Happy New Year! :P

It’s February, so I’m just a little bit late 😛

I realized I’ve forgotten to do a summary post of last year’s craftiness, so I’ll do it now. I actually finished some things last year 😀 Hang on, this is going to be a long post!

First, there was the Winter Olympics, during which I finished three old wips:

And in between the crocheting, I started to sew a little. Made some pincushions and pouches for various things:

I’m particularly pleased with this bag – it has FIVE pockets 😀

A small bag for a bunch of small card games, plus dice and tokens

During the summer I didn’t do much, other than a few bunnies, which you might have seen. You can find them all on this page, which I will update as I make more 🙂

I made this little lady for a friend:

Venus of Willendorf (not my pattern)

For Halloween I made more bunnies, and I started a thing that suddenly turned into a new line of patterns, which I posted about:

Dumpling Darlings: a bear, a pig and a jellyfish

I never finished the first one that started the thing, though. Maybe this year 😛

In November and December I made these guys for my mother for Christmas:

Throughout the year I played around with watercolor paints, and I did some small sketches that I’m pretty happy with:

And lastly, at some point last year (I don’t really remember when), I dabbled a bit in bobbin lace. I made my own pillow and a few bobbins, and these things were my first tries:

I did eventually finish a couple of proper bookmarks from patterns in a book, but I don’t have photos, and I seem to have misplaced the actual bookmarks… *facepalm* I’ll post pictures if I can find them again 😀

Crafty highlights of 2014

Instead of doing a Finished Object Friday today, I though I’d post my annual review of the year that passed 🙂

In January I knitted myself a hat, for the first time ever.

I think I liked it better like this, before felting, because it felted a little bit too much and became very thick and less floppy than I’d hoped But I couldn’t wear it like it was because it was too wide, so… Next time I think I’ll measure my head better first 😛

In February I was very excited to get my copies of the book that has two of my Bug patterns in it:

I finally finished the pattern for a new set of Cute Little Dudes, this time from Australia:

And then the Sochi Olympics came along, during which I finished a whole pile of things:

Crocheted unicorn (pattern by Stacey Trock), knitted Nessie (pattern by Hansi Singh), crocheted stegosaurus (by June Gilbank), Great Big Fly (my pattern), nalbinding hat and wristwarmers.

In March I made a tiny pink bunny, a really simple little project that’s made in one piece 🙂 During Easter I made three more of these colorful little guys:

In April I finished another crochet pattern, also a thing that had been in the works for ages. An Axolotl! I love these guys, and I really want to make more some day 🙂

During my Easter holiday, in addition to the horde of bunnies, I also completed two more knitted Hanisgurumi, the cuttlefish and starfish, which had both been in progress for years:

Then summer and work happened, and I didn’t knit or crochet much for a couple of months. I got some sewing done, though. First I made an oven mitt as a birthday present for my aunt:

And then I made a case for my newly restored Nintento DS Lite, with room for one GBA game:

When school started again in August I didn’t get anything finished for months. I started knitting on a giant pokemon that I still haven’t posted about other than a few photos on Instagram (that don’t really show much). Still working on that thing, and I’ll share it as a wip later, when it’s all stuffed and closed up. As it is now, it’s just too difficult to move around to get any good pictures of… You’ll just have to wait and see 😛

In October I finished this pretty Gracidea flower (also a Pokemon thing) that I gave to Bollan for Christmas:

She’s so pretty! I don’t have a pattern for it yet, but it’s on my list of things to do this year 🙂

I got my sewing machine out again and made a bag for the bokken (wooden sword) that I borrowed from the boyfriend for Aikido and Iaido practice:

And finally, some Christmas presents that I made:

An owl and a candle holder for my cousins, and a scarf for my aunt:

And that’s it. I felt like I didn’t do anything last year, probably because I only published three patterns, but I see now that I actually did quite a lot. Hopefully there will be more Bugs and Dudes and other patterns coming out this year 🙂

2013 craftiness

Finally. I promised I’d make this post, and I better get to it while it’s still the beginning of the year, right? 😛

For some reason it feels like I didn’t really get much done last year. There was a lot of fiddling about with new things and few projects and patterns were actually finished. School kept me pretty busy, and otherwise I guess I was just distracted and somewhat uninspired. Let’s hope 2014 brings more time and motivation to get things done 😀

On New Year’s Eve last year a friend showed me the basics of nalbinding, which I’d wanted to try for ages, and after watching some videos on YouTube I got the hang of it pretty quickly. My boyfriend gave me a needle for my birthday and I immediately started a pair of slippers. They aren’t done yet, because I sort of stranded at the heel. They are both missing heel and toe at the moment, but I hope I can finish them soon because our apartment is so cold… After I gave up on the slippers I moved on to some wrist warmers, but I had the brilliant idea to knit some fur edges on them with a mohair yarn or something, so naturally, they aren’t finished yet either. Sigh.

