snarled skein

have guild, need sword! it’s the rules.

arin721 — 2010-08-10T16:02:19+00:00

so i finally got around to joining the crochet guild of america! but, of course, the rule is: you can’t join a guild without a sword and… (ok, mostly that’s just my rule, but a good rule it is, nevertheless!)... i set out immediately to forge mah sword!

don’t make me poke your eye out with mah hefty 3-inch yarn sword!!!

i’m working on a real piece that i’m excited about, but that is taking mmmmmmmuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccchhhhhhhhhh longer than i wanted it to. mostly because i’m excited to see how it all turns out and whether it will turn out the way i have it in my head. *crosses fingers* but, in the meantime, EN GARDE!

filed in: Misc,

warcraft queue causes spontaneous creativity

arin721 — 2010-07-29T19:30:41+00:00

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

filed in: Crochet,

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

arin721 — 2010-07-08T15:55:12+00:00

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.)

filed in: Free!,Patterns,

overlay crochet beads, we haz progress!

arin721 — 2010-07-06T00:01:38+00:00

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…

filed in: Crochet,Misc,

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

arin721 — 2010-06-09T06:09:43+00:00

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~.

filed in: Crochet,Misc,

the tale of how arin went blind trying to crochet (part 2)

arin721 — 2010-06-06T15:32:05+00:00

as i stated previously, i’d purchased “The Complete Photo Guide to Crochet” and in the very back of the book is a gallery of items created by the book’s contributors…

which is where i saw something like this:

filed in: Books,Crochet,

the tale of how arin went blind trying to crochet (part 1)

arin721 — 2010-06-05T04:53:47+00:00

recently i’ve been on some kind of frenzied hunt for crochet books… i swear, they’re *like crack to me*! i can’t pass a book store without rushing to the craft section to see what they have. then, someone recently gave me an amazon gift card and i spent… 5… F I V E… five… hours, looking through every crochet book that i could find :| either there’s been a recent surge in the number of ZOMGTOTALLYAWESOME crochet books or i was just not paying attention in the past!

the first “must have” was: The Complete Photo Guide To Crochet and OMG, it’s simply ~beautiful~. though there’s not many patterns within, there is a HUGE collection of unusual stitches and motifs. i’ve had some “encyclopedias” of crochet before, but none of them have impressed me as much as this book. the pictures are just beautiful (bright and colorful!!!) and the stitch instructions are easy to follow… if you crochet, you should have this book!!!!

filed in: Books,Crochet,Yarn,

crocheted flip-flop thongs

arin721 — 2010-06-05T04:07:14+00:00

summer has all but officially arrived in houston… temps are well into the 90s. hot hot hot! …and what better way to keep cool than these crocheted flip flop thongs!

i’m making a pair for my stepdaughter and now i’m glad that i bought enough to be able to make a pair for me as well. i don’t often wear flip flops but these are just too darn cute! anyone who has ever made those yarn covered coat hangers should have absolutely no problem making these thongs. the technique is exactly the same.

materials:
pair of flip flops
2 skeins of lion brand “fun fur”
for crocheters, use a size J hook
for non-crocheters, you can easily do this by hand

instructions:

filed in: Free!,Crochet,Patterns,

crocheted asshats!

arin721 — 2010-06-05T03:59:10+00:00

recently, i went to visit my aunt & uncle. i was reminded of all the summers that i’d spent at their home in canyon lake, texas (beautiful, beautiful area) and during those visits, i learned to love heehaw (pfft! she was gone!), square dancin’ (yes, i CAN acey deucey AND load the boat!), and crocheting. in all these years, i’ve never given my aunt anything that i’d crocheted and, wanting to send her something, i decided on a little donkey that i’d made not too long ago. yet, it needed ~something~... and thus, the crocheted asshat was borned!

you can download the pattern for the donkey, here.

filed in: Free!,Crochet,Patterns,

Free Pattern: Crocheted Baby Snuggle

arin721 — 2010-02-25T05:48:14+00:00

this isn’t a pattern of my own creation, but something i copied down YEARS ago. it’s become my favorite baby gift because it’s just absolutely beautiful once completed. i’ve made it so many times over the years that i now only use my notes as a rough guide.

Crocheted Baby Snuggle

For the Pattern…

filed in: Free!,Crochet,Patterns,