December 2015 Projects - Throwback

With another term of the HPKCHC behind me, I set off to complete those intended Christmas gifts that I hadn't managed to cram into the prompts!

But I also had some orders to finish up, so...let's just say it was an exciting month for me!

The Panda and I decided we would drive up to Virginia and spend Christmas with DSCA and her family, who had one of these outstanding orders with me.  Also, Mom W. (DSCA's mother and a good friend to all of us) had recently been diagnosed with cancer and had just started chemo, so we wanted to distract the family by being around to play games, watch movies, and just chill.

Mom W. had ordered a few gifts:

A kerbal from the game Kerbal Space Program, for Tir.

Daring Do; a pony made using Rainbow Dash's pattern

and part of Dr. Whooves pattern, for a great-niece.

And of course I wanted to make gifts for DSCA's family, too. (And not just to save money, but because it's rare that I get to fulfill crochet wishes without tons of guesswork.)  

A rocket ship to go with Tir's kerbal.

Bob Kerman is looking for science!

 

A sunflower hat and shawl set for Mom W.

DSCA's newsboy cap; she says she's gotten so many compliments!
(This was not DSCA's real gift, though...it was a decoy!
More on that in February's post, when the gals got together.)

And then of course I needed things to give to the Panda (other than the gigantic turtle) but he said all he wanted was a cover for his new Kindle:

 

This was a chance to play around with new stitches!

Oh, and lest I forget, I also wanted to make a little something for everybody in my office:

And then I had commissions to drop off, all before the district went on break for the Christmas holiday:

 

And finally, right after Christmas I had two outstanding Facebook Art Trades for 2015 to complete before the new year:

This is a moss stitch cowl/infinity scarf.

I want to release it as a free pattern sometime next year!

I should also release a pattern for this guy, since there are

no free Eeyore patterns; ridiculous!

If you're on Ravelry, my project notes are pretty good.

Looking forward to a new year of crafting, and I hope you are, too!  

Craft on!

August 2015 Projects - Throwback

August was another crazy month, but this time for a real life reason: my chica bonita April moved back from China!  She moved in with me and the Panda and began looking for all the things we Americans use to live: a car, a job, a canal, Panama...wait.

She'd sort of missed all of the previous My Little Pony madness, and I wasn't about to let that persist.  The Nerdy Knitter has a 10th Doctor Whooves pattern, and I got it for free during a buy 2 get 1 sale:

April also takes great photos with her tablet.  I just collage.

Some problems with this pattern include:

• uneven back legs; I added stitches to compensate
• lack of pictures for mane and tail construction
• lack of pictures for white collar construction

The eyes and cutie mark were iron-on patches (man, I love that trick!), and his little necktie/collar can be removed so he can be dressed up any way you want (like with a 4th Doctor scarf, let's say).

We then decided to hold a cutie mark ceremony in September when the 4 of us were together (DSCA, Deevius, and April/MerrySioux).

Other projects included a little bunny rabbit:

Free pattern, modified by me to make the arms and legs easier to attach.

A lot of my Not-Quite-First-Year (NQFY) friends sorted into Ravenclaw for the first term, and a couple more have made their way over to Ravenclaw since then.  We have a separate group on Ravelry that we chat in between terms, and one of the Ravenclaws started up a Top Secret project for one of the moderators over in The Tower (Ravenclaw's common room).

Her name is LASH and she was having another baby, but no shower.  The gals in Ravenclaw decided to go through her "baby favorites" tab on Ravelry and pick out projects to make and send to her.  It was really  nifty!  Four girls would agree to do one cardigan, so one girl would get the yarn, start it, leave it on her knitting needles, and then ship it to the next person.  The second and third person would then knit another section and send it on.  The fourth person was in charge of sending the finished project to LASH's friend and co-conspirator, who was putting the gift basket together, and then mailing the needles back to the first person.

It was completely, mind-blowingly intricate and fun!

As a crocheter, though, there were no patterns bookmarked that I could make.  So I found a bunny that LASH had wanted, and searched around for a crochet alternative.  LASH loved it!  She was surprised by everything!

I also learned a new craft: knitting stitch marker making!  

It's really just jewelry-making in disguise...

I gifted these to someone as a prize over in another knitting/crocheting forum; she loved them!  I've made a few more sets since then...really, only a few...

And finally, the butterflies.

These poor things are meant for a dear friend across the pond in the UK.  Her name is Piglottie, and we were thick as thieves during the spring term of HPKCHC.  Unfortunately, her mother was diagnosed with cancer and life got very complicated for Piglottie, and I've rarely heard from her.  We were making butterflies to send over, and of course I totally forgot to send mine.  I now have 4 and still they wait.  I had wanted to make something special for Piglottie, but haven't been able to.

