Cheetoh Shawl for MIL

Finished!

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Going in to widen the triangle.

I really don't like the bikini line. It was too tall for how slim it was, so I had to go in and do a border. I had some very thin yarn in the same exact orange by coincidence so I used it. Now that I see it I really wish I had used white, which I also had in that same very thin yarn. Hindsight and all.

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I've gotten through --- Two?? Four?? --- Color changes! But they're the very short inside bit. The cake is not as distributed in length of each color as I wanted. It's a self striping cake tho so that's nice but zero blending on this one. Maybe the ombre will look less crunched to one side when it's done.

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These eyelets are the same ones in the third mug tree cover beanie. As always looks different on different weights. The mug hat was more worsted and this is more DK. Not quite sock.

I was originally gonna gradually lengthen the pattern panel basically every other row but I quickly discovered aint nobody got time fo dat so it became every 18 increase (the repeat is over 8 stchs) so incorporating pattern vs stockinette panel by stair steps. I actually really like the way it looks.

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Tip#1 On Books

I have never really liked the idea of buying one but I put some on the list and my husbands mom got some for me a few christmases ago (i honestly dont remember the year)

I was wrong. Hella wrong. I didn't want to sort through good and bad stitch bibles at random on the internet but this bad baby is definitely worth it.

This is where I found the "cogwheel eyelets"

This book has really been useful and coincidentally is also orange on the cover lol

It was like $30 on amazon or something.

Tip#2 Design is all Math

The amount of times I'll ask my husband to calculate something and it spirals into a 30 minute conversation because I didn't say all of the details beyond the confines of my head.

Something like "I did XXX stitches on sock but now I need to convert it to aran. Then I need to decrease from XXX stchs to XX over a series of X rows. How many stitches go between each decrease?"

And then the thought of doing it around mfin shoulders? UGH although speaking of which I have found raglan shoulders with a squishy yarn to be the easiest.

Stockinette gauge is really straight forward tho so there's that at least.

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Three Baby Animals for friend

Custom Order:Three Baby Animals

Done!

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Almost there! So I'll do different accessories, same color. Decided with friend on bright baby yellow.

I left the finishing for last so that those at least can match since I picked different patterns. The bear is supposed to have a bow tie and the fox a scarf and the deer didnt have a neck stabilizer so that was a real problem last time.

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The Bear

The Jen Hayes Classic Crocheted Bear is the most perfect, classic, wonderful choice. Very, very happy with how it turned out. Sewing is really not my strong suit so it's arms and legs are doing the splits (jumping jacks?) but ah well. The child will not know.

I still have to do the bow tie and eyes, misc. But I'm tired of it for now.

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The Deer

Using the same graceandyarn deer pattern I've used before. 

I picked it back up today to work on it and the magic circle had just kind of loosened. Tie your magic circles right!

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The Fox

I'm thinking about Fausto the Fox from @handcraftingalife

Hubby helped me pose it with more than my own hands lol.

I couldn't find the right orange in the right weight. So just did this.

I was thinking about doing a white stripe down the ears and mimic more red fox features since I couldn't find the right fur color period.

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I have a friend who requested these. I still can't believe both of her sisters and one cousin got pregnant and gave birth pretty close to the same time. Bonus cousin-siblings for the little ones LOL. She's asked for a bear, a red fox, and a deer. She was the one those two baby blankets were for. One of them was twins. Surprise, mom!

Coffee Cup Stand Covers For Hubby's Office

Complete!!!!!!

The eyelet one, tension sq(uanches? squoshes?).

The striped one still looks way too fat.

The twisted one still tapers too weirdly.

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Hat #3

Looks sad flopped on its side. The fabric shell was too short but I was like I am NOT doing that again. So that makes block stripe, twisted cable, and lace. Three different colors. Three different skills. I was a little uuuuugh tho bc husband said he couldn't see the eyelets unless he got real close, just stipples and some self-striping.

Ended up making my own stitch reference grid of close-up cropped photos

Cameo I wool always love you yarn bowl and hubby's feet. Doing a nice eyelet.

I picked the yarn (ombre) before I picked the pattern and I knew I was probably gonna do lace so was initially concerned about the self striping obscuring the hexagonal pattern and it's even worse than I thought.

I didn't expect the yarn to self stripe in this watercolor paint way. I even looked up knit works with this yarn before starting with it but I felt like it wouldn't stripe the same way since this isn't the same size OR shape (or even flat) as a full length shawl.

I really was disappointed at how non exponential the ombre was tho. Very nice just not for what I was doing. I don't usually use colorways but I'll be able to judge a little better.

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Hat #2

I messed up the crown tho. Got really pointy and unattractive. Oh well, pom pom hides a lot.

Hat #2 almost done. Decided one of them would be cabled twists. It looked quite handsome in person. Only broke pattern a few times. Looks more homemade lol. It's super easy to see denser eyelet mistakes but I am so bad at eyeballing rows between cables since they...you know.....twist....

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Hat #1

After all that heart ache I went with oversized and inner fabric shell. I actually knew I would have to....didn't wanna....sewing is hard :( Ugh. Uuuuuuuuuugh. I got to the point where I was like can I just buy a canvas lampshade but they would have the lightbulb fixture and shade top so I was like dagnabit.

