Pixelated Mushroom

Black mingled yarns

2012-01-27T23:21:00.002+11:00

A yarn dyeing adventure with Slightly Squiffled equals the teal/black I had been wanting to make for ages!

It turned out more speckled than I'd hoped, but i hope to have another play one day and make a darker more blended version with thinner yarn.

And I also made some blue-y black

And she gave me this yarn, as she was less fond of the colour, but I think it's awesome, what do you think?

Corset mitts - first attempt

2012-01-22T13:13:00.002+11:00

I had an idea to create some mitts that laced up like a corset. My first attempt wasn't quite what I was visualising, but it's an interesting effect.

Unlike some other corset mitts I've seen, I decided to make the holes part of the glove rather than leaving an opening for lacing. This would hopefully avoid stretch in the edges of the knitting after lots of wear. They were quite fun to make :)

Corset mitts on Etsy

Windsbraut - Sommerwind shawl

2012-01-19T15:22:00.002+11:00

Pattern: Windsbraut - Sommerwind shawl by Monika Eckert (Wollklabauter)

This was a lovely free pattern, but involved a (rather hard on the eyes) full chart instead of a number of repeats. I didn't have enough yarn so had to rip back many rows before the edging to have enough. Even then I had to re-write the edging quite a lot of have enough yarn. It lost what I originally loved about the edging, but it's still very nice to wear.

The sunset light makes it tricky to see the colour of the yarn but it's black and teal and I love it to bits. In fact I love all yarn from Dyeforwool. Their yarn names are the best! Slightly squiffled has also been experimenting with teal dyes for yarn so I'm keen to go over for a visit and we can have a play to make some.

More owlish gifts

2012-01-13T10:30:00.000+11:00

Pattern: Owlings by Kerrie James (rav link)
Finding this pattern so handy for gift giving this year. I made another two sets of Owlings over the Christmas period, one in hand dyed organic merino in 'damson' from EdenCottageYarns, and the other in some of my early handspun (which turned out pretty colourful but the recipient enjoys lots of pretty bright colours).

It's great to hear too that 'Owlings is currently being worked for re-publication'. The new pattern will apparently include 'three sizes in several gauges as well as a thumb gusset. While the original file will remain available free of charge, the new file will be for sale'.

Yay for tiny owls!

2011 knitted gifts

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000+11:00

Knitted quite a few Christmas gifts this year again, although some of them were knitted earlier in the year. Thanks to all those designers who shared these wonderful free patterns

~For a friend~
Pattern: Cupcake Mittlets (Rav) by Shantha Ramachandran
Yarn: hand dyed organic merino in 'damson' from EdenCottageYarns

~For my Grandma~
Pattern: 198 yds of heaven by Christy Verity (read previous blog post)

~For Dad~
Pattern: An American in China (Rav) by Gryphon Perkins
Yarn: hand dyed organic merino in 'broken stones' from EdenCottageYarns

Made some changes to the linen stitch panel as I was getting some RSI issues. Think I made this one too long in the foot and not long enough in the leg (ran out of yarn). Hope dad likes them, think they may have to be for only wearing in the house.

~For Mum~

Pattern: Ceres Scarf (Rav) by Hilary Smith Callis
Yarn: My bamboo handspun - bamboo from silversunalpacas

Fibre FRBRisation

2012-01-08T20:46:00.000+11:00

I started writing about Ravelry and the describing of knitterly information for a blog post, but decided to expand and submit it to the library magazine inCite. It was published with a few changes I didn't expect, and perhaps therefore has a different message from what I intended, but if you're interested in Ravelry/libraries you can read it here.

Red and grey crochet book cover by Geekworks on Etsy

Shrinky plastic ring fun

2012-01-06T13:49:00.000+11:00

Can't wait play with shrinky plastic again!

I used planetjune's wonderful tutorial to make these first attempts (a castle and a sort of garden thing) but I've got lots of other ideas!

The tricky bit is shaping the plastic after its baked. I failed a little on this one, but hopefully will get better with practice!

Sour soreness and Salamanca

2012-01-01T11:29:00.001+11:00

These little lollies may look innocent, but they have made my last week of holidays very painful

Ever since our 2005 trip, I remembered Tasmania as a land of tasty green sour lollies. This time, lured into a wonderful house of sweets, my eyes fell upon these super sour green apple delights.

I put the first in my mouth and it literally burned. After eating it for less than 10 seconds I had to stop, and five days later I could barely eat anything - my dinners uneaten, my nougat pudding abandoned :(

I suspect something was wrong with the sweets (perhaps out of date and very potent for it). I guess I have learnt my lesson and will steer clear of anything labelled 'super super sour' in future :/

We did manage, however to buy something a bit more yummy in Tas - some Ella Rae Lace Merino from Tasmanian Woollen Co in Salamanca Place - yum!

Echo Flower Shawl

2011-12-03T18:24:00.001+11:00

Pattern: Echo Flower Shawl by Jenny Johnson

(thanks to Convoluted Penguin for taking a break from our beaching to take the pics)

This was long in the making (2 months) but totally worth it ^_^

Very inspiring pattern with great results. I would like to try this again one day with thinner yarn, as the Socks that Rock lightweight was perhaps a little heavy for this shawl and makes it quite bulky if wearing as a scarf (as I generally do).

I first became obsessed by Blue Moon's Raven Clan colourways when I saw Chrissy's amazing versions (Ravelry) of the Multnomah Shawl and knew I had to get some for myself.

I noted on my Ravlery that this was a ‘keeping me sane’ shawl. Now, a few months later, I can't quite remember what it was keeping me sane from, but I imagine part of it was having to move house yet again.

On nupps
Found the new technique of nupps pretty fun. Because of the thicker yarn, I used 5 stitch nups instead of 7 or 9. They're not super noticeable, but because I was running out of yarn I am glad I chose to do smaller ones.

