Hobbes & Hearts: A Valentine Version

My daughter saw Hobbes and instantly needed one. Since my oldest got his Hobbes for his December birthday I thought, "Okay, I can make one for your March birthday." March was TOO far away. She saw her brother being pounced on by his Hobbes and he wouldn't share. She needed one NOW.

I admit I was anxious to try another Hobbes to solidify the adjustments I made to this Sugar n' Cream pattern. So I figured I could satisfy both of our interests in making a new one sooner than later.

"But wait, Mommy!"
"Yes?"
"I want a VALENTINE'S Hobbes!"

Of course you do, sweetie. How could I resist?

He was so much fun to make. I added little felt hearts to the pads of the feet, one to the tummy, and made the nose heart-shaped. As I mentioned a few days ago, I think I'm starting to like Valentine's Day more!

Of course Valentine's Hobbes needed a scarf, too:

Using 5 hdc rows for as long as I needed the scarf to be and cutting out a couple matching felt hearts, this little scarf became a perfect accessory for V-Day Hobbes. And we all know that Hobbes isn't above dressing up in scarves that match the season...

My daughter actually gets into the fact that she's pretty much the Suzie of the family and enjoys out smarting the brothers. For all she goes through with Calvin's taunting, she normally gets the last word. So just to send you off with one more...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hobbes: Crochet!

I am thrilled when I see my kids reading comic books. Perhaps some would gawk at this, but I embrace it. Of course, the comic of choice in our household is Calvin & Hobbes. If any comic could build a big vocabulary, that one would! I love that they laugh along side the famous duo even if they don't fully understand it. "What does 'nuances' mean?" "What's 'mayhem'?" "Why is Calvin's mom mad?" They then bring the comic to life as they reenact certain recurring events including G.R.O.S.S. meetings and Calvinball. But without a Hobbes, they have not been able to reenact the reunion of Calvin & Hobbes after a long day apart.

My oldest adores Hobbes. For Halloween we sprayed his hair yellow, found a red shirt with black stripes and he was Calvin. But he needed a Hobbes to complete the ensemble. However, Bill Watterson never allowed his characters to be licensed for plushies (or anything else for that matter) so finding a Hobbes look a like was a challenge. We were able to find a cute Hobbes substitute for the costume at a Goodwill that year, but ever since, my eyes have been scanning the web for crochet patterns. In my searching I came across several great Hobbes projects folks had crafted:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amigurumiphotos/4450655872/

http://www.cuteamigurumi.com/2009/06/29/hobbes-andno-calvin/


Of course Hobbes doesn't look like an active tiger all the time. To moms and dads he's just a stuffed animal:

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=334522.0

http://www.amiamour.com/2010/08/hobbes-your-imaginary-friend/

http://sukigirl74.blogspot.com/2011/03/free-hobbes-crochet-pattern.html

I noticed that so much of what makes Hobbes great is in the details of his face, which each fiber artist interpets themselves. This gave me the idea to look at some generic toy tiger patterns that I could then adapt. I decided to start small and my first Hobbes was inspired by this Sugar n' Cream pattern:

http://www.sugarncream.com/pattern.php?PID=4772&cps=21191

I liked the full amigurumi style of this little guy, and the color scheme (doing brown & orange instead of black and orange) but he needed some major adjustments on body shape, tail length and facial features to really become Hobbes. The end result?

Calvin & Hobbes love the snow so much, you often see Hobbes wearing a scarf:

A quick work up of 5 hdc across to the proper scarf length gave Hobbes an accessory for the winter weather:

If enough folks are interested in the specific changes I made to the toy tiger pattern from Sugar n' Cream, I'll try to post it soon. For now enjoy a last C&H comic strip and come back this weekend for 

Hobbes & Hearts: The Valentine Version ^-^

W.I.P. (after Christmas version 1.0)

Christmas has come and gone. What a blur it was at times! I found myself fairly busy finishing up presents as well as keeping up with the Marcel requests through Etsy. You could hardly find me without a crochet hook in my hand! It was quite a learning experience and I do need time to process and reflect on how I dealt with the holiday rush. But when Christmas finally arrived, I was able to put away my crazy crochet filled head and enjoy celebrating Jesus' birthday with my friends and family. It was a wonderful 3 days of Christmas eve (also the day my first born celebrated his first double digit birthday), Christmas day, and Christmas day-off Monday ^-^ There was glorious food, way too many presents, and a viewing of The Christmas Story. Classic.

In the holiday rush, (and I kick myself as I realize this), I forgot to capture on digital camera my crocheted creations. I made 10 scarves (two of them from this cute v-stitch pattern), 2 cowls (based on this convertible cowl pattern I found), and an ipad cover in a glorious red with the red angry bird's face sewn on in felt pieces (based on this ipad cover pattern). I also made one Hobbes the tiger. He lives in our home, so his photos and story will go into its own post at a later date. In the midst of all this gifting I whipped up 6 Marcel the Shells as well!

