Narwhal V.2

Here is a second version of my narwhal pattern. I wanted to make my next narwhal a bit more streamlined, and not as balloon-ish. An hour later, this little guy was the end result.

Here's the pattern so you can make your own unicorn of the sea. :)

You'll need:
A size "G" crochet hook
Some yarn in a color of your choice for the body (A)
A little bit of white/beige yarn for the horn (B)
Fiberfill
12 mm safety eyes
Yarn needle

Body:
Rnd 1: With A, ch 5, join to form ring, place marker. (5)
Rnd 2: [inc] around. (10)
Rnd 3: [inc, sc] around. (15)
Rnd 4: [inc, 2 sc] around. (20)
Rnd 5: [inc, 3 sc] around. (25)
Rnd 6-9: [sc] around. (25)
*Attach safety eyes to front for the face, stuff as you work the rest of the body*
Rnd 10: [dec, 2 sc] 4 times, sc to end. (21)
Rnd 11: [sc] around. (21)
Rnd 12: [dec, sc] 4 times, sc to end. (17)
Rnd 13-16: [sc] around. (17)
Rnd 17: [dec, sc] 5 times. (12)
Rnd 18: press the back flat, and sc along to close it up.
To make the fins:
Ch 1, turn, sc in first 2 chains from hook. Turn, sc in last chain. Ch 1, turn, sc along back. The first back fin is done! Now, turn and sc in next  2 chains from the hook. Slip stitch in the next chain and fasten off! Weave in ends.

To make the horn:
Rnd 1: With B, ch 4, join to form ring, place marker. (4)
Rnd 2: [sc] around. (4)
Rnd 3: [inc] around. (8)
Rnd 4-5: [sc] around. (8)
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Attach the horn to the center of the narwhal's forehead. And there you go! :D

Finally making some progress!

Well, I'm slowly making progress on my knitted shrug. I have about 10 inches done so far, and I need about 3 feet. The project may have to be put down until I finish my cousin's tiger, not to mention my homework and I can work on it during the six hour car ride down to PA.

And on another note...

The list goes on...

A couple of weeks ago I finally finished that penguin for my friend.

I don't know when I'm going to be able to give it to her, so for now it's sitting on my desk. I may end up just mailing it. Until then, I have a few other projects I'll be working on. I'm still working on those hand warmers for my friend, and since my baby cousin turns 2 next week, I'm making her a little stuffed tiger. We're going down to visit them, so I'll get to give to her in person. :D

I also started knitting a shrug for a cosplay I'm putting together. It's of the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland; I've already made a pair of handwarmers with some light beige yarn, and the shrug is being made from the same stuff.

Last but not least, I finally found an afghan that I've been working on since last summer. I brought it to school with me and after the fall semester it kind of...vanished. Turns out it had been thrown in with the clothes from my closet, which means I've also found a bunch of shirts that I had been looking for.

...

Now if only I could find my Pokemon Gold game that has been missing for at least 2 or 3 years...

Project: Excalibur put on hold

Yep, I'm experiencing some trouble with the Excalibur plushie, so not only am I taking a break from it, I'm going to be starting from scratch when I resume. It's back to the drawing board for that project, and in the meantime I'll be working on a couple of other projects on my list. I started a pair of handwarmers that I'm making for an art trade with a friend. I was originally going to make them green and white, but decided that the colors I had really didn't match the pattern, and instead decided to make them black and teal.

Then, I have a penguin to make for another friend who collects them. That one is long overdue. Of course, this is all based on the assumption that I can get my English homework done in time...

Edgar the Narwhal

Lately I've been finding myself wanting to crochet as many sea critters as I possibly can. As tempting as this is however, I'd have to give away most of them, seeing as how I just don't have the room. I couldn't resist making myself a little stuffed narwhal though, and since this one turned out so well, I thought I'd share the pattern.

