beck's blog

Saturday, April 08, 2017

Doggie Bag that's not a Leftover

I saw a free pattern from Ravelry which used the Wendy's Four Legged Friends Scarf kit and made it into a cute backpack. Here's the link

So I decided to order another scarf kit and make a backpack out of it. The problem is that the pattern is for knitting one and I can only crochet. So I made up my own  bag by just looking at their photos.


Here it is. I made the orange striped dog kit. I yarn stitched his floppy dog ears down to the flap. It was crocheted using a size G crochet hook.


I began by making the bottom. For this I used left-over yarns from all the scarf kits I have already made and I'm glad I did because I barely had enough yarn from the one skein they provide in the kit to finish this bag. It's just a simple single crocheted spiral using the increase stitch every 6 stitches for each round.


This is the back. I made one wide strap centered in the back so that this bag is like a sling bag. The yarn is stretchy enough that this strap can be slung around the shoulder but it would fit a child better than an adult.

Here's just another side view. I stuffed him with fabric pieces to fill him out for the photo. It's single crocheted throughout the body until you reach the top. Then I front post double crocheted, back post double crocheted alternately for three rows leaving six free spaces every 16 stitches for a drawstring cord to be woven through for closure.
 I hope you can get an idea of the size of this backpack from this last picture. It's just a regular sized chair. I looped the back strap around one of the chair's back slats so you could see it. The whole head is attached to a flap that flips up to open it and the drawstring is under his chin.

This was a really fun project and I enjoyed the challenge of converting it from a knitting project to a crocheted project.

Monday, March 06, 2017

Neon Lion Afghan for Michael

My youngest has flown the coop. Yep. That's right.
So I have wanted to make a housewarming gift.

I have already given him a chalkware lion lamp, (from the 70's), which I found on Goodwill.com, (I think it's awesome!) Also from Goodwill.com I found him a vintage lion bobblehead, (because no home should be without a bobblehead of some type, right?)

So I saw crocheter anderlance's Neon Lion afghan on Craftster and knew I would love to make this for Mike. The pattern for Neon Lion is by Judy Calevro Masell and is available here at Ravelry

I took a couple of photos while making it even though it was difficult with so many yarns all tangled up I still managed it.


I used only yarns that I had - except for black. I had to buy three skeins of black  I Love This Yarn at Hobby Lobby. Most had no labels left on so I can't really tell you what yarns they are. I used a size H cabled afghan hook.


This was the back at that time. (And I had already worked on weaving in the loose threads for a couple of hours!) So just picture about a million more loose threads than this and you will get an idea of how many there were to weave into the back.  



Here it is all finished. I could barely fit it in the photo. 
For a border I decided to just single stitch a row of each color I used in the blanket. It always needs a border to stop the curling as it wants to do. 


Then I did a final row with black double crocheting some shells all around. Kind of like a picture frame. In fact, the afghan could actually be stitched onto a lightweight foam board and hung on the wall as a picture.
The afghan is 40 inches tall by 38 inches wide.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Nature Wiggly Trivets

Another Earth Day is coming and I've been making more wiggly trivets.
So I'm calling this set "Nature Trivets". (Please click on the photos to enlarge them).

In keeping with my vow to use only the supplies I have on hand, I've tried to use up the variegated threads I've accumulated. One of these trivets is done in all variegated thread.


It's a bit hard to make out what's in the scene, (kind of reminds me of a watercolor painting), but it  consists of a sun in the upper left corner, two flying black birds, one large flower in the center, one small flower in the lower left, and a tree going along the right side up and curving to the left.


A butterfly.


A snake.


And a dragonfly.


Here's the back of that one which is difficult to make out. Maybe you can see the things easier from this side.


You might as well see the backs of the other two as well. (I cut that long black thread after this photo was taken. Sorry about that).

Happy Earth Day! 




Friday, April 08, 2016

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog for President

Well, if you're like me and are just not happy with any of the candidates running for President of the United States, I offer you another choice...


Yes, it's Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. After seeing his election comedy special on Hulu I decided that the only really good choice for President was Triumph himself. 

So I found a photo of him and uploaded it to a site which can "Obamatize" (as in Obama's famous "HOPE" poster) the colors. Here's that site. LunaPic.
Just hover over the effects button and you'll see a choice of 'Obama style'

So that gave me this.

