WIPs, Christmas, and a Crochet-along!

Last year with some Christmas money, I bought myself a wonderful crochet book called "200 Crochet Blocks" by Jan Eaton. I must tell you, I LOVE this book! I don't buy books on any sort of craft very often (I rely on the Internet, the Library, and my own trial and error usually), however this book is simply one of the best I've read.

Her designs are really great, and she provides a ton of a helpful suggestions with colour, arrangement, matching blocks, and other things like specific stitches and such.

This brings me to the Crochet-along Let's Make 7, wherein you crochet 7 specified blocks before the end of January! Should I start another project with all the things (including PRESENTS) that I have going on? Probably not.
Am I going to anyways? You betcher hook.
Here's where the info is at. If you can get this book and want to just crochet some fun blocks to use for a cushion or later on, a blanket, go for it!
The Flickr group is here:


Speaking of Christmas presents, boy do I get myself into things (see above). I really enjoy it though, so I guess that's okay.
I'm only crocheting a few presents total; one isn't even if or Christmas! It's for my sister's birthday which falls four days after (she usually gets hers combined :< ). At the risk of my hard work going to naught for her finding out, I won't say it just yet, but rather say it's in the fall issue of Interweave Crochet magazine.

And WIPs! Many of them! Let's see, so far I'm working on a Free Spirit doll, from the pattern by the most excellent Beth of By Hook, By Hand. That's been in the works for... months, actually. *ashamed*
There's Kamden's Elephant, who is 85% completed. I'm still working on the ears, they're giving me trouble. I don't like anything I've come up with thus far. However after that, he should be done quickly! The initial purpose of the design was to make a stuffed elephant for a friend's new nephew.
During this summer (yes! The SUMMER) I made a fox design that I was really rather attached to, and even went so far as to start making a duplicate to test the pattern but... well you know the story. It's on my list!

Here I dig myself all these crafty holes, yet somehow, I enjoy it :/ <3

Happy Thanksgiving!

A bit late, but my sentiment's there!

Having mentioned that, I thought I would also mention something else non-crochet related.
(Except in the case of my previous project, the crocheted Murloc Murky.)
The Murlocs, they are dying. If you've ever played World of Warcraft, if you've ever quested around Azeroth, seen them murdered... well, then you know these noble creatures are in danger.

Won't you please help?
http://savethemurlocs.org/

... This inspires me to work on my Murky some more, and refine that pattern. Ah, to add to the list!

I'm still sick x_x I think, oddly enough, this is related to dentist work I had done less than a week before all this started...
I KNEW they were no good!
More later, as I'm working on a new friend<3

Oh, and there's a long needed update on my Awesome-peeps list!

Pleh!

Once a week! Once a week.

I'm sick :( It's not so fun. It's amazing, really, they don't even know what I have, so for the time being I'm to stay home. Going back to the doctor Monday though. At least I get some time off and can crochet a little!
I have been keeping busy, haha. For Halloween, we all went as pirates! We stormed the bowling alley and Village Inn, h'yarr. For the fiancee, I made a lush velveteen pirate coat; it's very nice, I think. Not quite done though since I didn't have time aforehand to do the buttons, but I'm GONNA finish it, and I'll post pics when I do.
For my friend who was just deployed, I made these:


He likes werewolves so I thought they'd make a good choice haha. Also they were related to a gaming session I've been running, so that's part of it.
He liked them :3 I got them from the book Hello, Cupcake! which is downright fantastic. I DEFINITELY suggest you take a look at it, even if you don't think you can cook cupcakes (which I certainly can't very well)!
The designs are just too awesome, and I can't wait to make more! There's also really helpful tips in there.
My sister already wants me to make her penguin cupcakes for her birthday, haha.

On the crochet front, I'm working on a few different things. I made myself a pair of oversized mittens so that I can line them with fleece, nice and warm! Also working on a massive blanket with my friend Angela, and some things for a baby on the way in her family.

And, we got our first snow today! It took forever, I'll tell you what. We actually didn't have snow Halloween night, which is a first as far as my memory goes.
But now it's here!
When I'm not coughing up a lung, I'm gonna go outside to play in it with the dog<3
Though that probably won't be for a long while yet...