Had just enough yarn left over for a Rustling Leaves Beret which I will show you another time

More pics of my shawl on Ravelry

On the selling of BBC based plushies

2011-12-03T12:08:00.001+11:00

Hi everyone,

This has become a bit of a stressful topic. It's becoming increasingly common that I need to contact people to ask them to stop selling items made from my Doctor Who patterns.

There's certainly a lack of understanding out there as to why this might be a problem, so I thought I'd write this post so I can have somewhere to direct people when I'm asking them to remove etsy listings.

I have also hopefully made the copyright notice more clear on the patterns than it was initially, so if you were unsure, please read this post to find out more.

The BBC has made its position known in respect to commercial selling of creations based on their trademarks. They are generally happy for people to make items for themselves and for friends etc, but they are not happy with people using patterns to create items that are going to be sold.

Infringement notices have been issued to remove patterns from which commercial items have been made, so by asking people to keep items made from my Doctor Who patterns non-commercial I am hoping that the patterns will be allowed to stay online for everyone to use. Please help me keep these patterns available by respecting the terms.

If you have any more questions feel free to contact me.

This post applies not only to Doctor Who but to other fan items based on trademarks.

Team Librarian DUCF sale

2011-12-03T11:48:00.001+11:00

Although I can't join in Team Librarian's stall at the Detroit Urban Craft Fair this weekend, I will join in with free shipping ^_^

Visit Pixelated Mushroom

Enter DUCF2011 at checkout to get your free shipping

Should be good timing for getting last minute Christmas gifts :)
Other librarian shops with free shipping:
excessivelydiverting
sovereignsea
suziesarmoire
craftsbyquyen
annearchy

Teal fixation

2011-11-11T13:14:00.001+11:00

It's quite fun to look back at the things you loved years ago. I recently went back to my first page of etsy favourites and got quite a rush of nostalgia. I remember the excitement of first discovering this world of handmade creations...

My favourites have changed quite a bit since, and have become more yarn and fleece focussed. In the last few months I think I've developed a teal fixation -- doesn't it look tasty? yum :)

Woolley workings

2011-11-03T17:46:00.001+11:00

I was working from home today after a nasty bout of the flu and saw the postie drop off a parcel for me from WildFireFibres ^_^

Broken Stones

Damson

Giveaway winner - handspun trimmed mobius mitts

2011-10-31T11:50:00.003+11:00

Congrats to Lucretia who has won the pair of handspun trimmed mobius mitts!

Lucretia I'll email you shortly to get your details.

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments! I'll be sure to hold another giveaway soon for those who missed out ~

Matt Smith phone cosy - now knitting version too

2011-10-26T16:26:00.001+11:00

Hi everyone!
Just a little update on this. Last time I showed you ilwin's cute phone cosy - we got chatting and I wrote up a knitted version to share with those who don't crochet (yet :p). If planning on knitting you might want to grab the crochet one too as it's got the pretty pics.

Download crochet pattern | Download knitting pattern

enjoy!

Spring Thaw Shawl

2011-10-25T13:00:00.000+11:00

Took me a while to photograph this one, and the pattern is hard to see so I have put the original pattern image down the bottom.

Pattern: Spring Thaw Shawl by Cheri McEwen
Yarn: Handspun from extremespinning's cloudy night merino bamboo top

This was probably my hardest knit so far - and I think the main reason for this was that the twistyness of my handspun made it very hard to see the emerging leaf pattern, unlike the other shawl I made with normal yarn.

I am very proud of this one though as it's the first big project I have spun the yarn for ^_^

Unfortunately I'm still not very good at checking how much yarn I need for a project, and it was particularly scary as I didn't notice that the edging required an even number of leaves along the centre spine - was planning to stop after 9 but had to make it 10 or rip back, so I ended up running out of yarn 5 rows short of the end and couldn't get more yarn as it was handspun :(

In my worry about yarn I also cast off too tightly and it looked curly after blocking, so I ripped out the last row and cast off again - much nicer now :)

Giveaway - handspun trimmed mobius mitts

2011-10-24T12:16:00.000+11:00

Giveaway closed - winner announced here
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi everyone, here is a mobius mitts giveaway ^_^

I've been working on adding thumbs to mobius mitts. This pair was worked with thinner yarn than my usual mitts then trimmed with handspun yarn from this batt. They are size large, pictured on my size small hand (so they look a bit oversize here).

~~~ Giveaway closed - announced here ~~~

~~Head over to pixelatedmushroom.etsy.com and let me know in a comment which item you like best.~~

~~Bonus entry: Follow this blog and let me know in your comment (no need to comment separately). Already a follower? just let me know.~~

