Friday, October 23, 2009

Spooky!

Here's a scary (well...) Zombie that I made for Ron, the biggest Zombie fan that I know. Though he's not very frightening, he is awfully cute...the zombie that is...well, Ron too!


Saturday, October 17, 2009

Sock #1

Here is one of the socks that I'm knitting currently. That is to say, this is the first, finished one. I have the other one on the needles now and am about half way done with it. The yarn I'm using is anyones guess. It some that I've had around for well over a year and the labels are gone. The pattern is the Simple Sock from Cat Bordhi's "Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles" however I decided not to carry the ribbing down the leg and left it as a simple cuff.



In other news, I've become fairly active on Ravelry...finally. I was signed up before, but never even filled out my profile. Mostly as a way to look for patterns. So when reminded by Amanda to check it out, I decided to! So now I've got pictures of a lot of my projects, have my 'library' of books listed, and have joined a couple of 'groups.' If you'd like to find and/or 'friend' me on there, look for me as KenInMaine.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Amigurumi KNITS



In response to Dave's wish that there were more Amigurumi patterns for knitters...there are! They're gathered together in a book called Amigurumi Knits by Hansi Singh. I just picked the book up on Knit Picks for 40% off during their fall book sale. In actuality this is probably technically more of a knitted toy book than Amigurumi, which tend to be much smaller and less complex. Nevertheless, the patterns are incredible. The jackalope pattern alone is worth the price of the book. Though I haven't gotten a chance to make any yet, this is already my favorite knitting book (of the moment anyway...). I hope to delve into some of the projects soon, though I have a couple pairs of socks lined up first. So for any knitters who've been wanting to try their hand at Amigurumi, or toys in general, here's your chance!        

Sunday, October 11, 2009

A great weekend...

Just wrapping up a nice weekend off.

Yesterday Ron and I took the convertible for one last spin and got some leaf-peeping in while we were at it. It was slightly chilly, but overall, very nice. Today was spent on yardwork and getting the roof tapes on the front of the house. Last winter's snow lead to ice which lead to ice dams which lead to water in the house. So we're hoping this will take care of things. And with the potential for snow at the end of the week, we got it done just in time!

Here's another present I made for a co-worker, our beloved Dr. Lyn. I decided to surprise her on her birthday with this little guy.



Has anyone been following the innovative knitting work of Cat Bordhi? I've gotten a few of her books recently and am excited to dive into some of her patterns, especially those from her two most recent sock books. I'd be interested to hear any feedback if you've tried either.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

More critters

Because we all like to show off our work, I wanted to post a few more pictures of the Amigurumi that I've made over the past year. Two of them are the Amineko, or crocheted cat from the original Japanese pattern. I've made three of these now in different colors as presents for people. It's a fun project and while most Amigurumi are fairly rigid due to their tightly constructed gauge, I like that this one is poseable due to the long floppy appendages.




The one that I've made most recently is a seen below. He went to my good friend Karen who collects giraffes. She LOVED him which made us both very happy! He was very fun to make due to the unique way the legs are made separately and then joined together in a round to start the shaping of the body. The pattern for him can be purchased on Ravelry.


Sunday, October 4, 2009

The Toy Society

Has anyone heard of  The Toy Society?  Here is a description from their website:

"The Toy Society spreads the love throughout the streets of the world. Nothing to it really just a bunch of handmade toys looking for a nice home.

What started as a small street art project in Australia is slowly spreading around the world.

Should you come across a member of The Toy Society on your travels collect them up and take them home with you! But don't forget to let us know about it here."

I guess the premise is that you make a small toy (knit, crochet, sewn, etc...) and leave it in a public place. You attatch a sticker to it that says "Take Me Home" with The Toy Society's web address. The person who takes it is then asked to go online and post that they've picked the toy up and given in a home. It's a kind of feel-good project for you and them. I'm thinking I'll give it a try and see what happens. Anyone with me?

Friday, October 2, 2009

Amigurumi obsessed!

Well, in the time that I've been away I've ended up making a lot of amigurumi. In case you haven't yet heard of them, they are small crocheted/knitted toys. I think technically to be called amigurumi the item should be crocheted, but the term seems to be becoming less restrictive and includes knitted toys now too. Over the next couple of posts I'll share some of what I've made.

One of the first things I made was a penguin. My coworker's Mom collects penguins, so it was a nice first item and gave me some practice before moving on to the bigger (though actually not harder) cat (which you can see in a post below).



To make these I had to learn how to crochet, but that was actually an easy task. To make amis you really only need to know one stitch, a single crochet...and then how to increase and decrease. That's basically it. A few of the patterns I've seen call for a few other stitches, but they are easily learned.

Another little guy that I made was for a coworker who loves frogs. I scoured the internet in search of a nice frog pattern and couldn't find one. But what I did come across was a set of pictures for a teddy bear with a frog hat. It was really cool, but the person who posted the pictures didn't include a pattern. So I thought, what the heck, I'll try coming up with my own version by using the pictures as a guide. And this is what I came up with. Pretty cool!


Currently I'm working on some socks (for me) and a hat for another co-worker (hmmm, it seems like my co-workers are keeping me busy, doesn't it?). And I just got some of Cat Bordhi's books and am very excited to dive into some of the projects, socks and otherwise...her patterns are very interesting, new perspectives on traditional items.

For now, a good night to you all!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Testing, testing...

Is anyone still out there? Should anyone still be, since I haven't posted anything in a year! Jeez, what's wrong with me? I've been working on some fun stuff and would like to share, so I'm thinking it's time to get posting again. I hope there's someone left out there to see it! See you again very soon! Ken