Crochet Nyan Cat Pillow Plushie

Hello! How are you? My friend Molly is a fantastic knitter and a lover of all things rainbow so, for her first child, I simply had to make something woolen and colourful! However, since my knitting skills could in no way measure up to hers, I decided to crochet instead ^___^ Molly suggested that I make a plushie, but I was so worried about making something for a baby that had parts that they could potentially swallow (what if they rip off an ear to eat???) that the Nyan Cat I made ended up being more pillow than plushie ~___^ Nonetheless, I think it turned out pretty cute and I hope baby Orin agrees! ^___^

I started off by crocheting all the parts for Nyan Cat separately - and there were quite a few parts! However, since Nyan Cat can be easily broken down into simple shapes it was time consuming but not difficult.

 

Nyan Cat's face was made from one circle and two small triangles. I embroidered the face details with straight stitches and some scraps of wool. I think my favourite part is the cute little blushing cheeks ^____^

The pop-tart body is just made from two rectangles; I embroidered on some hot pink sprinkles to the icing section before sewing the two rectangles together.

For the rainbow, I crocheted each colour in a separate rectangle and then sewed them together and then sewed the entire thing to the pop tart body. I crocheted the rainbow width ways so I could measure the stripes against each other to ensure they were all the same length. If (like me) you're using a mixture of yarns, this is a good way to do things because even yarns that have the same offical weight will sometimes work up differently.

 

The feet and tail were made by crocheting a chain and then single stitching around the chain. This makes a more rounded rectangle than just crocheting in rows, which is perfect for little paws ^___^

 

After I had crocheted all the body pieces, I sewed together the rainbow, body, tail, head and ears and then started crocheting around the entire shape. I chose dark blue because Nyan Cat should be flying through the sky ^___^ I was going to embroider some stars, but I thought it might make the design too busy so I ended up just leaving it plain. I crocheted around and around until I had enough sky to sew the feet to.

Since this project ended up a weird shape, I decided not to try to reproduce that shape in crochet for the back. Instead I used this glorious Minky Dot fleece; it's so soft and the little bumps are really sweet! I cut the fabric bigger than the Nyan Cat and then folded the fleece under itself before stitching the front and back together with a blanket stitch. This prevents ugly looking edges and is a good way to ensure the fleece isn't going to fray.

I haven't seen Molly yet, but I don't think she reads my blog so this gift should still be a surprise! I've only got two weeks of uni left and then I will have time to actually visit people which will be amazing! 

Until next time,

- Lisa xx

Companion Cube Plushie

Hello! How are you? I'm getting down to the business end of semester and I'm currently working on three final assignments - argh! Today though I gave myself a break from studying to go and see my optometrist (my scrip hasn't changed, so yay!), redye my hair, and finally share photos of my latest project with you! ^___^

Scott decided that his birthday present this year should be a Companion Cube and, as a fellow fan of Portal, I was happy to oblige! ^___^

  
The Cube is made from a polar fleece and felt cover over a foam square, and is about seven inches tall/wide.

The start of the Companion Cube was this pattern by Eyespiral-stock; I just printed it out at full size and and used it for my paper pattern ^___^

 

I was feeling lazy, and I didn't want to cut out lots of little shapes from the light grey polar fleece so instead I cut out two squares of the light and the dark grey fleece and pinned them together, right sides up. I cut the paper pattern so that it was missing the parts that would be where I wanted the dark grey to show through, pinned it over the two fabric squares, and starting sewing around it. Then I cut through the light grey fabric, exposing the dark grey fabric. I think this was a good way to do it, because I didn't have to keep track of tons of little cut outs! ^___^

I did buy some pink polar fleece for the heart and the thin lines, but it was so flimsy it started coming apart without me evening cutting into it! It was "nursery" fabric, so I guess it's just really, really soft? I don't think making fabric soft enough for a baby to gum through is a really great idea, but I guess that's why I'm not a fabric manufacturer ~___^

 

 

 So instead I used some acyclic felt, which was much more structurally sound ^___^

 

Probably the trickiest part of this project was trying to get the lines matched up, and, as you can see, I didn't always succeed in this aspect! I'm not sure how I could have improved here though, and I'm fairly happy with how it looks nonetheless.

