Several craftster users have posted game sprite afghans: Link, Raccoon Mario, and a Bulbasaur that makes me want to believe I could make a Vaporeon blanket.  Seeing these things was incredibly helpful when I realized by yarn inheritance included a lot of black yarn, and I had no idea what to get my brother-in-law.

My BIL is incredibly easy to shop for.  The problem is that my parents, his parents, and possibly the Kristen have already divvied out the video games my BIL wants.  Also, they have money.

The obvious solution: game sprite afghan.  Since it would be made of squares, it would be fairly portable, and it wouldn't take the same amount of concentration as a amigurumi.  Amigurumi aren't difficult, but they're worked in rounds so I have to count the stitches as I go (I've found this easier than moving up a stitch marker).  Squares have to be counted, but it's a lot easier to look at them and see if a stitch has been missed or how many stitches are left in the round.

Knowing my own limitations--specifically the limitation of getting bored and shoving everything in a bag until the end of time--I decided to start small.  The humble Super or 1-Up mushroom was one of the smaller sprites...and I had a buttload of black yarn from my yarn inheritence, a big thing of leftover white yarn from a Kristen Kommission, and some red or green for when I finally made my important decision.

Planning ahead, I diligently began making my squares during the summer.  I'd sit with my foster kitten and make granny squares while the kitten played with the yarn--which I decided was totally acceptable since the Mushroom Afghan was probably going to be slept on by at least one dog.

And then I got bored, shoved all my squares in a bag, and ignored them until I realized Christmas gifts are traditionally given in December.  Looking at my squares, I realized I had totally forgotten what hook size I'd used, and my yarn squares were not up to my exacting standards.  Because I enjoy ruining my life.  Also, it didn't occur to me to look for pictures of me crocheting with the kitten in which you can clearly see that I was using an F hook.

So, it was time to begin again, this time with an Excel spreadsheet that said "H Hook".  And counting out the squares and setting up formulas to keep track of how many squares I'd made and how many were left.

This is a picture of Zoot sleeping on the first 20 or so squares.  (You can also see the elements of Kristen's presents in the background.)  I decided that this was adorable, and it's not like this thing won't get more pet hair on it.

For those of you keeping track of my foster kitten experiences, you can tell that I started this project in the summer of 2011.  And dedicated readers notice the owl bag given to Kristen for Khristmas 2011.

Art can't be rushed.

To see what I'm currently working on (and my cats), check out my Instagram @4starpower

V-stitch for Victory

The first winter the boyfriend and I were going out, he told me it was cold in his house.  So I thought I should start making my beloved a blanket so it would be done in time for his autumn birthday.  And then maybe Christmas.  Okay, I'm still technically working on it in that it's in a bag and it's really close to being finished.

In preparation for this Christmas (and because I already had a big ass hook), I started work on 5 1/2 hour throw.  Lion Brand has several variations of this pattern--basically, choose super bulky yarn and get V-stitching.  My choice was based on color preferences--the boyfriend likes orange, and Nicole Stitch Studio Heartfelt Heritage had an orange I thought would be good.

This is not actually a 5 1/2 hour throw, even accounting for the fact that I had to work and rest from grappling with a massive plastic hook.  Unless everybody's way better at maneuvering gargantuan crochet hooks than I am, there's no way this is even 6 hours of work even if that's all you did that day.  It's an improvement over the previous Infinity Hours Afghan, and it is a quick project, but you're not going to finish it while binge-watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

 The final product was 7 skeins of Russet, so about 574 yards of yarn.  The original pattern has a simple edging up the sides and fringe on the ends.  Since the boyfriend and I are both cat owners, I decided against extra yarn hanging off the ends.  I've also never done anything like that, so I have no idea how easy it would be for a bored cat to pull it loose and eat it.  Since the week after your cat eats yarn is fairly unpleasant, I decided to go with a single crochet border all the way around.

This was also a way to incorporate the boyfriend's second signature color, blue.  Despite not going to UVA (other than that one time when we visited Charlottesville), the boyfriend likes orange and blue together, and he was happy with the dark orange and dark blue.

Unfortunately it was 75 degrees on Christmas, so that cut into the blanket enthusiasm.

Easy DIY Emoji Ornament

What you need:

• Cardstock 
• Premade round ornament (I found mine at A.C. Moore)
• Sharpie
• Mod Podge (for some emoji)

I went with the laughing crying emoji because 1) I do whatever the Oxford English Dictionary tells me is cool and 2) it's my friend Professor of the English Class's signature emoji.

For the circle, I used the insert that came with the ornament as a guide.  Smarter, patient people might want to try tracing it, then cutting, but I had things to do.

Since I only needed a little bit of white for the teeth, I drew most of the face with Sharpie and used a white out pen for the teeth. In case the ornament spins, I drew the face on both sides. The tears won't fit inside the ornament, so they're attached to the front of the ornament using Mod Podge.  

An even easier option for those with holiday shit to do: print out an emoji on photo paper and stick it in a frame.  Hand assembled still counts as handmade!

Kitten Approved Kowl

Large gauge projects are faster, but I feel like wrangling the massive hook is harder on my hands.  In my advanced age, I'm having trouble using smaller/typical sized hooks for long periods of time, and the massive hook seems to have similar problems.  Eventually I'm going to read a point where everything is made with either a J or a K hook.

This is Red Heart Grande in Orchid and a Q hook (with 6 month old kitten for scale). The Classic Chunky Cowl was an impulse project after years of disliking infinity scarves.  I guess if anyone says anything, I'll tell them this is a cowl.

