pepperknit

Every girl needs her own army of meek adorable robots, don’t you think?

These guys are particularly polite and sweet, and they’re going to live with Specs, a polite and sweet friend who didn’t even bellyache one bit that I delayed more than six months to hold up my end of a swap. See, she was exploring paper cutting, and I eagerly said, “you make me something like that and I’ll . . . yeah, I’ll make you something in return. Sure. Sometime.”

So she awesomely worked this up for me—featuring an owl, no less, the mascot of my alma mater. And then I got all excited to make her something in return, sewing some things, looking at books, even crocheting the start of a Mechanobot . . .

But I just couldn’t commit! It was too hard! What would she really want? What could I possibly make her that she’d like?

Until Chawne recently got a copy of Crobots, too. And she didn’t dilly-dally like I did. In fact, within a day of receiving the book, she’d whipped up a robot she named Dexter. And Specs’s response to Chawne’s robot was so good, I knew I had to recommit. And so Sangamo was born.

Sangamo follows the pattern (Mechanobot, available free online!) pretty much to a T. I even had almost identical hardware to adorn her with. The only difference is I used screws with a flat head for her legs, and if you set her down juuuust right, she can stand on her own. Soon after, Sangamo’s cousin Miss Gloria rolled up.

Miss Gloria was based on the Wheely pattern, but modified—she’s larger than the written directions, because the scale between her and Sangamo was going to be too far off. The wheels are the size specified in the direx, though. Her adornments are more fancy—glass beads and sequins—because she’s a fussy, girlie robot. She works hard to keep her wheels in perfect condition. Her pet robot, Yuri, completes the trio.

Specs and her boyfriend have two cats, Dimitri and Otto, so I chose a name in keeping with the theme. Yuri also deviates from the written Catbot pattern, especially with respect to the hardware. I decided that to look more like a robot (I mean, really, it’s just a cat otherwise), brass screws and brass hardware would complete the look. Oh, and I added a tail, which shockingly the pattern does not entail.

I’m on a bit of a robot craze as a result, though my love is only for Mechanobot at this point. I think you’ll be seeing more of him around these parts.

Today’s my dear friend Liz’s baby’s first birthday. I was about to cop out and buy him a book or something, but what kind of friend would I be if I resorted to store-bought? Amigurumi birdies swooped in to the rescue!

Each bird took about 2 hours, but given that I started them late Friday night and was busy all day Saturday, I only sewed parts on the 2nd bird on the subway on my way to the party. As a result, as per usual, the gift was not wrapped. Someday, I will plan a gift in advance, procure the appropriate packing materials, and present the recipients with a lovely wrapped gift complete with ribbon. Today was not that day, as I whipped the birds out of my purse and waggled them at the birthday boy.

He shrieked, grabbed them, waved them about, and promptly flung them away. Seemed like a good reception to me!

Birds of a Feather (Rav)
From: Crochet Today, Jan/Feb 2008
Yarn: A mixture of yarns, including some random 8-ply wool I got in Singapore (the red and the khaki) and Knit Picks Wool of the Andes (the beaks)
Hooks: H/8 (for the red) and G/7 (for the other parts)
Notes: None of note. The pattern also includes a comb for the bird’s head but I went without. For one bird’s eyes i made French knots, wrapping the yarn around the needle 3 times (any less and the knot was too small). I attached the wings on one bird with the longest feather at the top and the other bird with the smallest at the top. It was a deliberate choice but I have no idea why. They were fun to make!

After a long drought, I was a bit of a crafting fool in Singapore, huh? Because here’s another FO (and all were knit on US 5, the only size needle I brought!). I should space them out or something, but I’ve waited long enough to blog about this finished object (two whole days)!

I have always had a thing for turtles. In fact, I had a pet turtle, Gus, in college. (He’s buried on campus.) In elementary school, I made a little clay turtle for my mom who we named Tootsie; she’s in storage in Maryland while my parents are overseas. So naturally, this second handmade turtle should be named the Tootsie II.

