CogKnition » Crochet

All Together for Christmas

CogKnition — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 19:37:53 +0000

Pattern: Chinese Zodiac Amigurumi , also available from edafedd
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted, assorted colors, and Lion Brand Wool-Ease, #122 Sienna
Hook: E 3.5mm

This is the first year that I am not spending Christmas in Wisconsin. My in-laws are coming in from Japan tomorrow, so we decided it made sense for us to stay put in Houston and, y’know, clean the house.

This is the second year in a row that Christmas is…different. Last year my parents spent Christmas by themselves in Atlanta, where they were seeking treatment for my dad’s cancer, while my brothers, my husband, and I had Christmas in Wisconsin. Not only was the family not together for Christmas, but we all kind of knew that it would probably be my dad’s last.

And of course, this year is the first one without my dad. And while this Christmas doesn’t have the same dark mood as last, and I am very much looking forward to seeing my in-laws, I still wanted to do something that would let us all be together, if only symbolically.

So I made Chinese Zodiac amigurumi.

The front two are me (monkey) and my husband (rabbit). The back row, from left to right: my dad (horse), my mom (snake), and my two brothers (rat and tiger).

Of course I decided to do this on December 20. Plan ahead for holiday crafting? What’s that? After one solid day of doing almost nothing but crochet, I just had the tiger left to do. And I discovered that the best color I had was…Cheetos Orange. No medium browns, not even a red in the right yarn weight. Just Cheetos Orange.

I tried to make a tiger in Cheetos Orange. It made my eyes hurt. And there are no yarn shops open at midnight on Sunday. So I made a quick trip to Big Box Craft Store for some Wool-Ease after work Monday night (tried the LYS first but it was closed), finished the tiger, dropped everybody into a box and posted it Priority Mail on Tuesday morning.

Miracle of miracles, they arrived in Wisconsin in time for Christmas. I got a call from my mom this morning and it sounds like they’re having a very merry Christmas over there. Though she does not believe me that my husband was born in the Year of the Rabbit. And we’re having a merry Christmas here too. So all is well.

Cobijita Floresita Baby Blanket

CogKnition — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 19:54:43 +0000

Pattern: Cobijita Floresita by Mia Zamora Johnson
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted, #180, 5 skeins, and #215, 1 skein
Hook: H 5.0mm

All the blanket needs now is a baby to sit in the middle and coo.

I have to say, I officially love crocheting blankets. It is SO FAST. This blanket is about 44″ across and I finished it in about two and a half weeks (including ripping and re-crocheting 1/3 of the petals).

This is a very nice beginning crochet pattern and a very portable project. The instructions are clear and there are lots of photographs to help you figure out how to assemble the blanket.

Although Encore is my favorite yarn for baby gifts because it is machine washable and dryable and comes in so many wonderful colors, I think this pattern would work best with a yarn that has more natural fiber.

The petals are a little cupped when they first come off the hook and need to be blocked flat. The edging around the center also wants to point towards the middle and it needs to be blocked to point towards the outside of the flower. I think I could have managed to block them entirely flat with a natural fiber yarn, but Encore doesn’t block that well and my edging is standing up like a tart crust.

Mmmm tarts.

The “wrong side” of the blanket is neat and tidy, which I appreciate a lot.

Now to wrap it up and give it away!

Other entries about Cobijita Floresita:

Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back

CogKnition — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 05:48:14 +0000

So I finished the Cobijita Floresita blanket. After knitting 13 petals for a 10-petal flower. I discovered after the seventh petal that I’d mis-counted the rows on three of them. Riiiip, and re-crochet. But now it’s done. This is how it looks blocking.

And then I frogged a bunch of stuff to re-claim the yarn.

On the left, seven hanks of Cascade 220 reclaimed from that intarsia bag that I never felted. Then some tan Cascade 220 reclaimed from a large swatch. And finally, some Mission Falls 1824 wool superwash rescued from a sweater my brother was knitting (and mostly completed) but never finished due to fit and construction issues.

I also started a hat project. About five times because I kept changing my mind about the design of the hat. Ribbing or no? Two-by-two ribbing or one-by-one? Long tail or tubular cast-on? I thought the sixth time would take, but it turns out that the hat is sized to fit a basketball, not a human head. Riiiiiiiiiiiip.

Cthulhu

CogKnition — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:10:01 +0000

Pattern: Mini Cthulhu , by Cherene Reyes, only available on Ravelry
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted, #451, 1 skein
Hook: E 3.5mm

He gets very angry when someone says he’s cute and trust me, you won’t like him when he’s angry.