~~~ Fine print ~~~
- Giveaway closes 31st October 8am (AEST)
- Please leave me a way to contact you
- International entries welcome
- Winner will be contacted and will need to reply to claim prize

~~~Links~~~
See available mobius mitts on etsy
Crochet your own mobius mitts

Eleventh Doctor phone cosy by ilwin

2011-10-16T10:41:00.001+11:00

See updated news about this post : knitting pattern now available
__________
Cell phone cozy Eleven

by Hana Jaronova (ilwin)

Crafty Tardis | Ravelry

Spotted this new free crochet pattern today - thought some of you might like to see it.
Would be very easy to adapt for any size phone :)

See other Doctor Who related posts

Ruby mobius mitts

2011-10-10T10:50:00.002+11:00

New ruby coloured pair of mobius mitts available on Etsy | or download the pattern to make your own

Sunday wonders - Nanette's Firefly cuddlies

2011-10-09T11:53:00.002+11:00

It's been a bit of a tough week. We've both had colds and are having to go around attending house inspections. Here's something wonderful that cheers me up!

Nanette (blog|rav) has created this beautiful set of Firefly cuddlies. I love Firefly so these make me especially happy ^_^

Nanette must be a much faster crochet than I am, as this is an amazing amount of work in such a short time! Jump over to her blog to take a further look. Thanks so much for sharing these with me Nanette!

I think my favourite of the bunch is Kaylee with her butterfly top and the teddy bear patch on her pants ^_^

You can download the big and cuddly patterns from the patterns page

Treasury - Winter alphabet

2011-10-08T09:48:00.001+11:00

RSS readers click here to see the treasury of cosy winter gloves

Mobius mitts 2 for 1 sale

2011-09-30T13:10:00.003+10:00

Because we're moving house soon, I'd love to clear out some of the shop stash, so

2 for 1 Mobius Mitts sale!
If anyone's looking for some fun early xmas gifts, these are perfect for the lover of geekery

See the range of Mobius Mitts on Etsy

Buy one pair and don't forget to let me know in your notes to seller which other pair you'd like
(two pairs for $16). Ends Monday 3 Oct

Maybe I can knit myself a new house

2011-09-28T17:24:00.001+10:00

So as some of you know we have to move house yet again :( The owners want to move back in.

I was pretty devastated when I found out - it's not the worst thing in the world but we've moved 7 times in the last years and are tired of not feeling like we have a home. I've even moved twice since I started this blog :s

From the lovely but chilly sharehouse...

to my very own orthanc (aka 'the moldy one')

To our current house, which we thought would be our castle for a little while...

Mice Castle by tildafilur

We've had our yucky times here, like when it flooded on Easter morning with our hot cross buns left cold and un-munched on the table while we cleaned for hours.

But overall it's been a lovely house - bye bye house!

And what next? Maybe I can knit myself a new house...

Tardis apron and bowtie coffee cosy

2011-09-23T11:38:00.000+10:00

Some cute drwho items popping up on etsy:

Tardis apron by jordandene on Etsy

Coffee mug tea cup cozy by knotworkshop on Etsy

Cosette wrap

2011-09-21T15:08:00.000+10:00

Our Grampians weekend gave me the chance to take some scenic pics of my Cosette

Pattern: Cosette Wrap by Alana Dakos
Pattern on Blog | Pattern on Ravelry

I wish I had finished my Echo Flowers Shawl (which I am currently blocking | ravelry) in time as it would have been a more scenic picture, but I am very fond of my Cosette

Carried it up the steep rocky sides of Hollow Mountain in the Northern Grampians and the fat lizards we found among the rocks thought the slightly variegated green colour was intriguing

Thanks again to Bonito Club for gifting the special yarn and allowing me to play with colours and this lovely Never Not Knitting pattern

Previous posts about Cosette: Birthday fluff, Dying dilemmas
My Cosette project on Ravelry

Feature: Dalek inspired wristers and some treasuries

2011-09-14T12:07:00.000+10:00

Hope everyone is enjoying the new series - just some awesome who-ish things to show today:

The Oncoming Storm: Dalek inspired Wristers Pattern (Ravelry / Etsy) by Laura Isaac

And two who-ish treasuries

RSS readers click here: New Whovian boarding the TARDIS!

RSS readers click here: Embrace Your Inner Nerd

Monday wonders - Kate's cuddly Sherlock and Watson

2011-09-12T10:41:00.001+10:00

Hi everyone,
A special post today - Kate has made these beautiful Sherlock and Watson plushies :)

I'm sure you're all looking forward to the new Sherlock episodes due in 2012 - I certainly am!

Kate has also started noting down the changes she made to the Big and Cuddly patterns to create these new characters, and she's offered to share her notes once she's finished in case others would like to make their own Sherlock plushies.

Pop over to Kate's tumblr to see more crocheted goodness ^_^

Treasury - Matt Smith

2011-09-07T17:01:00.000+10:00

Treasury - Matt Smith

RSS readers click here to view the treasury

Ball winding

2011-09-04T09:57:00.004+10:00

Eee ^_^ thanks so much Bonito Club for letting me borrow your ball winder so that I could make all my yarn into cute little squishy pucks. I had to wind up some my handspun and my birthday socks-that-rock and dyeforwool yarn. I did it for a bit too long and Friday night vanished into yarn winding and Scarlet Pimpernel watching :p
Am going to wind some of SlightlySquiffled's handspun too once it's dry :)

Saturday wonders - Claire's mini doctors

2011-09-03T11:50:00.001+10:00

Has taken me far too long to blog about this one! Claire sent me these beautiful images of her mini Doctors ^_^ She did far better than I did and actually completed the whole set ^_^
I'm working on combining my mini doctors patterns into the one pattern file. Claire has helped me out with how Pat's tartan pants can be done - so finally I'll be able to complete him :) Thanks Claire!

Etoile hat

2011-08-29T11:19:00.003+10:00

Finished my first handspun hat ^_^ Had to knit it almost twice because my head is small and didn't fit the pattern but after ripping back to round 32 and re-inventing the pattern from there without the extra increase rows it fits perfectly ^_^ I might have already started knitting another :p

Pattern: Etoile hat (free) by Linda Irving-Bell

Fleece: Merino Medley from natchwoolie - then handspun

fleece to hat...

Changes to make it a smaller hat (or for use with thinner yarn)

follow pattern to row 34