In good time, I suppose.  All in good time.

Commissions Complete: My Little Ponies

A bit of a throwback, but still worthy of being shared...

I had a girlfriend of mine with three daughters ask me way early in 2015 if I knew how to do My Little Pony plushies.

Well, the answer (at first) was no.

Then I broke down and bought a pattern pack for the Mane 6 (the six main characters) from the Nerdy Knitter.

First I tried (as was previously posted) Rainbow Dash.  That quickly led to starting the first Twilight Sparkle, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out her mane at first.

So, I took a step back.  (Sort of.)

And then I informed said girlfriend that "Yes!  I have done the pony thing!"

(Word to the wise: don't ever volunteer when you haven't actually figured the whole pattern out first.)

Her little girls' favorite ponies are Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Shining Armor.

Right.  Noooooo problem.  Me and my big mouth.

I started with Rarity.

The one issue: not placing her neck higher so her head isn't down.

For the first try, I did eyes painted on wax paper and then glued to sewn-on felt bases.  I then painted on her eyelashes.  The cutie marks are felt, hand-embroidered.  Her mane and tail also have pipe cleaners attached inside, to help them curl.

 

For my next trick, I went on to try Twilight Sparkle again, this time with slightly more accurate colors.  (And of course, I didn't know it at the time, but Twilight has two forms: unicorn or alicorn.)

I had a lot of trouble with this pattern.  My main issue: her tail and mane.

This time, I got a little more crazy and instead of using waxed paper (which allowed me to trace Rarity's eyes directly from a print-out), I painted Twilight's eyes right onto the felt base with puffy paint.  I then vowed never to put that kind of pressure on myself again.

I cut the pink part of her cutie mark out of felt and sewed it on.  I then painted the white bits with puffy paint.

The great problem with Twilight's mane and tail as they're written in the Nerdy Knitter pattern is that there are no pictures to help you assemble them.

It's really very terrible, and for the price of the pattern, I expected better.  It ended up taking me three Twilight Sparkles to master the exact assembly of her mane and tail parts, and what I did does not follow the pattern, enough so that I'm tempted to release my own tutorial to help newbies out!

(Yes, this is a rant.  It's just about over.)

The last pony was Shining Armor, who has his own separate pattern for sale:

Main issue:  his tail.

Thanks to a helpful tip over in the Harry Potter challenge, I switched to printing out Shining Armor's eyes and cutie marks on white, iron-on twill patches (available at any Wal-Mart).  There followed a sizing and comparing process:

 

Which was well-worth the effort.  I still paint 'eye-liner' and the eyelashes on the girl ponies with puffy paint, but the exact science of accurate cutie marks is irreplaceable.  

The one thing Shining Armor taught me, however, is what happens to yarn when you scorch it.  

(Hint: It's not good.)

I didn't notice that my iron had shut itself off after an extended pause, and begun to cool.  Then when his eye wouldn't stick, I thought I just had to hold the iron down longer.  This resulted in a hard, brown crispy patch of yarn around his left eye.  I was nearly devastated.  

I say 'nearly' because I had the bright idea to paint over the patch with white paint so it would be less noticeable.  Well, I for sure notice.  But it was an experiment, as well as a gift that would not be too highly-scrutinized.

Finally, pictures of the three together:

So I went on my merry way, shared a few photos around on the social medias, and in general went back to Minecraft stuff.

Then I got a follow-up order for another Twilight Sparkle and my very first Fluttershy.

Apparently I wasn't done with perfecting Twilight's mane and tail assembly.

Fluttershy was relatively simple; all the base pony bodies are the same, barring a unicorn horn or pegasus wings.  (Once you get past the terrible neck directions - that's another rant.)

The issue:  mane and tail, again.

I actually went to the forum help group for the patterns on Ravelry and asked about her mane; I couldn't get it to form the curly shape of Fluttershy's mane as seen in the show.  I was told to add pipe cleaners (which is nowhere in the directions).  I still feel only marginally successful.  

In addition, her tail was too tall and it raises her back legs off of the ground.  I vowed in my next go-around with this pattern to remove some rows (in the repeated rows, not any of the shaping rows) to see if that would help.

Her eyes and cutie mark are 100% ironed on; the eyelashes in this case were colored at the edges with Sharpie before ironing them on so that the white of the patches wouldn't show on the edges.  You have to be very careful, however; the twill fabric likes to drink marker, and the color bleeds.

