Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins

Pinwheel Complete!

2009-05-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Well, this was certainly more than the seven day project that the book promised. I'm not complaining though because I love the final product. It was a fun afghan to make and I really like the swirly candy-like effect of the pinwheel stripes.

Not counting the couple of times I took this apart when I was trying to figure out the pattern, it took me about one day per stripe followed by another day to make the exterior border. So, let's call this a thirteen day afghan. I was worried the blanket would pucker up a bit with the three rows of border around the outside. Thankfully, it doesn't. I haven't taken exact measurements, but I'd say it's between 50 to 60 inches wide. Certainly bigger than your average baby blanket. Of course, it could easily just be folded in half over baby for extra warmth.

My version was made with Vanna's Choice in White and, appropriately enough, Mint. I was so excited when I read the label because all along I'd been planning for the blanket to look like one of those swirly mint candies you get in restaurants. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the version of the pattern I was using comes from 7-Day Afghans by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss. There's also a version available in this leaflet from Bernat. Although that one is knit and has six stripes instead of twelve. The one in 7 Days is the only one I've run across that's crocheted.

A close up so you can see what the stitches look like. It's a simple sc 1, ch 1, sc 1 pattern which turns out looking pretty intricate. For those that are curious, I actually ended up keeping the white stripe from the practice version I was making in the previous pinhwheel post. I tore out the mustard colour that I wasn't happy with and replaced it with this one. I think it's a much better combination!

Show your support, lend a hand...

2009-05-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

Okay readers, you know that I don't ask for much. The occasional picture of something you've created with my patterns. Other than that, I'm not too demanding, right? Well, there's an event coming up next week that's pretty close to my heart so I thought I'd put out a little request for some help from my loyal readers.

Next Friday my boyfriend, who is both wise and witty, is taking part in the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life. School prevents me from participating, but I'm supporting the team morally and with my financial donation. For those unfamiliar with the event, it's a twelve hour relay in which team members take turns walking around a track. Each team member is sponsored through monetary donations and those donations go towards cancer research, prevention, and support for cancer patients and their families. I think the Canadian Cancer Society is an incredible organization and they've done a lot to help friends and members of our family.

So how can you help? Take a moment and stop by my boyfriend's Relay for Life page and make a donation in any amount you feel comfortable with. Hesistant? Maybe you don't live in Canada? Maybe you think it's a little weird to make a donation supporting someone you've never met? Those are good arguements, so I've come up with a list of reasons that might persuade you to donate:

The Canadian Cancer Society is a great organization and every little bit helps people in need.
You enjoy reading Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins. Remember this site is a labour of love. I don't make any profit from it.
You appreciate that Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins is ad free.
You've used the free patterns provided on Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins.
I've shown pictures of a cool thing you made or promoted your blog or Etsy shop in one of my posts.
You want to take advantage of one of the free gifts my boyfriend is offering over on SF Kapow!
"Our world is an English Village!" (Sorry, I've been rewatching The Jane Austen Book Club) With the connections we can make through the internet we're all neighbours. So why not help each other out?

Okay, thus ends the public service announcement. If you're feeling motivated, follow the link and make a donation.

We now return to our regularly scheduled crochet and crafty talk. Since the daffodil is the symbol of the Canadian Cancer Society I figured a vase of crochet daffodils would be a suitable addition to this post. Check out the free pattern availabe from PlanetJune. Enjoy!

Crobot Roll Call...(and Review!)

2009-05-09T12:05:00.001-07:00

Thinker, Babybot, Catbot, Dogbot, Crooooowwwwww...wait, how did he get in there?

Crobots: 20 Amigurumi Robots to Make is, in a word, awesome. That’s it. That’s my short review. Go out right now and add this one to your collection. Or read on to find out more about why I’m so impressed with this book.

Crobots is the first published crochet pattern book by Nelly Pailloux, whom some folks might know from her Etsy shop, La Fee Crochette. This 96 page paperback consists of 20 unique amigurumi robot designs and each design truly is unique. This isn’t just one pattern for a standard body shape and twenty different ways to decorate it. Each robot has it’s own shape. While there may be some similarities among the robots, no two use the exact same body.

Two critical things that you should know about Crobots; first off, the idea is for these bots to be small. Pailloux suggests making the bots with sport weight yarn and a size C2 (2.75 mm) hook. Not having a hook that small in my collection and wanting to use up some of my stash of worsted weight yarn I broke that rule. My bots still turned out cute, but they are much bigger than the designer’s suggested height of 3 to 4 inches. Please keep that in mind when you’re looking at my pictures.

Second, the crobots will make great gifts for adult friends, but made as is, they aren’t suitable for young children or any households that have small children around. A quick look at the materials lists, which include items such as pen springs, bugle beads, nails, washers, screws, small faceted nuts and tire valves is enough to make any parent shudder. Of course the crobots would still maintain their cuteness even if some of these pieces were omitted or changed, but readers should keep in mind that they will need to make some alterations if their toddler has an affection for robot toys.

