Con Crocheting Season begins!

So it has begun! I'm working on items for Comic Con (May 18th) and I'll know by March 6th if I'm also doing Animaritimes or not! So far this week I've tested out a few new patterns, which I'm really thrilled with!

Child version of Twinkie Chan's Carrot Scarf!

 

Dragon Mittens from NeedleNoodles

Grrr!

I really love the shape of these fingerless gloves, especially the thumb covering, and that it's crocheted in one piece. I think I might use them as the base for some more designs.

Where is 2013 going?

 I had plans of posting a new pattern for sale today or tomorrow, but I'm starting to suspect that isn't going to happen... I still have one sample to finish crocheting up, and then photos need to be taken and cropped, then my pattern needs to be finalized... so it's looking more like next weekend now. Darn headache wiped me out all week...

Within the next few weeks, I'll be finding out if I'm doing two Cons this spring/summer or not... I really want to be involved in Moncton's first ever ComicExpo, and as I'm coincidentally on vacation during Animaritimes, with no plans, I'm going to try to grab a table there as well! The people there were really great to me last summer! I have lots of plans for these Cons so I'm really eager to find out the table situation!!!!!

In other crocheting news, I CUT MY HAIR! A LOT!

see all my hair on the floor!

 I went from this...

There was a reason I was rocking ponytails...
this was not a good look!

 To this!

the back is really short,
but I didn't think to photograph that...

 

 

 

Yes, the lighting is way better on the bottom photo, but I think I look like 10lbs thinner and more mature!

I'll try to update with something crochet related this weekend... Tomorrow is my crochet day so hopefully I'll be productive and crochet something pretty! or tough! I like crocheting tough things!

Free Pattern: Zigzag Cowl

I have become obsessed with cowls recently. I was looking around online for a cute zigzag (chevron) version, but all the ones I could find, were cowls made bottom to top, which gave them zigzag edges, which wasn't exactly what I was envisioning. I wanted a straight edged cowl with a sideways zigzag, so I decided to design my own! The cowl is worked flat, then the first and last rows are joined.

I decided to primarily use a single colour (pale gray) with a contrasting zigzag stripe (dusty purple) every 8 rows to emphasize the zigzaggedness (and yes I'm making up terms now) However you can obviously choose your own colour pattern, change colours every row, every other row, every 4th row, every 6th row, every 8th... whatever! It's all good! I know I'll be making different version of this soon!

I'm providing two versions, an easy and an advanced, of this pattern. I would personally advise anyone, who is comfortable with double crochet, to try the advanced version. The "advanced" techniques are pretty sparse throughout the pattern, and there are tons of tutorial online for them (including on this very blog), but I wanted to make sure that there was a version of this pattern that anyone (who can crochet) can make!

The easy version uses ch 2 or 3 at the beginning of every row (it's your choice as to which you use, I prefer a loose ch 2 usually, as it's easy to work into and keeps my edges tight, but ch 3 is technically the standard for starting a row of dc), and at the end of your last row, you need to sew the last and first rows together.

The advanced version uses chainless dc at the beginning of each row (besides the 1st row) and the cowl is formed into it's loop during the last row of crocheting by joining as you go, making it a seamless pattern.

Free Pattern: Zigzag Cowl

Yarn: thick worsted/aran weight yarn (I used Vanna’s Choice; MC silver grey, CC dusty purple)
Hook: 6mm
Finished Size: 27" x 7 3/4" (approx.)

Special Stitches:
dc3tog: yo, insert hook in next st, pull up loop, yo, pull through 2 loops on hook* repeat 3 times, 4 loops on hook, yo, pull through all loops on hook
3dc: work 3 dc in same st
2dc: work 2 dc in same st
Cdc (chainless dc): see my tutorial on chainless dc
Join as you go: see my tutorial on join as you go

Advanced Pattern
with MC ch 32
1: dc in 4th ch from hook, dc 2, *dc3tog, dc 3, 3dc, dc 3* repeat three times, dc3tog, dc 4 (29)
2: Cdc, dc in same st, dc 2, *dc3tog, dc 3, 3dc, dc 3* repeat three times, dc3tog, dc 2, 2dc (29)
3-7: repeat row 2, change to CC at the end of the 7th row
8: repeat row 2, change to MC
9-47: repeat row 2, changing colours as per the pattern (7 rows in MC, 1 row in CC)
48: complete this row using the seamless join as you go method while still following the pattern established in row 2
finish off, sew in any loose ends