Materials:
Crochet hook size "G"
Yarn in color of your choice (I used Caron Simply Soft color "periwinkle")
A little bit of beige yarn for the horn
A tiny bit of black yarn for the mouth
12 mm safety eyes
Stuffing
Yarn needle

Body and Back fins:
Rnd 1: ch 6, join together to form ring (6)
2: 2 sc in each sc [inc] around (12)
3: *inc, sc in next sc repeat from * around (18)
4: *inc, sc in next 2 sc around (24)
5: *inc, sc in next 3 sc around (30)
6: *inc, sc in next 4 sc around (36)
7: *inc, sc in next 5 sc around (42)
8-13: sc in each sc around (42)
attach safety eyes and embroider mouth, begin stuffing
9: *sc2tog [dec], sc in next 5 sc repeat from * around (36)
10-11: sc around (36)
12: dec, sc in next 4 sc around (30)
13: dec, sc in next 3 sc around (24)
14: sc around (24)
15: dec, sc in next 2 sc around (18)
16-18: sc around
Fasten off.
19: join ends together, join yarn to crochet edge, ch 1, turn
20: sc in each sc along row, ch 1, turn
21: 2 sc in next 3 sc, ch 1, turn
22: sc in each sc back along, turn
23: sc along row, ch 1, turn.
24-25: repeat steps 21-22
26: sc until you reach middle of back fin
Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Horn:
Rnd 1: ch 4, join together to form a ring (4)
2-3: sc around (4)
4: inc, sc in next sc around (6)
5-7: sc around (6)
Fasten off, leave a long tail for sewing

Attach horn to top of head.
And there you go! :)

Pink Bun pattern

This shy little bunny found his way into my purse, where I found him munching on the candy I stash there. He now lives happily on my bookshelf, guarding my manga and Harry Potter books from rabid squirrels. Want to make your own? Here’s the pattern. :)

Legs (make 2)

Rnd 1: ch 6, join to form circle. Place marker. (6)

Rnd 2: 2 sc in each sc around. (12)

Rnd 3-7: sc in each sc around. (12)

Fasten off, leave a long tail for sewing.

Body

Put legs together and whipstitch through 4 stitches.

Rnd 1-10: Join yarn to any st and sc in each sc around.

*Attach safety eyes and embroider nose if desired. Begin stuffing.*

Rnd 11: *dec, sc in next 2 sc. Repeat from * around.

Rnd 12: *dec, sc in next sc. Repeat from * around.

Rnd 13: *sk next st. Repeat from * around.

Fasten off, leave a long tail for sewing hole closed. Weave in ends.

Ears (Make 2)

Rnd 1: ch 4, join to form circle. Place marker. (4)

Rnd 2: 2 sc in each sc around. (8)

Rnd 3-7: sc in each sc around. (8)

Fasten off, leave a tail for sewing.

Flatten ears and sew to top of body. Weave in ends.

It has begun.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

So, I started making the Excalibur plushie. I actually finished the head the other day, and now I'm working on the body.

Grades and Excalibur

So I got my grades today. And I failed. Quite spectacularly, I might add. I did manage, however, to get Bs in both History and Knitting. But Biology and English kind of exploded in my face. Chemistry didn't get a grade, since I was a smart bunny and withdrew from it back in April.

...Damn Chemistry.

Anyway, I'll be taking a summer course to make up for that failed English class and next year I'll be a freshman at Worcestor State University. I actually don't mind, since that gives me a chance to start over. Unfortunately, it looks like I'm going to have to make it clear to my parents that I do not plan on pursuing a career in Biology in any shape or form, due the utter loss of motivation for that field I experienced thid year. Do I still love the subject? Yes. I'm just tired of my parents assuming that they know exactly what I want with my life just because I like biology.

Moving on, this summer I'll be working in crocheting a plushie of Excalibur from Soul Eater. I've been getting back into crochet, and that will most likely be the bulk of my work from now on.

Coming to a close

Well, the school year is coming to a close and as we're nearing the final days of class, I just have one thing to say.