The finished toy is just shy of 6 inches tall (which means you should be extra careful around him, because he has a MASSIVE inferiority complex) and uses 8mm plastic safety eyes. It was a quick crochet, taking an afternoon-ish. Other than a brief bit of confusion when working the legs, the pattern was easy to follow. Contrary to the pattern, I chose to stuff the arms and not the wings.

I take no responsibility if you make one and then die a messy death. I gave mine away as a precaution.

A Ray of Light

CogKnition — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:00:06 +0000

There is a light at the end of the dissertation tunnel. I suppose it could still be the headlamp of an oncoming train, but I think that’s probably unlikely.

In the meantime, a bit o’ something new. And brightly colored.

It’s the start of the Cobijita Floresita crocheted baby blanket by Mia Zamora Johnson, aka Owlishly. Pattern available on Etsy and on Ravelry. Check out her other stuff too, it’s adorable.

So far the best thing about this blanket is that it’s almost entirely done in double crochet. That’s about all my brain can handle right now, cuz after a couple weeks of intense thesis writing and revising, she be fried.

Stripy Throw

CogKnition — Sat, 09 May 2009 21:56:47 +0000

Pattern: Simple Crochet by Erika Knight
Yarn: Cascade 220, #8555 black, #4192 pastel pink, 2 skeins each; #7822 dark chocolate brown, #2413 burgundy, #8834 medium rose, 1 skein each
Hook: J 6.0mm

The yarn, she is no longer cursed. It loves being a baby blanket that is about to be shipped off to Afghans for Afghans.

The finished blanket is baby-sized, about 34″ x 46″. I used a different stripe sequence than what’s in the pattern to accommodate the amounts of yarn I had. Stripe sequence after the jump.

Continue reading Stripy Throw (70 words) »

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Exorcising Cursed Yarn

CogKnition — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 23:37:52 +0000

Once upon a time I bought 11 skeins of Cascade 220 for two different felted bag projects. Both were intarsia patterns of my own design. One was easy, one was hard.

I knit up the easy intarsia bag. I charted the hard intarsia pattern.

And then I stopped.

Because you know what? I hate felting. And I hate intarsia. And simultaneously inflicting both on myself not just once, but twice? Clearly I’d gone cuckoo in the head.

And so the yarn and non-felted bag sat in my stash for two years. 2420 yards of yarn that I no longer had any use for. Now clearly I’m doing something wrong here, but yarn in my house gets mighty pissy if it isn’t already earmarked for a specific project. I hear it muttering yarny threats at me when I walk by, demanding to be made into something pretty or else it will smother me while I sleep.

Why no, I’m not the least bit neurotic, why do you ask?

Once the yarn has devolved into this mildly-evil state, there is only one solution: knit (or crochet) it up and give it to charity. Infusing the yarn with good karma soothes it and makes it happy again.

Given that I’m dealing with a whopping lot of 100% feltable yarn, I decided to crochet a blanket for the current Afghans 4 Afghans campaign. I cast on (chained on?) last week…

…and see? The yarn is already feeling better.

Boteh Scarf

CogKnition — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:16:08 +0000

Pattern: Boteh Scarf by Kathy Merrick, Interweave Crochet Spring 2007
Hook: G 4.0mm
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solids, Amethyst, 1 skein

This pattern is a beauty. It is so simple, amazingly quick to work up, and yet the result is stunning. It almost feels wrong to only pay $5 for such a great design.

My scarf came out quite a bit wider than what’s given in the pattern—over 6″ at the widest point. I also only did 12 repeats of the pattern instead of 16; the scarf is for my five-foot-tall sister-in-law who would drown in the full length of the scarf. And a good thing too, because it grew quite a bit in the blocking.

I am sorely tempted to make another for myself. I adore Grumperina’s Caribbean blue Boteh and two hanks of this cotton/silk blend in Teal would only cost me $12…tempting, tempting.

Other entries about the Boteh Scarf:

New Year, New Beginning

Pieced Throw

CogKnition — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:04:26 +0000

Pattern: Pieced Throw, from Simple Crochet by Erika Knight
Hook: G 4.0mm
Yarn: Lion Brand Baby Soft Solid in Bluebell, 2 skeins, and Pastel Blue, Pistachio, and Lemon Drop, 1 skein each

The finished measurements are about 42″ square.

I had misgivings about using a Lion Brand yarn (let’s just say it was a lot easier to find a Big Box Craft Store than a good LYS during my Thanksgiving trip), but I’m actually pretty happy with it. It doesn’t replace my most favoritest of wash-and-dry, baby-friendly acrylic blends, Plymouth Encore, but it will definitely do in a pinch.