Let’s hope she isn’t carnivorous.

Tootsie II
Pattern: Sheldon (knitty; rav)
Yarn: Harvest Pure Wool in green and khaki
Skeins: 2 of each color
Needles: Addi Turbo US 5
Started: Friday, August 1
Finished: Saturday, August 2
Notes: I knit the body and top of the shell on my last day in Singapore; the rest I knit in the air flying from Singapore to Korea. The couple sitting next to me were delighted by her (ps, she’s enormous). (FO shots were taken in the Inch’on South Korea airport.) I really hated knitting it; there has to be a more elegant way for the turtle to be assembled (mostly the shell was a pain in the ass—three layers, none effortless matched up). It’s a pretty cute FO, though, so I hope my friend’s baby likes her. She liked the airport quite a bit.

Meet Dhoby Ghaut!

Dhoby Ghaut is named for the MRT (mass rapid transit) station on Orchard Road. This is an interchange where two subway lines cross, and practically every bus line comes by, too. Right next door is Plaza Singapura, a mall with a grocery store and movie theater, so it’s a busy place.

We often take the 190 bus from home to Dhoby Ghaut in order to get elsewhere in the city. Buses are always a wild ride (worse than New York City, I swear!), so he grabbed onto the strap and held on for dear life. A small Chinese boy looked up and cried out, in English, “Monkey!”

Dhoby had a very Singaporean day today. For lunch we ate at the food court in the basement of Takashimaya, then we window shopped a bit—truly the Singaporean pasttime. Always intrigued by the foreign foods available, Dhoby took a look at some Japanese snacky snacks, including Pucca, which seemed to be like pocky only they were goldfish shaped (and cocoa flavored). You could find pretty much any kind of cracker or pocky stick or sweet you might want in these places.

Then he picked up a sixpack of beer and headed home for some relaxation. Tiger Beer is Singapore’s beer; I personally don’t like it, as I don’t like light beers. It claims it’s a “lager,” but it’s no Yuengling—it is, to my palate, the same as a Heineken. Too much hops for me.

Once home, he took care of the local koi, who are greedy, greedy bastards and very nearly ate Dhoby’s foot. I feared for his life, because I used unpopped popcorn kernels instead of craft beads or dried beans to stabilize Dhoby, and I figured these koi, who are larger than Dhoby (heck, they’re practically bigger than me) would tear him limb from limb. Luckily I got him away in time, and then he could relax.

The pool was calling his name after this full day. It was really hot out—he soaked in the rays while I frolicked in the water.

Dhoby Ghaut (rav page)
Pattern: Crocheted Monkey by ChimuChimu
Yarn: Harvest Pure Wool, dark brown; Cleckheaton 8-ply Crepe, beige
Skeins: 1.25 of dark brown; less than half of beige
Hook: US size D
Started: Saturday, July 26
Finished: Thursday, July 31
Notes: I was definitely influenced by Pam’s Ramona Bananapants, which made me want to re-learn how to crochet. Amigurumi is, of course, just composed of single crochets, so it was really no big deal. As my first time following a crochet pattern, I learned some things—like how I have to place a marker at the beginning of each round or I will never, ever find the beginning again. I am also not super skilled at “reading” the crochet, but with such a well-written pattern it wasn’t a big deal. As I said, I used popcorn kernels in his hands and feet and body as a stabilizer. The neck is a bit shorter than the pattern called for—it looked too tall to me. But now I don’t know how tall he is. The cock to his head was just a happy accident. I love! Will make loads more.

Remember the twins? My friends’ babies are growing at what seems to me an alarming rate. (Which is why I can’t knit them baby clothes right now. I’ve tried.) Interestingly, they’ve gone from not looking too much like either of their parents into a pair where one resembles dad, and the other clearly has her mom’s eyes. It’s fascinating.