34) yo, ssk, k3, ktog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k3, ktog, yo, k1
36 and 38) as for row 34
40) k1, yo, ssk, k3, ktog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k3, ktog, yo, k2
42) k2, yo, ssk, k9, ktog, yo, k3
44) k3, yo, ssk, k7, ktog, yo, k4
46) k4, yo, ssk, k5, ktog, yo, k5
48) k5, yo, ssk, k3, ktog, yo, k6
50) k6, yo, ssk, k1, ktog, yo, k7
52) k7, yo, sk2p, yo, k8
53) knit
Dec round) I did ktog, p1, k2tog, p2tog to last 8 sts, then ktog, ptogx2
Then the ribbing

New fleecies

2011-08-26T17:06:00.003+10:00

My fleecies arrived!

feistywomandesigns
Piers Edge, Merino and Corriedale wool, angelina batts for spinning your own marbled yarn, 1 oz
Multicolored combed wool top, Colonial Blue, 2 oz.

Friday wonders - wrightales' mobius mitts

2011-08-26T13:51:00.003+10:00

I love to see new mobius mitts appear - particularly when they are made from interesting yarns.

Wrightales (visit on Ravelry) used a wool/bamboo combination for this pair of mitts - the edging is Plymouth Yarn Royal Bamboo Italian Collection (100% bamboo). I think they're lovely :)

Read more about the Mobius Mitts crochet pattern

Treasury - What a crazy random happenstance

2011-08-26T10:18:00.003+10:00

Have been watching 'The Guild' lately - lots of fun.
There's some lovely handmade etsy fan items too - so I made a collection of them combined with Dr Horrible because that's awesome too :)

RSS readers go here to see the treasury

Sunday wonders - Kylie's Eleven and Amy

2011-08-14T10:31:00.001+10:00

Some more lovely projects to feature this morning. A super cute pair - eleven and amy - adapted and crocheted by Kylie (yillup.etsy.com). Jump over and check out her shop for lots of crocheted cuteness. I love the tiny chair matt is sitting in too!

Grab the mini matt pattern from my patterns page

Sunday wonders - Kelly's concord singer

2011-08-14T09:49:00.001+10:00

Kelly sent me this pic of her concord singer (see reference pic) based on my big and cuddly pattern. Check out her blog for lots of geeky crafty goodness and some more pics of the plushie.

Have seen a lot of awesome big and cuddly variations springing up lately and am loving seeing what people are creating ^_^

Update to Christmas tree Tardis pattern

2011-08-13T10:31:00.004+10:00

Hi all,

Just to let you know I've finally added in MrsNorris' (rav link) great idea for a snow topped Tardis. The Christmas tree Tardis pattern now includes this image and a guide on how to create your own snow. Thanks MrsNorris!

Download PDF Pattern

Treasury - Everyone needs a doctor

2011-08-10T10:40:00.000+10:00

RSS readers click here to see the treasury

Treasury - Fezzes are cool

2011-08-09T10:18:00.001+10:00

RSS readers go here to see the treasury

Quenby's crochet TARDIS scarf

2011-08-09T07:52:00.002+10:00

Jump over to Crafty Tardis on LJ to see Quenby's (Quenbolyn on LJ) crochet TARDIS scarf and instructions for making your own ^_^

Twined mitts with blue firestar highlights

2011-08-08T18:48:00.003+10:00

Just finished and added to etsy:

One of a kind twined gloves made from a blend of my handspun yarn sourced from Inspiration Fibers with little highlights of bright blue firestar amid cream and brown wool combination, and Bendigo black yarn.

These gloves are double stranded which means they have no stretch and are sadly just a bit too small for me :(

**Yarn**
Handspun: cotton, bfl, peruvian wool, shetland and firestar
Black: pure Australian wool

**Size**
xtra small
16cm / 6.25in circumference around fingers & wrist
16.5 / 6.5in long

These are the result of my happy stranding discoveries post

Sunday wonders - PaxieAmor's Matt

2011-08-07T17:59:00.004+10:00

Wednesday is my usual day for posting other crafter's projects, but I've been netballing on Tuesday nights for the past few months so have got a bit behind.

Today we have PaxieAmor's Matt Smith ^_^ I love his little rolled sleeves :)

Check out Paxie's other drwho and other projects on Ravelry (login needed)

Ruins

2011-08-06T16:24:00.004+10:00

Finally convinced myself to sell these > the medium/large pair I knitted while writing the pattern. They're too big for me but I kept holding onto them :p
Ruins - on etsy

“There, down the roofless wall did glow
The zun upon the grassy vloor,
An’ weakly-wandren winds did blow,
Unhinder’d by a door”
(The Castle Ruins - William Barnes)

--
Dreaming of castles in the mist and adventure? Ruins are the perfect gloves for the restless wanderer - patterned with three different textures broken by horizontal bands:
~ double layered top to keep hand cosy
~ basket weave around the wrist (see image two)
~ colour stranded broken writting

**Yarn**
100% Australian wool
Colour as shown in first three images

**Size**
Medium-large
9cm / 7.5' measured around the knuckles
22cm / 8.5' long

A yellow morning

2011-08-04T09:35:00.003+10:00

19 bouncing daffodils poking out of my blue pot this morning when I opened my curtains - a nice bright sight in what has been a very long week :/

SlightlySquiffled octopus pendant winner

2011-08-01T10:20:00.001+10:00

And the winner is:

Congrats to Shirley - check out her lovely blog For Any Occasion ^_^

Thanks everyone for your entries (there were lots!) and for your thoughtful comments - will try and run a few more giveaways in the next months

Dairing knits

2011-07-31T16:57:00.007+10:00

Went to Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair with SlightlySquiffled this weekend. There was quite a bit of squooshy yarn - lots of Noro - but the most exciting thing was the stainless-steel yarn from Dairing

I loved the layered dresses they had on display (sort of as above but more blacks and greys)

We both got some yarn and I've only just started having a play - it holds its shape when you squish it, so creates a really interesting effect. As pointed out - sitting down in a dress made from this stuff might be interesting...

Announcement of giveaway coming soon...

Back from the snow

2011-07-29T12:01:00.001+10:00

Very long week - our mini visit to Lake Mountain seems like ages ago and it was only 5 days - I am still sore after finding skiing harder than unicycling and falling over lots

Here's some pics of the slow regrowth after the fires around marysville:

I have managed to leave not one but two jumpers at netball courts - hope I can get them back :(

Coming up: what happened with the shawl for which I was running out of yarn

Happy stranding discoveries

2011-07-21T12:55:00.004+10:00

Recently discovered that I have now practised enough continental knitting that I can easily colour strand holding yarn with continental left-hand and English right hand.

