Saturday, January 29, 2011

Girl Puppet!

I wanted to make a girl puppet ... and came up with this! The eyes took about as long as everything else combined -- couldn't get them quite right.

Note that I gave her a version of my old hair. I miss my pink hair!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Justin, the Dragon


Meet Justin, the dragon puppet. He's made of dark green fleece I've had for probably 10 years, plus some yellow fleece I've had for nearly as long. His dragon-ness was inspired by the yellow fleece -- the scrap I had looked just like a dragon's spikes. I think he might need wings (small ones, though) since he's a dragon and all, but for now, he'll have to remain flightless. He's named Justin after a certain pop star whose hair flops in a very similar fashion ...

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Smittens!

Inspired by an upcoming Valentine's-themed craft fair, I made these! Dubbed a "smitten" by the power of Facebook, it's a mitten with two cuffs, designed for holding hands. The prototype is pictured above; I've since tried a slightly different version that's a little less fiddly, but it has a seam, which I'm against. Next step is to write up the pattern and have someone other than me try to make one.

Can you tell those are hearts, in the band there? Aaaaaawwwwwww ...

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Knitting During Meetings

There was a board meeting for the Un-Scripted Theater Company last night, and thanks to the miracle of modern technology, I was able to attend from the comfort of my dining room table. And while I Skyped, I finished a third swiffer-cover (for us this time) and unravelled the last of the Giant Blue Socks. No devil's playground in these hands!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Felted Slippers, Part Two


Despite my firm conviction that Felting. Does. Not. Work., I flung the red and black slippers into a washing machine filled with hot, soapy water, and approximately 30 minutes later, they actually looked like footwear (albeit something Mickey Mouse might wear). Imagine that! Just need to trim off the ends and Miss P can enjoy some toasty toes!

Here's the thing about knitting something and then felting it. It is very bad for people (like myself!) with control issues. When I knit something, I can see what it's going to look like as I go along. If it's crappy, I can rip it out and start again. Not so with felting. (Or rather, as my sister would point out, fulling.) I'm expected to knit an item that would look large on a sasquatch, then trust the washing machine to shrink it to the appropriate size and shape? And if it doesn't come out properly, there's no going back? Um, yikes! So don't look for too many fulled/felted projects from me this year, unless I get quite a bit braver!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Swiffer Cover!

Using a slight variation of the Zoom pattern I found from KiddoKnits and some blue-yellow-green cotton yarn, I made my second re-useable Swiffer cover today. The first one, back before Christmas, was for my sister (her 4-year-old enjoys Swiffer duty at their house); this one's for my mom. Also cast on one for myself, 'cause why not?

(Side note: There are a few Swiffer cover patterns out there. KnittyWhipped did a very scientific side-by-side comparison that I wish I could say led me to knit this one; in truth, it just looked easier.)

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Blue Sock Remake, Part Two


Slow going. Another 3 hours or so unravelling this thing and I'm still not done with the first sock. Sigh.


However! The new pattern decision has been made. We're going with Diamond Waffle. A new cast-on and bind-off, and a cute new pattern. Plus, these were designed to be men's socks, so maybe they won't look so out of proportion at boy-feet size ...