr.

Gifty

Soooo.... Chris made it into grad school, which means we can't spend any money for the next two years... then we'll be paying back loans, so umm, maybe more than two. Anyway, peeps will be receiving handmade goods for awhile:

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Tammi's Birthday Cupcake:

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Kathryn & Doug's Housewarming Present:

The pattern for Lambkins is here.

Nessie!

Another Hansigurumi masterpiece!

Loch Ness Monster

Knit in Lion Wool-Ease.