It's soooo much faster than dropping and picking up each strand. This was a very nice discovery because I hear of people working up to this, whereas I've somehow learnt it accidentally.

Here's a pic of my twined knitting (Scandanavian technique where you knit alternatively with two strands of yarn and twist them behind each stitch) project using this technique:

Running out of yarn

2011-07-21T10:04:00.003+10:00

Over the last few months I've been knitting away on the Spring Thaw Shawl - a very pretty pattern by Cheri McEwen from Knitting on the Border. I am also working on her Small Talk Shawl which is crochet and a lot easier to work (simply because crochet is a easier to keep track of where you're up to)
I've come to the point where I have a dwindling ball of (handspun) yarn, and 42 rows remaining in the pattern :s (I didn't notice that an even number of leaves down the centre spine was required before starting the edging so have to knit another 8 rows to achieve 10 leaves).

My choices...

Measure remaining yarn against how much yarn a row uses up (time consuming)
Rip back about 12 rows to have 8 leaves (lifelines remain luckily, then start edging
Continue knitting and hope very hard it works out

hmmm

Treasury - Mobius Strip

2011-07-21T09:52:00.002+10:00

RSS viewers can see the treasury here

Matt Smith Big and Cuddly - now a knitting pattern

2011-07-18T19:06:00.013+10:00

For all the knitters who have been missing out on the Doctor Who love, here is my Big and Cuddly pattern converted into knitting ^_^ enjoy!

Download free pattern

This is certainly not the most elegant knitting pattern, having been converted from crochet, but it worked surprisingly well. I still encourage all those knitters who haven't yet picked up a hook to try it, because crochet really is best for certain purposes.

Pattern includes instructions for both

knitting flat / knitting in the round

So beginners can have a go too. I hope to see lots of knitted characters spring up, like all the wonderful crochet creations out there. View this pattern on Ravelry

Have a look at the directions for colour and decoration in the Big and Cuddly crochet series to help you create other characters

Matt Smith | David Tennant | Rose | John Barrowman | Gareth David-Lloyd

Look how excited he is that you might make him!

Giveaway - octopus pendant from SlightlySquiffled

2011-07-15T13:54:00.015+10:00

*** Giveaway closed - winner announced here ***

Hello!

You may remember my lovely bday presents from SlightlySquiffled ^_^

Today I've got a special giveaway for you:

eee! isn't he cute?

This design was a practice piece based on a design by Lorelyn Medina and will not be made available for sale. Prize is for aluminium pendant (no chain).

Giveaway closed - winner announced here

Off to Passing Fancy

2011-07-09T09:14:00.004+10:00

This morning I'm off to 'Passing Fancy' - four day juggling/passing convention (of which I'm only making it to one day) - bit chilly - hope I can get my hands warm enough to catch things!

Eaton Fudge

Imladris gloves shorter and scarlet

2011-07-07T10:32:00.002+10:00

Some shorter Imladris gloves available on Etsy

Get the pattern here if you'd like to make your own

Rose pattern add-on update

2011-07-03T17:38:00.002+10:00

Hi all,

Realised recently that there were some errors in the rose pattern add-on, I have now fixed these and also fixed the formatting to match the other patterns in the series. Linda's add-on has inspired lots of cute versions including martha and some dark swan plushies (which I hope to show you soon).

download the new version

Other patterns in the Big and Cuddly series
David Tennant | Matt Smith | John Barrowman | Gareth David-Lloyd

Blogalalphabet

2011-07-03T09:11:00.015+10:00

I follow around 250 blogs/sites, so thought I'd share a blogalalphabet of my most loved (mostly knitty/crochety) reads - I find I have a gap for U, X and Z - any suggestions?

Happy reading everyone :)

Angels have the phone box

Bonito Club / Brooklyn Tweed

Curious Knitter / Crafty Tardis

DELicious Designz

Epheriell Designs

Free Amigurumi Patterns

Geek Crafts / Geek Central Station

Never Not Knitting / needled

Owlishly

PennyDog - Adventures in resin

qwantz.com - *dinosaur comics* (non craft)

ritsukurimono

Smoking Hot Needles

TECHknitting / Trailing yarn

Voolenvine Knits

WooWork.com

Yarn Harlot

Knitty Fall 2011 highlight

2011-06-30T10:02:00.001+10:00

Enjoyed reading through all the patterns in the new Knitty Fall 2011 issue last weekend - such a wonderful publication.

For me this time the highlight wasn't a garment but a trail of interesting and inspiring links that started with the awesome Double heelix by Jeny Staiman
I progressed to her blog: Curious Knitter (which has many fascinating ideas), and ended up returning to my desire to make my crochet mobius mitts into a proper knitted version (instead of the less-awesome knit flat and then twist version.

Other patterns I liked the look of from the new Knitty were Dragon Wing and Dunes

Dyeing dilemmas

2011-06-28T10:43:00.005+10:00

Hmm finally cast off my Cosette Wrap last night, and now need to decide how to go about fixing the dye problem. My dyeing experiment turned out lovely (imo), but also turns everything it touches lovely (ie bright blue)

Apparently vinegar will work while blocking, but I already had quite a bit of vinegar in the initial dye pot - so I'm not sure how much of a difference it will make to helping the colour stick at this stage. If anyone has any awesome ideas please let me know - and wish me luck!

Fezzes are cool - small size

2011-06-26T18:35:00.003+10:00

If you're not a knitter and wanted a pair for yourself, the small pair I made while writing the pattern is now up in my etsy shop

Enjoy :)

Fezzes are cool - convertible mitts

More about this pattern and more pics

Fezzes are cool - new pattern

2011-06-23T22:23:00.011+10:00

“It’s a fez, I wear a fez now… Fezzes are cool”

(The Big Bang, 2010)

Flip top mitts featuring Matt Smith’s bowtie and favourite fez. This pattern idea to me in a flash and it made me laugh, so I just had to write it up - I hope you laugh too! Mitts flip towards front of hand & fasten with buttons so as not to obscure bowtie ^_^ enjoy!

Download free pattern

view/queue pattern on Ravelry

list of all my doctor who patterns | all blog posts about doctor who

Materials:
3.5mm circ + spare needle/waste yarn
2 stitch markers
2 buttons

Skills required
