Chemo Cap

One of my projects for this round of Nerd Wars is this chemo cap. I had started it before this round, so it's going into my WIPs category. I made it for someone I know who has recently lost all her hair because of chemo.

The Eighth Doctor

I did a Swap with my Nerd Wars team, and the person I got to make something for loves The Eighth Doctor from Doctor Who.

So I made this:

Nerd Wars

For the past couple months, I've been in a competition on Ravelry, called Nerd Wars. It's tons of fun, but takes up a lot of my time. The competition basics: 3 month-long competitions with 5 projects each. You can knit, crochet, spin, or weave. While it's been challenging and time-consuming, I've discovered it is a great way to finish projects and meet new people. Here are some of the projects I've completed!

Tea Cozy for my Aunt

Baby Hat

Diamond Scarf

Jayne Cobb Hat Tea Cozy

My first ever Lace Shawl

Basket Weave Stitch Dishcloth

Waffle Stitch Scarf

The Wrong Side of the Scarf is Pretty

Remix

Changed up the blog a bit. It's a bit girly, but it'll do...for now.

How to Crochet Hearts

Stitches from the Heart, one of the charities I work with, gives out heart pins when they go to fairs and art shows. This is how to make those pins.

I modified the Big Tiny Heart pattern I found on the Julie-K website.

The first thing you'll need to know how to do is make a magic loop. Planet June has a great tutorial for this. It's technically not necessary to use the magic loop method. You could use a basic chain 4, join w/slip stitch to first chain. But it is much easier at the end, if you used a magic loop. If the Planet June page doesn't help enough, Bernat has a YouTube demonstration here.

Little Crochet Hearts Pattern:
Yarn: Whatever scraps you have laying around. Really. Any yarn will do.
Hook: I tend to use a hook 1 size bigger than the yarn calls for, but I crochet tightly.
Gauge not important for this project.

Stitch:
HDC: Half-Double Crochet
SLST: Slip Stitch

Start with a Magic Loop
Chain 2
8 HDC into loop
Join with SLST to the first HDC
5 HDC in the next HDC
HDC in the next 2 HDC
(HDC, chain 2, HDC) in the next HDC
HDC in the next 2 HDC
5 HDC in the next HDC
SLST into original chain, fasten off

Tug on the end from the center of the magic loop to tighten the circle. Pull the outside end downward. Double knot the two ends together tightly to shape the heart. Leave the ends long enough to tie another knot around the pin backing for stability.

I get my pin backs from Michaels and JoAnn. I open them to tie the ends to it while gluing. I use tacky glue, but hot glue also works. Once I've tied and glued the pins to the back, I cut the ends of the yarn so that it won't be visible when worn.

Crocheted Afghans

Lukey's Afghan

Lion Brand Yarn's Marble Baby Throw pattern has been my go-to pattern for quick gift items. I really like that it is quick and easy, like granny squares are, but doesn't require any piecing together. So, I've made quite a few at this point.

Ava's Afghan

Carnival Throw

Another pattern I like to use is Lion Brand Yarn's Carson City Afghan, though the pattern is a lot small for my liking, so I generally double or triple it.

Jair's Baby Blanket

Grandma's Afghan

Mom & Dad's Afghan

I've been slow to update my blog, but busy with my hooks and needles. The captions are all links to my Ravelry pages for each, if you're interested in the yarn or patterns I used.

Success and Failure

My Ravellenic Games Team Ravatar

Official Ravthlete Ravatar

My official Scarf Hockey Medal!

The 2012 Ravellenic Games are over. I completed one project and received a lovely badge for it. Success!

 

 

 

 

Rose Tyler BoomTown Scarf

Unfortunately, I did not complete my other event(s). Most specifically, I did not finish Tinker Bell. She's still technically not finished. The pattern was just too confusing, leading me to have to frog a couple pieces, then start them over. Tinker Bell is still not finished, but I'm hoping to power through and get it done this weekend.

Tinker Bell's Current Condition. Boo.

So, I didn't get everything I intended to done for the Ravellenic Games, but I learned a lot about knitting. Specifically yarn overs, decreasing, and that ribbing in the throw(?) method is painful for a girl with tendinitis. Because of that, I'm thinking I may have to switch back to Continental. I'm almost a week out from the contest and my arms are still hurting.