In a strange turn of events, I've finally finished my Fugly Granny Square blanket. I finished it earlier than intended, because I had 3 more skeins of yarn I wanted to add to it, but I felt that it really was just big enough. blankets of yarn don't need to be HUGE and, besides, it's much easier to drag it around the house with me as it is :D

That's all for now. A quick, short and to the point post.

Mukluk Slippers Pattern *Pictures Coming Soon*

I finally finished my Mukluk slippers. It ended up turning into such a labor of love for me. But I still think that it didn't take me horrendously long considering I started them this weekend. And, as promised, I took highly detailed notes in order to supply a pattern.

REMINDER: This pattern is sized for women's size 10 feet. An easy way to alter the pattern to fit is to consistently try it on as you are crocheting the front of the slipper.

Items Needed:
+2 skeins of Simply Soft yarn (I used black and pale blue, for high contrast since the pair I envy is off white and black)
+Size K or L crochet hook
+Pom-pom maker
+Slipper bottoms
+Scissors
+Needle and thread OR heavy duty fabric glue

Holding two strands of yarn together, chain 2
Make 6 hdc in 1st ch.
join, chain 2 and make 2 hdc in each chain around (12 sts)
Chain 2, 1 hdc in each stitch around
Chain 2, 2 hdc in each stitch around (24 sts)
Chain 2, 1 hdc in each stitch around for 12 rounds (or until front of slipper is long enough for you. You will want to start the heel when the working round reaches the top of your foot where your ankle joins it)
Make 1 hdc in the next 19 sts (you want about 4 or 5 stitches unworked), chain 2, turn
Skip the first stitch, hdc in next and each st and continue working only these 19 stitches in this manner (missing first stitch on each row) for 8 rows. Or until it fits snugly behind your heel
With right sides together, use a slip stitch to seam the back of the heel shut (to avoid attaching new yarn, I slip stitched down one side of the seam and then back up the other side.)
Make 25 hdc sts around opening, join, chain 2.
Work 6 rounds and on next round, 2hdc in first stitch, 1 hdc in each of next 23 stitches. 2 hdc in last stitch of round. (27 sts)
Next round: 1 hdc in each stitch
next round: 2 hdc in first stitch, 1 hdc in each of next 25 stitches, 2 hdc in last stitch. (29 sts)
Switch directions *optional* and Continue working for 7 more rounds.
On following round, 2hdc in first stitch, 1 hdc in each of next 13 sts, 2hdc in next stitch, 1 hdc in next 13 and 2hdc in last stitch. (32sts)
switch directions again and work 4 more rounds
On next round, *1hdc in 2 sts, chain 2 and skip next stitch* repeat to end
On next round, work 1hdc in each stitch and 1hdc in the chain space.
Work one more row, hdc in each stitch
Fasten off and make 2nd slipper.
Weave in all loose ends of yarn.

After both slippers have been made, make an iCord for each slipper using the method found here or any method you prefer. For my iCords, I used one double strand of blue and one double strand of black to make each cord. My cords were roughly 15 to 18 inches long (I didn't measure them). Make sure you leave a long tail at each end of the cords

After the cord has been made, create 4 pom-poms to attach to each end of the iCords (one pom-pom per cord end). In keeping with the blue and black combo, I made my pom-poms multicolored. I made them in three layers and two of them are blue with two black stripes and two of them are black with two blue stripes (basically: first layer blue, 2nd layer black, last layer blue for the blue ones and first layer black, 2nd layer blue and last layer black for the black ones). You can make your pom-poms however you like to match the slippers.

After everything has been made, take the slipper bottoms (Mine came from a pair of mukluk-esque slipper socks) and attach them to the bottom of the slippers. I used Aleene's Platinum Bond fabric glue because I didn't have any large enough hand sewing needles. You can also stitch the bottoms on. I do have plans to do at least a decorative blue stitch in yarn where the slipper and bottom meet, but I haven't yet.

After the slipper has been attached to the bottom, thread the iCord through the openings in the top of the boot, leaving the loose ends hanging out on one side of each slipper. This is a bit harder for me to describe than I thought. If it's confusing, the pictures will help once I get them taken.