This is Violet with the dodecahedron. Here’s here sister, Charlotte, with the icosahedron. This shot shows the red “base,” which wasn’t very clear in the FO post.

I spent a lovely day with the twins and their parents last weekend, in a snowy Connecticut. This meant we nestled down on the couch, and my friend and I knit. Or, rather, we had a tutorial. I’d taught her to knit back in college, and she was eager to pick it back up again to make a blanket for each of her girls. So we went over the basics of a log cabin, knitting up a little swatch, and we discussed yarn options. I can’t wait to see her progress–and I hope she knows I’ll be finding a way to feature it on the blog.

We also got to see the dinosaurs being well loved (well, Stegs–Trice must have crawled under the couch or something, because he didn’t come when we called).

I know you can’t tell, but Violet is chewing on his tail, and it’s awesome.

After finishing the dodecahedron on Saturday I planned on starting another, but then I got to thinking about polyhedrons and how easy it would be to make pretty much any shape. So I poked around Wikipedia and decided the icosahedron, a 20-sided shape, would be the way to go. I cast on Sunday morning, and cast off tonight.

It was fun! I used three colors–though I know it looks like just orange and yellow, the cast on and first row of each pyramid is in red. I will take better photos of the pair of toys in daylight soon.

Icosahedron
Yarn: Knit Picks Crayon, in red, orange, and yellow
Needles: US size 4 (3.5 mm)
Started: Sunday, Jan 20
Finished: Tuesday, Jan 22
Notes: Each of these pyramids is built on a triangle–mine were all 7 stitches to a side. I knit 4 rounds between decrease rounds, except for the last, where I knit 3 rounds. Each pyramid took about 20 minutes to make, and were mindless but fun. The last pyramid, however, was rather unpleasant.

Took 45 minutes, and made me want to quit! But I’m very happy I persevered. This toy is so much fun!

or dodecahedronical. (But since each piece is built off a pentagon, I’ve been thinking “pentagonical” for the past week.) This is in opposition to the “hexagonical” time I had with the skirt.

Celestine
First FO of 2008!
Yarn: Knit Picks Crayon, in blue and in green
Needles: US size 4 (3.5 mm)
Started: Saturday, Jan 12
Finished: Saturday, Jan 19
Notes: The pattern would make a much larger tree topper, but I wanted it baby-ish-sized (intending to give as a gift), so the base of each point is just 25 stitches. Also, the rate of decreasing would have made a much more rounded shape, and I wanted mine to come out on the pointy side, so I knit 6 rounds between decreases–and only decreased twice (once in the middle and on the last round). I cast on with blue, knit 1 round in blue, and then switched to 2 rounds green, 2 rounds blue.

Would I knit this again? I already am! Stay tuned for a new color combo . . .

Edited to Add (on March 25): Thanks to those who’ve come here via Whipup! To see the second toy, which was not a dodecahedron at all, go here.

Because there’s another dinosaur out there. This one just looking for your approval–he’s a little insecure but ultimately a happy guy.

Pattern: Trice
Yarn: Knitpicks Crayon, orange
Needles: US 3 Knitpicks circular
Started: 3pm Saturday
Finished: 1am Sunday
Total Time: 5 hours or so, a little more
Modifications:As with Mr. Stegs, I knit this one in the round and stuffed as I went. I’m not sure if I completely forgot the numbers I used for Stegs or if I just stuffed him more full, but he ended up more chubby than Mr. Stegs. And by golly if he isn’t just even cuter as a result!

But so I don’t forget the values I used in case I want to make one again (which I’m sure I will), and if any of you opt to knit it in the round, here’s what I did for casting on and getting to the 10 stitches that the pattern calls to be cast on.

Nose: Cast on 4 stitches. Kf/b in each stitch on next row. Knit one row plain. K1, kf/b, knit to last 2 stitches, kf/b, k1. 10 stitches.
Legs: Cast on 12 stitches, knit 12 rows. (K1, k2tog) around. Knit one row plain. K2tog around. Draw through (no plain row before drawing through).