I am kinda pissed tho that hat #1 is so fat and unshaped. Poorly shaped. Misshapen. Also dropped the senior prank numbers plan bc the hats got bigger and the numbers would just be too much/awkward

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Failed attempt #2:

flax worsted

This visually came out ok but it seriously wasn't when it came to actual use. The really big fail about it was experimenting with structural integrity. The wire kept catching on different spokes and mugs. The knit piece kept getting distorted and the wire was just too poke-through-able against the flimsy acrylic.

I also was really, really not impressed with the flax bc it didn't add to felting or ANYTHING. Just a little extra scratchy and LITTLE PIECES OF TWIG KEPT FLYING INTO MY MOUTH. I was ALSO dismayed that the yarn was a really impressive, true sage at the store and this was one of the ones that are especially good at not showing good color in different lighting. I don't usually fall for it this hard. Maybe bc the unfamiliar fiber? Like how mohair can be? But this is worsted....whatever done and over. Maybe I'll burn it.

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Failed attempt #1

Self striping sock weight

No lining

Used sock and it was too squishy and too stretchy at the same time.

Hubby took a pic of it on one of the trees and it was utterly hideous. Told him to take it off immediately.

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Exposed mug trees

We thought we would do the classic senior class prank and have three tree hats labeled 1, 2, and 4.

Decided to make them as different from each other as possible and have one skill for each hat. Solid color, cables, and maybe lace. Don't want to do lace bc it'll be sheer and need backing but we'll see.

Cacti Series

Ugly little cactus flower!

I used some of the wire I couldn't use in the mug hats to make spoke/limb things and then used it with stuffing as "bones" for the attached cactus body-sphere things. I didn't think to take a picture hubby was like wtf is growing out 

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Two WIPs

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#2 Tall Cactus

Cute mini cactus with flowers.

Man I had to remember how to do flowers and that was a pain until I gave in and looked it up.

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#1 Succulent

I made the red line on this first succulent too curly and it looks more like red leaf lettuce than anything

:(

cameo fanf mug

I'm planning maybe 5 very different ones. However many it takes to get bored.

Indoor Shoes

The floors are terrible here so even if I wear slippers I practically am wearing shoes anyway.

I did one shoe and put it down to dry and did another and I knew something was wrong but was like eh whatever but I sure do regret it now LOL

The first shoe has way more petals per flower.

Very summer/early fall

Couch Pouch

Got really tired of every time one of us got up the remote got lost under the other one's butt so make a device + remotes holder. I am so annoyed. You think something is done and there's just more and more to add. Design is very labor intensive and I have so much respect for people who make useful objects.

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Bonus use:Use as a beer holder! 

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Fourth Installment: Separate large cables sleeve compartment (Hope I'm done)

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Third Installment: Replace snake with two slots

Cut manila folder sleeve lining/more flexible than cardstock "bones" that the needles won't easily pierce through and rip holes in the couch. Not sure what to do about charging cord panel. Made a strip but now there's no room.....hmmm....

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Second installment: Added charging wire snake.

Made it super skinny to not get in the way. Kind of a bad design since the wire is fed to the edge of the arm and then has to bend around to plug into the middle of the tablet. Also I sewed it crookedly. We shall see.

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First Run:

One side for tablet and phone, two remote slots

Went on amazon for inspiration but I would have to use some kind of board to make the arm rest top flat and the more pockets the heavier it would get. Not a problem with straight fabric but the yarn would stretch out too much.

Flat knit and sewn.

Happy Bowls

I had to find something to do with the smallest bowls that came in this one set and are freakin useless for anything.

I think the little dots in a row on a line of the circumference is a little opal jewelry aesthetic but I thought it was nice.

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Halved Fruit

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"Lime in love"

"Orange you glad we're married"

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I looked for ideas and saw a watermelon or something and I was like fruit half!

For some reason everyone I talked to thought I meant like polka-dotting fruit wedges on the outside and I was like no I want it to BE the fruit.

But then because of the poor texture it looked bad/didn't make sense to just paint the outsides the color of the fruit so I looked up puns and did the outside that way.

Water Jars

The new place we need a brita again so we got the largest size but I can't stand waiting for the slow drain. Thus, larger unit of water at a time.

It was also kind of nerve wracking because I don't paint food surfaces since I don't want to be that dad with a lead paint mug. We decided to go with zinsser shellac spray and then I could use it on other things that are painted in general too. Useful. Very useful.

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Yay

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Decided to put letters on these initial painted things but it got too complicated/thick paint and I think the T turned out really ugly but the fat bee is ugly-cute too so end result is mine is actually kinda pretty and his is quite homely lol

It's just funny because mine is so much prettier....oops LOL

Cooking

 

Pumpkin Hat

Dc all round until sc on crown. Magic loop the stem and pick up and crochet branches

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Tip: Manipulate patterns

Patterns can be really, really hard to read. I think crochet patterns are way harder to read than basic stockinette knitting. I rewrite them, or I write them into a word doc and highlight different colors. It is not an aged 14th Century bible. It is a word doc. I can reprint it after working on it and scribbling too much, etc. Make it work for you. Manipulate the medium.