Thursday, July 29, 2010

Chugga-Chugga-Chugga-Chugga-Choo-Choo!

I've been chugging along with my crochet and amigurumi projects so much that i've been a terrible blogger :(. The fact that I probably don't have any readers to apologize to is proof! (Although, if there is anyone out there still checking up on me, I am sorry)

So here's a super post filled with stuff I've been working on!

First up is a star pillow that i've been wanting to make for a while now. (pattern from http://yarn-diva.blogspot.com/2006/03/free-star-shaped-afghan-pattern.html)




This project is a perfect example of how inspiration can come from some of the simplest things! I was going though my stash and just happened to put these colors together. It hit me just as soon as I saw them that I had to make something with theses colors


I'm making the pillow for now, but i'm considering making the baby afghan version for my boyfriend's sister. She's expecting (due in December!) and i'm doing cartwheels at the prospect of having a baby to crochet for! I'm still a little young to be having kids of my own but rest assured they'll practically be in yarn cocoons with the amount of crocheting i'll be doing for them.

I've also finished a fluff monster which I made via what I call the "fluffigurumi" technique


This little guy's going to a friend of mine to replace one that her co-worker shanghaied haha.

Here's an actual amigurumi I've been working on. Hopefully he'll turn out to be a Kobald named Yip-Yip. But sometimes these things have a mind of their own.



I've had to frog the head 3 times already so for now this poor thing has no mind!

And last but definitely not least, I've started on some granny squares for a Project Linus blanket


Another color combination I've been meaning to use is bright red with light blue/turquoise. This should make a really exciting blanket and hopefully a really happy kid!

So that's about it for now. I still have to finish up the accessories for the D&D characters from the previous post and I've found some nifty colored thread crochet that I might reboot the messed up doily with.

Also for more info on Project Linus please visit http://www.projectlinus.org/. It's an amazing organization and a good source of inspiration of you're unsure what to do with that yarn stash of yours.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Adventures in Re-incarnation

When I found that one of my favorite t-shirts had a gaping hole in it (that was neither for the neck nor arms) my first reaction was pretty much expletive, expletive. But then I remembered a video I saw about making tarn on the Tottie Talks Crafts blog (http://tottietalkscrafts.com/).

For those of you unfamiliar with the clever etymology of crafting, tarn is yarn you make out of t-shirts (T-shirt + yarn = Tarn). I've always wanted to make some and now I finally had the opportunity.

I washed my mouth out with some soap and got right on to some tarn making!



My shirt stretched over a stool I had lying around



the bringer of this shirt's demise and soon after, rebirth



almost done!



my first ball of tarn!


It was a lot of fun and really easy to make. This specific shirt wasn't ideal i think because it was seamed along the sides so that instead of having one long continuous piece there are points where it's seamed together.

In any case, I can't wait to turn it into something new and exciting. Tarn, I've decided, is a great way to reuse some of those old concert/high school history club t-shirts that you don't ever wear but don't want to part with. This way, instead of a reminder of your foolish youth, your t-shirt becomes a safety conscious pot holder, or a chic clutch.

I'm doing cartwheels at all the prospects.