King of the (Very Small) Jungle

This little lion was made for my coworker's first baby! This is probably the biggest thing I've made so far. It took just under a month but most of that was due to not knowing how to make the mane without using fun fur yarn like the pattern called for. I love giving handmade gifts :)




The fancy-schmancy packaging. I did try to pretty it up with a little crocheted bow in pretty variegated pastel yarn.


Incidentally, anyone else think it's more difficult to make gifts for boys? My roommate (and coworker) had already started tackling a knitted baby blanket, so I didn't want to make another blanket. Plus, I had a month to work on it before the baby's due date. My roommate had already been diligently at work on the blanket for 6 months.


And, it's almost impossible to find the right pattern for a cute amigurumi that is 1) free 2) not super difficult and 3) not terribly ugly. Besides the fact that my yarn stash has limited colors.


I pretty much narrowed it down to dinosaur or lion when I was choosing which to make, but lion won out because I couldn't find a good dinosaur pattern quickly enough. This one comes courtesy of Lion Brand Yarn.

* One thing I did change on the pattern was the way I worked the mane. I didn't have any fun fur and I could not, for the life of me, understand what the pattern was trying to tell me how to attach the fur to the head. I ended up attaching the yarn by slip stitching into the stitches of the head and adding chains to make a long loop and slip stitching back down into the head. I covered the head like this which gave it a kind of funny Rastafarian/dreadlock look, but I couldn't think of a better way to make his fur?

I do like how he turned out in the end though.
P.S. I hate not having internet at home.

Locks of Love

The big reveal. After one and half-ish years of having extremely long hair, I've chopped it all off. 12 inches to be exact. And this is my second time donating to Locks of Love :)





Help! What do I do with short hair? I have no idea how to style it. Thoughts?

P.S. I have to give major props to fashion bloggers. Not only is it extremely difficult to take pictures of yourself sans tripod and photographer (self timer) it's also extremely awkward to get dressed up and pose yourself for what looks like no one. Especially since my balcony faces out onto the street where people frequently walk by. I can't even imagine doing this everyday.

Spinach Chicken Salad

So I cheated and I didn't actually cook anything...but I did make something other than my usual pasta. I had some leftover spinach dip from a get-together but no tortilla chips. I didn't want to buy a whole bag just for half a carton of dip. I actually wasn't sure what to do with the remaining dip, but I didn't want to throw it away. I remembered that I had some Costco brand canned chicken which is basically like canned tuna but chicken. It's a lot better than it sounds, at least, I think.


Mix chicken and spinach dip (which is actually more difficult than mixing in mayo like normal chicken salad. The spinach dip is kind of thick and has other stuff in it too.)


And now, fancy chicken salad! Or is it spinach dip in disguise?

I ate this on some toasted bread as a sandwich and it was awesome. Definitely one of my better creations. And better than a boring turkey sandwich for lunch! Let's hope my next cooking ventures turn out just as tasty!

Donuts!

I know I've posted these donuts before, but they're different ones! They're mini donuts! I was 3 away from a dozen donuts before I seriously burned out on the detailing of the sprinkles. Maybe I'll make more after I've gone through some other patterns first. But I do love how they turned out with the colorful sprinkles and the different frosting colors.

Incidentally, I was told that it's "donut" for the food and "doughnut" for things that are round with holes in the middle. Is that right? It seems like it would be the other way around or maybe they're both right?

The Summer Series

Now that final exams are over and I'm no longer semi-nomadic, I've got time for




in which I indulge in my crafty side and do stuff.

What kind of stuff?

Stitched Up Sunday


Mixed In Monday


Tuesday Threads


Wildcard Wednesday


Teach or Taught Thursday

Friday Photos


Sketchy Saturdays

I'm a big fan of alliteration, as you can see. I'll clue you in more as each of these comes up because I'm sure Mixed In Monday has got you stumped. (There wasn't a good "M" alliteration word, just go with me here.)

I Can Haz Cheezburger?

A WIP finally finished! This has been half finished for the longest time because I couldn't get the proportions right. This ended up being about 2-3 inches in diameter, so more like a slider than a full sized cheeseburger. Originally, this started out from the Lion Brand Yarn pattern for the Jumbo Burger, but I didn't want to make a burger 8 inches across so I decided to miniaturize and make up the pattern as I went.