The horns actually came out ok, so I’m considering adding Mr. Stegs’s tail spikes, but I’m not sure if I want to.

Love!

Or, just because I’m insane.

Or, just because I’m a show-off.

Or, just because it started to be a game.

Or, just because there’s no possible way I’ll keep this up after tonight, but I had to at least try!

That’s right folks. FOUR finished objects in FOUR DAYS. Is this a PR? Oh yeah. I’m no marathoner like my dad, but this was a knitting marathon, of sorts.

Pattern: Mr. Stegs
Yarn: KnitPicks Crayon in green, with blue for the eyes and mouth
Needles: KnitPicks size 3 circ for the body and legs, KnitPicks size 1 circ for the plates down his back.
Started: I’m not entirely sure. A few weeks ago, soon after a friend revealed she’s pregnant with twins. Actually, right before I started the green socks, because back then I talked about knitting something else green. So . . . January 18?
Finished: February 6.
For: One of the twins referenced above.
Modifications: I am not one for seaming, so I knit the body and the legs in the round, stuffing as I went. This made it far faster and more fun; you can see it take shape as you go. I knit each leg as a simple tube that I decreased for one round and drew it through (like the top of a hat). The plates caused me some trouble, because I considered making it more “accurate” by doing two rows of plates and offsetting them, but then I came to my senses and did what the pattern called for. It’s knit as a simple piece and sewed on, and though I toyed with the idea of picking up stitches down the guy’s back, I managed to come to my senses on this point also, and sewed it on (which took no time at all). The pattern said 8 plates, but I got through 7 and measured it along its back and that was enough. (I did this on the bus; a middle-aged man standing nearby eagerly asked “is that a dinosaur!?” and I was really happy he could tell right away. He even said “I could tell right away; it really looks like one!”)

As for other modifications . . . because I used my own yarn and needles, I went by look and feel more than pattern in a few cases, including the length of the legs (not sure what they’re supposed to be, but I liked a little squatter, and it stands up on them just fine), and the height of the plates (in the pattern, 5 stitches wide at their widest, but for this yarn, I felt 6 was better. I could maybe have gone higher, but it’s fine). Oh, and I didn’t do the tail spikes because the yarn just doesn’t hold up to that.

I love him. Adorable. I’ll make a triceratops to match so each of the twins gets a dinosaur. Yay for knitting for twin babies!

And a big Yay for finishing! This is the most satisfying feeling. Thanks for all the comments and encouragement! (Tomorrow I’m going out to dinner, so there’s just no way. It’s going to be a while before anything else hits FO status.)

Oh, and this all does a lot for my stashbusting, which is another awesome feeling.

I just had to share this story with you all, because it made me so happy.

Last Thursday I stayed up past 1am to finish knitting Mr Mumbles for our friend before the boy left for a weekend with the guys. He got back Sunday night and started telling me about the trip, when I cut him off—did you remember to give Mr Mumbles to AC?

The boy assured me that he’d given AC the toy, and that AC had loved it. I asked if Mumbles got wet or anything (the East Coast had intense downpours Friday night—I even lost power!), and he quickly said, “no, no, he was fine.” I replied, “Oh, I guess he was just tossed in a car after you gave him.”

But no! Apparently Mr Mumbles became the lucky charm/mascot of the entire weekend! (Especially at their poker games.) AC had trouble remembering the name we’d come up with, always supplying a different M-word: Marbles, Muffeleta, etc. I think Muffeleta stuck, because he sent me some pictures today and called him Muffeleta. There were more shots, mostly guys hamming it up with the toy. (None of my boyfriend with him, though.) I will share with you this silly one; a friend making a new friend, I guess:

I emailed the guy in this photo to ask him what the heck he’s doing, and he claims that this is not him in the shot. Perhaps I should blur his face, but too bad—I love him posturing while clutching a knit toy! :)