Knot tutorial and Elvis

This year at the Fair, I bought myself a tiger marionette. There's a lady who sells them made out of pom poms, and they're so fluffy and cute... I fell in love with him right away.
His name is Elvis, due to a humorous thing with a friend of mine just beforehand (she got herself a Hippo marionette as well and named him Presley).


It's so hard to not play with him, whenever I look at him I wanna make him dance around! Or climb things or hold things or shake hands...
My dogs really aren't quite sure what to make of him.

Also, I was asked by someone to clarify how I tie the knots when using yarn scraps for the ScrapCats, so I made a little tutorial. I hope it helps anyone who needs it! You can find the large version here.

And now, to go and try hard not to get distracted by crochet. For I have a Japanese test tomorrow, and really need to study! XD

ScrapCat! Free pattern

Yay! I finally finished writing up my first pattern! Whew, translating even a simple pattern from Claire-crochet-shorthand babble to a sensible plan is tedious work. Hopefully with time it'll get faster. Does that mean I should make more patterns?

I got the idea, out of boredom, a while back to use up some of my basketful of yarn scraps and make it into a colourful Ami, which produced ScrapCat! The first one was Pheobe.

She's watching me from above my computer. Along with Groucho, the second Cat I made (So named for his abnormal dark eyebrows)
The rest are on my Flickr page, http://www.flickr.com/photos/carouselcute/

Their messy look just makes them cuter, I think. Each one is different thanks to different scraps used to make them, so their unique personalities can be endless.

If you find any errors or run into any problems, I'd be happy if you commented or emailed me. This is the first one I've ever written up for other people to follow, so I hope I did a good job!

Here you go!

***

Scrap Cat Pattern

A free pattern to make, with love!

This pattern is free for making, giving, sharing, selling the products of, etc. I only ask that you let me know when you sell things from it, and don't claim it as your own.

MATERIALS:

G hook (H can work, but G is better for tightness)
Worsted weight yarn scraps. A good three handfuls, each scrap 5 inches or more is allright. You can use non-scrap yarn, too. That's just an approximation, so don't be afraid to use other yarn you may have.
Polyfil*
Embroidery floss
Needle (and yarn needle, obviously)
Pipecleaner (optional)
2 buttons for the eyes. Or use your respective eyes. I like buttons for them because it suits the scrappy feel.

*If you REALLY want to be thrifty, just stuff it with more scraps!

TERMS

ch-chain
st-stitch
sc-single crochet
inc-increase (2 single crochet in one sitch)
dec-decrease (single crochet 2 stitches together) (invisible decrease is best, and easy to learn with tutorials online. Planet June and Gourmet Amigurumi have good ones.)

BEFORE YOU START.

There should be a good two to three handfuls of scraps. Anything longer than 5 inches is allright. Note that shorter scraps will only show a few stitches, and longer ones will show much more. To obtain the "scrap yarn", take two strands and place them end to end, and tie a 2-strand overhand knot as close as possible to the ends (leaving a little bit of tail). Pull tight to make sure it won't slip out. Repeat as you go so that your scraps form yarn just enough length to work with. Remember to leave a good amount for sewing the piece to the body! A longer piece there is best.
The knots won't show through your crochet. If, when you make a stitch, they're showing on that side, tighten it or pop it through to the other side. Undoing the stitch and making it again only tighter can solve the problem too.
I realize this might be kind of a weird way to work, so if there's any problems or you have any trouble, just email me and I'll be happy to help!

PATTERN
This is worked as Amigurumi. Do not join rounds, work in a spiral instead. You don't have to do it in this order, but I make notes along the way as to assembly, so it's probably a good idea. It's also easier to do some things before others.
Have fun!

HEAD

Make a magic ring with 6 stitches. (or CH2, and make 6sc in first ch if you don't know the magic ring technique)

r1: inc in each st (12)
r2: *1 sc in next st, inc in next st. repeat from * around (18)
r3: *1 sc in next 2 st, inc in next st. repeat from * around (24)
r4: sc in each st. (24)
r5-7: repeat r4. (24)
r8: *1 sc in next 2 st, 1 dec. repeat from * around (18)
r9: *1sc in next st, 1 dec. repeat from * around (12)

Fasten off and pull tail inside the head.
Stuff well.