Curse you organic chemistry. Just...curse you. D:

Although maybe I should be thanking you for providing that final push I needed to FINALLY change my major to English and (maybe) pursue a career in technical writing. I know my true skills (if any) lie in creative writing, but for now I should focus on a more professional route. I can always focus on my creative writing in my spare time.
I'll also try and keep this blog going, so anyone who's following this can watch me fail at keeping up with my various projects and ideas. The next time you hear from me I'll either be stressed out of my mind over finals, or trying to escape from the summer heat with two cats smothering me.

Until next time blogger! :D

What has knitting meant to me?

Hmm....well, that's a bit hard to explain. I can't really remember why I started knitting in the first place. I started to crochet because I saw a bunch of photos of little crocheted plushies and I wanted to learn how to make them.
After that I think I just started knitting for the heck of it.

1st project-done!

            My first project is finally complete! I’ll post some pictures of them once I get a hold of my camera again-which would be Monday. Until then, I’ll be kept busy with the second project. We have to make something for someone we know, and I’ve decided to knit for a friend of mine from high school.

            I attended a charter school that taught grades 7-12, and both my friend and I transferred there at the start of 8^th grade. We met at orientation, where she scared the living daylights out of me the first time she actually spoke to me. We just decided to stick together at school since we both knew each other, and we became fast friends. Before I knew it, we had formed a group of friends from that year and our number had quickly grown from two to seven.

            Right now she’s an art major, and her birthday is coming up at the end of March. So I’m making her a small bag to keep art supplies or other stuff in. I’m using a pattern I found on lionbrand.com, and I’m using some lime green chenille that my mom gave me, since her favorite color is green. Hopefully I can finish it in time for her birthday.

The pattern I'm using can be found here.

Almost finished.

I'm almost finished with my first project. For some reason I haven't felt like knitting much the past couple of weeks, although I did manage to finish a crochet project that I had started back in September or October (can't really remember at this point). I just have a couple more rows to do for the wrist warmer, and then I have the little flower to make. Hopefully I can get back in the mood so I can finish the long list of projects I have yet to do for friends. D:

Halfway there!

The first wrist warmer is finally done! I had some issues with the little decorative flower, but with some help I finally got that taken care of. I also modified the pattern by adding a thumbhole along the seam. It’s very comfy, although I seem to have overestimated the size a bit. I used the same number of stitches the pattern called for (36), and I thought that would be enough for it to be a little snug on my hand. Instead I think I could have gotten away with using 32 stitches. Well, I guess next time I’ll know better.

            Here’s what it looked like without the flower.

And here’s what the finished product looks like. :)

Looking back, I’m a bit surprised the two cats didn’t try and steal the yarn while I was working with it like they usually do. Then again, they are a bit preoccupied with chasing each other around the house...

Almost halfway there...I think. Maybe.

I just finished the 12^th row of the first wrist warmer. I still have at least 8 more to go, so hopefully I can have the first one done by Tuesday. The knitting will have to take a back burner over the weekend though, because my other classes are the priority, and I have some research to do for my history paper, not to mention my English paper as well. At least they both have something to do with Japanese culture, so that’ll save me some time.

This time I took a photo of what I have so far. Unfortunately the battery in my camera seems to have died on me, so I had to use the webcam on my laptop to take a picture.

I can't wait 'till it's finished. :D

The adventures of a college student and her...yarn?

Hey! First post! Yay. :)

So I guess I should introduce myself...? My name is Lizzie, I'm a student with way too much time on her hands and an addiction to crochet, knitting and the internet. To explain the title, I have two insane cats at home, one of which is extremely attached to me. He's like my baby. I recently started my first project for Knitting to Connect, which is a class I'm taking for the spring semester. I decided on a pair of simple wrist warmers for myself, instead of another scarf. The pattern I'm using can easily be modified, and can be found here. I'm not sure what else there is to say right now, so I guess that's it for today.

~Liz