Attach the pom-poms to the ends of the iCord, and then tie the cord into a bow.

And that's basically all there is to it.

Again, Pictures coming soon!

New Logo On The Way?

Indeed! I have started working on a new logo for this page and I am super excited about it. I'm not going to divulge all the details just yet but let me just say that I am truly, truly excited to get something else besides that mess up there *points to top of blog*.

I was inspired by a download the other day. Yep, a download. See, I was reading Lifehacker and there was a post about this great open source illustrator-like program called Inkscape so I downloaded it and am giving it a whirl. So far it is working out wonderfully.

I'm also going to use it to create some awesome derby inspired things to sell. I may have to create a secondary CafePress store to sell just those things. I think I'll also be putting the KOTLD logo onto a shirt and such when I'm done with it.

Can't wait until I'm finished with it!

Mukluk Redux

I started working on making my crochet (yep it won) mukluk slippers this weekend. I was uncertain for quite some time about just what pattern I wanted to use, what stitch I'd want to use and what craft as well. I was waffling between knitting a simple fair isle pattern or crocheting in two colors. But it all got decided when I found a pattern on Crafster for Crochet Mary Jane Slippers and liked the simplicity of the pattern, the shape of the foot on the pattern and the fact that it would work up very quickly. It uses two strands of worsted weight yarn (I decided to hold a black and a pale blue strand together which is kind of like cheating to get two colors, but I like it very much) and the pattern calls for a size L hook.

Unfortunately, even with all 82 crochet hooks, I don't seem to have a size L. I checked my Ravelry hook chart, and even though it told me that I did NOT have one, I still dug through all my hooks anyways. So I settled for using a size K hook.

I also altered the pattern a LOT from the original pattern while creating my slipper. Part of the alteration was due to me not paying attention (that happens more than you could imagine) and the other part was due to not wanting a pair of mary jane style slippers but wanting mukluk slippers.

I'm working the first slipper and thusly still working out the pattern for the leg of the slipper, but once I have that all worked out I will be putting up a pattern. The pattern WILL be for a foot size 10 in womens, but it is incredibly easy to alter the pattern to suit if you try the slipper on while making it (which is what I did). I'll give resizing the pattern a go, but will need people to test the pattern, I'm guessing. I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out even if I've never resized a pattern before. But I'm looking forward to finishing them and as soon as I do, I'll throw my pattern up on here and Ravelry.

The Tale Of The Jammer Hat - Part 3 - The End Is Near

I have completely finished knitting Bone's jammer hat. And while putzing around on Ravelry today (after finding the Hard-Hitting Knitters group yay derby & knitting!), I browsed through all the shared patterns and found out that there is, indeed, a jammer hat pattern in Knock Down Knits. I wish I knew that beforehand, because then I wouldn't have had to tweak and alter a chart and figure out the pattern. BUT that's all good because now that I know this, I'm going to buy said book and knit one of THOSE jammer hats.

All that is left is to work in the yarn ends and tighten up some of the stitches around the stars borders. Then it will be complete and ready for wear. Yes, yes, I know I should attempt SOME form of blocking, but I've been working on this since before Christmas. And the anticipation is starting to wear Bone down I think.

I'm not sure what I'm going to make next, however. I may end up doing my super secret project of greatness. Or I may cast on a new sweater (Top Down Raglan style) since I just got a lovely box of yarn from Joann.com the other day. OK it's nothing fancy because I'm a huge fan of acrylic, but I got lots of yarn for projects I have in mind and one of them is a pair of leg warmers (I have black yarn and purple yarn galore to pick from now) and another is a Freddy Krueger style sweater that I just bought yarn for. All I know is that I need something simple to start before the first Highland Park Stitch n' Bitch next Thursday night at Wolfe's apartment.

See, I've offered myself up as a 'teacher' to help those who do not know how to knit learn how to do so. So I want something that will allow me to show them how to make the stitches as well as be easy for them to see while I'm knitting with it. I'm thinking I need to pick up a big, chunky, light colored yarn and make myself a big, chunky scarf of something. I'll have to do that at some point before next Wednesday. I also offered to bring my ridiculously large collection of knitting needles over in case anyone is lacking in supplies.