But even with all I DID accomplish, I am still mid project for at least 4 things! So without further ado, here's my W.I.P Wednesday pictures! The project are all now patiently waiting for me in my large new tote I got for Christmas ^_^

A first attempt at a double yarn project!
Hoping the Oregon Duck's fan in our family will like it come his birthday ^_^

Isn't it just obnoxious when you run out of yarn?
And then don't you just *HATE* it when the store ran out of the color??!
This is a soft red yarn from Deborah Norville's Serenity line and is working
up great for this cowl, but I just one more skein!

I am nearly done with this open lace style scarf.
I based it on Mary Poppins' scarf, but in a peacock
blue instead of coral. It should be finished with fringe
if it ever gets done!

The awesome large tote that now holds my W.I.P.'s!
Thanks, Babe!

And last I want to leave you with one of my favorite gifts of the 2011 year: A bird feeder! Yes, this bird feeder is going to be put out this spring, but with a unique purpose: as bird nest fodder for all the young birdie families in our yard. I saw this adorable idea on pinterest from fiberfarm.com and got this cutest bird feeder to stuff my yarn scraps in. I just think it will be so much fun to have the birdies build their nests with soft, colorful threads! It's like yarn bombing in disguise!

My bird feeder full of yarn scraps to be put out on the first day of spring!

Happy New Year to all!

~kari

Your Favorite Team Colors Scarf: Crochet!

I love personal gifts. That's why homemade stuff is the best! I would much rather receive something my children made than a trinket from the store. Hoping that other folks feel the same, I definitely push homemade stuff on them - teehee! Even teachers. I figure one can only have so many apple shaped pencil sharpeners ^_^ So this year I thought I'd get the inside scoop on what my kids' teachers are into and see if we can't make them something unique this year. However, I had to stop and wonder what I could possibly make for my son's male teacher that he may actually use?

As I mentioned, I'm sort of into scarves this year, so I asked my son to figure out what his teacher's favorite sports team is. Well, he did his homework and reported back that the Bears where top on his teacher's list of favorite sports teams. The Chicago bears have great colors: Orange, White and a dusty Midnight Blue. Here's what I came up with:

Colors aren't showing true, but you get the idea!

I am a sucker for sacrificing yarn types for color. Now, this can turn out poorly if the weight is so dissimilar, but in this case, it was close enough! I grabbed a Sugar n' Cream in Indigo (100% cotton) because the color was spot on. I used Orange and White Red Heart Super Saver Yarn. Now, to be sure the stripes are a touch wider than the length of the blue, but honestly, I cannot find a good orange color in any other yarn type (let me know if you know of one!).

I used the hdc stitch throughout, which is my favorite stitch right now and edged the ends with the reverse single crochet or "crab stitch" (check out the tutorial here)

You can see the crab stitch better here

What I like about the crab stitch is that it is a decorative edging, but not a girly one. It sort of creates a corrugated tube when it is worked up. I rather like it!

So go forth and make scarves in whatever team colors you like! Personalize them with their favorite team colors, kids' school colors, or alma mater colors. Use the crab stitch edging and give them to the men in your life ^_^

A Cute V-Stitch Scarf

Last Christmas I received a lovely red crocheted scarf that went with practically everything. Thus, I wore it all the time and fell in love with it! The stitch was not a lace stitch, nor was it tightly crocheted, so I set out to figure out just what technique the yarn artist used. After a bit of research I found that it was a V-stitch. It's the perfect stitch for a scarf with some heft for warmth, but loose enough to be soft and wrapped snuggly around one's neck.

I knew I wanted to do scarves this year for Christmas so I came up with my own version using the V-stitch. It works up quickly, and I really think it turned out cute. So without further ado:

A Cute V-Stitch Scarf:

Hook G
WW yarn (I used Deborah Norville Everyday soft worsted in Chocolate Brown)

**Technique used for the V-stitch: (dc, ch 2, dc) all in one stitch**

Ch 24
R1) start 3rd stitch from hook 22 hdc, ch 2 & turn (22)
R2) 22 hdc, ch 2 & turn (22)
R3) 22 hdc, ch 3 & turn (22)
R4) sk 1 hdc, V-stitch, *sk 2 hdc, V-stitch* repeat 5 more times, sk 1 hdc, dc, ch 3 & turn (7 ch-2 spaces)
R5) V-stitch in ea ch-2 space across, then sk las dc, dc into top of turning ch, ch 3 & turn (7 ch-2 spaces)
R6) repeat R5
R7) repeat R5
R8) *hdc, hdc, hdc into ch-2 space* repeat 6 more times, hdc into top of turning ch, ch 2 & turn (22)
R9) 22 hdc, ch 2 & turn (22)
R10) 22 hdc, ch 3 & turn (22)

Repeat R4 - R10 until desired length of scarf is achieved.
I repeated the pattern a total of 12 times and end added the fringe to the bottom of both ends.