After that I dug out my sewing machine and made this cute little sleeve for my new tablet:

And I finished the bag for my boyfriend, the one I’d been working on since summer:

Next I finished and posted the pattern for a crocheted Man-o-War:

And I made a brown slug for Fresh Stitches’ slug-along:

Plus I had to make a case for my nalbinding needles:

In February I made two of PlanetJune’s awesome cephalopods, a nautilus and an octopus:

When the school semester started for real I didn’t do much of anything. A couple of stitches here and there on various stuff that was never finished. Oh, except for two bugs I made for a book! But more about that later 🙂

After my exams I was really exhausted and just wanted to do something silly and simple for myself, so I crocheted this fat little grub:

During the summer holiday I finished two new patterns, first a Great Big Honey Bee and then a Tardigrade:

In August I finished another Great Big Bug I’d been working on for a while, but sadly the pattern for it is still not ready. I have another one I want to make before I publish the two patterns together. But here, have a teaser:

I also did a new set of Dudes, the first in a series of Australian animals. No pattern yet, sorry. I really need to sit my butt down and finish it…

Before Halloween I made this set of alien critters, basically as a test to see how the safety eyes I’d just bought would look. Free pattern available on Ravelry:

And finally I made the third and last set of Halloween Dudes:

After that I started making Christmas presents, which is why I couldn’t blog much about what I was doing… First I made a Minion (from the movie Despicable Me) for a friend to give to her son. As far as I know he was really happy with his present 🙂

I finished a soccer fan doll for my aunt, one that I actually started a few years ago for her birthday but never finished. I’m quite pleased with how it turned out, even though blue and orange is probably my least favorite color combo:

Also since October 12th the new Pokemon games were out, and they kept me busy for quite a while. So yeah, I found myself a new obsession 🙂 And of course I had to try and crochet one! This is my slightly odd version of Espurr, one of the new ones from these games (it’s kind of a cat):

I made a bunch of flowers and leaves to put on a bag for my grandmother (here’s the post):

I’d wanted to try plastic canvas for years, but none of the local stores here had even heard of it. Then finally it dawned on me to check eBay (duh!) and I made a lightning bolt bookmark for my boyfriend (the David Bowie/Aladdin Sane thing again):

And a small box for my mother to keep her new row counter in to keep it from counting while in her bag etc (also found on eBay lol):

And that’s about it, I think. Well. I thought I hadn’t done much, but it seem I’ve been busy enough 🙂 I just haven’t published a lot of new patterns… I’ll try to work on that this year 🙂

In the year 2012

It’s New Year’s Eve, and time to have a look back at what I’ve been doing for the past year.

Compared to earlier years, it’s been a pretty bad year for Bugs and Dudes. I completed the patterns of two bugs that had been finished for months, so I’m not sure if they really count… The second firefly and the cranefly:

All I have is an unfinished bug and a half set of Australian dudes, of which only the koala is completely finished:

The pattern for the Kitty Princess was finished and published…

For Easter I crocheted a bunny, but I was too late to get the pattern ready. Now it’s one of the patterns that are stuck in my broken laptop 😦 But she’s very cute, and I really want to finish the pattern in time for next Easter 🙂

I also made this sweet little bird’s nest for Easter, from leather string, yarn and beads for eggs:

During the summer nothing much happened. I had to work a lot and the house was being fixed up and painted, so not too much time for crochet. I learned a new crochet technique, hairpin lace. My first project:

Then came August and the London Olympics. I decided to participate in the Ravellenic Games on Ravelry, and used the opportunity to finish a lot of old projects that had hibernated for months (and years!).

Plus I made two new things as well, some potholders in horrible colors and a pair of wristwarmers with a bit of hairpin lace in them:

Later I made a seat warmer so I wouldn’t freeze my butt off while I was away on field trips. Same pattern as the potholders, only bigger, and then felted:

Then the fall semester started for real, plus I’d just moved into a new apartment and was still trying to get organized, so I didn’t really crochet anything for months.I finished a hook holder for my Tunisian crochet hooks that had been in progress since some time last year:

I just barely managed a new set of Halloween Dudes in time for the holiday, with only a week to go:

Then it seems that my inspiration came back, and with a vengeance. Of course, my exam period was right around the corner, and naturally all I wanted to do was crochet. I finished a jellyfish I’d been working on since summer, the Compass Jellyfish:

Hooked on jellies, I started two more immediately after finishing the first, but sadly none of them are done yet. I had hoped to finish one more pattern this year, but work and holiday preparations took more time than I’d expected. They will be done early next year, though 🙂

Last night I experimented a bit with nalbinding, I expect the last new craft I’ll learn this year 🙂 If all goes well there will be more of that next year. Perhaps I can make socks and stuff 🙂

So my goals for this coming year? Finish a lot of old projects before starting new ones! I also have a very important project that I can’t tell you much about yet, and as always I expect that school will keep me too busy to make all the things I plan to. We’ll see 🙂

I hope you’ve all had a nice holiday and wish you a Happy New year 😀

Craftiness of 2011 :)

First of all, let me wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I know I’m a little late, but we’ve had our family visiting for Christmas, and after they all left, I kind of collapsed and haven’t done anything productive for days. But I’m back now, rested and ready for the new year ahead. Will have lots of studying to do this spring (taking an extra class to make up for skipping one this fall), but hopefully I’ll be able to blog a little as well 🙂

To make up for neglecting my blog the past months, here is a summary of the craftiness I did last year 🙂 I didn’t think I’d accomplished much, but looking back, I realize that I’ve done quite a lot! Starting with my own designs in chronological order:

Nesting Love Birds, a free pattern for Valentine’s Day.

