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Knitted Chocolate Easter Bunny Pattern

2008-04-05T05:06:00.000-07:00

I knitted this hand-sized bunny with DK yarn on 3mm needles, but that was only because I didn't have any worsted weight in brown. For a bigger bunny, use worsted weight yarn with 4mm needles, or - my favourite - chunky weight (or 2 strands of worsted held together) with 6mm needles. As long as your needle size is slightly smaller than the recommended needle size for the yarn weight, the stuffing won't show through and the tension will stay tight.

The base of bunny is knitted back and forth in garter stitch, then stitches are picked up and bunny is worked in the round. The tip of the ears is grafted at the end. Yes, it's seamless - no sewing up!

kfb = knit into the front of the stitch, then slip through the back of the same stitch, slip stitch off left needle.

Cast on 20 sts.

Knit 10 rows (5 garter stitch ridges).

Place marker D, pick up 5 sts (this is the side), place marker A, pick up 20 sts (this is the front piece), place marker B, pick up 5 sts (this is the other side), place marker C. Knit to marker D (this is the back piece). Knit to marker A.

Always start rounds at marker A. Knit 4 rounds.

Rnd 5: ssk, k to 2 sts before D, k2tog, k to end.

Rnd 6: repeat last round.

Rnds 7-8: k to end.

Rnd 9: kfb, k to 1 st before D, kfb, k to end.

Rnd 10: repeat last round.

Rnd 11: k to end.

Rnd 12: k to 2 sts before B, k2tog, k to C, ssk, k to end.

Rnd 13: k to end.

Rnds 14-17: repeat last 2 rounds 2 more times.

Rnd 18: k to 2 sts before B, k2tog, k to C, ssk, k to end.

Rnds 19-21: repeat last round 3 more times.

Rnd 22: ssk, k to 2 sts before B, k2tog, k to C, ssk, k to 2sts before D, k2tog, k to end.

Rnd 23: k to end.

Rnds 24-25: repeat Rnd 18.

Rnd 26: repeat Rnd 22.

Rnds 27-28: k to end.

Rnd 29: kfb, k to 1 st before D, kfb, k to end.

Rnd 30: k to end.

Rnds 31-32: repeat last 2 rounds.

Rnd 33: k to 1 st before B, kfb, k to C, kfb, k to end.

Rnd 34: k to end.

Rnds 35-38: repeat last 2 rounds 2 more times.

Rnd 39: ssk, k to 1 st before B, kfb, k to C, kfb, k to 2 sts before D, k2tog, k to end.

Rnds 40-41: repeat Rnd 39.

Rnd 42: k to end.

Stuff toy.

Rnd 43: ssk, k to 2 sts before D, k2tog, k to end.

Remaining rnds: repeat Rnd 43 until 0 sts left between A and B, 5 sts between B and C, 0 sts between C and D, and 5 sts between D and A.

Stuff ears, and graft the 10 side stitches together. Embroider eyes.

Added April 7, 2008:
This is the pattern knitted up with 5.0 mm needles and two strands of DK held together. It took less than one 50g skein of yarn (separated into 2 balls).

Blog Defunct, Using Ravelry Instead

2008-04-02T05:13:00.000-07:00

As you've figured out by now, I've stopped blogging here. Instead, I've been using Ravelry to record my knitting projects (I'm user ax174). I will post patterns here occasionally, but they will be linked in Ravelry as well. See you there!

My Father Passed Away...

2007-02-05T04:38:00.000-08:00

... suddenly and unexpectedly, I'm afraid. The obituary will run in the Toronto Star and Sudbury Star. Can't say when, if ever, I'll be able to blog again, so this may be goodbye.

New Scarf, New Books

2007-01-30T17:29:00.000-08:00

I didn't want to start any new projects until the crochet book I ordered came in, but I had to do something while riding the subway to various out-of-office meetings all week. This crocheted medallion scarf from a free Lionbrand pattern (registration is required for downloading, so grab an anonymous login at BugMeNot) looked interesting to make, and it was quick project.

