crafty mcgee

Year of the Golden Fire Pig!

Happy 4704! I knitted this guy based on a pattern in this book, out of some out of some yarn in a fiery colorway that just showed up in my stash. I added the wings because not only is this a Fire Pig year, it is also a Golden Year, a most auspicious event that turns up every 600 years or so (like, when pigs fly). I learned this from a commenter on Stephanie's pig post about a month ago. I did a little research on Golden years, and there seems to be a bit of controversy as to whether this is actually one or not. I guess it's easy to lose track after 4500+ years, but it still sounds dramatic! The Pig  force is strong in my family - I am an Earth Pig, my brother Craig is a Metal Pig, and our dad was a Wood Pig. In yet another series of cosmic coincidences, our mom, our brother, Craig's wife, and my son are all Tigers.  It's supposedly going to be a great year for them. Hope so, and hope you all have a great one, too!

It was a dark and spooky night.

Two zombie trees, an apprehensive polar bear and a mysterious robot found themselves on a lonely road in the forest. I'll let you guys take it from here.

This my entry for the Craftster Zombies & Robots & Bears...Oh My! challenge. This is the first time I've entered, I couldn't resist. I got the idea for the knitted trees from the book Knit a Fantasy Story that I blogged about way back in my first post, but I didn't follow the pattern, I just made it up as I went along. The bear is a new figure, he's so bright compared to the rest of the scene that he's a bit washed out. The robot is visiting from another vignette. This is also my official kickoff of the Halloween season, so check out the links to the right. I'm sorry they haven't been updated from last year. I have a few more to add (and other links to update) but Typepad is having "an ongoing problem with Typelists". They say I can recreate all of them from scratch, but I don't have time right now. I've got things to make!

bunny buddies

I was hoping to have a couple more, but the I just received the pattern for the knitted bunny last weekend, after I ordered it way back in early March! It's been wending its way from house to house in Seattle (two wrong addresses), until it finally reached its proper destination.
Luckily, it was really easy to knit, so I got at least one finished. I used Lamb's Pride Worsted, and felted it. It still shows the stitching a bit. I'm not sure if that's the fiber or my modest felting skills. I whipped up his little buddy by hand last night. Happy Easter!

knitting update

I took advantage of a string of sunny-ish days this weekend to take some outdoor photos. Here's a color version of my Olympic knitting. It's made from Takhi-Stacy Charles Ritratto line, which comes in some gorgeous colorways. I love the colors in this one, even though they're off-season now. I'm wearing my new favorite sweater, the Cider House Rules Pullover from the subscribers-only area of Interweave Knits. Which, since the new issue is out but I haven't received it yet, I can't access. Sorry! It's made from one of my new favorite yarns, Brown Sheep Company's Cotton Fleece. Just enough wool to keep you warm, but not enough to make me itchy, and it comes in lots of colors.

I also made this little felted tote from a pattern in Weekend Knitting. After two complicated, time consuming projects, it was a real delight to knit something up in a couple of days. It was made from miscellaneous stash bits. This was the second half of the green package for this month's Coloriffic Swap-o-rama. I love finished knitting projects!
 

the thrill of victory!

It was touch-and-go there for a while, but after an entire weekend of doing NOTHING but knitting, I made to the finish with just hours to spare! I suffered the heartbreak of three false starts, having to unknit what seemed like every other row, and hand cramps like I haven't felt since I started knitting. I felt the joy of perfect row counts while celebrating or suffering with the athletes. I still feel a little trepidation about blocking - will my spit splices hold?  They are the method recommended by Sivia Harding, the designer of this piece, but.... And despite my extra careful counting, I have a feeling my knitting isn't perfect, it may only be worth a Bronze. But if not for this fun, nationally-recognized event, I probably would have bagged this project the second time I ripped it apart. And I discovered like knitting lace, but next time I will proceed at a less frenetic pace. Thanks, Stephanie!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope all of you who celebrate the day have or had a wonderful time with friends and family. The turkey is already looking a little worse for wear, having been tossed into both compost and a bowl of water. I decided to make him a pilgrim friend. This is also from the Jess Hutch book, this time an "oddfellow". I was too chicken to attempt an intarsia belt buckle, so I just winged it with felt. The hat pattern is from bugknits. It's supposed to be knit on 000 or something else tiny, but I used my hulking size 0's and it came out fine. Not exactly a pilgrim hat, I know, but I think it works. Cheers!

tossable turkey

Here's a little glimpse into how my mind works. I was flipping through the fabulous Jess Hutch booklet - trying to decide what to make first - when I came across Spherey. My very first thought was "hey, if you turned Spherey upside down, he'd look like a turkey".
 
I hadn't been thinking of turkeys at the time, but, it being the season, I thought I might as well go for it. So instead of two arms and legs, I made three of each, and attached all but one to the  back. They seemed a little floppy, so I knitted a little tail feather gusset to hold them in.
   
For his face, I made a beak out of felt, a wattle out of crocheted embroidery thread, and felt eyes, which were inspired by Lyn's kitties.

There you have it! A little turkey suitable for chucking about.

a great mail week

My poor mail carrier. In addition to the daily pound of catalogs and political flyers, he also has to schlep this really good stuff. First up, from my Secret Pal:

Two lovely skeins of luxurious yarn. One is bamboo, the other is soy silk. What to make?  Perhaps something where I could use them together? Thanks, SP!
   
Inspired by Kim, I went on a little spree at Reprodepot. (You can see them better if you click on them). I think that groovy 70's-ish print on the far left will be perfect for a quilt I want to start after the holidays. I have no idea what I'm going to do with the Munki Munki pool fabric, but I couldn't resist it. I also got some fabric from the sale bin at eQuilter. I love the animal print:

Then, I got the Katy Horan print from Tiny Showcase that I ordered a couple of weeks ago:

And last, but certainly not least, I've got one, too! Unusual Toys for You to Knit and Enjoy by Jess Hutch. It's wonderful! Since everyone else has shown the cover, here's a different bit:

I plan on making at least two of everything in this book!

I DO knit, really!

My poor Secret Pal, there has been a complete lack of knitting content here lately. (By the way, thanks SP for the cute singing/dancing caramel apple card for Caramel Apple Day! Who knew?) Anyway, I knit every evening for at least an hour before bed. It's so relaxing. To prove it:

The completed and blocked body of Rogue, and the second sleeve well under way. I would like to pause here a moment to praise the perfectly clear and concise 19-page pattern from the girl from auntie. All of my fretting was for naught. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was an easy knit, but I was never confused by the directions.
 

Finished sweater parts to be sewn together and blocked! (Note to self: real soon)

   
And I intend to continue knitting. On the left is some aptly-named Touch Me, to knit a scarf for the secret pal I am spoiling, who, though a fabulous knitter and spinner, says she is unable to finish a scarf for herself.  On the right, this Stacy Charles Ritratto was screaming at me in the yarn store, and probably would have jumped off the shelf and bonked me on the head if I hadn't stopped to buy it. I don't know what to make with it, though. It's lace weight, and I'm not a shawl kind of gal. I would make something to drape fetchingly over a chair if I didn't think my cat would have it destroyed in two minutes flat.  And, do I have time to make this in time for Halloween? Maybe the Day of the Dead! That'll give me whole extra day...

secret pal goodness

I came home from work last night to find this waiting for me:

Sock yarn in three pretty colors, and two sets of tiny double-pointed needles (sizes 1 and 2). I had been debating whether or not to take a sock knitting class next month, now it's decided! Thanks, Secret Pal!!