Normally when I’m testing a book for review I make one or two of the designs to see how I like it. The fact that I’ve made four of these little guys and there are still others that I’d like to try is a testament to the strength of the designs. I think the book’s strongest feature is that Pailloux incorporates new shapes like square heads and takes old notions such as beads and sequins and uses them in ways you don’t typically see in amigurumi. The book made me think about amigurumi shapes and accessories in new ways and that’s something you don’t come across in too many pattern books.

The patterns in Crobots range from easy to difficult, although from my experience that rating system seemed more related to how long it will take you to put the bot together than how challenging the process actually is. For example, Thinker is rated a two, while Dogbot is only a one. I found Thinker to be just as easy, if not easier, to make than Dogbot.

Regardless of the ratings, this book would be suitable for crocheters of all skill levels. The first few pages explain the magic ring and all the basic crochet stitches that you’ll need to make the patterns in the book. The instructions are clearly written and illustrated. The directions for each bot also feature a detailed assembly diagram so that you can see exactly where each piece goes.

I also like the household objects approach that Pailloux uses to accessorize and decorate the bots. One of the first bots you encounter in the book is Mechanobot who sports tiny spring arms. My first thought was “Oh no, I’m going to have to buy a whole bag of tiny springs when I only need two.” Turns out I was wrong. Looking at the materials list for this bot, I noticed Pailloux suggestion, “dismantle two retractable ballpoint pens to obtain these.” Perfect! I love the idea of using items that you’ll naturally have lying around the house to make the crobots.

The only problem I encountered in making my four bots was some discrepancy in the direction for Baby Bot. Looking at the picture of this robot on the cover of the book it is clear that his tummy panel is crocheted in white. When you examine the instructions for this bot, however, you find that it directs you to make this stomach panel out of felt. This pattern is also missing the instructions for one side of Baby Bot’s head. Out of the four patterns I’ve worked on this was the only one where I encountered any mistakes. Both of these problems can easily be solved by any experienced amigurumi maker, but they may cause some frustration for a beginner.

That problem aside, I’m still a huge fan of Crobots. It will make a great addition to anyone’s amigurumi collection, providing a wonderful series of adorable crochet robots to liven up your home or give away to family and friends.

My Other Book Reviews...

Tiny Yarn Animals Truly Terrific
Creepy Cute Crochet: Approach with Caution
Amigurumi Word. My thoughts...
Mr. Funky's Crochet Elephant

Chibi Servo with Free Pattern!

2009-05-05T17:44:00.001-07:00

I know that people don't always go back to read all the comments on a blog post, so I just wanted to mention that MageAkyla, creator of last week's Cute Thing of the Week has now created a chibi version of the Tom Servo she made for her brother. And the best part, she's posted the pattern for free. Check it out on her blog MageAkyla's Crocheted Creations or follow this link directly to the free pattern. Perfect! Now all I need to do is get myself a decoupage globe and some free time.

Spike In Charge Cross Stitch

2009-05-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

I made this last fall as a birthday and graduation gift for the Infamous and Crafty Lisa, who has just finished up a four year nursing program. I finally got the chance to give it to her last weekend and now I can put up a picture of it without spoiling the surprise. I did all the stitching and the boyfriend, who is both wise and witty, helped select the frame and matboards. The picture is called Spike In Charge and it was created by designer Margaret Sherry. If you're not familiar with her work, you can check out a few samples here. Many of her designs are currently discontinued, including Spike, whom I bought a few years ago. Her pictures tend to feature pudgy animals ranging from cats to elephants, and they're always adorable. You may have also seen them on scrapbooking stickers or greeting cards.

Tom Servo Crocheted! Cute Thing of the Week!

2009-05-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Words can not express how much I wish I'd come up with this one. I am in awe of its complete awesomeness. Tom Servo is the proud creation of Craftster user MageAkyla. His whole body is crocheted except for the arms, which are made out of electrical tubing, and hands made with sculpy. (Note to self: must get better at making things with sculpy!). Tom's clear plastic head is a clear decoupage globe. Can you imagine how cool it would be to curl out with this little guy while watching your favourite episode of MST3K?

Settlers of Catan 'ghan! With Free Pattern

2009-04-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Was it the sheep that gave it away?

Congratulations to Katherine, Shoveling Ferret, Deeners and Kicki for correctly guessing the large collection of hexagons I was making were for a Settlers of Catan afghan.

This is an idea that's been spinning around in the back of my mind since last summer. It took me a while to work out a suitable hexagon motif. I originally made all the brick squares with a hexagon that had more airy space in it. After looking at them for a couple of months I decided I didn't like them. I pulled them apart and settled on this more tightly crocheted hexagon which makes me much happier. A permanent price reduction in Vanna's Choice yarn from $5.99 down to $3.99 also helped the project along.

