tad 2009 highlights

tad 2009 is over now, here are some of my highlights:

self/rose
drawings
felt
yarn
photos

for more images/details, please see my tad posts, my blog, or my flickr. i hope to keep making things and will try to post to itb semi-regularly too...

amigumuri octopus

I made this little dude for a friend's birthday last month. I found the pattern online... it's a great beginner crochet pattern.

christmas cthulhu

christmas cthulhu
Originally uploaded by cignoh

i knit a cthulhu doll for j for christmas this year. it's from creepy cute crochet, which lanaconqueso showed me, and i ended up buying, despite the fact that i'm trying not to buy anymore craft books until i make at least one thing from each of the books that i own. i'm not that good at crocheting, so he is a little misshapen in parts, and his wings aren't really wing-shaped, but that's ok, it makes him one of a kind, i guess.

to photograph him, i experimented with a makeshift light tent with some success, but i'd like to work with it more. i was getting double shadows on the ground, plus, i couldn't get good shaping, which i guess is part of what happens if your subject is evenly lit from all sides. also, the top of my setup is open and exposed, which i think isn't supposed to be.

also, i mentioned this in a comment on sukogirl's flower washcloth post, but am saying it again in case not everyone saw---amy noticed that we have hit our 100th post---yay! happy holidays to everyone, and may the new year bring more creating, posting, and happiness for all!

failed attempt to crochet a bullion circle

Originally uploaded by cignoh

i followed this tutorial that robinde sent me, but something went wrong... there are loops outside of my circle, but i don't think there are supposed to be... also, when i went back to close my circle, i couldn't find the 3rd chain stitch that i made from step 3 of the tutorial. help/suggestions?

* addendum: thanks for the suggestions, robinde! i tried again, and like the results better, it definitely helped to pull on the loose yarn to tighten the bullions as i made them. also, i read the instructions more carefully and realized some stuff i did incorrectly the first time around:

yet another hyperbolic crochet plane

This is my first circular crocheted hyperbolic plane, made from a skein of inexpensive purple acrylic yarn (256 yards, Red Heart Soft brand). The crocheting was very repetitive, but it was neat to see the ruffles start to emerge as the shape got larger and larger. I increased one stitch for every 4 stitches. As you would expect, it does not seem to be as tightly ruffled as cignoh's plane which increased one stitch every 3 stitches. This piece is about 12 inches across and can be arranged in a variety of different ways to resemble coral or lettuce. It also makes an interesting hat.

finally! a crochet hyperbolic plane

Originally uploaded by cignoh

last fall, i discovered crochet hyperbolic planes and other work at The Institute for Figuring and decided that i really wanted to make them. i had taught myself how to crochet briefly but it had been a couple of years since i had made anything. in february, during thing a day, i attempted to crochet a hyperbolic plane, only to discover that i couldn't really remember how to crochet anymore. i got about halfway through my first row of single crochet (it's hard to make single crochet stitches into the chain!) but was making mistakes---i think i was getting confused with the stitches and crocheting multiple stitches into the same stitch or skipping stitches, etc. when i realized that i wouldn't be making a hyperbolic plane for my thing.a.day, i gave up and did something else that day, and then didn't touch it again since then.

a couple of days ago, on a plane ride, i decided to tackle it again and am proud to report that i was finally successful and have completed my first hyperbolic plane. in this one, i started out with about a 5 in chain and then after the first row, i increased once every three stitches. i used a rowan cork yarn (95% merino wool, 5% nylon) and was thinking of trying to felt it but i'm not sure---i don't have that much experience with felting. i actually made another plane before i made this one that was made of a bright blue cotton yarn where i increased one in every six stitches, but i think my needle was too big, and the overall result too floppy. plus, i started with too long of a chain and ran out of yarn, so it just turned out to be long, relatively flat and floppy. i might try that one again since i like the color of the yarn.

like robinde, i hope to end up with an aquarium/shelf full of hyperbolic planes and other sea creations. i'd like to expand and try making tubes and other forms like she has.

dyed yarns and more crochet

For the past week, I've been experimenting with dying yarn in the microwave. It is very simple to dye wool yarn or wool roving using food dyes. You can use cake/icing dyes or food coloring or even Kool-aid packets. I like to use Wilton gel dyes (meant for cake decorating), because a small amount of gel goes a long way.

First I soaked the yarn in a mixture of vinegar and water. The vinegar acts as a mordant and helps the dye bind to the wool. I used a microwave-safe ceramic dish with a cover to hold the yarn and vinegar-water bath. Next, I prepared the gel dyes by mixing them with water in small pyrex cups. For these examples, I mixed up 2 or 3 different shades for each skein. The yellow-orange yarn was made with lemon yellow, golden-yellow, and orange. The bluish yarn was made with royal blue and violet. The lime yarn was made with lemon yellow and leaf green. The darker green yarn was made with teal and leaf green.

I sprinkled the dye on the yarn somewhat haphazardly to give the yarns a variegated look. I covered the dish and microwaved the yarn for around 5-7 minutes until the water bath was clear (meaning that the dye had absorbed into the wool). Then I rinsed the yarn in cool water to get rid of the vinegar smell and hung it to dry. You can also dye larger amounts of yarn on the stove with this basic method, but you have to be careful not to agitate the yarn too much or it can start to felt together. The pink thing in the photo is a hyperbolic crocheted plane made from non-dyed store-bought wool.

crochet sea creatures

For the past few weeks, I've been learning to crochet with the help of my neighbor and YouTube crochet videos and various websites. I started out trying to make a hyperbolic plane, but didn't get very far. It took me awhile to figure out that I was doing a slip stitch instead of a single crochet, and I kept undoing my work because it didn't look quite right.

Meanwhile I started obsessing over the crochet undersea creations featured at The Institute for Figuring and at Helle Jorgensen's Gooseflesh blog. So I started making crochet barnacles (not in picture). This weekend I made lots of crochet tubes and sewed them together to make a crochet tube sponge. The tubes are each about 2-3 inches long and there are 17 of them so far. The sponge measures about 6 inches across. Ian made the green kelpy thing on the right (he wants to add wires to make it stand up). The pink thing on the left is the start of one of my hyperbolic planes. The clownfish were borrowed from a tiny toy aquarium.