This Cube is also not completely square, because my foam cube ended up being too big for the cover I had made! That's what happens when you're not very good at maths ~___^ Instead of remaking the cover, or using a different filling, I took a knife to the foam and slimmed it down. It's still square-ish, and it's lopsidedness is less apparent in real life ~___^

I'm still working on my knit tea cosy for the Giant Pineapple Cosy KAL, and I'm hoping to finish in time for the deadline on June 2nd! If you're a fast knitter or crocheter (or just don't have university taking up way too much of your crafting time ~___^) you've still got time to join us! And then, after that ... maybe a potato GLaDOS to go with the Cube? ~___^ I've still got a list of 57 (!!!) projects that I want to complete this year but, like every year, I really don't think I'll finish them all! Especially since I keep adding things to the list ~___^

- Lisa xx

Anzac cupcakes

Hello! How are you? I'm at the stage in this semester where I feel like I'm constantly behind. I finish a reading, there are seven more to do. Complete an assignment, ten more still on the list. I really do love sociology, but golly I'm looking forward to uni break! My sewing machine is still broken, and my knitting hasn't progressed much apart from being cast on, so I was really at a loss of what to blog about this weekend. I might still be able to finish off a project in between work and studying, but I thought I should blog about the one just-for-fun thing I have accomplished this weekend - and that thing is cupcakes!

 

I originally made this recipe as a cake for Scott's birthday, so if you follow me on Instagram you might remember seeing it there. It was really delicious, but not very pretty because none of my cakes ever are, so I decided to re-test the recipe (to make sure it wasn't a fluke!) and also make it into cupcakes. Because cupcakes are a thousand times cuter than cakes. That's totally a fact ~___^

Anzac (Cup)Cake Recipe

Makes 1 cake or about 12 cupcakes

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup oats

1 cup desiccated coconut

2 tablespoons golden syrup

Mix everything together, and then pour the mixture into either a cake pan or divide into a cupcake tin. Bake in a 180oC (350oF) oven for 20 - 30 minutes or until you can insert a skewer and draw it out clean. 

 

I left these cupcakes plain, but I topped the original cake with some coconut icing and it was totally awesome. Either way, they are very delicious and are sure to disappear fairly quickly ^___^

I don't really have any chance at finishing any of my WIPs this weekend (a curse on both my tempamental sewing machine and my slow knitting skills!) but I also haven't made anything for my mum for Mother's Day yet ( ... opps!) so I'll work on that tomorrow. Starting yet another project? Nothing could possibly go wrong with this plan ... ~___^ Until next time!

- Lisa xx

The Giant Pineapple Cosy KAL begins!

Hello! Well, the Giant Pineapple Cosy KAL is in it's second day! Or first, possibly, if you're in a different country than Australia. Timezones are weird! ~___^ Members in the Ravelry group are absolutely racing through the patterns, so if you haven't signed up yet then there is still plenty of time to join and start knitting or crocheting. Perhaps you could even do both!

I only shared one photo of the crochet cosy in my original post, so I thought I'd show you some more here! ^___^

The knitted pattern says to sew up all corners of the pattern, but I couldn't get the cosy over and under my teapot's handle with it seamed there so I added a button closure instead. I used a big white button which seems to suit it well, but I'm keeping a look out for the perfect pineapple button to replace it ^___^ One can never have too much pineappleyness, right? 

I was a bit worried about the leaves falling over, but they actually have held their shape really well! They are just sewn to the last two rows of the cosy body, and they stand up without any type of support. Except the support they get from each other! ~___^

As you can see, even when pouring, the leaves stay upright! I think that tensioning them tightly has really helped here but if your leaves did end up too floppy, a small length of floral wire inside each one would fix them up nicely.

I'm now working on making up the knitted version, which I think is going to take me much longer than some of the super knitters in the Ravelry group! ^___^ I have finished one side, but I must mention that I totally cheated! Tanya and I were both meant to test out the knitting pattern, but since I am oh so slow, I had only finished about half of one side by the time Tanya had totally finished whipping up her awesome cosy!