 

On to the second (technically third, but second ever completed) Twilight Sparkle.

I can safely say I am 98% satisfied with this one.

The 2% of dissatisfaction is my fault; I didn't change my printer settings back to "Best" when printing her cutie mark, so the pink is not dark enough.  My bad.

But her bangs stay down, her mane is all aligned, and wonder of wonders!  Her tail has great curvature.

 

The guy who ordered them was very happy, and I considered it a win!

This of course is not the last of my pony adventures; oh no!  But that's all I have time to share today.

Craft on!

HPKCHC : June Classes (S15)

Good morning, all!  

It was a terrifically busy month for me, as I participated not only in the SFAC (previously posted here), but also the TLT (the Doctor Who challenge), and of course the HPKCHC.

For those of you just joining us, the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup is a fiber-crafting challenge game primarily for crocheters, dyers, knitters, and spinners.

I was able to turn in six classes and Detention this month:

Charms:  For your assignment this month you are to craft something that is light and airy.

From a free pattern on Ravelry, Butterfly Grace.

Professors, nothing is quite so light and airy as a butterfly. Well, I was out on a walk towards Hagrid’s when I spotted something colorful down by the lake. Sometimes if you can bring an interesting specimen to the CoMC professors, they might give you a bonus point or two…and of course I love bonus points! So I took out my wand and cast the nettius totalum spell in order to snare one or two of whatever it was I saw.

As I got closer, I saw that it wasn’t just a couple of creatures, it was one of every color! They were prismatic papillons, so named because they were first discovered by a French wizard by the name of Claude Montiderrie. I knew then that I didn’t want to catch them at all, since they are extremely rare and fragile magical creatures. So instead I used an image capture charm and decided to share the pictures here with you!

Thank you for taking the time to read my lengthy parchment, professors. Have a colorful day!

Care of Magical Creatures: “Breed” two projects together to make a new one! Let your creativity loose and master breeding. Then tell us all about your experience. This is extra credit stuff, this is. Generous bonus points for successfully breeding two different projects into a new one.

Professors, before I became a first-year student at Hogwarts, I delighted in many various and sundry other crafts, particularly to please my loving husband. He is a Muggle, and has a large collection of video games, most of which I know nothing about. For Christmas a few years ago, I crafted him a lovely sweatshirt featuring the distinct white and red striped pattern on the right sleeve only.

It wasn’t until a year or two later that I found an Etsy listing with a similar pattern (what will these Muggles and their ‘winter-net’ come up with next!). I immediately knew that I wanted to try and make something similar…but more accurate (and of course with magical properties of protection).

Thus I located the Kisses Fingerless Mitts pattern, and set out to modify it not only to include the same distinctive striping, but to add gussets to fit it to my own arms, and also to provide additional magical protection from the cold.

I can safely declare my breeding experiment a success! I hope you are as pleased with the results as I am!

 Shout out to my Mass Effect peeps!

Defense Against the Dark Arts: “Students,” Professor kims announces, “your assignment is to craft an object based on something you saw inside Borgin and Burkes. It may be a literal interpretation such as spinning a replica of a hangman’s rope or crocheting curtains similar to those from Tom Riddle’s boyhood home. But you may also craft something in the spirit of the artifact mimicking the color, texture, or shape.”

When I was poking about in the back of the store, professors, I came across a section of neatly-displayed table decorations, as if for a party. The tiny card with the linens indicated that these might be ‘cursed Muggle objects’--something the Ministry of Magic takes very seriously.

In particular, there was a set of coasters, and they appeared to be watching me from beneath the crystal stemware perched on top of them. I picked up one of the goblets to get a better look at the white, eye-like decorations that resembled half-moons (or half-closed eyes) and suddenly I found myself becoming very apathetic.

I didn’t care about the field trip anymore. I was unimpressed by the other things in the store, or even the thought of stopping by Fortescue’s later. I simply didn’t care.

It wasn’t until we returned to Hogwarts that the effects of the spell seemed to fade and I became myself again. I know because they were serving tuna for lunch and you haven’t seen me get excited until you’ve seen me around tuna fish. (No cat jokes, please, professors.)

Thus, for my homework I have chosen to represent the set of four table coasters as I saw them, and I now include a hearty warning for those that might drink from the glasses perched upon them. I believe they will cause (from left to right): shock, anger, apathy, and doubt.

Thank you for your time!

Divination:  Craft a representation of the Tarot Star card. You may depict the literal images you see in the card: the star, water or the woman, or you may interpret the meaning of the card: renewal, the bounty of spring, health and healing.