It was quick enough that I'll probably re-use the pattern for making gifts. There are 7 medallions in the scarf (I wanted 8 but ran out of yarn), and each medallion took about 20 minutes to crochet and join, including weaving in the ends. Plus it shore is purty.

The timing was good 'cause my book arrived today. It's the one on the right, Knit Room by Tomoko Fujita (ISBN 4861912016). The book on the left, instructions for making sock and glove toys (ISBN 4579110617), was ordered because I needed to buy a certain amount to get free shipping from Yes Asia, and the shipping would've been only slightly less then the second book. I thought maybe the kids would like this one.

I don't read Japanese, but the instructions in Asian craft books are always clear. International knit and crochet symbols are used, and there are lots of step-by-step pictures. For example, these are the instructions for the dog in the sock and glove book.

I like this sock bird. I dig how the beak is a horn-shaped toggle button, and the chest is the sock heel. The wings are the heel and toe of another sock.

These are pictures from Knit Room. You can make a cake tissue box cover,

a taiyaki cell phone holder,

or a pineapple bag.

The pineapple bag will be my first project from this book. Not that I need a pineapple purse, but it looks like fun to make. Actually, that's why my house is cluttered with scarves I never wear, or these novelty paperweights:

I choose projects solely on the basis of how fun they look to make, which means I end up cranking out lots of cheesy tchotchkes. To my sister in England: if you're reading this - uhm - I'll be sending you a pineapple purse soon! Oh, and BTW, mom and dad got back okay - they asked me to tell you that.

Tree Sweater Spotting

2007-01-29T07:34:00.000-08:00

What is that pink thing on the tree?

A tree sweater!

Amost Done

2007-01-28T11:20:00.000-08:00

These are the two sweaters I've been knitting, modelled by my kids' guitars. On the left is a bulky, drop-shoulder hoodie, and on the right is a sweater that I actually completed a few months ago, except that the neckline stretched out so I'm re-knitting it as a hood.

They are the reason I've had nothing to show for a while. Just a whole lotta stockinette going on.

To break up the serious monotony, I knitted three cupcake paperweights, and this little crocheted purse.

It's really tiny, more like a coin purse.

I simply crocheted a circle for the base, and sc'd the sides. I could've sc'd the icing, but I picked up sts and knitted the top instead, because it's a pain to crochet fluffy yarn. Anyway, no decreases for the top - just bind off when it looks about right. I threaded a silk cord through it, and hid the ends inside crocheted beads.

Okay (deep breath), back to the remaining sweater...

Some Aikido Instructors

2007-01-19T11:58:00.000-08:00

For the knitters: yes, I have been knitting, but I don't have much to show for it, hence no pictures. I promised myself that I wouldn't start any new projects until I'd finished all my UFOs, which unfortunately includes a very boring stocking-stitch hoodie sweater, and a plain pair of socks.

For anyone who takes aikido: here are some YouTube videos featuring some of my instructors, pictured in a previous post. The clips were posted by a student who was visiting from the NY dojo of Yamada Sensei.

Finally!

2007-01-15T12:22:00.000-08:00

Here is the baby of a friend, for whom I knitted this blanket.

Poetry: the Sublime to the Ridiculous

2007-01-15T07:47:00.000-08:00

I made two nostalgic purchases this weekend: Leonard Cohen's Stranger Music, a collection of his poems and songs, and The Flintstones, season 1 on DVD.

Ah, Leonard Cohen. The same age as my dad, yet I've had a crush on him since I was an adolescent, when I - uh - "liberated" Let Us Compare Mythologies, and The Spice-Box of Earth from my junior high school in northern Ontario.