Being comfortable working on circular needle (or dpns)
knit
purl
inc – knit into front and back of stitch to increase
ssk – slip, slip, knit
k2tog – knit two sts together

Medley spinning

2011-06-21T14:18:00.003+10:00

Despite not feeling any different, I think my spinning is getting a bit neater. I finished spinning this lovely Medley top from natchwoolie the other day. The reason I loved the look of this fleece was the question of how to combine the light and medium brown colours
In the end I went with the majority of each colour plied with itself and then a middle section where the colours are plied together
Not sure what this will become yet - unsure what this mingled brown colour would be best for - any thoughts?

Toe-up fixation footies

2011-06-21T14:10:00.004+10:00

Have been meaning to show these for a little while now, but I was too busy wearing them :)
This is my second pair of knitted socks, and are less of a success than the ones I knitted for mum, as I didn't put in the care or concentration (many holes in my short rows), but I'm liking having a pair of my own.

These were knit because I wanted to try toe-up, and also 2 socks on 2 circular needles. I found this technique completely intuitive, but if I made another pair I would stick to one colour - as managing the 4 strands of wool was a complete pain

Pattern: Toe-up Fixation Footies by Sarah H Arnold ( blog pattern | rav pattern )

I wouldn't recommend this pattern for a beginner sock knitter - as the pattern is not designed to walk you through every step, but as a quick guide it worked fine. I like the look of the short socks shown on the pattern pics but even at the length I stopped at I'm finding these too short. If I ever knit more socks I'll make them nice and long (and use thicker yarn)

Sneak peek

2011-06-19T09:53:00.004+10:00

Can you guess?

Special handmade pressies

2011-06-17T08:20:00.002+10:00

Look what my wonderful friend from SlightlySquiffled made for my bday the other week!

Skull and crossed knitting needles

Companion Cube from Portal!

and the Sheep that I like to draw everywhere

So happy!!

Sides of crochet

2011-06-16T13:18:00.009+10:00

I've just been adding a few things to my Mobius Mitts pattern, including the video tutorials from my last post.

Download Mobius Mitts pattern

I added in a page about arranging mitts to show the front or back side of the crochet. Thought blog readers might also be interested in this. The below notes are based on crocheting through both loops.

Crochet has a front and a back side. Because Mobius Mitts are worked as a mobius loop, the side showing changes at the centre point (see above).

- The front of crochet looks like distinct chunky sts (above the line)
- the back looks like a tight slanted stitch (below the line)

Mobius Mitts are designed to show one side for the majority of the gloves, with just a
hint of the other side around the wrist. You can choose which you prefer, and then
access your preferred side by turning your gloves fully inside out between the two
options.

And talking of mobius, check out these awesome Mobius Ships

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See more posts about mobius loops

Mobius Mitts video help

2011-06-13T09:05:00.006+10:00

This post is being revised, please return in a day or two, many apologies for any delay in your project ~ 2 Oct 2011

Spin spin spin

2011-06-11T12:30:00.001+10:00

Such a lovely sunny wintery day today!

Ghost Train Gloves sample

2011-06-10T10:09:00.003+10:00

Discounted sample mitts worked as a test for my updated Ghost Train Gloves pattern.

Only difference between right and left hands is a change in the thumb gusset where I was testing two different styles to find the best fit. Pop across to Etsy if you're interested

Ghost Train Gloves update

2011-06-09T12:46:00.002+10:00

Hi lovely knitters

I just wanted to let you know that I've added an option to this pattern for knitting the gloves in the round. I always prefer to knit in the round because then there's no seaming. There's also some improved images of cables and some general cleaning up of the pattern.

Ghost Train Gloves
Patterns page | Ravelry | Etsy

Tubey!

2011-06-05T11:02:00.007+10:00

My Tubey is done ^_^

Tubey (free pattern) by Cassie Rovitti
(view on ravelry: pattern | my project)

This was a time consuming knit! I lost motivation a little after the stranded section as the ribbing above it didn’t hold shape and created a puffy bit.

The original Tubey pattern has lovely stripes, but I loved the look of uncia’s Onion Pink Tubey (rav login required) with its stranded colour work os I made up my own chart

Feel free to use chart for your own tubey but would appreciate a linky - and make sure you note the troubles I had -> I solved the puffyness issue by hand-stitching in some lines of back stitch to pull ribbing together in that section and now seems ok. If I did it again I might decrease just under the bust to account for this before starting the stranded section.

Owlings

2011-06-02T15:30:00.002+10:00

Here's a cute little gift whipped up for a special friend getting married. Was a bit late because I got sick just before the wedding but I think she likes them :)

Pattern:
Owlings by Kerrie James (rav link)

I kind of just made up the thumb because I was knitting on circs and the pattern was for dpns and I didn't feel like translating across
I ended up knitting two pairs because the first one I did was too small (so I've kept those for myself and they're keeping me warm in the mornings)

Birthday fluff

2011-05-31T17:19:00.003+10:00

I got lots of lovely pressies for my bday this year!

Black Storm - BFL Superwash Yarn by Dyeforwool (even prettier in real life than the pic on the listing + with a cool pirate logo)
Sisters by SeaFindDesigns

I've always loved sea glass and this teeny tiny necklace was lovely

And because I've been drooling over Chrissy's Multnomah shawls for ages, I couldn't resist ordering some Socks that Rock (wish postage to Australia wasn't so expensive :( )

This one wasn't a birthday present, but it was still a present (thanks so much Tony!) I dyed it green (not very well because my hands and everything I touch goes completely blue every time I knit) and have started knitting a Cosette Wrap. This is the first pattern I have bought from my favourite podcaster Never Not Knitting

Ruins testing and toroto

2011-05-24T08:00:00.006+10:00

Sooo many drafts to get my Ruins pattern right, and a few different colour combinations and wool types too...