Professors, I have found that one of the equalizers between Muggles and the wizarding community is the need for sleep and revival of one’s energy. While there are spells that allow wizards and witches to stay awake longer, ultimately all will succumb to the need for sleep eventually.

 To that end, I have crafted upon request for a friend who attends Durmstrang a magical, restorative mask. While Durmstrang is (I’m sure) another wonderful magic school, they have a much more grueling physical aspect to their classes, and as a first year himself, he often finds himself in need of restorative slumber in order to renew his energy and be ready for his classes the next day.

Thank you for your time, professors!

Potions:  Your homework for this month is to study the effects of this potion by crafting something relaxing or soothing, or something to keep you sane.

Professors, this month I have been working hard to finish a trio of three ponies to send to my fairy goddaughters:

I didn’t meet my deadline for the purple pony on the end, and this month I worked very hard to start and finish the larger, white unicorn in the middle. With the help of Lepida (and my color printer) I was able to keep myself sane by using a new way to attach eyes and cutie marks to these pony models. I’m so happy (and now so relaxed because everything is done!) and now I will be able to rest and recoup a little bit before the new month begins!

(In all seriousness, I now only have 2 WIPs left; at the beginning of the term I must have had at least 8!)

If you’ll excuse me, I think I hear the blanket fort in the Den calling me…I’m officially taking the next two days off from crafting!

Transfiguration:  Professor Loneilteaches smiles and says, “For this month’s homework, we are asking you to transform your crafting self by practicing a new craft or technique or one that is less familiar to you.”

Professors, I have always admired universal instructions for wizarding things: potions, wandwork, etc. I’ve wished that I was able to understand the charts and graphs with relative ease.

This month, I chose to try my hand at interpreting a charted stitch guide and expand it into a brand new book cover, to protect my journal. I am very pleased with the results, and I even showed my appreciation by enchanting a Stardust Butterfly to decorate the cover.

Thank you for your time, professors!

Detention:  Hufflepuff was challenged to yarn-bomb again on June 1st, so a hexipuff was all I had time to do:

July promises to be even crazier than May and June put together!  I need to:

• Finish my Potions OWL (King PauseUnpause plushie)
• Finish my Order of the Phoenix Mission (4 stuffed monkeys)
• Craft Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle (for a commission due in August)
• Try to keep my head on straight!

This is the final push to the end of the HPKCHC term, and I want to make it a good one.  Craft on!

HPKCHC : May Classes (S15)

Good morning fellow badgers, eagles, snakes, and lions!

Now that I've wrapped up my first month in the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup as a sorted student, I thought I would share the classes I turned in:

Care of Magical Creatures

The prompt:  Craft something based on thestrals or acromantulas.

Professors, in my study of thestrals this month, I came across another winged species of horse known as the alicorn. In particular, this mythical creature has made a resurgence in Muggle media, and I have a few close friends that are enamored by this particular animal.

Though they are not skeletal like thestrals, alicorns do possess wings with which to fly. They are also horse-like in appearance, but have feathered wings instead of leathery, as well as an additional protruding horn.

Still, these distant relations to thestrals were quite fascinating to study, and I’m glad I took the time to look them up in the thestral footnotes.

Thank you for your time, professors!



Charms

The prompt: Craft something reminiscent of water, or to protect from water.

Professors, our study of the aguamenti spell has caused me to recall all the wonderful trips I had made to the ocean with friends and family over the years. I’ve always been charmed by the many naturally-beautiful hues of the rolling ocean waves, and decided that my attempt at reproducing the aguamenti spell must reflect those delicious, aqueous colors.

Thus, I have developed a pattern and crafted a trio of tiny hexi vials that have captured the many-layered hues of the ocean. I hope to share my new pattern with the Hogwarts school library soon! One of these vials is for me, and another I am trading with karagenknight as fulfillment for one of her house badges! The other is for another friend I met along the NQFY course this past term.

Thank you for considering my homework, professors. What an exciting (and useful!) way to share my love of the seaside with new friends.



Defense Against the Dark Arts

The prompt:  Craft something that has a final 'hardening' or 'setting' step.

Professors, I received a charming bracelet in the mail, but I looked at the cheap Muggle band to which the focal bead was attached and knew I could use a fortify spell to turn the simple blue string into three-ply hemp. Additionally, I applied some of Mendigann’s Magical Glue to the frayed knots in order to set them into shape and harden them against continual usage. Thank you for your time!



Divination

The prompt:  Use two colors to create one object.