What attracted me then was his lyric yet manic depressive writing. What attracts me now is his sense of humour. His poems are like Zen koans - seemingly accessible, yet ultimately mysterious. For example, many have remarked that Famous Blue Raincoat seems like straightforward letter, but it begs for interpretation (PDF link). Anyway, one of the poems I loved as a teen was this one:

A kite is a victim you're sure of.
You love it because it pulls
gentle enough to call you master,
strong enough to call you fool;
because it lives like a trained falcon
in the high sweet air,
and you can always haul it down
to tame it in your drawer.

A few verses later, he compares the kite to, "the last poem you've written", saying,

A kite is a contract of glory
that must be made with the sun,
so you make friends with the field
the river and the wind,
then pray the whole cold night before,
under the traveling cordless moon,
to make you worthy and lyric and pure.

To me, that poem to me was sheer magic. "Worthy and lyric and pure" would echo through my head.

Now, The Flintstones. I explained to my kids that this program was to me what The Simpsons is to them. Like the latter (in relation to them): The Flintstones was on the air before I was born, aired several times a day, and I never missed an episode. Even if I had seen a particular episode a hundred times already, if it was on, I would watch it.

You may recognize some of these snippets (I made up the titles):

The Frogmouth
[Wilma] Bill, the baby's college-fund money is missing. Did you take it?
[Big actor with tiny, high-pitched voice] Yes, I did. So what? You wanna make something of it?

The Tasty Pastry Contest
Wilma and Betty enter the contest with their Upside-Down Flint-Rubble Bubble Cake. They get the measles and have to skip the final bake-off. Picture Fred and Barney in drag, trying to act coy.

Frying Pans
Fred suspects Wilma is cheating on him, so he hires a tough detective - really tough. At a bar, the guy orders, "rocks, on rocks… and put it in a dirty glass."

This episode also featured Fred's poetry:

Your shell-like ears,
Your dainty hands,
And eyes so black
Like frying pans.*

* said with a questioning lilt at the end (but you knew that)

You're a perfect peach.
Together we're a pair.
You’re sweet,
you're nice,
you're paradise,
and all kinda stuff like that there.

Ah, bliss!

Death by Doughnut

2007-01-13T07:56:00.000-08:00

My older son is learning about climate in school, and the class is reading the 1978 book by Judi Barrett, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which is being interpreted as a tale of catastrophic global warming. Global warming is the hot-button issue in Canada at the moment, so the subject is very timely.

It's a delightful book about the town of Chewandswallow, where it rains food instead of regular precipitation. For example, this is a mashed potatoes and peas drizzle followed by storms of hamburgers.

Suddenly and inexplicably, the weather goes awry, with the food coming in deluges, and the portions getting bigger and more destructive.

This is what fifteen-inch drifts of sandwiches look like.

This poor woman is running for her life from a couple of doughnuts.

Note the fellow being crushed by a hamburger, and the pickle that's crashed into the house. I love the overcast porkchop sky!

It gets so bad that the townsfolk are forced to construct ships from massive pieces of stale bread, and sail away to a land where people buy their food from grocery stores.

I Don't Get It

2007-01-12T09:35:00.000-08:00

Some things I've been wondering about (I've turned on the comments function so that I can receive replies).

Kill the Pig, Save the Spider
The book, Charlotte's Web, has been getting a lot of press lately because of the movie. My question is: how come none of the humans in the novel figure out that it's the spider that's special, not the pig?
Charitable Donations to Mark an Event
Suppose that someone is retiring, and she asks that in lieu of gifts, donations be made to her favourite charity. Who is supposed to get the tax receipt: you or the person being honoured? I assume that the donor gets the receipt, but surely the honouree should get some benefit, aside from the acknowledgement.
What's the Word?
There must be a word for this feeling in some language - not quite "shame", not quite "schadenfreude". The only way I can describe it is by way of an anecdote.

