Kitty amigurumi

Kitty amigurumi
Originally uploaded by O'Chica

I .... am not fond of crochet. But from time to time, I feel I MUST make something crochet. Like this.

Pattern; Dress-up Doll in 「ハローキティとサンリオキャラクターの　はじめよう！かんたんあみぐるみ」p.72-78.
yarn; Baby bee Sweet Delight Baby angel (white) for Kitty
Yarn bee Intrigue azarea (purple) for dress
hook; Japan size 3/0

Crochet gives me shoulder and neck pain. I hold my hook so tight that even my fingers hurt. I can't even tell right and wrong side of a crochet stitch. I can't count crocheted stitch on fabric, so I have to keep on counting as I go. But, always the result is satisfying. So satisfying that I sit back, admire my work and tuck away hooks after that and never miss them until I got hit by next "Ooooooo!", usually for a year or more.
This time, thing is a little different. 

I made this right after Kitty.

Pattern; Mr. CoffeeCup from "Tea Time" in 「ハローキティとサンリオキャラクターの　はじめよう！かんたんあみぐるみ」p.48-49.
yarn; some sport weight acrylic yarn from Walmart, leftover of dishcloth
hook; Japan size 3/0, or 5/0? 

It was an easy 90-min project from digging up yarns to finish.

And after that, I promised to make another Kitty (identical one. I know. Give me c- word.) for my daughter's friend, who is moving to Chicago in two weeks. Deadline crocheting. Oh, hardcore.

Needle Organizer

needle case cover glued
Originally uploaded by O'Chica

I love my Knit Picks Options Metal interchangeable needle set. I love the flexibility of the cable, have no problem with slick metal tips, but what I love the most is its binder type case. I can feel I am neat.

So, I bought extra needle pockets for fixed circulars, but when I got enough pockets for all my sock needles, it was too much for just one binder. I decided to separate fixed circs from Options set, but, I didn't want to buy the same binder (how can I tell which has Options and which has circs without opening?). I searched planner sections of Office Max and Barns and Nobles but seemed Knit Picks Binder is not standard planner size.

No way. I just cut two pieces of card board in about the same size as the original binder case, put them and all the pockets in six books rings. Wonky. I needed a spine board (another piece of card board) and something to cover all of them to reinforce and make it look better.
What am I? A Knitter, of course. I should knit a cover.

It was a perfect project to use up all the bits and pieces of sock yarn leftovers. I knit them with 16 in US 0 circular needle which I bought at Hobby Lobby before I met Options Set and had no chance to use. I put occasional purl row and texture patterns to put away boredom, a little stranded pattern where color changed. I was pretty shaky and nervous to machine sew both sides of the steek, so I asked my daughter to be with me (Yes, she is just 3 years old, but , hey, she's already my good companion when I need some courage.)

It was nothing. Machine sewing worked beautifully. Cutting didn't cause me a nausea nor dizziness. I can cut up my circular knitting to flat.

Then, what? I just stapled and glued the knitting onto card board, but didn't stay on well, especially at top and bottom edge. I made Outline Stitches with my first handspun yarn.

I enjoyed the whole process. This, is my kind of a project, honey.

After all, I decided not to quit blogging.  I can't put something like this post on Ravelry note.  I could, but it doesn't seem right to me.  I am not a person who spend a lot of time on discussion board over there, neither.  I will just murmur happily here. 

To blog or not to blog..

That's the problem.

Now I have a "note" function on my Ravelry notebook, for each project and each yarn, I don't really need this place to organize and put a note on my finished project. 

I don't get a single comment here, that means I don't have a lot of people who come to read this.  So, actually, nobody needs this place, including me.

Well, anyway, I don't want to quit anything only after a few month.  Let's see a little more if I can whip up a way or two to make both meaningful.

quiz

Ravelry forum (Yarn) had a thread about "What fiber are you?" quiz.
First time I was Angora. Second time, when I answered with less thinking, I was Camel.

Anyway.

I remembered there's another quiz. "What yarn are you?"- And I am....

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Dishcloth Cotton.You are a very hard worker, most at home when you're at home. You are thrifty and seemingly born to clean. You are considered to be a Plain Jane, but you are too practical to notice.

hmmm. Dishcloth Cotton/Camel blend? Do I felt?

"Dora's" backpack

"Dora's" backpack
Originally uploaded by O'Chica

I found a backpack pattern in my friend's "knitting& crochet for babies" kind of book, and thought, "Hey, isn't it cool to have a backpack like Dora the Explorer?" Not for me, of course, for my daughter (then soon to be 2-yr old).

Great thing about crochet is it's not difficult at all make something to fit your imaged shape. What I did to original pattern are; 1) make it more square-bottomed to make pockets on sides, 2) add pockets, one plain (for Map) and one Star pocket, 3) add flap, 4) add zipper, and, 5) make it more round-topped to look like Dora's. It's almost a complete shape transformation. But I don't think I could make a backpack without any pattern to start with. I am not a person of originality. Definitely not. I am pretty good at changing details to fit my image, though. This project is my kind of a thing in that meaning.

Little blossom cardigan

Little blossom cardigan
Originally uploaded by O'Chica

My milestone project.

I had to make this. It is so pretty, perfect for my 2-yr old daughter. The amount of intarsia was overwhelming, I didn't even know how to do intarsia. But I had to.
I learned intersia, how to make pockets and how to knit backward on the course.

from the book: Adorable Knits for Tots: 25 Stylish Designs for Babies and Toddlers

by Zoe Mellor

yarns; Omega Sinfonia
2 balls of Rosa Mexicana (background pink) , 1 ball of off-white, several meters of Rosa Tierno (pale pink)
Needles; JP 5 and JP 3 straight needles

I am a Sock Knitter.

Last year was THE year in my knitting history.  I learned to knit socks.

Was it Yarn Harlot who said "The best thing about socks is that they got wore out so I can knit a new one?"  Well, that is true, but not all the time. The socks I made for my gramma had become the last one.  

She saw them, sat up from her bed and smiled, wore them and said "Oh, it's warm!" and didn't take them off all that afternoon.   She passed away 9 days after. 

I made a pair of socks for her.  In doing so, I made a sad but happy memory.  I made it just in time. Maybe I felt something and gave it a shape of a pair of socks. She went away while I was staying just 3 weeks in Japan, after a year and 7 month since last time. 

I now proudly declare that I am a Sock Knitter.