Easy Pattern
with MC ch 32
1: dc in 4th ch from hook, dc 2, *dc3tog, dc 3, 3dc, dc 3* repeat three times, dc3tog, dc 4 (29)
2: ch 2 or 3 (counts as 1st st), dc in same st, dc 2, *dc3tog, dc 3, 3dc, dc 3* repeat three times, dc3tog, dc 2, 2dc (29)
3-7: repeat row 2, change to CC at the end of the 7th row
8: repeat row 2, change to MC
9-48: repeat row 2, changing colours as per the pattern (7 rows in MC, 1 row in CC)
finish off, leaving a long tail, line up your first and last row and whip stitch them together
sew in any loose ends

HtbaFB #2

"How to be a Fat Bitch" - Week 2

Discussion
What do you love most about the word fat? How has the word fat evolved for you?

I love how simple it is. I spent many years having people impose names on my size (chunky, chubby, voluptuous, overweight, plus size) and none of them felt right. I'm too big to be chubby, I'm not curvy enough to be voluptuous, I'm just fat. It took me a long time to be okay with that word. My husband actually helped me a lot, knowing he finds me attractive even thought I'm fat, helped me see that it's not a bad word.* I'm working on getting better at others calling me fat. I'm generally okay when people do it now in a conversational manner, but when someone yells it from a car at me, I totally turn into a 13 year old again.

*I decided to look up some synonyms for the word "fat". I wasn't surprised by most of these words (I've been called many over the years) but the word that stood out was "gross". So "fat" = "gross" according to thesaurus.com. Good to know.

Assignment # 1
Reclaim the word fat and do something amazing with it. Make art, take photos of yourself with fat written on you, bake a cake with fat written in frosting, etc

I wouldn't call this amazing, but it's cute and practical! I crocheted a ❤ Fat ❤ cup cozie! This cup sleeve is crocheted flat, then buttons are sewn on and finally it's cross stitched!

❤ Fat ❤ Cup Cozie Pattern

Yarn: worsted weight (2 colours; 1 for crocheting, 1 for cross stitching)
Hook: 5mm
Other supplies needed: 2  buttons (approx 1/3-1/2" big), yarn needle

Finished size: 9" x 3 1/4"

Pattern:
ch 34
1: sc in 2nd ch, sc to end (33) ch, turn
2-13: sc in 1st st, sc to end (33) ch, turn
14: sc in 1st st, sc to end, turn cozie so you can work down the unfinished edge, slst 3, ch 8, sk 6 ch, sl st into last 2 chs, sl st 6 down the edge, ch 8, sk 6 ch, sl st into last 2 chs, sl st 3.
finish off

Finishing: use a long piece of yarn, to sew both your buttons on to the opposite side of the cozie (make sure they line up with the button holes). Sew in your ends.

Cross stitch:
Cut an 18" piece of yarn, following the graph below (design is un-centered on purpose, to make room for the buttons), cross stitch into your cozie (working into the corners around a stitch). You will need to cut 4 or 5 pieces of yarn to complete the whole design. (As you can tell I forgot to include the top and bottom X on the right hand side). Make sure any loose ends are sewn in.

And now you can hit up your local coffee shop and show off your fat pride!

Photo Tutorial: Seamless dc Join As You Go

Join as you go is a technique that I REALLY love and think every crocheter who makes motif blankets, cowls or hats worked flat or items that need to be joined should learn. You work your last row of the pattern, while joining it to the 1st row or to the final edge of another motif!

Seamless join as you go: lay your work so you have the two edges facing each other, and the stitches lined up, work your first st, *remove the loop from your hook, insert your hook into the 1st st of row 1, pick up the loop again, and pull it through, work your next dc as per the pattern* repeat until the end on your last stitch, pull the loop through the final stitch

work your first stitch or chains as per normal, and line up
the two rows you are joining

Remove you hook from the stitch and insert it into the
corresponding stitch on the row you're joining with

insert your hook back into the stitch you worked

pull the loop of the stitch through the stitch in the row
you're joining to

work your next stitch, then repeat the process of joining to
the corresponding st of the row your joining with

Once you finish your row, it will look like this!
As you can see there is a bit of a noticeable seamm
however when you turn it over the seam is completely hidden

One of these purple rows is our join, the other one is regular
crochet. I'm 95% positive the one on the left is the join row.