I used 3 lengths of yarn per ch-space for this scarf

How to add the fringe:
On both ends of scarf, attach yarn and do the following:
FRINGE BASE ROW: Ch 3, sk 1 hdc, sc, *ch 2, sk 1 hdc, sc* repeat across row (you should have 11 ch-2 spaces)
Cut equal lengths of yarn and follow this picture tutorial for adding the tassels or fringe through the ch-2 spaces you created.

I liked the look of the dividing up the v-stitch section with the hdc
Sort gives it a "patchwork" look ^_^

Candy Corn Scarf: Crochet!

I love candy corns. While it is true that there have been years where I go a little candy corn crazy and get utterly sick of them, each fall I still look forward to the sweet treats (it normally takes a good long year for that particular craving to return - thus I shun all Valentine's or Easter candy corns ^_^) To borrow a Bugs Bunny quote: "Why do I like [candy corn] so much? They don't have much meat on them...but I love them! I LOVE 'EM I LOVE 'EM I LOVE 'EM! LUNCH TIME!!!!"

But more than their goodie value, I think they are just so darn CUTE!! I love the color combination. I love the rounded triangular shape. I love that they are tiny. If you hop onto my pinterest page here you will see that I have a board devoted entirely to the Candy Corn!

So of course I needed a crochet version! Inspired by Twinkie Chan's food scarves, I crafted this one up to share with you all:

The Candy Corn Scarf:

Hook G
WW white yarn
WW orange yarn
WW yellow yarn

These are worked in rows - be sure to ch 1 at the end of each row

Begin with WHITE: (leave a long tail)
Ch 3
R1) 3 sc (3)
R2) 2 sc in first st, sc, 2 sc in last st (5)
R3) sc, sc, 2 sc in next st, sc, sc (6)
R4) sc, 2 sc in next st, sc, sc, 2 sc in next st, sc (8)

Change over to ORANGE:
R5) 8 sc (8)
R6) 8 sc (8)
R7) 2 sc in first st, 6 sc, 2 sc in last st (10)
R8) 10 sc (10)
R9) 10 sc (10)
R10) 2 sc in first st, 8 sc, 2 sc in last st (12)

Change to YELLOW:
R11) 12 sc (12)
R12) 2 sc in first st, 10 sc, 2 sc in next st (14)
R13) 14 sc (14)
R14) 14 sc (14)
R15) sc2tog, 4 sc, sc2tog, 4 sc, sc2tog (11)

F.O. and weave in ends

I made 11 candy corns and fastened them together tip to bottom until you have a scarf.
Length can be adjusted by adding or subtracting corns.

The best thing about this scarf is it won't give you a stomach ache ^_^

Bulky Boucle Scarf

I love the yarn store. I am literally like a child in a candy shop. Well, I'm more like the child in a candy shop that looks over all the candy options, but only ever ends up buying the same ol' plain cookies and cream that she always does.  But you see, it is so fun to go and touch all the soft varieties of yarn and dreaming up things to make with the crazy variegated colors. However, after spending WAY TOO LONG on this, I do always end up heading back to that one familiar section that holds all the 100% cottons or acrylics for my plushies. Well, this summer I broke out of my "usual" purchase and actually purchased an über soft boucle with lovely teal and brown color changing threads. I had absolutely nothing in mind for it. I just bought it and stuffed it into my yarn stash at home.  It's been looking at me for several weeks now. I figured with Christmas coming up, a super soft scarf would come in handy. Plus, I was excited to see how the colors worked up.

Well, let me tell you something. Working with bulky boucle was a hard transition! My cottons and acrylics are normally so clean and easy to look at, but this boucle, PHEEEEEW! It was like crocheting blind! The foundation row was torture to add on to and even then, my hdc were blindly inserted hoping I was catching the stitch at the right point. I had to count EVERY SINGLE row because I never knew if I was missing a stitch or not. This was not your relaxing in front of a favorite movie while crocheting sort of project. There was too much for me to concentrate on.

In one regard, it is a rather forgiving yarn because I know I wasn't always even (sometimes redoing the row to try and space the stitches out and sometimes not) and it's really hard to tell the ones that seemed spot on vs. the ones I was just too tired to count for.

But now that I'm done, I can back away and be grateful that it turned out as well as it did. I finished it off with some "fringe,"tried it on and sure enough, it will be a great neck warmer for someone!

Look at that texture!!!

Next,I am trying a Paton's Lace yarn with sequins that jumped into my basket at the yarn shop. It, too, is super soft and the peacock color is gorgeous, but it is pretty fuzzy and thin (a sport weight). I'll definitely post pictures when I finish that one and let you all know what it's like working with a yarn infused with sequins!

~kari ^_^