I like this in-progress pic of lacesockslupins' test knit - what cool purple needles!

She's got such a cute range of projects (with a sheep having a look at each ^_^) - look at these toroto gloves!

Ruins

2011-05-20T19:43:00.013+10:00

My new pattern at last! Much work to get this one published, many thanks to all the lovely testers

$2.50 usd

View on Ravelry | View on Etsy

“There, down the roofless wall did glow

The zun upon the grassy vloor,

An’ weakly-wandren winds did blow,

Unhinder’d by a door”

(The Castle Ruins - William Barnes)

--

Dreaming of castles in the mist, and adventure? Ruins is an intermediate pattern, written for a knitter comfortable with a circular needle and the magic loop (or two circular needles).

With three sections using different techniques (stranded colour work, basket weave and layers) this pattern is perfect for the restless wanderer who quickly tires of repetitive patterns.

**Yarn**
Bendigo Woollen Mills
Rustic 8 Ply (DK) - Earth 50 grams / 99 meters
Classic 8 Ply (DK) - Raven 50 grams / 99 meters

A good substitute - [Cascade 220 wool]
(although not DK, this yarn has been tested and knits up well for this pattern - see)

**Needle**
3.5mm circular

Please just contact me if you are having trouble deciding if this pattern is right for you. Alternatives are provided for the first two sections if you are finding the techniques too tricky

More mobius mitts

2011-05-19T14:19:00.005+10:00

I have been playing with my stash trying to make some interesting colour combinations. Not sure how I feel about the green one, but I'm generally not really a green person so it's hard for me to judge:)

Red sun rising

Rolling hills

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See more posts about mobius loops

Wednesday wonders - IamShadow21's Arthur

2011-05-17T14:04:00.007+10:00

Good morning!

I am wearing a pair of my hand knitted socks today for the very first time ^_^ Makes me happy!

This week's wednesday wonder is IamShadow21's Cuddly Arthur (ravelry link)

Ruth and Emma (who did his lovely hair) spent hours making this cute little guy. I love his costume and the transformation of his hairdo. See more of Ruth's projects on Ravelry

Base pattern: John Barrowman Big and Cuddly

Mushroom sweater

2011-05-17T11:57:00.003+10:00

Don't you just love Momo's mushroom sweater? I love it so!
(pics on Flickr if you don't have Rav login)

It's based on Kate Davies' Paper Dolls pattern which I also love ^_^

image used with permission

Momo has knitted so many beautiful sweaters - check them out - jettshin on Ravelry

My first shawl

2011-05-16T12:10:00.000+10:00

Wheee! The shawl is done - I'm very proud and have already started a new shawl project and ordered too much shawl-ish wool online

The pattern is 198 yds of heaven by Christy Verity. It was a great first shawl pattern, and is a free download on ravely. The yarn is pure cashmire and was an xmas pressie from Robyn and I think this was a perfect project for it.

My first shawl knitting experience was exciting and challenging. I found it hard to read the chart, but I think that was my own inexperience with lace knitting as I found it hard to know when to start and end repeats.

At the beginning it was taking my whole 50min commute to do one row of the chart, and I was putting in lifelines every 2 rows, but I got pretty quick by the end. I didn't use stitch markers but instead used the two purl sts at the start and end of each repeat to mentally note where I was up to (If I had to change trains mid row).

By the end I could turn back on my audio books and easily knit without too much effort, and I found the edging easy. Blocking was so exciting as it all stretched out and I finally understood the pattern I had been knitting

Mobius Mitts - along the shore

2011-05-12T09:45:00.002+10:00

So long since I had added anything to my etsy shop, but after finishing four personal projects last week - I was ready to get back to creating some etsy items

Mobius Mitts - along the shore
Cream and blue cosy gloves hand crocheted with 100% wool.
Follow the link for some more pics

Coming up in future weeks...
-A giveaway to celebrate 100 etsy sales ^_^
-Pics of my recent FOs - gloves, my first ever shawl, a scarf and some socks

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See more posts about mobius loops

Cpt. Malcolm Reynolds for Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief

2011-05-09T14:34:00.003+10:00

Firefly fan?

Jump over and support Nerd Wars' Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief effort by bidding on m3clarity's awesome Captain Mal remake of my Cpt. Jack pattern. I can tell you that many many hours go into making one of these dolls - I hope that it goes for a good price

"Once you meet him in person you will be saying “I love my Captain” too :D"

Ebay listing | post on Nerd Wars forum | m3clarity's Rav page

Treasuries - Autumn aura and Winter enchantments

2011-05-04T10:07:00.004+10:00

Can't stop myself thinking about Autumn colours this year - I don't even like orange, but Autumn is my favourite season

And here's a Winter one by my friend SlightlySquiffled

RSS readers click here to see the treasuries Autumn / Winter

Autumn leaves

2011-04-27T21:20:00.000+10:00

Lovely day in the Dandenongs with my mum today

Lots of Autumn colours - which reminded me of two beautiful patterns by my favourite podcaster Alana Dakos (Never Not Knitting)

Oak Grove

Seedling

Water water...

2011-04-23T21:59:00.002+10:00

So after moving house twice and all our mold problems of last year, which followed us to our lovely new (dry) apartment and ruined half our stuff...

we got up yesterday morning to start our much needed easter holiday with a few bites of hotcross bun, and looked overto see water spreading across a third of the living room :( After 4 hours of mopping up water and wringing out towels, calling plumbers and a much needed cream egg and pringles delivery (thanks Robyn!), we got it somewhat dry.

Now we start the quest to see if the carpet can be ripped up to be dried properly so that the mold issues of last year don't set in :(

A pretty pic to finish:
Ocean: Hand Spun Lace by SpinSpunSpins on Etsy

Treasury - Marooned

2011-04-20T16:34:00.001+10:00

RSS readers can click here to see the treasury

Dreams

2011-04-12T16:57:00.001+10:00

Hi lovely readers
Just wanted to say sorry to those who are waiting on replies to emails - I hope to be able to reply soon

Haven't slept much this week and have a sore throat :( Think I might be coming down with something :/ Staring at pretty fiber will help I'm sure :)