My spouse was mercilessly bullied in highschool by a popular fellow. A few years ago, the kids wanted to go into the Disney Store, where the spouse spotted his former bully, who was now a minimum-wage greeter. I thought the spouse would be amused to see the karmic fate of the bully, but instead, he was so ashamed on behalf of the guy, that he took a very circuitous route to the entrance in order to avoid being greeted by this fellow.

What is the word for that feeling - being ashamed, except on behalf of someone else? Sort of a reverse schadenfreude.

Shrimp Sushi Bag: Pattern for Shrimp Pocket

2007-01-10T05:31:00.000-08:00

Here is the pattern I promised for the pocket (shrimp piece) of the felted shrimp sushi bag.

As I mentioned before, for the bag itself, I wasn't entirely happy with the way the rice fabric turned out (not "ricey" enough in texture), so you'll have to wing that part. Mine is just a variation of the well-known Booga bag. I thought about knitting it in bobbles all the way around, except that I can't stand making bobbles. Another option was to try a bumpy "berry" pattern, but I was afraid all the work would be felted away.

Materials

yarn that is 100% wool:
1) in a shrimp colour, like orange or pink, and
2) in a white, off-white or cream
(you can use this photo for reference)

I used Galway Paint (colour 525, variegated orange), and Patons Classic Merino (colour 202, "Aran").

5 mm straight needles

stitch markers (if you hate counting)

Notes

The pocket is knit in garter-stitch from the tail-end upwards. The top is shaped with short rows. The tail is knitted by picking up stitches from the cast-on edge.

Every 5 ridges (10 rows), change colour to white and work 1 ridge (2 rows). Change back to the shrimp colour.

The increases can be made any way you like (I like to knit in the front & back of the stitch) - the piece will be felted, so any visible sloppiness will conveniently disappear.

Instructions

Cast on 31 sts with the shrimp colour. Mark the middle stitch with a stitch marker.
Rows 1-2: knit (31 sts).
Row 3: Inc 1, inc 1, k to 1 st before middle st, k3tog, k to last 2 sts, inc 1, inc 1 (31 sts). Move marker to new middle st.
Row 4: knit (31 sts).
Rep rows 3-4 until there are 41 sts, remembering to work 2 rows in the white, after every 10 rows.

(Here's where I winged it to get the nice, fat, shrimp shape I wanted. I wrote down everything I did, but you may find it unnecessarily complicated and decide to do something else).

--- IMPROV STARTS HERE----
*Next row: inc 1, k to 1 st before middle st, k3tog, k to last st, inc 1.
Next row: knit.
Repeat these two rows for 12 ridges (24 rows).**
Repeat rows 3-4 until there are 51 sts.
Repeat section from * to **.
Next row: knit for 8 ridges (24 rows) with no shaping (51 sts).
---IMPROV ENDS HERE----

*Next row: k 25, turn.
You can do wraps if you like. I did them out of force of habit, but they're not at all necessary as the felting closes up all the holes.
Next row: k 24 sts, turn.
Next row: k 22 sts, turn.
Next row: k 21 sts, turn.
Next row: k 20 sts, turn.
Next row: k 19 sts, turn.
Next row: k 18 sts, turn.
Next row: k to the end.**
What's supposed to happen here is that you knit to the other side so that you can do the short rows on the unworked half of the stitches. This will give you two nice lobes, which you can see in the photo.
Repeat section from * to **. Bind off.

For the tail, pick up 15 sts along one half of the cast-on edge.
Row 1: k2tog, k to end.
Rows 2-3: knit.
Repeat these 3 rows until there are 3 sts left. Bind off.
Repeat for second half of the tail.

Now you just knit the bag, attach the pocket, and felt everything.

Shrimp Sushi Bag

2007-01-07T09:33:00.000-08:00

This ebi nigirizushi is the last knitted bag I'll be making for a while. I now have enough little knitted bags to last me a lifetime.

Here is the prawn outer-pocket, pre-felted.