 

So I put it away, and only restarted it yesterday when the KAL actually began. I did about six more rows of bobbles and then finished it off. The side I have done is looking a bit wonky, which I hope will improve after blocking. But hopefully now since I've got some practice I'll be able to do the next side a bit quicker and neater! But I do have until June 2nd to get it done, so I'm not going to stress about it ^___^

The bobbles are much easier to see in real life, and I suspect that blocking will also make it much easier to see them. A looser tension would possibly also help, but I'm not going to hold my breath for that! ~___^

I'm working on a couple of sewing projects to show you next week, but my sewing machine is being very uncooporative at the moment. I'm hoping I can work past these technical difficulties, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see! 

Until next time!

- Lisa xx

Wicket the Ewok crochet cushion

Hello! Oh my glob, this project has been a long time coming! I was meant to post this yesterday but I totally forgot that it gets dark here at like five now, and so I didn't finish in time to take photos! >___< But I remembered today - hurray! I'm keeping up my (admittedly fairly new) tradition of making a project every year for International Star Wars Day and this year I decided to make a cute little Wicket the Ewok cushion ^___^

 

Now, to be perfectly honest, I find Wicket to be a little bit creepy looking, so I didn't want to make anything too true-to-life (or, ahem, movie). I simplified the design to be as cute as possible and I think it rather worked! 

 

I used stash yarn to make this, although I'm not sure of the brands (I have a bad habit of throwing away labels as soon as I start using a new ball) I'm pretty sure it's 100% acrylic. I used the majority of two balls of brown and orange, and a tiny bit of black.
 

To make it, I crocheted one large flat circle and two small flat circles in brown, and one large flat ring in orange. For the orange ring I started off by chaining to the length I wanted, joining that chain into a ring and then doing the treble stitch into each each chain stitch. I wanted the opening around Wicket's face to make mostly square shaped, so I made four corners by doing a treble, two chains, and then another treble into one chain stitch.  After that first row, I switched to single stitch and eventually rounded out the square shape into something more circular. Everything else I did in 100% single stitch which I think gives it a great look and also prevents the stuffing from popping out.

By the time I got to making the back piece, I was running out of orange but I didn't want a plain brown backing so I ended up doing a striped hexagon. Hexagons are harder to make into circles than squares, and the edges ended up a little ruffled, as you can see from the picture above. Still, I like how it turned out! ^___^

His face was made by making three circles, one a little smaller than the others, and a short length of chain. I stitched everything down with some extra black wool. The orange ring is bigger than the brown head piece, so it covers up the base of the ears, which are just stitched to the brown piece. The orange ring was sewn down around both the edge of the face and the head and then sewn to the back piece with the last precious piece of orange wool. I ended up with only a tiny little bit left - I certain succeeded in using up that particular piece of stash!

 

And now he has found a home on our couch! Basically all the stuffed toys I make seem to end up on the couch so he won't be lacking for company but I'm thinking that this idea could be really easily adapted for other Star Wars characters. Wampa head cushion, anyone?

International Star Wars Day is only four days away (!!!) and it's also my best friend's and my husband's birthdays so I've got to get right back to crafting! Scott has requested a Companion Cube plushie and I'm working on a super secret gift for Pip which is out of this world ~___^

Let me know if you're making or doing anything fun for Star Wars Day and May the Force with with you! ^___^

- Lisa xx

Vintage pyrex embroidery hoop

Hello! How are you? I hope you're well. It is my second week of study break today and since I managed to catch a cold on my second day of study break, I have achieved very little! However, I started being able to breathe properly again over the weekend, so I made this little hoop to show you ^___^ 

 

I really like how it turned out, I think it looks so retro and cute! ^___^ I was inspired by this project from Flora and Purl but I'm linking to a pin rather than a blog post because for some reason Blogger will not let me actually look at the website! Silly Blogger. 

 

Anyway, I decided I would try to make an embroidered version of my Snowflake Blue dish, because the pattern is relatively simple and recognisable and because it's one of the few pieces that I have both the top and bottom of ^___^

 

I had a tiny thought that maybe I would continue to make hoops of some of my favourite pyrex designs, so I added a label to this hoop. This way, if I do end up making more, I can have a little pyrex hoop gallery with the names helpfully included to match up to the actual dishes ^___^ Stitching text is still not my most favourite thing to do, so I wrote this out on paper first and then just stitched over the top.