This is another good traveling project since there's only one color, but my brittle old wrists make it hard to sustain.  It was good for when it was the boyfriend's turn to drive in Shenandoah National Park especially since we had lots of overlook breaks, but it probably wouldn't make the cut for a plane trip or long car ride (since I wouldn't be able to work on it for very long at a time).

As for the final result, it's not as much of a "wow" project as the Asymmetrical Neck Warmer or my scarf and fingerless gloves set (which apparently I never posted about).  Even after wearing it to work, I'm still not sure about the final look of it, but it's warm and a big hit with Toro--he wanted to knead the big stitches and then he tried to climb inside it.  This yarn and a similar pattern might make a good kitten bed.

Finished project with kitten tail

Black and White

After Toro the Kitten was adopted, it was time to decide on his signature colors.  Choosing signature colors for one's cat is a very important decision if you're a sad, crazy person.

Although black and white go with almost anything, red is Toro's signature color.  He's got a little red collar (that is currently behind a bookcase)...and all of his hand-me-downs and random toys which are not red.  Also what's left of a cardboard fire truck he and his sibs got to celebrate their last week in the foster system.

Once Toro had a signature color, he needed a little cat blanket of his own.

I've been using leftover yarn to make Snuggles, but I wanted something that could show off black and white stripes.  Plus, what's the point of a new kitten if you can't use him to practice new stitch patterns?

I decided on the cat crochet stitch in alternating black and white with a red border.  There are a few different versions of the pattern online (you know how the internet is about cats).  Primarily I used Crochet Geek and Loops and Rambling. I used a K hook and chained a multiple of 5 (the second link has a multiple of 5+2, but mine seems to have worked out for giving to a cat or a baby).

Dropstitch: Yarn over, insert hook into stitch two rows down.  Pull up a loop--really pull it so it reaches the top row--yarn over, pull up a loop for 5 loops on the hook.  Yarn over, draw through 4 looks, yarn over, draw through 2 loops

Row 1: Dc in 4th ch from hook, dc in next ch, sk 4, *2 dc ch 2 dc (shell) in next ch, sk 4 ch, repeat from * until the last 2 ch, dc in each of the last 2 ch

Row 2: Ch 2, dc in next dc, *shell in ch 1 space, repeat from * across row, dc in last dc, dc in turning chain, change to next color

Row 3: Ch 2, dc in next dc, *dropstitch two rows down, shell in ch 1 space, dropstitch, repeat from * across row, dc in last dc, dc in top of ch 2.

Row 4: Ch 2, dc in next dc, *shell in ch 1 space, repeat from * across row, dc in last dc, dc in top of ch 2

Row 5: Ch 2, dc in next dc, *shell in ch 1 space, repeat from * across row, dc in last dc, dc in top of ch 2, change color

Repeat rows 3-5 until the blanket is the desired length, then do one more Row 3.  For the final row: ch 1, sc in first stitch, ch 2, 2 sc in ch 1 space, * ch 3, 2 sc in ch 1 space, repeat from * to last 2 stitches, ch 2, sc in last 2 dc

Skipping the last Row 3 and Final row makes it hard to shape your last row of kitties.  The trade off is that finishing this way gives the top a "severed heads" look.  Especially with a bright red border!

For the border I used sc, then dc for the second row.  Pretty standard border: go down the sides and wonder if you're doing enough stitches, 3 stitches in the corner, feel confident about doing the backside of the foundation ch, and so on.  I thought about doing a crab stitch or something else subdued yet elegant, but then I remembered that this is for somebody who spent October sitting in a plastic bowl.

He looks like this because I had to lure him onto the blanket with a toy.  He only recently learned how to use a bed instead of a grocery bag or a pile of newspapers, so maybe some day he'll sit in it voluntarily.

Rainbow, purple, and glitter

 What do you give a girl who already has a magical rainbow bag for her birthday?  A doll that also enjoys purple and rainbows!

 This is the same pattern as the 4th of July doll I made for my grandmother a few years ago.  This one is a smaller hook and I actually remembered to put a mouth on!

The doll and the first dress are the Lily Fun in the Sun pattern.  I'm still...skeptical about the body pattern (it involves making some sort of tube), but it's easy to modify to crochet in the round.

To crochet the body in the round, ch 2, then sc 6 in the first chain.  Work increasing rounds until you reach 30 sc, then sc around until the body is two inches from the butt--then you can go back to the pattern as written.

Normally the dolls I make go commando (or have leotards). Since I was hoping to have enough time to make a second outfit (and worried that the Fun in the Sun dress might be too short), this doll has permanent sparkly underwear.  And permanent sparkly shoes.

Feedback from the boyfriend and the sister indicated that the transitional stage of the doll (assembled but no hair or clothes) was unsettling.

Since the doll is going to get multiple outfits, both of her dresses are strapless.  Based on the directions, I suspect that the clothes are designed to stay on once the straps are added. The doll also went to a six year old with two younger brothers, so extra things that get sewn on are just extra things that can get accidentally pulled off.

After finishing the Fun in the Sun Dress (purple and sparkly), I had enough time to make a rainbow dress.  The rainbow dress is the same pattern as the 4th of July dress but with more color changes and more stripes.  Just one rainbow sequence made the dress more of a tunic length and I figured the birthday girl would approve of more rainbows, so I added more stripes.

As always, the patterns recommend sewing yarn onto tape or something?  This requires arcane skills like "threading a sewing machine" and "remembering where a sewing machine is."  My technique is to backstitch the "hair" onto the scalp, then carefully trim the hair once it's all on.

 It might be the yarn (Lion Brand Bon Bons vs Red Heart) or the length, but the rainbow dress came out a bit lumpy.  I'm hoping that the fact that it's hot pink with a rainbow will make up for that.