VelvetKey pauses hesitantly by the telescopes, clearly unsure what she should be doing. She listens carefully to the professors before daring to look through the eyepiece of the nearest telescope. After several long minutes and more than a few gasps of delight at the celestial bodies overhead, the first-year Hufflepuff student settles down to craft up a report.

Professors, for my first Divination lesson, I was fortunate enough to find the Butterfly Nebula, which was high in the sky for the time of night. Not far away, I saw a very bright formation of stars, which I later searched out using the “winter-net” (a Muggle invention, but very useful; especially for streaming episodes of Doctor Who). The formation was actually an asterism known as the Summer Triangle. The color of the nebula and the name of the asterism evoked a desire to make a summer wrap for a friend--she is a coastal sea elf, and loves cool, natural colors. I do beg for your secrecy, professors--it is a surprise gift for our meeting at the end of the month!



History of Magic

The prompt: Craft something that offers a form of protection, even if it won't last.

Professors, many strange and unusual creatures have only one specific environment in which they can survive naturally. Merpeople, for example, must have water to breathe. It made me wonder: could some of these unique alien and magical creatures survive if they had some sort of manufactured protection, such as a suit with water inside?

In my research on the Muggle “winter-net” I found a most interesting documentary, filmed right here the UK. It is called Doctor Who, and even the Muggles seem to believe it. I do doubt some of the practical methods at work in this documentary (after all, Muggles do seem to enjoy a plethora of special effects), but in particular there is one alien race that uses suits to protect themselves in order to move through the galaxy as we do: the Daleks.

I decided to try my hand at reproducing one of these protective casings, and then if successful gift it to a friend in the Ministry of Magic’s Creature Containment division for use and study. I hope that this project meets with your approval, professors!



Muggle Studies

The prompt: Craft something based on a postage stamp (provide picture of stamp).

Good evening, professors! I was very intrigued by your class prompt and immediately went to do some research on (laughably enough) one of those Muggle “winter-net” devices. (I think that’s what they’re called.)

A very helpful incantation known as Google helped me to discover this set of vintage postage stamps:

Which I thought were very simple and lovely. I immediately set about trying to reproduce that style of tree…unfortunately, I’m only a first-year student and…well…I think I shrunk it?

Potions

The prompt: Craft something based on potion ingredients.

Professors, in reading the ingredient list for this potion, I was struck by how many potion ingredients are plant-based. In the interest of finding renewable resources for gathering these ingredients, I have discovered an adorable living sapling that willingly surrenders it’s extra leaves and stray roots for magical use. As it grows, I expect that we might yet discover many new uses for these provided resources, and look forward to the challenge. Here is the little sapling, posed with some of my other potion ingredients.



Transfiguration

The prompt: Craft something in an unusual color (for you or for that something).

Hello professors! I have long been fascinated by the recurring cycles of Muggle fashions and trends throughout their history. As a half-Muggle myself, I recalled with some laughter the tales of my wizarding father and his strange, enchanted VW van. The charm was rather harmless; it changed the outside of the van to whimsical colors and designs whenever the weather would change. My father would drive up and down the west coast, his surfboard strapped to the top of his van…searching for the perfect waves and the perfect girl. For all his Muggle eccentricities, he did meet my mother who was a native of California. She loved art, and his van was no exception. I found a similar representation of his van here:

And thought a simpler, toned down version might be ideal for this assignment. Thus, I charmed my replica to be an unexpected simple, calming blue, better to blend in with the Muggle vehicles of today, and not the days when my parents were cruising up and down the beaches, getting into all kinds of trouble.

I hope you accept my homework, professors. Thank you!

Detention

I’m joining the Hufflepuff yarn bomb here in Detention!

After finicking about with this ridiculous (and might I add next-to-super-unhelpful pattern) hat, I am pleased to show it is finished.

Of course, it’s soft nature is perfect for keeping the noggin warm in all sorts of inclement missions--I mean,weather. Additionally, I invented and added padded bands to encircle the cranium, providing extra armor in order to deflect offensive spells while out in a miss--weather. Of course I meant weather.

Additionally, I will be developing a separate beard that may or may not be able to optionally attach inside the helm for added concealment and costuming for use during missio--confound it, weather!

Ahem.

So as you can see, professors, there are quite a lot of uses for this particular item. And I am so glad it is finished!

Yes, it was a busy, busy month for classes!  Next time, I'll talk a little bit more about Puffopoly, the Hufflepuff game where turning in classes and etc. gets you moves around a Monopoly-like board.

Craft on!