I'll post the pattern for this piece later. For the bag itself, I'm not entirely happy with the way the rice fabric turned out (not "ricey" enough in texture), so you'll have to wing that part. Mine is just a variation of the well-known Booga bag. I thought about knitting it in bobbles all the way around, except that I can't stand making bobbles. Another option was to try a bumpy "berry" pattern, but I was afraid all the work would be felted away.

Oh, I also made this little felted bluejay to break up the monotony of knitting the rice bag.

The pattern is from a library book, McCall's Big Book of Dolls and Soft Toys to Knit and Crochet.

The boys have been busy with the Star Wars Lego sets they got for Christmas. Here is a Richard Scarry-ish hide-out they've been building.

Some kind of intense meeting going on...

Protecting the compound, inspection and maintenance of vehicles...

It's a multicultural community of clones, ewoks, wookies, and other sentient life forms.

Super Mario Keychain/Backpack Fobs

2007-01-04T17:52:00.000-08:00

There are lots of things you can do with a pixelated image: sew blocks for a quilt, knit, crochet, or cross-stitch the image, make tiled mosaics... but one activity that will keep little kids busy for literally hours is to make key chain fobs out of Perler beads. Perler beads, available wherever kids' crafts are sold (Michael's, Walmart, etc.), are little coloured beads that you arrange on a special pegged frame (the kid's job), then fuse together with a clothing iron (the adult's job).

Instructions for making these are all over the web, but you'll have to hunt for the images and divide them up on a grid yourself (some charts here).

The Holiday

2006-12-31T19:39:00.000-08:00

The holidays were very, very busy. No snow in Toronto, which made the kids sad. They got new sleds two years ago, and we've never been able to use them because of the missing snow. This year may be a bust too, but I hope not. If we get snow next year, the kids will have outgrown their sleds!

On Christmas Eve, we had dinner at the in-laws' home. Christmas dinner was at my place, for 10 people, although it ended up being 9 because my mom bowed out. On Boxing Day, we went to my parents' house and visited my mom there.

The next day, my older son's best friend, who moved to Portland last year, came to stay with us for a couple of nights, along with his little brother. Once they arrived, we didn't stop moving. On the first night, we went to a Japanese restaurant, saw a movie (Night at the Museum), and the kids stayed up until three in the morning playing video games.

The next day, we went to the Science Centre, then out for lunch, before visiting the old neighbourhood. Sadly, none of their friends were around, and the two who were, were stuck at home babysitting. In the evening, we went to yet another movie (The Pursuit of Happyness for the kids and spouse, Casino Royale for me), then had a long, unexpected adventure trying to get to our parking spot from the mall-from-hell with the mislabelled signs and byzantine layout ("Dude, where's my car??"). I regret to say that I was really tired by then, and did not react with good humour to the dead end corridors and multiple locked parking exits. Anyway, the kids survived my cursing like a sailor, and stayed up again playing video games. The next morning, our guests left, but we caught up with them the next day at their family party, and everyone had a great time there.

The next day, Sunday, we had dinner again with the in-laws (almost a whole week had passed since we last saw them at Christmas!), and then on Monday we visited with my parents.

Now the fibre content of this knitting blog...
Right before Christmas, I finally finished that crocheted blanket. It's 4 x 6 blocks, so some squares are missing from this photo.

The squares look wonky because when I took this picture, the blanket hadn't been blocked yet. You can find the pattern for this Tricolor Square (and others) here.

Here it is being blocked.

The spouse gave me a bookstore gift certificate for Christmas, so I picked up a knitting magazine that I don't usually buy, Vogue Publishing's Knit.1 (Winter 06-07 "Love issue"), because it had an utterly frivolous heart pattern in it.

The WIP photo shows the actual colours better.

The blood vessels in the pattern diagrams aren't really in the right positions. This model gives a better idea of the actual arrangement.

I'm giving this to my older sister, who works in a hospital. I figure that if she doesn't want it, she'll know someone who will.