Three Cute Little Bear Dudes, all made after the original bear pattern (Forest Dwellers vol.1)

Cute Little Dudes – Forest Dwellers vol.4. All birds 🙂

Cute Little Dudes – Alien Invaders.

In April I got a smart phone, so I knitted a protective purse for it as soon as I could. Important not to scratch the touch screen! 🙂

Great Big Wasp.

Great Big Aphid.

Finally got round to finishing the Great Big (male) Firefly (to the left). Sorry about the pale picture, I’ll never take photos in bright sunlight again! No pattern yet…

Great Big Crane Fly. Longest bug legs ever! Pattern will be done soon, I promise 🙂

My aunt asked me to make two little bugs for her, so I made these. Mini versions of the Great Big ones. I’m working on the patterns, but I have to remake them to get proper pictures. Hopefully the patterns will be done before Easter 🙂

Cute Little Dudes – Trick or Treat! vol.1. I had another set planned, but ran out of time (too much school work!). Will save the second set for next Halloween 🙂

A friend of mine wanted me to make a great big dragon that he could give to a kid for his birthday, so I made this. It’s huge! Arms and legs are jointed. I was told the kid’s birthday was in October, so I rushed to finish it, but then it turned out the day was not until November. Oh well. At least the kid was happy. From what I heard, the dragon was being fed dinner as soon as it arrived. That’s a good sign, right?

Crocheted and felted witch’s cauldron, a free pattern for Halloween. I had originally planned to make up lots of creepy stuff to put in it (eyeballs, severed fingers, bat wings, etc.), but once again I ran out of time. Will save the ideas for next time 🙂

As a Christmas present, I made this heart (from my free heart pattern) that I filled with nice smelling things and put in a pretty bowl with some pretty white stones.

And the very last thing I finished last year was a remake of the Kitty Princess, the first pattern I ever made and published. Gave it to a cousin for Christmas. I am in the process of rewriting the pattern and adding new photos, and hopeully it’ll be done before school starts in about two weeks 🙂

So. That was all of my designs. I did some other things too, but a lot of the projects I started last year are still in progress, so I have no pictures to show you… I will post the few that I have, though 🙂 Again, in chronological order:

In the beginning of January I took out Rose Langlitz’s book Tasty Crochet and started crocheting some food. I was obsessed for a while, but I only managed to complete two things, a pear and a salami/lettuce sandwich:

I have more half-finished food items lying around, but no pictures… 

After that I knitted a new bag for my rpg dice, the Dice Bag of Doom! Pattern free for download on Ravelry.

My next obsession was bugs, as Lesley Stanfield’s new book came out, 75 birds, butterflies & beautiful beasties. I made a black slug, plus some butterflies and caterpillars that I pinned to a cork board:

Then I moved on to Hansi Singh’s bugs. I started with a praying mantis that never got finished, but I made earthworms, a sea slug, Kraken (giant squid) and a Blackdevil anglerfish:

 

 

Again, I have lots of WiPs that hopefully some day will be done. They are just too pretty to be stashed away in a bag…

During the summer I got started on June Gilbank’s dinosaurs. I think I’ve started about five of them, but none are done yet. It’s just silly, really. On one (the Parasaurolophus), all that remains is sewing on one last leg! Sigh. I think I have an aversion against finishing things

I found this really cool knitting pattern on Ravelry, of a dancing goddess figure:

The pattern itself is very simple (knit in the round, and it consists of only two parts, so very little sewing is required), but I wasn’t quite happy with my knitting (uneven stitches and a few holes – I’m no good at knitting in the round on double-pointed needles!), so I decided to felt it. Unfortunately I felted it after stuffing, so it almost didn’t felt at all. It just became sort of lumpy and disproportionate. I wanted to make more of these, but I’ll have to do it differently next time.

The last project I finished last year (not counting the Christmas presents) was this little dice bag:

The pattern is Deep Sea Flower Dice Bag, found HERE. Well, to be honest, it isn’t actually 100% finished, since I haven’t made the cord yet. I just got so tired of knitting with that stupid yarn that has absolutely NO stretch what so ever, I just tied it with a piece of yarn to be done with it. Love the pattern and the bag, though. Plan to make more some time, when I can get my hands on some lovely multi-colored Noro, which the pattern is designed for.

And that was all. Whew! Longest post ever… (It’s taken over four hours to write!) Well. My plan now is to finish the patterns for the things I made last year, preferably as soon as possible. I’ll have a lot less time once school starts, and I think that if I don’t finish them now, I probably never will. So one of my new year’s resolutions is to finish all my Bugs, Dudes and any other patterns before I start any new ones. Have lots of projects going right now, but no new Bugs or Dudes before the others are done. Period. Will try to post again soon 🙂