I'm hoping that things go well with the Stitch n' Bitch because that would be great to have a place to go knit and such. Of course, the Thursday night date would have to change if I want to keep doing it after school starts back up. That is, of course, unless the group meets until 9 or 10 at night, in which case I could easily go there after my Bio lecture. But I'm getting a little ahead of the game here I think.

Well, here's hoping I get less lazy and finish this damn jammer hat this weekend. Huzzah!

Cause I Need More Needles??

OK so when I was first starting to knit, I found a tutorial online for making your own wooden knitting needles. I was ecstatic because all I had were a few cheapo pairs of needles from the craft store and my interchangeable circular kit. I immediately ran out to the various large chain hardware stores in my area and purchased as many wooden dowels as I could find. And yes, I brought my trusted needle gauge along with me to ensure that I had a nice variety of sizes.

The best part about buying the dowels from the big chain hardware stores is that they tend to have ridiculously long dowels, so you can usually get at least two pairs of needles per dowel if you like your needles exquisitely ridiculously long, like I do

Making the needles from dowels turned out to be one of the easiest things ever and I cursed myself for ever buying needles.

When making needles from dowels: First one needs to measure and mark the dowel to the length of needle you want. Everytime I made needles, I measured the entire length and then divided that by four. I then measured along the dowel and marked each spot where it would be cut.

Next, you need to cut the dowel. In situations like this, it helps to have a guy with power tools hanging around, especially if they have a Sawzall. Otherwise, it's helpful to have your own Sawzall, know how to use it, and be confident when using it. I found the easiest way to cut the dowel down was to cut it in half in the middle and then cut each end in half.

Once your needles are cut down to size, you need to then sharpen one end with a pencil sharpener. I had an easier time doing this by first starting the point off with a nice hand sharpener and then quickly running it in an electric sharpener (provided it fits!) to make the point more uniform. One can always correct a wonky point with sanding, tho. But it's harder to get the point just right when making the larger needles.

After sharpening comes the sanding. You start with a higher grit sand paper and then work your way down to really fine sand paper. After sand paper, you need to rub the needle with wax paper. This helps to give it a nice, smooth finish and fills in any little spots on the needle that would otherwise snag the yarn.

After you're done waxing, you can then glue something to the top of the needle (button, piece of sea glass, a little trinket, a bead, or something made out of polymer clay) and be done with the project, or you can paint them and seal them. I painted mine, but when I did I only painted the top halves of them so that the paint wouldn't bunk up my knitting.

See? Extremely easy. My friend Wolfe wants to start up a knitting group, and I think I might propose that project to those who decide they really enjoy knitting. Like, it could be a project we do in lieu of a knitting night. But it will be totally fun anyways :)

But anyway, the dowel needles are by far the easiest and cheapest method for procuring needles when you are a beginning knitter. But I just stumbled upon a tutorial for making needles out of resin. Using straws. And embedding items such as glitter, gold leaf, powdered minerals and yarn in the needles! Holy jeebs! The main post is here and the tutorial is on this page and is the second one down from the top.

What a completely brilliant idea. It is fairly affordable as far as crafts go, too, since one just needs to snag straws from a fast food establishment in order to create the 'mold'. The only things of notable expense are the dremmel and the resin supplies. But how cool are they? I think they are super beautiful and, if given the right amount of care and attention to the steps would produce lovely needles. I'm personally a big fan of the ones she made with yarn embedded into the resin. They look so neat!

EDIT: And to prove that the last thing in the world I need is more knitting needles.....I went to my list of needles on my Ravelry profile today (1/10/09) and counted all the needles. I have, roughly, 138 pairs of knitting needles, which includes circulars, DPNs and straight needles. And a fun bonus: I own about 82 crochet hooks. The reason for so many? My gramma gave me all of her old knitting and crochet supplies when she gave it up for good (due to arthritis and eyesight). Yep, needles and hooks are not a necessity for me at this point, thanks gramma!

