An Eclectic Ensemble

I did!

Howdy, y'all! Thanks for all the interest in the blog hop post. I'm glad you guys like Frosted Pumpkin cuties too! I figured I'm well overdue for a crafty recap that doesn't have to do with holiday stuff so let's take care of that, shall we~? :D

before

after

First up, I finished the next side to the Monster Hunter cube, Zinogre the lightning doggy!  I rather like how this guy turned out.  (Have I said this about all of them? ;b)  I was worried about the lightest color blending in too much with the fabric but it turned out to have just enough texture to make it subtly pop.

Technical Details

• "Zinogre" glyph from Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, pattern charted by me.
• 2 over 1 on 20-count light tan jobelan fabric.
• Finished size: 3.50 x 3.50" (9 x 9 cm).
• Started: July 6, 2017, Finished: September ??, unknown hours.  

I'm pretty sure this is a hunt

Four sides down!  Next up is Nargacuga, the hyper catbat.  I haven't started him yet; I'm not even done tweaking the chart for him!  He will be a rather dark stitch as I'm trying to keep to the main species and not the subs (this will present a problem for the last stitch).

I promise this is a flower

I have also started the next Flower of the Month -- September's Aster.   I'm still not enthusiastic over this one but it's not too terrible to stitch.  I snack on it on occasion but that has tapered off with all the holiday crafting.  I do not like that jarring orange center.  I am leaving it until the rest of the flower is stitched to see if it becomes less InYourFace but I am not hopeful!  Luckily it's only a few stitches that will need replaced if need be!

sunflower coaster

I'm kind of proud of this one.  I couldn't find a crochet or knitted sunflower pattern to suit my needs, so this was my first attempt in cobbling something from nothing!  I had to learn how to crochet the crocodile stitch (which, if you're interested, consumes a LOT of yarn), plus learn how to do it in the round.  For a first attempt, it turned out fairly well.  It's made of cotton yarn so it should work well as a coaster, though I'm not sure the recipient is using it as such!  I do wish I had written down ANYTHING about what I did for this pattern haha.  I'm not sure I could recreate it, though I think I'll give it a try at some point not-Christmas time.

front - front, back - back

I feel like I've been doing an awful lot of knitting lately too.  These are "star stitch" washcloths made as part of a Christmas present!  YAY I AM ALMOST TIMELY.  Also it is a good thing I started these rather early as the star stitch is torture for us poor tight knitters and these take me quite a while to make.  It does lovely things to variegated/ombre yarn, though, and that is why I chose this particular stitch pattern.

close up of the action

I have two more I'm going to make in "winter" colors.  I might make some for myself, but they can wait until after Christmas!  I did both a crochet cast on and bind off which have quickly become my favorite ways to start and end a knit project!  My tension is a bit better with them so they are looser, creating the slightly scalloped border on both edges.  Very much would recommend!

There was a minor annoyance with this yarn.  I bought the first skein at Michael's and it was 2oz.  This was enough to finish one cloth, plus about 7/8ths of the next one.  I bought the second skein at JoAnn's and it was 3oz!  Ugh.  3oz would've been enough to finish both, in the same dyelot (you can't tell the join on the second cloth though), with only a bit left over.  Now I have almost a full skein left to do ???? with.  I was a little grumpy over this.


Technical Details

• "Star Stitch" cloths, knit, pattern found here (free!) on ravelry.
• My ravelry project page found here.
• Cotton yarn: Lily's Sugar n' Creme in coral seas ombre.
• Size 9 (5.5mm) needles, plus a crochet hook for cast on/bind off.
• Started: October 28, finished November 10, unknown hours.  

Lessons Learned

• Crochet bind off.  
• Better tension control for purling! (!!!!)
• Where to buy yarn, bah.

I think that's all with crafts that I can show right now.  I have some small projects on the crochet hook which are turning out quite fun and really cute.  Plus I have another Christmas present on a different set of needles.  Plus plus I have some holiday cross stitch in the works.  Plus plus plus it's almost Cookie Time!!  I'm so happy to be excited about Christmas this year. :)

nyaa-p time

And even though it has nothing to do with anything I made but LOOK AT MY NEW PAJAMAS.  I don't impulse buy very often but I had to have these instantly, pink or no pink.  How can I ignore sleepy kitties and yarn balls!  These are seriously adorable and very comfy too.  They were brand new with tags, in a thrift store no less, so I got them for a whopping $6.  :D

helping

This entire post could've counted for Gifted Gorgeousness, haha.  I look forward to joining in again next year!  I hope you all have a wonderful time and those of you in the US, have a Happy Thanksgiving!  I don't have to cook for it this time.  \:D/