Craft accessories: Stitch markers

I saw this article today and it inspired me to write a bit about crochet accessories. 

Crochet Spot crochet accessories

I've been wanting to write about this for a while now, but didn't know what exactly to do until today, so here we are!

First off I want to list some of the accessories that I like or think would be especially useful.

Stitch markers:

I love leaves, so this was an easy choice.

Maple Leaf markers

Like most crafters, I have a thing for buttons. I think these would be really cool with some antique post buttons. :) 

Button stitch markers

\

I'm a Pikachu fan. Hehehe!
Pikachu!

Owls are really interesting looking creatures to me and seem to be very popular in the past few years.

Great owl family

Everyone I have met that has also heard of the game 'Angry Birds' loves it. But, I just love the comical characters. Haha!

Angry Birdies!

Who doesn't love brain slugs?
Brain Slugs

These have some of my favorite colors together and it has owls. :)

Purple owls

Macarons are just the epitome of cute to me. I love the look of those dainty little treats.

Macarons

Lord of the rings was a very popular series when I was in middle school and the fantasy was quite entertaining to me.

Lord of the rings

I love strawberries. I love the flavor, smell, and look of them. They are just an appealing fruit overall.

Strawberry cupcakes

Sushi is so vibrant. It all looks so delicious too. Too bad I can't stand the taste of it. :/
Sushi

I have been mesmerized by this little stuffed creature since 'Mr. Magorium's wonder emporium' showed this little guy. He broke my heart and won me over in the show. :)
Sock monkey

I love intricate looking metal work. That's why I'm always found wearing metal jewelry that is so intricately made rather than having jewelry with a lot of stones and such.
metal beads

Who doesn't love Mario? I mean seriously. He's one of the most memorable and adaptable characters in video gaming, as of yet.

Pirahana plants

When I saw these, I didn't realize they were supposed to be World of Warcraft themed. I'm just in love with anything that looks fantasy like. Such as traditional fantasy, when vampires wouldn't go out during the day because they would die or be weakened.

I'll talk more about the accessories in my next article. For now, I will bid thee farewell.

De Colores,

Kay

What I've been making in the past year...

I have definitely veered from my plan for this year. I wanted to and still plan on making the furabura zodiac animals. But so that you can see a small portion of what I've been spending my time on making, you'll maybe forgive me for not following through on it as of yet.

First, I want to show you what I've made with my new wood burning tool. It's not a very good quality of a tool, but with patience, perseverance, and burnt fingers; this is what I've accomplished.

I crocheted a tiny rooster door hanger when I stumbled upon a picture of one on either ravelry or google. It was a very simple pattern, (which I didn't read or even look at... >.> ) and only took about 3 minutes to make, since I was watching a Korean show at the time.

Since I've had these two yarns that I despise for over a year now and because I absolutely hate the look of them, I decided to use them to make potholders. Ugly, circular, 2 sided (tan) and (blue striped white yarn) potholders.

I made this doily by accident. I was wanting to make a really feminine looking, slouchy beanie. (Or is it called a tam? I'm not really sure.) I was just wanting a light one that I could wear on chilly summer nights. But as I kept trying to make the decreases so that it would start to form into the hat shape, the less pretty it looked. So I tossed out that idea and just snipped and hid my ends. And funny thing is, everyone loves the look of it. Even the teenage boys I hang out with on Monday nights. I was a bit surprised by that.

Since my pretty silky pillow sham and comforter, which I adore, are falling apart and the trim was ripped halfway off, thanks to my class ring getting caught on it, I decided to upcycle the trim that I snipped off the rest of the way to make a lovely fabric flower brooch/pin. I love it and it looks a lot better in person than in the pictures.

Because I had always heard of people finishing small projects on their way to work, I decided that I would try to do something like that, just between classes and appointments. Needless to say, this thing took forever to finish. It did turn out somewhat pretty but honestly, I don't know who in their right mind would do this on a daily basis. Not me, for sure.

I always make little flowers and yoyos out of the small scraps from my crafts. I've started a organizer full of these little beauties so that whenever I need something to finish a project off, it's already there and has been saved from filling a landfill to make something the world even more beautiful.

I have wanted to make one of these for the longest time, but never had the right type of yarn. Its called a tawashi. Its used in kitchens usually to scrub dishes and counters. If I understand correctly, it is also more environmentally friendly. I've also heard that it works better than sponges and dishcloths because it needs less water, less soap if any at all, and less elbow grease to do any job. I was sold. Lets just hope that these things I've heard were right. 

Here is another doily I made, which I started yesterday and finished today. It is by far the smallest thread I have ever worked with but also the best quality, in my opinion, because I didn't have to ever worry about it felting or unraveling while I was in the middle of making this thing. Plus, I love the striping. Its in kiddy crayon box colors. Its really cool.

So that's it for the time being. Are you ready to forgive me yet?

De Colores.

Kay

CrazySocks Crochet drawing tonight!

CrazySocks crochet is doing a drawing tonight and is offering 11 patterns to the winner. All you need to do is give your name in a comment on her blog post that is detailing the event. Check it out here:

http://crazysockscrochet.blogspot.com/2011/09/ginormous-pattern-giveaway.html

Shoulder flap purse -free crochet pattern-

In the end, your bag will look somewhat like this one. This close example (which is knitted, not crocheted)  was found on Craftjuice.com

To start out with, know that my hook is a Boye I/9 5.5 mm and that when I make double crochet stitches, they turn out to be 1/2" in height.