I made two changes to the pattern that really made the project for me. First, I adapted the colorblock sequence for four colors. This wasn’t totally intentional—I had meant to use a different four-color pattern and bought yarn accordingly but then changed my mind at the last minute. But in retrospect, breaking up one of the 16-row color blocks into a 4-, 8-, 4-row sequence of two colors really adds a lot of visual pop to the project.

The second change was to make a three-row edging instead of the one written into the pattern. A one-row edging just looked and felt dinky and I thought three rows would look more proportional to the rest of the blanket and help stabilize the edge better.

Not to mention this project photo from the book:

That didn’t look like a one-row edging to me.

This project also re-affirmed my belief in blocking. I usually wet-block everything, finding that it makes a huge difference in the finished project while also giving the yarn a much-needed wash. But conventional wisdom says that acrylic doesn’t really block so I wasn’t sure if it would really matter in this case.

It mattered.

I threw the whole thing into a big lingerie bag and then into the wash. When I took it out, I did my usual, somewhat painstaking process of hands-and-knees, pins into the floor, yardsticks and tape measures to square corners. The blanket had been a bit misshapen due to wonky tension when it first came off the hook. But a good blocking evened everything up nicely.

I worship at the altar of blocking and will never doubt again.

P.S. Remember when I said I would be releasing a new pattern this weekend? Not so much! Get this…I lost the pattern notes, which means I have to reconstruct the whole thing from memory. I can do it, but well…maybe next weekend.

Other entries about the Pieced Throw:

New Year, New Beginning

CogKnition — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:34:17 +0000

A new crochet project while the Pieced Throw blocks…

…and some new knitting resolutions for the coming year.

Write more patterns. This will begin with the release of a new cabled scarf pattern, hopefully this weekend. Like my previous patterns so far, it will be free to download but I hope those who knit it will make a donation for however much they think the pattern is worth.

I’ve got about four different sock ideas kicking around in my head, along with two toy ideas. I want to submit something for publication and also start selling patterns myself.
Knit more sweaters. Remember when I said this?

I will be wearing a Tangled Yoke Cardigan this fall and winter or I will eat my Addi Turbos.

Well…Addi Turbos nom nom nom. I have yarn for three sweaters stashed. Time to knit it up.
Blog more. I’m going to aim for an average of two posts a week, or eight posts a month. To help kick this off, I’m going to write a series on psychology and knitting. Tentative topic list, in no particular order:
- Spatial reasoning I — schematics
- Spatial reasoning II — charts, charts, charts!
- Learning and expertise I — the value of effortful practice
- Learning and expertise II — conceptual v. procedural, process v. project
- Math education — can knitting really help you learn math?

Those are the big things I want to do with my knitting life. I’m also planning to re-design the site in the very near future, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Curses!

CogKnition — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:21:15 +0000

Ran out of yarn halfway through the second round of a three-round edging. Off to the store I go!

Miles and Miles of Half-Double Crochet

CogKnition — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:05:38 +0000

Four strips down, four to go.

I love the way it’s turning out, but it’s approximately as interesting as knitting garter stitch.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Crochet…

CogKnition — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:22:26 +0000

Remember when my best attempt at crochet looked something like this?

And then something clicked and I made this…

…and this.

I’m getting the hang of this crochet thing, I think. And I like it. It’s a welcome alternative to the endless scarf project in my sidebar, a project that I cannot blog about because I hope to submit the design somewhere for publication.

And so I started another crochet project.

It’s the Pieced Throw from Simple Crochet by Erika Knight, adapted for four colors instead of just three. It’s pretty mindless—just miles of half double crochet—but really, really fast to work up.

I like this crochet thing.

Omusubi Obake

CogKnition — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:07:08 +0000

Pattern: Omusubi Obake, from Amigurumi de Yuyuri (Leisurely Amigurumi)
Hook: D 3.0mm
Yarn: Pittsburgh, #9143; Plymouth Encore, #1232 and #217; scraps

An omusubi is a rice ball wrapped with a piece of nori, or dried seaweed; an obake is a kind of ghost or spirit. This little rice ball ghostie appeared last night and started haunting our kitchen.

He seemed pretty at home in our box of curry mixes.

And of course stopped to pay respects to the package of nori.

But eventually he decided to haunt the box of Taiwanese pineapple cakes. I think I will too; I’m hungry!