At it's widest point the blanket is about 37 inches across making it a bit small for an afghan. Maybe more like a lapghan? It would be easy to make it bigger just by extending the hexagon motif a few more rounds though. I also think it would make an awesome baby gift for Catan-loving parents-to-be, but with the Vanna's Choice it's fairly heavy. Perhaps it could be made in a sport weight yarn for that purpose instead?

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to have some sort of sheep roaming around on the light green squares. It took me a while to figure out how I was going to do that. I totally adore these sheep buttons from the Button Drawer.

Unfortunately, these cute little guys are $2.45 a piece. Thriftyness won out and I picked up six pre-cut, painted wooden sheep from Micheal's for 39 cents each. Then I bought broach fasteners and glued them to the backs of the sheep. This way my little flock is both moveable and removeable when it comes time to wash the afghan.

I wasn't sure how I should lay out my Catan map. We normally play with the Cities and Knights expansion, but I didn't want to have the single hexagon sticking up at the top that represents the pirates. Instead, I just used the map suggested in the instruction book from the original game.

Finally, for those who have no idea what I'm talking about, check out Settlers of Catan. I learned to play a couple of years ago when my boyfriend's brother gave us a copy of the game. It's a lot of fun and very easy to learn. In some ways it's similar to Monopoly, except you don't have to spend time counting and giving away money. The real game doesn't come with plastic sheep, just cards with pictures of sheep on them, and yet it's still awesome.

Want the Pattern?

It's free, and it's right here! I love to see what others make with my patterns. If you complete a blanket, post a comment and give me a link to a picture of your finished version. If you have any questions about the pattern, post them in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them.

Settlers of Catan Afghan Pattern

Materials

size I/9 (5.5 mm) crochet hook
stitch marker
yarn needle
1 skein of Vanna’s Choice yarn in White, Black, Brick, Mustard, Charcoal Grey, Mustard, Dusty Green and Olive
3 skeins of Vanna’s Choice yarn in Colonial Blue
wooden sheep and 3/4 inch broach fasteners or sheep buttons

Hexagon Motif

Use the following motif and refer to diagram and pictures above to create the required number of hexagons in each colour.

6 sc in a magic ring (pull ring tight or leave a small hole if desired), slip stitch into first stitch, ch 1.
Rnd 1: 2 sc in same space as sl st. 2 sc in each st around, sl st in top of first sc, ch 1. (12 sc)
Rnd 2: in same space as sl st: sc1, ch1, sc1. *sc 1 in next sc, (sc 1, ch1, sc1) in next sc. Rep from * to last sc. Sc 1 in last sc. Join with sl st to top of first sc.
Rnd 3: sl st into next ch-1 sp. Ch 1. (sc 1, ch1, sc1) in same sp as sl st. *sc 1 in each of next 3 sc. (sc 1, ch1, sc 1) in next ch-1 sp. Rep from * to last 3 sc. Join with sl st in top of first sc.
Rnd 4: ch1. Sc 1 in same sp as sl st. *Ch1. Miss next ch-1 sp. 1 sc in each of next 5 sc. Rep from * to last 4 sc. 1 sc in each of last 4 sc. Join with sl st in top of first sc.
Rnd 5: Sl st in next sc and ch-1 sp. Ch1. (sc 1, ch 1, sc 1) in same sp as sl st. *sc 1 in each of next 5 sc. (sc 1, ch 1, sc 1) in next ch-1 sp. Rep from * to last 5 sc. Join with sl st in top of first sc.
Rnd 6: Ch 1. Sc 1 in same sp as sl st. *Ch 1. Miss next ch-1 sp. Sc 1 in each of next 7 sc. Rep from * to last 6 sc. Sc 1 in each of last 6 sc. Join with sl st in top of first sc.
Rnd 7: Sl st in next sc and ch-1 sp. Ch 1. (sc 1, ch 1, sc 1) in same sp as sl st. *Sc 1 in each of next 7 sc. (Sc 1, ch 1, sc 1) in next ch-1 sp. Rep from * to last 6 sc. Sc 1 in each of last 7 sc. Join with sl st in top of first sc.
Rnd 8: Sl st in next ch-1 sp. Ch 1. (Sc 1, ch 1, sc 1) in same sp as sl st. *1 sc in each of next 9 sc. (sc 1, ch 1, sc 1) in next ch-1 space. Rep from * to last 8 sc. 1 sc in each of last 8 sc. Join with sl st in top of first sc. Finish off.

Note: For two colour hexagons begin the pattern with the centre colour and then for Rnd 2 work as follows:

Rnd 2: in same space as sl st: sc1, ch1, sc1. *sc 1 in next sc, (sc 1, ch1, sc1) in next sc. Rep from * to last sc. Sc 1 in last sc. Join outer colour with sl st to top of first sc.

