warcraft queue causes spontaneous creativity

nerdy, geeky person enters, stage left: 

so there i sat.  i’d already run my daily warcraft instance and was all ~gung ho~ to run it with my moonkin, but alas, the queue was taking *forever*.  being the patient, calm, laid-back person that i am (hush!), i realized i had only 2 choices: run laps around dalaran (once did 57 before my queue popped - yes, i counted!) or dig out some crochet thread and *get busy*.  fearful of breaking my dalaran lap record, i decided to go with the latter.

there was still that one overlay crochet project three-quarters of the way finished and i decided i’d attack it and get it out of the way.  of course, i’m no one to follow a pattern without putting some type of twist of my own into it, so i decided to switch colours on the crocheted rope, but as happens all too often, no sooner had i started it than i realized… wow, that’s going to look terrible!  so back to the pattern i went, leaving this tiny bit of crocheted rope all forlorn and lost amid the heaps of yarnthreadskeinsneedleshooksandbeads on my desk. 

now, here, we’re going to completely skip over the ensuing mad rope-crochet-a-thon that saw me *forget to stop*, making a rope 1.5 feet longer than intended.  (don’t we all want our necklaces to hang to our crotch?  yeah, me neither.)  we’re jumping straight into ~voila~, said overlay crochet project is *done*.  and, unfortunately, i can’t post a photo of it, because it’s a christmas present.  sshhhh, they mustn’t find out :O

also?  just fyi, you can crochet about 6 to 8 inches of a crocheted rope before your warcraft queue will pop, if you’re dps.  the “wait!  i’ve to mark my crochet stitch” just before the tank pulls is always guaranteed to win you oodles of friends, too!  ...and by “oodles of friends”, i mean “blank stares”.

anyways, there i am, running the daily instance, killing giant spiders and smacking on demons, when suddenly a ZOMGEPIC ring drops just as i happen to glance up and see the little forlorn piece of crocheted rope i’d started and put down…. “heeyyyy”, i thought to myself, “that’s about the size of a ring!  i wonder what i could do with that?”

well, clearly, you can make your very own ZOMGEPIC ring AND a choker to go with it:

floral choker and ring

i’m now considering several variations on the idea and am contemplating offering them for sale.  the choker looks absolutely beautiful when worn and *everyone* has commented on my new ring. 

now, if you’ll excuse me, i have a warcraft instance to run for even more crochet ideas…. O.O

Crochet, Comments (0)
July 29, 2010 @ 02:30 pm

what do you do when you decide you dislike the yarn you loved before?

when i bought the yarn, i was all, “OMG, THIS IS THE BEST YARN EVER.” i’d no idea what i was going to make with it, but i had to have it.  but then months went by and, apparently, my fickle nature set in and, while digging through my yarn stash, i decided i was no longer infatuated with it. 

...just before i tossed it out, it dawned on me…

MAKE A FREAKIN’ RUG!  cuz, yeah, the ol’ pink-towel-turned-rag trick was looking pretty abominable at the back door. 

my beagle, helping to test out the rug that i was eyeballing for size

I used: 4 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun - Fiesta and a size H hook, with 2 strands held together… (Note: not the best yarn for a rug, but it’s MUCH better than the pink towel!)

The Pattern:  (also, available for download here.)

Rug is made using 2 strands of yarn together.

Rnd 1: Ch 12, dc in 4th chain from hook, dc in next 7 ch, 7dc in last chain. Working on opposite side: dc in next 7 sts, 6 dc in last ch.  (28 sts)

Rnd 2: Ch 3 (will always count as last stitch in round), *dc in next 7 sts, dc in next st, 2dc in next 2 sts, 3dc in next ch, 2dc in next 2 sts**, dc in next st > repeat from * to **, slip st in top of beg ch 3.  (40 sts)

Rnd 3: Ch 3, dc in next 7 sts, dc in next st, (2dc next st, dc in next st) 6 times, dc in next 7 st, dc in next st, (2dc next st, dc next st) 5 times, 2dc next st, join with sl st to beg ch 3.  (52 sts)

Rnd 4: Ch 3, dc in next 7 sts, (dc next 2 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 2 sts) 3 times, dc next 7 sts, (dc next 2 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 2 sts) 2 times, 2dc next st, dc next st, join with sl st to beg ch 3.  (64 sts)

Rnd 5: Ch 3, dc in next 7 sts, (dc next 3 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 3 sts) 3 times, dc next 7 sts, (dc next 3 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 3 sts) 2 times, 2dc next st, dc next 2 sts, join with sl st to beg ch 3.  (72 sts)

Rnd 6: Ch 3, dc in next 7 sts, (dc next 4 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 4 sts) 3 times, dc next 7 sts, (dc next 4 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 4 sts) 2 times, 2dc next st, dc next 3 sts, join with sl st to beg ch 3.  (84 sts)

Rnd 7: Ch 3, dc in next 7 sts, (dc next 5 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 5 sts) 3 times, dc next 7 sts, (dc next 5 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 5 sts) 2 times, 2dc next st, dc next 4 sts, join with sl st to beg ch 3.  (96 sts)

Rnd 8: Ch 3, dc in next 7 sts, (dc next 6 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 6 sts) 3 times, dc next 7 sts, (dc next 6 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 6 sts) 2 times, 2dc next st, dc next 5 sts, join with sl st to beg ch 3.  (108 sts)