Frogs on a Holiday

CogKnition — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 02:17:02 +0000

Pattern: Frogs on a Holiday, from Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts: Amigurumi
Hook(!): D 3.0mm
Yarn: Plymouth Encore, #1232, 1 skein, and scraps of #1203

Ladies and gentlemen, my first completed crochet project! It’s a far cry from this. And this.

*takes a bow*

Since this pattern is titled “Frogs on a Holiday,” I thought it only appropriate that I take him out on the town for a little photo shoot.

This book has a very tiny techniques section, so if you’re a beginning crocheter like me, you should have another crochet reference handy. But other than that, the pattern was very easy to follow.

More pictures and commentary after the jump.

Continue reading Frogs on a Holiday (295 words) »

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Frog Legs

CogKnition — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:07:04 +0000

I made some frog legs, but not the kind I’d eat.

(Actually, there no kinds of frog legs I would eat. I’m very much an omnivore, but amphibians are on my list of Animals that are Not Food.)

You might have also noticed that I removed the mouth. I decided it looked too…lusciously porn-y.

That photo makes a good game of Spot the Clutter on my Desk. I have never in my life been able to keep a clean desk. This caused many fights with my mom when I was younger. Now I just happily pile away.

Watching Over Me

CogKnition — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 23:39:53 +0000

Like many people, I keep an array of doohickeys and knick-knacks on top of my computer, the better to gather dust with. And I just realized that my doohickeys and knick-knacks are either: a) small plush toys, or b) random knitting that I didn’t know what to do with.

The Yoshi beanie is wearing a cape, which happens to be the first thing I ever knit that has both knit and purl stitches in it. I came home from my knitting class, thrilled that I had managed to produce a mostly-even swatch of off-the-cuff stitch patterns and couldn’t bear to just hide it away somewhere. So Yoshi got a cape.
The first baby hat I ever knit. One of my friends had a baby shortly after I learned how to knit and I was determined to make her some baby thing. But I wasn’t yet confident in my ability to make gift-able items, so I bought a ball of the cheapest yarn I could find to practice on. This was the practice hat. Of course, I discovered after I went to knit the real hat that kitchen cotton behaves really differently from wool blends.
This is a recent addition. And it’s not knitting. Did I mention that I was trying to crochet again? Ah yes, I did. It just clicked for me this time around and I’ve made quite a few random swatches and medallions just to prove to myself I know what I’m doing now. And I made a dismembered frog head. There will be a body eventually. Until then, it will continue to stare down at me creepily.

Engage the Hyperbolic Drive!

CogKnition — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 20:23:12 +0000

It turns out that crochet is one of those bizarre domains in which it is actually easier to master hyperbolic concepts than Euclidean concepts. This boggles the math mind.

I still haven’t figured out exactly what I’m doing wrong to get a trapezoid instead of a rectangle, though I’m sure it’s either what StacyZ said or what KathyMarie said, or some combination of the above. But it turns out that crocheting a hyperbolic model doesn’t require me to know how to turn rows, since it can be done in the round. Woo!

This was my completely uninspiring first attempt at crocheting in the round.

I’d actually made a bigger circle, but then decided to frog it because it was so wonky. So wonky that it stopped frogging at this point, tug as I might.

Attempt #2 went a little better, except that it sort of reminds me of something that Proper Young Ladies shouldn’t be crocheting.

Continue reading Engage the Hyperbolic Drive! (102 words) »

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Square…uh, Trapezoid…One

CogKnition — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 04:08:28 +0000

I was perfectly happy not being a crocheter. I was a happy not-hooker, if you will. Until recently. Somewhere, somehow, in my meanderings across the web, I stumbled across a site featuring crochet models of hyperbolic space. And I was hooked.

Obviously, I am a nerd of the highest order. College math majors and lovers of spreadsheets, unite!

Were my extreme nerdiness not enough to get me to actually attempt a crochet model of hyperbolic space, this sentence clinched it:

The structural integrity is achieved by using coarse, cheap synthetic yarn. Wool is nicer to work with (and gentler on the hands) but it does not produce the satisfying stiffness of synthetics.

Do I sense a use for the grandma stash? Yes, yes I do!

Maybe I should try to master Euclidean space first. This was supposed to be a rectangle.

I’m going to have to consult the vintage book of every needlecraft under the sun that I stole borrowed indefinitely from my mother to figure out how to not lose stitches at the end of each row.

Though I’m a bit afraid that the powerful 1970′s aura that will result when acrylic meets book is going to suddenly compel me to take up macrame next.

CogKnition » Crochet

All Together for Christmas

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