Continue working rnds 3-8 in outer colour.

Assembly

Sew hexagon motifs together as shown in the map and photos above. My prefered method of joining is the Invisible Weave or Mattress stitch. It’s described really well on page 80 of Debbie Stoller’s The Happy Hooker or you can have glance at this tutorial if you’re interested, although I found the worded description here isn’t quite as clear.

After your hexagons are all sewn together weave in any loose ends. Then I did the following border on my piece:

Border

With Colonial Blue, join with a sl st in any inward corner point.
Rnd 1: Ch 2 and half-double crochet (hdc) in each sc around, placing 3 hdc in every outword corner point sc. Join in top of beginning ch-2 with black.
Rnd 2: Ch 1, sc in each hdc around, placing 3 sc in middle hdc of each outward point, ending with a sl st in top of first sc. Finish off and weave in ends.

Sew sheep buttons on Dusty Green hexagons, or glue wooden sheep to 3/4 inch broach fasteners and attach to Dustry green hexagons as desired.

Enjoy!

Katamari Prince Hot Plate!

2009-04-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

Although it was much belated I finally got the chance to get together and exchange birthday gifts with some friends over the past weekend. My friend, the Infamous and Crafty, Lisa created this Perler Bead Katamari Prince hot plate for me. It's slightly larger than the video game related coasters I've made in the past so it will be perfect for setting teapots and other hot serving dishes on. Very cool! I totally want to pull out my Perler Beads and start playing with them again now. Lisa put this together using the free Katamari Prince cross stitch pattern that's available from johloh over on the Sprite Stitch Pattern Request forum.

While I was hunting down the free cross stitch pattern to share I also ran across these very cool pieces of Katamari art that are just too cool to resist posting.

The above picture comes from Etsy user loudxmouse. For $160 U.S. she will paint a custom Katamari ball or Katamari cousin into a scenic painting for you. I've seen these landscape paintings dubbed as "motel art", and now I'm thinking how awesome it would be to replace some of the dull artwork in motel rooms with Katamari pictures like this one.

This one is called Colossal Katamari and it was created by pixel artist Snake. Click on the image to see a larger picture of it and you can see how detailed the textures are on the monsters' skin. I believe what we have here is the Prince rolling up creatures from the video game Shadow of the Colossus. I've never played the game, but my boyfriend is a big fan.

I found this one on SF Weekly and it just made me laugh. How about a cross-over game of Lego Star Wars vs. Katamari? I'd play it!

Pinwheel Revisited

2009-04-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

I decided to take another crack at the pinwheel pattern I was talking about a few days ago. Things are going much better this time. Since I managed to misinterpret the pattern twice, I figured I'd post a work-in-progress picture in case it helps out anyone else who happens to be struggling with this one. I haven't been able to find a free version of the pattern. The version I'm using comes from the book 7 Day Afghans and I recently noticed that Bernat has a larger version (the one I'm using is intended as a baby blanket) available in this new leaflet.

I'm not loving these colours. I mostly just grabbed some scraps that were on hand, so this sample is made with Vanna's Choice in White and Mustard. I'm thinking that if I keep going with this one I'll use up some of my Vanna's Choice, alternating between a white strip and a coloured strip.

My first misinterpretation was thinking that the blanket was made working from the centre outward like a round ripple afghan. It's not. My second mistake was thinking that it's piece-work. That you have to crochet all the stripes individually and then stitch them together. It's not, and thank goodness because I hate piece work. What you actually do is start with the long white row that you see on the left hand side and work your way through the white section, tapering it off a bit every second row.

Eventually you get down to a very tiny white row that's only about three stitches. Then you join your next colour and work crochet stitches into the edge that you've been tapering off. This creates your first long row in your new colour and from there you repeat the process. Once all the stripes are done you just have to stitch your last piece to your first one to complete the circle and then thread some wool through the centre part and pull it tight. At least that's the theory. I'll have to get that far and actually try it to know for sure.

So now that things seem to be going right I'm enjoying this pattern. The crocheting is very simple; just a repeat of single crochet one, chain one, single crochet one. You just have to recheck the pattern to see where to end your rows. Another nice thing is that each row you work is smaller than the one before it (until you change colours) so it crochets up very quickly.

I'll post the completed version if/when I get it done. Until then, special thanks to Amy B. who found this picture of a completed crochet pinwheel on Ravelry for me.