Then I uploaded that picture to microrevolt's knitpro page and made a graph to work cross stitch with.

I used a blue denim colored aida cloth to stitch onto and pulled out all the aquas, turquoise, reds, and cream color threads from my bulging bag of left-over threads from other projects to work into this picture.

After stitching it I thought, what good is it if nobody ever sees it? So, I decided to stitch the project onto my favorite jean jacket. I tapered the cloth near the bottom to remain on an even level with the jacket's back seams which also taper in.

I had found a t-shirt at Goodwill which simply said 'Vote.' So I cut that down, ironed on a U.S.A. peace sign patch over the V, then sewed it above the Triumph picture.


Here's my son Casey wearing it for the photo.
Nice jacket...for me to poop on!


Monday, March 14, 2016

Flapper Girl - Leaping Into Art Deco - B.S. Challenge

This is my finished Bohemian Sisters "Leaping Into Art Deco" challenge.

I found an awesome picture of a flapper girl and made a graph with it on knitpro at microrevolt.

I used all left-over threads from my stash to cross stitch her. It was so fun choosing the colors.

The aida fabric she is stitched on is one of those that comes with a print already on it.
I decided to leave that print showing on her skin by not stitching those areas. I thought it made her look more interesting.


After the cross stitching, I embellished her with beads for her earring, and on her face near her eye. The beads are also left-overs from kits I've made. They don't show up so well on the camera but they are really awesome in person.

The large turquoise and red "sputnik" bead on her earring is actually a found object. I got that a few years ago in a parking lot.
It was crushed and broken on one of the red bumps, (which is now the side towards the fabric). I was so happy to finally find a use for it!)


The feathers are from a boutonnière package I had gotten from Hobby Lobby on clearance. I took it apart and made two fancies adding ribbons and eyelash yarns.


The frame is just an ordinary wood cross stitch hoop which I taped with duct tape. It has this amazing flower design on it. You only have to tape the outside hoop that shows. The inner hoop is to the back and never shows. (See next photo).

The pattern on this tape is so busy that it doesn't matter about the tape seams not matching each other.
Here's the back. 

Here it is on my wall. The colored framed makes it stand out more.

Finally, here it is from farther away on the wall in my messy craft room.
I think she fits in just perfect.


Thursday, February 25, 2016

Chibli Snape Cross Stitch Purse

I found a really great cross stitch photo someone posted in their blog a few years ago of a chibli Snape character.

(Chibi ( ちび or チビ  ) is a Japanese slang word meaning "short person" or "small child". The word has gained currency among fans of manga and anime. It means someone or some animal that is small in stature.)


So, I used her first photo of the outline of Snape and made one for myself.

(Please click on the photo to enlarge them).


Then I used my own left-over threads from previous projects and "colored" it in.
Here's the finished picture.


I sewed the finished cross stitch picture to the side of a purse I got at Goodwill.
The outside is a canvas camouflage print and the inside is a poison skull and crossbones pattern.


It's actually a pocket because I left the top unsewn to the purse.


This is the inside. I think it's perfect for Snape.

I googled this picture to try and find the original creator of the artwork. I did manage to find this.


But I still don't know who made it.
Anyway, I uploaded the pictures to my Pinterest page so anyone who wants to make their own just go here Becky's Pinterest
and it's posted under the Cross Stitch I Love section.
(Or you could just use my first picture here of my Snape outline as your pattern. Then just add your own thread colors as I did to create your own one-of-a-kind picture too).






Saturday, February 06, 2016

Conan O'Brien Crocheted Pillow

I've been watching a lot of old Conan O'Brien clips on You Tube and decided to make something Conan-y. So I uploaded the Conan logo to microrevolt's knitpro website and made a graph.


So, here it is. I used a size J cabled afghan hook. The background light orange yarn has a sparkly thread running through it but I don't know if you can see that in the photos.


Here's more of the right side.
The word Conan is made with a variegated yarn. Purples, oranges, and browns.


This is the back. Very soft and sparkly. I alternated the sparkly oragnge yarn with a variegated orange/yellow/white yarn. I think this turned out neat.


Finally, here's a photo with a Love pillow I found at Goodwill. These are both on my curved lounge chair in my craft room now.

Love that Conan!