Beautiful Blue Yarn

So today has been sort of One of Those Days. It is cold. I am forgetful and clumsy and frantic, and I had a midterm. The subject of my Japanese class was horribly depressing. I bungled the last few, vitally important moments of my Economics midterm. And I have another midterm tomorrow.

 

But I also have some gorgeous yarn waiting for me. 

And I am going to bask in that fact right now. Even though I can't go and hook it up in the gorgeous rows of shells I know it yearns to be, it is waiting for me.

And for now that is good enough to get me through.

Boot Lust

Hello everyone!!


I know, two posts in a week may seem a bit excessive but I really am trying to just follow my little bits of inspiration all the way through to the publish post button. Last week was pouring rain, and this week is cold and windy, so naturally I am thinking of boots. I actually don't own a pair of leather boots. I have ill fitting target rain boots, and that is about it.

So I went searching for some boots. And fell in love.

 

These lovelies are based on jump boots worn by WWII paratroopers, made from real leather, and handcrafted in the USA. They are also about $300. Yikes! But I still love them. I shall just abstain from actually owning them. *Sigh*. Fortunately, I have an open heart if not an open wallet, and managed to fall yet again...

 ... for these beauties. And they just so happen to be on sale! But how much is it really going to rain? And will they fit me if I order them online? Hmmm... I am still debating. 

 

The problem with internet shopping is that there are just too many options.

In craftier news, I have been very much occupied with a fantastical super awesome ravelry geek swap which is all about your favorite books! I am so excited to be finishing up my hand-made item(s?) and sending it off to my dear spoilee, but of course I cannot post pictures as it would utterly spoil the surprise. I have, in the meantime, done a couple of other little things...

... like this cute little pig pattern! I whipped one up for my friend's birthday, from this pattern. Even more excitingly, although I failed to take pictures of le petit porcine pre-presentification, the recipient is a talented photographer and may use her awesome skills upon my humble yarny creation.

More exciting projects that I am just itching to get my hooks into (hehe) include some simple coffee cup cozies and a ::gorgeous:: tea pot cozy, yarn funded by the commissioner!

So hurrah for awesome projects, past, present and future! I can't wait to post pictures of the scrumptious navy yarn that was picked out for this cozy, as well as all of my swap labors and mini projects. 

Hope everyone is well. Happy crafting!

Note: None of the photos in this post were taken by me, and clicking on the photo leads to the respective source links of each.

My Darling Rabbit

Hey everybody!

I know it has been a while since I have posted, but school sort of took me by surprise. I hope that this pattern will help make up for it!

My Darling Rabbit

Supplies:

Brown cotton yarn

White cotton yarn

4 mm crochet hook

yarn needle

stitch marker

some kind of stuffing

Pattern notes: This rabbit is worked from the legs upwards. Each leg is made individually, and then they are joined together and worked up from there. At various points throughout the pattern, it will become convenient to sew on parts of the amigurumi as you make the larger body, such as the tail, white stomach, and arms. These points will be indicated in the pattern for the main part of the rabbit, and the order in which the patterns for the various pieces are listed are the order in which I found it best to make them.

Stomach:

1. In white, ch 6
2. Row 1: Sc in 2^nd st from hook and across. When the end of the row is reached, sc down the other side in the backs of the stitches you just worked. (10 sts)
3. Row 2: Sc 2 in each st around. (20 sts)
4. Row 3:*Sc 1, then sc 2 in next* around (30 sts)
5. Finish off

Tail:

1. In white, make a small pom pom.

Arms (make 2) :

1. In brown, ch 4
2. Row 1: Sc in 2^nd st from hook and across. When the end of the row is reached, sc down the other side in the backs of the stitches you just worked. (6 sts)
3. Rows 2-3: sc in each st around. (6 sts)
4. Row 4: *Sc 1, sc2tog* around. (4 sts)
5. Row 5-9: Sc in each st around.
6. Finish off.

Body:

1. Ch 5

2. Row 1: Sc through the back loop of the 2^nd st from the hook. Sc through back loops only for the rest of the row. When you reach the end of the row, sc back through the remaining front loops. From now on you will be working in the round. (8 sts)

3. Rows 2-10: Sc around.

4. Finish off. You have completed one leg. Now, repeat steps 1-3, but when you reach the end of row 10 do not finish off.

5. Now you will join the two legs together by crocheting around the tops of both of them. Ch 2. join the first leg to any part of the top of the 2^nd with a slip stitch. Then crochet around the second leg until you reach the beginning. You might want to leave 1 or 2 sc between the first join and the point where you join the 2^nd leg back to the first. Now, ch 2 again and join to the first leg using a sl st. You should now have a single circle of stitches that can be worked up to form a cylindricalish shape that will be the torso. (If you notice that 2ch is leaving an awkwardly large gap you can just do 1ch instead).

You will notice that because of the 2ch there is a bit of a gap visible through which stuffing might escape. I recommend sewing this up now because later it will be an absolute pain to do. Also, at some point soon you should consider sewing on your pompom tail.

6. Now that you have formed the base of the torso, work 12 rounds even (sc 1 in each st). Consider stuffing the legs. Sew on the stomach.

7. The next few rows will be the head-ish section. *Sc2tog, crochet half way around, sc2tog*. Work the next row even. Then repeat from *to* for the next row. Now is a good time to start stuffing the torso.

8. Ears! Sc a quarter of the way around, about where is shown below. Then, slst to the other side of the oval. This is one of the ears. Work even for about 6 rows. Then, sc2tog all around. Repeat until there is one st left on the hook. Finish off and weave in ends. Finish stuffing the body. (I didn’t stuff the ears).

9. Join yarn as close as you can to the base of the first ear. Sc around to the other side, then sl st across the oval. Work even for about six rows, then sc2tog all around. Repeat until there is one st left on the hook. Finish off and weave in ends.

10. You’re done! Congratulations