Ack, back to work on Tuesday.

Egg Nog Custard

2006-12-22T13:27:00.000-08:00

I made a couple of pies, one for eating now, the other for Christmas dinner,

and a custard.

The pies are pecan cheesecake, recipe here. The custard recipe is below.

Egg Nog Custard

5 eggs
3/4 c. sugar
2 c. whole milk
1 1/4 c. heavy cream
1 tspn vanilla extract
2 tspns rum extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat all ingredients together. Pour into 8 ramekins (little ceramic dishes) or an oven-proof casserole pan. Place into a roasting pan filled half way with water. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool before serving.

I like my custard warm and light, but if you like it cold and thicker, refrigerate for at least 2 hours. I prefer to eat it plain, but you can serve it with whipped cream and a sprinkling of nutmeg.

In other news, the kids had a holiday concert at their school yesterday evening. Here are my boys, one with a friend.

The Niece and Nephew

2006-12-18T06:26:00.000-08:00

Some pictures of the niece and nephew.

That's my brother-in-law.

Yes, my sister really does look like that cookie.

Aikido Year-End Party

2006-12-17T13:47:00.000-08:00

The family went to another party today, this time at the dojo.

Here's the spouse with the children's instructor,

the younger son with two friends,

from the left, one of the adult students, an instructor and his wife (also an instructor),

another instructor and the chief instructor, Sensei,

the women's class instructor with the spouse,

a student with yet another instructor,

the girls from the children's class,

and the kids playing hide and seek.

Gingerbread Boys

2006-12-15T06:51:00.000-08:00

Hey, these really are cute! Blogger Bittersweet crocheted a gingerbread man, which I thought looked nicer than the other free designs I'd seen on the web, so I printed the pattern and made a couple for the boys.

My oldest son used to collect gingerbread boys, partly because the story of the gingerbread man is used in the Kindergarten curriculum, and also because at the time, his favourite TV show was Blue's Clues, which had a gingerbread boy character.

He made the purple gingerguy himself.

Let's see... even more crocheted squares,

and a holiday decoration made by my good friend, Hen (that's my nickname for her).

She recently busted up some old keyboards so that I could turn the key caps into magnets. Thanks, Hen!

Another Party and Books

2006-12-12T05:32:00.000-08:00

We went to another children's holiday party on Sunday, organized by the spouse's employer. It was at the Rogers Centre (formerly the Skydome), and featured lots of big jumping castles and some carnival rides.

Happy early Christmas to me! My book order arrived.

First, a recently translated collection of Junji Ito's short works from shonen magazines, Museum of Terror 3. I really admire his directorial skills. The way he frames a story is exactly what you'd expect to see in a big screen horror movie.

I used to think Clive Barker's fiction was so original, especially his Books of Blood series, but now I realize that many of his best ideas are borrowed from Japanese horror writers like Ito.

Next, Fudebakudo, that repository of martial arts cartoons by the fabled Beholder. You can see some of them at the official web site, which, incidentally, has pictures of the most awesome wedding cake ever. There's a nice flip book printed at the bottom corner of the pages - fun, wow!

Finally, a hard-to-find book I've always wanted, Gaku Homma's Children and the Martial Arts. It's about aikido as a pedagogy, which is the do (the 'way' or path) aspect that has kept me hooked to the discipline. He writes,

In Japan… martial arts training is a highly regarded teaching method. In the United States, most people think of it as simply one of many available recreational activities. I think it is a dangerous mistake for a parent to let a child study a martial art unless the parent understands that martial arts training is a method of education. This book is about Aikido training as an educational tool.

The point is that aikido - being non-competitive (unlike karate or judo, there are no formal competitions or trophies), and "soft", meaning that the force of your partner is deflected or turned back against him, rather than met with equal but opposing force - is a discipline which teaches you to live in harmony with others. Yes, even as you're being flipped upside down at high speed on the mat.