FACE

Using embroidery floss, sew an upside down triangular nose and mouth onto the middle of the face. Sew the buttons on for the eyes along the same line as the nose. Using the same colour floss as for the mouth, sew semicircle eyebrows.
*a note about the eyes:
I loved the buttons but didn't like the way they looked in the end with the thread I sewed them on with. So I took fabric paint (also known as puffypaint, great stuff) and filled in the buttons, with white dots for the shine. You don't have to, it's just something I felt like doing.


EARS (make 2)

Magic ring with 6 st.

r1: 1 sc in each st. (6)
r2: *1 sc in next st, inc. repeat around. (9)
r3: 1 sc in each st. (9)
r4: *1 sc in next 2 st, inc. repeat from * around, (12)
(If you want longer, tall ears, do one more round of sc in each st, for a total of 12 sc)

Fasten off and leave long tails for sewing.

If you want, choose a solid colour for both ears (make sure you have enough!) and sew it onto one side of each ear, to make the inner ear colour.
Fold them flat and sew the ears onto the top of the head, bending the sides in slightly to create a concave effect.

BODY

Magic ring with 6 st.

r1: inc in each st (12)
r2: *1 sc in next st, inc in next st. repeat from * around (18)
r3: *1 sc in next 2 st, inc in next st. repeat from * around (24)
r4: sc in each st. (24)
r5: repeat r4.
r6: *1 sc in next 2 st, 1 dec. repeat from * around (18)
r7: sc in each st (18)
r8: repeat r7.
r9: *1sc in next st, 1 dec. repeat from * around (12)
r10: sc in each st (12)
r11: repeat r10.

Fasten off with long tail.

TAIL

Magic ring with 6 st.

r1: sc in each st (6)
r2-4: repeat r1.
r5: dec, sc in remaining 4 st (5)
r6: sc in each st (5)
r7-15: repeat r6.

Fasten off. Fold pipecleaner in half and push the folded end into the tail. There should be some still outside of the tail. Place the tail at the base of the body (where, when sitting, it will be sticking outward) and push the remaining end into the body and fold one end one way and the other end the opposite way, to anchor the pipecleaner in place.
Sew the tail onto the body.

Stuff the body completely, adding a penny or two to the bottom for weight, if desired (not necessary).
Now, sew the body to the head, making sure that you fasten it to where the tail is behind (and when looking down on it, between) the two ears.

ARMS (make 2)

Magic ring with 6 st.

r1: sc in each st. (6)
r2-9: repeat r1.
(this is when a stitch marker really comes in handy. You can use a paperclip or hook earring if you don't have one.)

Stuff.
Sew the opening closed by fastening off with a long tail, and threading the tail through the outer loop of each stitch and pulling closed.

LEGS (make 2)

Magic ring with 6 st.

r1: inc in each st (12)
r2: sc in each st (12)
r3-6: repeat r2

Fasten off and stuff.

Sew to the body, each leg at an angle towards the front (not directly below the ears, but angled inward). Make sure it's at the base, same as the tail, so your ScrapCat can sit without falling over.

Sew the arms onto the body just below the neck.
For a Maneki ScrapCat (the raise-paw good luck cat), Sew the left arm on upwards. You can sew the paw down in a beckoning motion, and tack on a bell or fake coin as well.

That's all! It's finished! I hope you enjoyed this pattern and had fun with it!

If you have any questions, comments, or want to share your ScrapCat, just let me know!

Our State Fair is a great state fair~

*hums showtunes*
So much! In the next two weeks, so busy!
I've started school, so that's part of it. My schedule at work changed two times in the past week, and it'll change again soon. It's confusing, because I have two schedules to remember; they change every other week due to mandated furlough.
Then, the state fair! The Alaska State Fair is the biggest event of the year, there's so much to do! I'm going up both this weekend and next.
Friends have been coming here and back from their various schools too, and that's been fun.
But even then, I've found time to crochet! I'll post as soon as I can take pictures (one piece I've had for a few weeks or more -_-;; I need to try harder at the whole "taking pictures quickly" thing! Perseverance, fortitude...), including a pattern for everyone!

A major update before another lull? I hope not.