3-D Perler Bead Vehicles! Cute Thing of the Week

2009-04-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

If you grew up in the 80's there's a good chance you'll find something in Doctor Octoroc's 3-D Sprite Gallery to send you on a trip down memory lane. Along with this great Perler Bead version of the A-Team van there are a number of other very cool vehicles from the much loved tv shows and movies of my childhood. I'm a huge fan of Perler Beads, but there's no way I'm ready to graduate to 3-D creations just yet, which is why I'm so taken in by these. Imagine the time and patience it would take to put them together. It's also great to see someone whose doing something with Perler Beads other than video game characters. Not that I don't adore the video game characters, it's just cool to see something different for a change.

Doctor Octoroc says he was inspired to start making these because of the 3-D puzzles he put together when he was younger. Check out the colour detail on this General Lee from the Dukes of Hazard above. It's great that he can actually achieve that level of colour blending with Perler Beads, considering they don't have that many colours to choose from. Below is the Ecto 1 car from Ghostbusters. It's been a long time since I've seen that movie, too long!

These are just a couple of my favourites from the gallery. If they've captured your attention, I highly recommend checking out the whole collection.

Blast From the Past

2009-04-21T15:18:00.001-07:00

My mom was doing some spring cleaning a while back and came across these crochet hooks that she used in her youth. I thought I'd share a couple of pictures since they're an interesting piece of crochet history. I'm guessing she bought these sometime around the late '60s, early '70s. That's about when she was making ponchos and dresses out of granny squares. Turns out that's not a cliche, it's what people were actually doing with crochet back then. (And my mom's the one who shakes her head and says I'm strange when I show her things like my crocheted Nibbler and vampire bunny rabbits...)

I give the set points for the lovely case the hooks came in, but I like them more as an artifact than as something I'm actually going to use. The hooks are about an inch smaller than the standard Boye ones I like and they just feel uncomfortable in my hands. My mom always says she stopped crocheting because it hurt her hands, and with these things, I can see why. It's clear that ergonomics was not part of their design.

Above is a close up of the set's hook #1. They're all have numbers, with this largest one being #1 and the smallest being #10. The company name on the case says Warwick P.Q., but the colour and feel of the plastic reminds me a lot of the Susan Bates line of hooks and knitting needles. Below you can see the conversion chart that also came with the hooks and that's another interesting piece of history.

We don't have "Canadian" standards for hook size anymore. Canada slowly started going metric in the 1970's. Today when you buy hooks and knitting needles in Canada they're printed with the metric size in millimetres and the U.S. equivalent number or letter on the handle as well.

What's also interesting is that these sizes don't even match up with modern standards. The chart tells me the #1 hook is the equivalent of the U.S. "K" hook and a metric 7.0 mm hook. Not true today. My Boye hook is a K/6.50mm. According to Teresa at Crochet Tips it is common for lettered hooks to be different in size, or cause your projects to turn out different sizes, even if you are using modern day hooks.

So that's your history lesson for today. Anyone know of a craft museum where I could donate these things?

Wall-E! Cute Thing of the Week!

2009-04-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

Another thing to add to my list of things I absolutely have to make someday. Craftster user sukigirl74 took an existing Wall-e pattern and made some alterations to come up with this very realistic looking version of the adorable little trash compactor. Instead of trying to crochet or stitch the eyes she created them out of polymer clay and then put crochet around their base. I love how the clay allows Wall-E to have such expressive eyes. The fact that this little guy is only about two and a half inches tall just makes him even cuter.

Receiving an honourable mention in this week's Cute Thing of the Week is the original Wall-e and Eve patterns created by Craftster user sunshineravioli.

Make that two things to add to my list because I can't have Wall-E without his little eggish love interest.

Has Anyone Seen or Made This Blanket?

2009-04-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

This is the Peppermint Candy Baby Afghan from the book, 7-Day Afghans by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss. I've been Googling and Craftster searching, but I just can't seem to find any finished versions of this out there. I did find a couple of similar blankets that had been knit, either using a loom or knitting machine, but there don't seem to be any crochet versions out there. Which begs the question, why?

I think this is an adorable pattern and it would be very easy to change the colours depending on whether the little one was going to be a boy or girl. And of course there's the added appeal of the promise that this is only a seven day project. Perfect for when you need that nearly last minute gift idea...So I'm curious, has anyone out there made this blanket, or do you know someone who has, or have you perhaps run across any pictures of a crocheted version of it anywhere? If so, drop me a comment and let me know.

I did try starting one a few months back, but ended up frogging it because it was one of those days when nothing was working right. I had grabbed the only red wool I had on hand. It ended up being too thick so it was difficult to work with. Plus, my first piece kept coming out with the wrong number of stitches when I got to the end of the second or third row. I'm not sure if it was a typo in the book or my mistake. I have a feeling it was me, so I need to go back and try this one again when I'm feeling a bit more patient.

In my searching I did come across these tape measures, which certainly look like a miniature version of the blanket, don't they? These are available from Lantern Moon for $10.50 each.