Aikido (mainstream aikikai style) can be used as self defense, but it's not taught as a self defense method.* As the founder, Ueshiba, intended at the end of his life, it is meant to teach cooperation. Any yudansha (black belt) will tell you that if your partner uses 80% of his force on a strike, you use only 20% to deflect it. And if your partner uses only 10% of his force, you use 90%. Aikido develops this skill in cooperation, which will serve you well off the mats, in the real world.

[* Those wishing to learn aikido for self defense should enroll in a pre-war style like yoshinkinai. This style was founded by Ueshiba before he got enlightened, or, as some would say, old and mellowed.]

Some blogging odds and ends:
Here's the fibre content of this post - more crocheted squares.

I'll have enough for a blanket some day!

What else - oh, the local paper asked readers to send in "scared Santa" pictures. I have many of these, but this one is my favourite, because of Santa's expression. My oldest here is a little over a year-old.

A recent picture of the nephew and niece.

The nephew in his school uniform.

Holiday Parties and Apple Machine

2006-12-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

The kids went to a holiday party at the college on Saturday. It was organized by the third-year hospitality students and I thought they did a good job. There was lots of food, crafts, buskers, movies, and of course, Santa Claus.

We had to leave early to rest up for another party that evening (no pictures of that one because it was a house party).

On Sunday, between aikido lessons and catching up on chores, the kids and I made a couple of apple pies. It was a good opportunity for us to try out our new apple machine, from Lee Valley. I got this contraption as a gift from my older sister 2 years ago, but up until now we were still using our Starfrit apple peeler which, as it turns out, is much less efficient. Using this machine is a fun activity to do with the kids, and makes coring and peeling a snap (works on potatoes and yams too).

This is the finished item - a naked and cored granny smith.

You pull back the handle, stick an apple into the prongs, and slowly turn the handle. You can adjust the peeling blade for a thicker or thinner peel.

Keep turning until the apple is past the coring ring at the end.

Pop off the coiled finished apple, which you can easily break up into thin slices.

Pop off the core.

It's so quick that I've actually started looking for more recipes that call for sliced apples, rather than avoiding them as I have in the past.

The rest of the weekend was not so great. Sunday evening I was felled by a massive headache-y cold, the kind where, as my younger son says, your face "is like water", meaning the weepy eyes and drippy nose. I was too sick to knit or even just read, which was a bummer.

Crochet Blocks

2006-12-01T14:44:00.000-08:00

To break up the monotony of 3 very boring knitting projects, I checked out this book from the library, 200 Crochet Blocks. It's not a great book, but it's the only recent one in its genre, so it'll do. On the bright side, all of the blocks are designed to be the same size, so you can mix and match them as you please. This is a considerable help. I browsed a number of crochet-block books from the 70s and 80s, and surprisingly, none of the blocks in them are the same size. It would take some tweaking to standardize them to make an afghan.

On the downside,

the title is misleading as there are only 138 blocks, with colour variations making up the rest. There are even fewer if you omit the single-crochet ones with colour changes (e.g. thick stripes, thin stripes).
There are no charts, which would've helped immensely when the instructions get confusing.
There are many, many errors. Some of the mistakes are obvious and can be fixed if you look at the photo carefully, but for the others, you just have to wing it and hope that it turns out okay.
There are no stitch counts for each round or row. Without charts or stitch counts, it's hard to tell if you've made an error. The lack of stitch counts becomes downright annoying when it's time to join the blocks. You can't assume that every finished block has the same number of stitches on each side, so when sewing up, you have to rely on counting, re-counting, and averaging.
There are no photos of actual finished afghans, so you have to experiment to see which of the 3 joining methods looks best.

This project will probably use up all the Bernat Cottontots I have left. I just hope I won't have to buy more.

No Fibre Content Today

2006-12-01T09:10:00.000-08:00

I've been avoiding my 3 current knitting projects (a never-ending sweater, another pair of socks, another bag), and slowing down on my 1 crochet project, which I'll photograph soon.