Everything I kind of eye balled to get it to look right, except the tomatoes. I used a Crochet Spot tutorial to get the nice spokes on the tomato slices. Except, in the end, it didn't matter since I sewed it together so tightly, but it was a nice detail if I had arranged the pieces differently.

The pattern is as follows: (hopefully everything turns out proportionally sized)
Gauge is not particularly important.  All the yarns I used were Red Heart Super Saver Solids in various colors.  G hook for everything.

Lettuce

Ch 6, join with sl st to form ring

Work 15 SC into ring

[Ch 2, sc next st] repeat x15

Ch 3

Work 5 DC into each “loop” (made by Ch2)

Join with sl st, fasten off

Bottom Bun (do not stuff)

Ch 2

6 sc in 2^nd ch from hook

2 sc each st (12)

Back Loops Only: [2 sc, 1 sc next 1 st] repeat x6 (18)

Back Loops Only: [2 sc, 1 sc next 2 st] repeat x6 (24)

Back Loops Only: [2 sc, 1 sc next 3 st] repeat x6 (30)

Back Loops Only: [2 sc, 1 sc next 4 st] repeat x6 (36)

(Both loops) Sc each st around (36)

(Both loops) Sc each st around (36)

Front Loops Only: [sc2tog, 1 sc next 4 st] repeat x6 (30)

Back Loops Only: [sc2tog, 1 sc next 3 st] repeat x6 (24)

Back Loops Only: [sc2tog, 1 sc next 2 st] repeat x6 (18)

Back Loops Only: [sc2tog, 1 sc next 1 st] repeat x6 (12)

Back Loops Only: [sc2tog] repeat x6 (6)

Fasten off

Top Bun

Ch 2

6 sc in 2^nd ch from hook

2 sc each st (12)

[2 sc, 1 sc next 1 st] repeat x6 (18)

Back Loops Only: [2 sc, 1 sc next 2 st] repeat x6 (24)

Back Loops Only: [2 sc, 1 sc next 3 st] repeat x6 (30)

Back Loops Only: [2 sc, 1 sc next 4 st] repeat x6 (36)

(Both loops) Sc each st around (36)

Front Loops Only: [sc2tog, 1 sc next 4 st] repeat x6 (30)

Back Loops Only: [sc2tog, 1 sc next 3 st] repeat x6 (24)

Back Loops Only: [sc2tog, 1 sc next 2 st] repeat x6 (18)

Stuff and Shape, embroider sesame seeds on top

Back Loops Only: [sc2tog, 1 sc next 1 st] repeat x6 (12)

Back Loops Only: [sc2tog] repeat x6 (6)

Fasten off

Meat patty

Ch 2

6 sc in 2^nd ch from hook

2 sc each st (12)

Back Loops Only: [2 sc, 1 sc next 1 st] repeat x6 (18)

Back Loops Only: [2 sc, 1 sc next 2 st] repeat x6 (24)

Back Loops Only: [2 sc, 1 sc next 3 st] repeat x6 (30)

Back Loops Only: [2 sc, 1 sc next 4 st] repeat x6 (36)

(Both loops) Sc each st around (36)

Front Loops Only: [sc2tog, 1 sc next 4 st] repeat x6 (30)

Back Loops Only: [sc2tog, 1 sc next 3 st] repeat x6 (24)

Back Loops Only: [sc2tog, 1 sc next 2 st] repeat x6 (18)

Back Loops Only: [sc2tog, 1 sc next 1 st] repeat x6 (12)

Back Loops Only: [sc2tog] repeat x6 (6)

Fasten off

Tomatoes (make 2)

See Crochet-Spot tutorial for peace sign.

Fasten off

Cheese

A square. (Sorry, I didn't write this one out when I was making it, but use your best judgement for how large it should be.  It should be just big enough so that the edges hang out over the sides of the bun.)

And, just one more note, I understand Front loops (FLO) to be the ones closest to you when you push your hook through the yarn and Back loops (BLO) to be the ones farthest from you.  Leave a comment if that doesn't make sense.

Presented without comment.

I lied, I have just one teeny comment about this.

You know what's better than a really great timelapse video?

A really great timelapse video with beautifully epic music.

Watch it full screen with HD on.

Timelapse - The City Limits from Dominic on Vimeo.

via Fstoppers