This technique will be used in my free Zigzag Cowl pattern, being published next week!

Photo Tutorial: Chainless Double Crochet

Welcome to my 1st ever photo tutorial!!!

To make a nice clean edge with minimal pulling, as well as to avoid noticible seams when working in a round, I like to use chainless dc (Cdc) in the place of a ch 2 or 3. This is also one of my FAVOURITE new stitches I learnt in 2012.

There doesn't really seem to be a standard way of doing this stitch. Below is how I do it, because I find it easiest, but look around online and you'll find other ways of achieving the same look that might be easier for you.

To create a chainless dc (Cdc) you need to pull up a loop the length of a dc, insert hook into the 1st st, yo, pull up a loop, yo, pull through 1 loop on hook, twist the long loop around your hook, yo and pull through both loops. (see photos below)

And you have a Cdc that you can work into the same way as you would any dc!

Pull up a loop the height of a dc st

insert hook into the stitch, yarn over, and pull through
(you now have a tight loop and a loose one on your hook)

yarn over, pull through one loop on your hook
(you still have a tight loop and a loose one on your hook

You're now going to twist your hook under the long loop

 

And you will now have 2 loops on your hook

yarn over again, and pull through both loops on hook.
You now have a chainless dc!

Continue with your row of dc!

 This technique will be used in my free Zigzag Cowl pattern, being published next week!

HtbaFB #1

So... I'm taking this blog on a bit of a side journey, crochet posts wont be stopping, but I've decided to start doing an E-Course How to be a Fat Bitch from The Nearsighted Owl. I'm hoping this will get me posting more often, because I really can only say so much about crochet at this point, and honestly it's an issue I feel very passionately about.

I'm fat, I have been for most of my life. I also come from a family that has produced two ballerinas therefore my weight is very noticeable. I generally accept myself and love my body, but like everyone else, I have those days when nothing looks or fits right and I would rather curl into a ball, then face the world. Most of the time though, I'm happy with how I look, I wont lie and say I don't want to be a size 14/16 again someday, instead of an 18/20, but I have no urge to be "skinny". I don't think I would look good skinny, I really only want to be a 14/16 again so I have more shopping options... also I don't want to devote huge chunks of my day to focusing on what I'm eating or ensuring I'm exercising enough to not gain a pound. For me personally, I don't want to focus my entire life on something as trivial as my size. I'm more than my weight, and being a happy person is way more important to me than dieting.

I hate that I feel like I need to post this but DISCLAIMER: I'm not encouraging people to put on weight, or stop dieting, if that's what makes you happy, go for it! I'm also not saying I will never lose weight, as you can see below, one of my goals right now is to join the gym again. I'm doing this to hopefully help spread awareness that there's more to a person than their weight and to encourage myself and others to be happy with the body we have.

"How to be a Fat Bitch" - Week 1

Discussion
How do you deal with people that make assumptions about you based on being fat? Is the best revenge to live well and be happy?

I really don't have a way of dealing with the assumptions people make. I'm thankfully out of middle school, and no longer have people who call me a whale, and belittle me about my size and make me feel like I'm worthless. I also really don't notice anymore if people look at me in disgust because I'm ordering dessert at a restaurant or walking into a plus-size store. I think that says way more about them, than about me that they are that obsessed with my weight. I try my best to show people that I'm happy with myself. I think having a husband who I know loves me and thinks I'm beautiful, does so much more for my esteem than a rude glare from a stranger could do.

Assignment # 1
Write down 5 things that you are going to do that make you happy. Not "even though you are fat" but because you are fat and awesome. 5 things that have nothing to do with trying for the sake of others. 5 things for yourself and your well being. EXTRA CREDIT: Do some of them!

1. Cut my hair!
2. Rejoin the gym (I really miss it, it did wonders for my stress, though I probably wont be rejoing until like April... I don't like cold early mornings...)
3. Make myself a scarf/hat/mitten set (I want to be warm and cute too!)
4. Wear my brightly coloured tights (that's one clothing style, I haven't been comfortable with)
5. Try to get a monthly group going with some other crocheters/crafters