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).

Knit Picks Samplers

So Knit Picks has these sweet little sample packs of their cotton yarns that come with six assorted balls and four or five (one ball) patterns to use them for... perfect for summer knitting.

I got the Renaissance Sampler:

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And my first knit from it is the Twig Lace Cap:

It's knit in Comfy (75% Pima Cotton, 25% Acrylic, in Blackberry),

which is lovely- very soft and lightweight.

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I really have been slacking on the knitting since learning to sew recently. I promise to get back on the wagon, though... my fingers are lonely for yarn.

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?

Laika's a Betsy!

So, we got Laika a DNA test... yes, we are that geeky. We got it here, and after some hullabaloo involving a false poodle identification, we found out that Laika is a Border Collie! A Level 1 (more than 75%) Border Collie and Level 4 (10-19%) Weimaranar, to be precise... Anyway, that was very exciting because I'm a big fan of the breed after reading about Betsy in National Geographic:

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...a border collie named Rico appeared on a German TV game show in 2001. Rico knew the names of some 200 toys and acquired the names of new ones with ease. ...To find more examples, the scientists read all the letters from hundreds of people claiming that their dogs had Rico's talent. In fact, only two—both border collies—had comparable skills. One of them—the researchers call her Betsy—has a vocabulary of more than 300 words. Name: "Betsy"

Species: Border Collie

Home: Vienna, Austria

Smarts: Retains an ever growing vocabulary that rivals a toddlers.
How much thought goes on behind those eyes? A lot, in this case. Six-year-old "Betsy" can put names to objects faster than a great ape, and her vocabulary is at 340 words and counting. Her smarts showed up early: At ten weeks she would sit on command and was soon picking up on names of items and rushing to retrieve them—ball, rope, paper, box, keys, and dozens more. She now knows at least 15 people by name, and in scientific tests she's proved skilled at linking photographs with the objects they represent. Says her owner, "She's a dog in a human [pack]. We're learning her language, and she's learning ours."

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Read the whole article here. It's not just about dogs, and the whole thing is fascinating.

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We had thought Laika was an Australian Shepard (that's what they suggested at the SPCA) mixed with some sort of racing breed, since she's so slim and fast. Fast like she gives the Whippet at the dog park a run for his $. The surgeon that set her broken leg thought so too... Plus, she's less that 35 pounds, so we figured something small, but I suppose it's always a crapshoot when you try to guess. Anyway, we didn't really care what she was, we were just curious... we'd love her if she was a poodle, too.

Tahoe

...is pretty gorgeous, even when it's smoky.

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Pics from last weekend are here.

Don't mind my green face on the trails- I get altitude sickness.

Eeeeewwww... altitude.

Check me out!

On Daily Outfitting!

Bivalve

Happy Anniversary!

...to us!

One very sweaty day three years ago...

I'm hungry.

Can you tell?

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Chocolate Doughnut for Jamie

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Strawberry Pincushion for Etsy

Sad Day for Bathing Costumes...

So, we didn't make it on our camping trip because of this: Alison's pic of The Lake

That's right, we're in California.

As in, that state that was mostly on fire.

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So, poor Bathing Costume did not get to make her debut...

And neither did my new hat:

Amy Butler's Blue Sky Hat, made with AB fabric as well.

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Bumski.

ain't no party like my nana's tea party

Heeeeeeey! Hooooo!

Flight of the Conchords, anyone? Anyone?

It's a tea cozy, in case you can't tell...

It's got quilted insulation and my first piping!

My grandmother doesn't even drink tea, actually.

Hey! Weird Food!

I think that's what Chris said. So there's a new asian food source in town: Oriental Market - Seafood Place... it's at 203 Harding Blvd. in Roseville, right down the street from me!

I made Chris try the cuttlefish (after much prodding- literal prodding, with cuttlefish), which he promptly spit out... he did like the fresh tamarind and sweet rice cakes, though. Anyway, make your way there if you can- they have fresh produce like long beans and raw peanuts, a huge frozen food section, fresh baked goods (like bean cakes... mmmmm...), and a fantastic whole fresh fish selection where they will cut and clean your fish while you wait! You might see me there, wandering the aisle of sauce. That's right, and entire aisle of sauces. You just can't go wrong with that.

Sqeal!

Wendy of Knit & Tonic mentioned my pattern in yesterday's post! I squeal because this is one of my very favorite blogs... Not only is she a very talented designer, but the lady is Funny. That's right, capital F Funny. Even if you don't knit, the blog will crack you up, guaranteed...

Private Benjamin

Self Control is Overrated.

I could not live without it:

Monster by Amy Earles (aka Wool & Water)

Check out the sweet postcard it came with and the squeal-worthy ghosty stamp on the shipping envelope...

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.

Things You Should Buy for Me

Aaaah, disposable income, when shall you and I meet? I have a large wishlist of art that I want to live at my house from Etsy... where I could easily dump buckets of cash, if only I had it:

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jacksonswift: Wolves

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berkleyillustration: Everyone Serves A Porpoise

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therunnybunny: Victorian Deer Lady

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belleandboo: Lost and Found, Chance Encounter

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LittleRobot: The Queen and I

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robbridges: The Ursine Dream

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NuitBlanche: Deer Print

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woolandwater: Monster

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misterrob: We Had Everything
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ohmycavalier: Honey
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There are more, of course, but there is only so much one can put in one post, right? I'd love recommendations, too... not that I need to add to my already ridiculous wishlist, but... wait, yes I do.

Old Timey Bathing Costume

Well, I have finished my very first clothing sewing... and I've made me-self a Bathing Costume! Old-timey, no? We're going lake type camping at the end of the month & I had no bathing suit, and no wish to get into one, so... you know, this is what happened:

I used a couple different patterns: New Look 6705 for the top (I added the belt & belt loops) and 6707 for the shorts (I cut the pants short). I added the stripes with seam binding.

I must thank Emily of the Black Apple for re-introducing me to sewing... I sewed her Doll pattern from her Martha Stewart appearance & was totally hooked. I had a sewing machine already (I'm 5'1", so most of my clothes are hemmed) & now I've been gathering patterns voraciously. The Black Apple Doll and Lambkins from my last post were my first two pattern babies, and now I have a huge queue forming for sewn projects, which will now compete with knitting for Ultimate Time Sucking.