Kickin'

I'm still alive and still crocheting! I haven't blogged for these months mostly because I've been focusing on other things, like work and school. However I'm swinging back around to more crochet, to include writing up the pattern for my Murky!

Yes, I am finally at the point where this is being worked on :D Updates to follow shortly.
In addition, We have a new addition to our little family! My fiancee and I got a puppy, a 2 month old rotty/doberman mix we named Taika, and she's just ridiculously adorable! A little dumb, but cute<3
I have other things I'll be posting as well. Since I kind of obsessivly craft all different kinds of things, it would follow suite that I post more than crochet, so I want to.
Now, gettin' myself to work!

Onigiri!

An umeboshi (pickled plum) clasp, crocheted out of DMC thread!

Tasty and delicious, now in purse form!
Recently, right before the local anime and manga convention (aka, when I'm going psycho either trying to finish art or costumes), my friend and I were chatting about a bento we were going to work on. I never ended up getting to make mine, but I figure this counts.
I told her, a fellow crocheter, she should make an onigiri bag. She refused!
So I picked up yarn and whipped this up for her instead XD

The strap turned out longer than I would've liked, but oh well. It's got a little metal ring (the keychain sort) on either side to separate the strap from the onigiri bag itself. The bag was crocheted in one solid piece, with the nori (black seaweed) separate and sewn on, along with the umeboshi (red pickled plum). I personally love the umeboshi; it's cute AND functional, since it serves as a sort of nob for the loop to hold the bag closed. The purse is small already so it didn't seem like that big of a deal, but it helps. I made it have sort of a ledge thing but if I made it again, I would make it more defined to it retains the tension on the loop better. Ah, listen to me rant.

The inside, lined with fleece. Not really SUPER necessary, it's already a small bag, but it made it look more finished and put together. Also provides security XD

My dad insisited on "modeling" it haha. It's really not that big, but just big enough to be cute XD

On the home front, I'm still busy with school and work among other things, but I try to crochet when I can. Here's to more yarnage!
(I have no idea wtf that means.)

Completed Jacket!

It's done it's done it's dooooone*hearts* For the past... two months, ish, (less?) I've been working on the Curried Cable Jacket from the fall issue of last years' Interweave Crochet magazine.
Pretty na? Now my didn't turn out exactly the same, but that's just fine I suppose haha. I used a darker wool, and made it a larger size than strictly necessary to allow for shrinkage since we live in snow. It's bound to happen. Let's see... this is maybe the second or third pattern for crochet I've ever followed. :/ Am I a rebel? Guess I just don't like to follow patterns very much if I can figure it out on my own.

Pros: learned cabeling, a new form of ribbing, made my largest project and first nonhat nonmitten wearable crochet item :3
Cons: zipperrrrrr. It wouldn't behave despite ripping that thing out two or three times. The crochet fabric kept stretching out despite my best efforts and resulting in sort of a ... bubbled look. The zipper cover helps a bit though.


All in all, this project was super fun, and my sister really liked it which of course was my primary focus. :D





On the project list is the crochet blocks crochet-along, an ami that's been sitting here for three months ALMOST complete (poor guy! er gal. er guy. not sure yet.) and a few other things that I just...plan to do. Also my Free Spirit doll.

I made some mittens for a friend of mine but failed to take pictures before I gave them to her, so I'll ask her to do that X3