Aside from "peppermint" I also tried using the word "pinwheel" when I was looking for samples of the blanket. As a result, I ran across this amazing creation from Crafster user craftydeb, which I am absolutely in awe of. I admire anyone who has the patience to sew that many pieces together because that's my least favourite part of crocheting. I also love this bright mix of colours. I've seen these pinwheels before in pastel colours and they've never really grabbed my attention the way this version does.

For anyone who is interested, here's a free version of the Pinwheel motif that was used to make this afghan. Now I have way too many blankets I want to make...but let me know if you run across any crocheted Peppermint Baby Blankets!

Guess the Project?

2009-04-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

Just for fun I thought I'd put up the pieces of this project before its finished to see if anyone can guess what I'm making. My boyfriend, who is both wise and witty, was able to figure it out with a couple of clues. I say clues, he says obvious hints.

So what can I tell you about this project? It's going to be an afghan, it involves a lot of different coloured hexagons and those sheep are going to be attached to the light green hexagons. It's something geeky and to my knowledge (that is, after checking Craftster, Google images, and a few other crafty sites) it seems that no one else has thought of making this particular item yet.

Any guesses? Feel free to post them in the comments section or use the comments option to ask me more questions about the project if you want a few more hints. I've still got some hexagons to make. Then I need to sit down, sew all the pieces together and put a border around it. All in all, I'm hoping to be finished sometime in the next couple of weeks. I'll post the completed afghan and free pattern then. Until then, feel free to post your guesses.

Easter Bilby! Cute Thing of the Week

2009-04-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since we've had a Cute Thing of the Week so let's start off with something a little different.

The bilby is a desert-dwelling marsupial found in Australia. According to Wikipedia there were two species of bilby in Australia prior to European colonization. One went extinct several decades ago and the other is currently on the endangered species list. Conservationists have been working to promote the Easter Bilby as an Australian alternative to Easter Bunnies, even selling chocolate bilbies in stores with proceeds going towards the conservation.

This wonderful crochet bilby and basket were created by Etsy user Crochetroo. It's available as a pdf for $4.00. While your checking out the bilby, also have a look at some of Crochetroo's other amigurumis. There are some beautiful bird patterns and adorable koala bears, wallabies and wombats.

Homespun: First Time User, Long Time Fan

2009-04-06T18:09:00.000-07:00

I often spend time in the craft store looking at Lionbrand's beautiful, soft Homespun yarn, but up until now I've been reluctant to buy any. I didn't have an actual plan as to what I could do with it. I just really like the colours and the texture. Finally, with a little birthday money in my pocket, I decided to treat myself and pick up four skeins of Homespun Waterfall. Also, feeling kind of lazy, I decided to just stick with what I know and use it to make another round ripple afghan. What can I say? I love the way these things look and once you get past the first couple of rows it's just mindless repetition that you can use to occupy your hands while watching TV.

Overall, I was really impressed with the Homespun. It's a little hard to see your stitch spaces. I think I would have been frustrated if I was trying this stuff for the first time with an unfamiliar pattern. Doing something familiar, it wasn't too much of a challenge. Aside from that, I was impressed that the yarn didn't rip or fray easily, something I was concerned about because of its soft texture. Looking at the yarn while it was still on the skein I wasn't sure how its variegated colours would look once they were stitched up and I was really happy with the naturally stripey pattern that emerged as I worked with it. I hate changing colours, so to get an effect like this naturally was a lot of fun!

The colours in the first picture are more true to what the afghan looks like in real life. I just wanted to include this picture show the texture.

Next up, an afghan in a different shape. It involves piece-work though, so it may be a while before I get all the little bits finished and sewn together.

Books I'm eagerly awaiting!

2009-04-04T11:54:00.001-07:00

I was doing some browsing on Amazon and came across two books I can't wait to own. It's amazing how excited you can get about something you didn't know existed ten minutes ago, isn't it?

First up on my wish list is Crobots: 20 Amigurumi Robots to Make by Nelly Pailloux. This 96 page paperback is expected to be released on April 21 and will retail for about $13.51 in Canada. Pailloux is the name behind the Etsy shop La Fee Crochette. I've featured her adorable Cookie Monster in one of my Cute Thing of the Week columns and am also an admirer of her South Park characters. If those creations are any indication, I'm certain her collection of robots is going to be adorable. I can't wait to have a look inside the book!

I'm a huge fan of Ana Paula Rimoli's work and I was very pleaesd to discover that her first book, Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet, was successful enough to earn her a sequel. Rimoli's new books, Amigurumi Two!: Crocheted Toys for Me, You, and Baby, Too will be released in paperback in June, 2009. The new book is 80 pages and expected to retail for about $17.07 Canadian. You can check out pictures of all the patterns that will be available in the book by visiting this Flickr site that Rimoli set up

Tiny Cthulhus are taking over!

