i totally lied about being back in june

turns out it’s still MAY, and here i am again. who knew i’d complete two more projects before the end of the month?

first and foremost, i’d like to introduce my new friend[s], Jeeves and Wooster.

as mentioned previously, it [they] is [are] a project from the Super Scary Mochimochi book, which i think is just the cat’s pyjamas. loads of fun knitting projects in there!

Jeeves has a mustache, beard, three eyes and antennas (with pipe cleaners inside to make them pose-able).

Wooster has just two eyes, some fangs (more like walrus tusks, really) and spikes from the top of his head to the bottom of his neck.

the two share a tail and a couple of tentacles. and they are ever so happy to do so.

the other project was one i’ve been meaning to tackle for ages.

i pulled a 9.75″ X 11.25″ pine board from my (ever-so-sloooooowly-dwindling) craft stash and painted it with a few layers of black chalkboard paint. after it cured, i used acrylics and added lettering and lines. now we have a supper planner!

my camera couldn’t quite get the colors right (too much of a black field, i guess), but the lettering is light green and periwinkle, and the lines are a light lavender.

OK, that SHOULD BE IT for may. but i’m not making any promises.

is it the end of may already?

yikes, time sure flies, doesn’t it? i can’t believe i’ve been so remiss about posting my work-in-progress.

i’m working on another mochimochi creature. this time, it’s a mix-n-match monster from the super scary mochimochi book.

and there’s been some more free-form embroidery.

aaaand a knitted wingspan scarf.

aaaaaaand another collaged card.

guess i’ll see y’all again in june!

completed and in progress

another card:

a reusable duster:

some stuff i found in the back of the fridge:

a couple of books i read and some doodling with embroidery (also known as the work in progress):

one card, two legwarmers

the card was for an adult friend’s birthday. magazine and book pages, colored pencil, tissue paper.

the legwarmers were for a tiny little 6-month-old person. caron spa acrylic/bamboo yarn and a slightly modified Purl Bee leg warmer pattern.

knitting in the round

spherey #2. i wanted to see how it would look with variegated yarn, and now i know!

and then there were hamsters.

it’s another fun, quick-to-knit mochimochi pattern.

the pattern calls for fingering weight yarn, so these guys are supposed to be teeny tiny. i used worsted instead, so they’re about twice the size they’re intended to be. they’re still small, though, just 2.25″ from nose to tail.

and they’re so cute, i may just have to knit up a dozen more.

it’s a confused moose

well, i call it a confused moose debbil and little birdy minions, but you get the idea.

what a fun project this was! the pattern was from the Knitting Mochimochi book. it wasn’t a tough pattern to follow, and just took a few sessions of knitting to complete.

and i used my new favorite yarn, Premier’s Everyday worsted.

back to the book for more fun knitting!

the needles and the knife

knitting needles:

[another scant hat]

[AND ANOTHER. I CAN'T SEEM TO STOP.]

[umbilical hat, for a baby. very 3-D with those red and blue stripes.]

embroidery needles:

[old yoga pants with a new year's snake]

and the knife:

[collaged cards, made with actual paper bits that were cut with an exacto knife (no 'shooping here!)]

pouf tutorial

time for you to make a pouf! here’s the recipe:

ingredients
about a yard of fabric, or a bunch of good-sized scraps (i used embroidered linen and wide-wale cotton corduroy)
2 to 4 pounds of stuffing
thread
fusible interfacing*

tools
sewing machine
hand-sewing needle
ruler
scissors
pins
marker/chalk
iron
tailor’s ham

cooking time
an hour or two, depending on your sewing and stuffing skills

finished size
approximately 17″ across by 9″ tall

i’m going to assume you can sew relatively well, and that you know common sewing terminology and whatnot.

first off, grab the pattern for the top/side piece. enlarge to the measurements written on the pattern (should be 200%). cut six of these from your fabric.*

for the bottom pattern piece, draw a circle with a 17″ diameter. cut one of these from your fabric.*

* if you’re using lighter-weight or loosely-woven fabric for your pouf, i suggest that you add fusible interfacing to the back of your fabric. heavy-weight or upholstery fabrics shouldn’t need the interfacing.

time to start sewing!

pair up your top pieces and sew each pair together.

sew the remaining seams like the first three, but be sure to leave an opening in one of the edges.

the opening should be in the side portion of the piece, and it should be big enough for your hand to fit through it. this is going to be the opening through which you place the stuffing.

clip the curves, and press the seams open. a tailor’s ham will help with pressing the curves open.

fold your fabric circle in half, then into thirds. mark the half/third edges.

pin the marked parts of the circle to the seams of the top/side piece.

sew the top to the circle, all the way around.

clip the circle or finish with a serger.

turn right side out and stuff it. stuff it and stuff it and stuff it, handful by handful, making sure each curve is filled. really, stuff the hell out of it. when you think it’s stuffed enough, pin the opening and try it out. chances are you may need to keep stuffing it.

once it’s truly completely stuffed, sew the opening closed using whatever stitch works for you. i used a ladder stitch so the stitches would be invisible.

you are now DONE.

prop your feet up!

or sit on it! your choice.

two more hats, and yes, i’m working on it

two more scant hats completed:

both were knit with the same yarn as the previous two, Premier’s Everyday Soft Worsted. i really do like that yarn. the colorways are fun, and it really is a soft yarn, and knits up well.

i added the OM (using duplicate stitch) after the hat was knit up.

and then there were two:

aaaaand… i will be posting the pouf tutorial as soon as i can carve out a block of time to do it. i also need to buy more stuffing. a lot more stuffing.

some pictures are worth a few dozen words

recently finished projects

wavy scarf:

scant hat #2:

another recombined flower pin:

and a pouf prototype (drafted my own pattern and used scrap fabrics from the stash):