Category: crochet
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a secret xmas gift
If I see you in person, you might’ve heard me talk about this project – but since my handsome fella reads my Twitter and Facebook, and sometimes Flickr and this here blog, I couldn’t really talk about it online at all!
I saw this pattern ages ago, and since we’re both big fans of Futurama I decided I just had to make one for Christmas.
Presenting…Bender Bending Rodriguez!
I super-sized him by using Berroco Vintage Chunky, though I did have to go down to a 3.25mm hook – apparently I crochet pretty loosely! The fabric is really nice and solid though, which is what I was going for. I’m not a big crocheter but I do know my way around pretty well, and I found the pattern pretty easy to follow despite the lack of actual instructions!
I made a pile of pieces.
I also decided to make a wire armature for inside him, so that the arms and legs would be posable – it didn’t turn out THAT amazing, but it’s pretty good for my first one! I made a skeleton out of thick beading wire, then wrapped it with some fiberfill and masking tape.
I cut circles of cardboard and laminated them with packing tape, and also taped down some little bags of decorative floral sand to make weights for the bottom of the feet.
He looked a little weird with a finished body but no arms or legs!
I crocheted the footcups and weighted them, then wrapped the wire legs in roving before sewing the top of the legs to the body. Pretty much the same thing with the arms. A bit of embroidery for his door, and the segments of his arms and legs, and I was pretty much done! Not that it wasn’t a lot of work – it was. But the end result was totally worth it!
He got into a lot of trouble around my apartment. I think he discovered the whisky shelf.
He can be pretty helpful though!
And he dressed up really nicely for Christmas!
And the reaction when the boyfriend opened his present? Amazing. He had no idea! Of course, he was appropriately impressed by my mad crafting skills. I’m a little impressed with myself!
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a hexagon blanket, for a wedding
A long time ago, I bought a whole whack* of Noro Silk Garden Sock in two different colourways, both neutrals – one in black/brown/tan, and one in tan/cream/white. I set about making a blanket. I didn’t really work on it very often, just went on jags once in awhile. I took the hexes travelling with me to more than one place – Rhinebeck, TNNA in California, and the UK!
(Trafalgar Square!)
Finally in June the yarn was all used up. I set about putting the hexes into their order for the blanket that I’d decided would be for some very good friends who were getting married at the beginning of July.
I sorted them into piles by shade, then laid them out. The blanket wasn’t quite as big as I’d hoped, but it looked like a great size for the couch.
I started with the darkest in one corner, then moved across to the lightest in the opposite corner, diagonally.
It was a classic race to the finish! There was crocheting the hexes into strips, then the strips into a square; crocheting a border around the whole thing and then about 500 ends to weave in, plus it needed a good blocking. So you know what that means? No photos of the finished blanket! D’oh! I laid it out to dry the night before the wedding, packed it up the next afternoon and off it went. I was very pleased with it.
I’ll have to ask Vivek and Gina to send me some photos of it in its new home.
Meanwhile, it all begins again….
*edited to add! In this case, a whack means 8 skeins (4 of each), plus an extra skein of Tanis sock yarn to put it together with : )