 

This is a 17cm diameter hoop (or about 6.5 inches) so it's quite small and therefore rather cute. The hoop is a (possibly) vintage one that I found at the op-shop; I really love finding embroidery hoops while thrifting because they are usually only a dollar or two each and you can sometimes find some really interesting ones ^___^ I love the faux bois plastic used for the front of this one, and the pretty metal hanging loop.

 

I finished off the back with some red felt and a simple running stitch. This is basically how I finish off every single hoop I do, so nothing really to see here ~___^

 

The floral fabric is 100% cotton and is brand new, although I think the pattern feels a tad retro, don't you think? I only used about a quarter of the fat flat to make this hoop, so I've still got a bit to work with, once I think of another project for it ^___^

 

The pyrex is made from felt and embroidery thread and was really very simple to make. I drew a picture of the dish onto paper and then cut around it to make a template. I made sure to include my slightly wobbly lines, as that was one thing I really liked about the inspiration piece ^___^ I used two strands of DMC for the outlines and the scallops (which is just a modified lazy daisy) and then a single strand for the snowflakes and the dots. I added crosses in the scallops because I can't do french knots - they are my downfall! If you can do french knots, you could probably make a much more accurate facsimile of this pattern ^___^

I'm very disappointed that my first week of study break was essentially a wash, because now I really must spend this week doing all my homework which doesn't leave much time for crafting! I am working on a couple of crochet projects, and hopefully I will have at least one of them finished before International Star Wars Day as it is, you guessed it, a Star Wars project ^___^ I'm doing both these crochet projects in 100% single crochet stitch so they are taking me agggggeeessss. I am a very impatient crafter at times, so it was good to start and finish a quick project to keep my motivation levels up! Anyway, it's time to hit the books!

Lisa xx

Glittery pastel bone and skull hair clips

Hello! How are you doing? Today is my second offical day of Study Break and I have certainly not done any studying ~___^ Instead, I've been working on finishing off some projects from the huge box of WIPs. So, so many abandoned projects; it's sad really. And also I've started some new projects because I am not the kind of person that will ever have all of her crafts actually finished.

  

This is one such project; I decided the other day that I wanted a hair clip shaped like a bone. I have no idea why, I just suddenly really wanted one. So I sat down with some sculpey and made some bones. And then I made some skulls. And then I burnt them (oops!) so I had to paint them.

 

 

I originally spray-painted them white, but then I decided that they should be pastel. And glittery. Because, why not, right? ~___^

I use Scott's Warhammer paints to paint my sculpey but of course those paints only come in dark, army-type colours; no pretty pinks in sight! So I mixed a drop of each of the acrylic colours in with some of the Bone White Warhammer paint  to create my pastels. It worked really well! I think because I used only a tiny bit of acrylic the paint still adherred really well to the sculpey. After I'd painted the bones, I gave them a thin coating of glittery Mod Podge; I absolutely love the subtle sparkle it gives the bones ^___^

 

I was going to attach alligator clips to the back of these, but then I found some great pins in the milinary section of Spotlight. They look just like bobby pins except they have a metal circle on the end of them which made them really easy to glue to the back of the bones. I wish I had found them before I made the bones though, because, as you can see, they are a teeny bit long and stick out from behind the bones.

 

I really like how these clips turned out but they are a little tricky to photograph; I took a whole set of photos yesterday but they turned out too blurry (for the close-ups) and limited in detail (for the in-action ones). So I took some new ones today but you can see from the photos with me in them that I'm still having some trouble with the latter problem; I wondered maybe if because they were so pale they were reflecting the sun too much? I don't really know. I included a couple of the in-action photos anyway, so you could get an idea of how big they are. You'll just have to imagine that you can see a bit more detail then the photo actually provides ~___^

I wore them into the city today as Scott and I checked out the new Codex release at the Warhammer store; but I didn't tell the people there that I've been using paints for non-army related purposes. That'll be our little secret, ok? ~___^

- Lisa xx