Leg Warmers

I need new leg warmers. Yep. Ones that aren't flared as much as a pair I made out of sweatshirt sleeves.

I have leg warmers, though. I have leopard print ones and skully ones. I also have black and white striped ones. But I want some solid colored ones and in lieu of purchasing them I want to make some because I want to have them be just so.

You see, I went roller skating last night at Kendall Park with Bone. It was super fun but super exhausting cause I hadn't been in so damn long. I also ended up puking as a result. Not from the physical activity, mind you, but from the inhaler I used before I started. I don't really have asthma, but I do sometimes get afflicted by sports induced asthma. Yea I know it's ultra stupid that I smoke. Genius that I am. Ha. So my mom gave me a new inhaler, Proventil HFA, and I used it last night.

I'm giving it back to her today because it made me throw up. Or, at least, that's my best guess as to the cause of the puking. I was otherwise fine before we went skating, I didn't eat anything suspect as far as leftovers go, and I didn't eat a lot during the day. But while skating, I was sipping some water to rehydrate myself since I sweat like a fat, hairy man and I started feeling a little icky. I figured it would pass and for the most part it did while we were at the rink. Then we were heading home and we decided to stop for a drink at the Court Tavern since we hadn't been there in ages (not since the zombie crawl), but then I started feeling icky again on the way there and while we were there. We managed to get home just fine before I puked so I was grateful that I was able to do that in the comfort of our bathroom and not out on the street somewhere. I think the inhaler made me feel bad since that is a side effect of it. So my mom's getting her inhaler back.

But yes, while we were skating, I was wearing leg warmers, black and white striped ones. And I want a pair that is similar in shape to them only plain colors. So I can wear them more readily with my skates. One pair of my skates has blue flames on them and the other pair is leopard print.

I think I'm gunna be plotting out a pair soon enough. But not before I'm done with the hat or my mukluk slippers.

My Love Knows No Bound

Can I just say that I fucking LOVE crochet?? Don't get me wrong, knitting is and always will be my main love in the world of crafts followed closely by sewing, but crochet is fucking amazing.

I just made a dog sweater in two days. Now, granted, I'm sure I could have knitted one in an equal amount of time, but with all the alterations I made on the fly while I created this sweater I would have had a lot of frogging to do had I knitted it. That's one of the things that I love about crochet over knitting. Like, with this dog sweater, I followed the pattern for the leg holes and they were just too huge for my FLB. With knitting, I probably could have knitted a couple of little swatches and sewn them in place. Or picked up stitches on one end of the leg hole and then sewn it down once it was all knitted up. But with crochet, I just chained some stitches and crocheted three rows of DC stitches, securing each row with a slip stitch and that was it. Done.

I also love that I have the ability to crochet pieces onto things. Using the dog sweater again as my example, the original pattern called for crocheting the leg bands and then sewing them on. Pfft. No way. I simply chained the required number of stitches and crocheted the leg bands on the sweater, slip stitching at the bottom of each row to attach it on. Ta-da. Again, with knitting that would have been merely a matter of picking up stitches with some DPNs and knitting the band. So that wasn't much simpler than my first love.

I am making some good progress on the jammer hat as well. I have about 14 more rows of the star pattern and then 14 more rows of solid black knitting before I start the decreases. Of course, I'll probably wind up having to start my decreases early since I didn't use a pattern at all for this hat aside from a general guideline for the decreasing and a chart for the star. But I'm soldiering my way on through and should hopefully have it finished by Monday night at the absolute latest.

I can't wait till I'm at the same level in crochet, where I can just take yarn and a hook and make something. I'm going to attempt that once I finish the jammer hat, I think, in fixing my mukluk sock slippers. I was going to knit them in the Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks stitch, but I may decide to do them in a star crochet stitch which, really, is the same stitch, just a different craft form. All I know is that I want to do a star stitch/HHFD stitch and alternate each 'star' black and the ice blue yarn. I think that would look so neat. Either that or I want to do some ridiculously easy fair isle pattern. One of my many knitting books has some in it that don't look terribly hard. It has solid striped rows and a couple rows broken up with different colored stitches. So we'll see.