2009-04-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

In case I don't mention it enough, I love when people leave comments showing me the things they've made with my patterns. It really makes it worthwhile to post the free patters when you know there are people out there who are actually using them. Plus, even just the slightest change, using a different type of wool or a different type of eyes, can turn a pattern into something all new and it gives me new ideas for things to make.

For the past couple of months I've been reading all the comments, but I knew I wouldn't have time to post the pictures. They've been going into a special file so I wouldn't lose track of them though. Now without further ado, may I introduce a few of the latest cousins in the Cthulhu family:

This Cthulhu in a little pink shirt comes courtesy of Jude Thaddaeus. I highly recommend checking out her Photobucket pictures of this one because she did an amazing job on the wings.

A few adaptations on this one made by The Fair Weather Optimist and I think it's absolutely adorable.

Jenna Ellis created this little cousin. His eyes look so innocent, yet I'm certain he's planning something evil!

I'll post some more in a few days. If anyone's interested in the pattern, you can find it in the sidebar on the left listed along with my other free patterns.

Still Flying!

2009-03-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

I'm back! I know it's been a while, but I'm hoping to get back to posting on here with some regularity. For the last couple months I've been completing the practicum portion of my training to become a teacher. For six weeks I had to teach full time in a grade 5 classroom, plan lessons, mark student work and deal with all the other minor to major emergencies that crop up in the average school day. It was stressful, exhausting, but also a lot of fun. It was also life-consuming and I'm very happy to be able to take back a little time for myself. Hello blog and blog readers, how I've missed you...

Of course the other side effect of this life-consuming endevour is that I don't have any of my own crafty projects to show off right now, or even any idea what's been going on in the world of crochet. I have been diligently keeping track of all the wondeful e-mails I've gotten over the past couple months from people who are using my patterns, so I'll start out these first few posts showing off some of those creations. Adding to our family of Cthulhu Cousins today we have these contributions from Sarah. I like how she's added hair to them, It gives them a certain punk quality.

And now in the name of shameless promotion...Remember how I'm always telling you that my boyfriend is both wise and witty? Well, now you can decide for yourself by checking out his new blog SF Kapow. You probably won't come across too much crafty info there, but I'm confident that many of the people who visit Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins are also science fiction fans. At SF Kapow you'l find discussion about all things science fiction including weekly commentary on Joss Whedon's latest TV venture Dollhouse. Hope you enjoy!

Welcoming More Cousins!

2009-01-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

I've got two new cousins to welcome to the family this weekend, including our first ever Browncoat cousin. Ladyserephina is the proud creator of this little Jayne Cthulhu and as Becky pointed out on the comment's thread, "A deity who wears that hat isn't afraid of anything!"

The second new cousin comes from Tiffany . She followed the Tiny Cthulhu pattern as well, but hers came out a little differently. It was made with a F size hook and sport weight yarn. As Tiffany explains, "He came out so skinny, I decided to add legs to get him semi sitting, also added another line to the wings."

Even if he did come out a little different I think he looks great. I have to admit he does remind me a little bit of Futurama's Dr. Zoidberg though. Is anyone else seeing that? I think maybe it's the eyes and the straight tentacles.

Thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to send me pictures of the things they're making or inspired to make from my patterns. It's great to see them getting used. Now I have to go check my wool collection to see if I have the right colours to make a Browncoat hat for one of my own Cthulhus. Happy crocheting everyone!

First Cousins of the New Year!

2009-01-01T17:34:00.000-08:00

Hello and Happy New Years to everyone! I've been watching the stat counter tick up over the past few days and I've had this secret hope that it would hit 100,000 before the new year and I'm so happy to see that it has. Thanks to everyone who has been visiting Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins. I hope that you've been enjoying yourselves and found some creative ideas here to inspire you. I'm afraid things are going to be pretty quiet around here over the next few months as I go back into hibernation. (Otherwise known as school!) On Monday I start my second semester of working towards getting my teaching certificate. Then mid-January I'll be taking over a grade 5 class full-time for two months for my teaching practicum. Since September our instructors have been warning us, "Say good-bye to your family and friends cause you're going to be busy." I can't wait...

Until then, I'm happy to introduce you to the first cousins of the new year. Clara has made this wonderful pair that she named Chillthulhu and Coalthulhu. Very cute! I urge everyone to click on the link above where Clara has photographed and recapped their first adventure in the great outdoors. I just wish the weather here was a bright and sunny as it is there. These cthulhus were made using my Tiny Cthulhu pattern which you can find in the column on the left in the My Free Patterns category.

Thanks again to everyone who has been visiting Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins. I wish you all the best in 2009!

Shell Stitch Blanket

2008-12-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

As promised, I've branched out from my usual round ripple blanket and tried something new. I made this shell patterned baby blanket as an excuse to use up the large stash of Bernat Baby Coordinates that I've been building up. The pattern is based on the Rippling Shells pattern in the book 7-Day Afghans by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss.