Childhood Dreams - Handpainted Extra Fine Merino Top 4 ozby GentleHugSupplies on Etsy

Knitty Spring+Summer 2011 highlight

2011-04-11T11:12:00.000+10:00

Stand out pattern for me from Knitty Spring+Summer 2011 is Verdant by Susan Newhall.

Pattern comes with instructions for what seems like an interesting stitch technique that I will have a closer look at later

Rivercat socks look pretty nice too but the shoes they're pictured in really put me off. I like the other photos further down though :)

Shawl shenanigans

2011-04-09T12:03:00.000+10:00

After favouriting far too many lace shawls on Ravlery and getting this purpley-blue lace yarn for Christmas, I knew I had to have a go ^_^ If you look closely you can see the lifelines I've been adding in every second row

I've worked my way up to completing around 4 rows on my 50min commute, with a train change or two in the middle (at the start it was taking me 50min for 2 rows while I got used to the pattern :S)

Pattern: 198 yds. of Heaven by Christy Verity on Ravelry

Swatching handspun

2011-04-04T20:40:00.003+10:00

Eep look what arrived in the letterbox today from lylianmae!
It's sooo pretty and she has some rather timey whimey fleece for you Who fans too :)

Before I can spin this exciting batt, I need to finish what is currently on my wheel - which is this completely gorgeous Merino Bamboo blend from extremespinning

I find it difficult that you need to decide whether to ply your handspun before you start spinning (so that you spin your singles in the correct direction). I have been doing some swatching to try and help: (knit + crochet)

Things that make my brain happy

2011-04-03T09:42:00.000+10:00

Complex technique experimentation
Lee Meredith's (leethal) Sideways Edge Cast-On

Techniques I've never tried before
Crochet Jacquard from Danielle Kassner

Kool-aid dyeing tutorials
(I haven't seen kool-aid in Australia so maybe I'm just jealous :p)

Lee Meredith
snowangels
Knit One, Blog Two
craftstylish

Cupcake fiber

2011-03-29T12:54:00.000+11:00

How adorable is this shop? ^_^ Cupcake Fiber Companyom nom nom

2nd Blogeversary! and Inspiration Fibers yarn

2011-03-27T13:40:00.000+11:00

Hello lovely readers - it's my 2nd Blogeversary!

After finishing school plus five years of full time study, I suddenly no longer needed to feel guilty for just creating things again. But somehow I felt a bit lost getting home from work each day, not knowing what to focus on and not feeling very happy.

I started up this blog, began designing patterns, and during the last two years have got to know many lovely creative people all around the world ^_^

Thanks for all your support along the way, and enjoy some pics of yarn spun from this amazing Inspiration Fibers fluff below

Wednesday wonders - Emily's cuddly dolls

2011-03-23T09:58:00.001+11:00

Eep ^_^ look at Emily's wonderful creations!
I have been chatting to Emily for a while now and she's made so many amazing plushies. Her dolls have been taken to many exciting locations and have even met some famous people! here and here . Thanks Emily for sending me stories of the plushies' adventures :)

Get in touch with Emily on twitter -> @MrsGene_Hunt

Jack

Jack and David

Much love goes into each plushie, and the hair 'wig technique' is the most amazing taking up to 4 hours: "I wrap a bunch of yarn around my hand (for the DT dolls, for the Jack ones I just use three fingers since his hair is shorter) and snip it across the top to create a bunch of short (~ 8 1/2 inches/21 cm) strings. Then I weave one strand around one stitch, then secure it using a surgeons knot"

She's even made a kilted cudly to match this pic of David Tennant

My base David Tennant and John Barrowman patterns are free downloads on the Patterns Page and you may soon be able to download the pattern for the kilted cuddly as Emily is thinking of writing it up :)

Bamboo spinning

2011-03-18T12:23:00.001+11:00

Think this bamboo handspun is destined to become a Ceres Scarf :p The 355 st cast on almost killed me though

Ides of March Sale

2011-03-15T11:53:00.007+11:00

Pop over to ETSY if you're interested in 15% off anything in my shop (Ides of March Team Librarian sale :) ) Use code: IDES15

Other Team Librarian shops on sale on the 15th (local time to shop)
AnneArchy
Excessively Diverting

New pattern in progress

2011-03-13T11:51:00.003+11:00

Much of my time in the last couple of weeks has been taken up working samples for a new pattern. Completed the first draft yesterday, but there is still much work to be done before it is ready. I will learn from previous experience and get it properly testing this time.

The design includes a small colour stranded chart, basket weave and horizontal stitch. I think I might substitute the dark brown for something lighter. What do you think?

Claudia Scarf

2011-03-12T13:10:00.000+11:00

This morning finally took some photos of my completed Claudia Scarf ^_^ As the weather is getting colder is has been very useful on chilly train platforms in the mornings
This was a lovely free crochet pattern by Rebecca Jackson from A Little Slice of Life. Follow the link to see her lovely white version + the pattern, or checkout everyone's projects on Ravelry

Fabric lined mobius mitts

2011-03-12T11:39:00.003+11:00

My newest Mobius creation - fabric lined mitts :)

Mobius Mitts v1 PDF pattern

See more posts about mobius loops

Wednesday wonders - My_RubySlippers' River Song

2011-03-09T18:24:00.002+11:00

It's River!

How exciting to see such a wonderful creation arise out of these patterns - seeing this cheers me up after such a long day :)

Visit My_RubySlippers' Craftster post to read more about the story of her creation!

- Original David Tennant pattern

Wednesday wonders - Zanooka's Vivi and Eeyore

2011-03-02T10:20:00.003+11:00

Finally back on track for blogging. This week want to show you Zanooka's awesome creations. I can't claim much pattern creation here as she has added a whole heap of customisations (look at that cool hat!)

Zanooka's Vivi (from Final Fantasy)

Zanooka's Eeyore

You can read up about the changes made to create cute little Eeyore on her Ravelry project page

Base - Matt Smith Pattern

Saturday show and tell

2011-02-26T12:07:00.001+11:00

Spinning progress on Bamboo from silversunalpacas. Finding it much harder than wool but still fun

Embellishment idea for adding fabric scraps to crochet Mobius Mitts

Completed left hand of Chimera gloves ^_^ so cosy! (see my thoughts on this pattern)