Supplies:

5.5 mm crochet hook

1 skein red heart super saver yarn or other bulky yarn

scissors

button(s)

embroidery needle

embellishments (optional)

Instructions:

Ch 25. Turn and in second ch from the hook, start your first dc and dc in each stitch from there on.

Turn and ch 2 and dc in all 25 dc. Keep repeating until you have roughly 40 rows of double crochet. This piece should measure 20 inches. Fold the piece in half with the top 3 inches apart from the bottom. Sew together the bottom half and leave the three inch piece alone. The bottom half, once sewn together, should be about 8 1/2" long.

For the handles, make 3 separate pieces that are chained to desired length. I would say that 3 feet of chain stitches for the three separate pieces would be long enough for most. Take those three pieces and braid them together. Tie on both ends of the strap and tie to the top of the side seam. Sew on the button.

Enjoy your brand new shoulder bag. Any questions, just comment on the post.

De Colores all.

~Kay~

Naruto sleeping cap!!!

This was an ultimate squee moment for me once I found it. It's the sleeping cap from the original Naruto that I have been looking for since Christmas! I wanted one so bad but I didn't want to crochet it cause I thought that it would look weird but look at it! Its so pretty and cute! I shall make it soon. You should check it out.

Randomheartsx 's Naruto sleeping cap

De Colores!
Kay

Have you heard of Wolfdreamer?

Wolfdreamer is an amazing pattern creator of, get this......Pokemon amigurumi! Awesome right? There's more than pokemon on her blog, but that's the main part of it. She's got free patterns of Mario, Luigi, Cyndaquil (  :3  ), meowth, and so many other awesome pokemon. If you are interested, you can go to it through this link: Wolfdreamer OTH

I am not being paid to promote this website. I do not even personally know the creator. I am just spreading the word about some cool stuff on the net. :) And if you think her patterns are amazing or are just wanting to spread some love, you should totally donate to her via the donate button on her blog.

Whelp, I gotta finish homework so I'll talk to you needle and anime addicts later.

Des Colores.

My first semi-finished amigurumi!

Tis Kyo in his kitteh form. I haven't put on his face yet, but he should look quite fabulous and more Kyo-like once I put his face on. :3 I'm also working on making Ayame, but crocheting a rope isn't very entertaining.

Lastly, I just wanted to say that I am even more in love with Hyd than ever before. I just watched a music video of it. Tis all right now.

Toodles!

My other projects for this year. Crocheted, of course.

I have yet to make a ton of presents for people for Christmas. (Give me a break, I was sick and it was a sweat shop 24/7 in my room since I have more intermediate family than you could imagine to make presents for.) So since I never finished making those presents, I am planning on doing these. Note that these are all that I have come up with thus far due to my yarn stash and no money to play with to buy gifts, being a college student and all.
First, for a friend from elementary and one that I worked with over the past summer, I am planning on making invader zim amigurumi.
The girl that I worked with is getting gir wearing his dog outfit:

And then for the guy friend from elementary school, since he loves invader zim and techie stuff (he's a computer networking major if I understand correctly,) I am making the gir robot, but without the creepy grin. Ha.

For another guy friend, I decided that I would make him an amigurumi Pokemon. He said that his favorite was Typhlosion, which is awesome to me. (I love Cyndaquil, which is the beginning version of a Typhlosion.) Anywho, Typhlosion will be kinda tricky to make with the flames, but I'm up for a challenge.
Typhlosion:

I plan to make a Butterfree, Blastoise, Jigglypuff, and the original starters as well. But I don't want carpal tunnel just yet.

And then lastly, as a Christmas present to myself, I am making all of the zodiac according to Fruits Basket along with Tohru as the rice ball, one of the most amazing anime ever in my opinion. I am almost finished with my Kyo the cat plushie. **Kudos to AnnieMsson from Deviantart on this amazing Fruits Basket fan art**

All in all, of the Fruits Basket Characters that are actually associated with the Zodiac are:

Hatsuharu the cow

Yuki the rat

Tohru the rice ball

Kyo the cat

Kagura the boar

Isuzu "Rin" the horse *manga only*

Hatori the "dragon" (He changes to a seahorse.)

Shigure the dog

Ayame the snake

Momiji the rabbit

Ritsu the monkey

Kureno the rooster *manga only* (He changed into a sparrow)

Akito the head of the Zodiac

Hiro the sheep and

Kisa the Tiger

As far as symbolism goes in the story, since Akito does not have a zodiac form or lovingly referred to as something else, such as Tohru being the rice ball. Regardless of how the Zodiac members feel about Akito, the person that holds them all together is also the person who threatens to drive the whole family apart. Akito is the one who takes care of the whole family no matter what anyone thinks, says, or does. So I guess the basket would be Akito's "symbol." I doubt I will represent Akito when I make the others though, since I don't care much for the character.

First Post! Woot!

In honor of my first post to start off my first blog, I am going to list off some of my new year's resolutions/plans for crafts to make in the new year.
I am using patterns from the Anime Stitching blog. All of the patterns are for free/non-profit use! If you have any questions, contact Dawn there. :)

First off, since it is half way finished, I plan to finish making a beaded version of the “Team 8” logo off of Naruto. It's from the team that Hinata Hyuga is on. :3

and then, I'm planning on making this Naruto night cap asap!!! Kawaii desu ne? (It's cute isn't it?)

Then I have to make a few more Naruto patches out of love for my Naruto obsessed friends...such as:

the Akatsuki

the stuff off of Gaara's gourd

and the leaf symbol

As for things that aren't Naruto...

Bleach:

Orihime

Dragon Ball:

dragonball

HK:

HK

and then various mario characters.

Sorry for the first post being so pic obese. I didn't plan for it to be that way.