If you have any book of basic crochet motifs, you can probably mimic it pretty easily. The main stitch is a basic shell made up of five double crochet stitches. The only alteration I made to the pattern was that after the first row I crocheted in the back loop only. After some experimenting I found that this just made the shells pop out a bit more. Overall, I really enjoyed working on this one. The shell stitch is very simple to do and the work becomes mindless after a couple of rows so you don't have to be constantly double-checking the pattern.

I tried to keep the stripes at about four rows per colour, but since my goal was to finish off a bunch of leftover scraps there are some places where I couldn't complete a full set of four rows. Most noticeable is the row in the middle where there's a switch from purple to yellow that stands out quite a bit. Aside from that, I'm very happy with how this blanket turned out and pleased to see my wool inventory is a little bit smaller now.

I have no idea who I'm going to give this blanket to. I know there are plenty of charities out there that accept knitted and crocheted baby blankets so it may end up going off to one of them. If anyone has any suggestions as to places in Canada where I could donate the blanket feel free to drop me a note in the comments section.

More Round Ripple Afghans!

2008-12-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

As evidence on this blog would show I just love the round ripple afghan pattern. It's so easy to stitch and I find that if I put in about an hour of crocheting a day, I can get one of these done in about a week. Plus the pattern is so simple that once you have the basics down you don't have to look back at the pattern at all and can spend your crochet time in coversation or watching TV.

This first blanket I made back in the summer as a Christmas present for one of my girlfriends. The wool is Vanna's Choice in Denim Mist, Rose Mist, and Purple Mist. It's very soft and thick and I like how the white flecks carry through the whole blanket. I also made the blanket quite large, more of a bed covering than a lapghan.

Next up is a baby blanket that I made during the Christmas holidays for a friend of the family. Her first child is due in the spring so I have this one done a little early. It's based heavily on the round ripple baby blankets that you often see in the Mary Maxim catalogues. I've changed the order of the colours though to suit what I had on hand.

This one was made with various shades of Bernat's Baby coordinates. If you're interested in how I got the blended colour effect you can read about it in my previous post about this five point star blanket that I made. Yep, another star shaped blanket...I promise I'm branching out though. I've reccently been working on a square shaped blanket and discovered another pattern that I like almost as much as the round ripples. I'll try to show it off later this week.

Want the Pattern?
There are lots of variations of the round ripple pattern out there, but the one I like best is the free one you can find here.

A Hippopotamus for Christmas!

2008-12-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

A couple years back a local phone/internet provider garnered a lot of attention with their television ad featuring the song I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas and a hippopotamus from our local zoo wandering around on the screen. People were so taken with Hazina the hippo it caused a surge in kids wanting toy hippos for Christmas and links to the ad got passed around via e-mail to people all over the world. You can view the original ad here.

Anyways, I'm a couple of years late, but I finally managed to give my boyfriend's mom a hippopotamus for Christmas. This one is another cutie from Tammie Snow's Tiny Yarn Animals which I reviewed last week. I added the scarf so he'd be prepared for the winter weather. My boyfriend, who is both wise and witty, pointed out that it actually looked more like a hippopotamus once it had the scarf on. I'm not sure why that would be the case, but I have to agree.

Creepy Cute Bookmarks!

2008-12-27T12:05:00.000-08:00

Now that the Christmas presents have been given out and I won't ruin the surprise I thought I'd share a few of the gifts I made this holiday season. My original intention was to give everyone at least one homemade gift. I worked on a few of them during the summer, but once school started, I just didn't have time to actually finish making something for everyone. Here are a couple that I did manage to finish and I'm deeply thankful to NeedleNoodles for sharing her Creepy Cute Cross Stitch patterns. It's been a while since I've done any cross stitch so it was nice to be able to start with something small.

The pictures were taken while these were still on the loom. Afterwards I cut them out and attached adhesive felt to the backs of them, turning them into bookmarks. (Click on the pictures if you want to see a larger version.)

I used NeedleNoodles basic patterns and then made them my own. These were presents for my two best girlfriends so I chose sayings that I thought would suit them and made a couple of minor changes to the colours in the original patterns. For the light grey on the ninjas I used DMC 414 because I wanted them to be a little lighter than the pattern recommends. The purple ninja is DMC 209 and 208. I've never been very good at making French knots, but these ninjas certainly gave me a lot of practice!

I wanted the vampires to be reminiscient of Spike and Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I used Ecru for the skin tone and for Angel's hair I used DMC 938 and 898. Spike's hair is DMC 3045 and 3046 and that tiny blue patch on his shirt is 931. I couldn't resist adding the bit of blood and frown to Spike. He doesn't like being cross stitched and he's not happy standing this close to Angel.