Rnd 9: Ch 3, dc in next 7 sts, (dc next 7 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 7 sts) 3 times, dc next 7 sts, (dc next 7 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 7 sts) 2 times, 2dc next st, dc next 6 sts, join with sl st to beg ch 3.  (120 sts)

Rnd 10: Ch 3, dc in next 7 sts, (dc next 8 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 8 sts) 3 times, dc next 7 sts, (dc next 8 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 8 sts) 2 times, 2dc next st, dc next 7 sts, join with sl st to beg ch 3.  (136 sts)

Rnd 11: Ch 3, dc in next 7 sts, (dc next 9 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 9 sts) 3 times, dc next 7 sts, (dc next 9 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 9 sts) 2 times, 2dc next st, dc next 8 sts, join with sl st to beg ch 3.  (148 sts)

Rnd 12: Ch 3, dc in next 7 sts, (dc next 10 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 10 sts) 3 times, dc next 7 sts, (dc next 10 sts, 2dc next st) 3 times, dc next st, (2d next st, dc next 10 sts) 2 times, 2dc next st, dc next 9 sts, join with sl st to beg ch 3.  (160 sts)

**Continue increases to make rug to your size – 12 stitch increase per round (6 increases each end).

tada! we haz finished rug! much better than the old pink towel!

Free!, Patterns, Comments (0)
July 08, 2010 @ 10:55 am

overlay crochet beads, we haz progress!

the beads, they be working!

i’m adjusting the original pattern a bit, so that i can use a size 10 crochet cotton on some of them…

Crochet, Misc, Comments (0)
July 05, 2010 @ 07:01 pm

the end of the tale of how arin went blind trying to crochet

no, really.

i’ve DONE IT.

i have made…

well, basically, i have made the world’s best crocheted marble EVER.

it all started because i want to crochet a beaded necklace, but, with the pattern calling for a .75mm steel crochet hook and SEWING THREAD, i first had to create it at a scale i could actually see and get an idea of how the pattern worked.  so first step?  ~done~.

next step, adjust to TEENY TINY thread and hook… and because i’ve no idea what “top-stitching thread” is, i decided to go with a size 80 dmc thread, as it felt a bit thicker than regular sewing thread.  (and if nothing else, i could almost see it!).  ...AND because i can’t actually see the hook on the .75mm steel crochet hook, i went with a 1.30mm steel hook.  after all, this was just a test - a way to get used to working at this scale.

so i made the first chain 6, EASY PEASY! ...then i tried a slip stitch to make a loop.  and dropped the stitch.  563 times.  (yes, i counted.  no, i never exaggerate EVER.) but, FINALLY, i got the slip stitch made.  woohoo!  i was on my way!!

...and 798.6 gabillion attempts later, i had my 8 single crochets around the loop.  or so i thought.  since i couldn’t actually be sure of what i was counting.  me: “1,2,3,... did i count that stitch or the one next to… wait.  1,2,3… is that a stitch or am i cross-eyed?”

(let me say right here… if you don’t have an ott light?  *buy one*.  (especially if you’re working at a scale that only micro-organisms can see.)  i happened to catch one on sale just as i began this project and it’s been an eye-saver.)

by the 5th round, i realized… i’d made a bit of a mistake in selecting a multi-coloured thread (pattern calls for 4 different coloured threads to be switched out each round, but i hate switching yarns that often, so i was *cheating*.).  at this scale, it’s harder to keep track of the rounds, but i wasn’t about to stop there.  I COULD DO THIS!!!  just be patient.  pay attention.  count stitches.  i kept going…

this is what ~perseverance~ looks like - slightly blurry and out of focus.

of course, the first thing i did after my little pep talk?  i made a HUGE error, which i wouldn’t discover for several more rows; but since this was just a “test” to get used to the thread and hook, i ~allowed~ myself to adjust and fudge until i could get back to the correct count and spacing.  (“correct count.”  HA.  HAHA.  HAHAHAHA.  i say that so easily now!  i’m not even sobbing!  try this: cross your eyes and count grains of salt.  it was *totally* just like that.)

now, i never expected the gauge to come out correctly - i was unsure of the thread size, i was using a larger hook, and my tension was anything but consistent.  (nevermind the HUGE error.  no, really, JUST NEVERMIND.)  so colour me surprised when at the point in the pattern which calls for the bead to be inserted? ...it was looking like i might be able to actually use the right sized bead!  ...which i hadn’t bought.  ...because i never expected this test to work.  ...and it was midnight.  ...and there were no stores open.  and i wasn’t prepared to go to jail for breaking into a craft store because “OMG, IT WAS AN EMERGENCY, I NEEDED ONE WOODEN BEAD, OFFICER!!!”

but see.  i’m a ~crafter~.  i have ~supplies~.  and by “supplies”, i mean, “stuff i’ve no idea what i’m ever going to do with, but can’t get rid of it yet” ...which just happened to include ONE 3/4 INCH WOODEN… BALL.

still unsure whether or not the rounds would cover the ball completely, i decided to give it a try and see how it’d come out…

i give you… my crocheted wooden… marble.  ball.  not a bead.  totally useless.  thingy:

DAMN SKIPPY! we haz a crocheted wooden… marble!

it came out much better than i expected and i’m pretty sure that i can get by with the size 80 thread AND the 1.30mm steel crochet hook… as long as i get my tension more consistent.  also? better vision insurance.  but in the end, i WILL have my beaded necklace :)

Crochet, Misc, Comments (0)
June 09, 2010 @ 01:09 am