Mostly I've been playing the guitar, watching DVDs, and reading. The DVDs are Neil Young's Heart of Gold (great), and Leonard Cohen's I'm Your Man (not so great). As far as the reading goes, my favourite new book is Gene Yang's American Born Chinese. Here are two pages that remind me of my own past.

The persistent joke about my maiden name, Wu, is like the "Who's on First" skit. Even as an adult, after I introduced myself, I used to hear, "Who?" and I was expected to answer, "Wu", only to hear again, "Who?" I wish I could say that by that time I had perfected the art of the cold stare and the sarcastic reply, but I hadn't.

The bit about Suzy Nakamura reminds me of a guy I grew up with named Eric Wong. Classmates were always trying to get us to date, and as a result, we avoided each other through elementary school all the way up to high school. It's kind of funny that one of my sons now has the same first name.

I remember hearing Frank Chin speak at Johns Hopkins about what it means to be Asian American. He didn't have any answers. Instead, he said it was up to "your generation" (meaning, my generation) to define that. I applaud Gene Yang for being one of many to step up to the plate.

Socks Finished, No Longer Cursed

2006-11-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

The second sock went much faster than the first. I suppose that as the skein diminished, so did its evil potency. :-)

Sunday afternoon:

Sunday evening:

I very much like socks that are coordinated, instead of matching. I think they're more interesting as siblings rather than twins. Come to think of it, for me, that goes for earrings and mittens too.

Why the Signatures Craft Show is worth the $6 admission: NONIA has a booth. Check out these (relatively) inexpensive, good quality 100% wool, handknit mittens. The adult mittens are $20 a pair, but the kids' mittens are only $12.50 a pair. Putting them on is like wearing a piece of Canadian history (the Yarn Harlot explains why, here).

Someone was selling these crocheted fingerpuppets, which I snapped up for - who else? - my nephew.

Can Sock Yarn be Cursed?

2006-11-15T09:24:00.000-08:00

The last time my sister got a pair of hand-knit socks, she seemed to like them, so I'm knitting her another pair with the same yarn with which I tried to make fingerless gloves. This isn't the reclaimed yarn - the failed gloves are still in their failed-glove form - this is just another ball from the same dye lot. BTW, notice I didn't say that I was making these for Christmas. At the rate I'm going, I can only hope that they'll be finished by Easter!

Sadly, I've had to rip back twice already. There's a tiny black-hole somewhere in this project. Even though I did the math, there were not enough stitches in the cast-on to fit over the heel. Of course, I to had knit a few inches before trying it on to discover this. Rip, rip, rip. Wind, wind, wind.

The second time, things were going well, and I started picking up stitches for the instep - except that I had forgotten to turn the heel! I noticed this after a few inches past the pick up, and wondered if my sister had really thick heels to fill in this sock, or maybe she could use them if she ever breaks her foot and it's in a cast. Sigh... rip, rip, rip. When I picked up the live stitches, of course I had ripped back into my heel stitch pattern, so of course - not having the patience to figure out which stitches were slipped and which were knitted -I didn't bother to orient the stitches properly, and that left huge gaps which I'll have to sew up later.

Is it possible for sock yarn to be cursed?

I'm tempted give up and work on my other project. Here's a sneak peek.

I got some nice feedback on my One-Seam Teddy Bear Pattern from Maureen (who is blogless). She's tweaked the instructions to make the bear pear-shaped and - be still still my heart! - totally seamless. Scroll to the bottom of the pattern to read her suggestions.

The doll bag is finished. I shipped it off to my niece in the UK.

And, for no reason at all, here is something I picked up at the JCCC flea market event for fifty cents - a Doraemon snack container (on the left).

The Little Tikes figure (on the right) is "Betty Bookworm" and was my younger son's favourite toy when he was a baby, likely because it looks like me.