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Not dead, been crocheting
And knitting, of course. A lot of it for dolls.
Things have been... not that great, for the last couple months. Things will continue to be not fantastic for the next couple months at least. With that in mind, let's just focus on what I have been doing/can do that I enjoy.
I actually do not know just what I left out of previous posts to post later and never did, so there may be repeats from older posts.
I think the last I posted these socks they were half done. I finished them at Anthrocon 2013!
And apparently never posted them, which really hammers home how bad I have been at being visible online for the last several years.
There was an itty bitty ball left over and the con had not yet ended, so I improvised a shawl for Anjeni.
Anjeni is 27cm tall and is about the size of Barbie (a little shorter, a bit thicker).
I tried out a bit of a challenging sock pattern next. If I had standard sized feet they would have been simple, but with the combination of very wide feet, high arches, thick ankles, and bias knitting not being as stretchy as non-biased knitting... well I had some ripping and re-knitting to do on the first one.
The blurry heel shot is so you can see how the stripes wrap around.
These are a real pain to get on, I worry about ripping them even though acrylic yarn is about the last thing you normally worry about breaking. Once I get the heel band over my heel the fit is pretty nice though.
(I know my feet look funny, but I have short toes and the little ones are used to being crammed into shoes that aren't wide enough.)
I ended up using DK (category 3) weight yarn rather than sock yarn (category 1) and size 2 needles rather than the more typical 0 or 1 used for socks. I could have stood to increase a few more times to get about eight more stitches around the foot, which might also make the socks easier to get over my heel. Now that I have knit them once, with modifications for high insteps and thick ankles courtesy of the pattern author and modifications for thicker legs of my own fiddling, I should be able to knit another pair with ease if I maintain the same gauge. I may even try matching the stripes next time (there wasn't enough yarn to try it for these).
Then there was that early Christmas gift from Kris and Kay (awesome dolly friends!!) that I failed to publicly squee over. I have been worried that Dollzone would discontinue the Chen sculpt before I could get one because they've basically discontinued every doll I have wanted to get from them in the past year or two. So when Kris found this one second hand she arranged with Kay to get him for me. Best dolly friends ever!
He arrived wigless but not naked, which put him up on every doll other than Rico in my small collection. It's Michigan and it was approaching fall so he needed something to keep his head warm.
(I love his beautiful face. ♥ Those eyebrows! ♥ )
The hat gave me a chance to play with continuous spiral stripes, which is about my limit when it comes to color work tolerance. Four balls of yarn is at least two too many to have attached to my knitting.
Ian also needed a sweater, because all my dolls do, and a matching hat since the other one didn't really coordinate.
I could have made the sleeves just a smidgen longer, lanky man is lanky. (And also about 72cm tall, he's a freaking giant compared to my girls!)
Moving up to October 2013, Namid needed something to wear with her Jack o' Lantern shirt.
That finished off that color of thread for the most part. I have a small walnut worth left. I like that color so I should get some more of it, but it will have to be mail order since no one has it locally now. :(
In January I got some shots of Talar in her bandeau top since I needed her out of her snowflake sweater to try on something else.
She has a pretty back. And another one just for the colors:
So that puts me at about Further Confusion time, so time for hats!
This is what not to try to knit on a plane. I attempted it on the way out and ended up having to stuff it in my bag and fix my mess in the hotel later. It's also not to knit while having conversations. I did eventually manage to finish it at the con but there was so much ripping and re-knitting, OMFG.
Ripping out was a theme for FC this year.
I had it nearly finished only to discover it was way too small, so I completely ripped it out and started over with a larger hook, and enlarged it, and I could have probably stood to enlarge it more. It did however take all of the skein of yarn so it's as done as it's getting. The yarn is really pretty, much prettier that it looks in photos.
The leftovers from the cabled hat became this:
I actually did this one before the brown one, and it's what I tested my modifications with. The only difference between the two is the yarn, which goes to show how much variation there is in "worsted weight" yarn.
Still on a crochet kick I made another hat:
I'm of two minds about it. I'm not sure it's really my style. The post stitch pattern was fun though.
I know I posted this one before, but I'm still impressed.
In fact I want to make one in different colors because it came out so well.
For the last couple years I've been adding some orange to my wardrobe. It wasn't a conscious thing really, it's just been available in things in my size and I look good in certain shades... and the bargains when orange things hit the clearance rack are pretty amazing. Anyway, some socks were due.
The stitch pattern is from a Japanese knitting pattern book. I didn't think about how the twisted stitch chevrons would keep the socks from stretching so the fit isn't the best, and I had to swap the pattern for ribbing on the back of the leg to even get them on, but I still like them. Which is good, because socks for feet as huge as mine take a damned long time to knit.
And now for somethingcompletely different, doll sized crochet!
My prototype summer BJD shoes. Four layers of cork tile glued and trimmed into a wedge sole suitable for flat doll feet. I joined the pieces with slip stitches, which was not ideal and why I label these as prototypes. They were really popular in the doll communities I hang out in though, so I worked on the idea for a while.
The shoes kicked me over into changing all the dolls into warmer weather clothing, so Rico got a new t-shirt inspired sweater and some capris. The shoes were an earlier experiment, one that taught me that gluing acrylic thread is a pain, the thread doesn't absorb the glue so things slip around until the glue sets.
She poses so nice, the other girls can't hold themselves up like that.
Namid got a new skirt to go with her striped top (which I finished neatly enough she can wear it inside out, as you see), and shoes to go with the skirt.
Another four layer sole on these shoes, but this time I remembered to account for the curvature of the high heel feet.
After making two pairs of the shoes as wedges I thought I should test that they work as flats too.
And as per my normal operating procedure, I then had to make an outfit to go with them.
I actually don't remember when I made the shorts and bandeau top, sometime after Christmas because I received the threads as a gift. The vest is a motif (and wedge variation) from Blueprint Crochet that I joined together in a somewhat creative manner. I deliberately chose to use the darker green on the vest to match the shoes but I get the feeling maybe matching the shorts would have been better. Oh well.
I also made a bone colored bandeau that would show off the vest better but it's still in need of a snap.
More crochet! It's been a thing lately. I'm finishing more crochet than knitting projects these days.
The pattern called for a paper yarn but I worked it tightly in cotton. I am considering starching it but I'll wait until it's been washed and dried since that should tighten it up a bit.
I also did a doll size to send to Kris for one of her boys; one of the flamboyantly fashionable ones.
Rico may need one of her own, when I can face that much single crochet again.
That brings me up to date, finally. The doll hat was finished at Anthrocon, on the 4th of July to be exact. I started a pair of socks to work on for the rest of the con, but socks always take me ages so don't expect to see them for a while, even if I do manage to update before FC in January.
And outside the cut for being recent and pretty (in my opinion) some more crochet doll shoes.
I sent these to Kris for her MSD sized girls. I wanted to know if they would fit Planetdoll minis since I only have Resinsoul and Dollzone (old b45-002 body) dolls to fit things on. The answer is yes, but they could fit a bit better, so I have some tweaks in mind for my next attack of shoe making. Since you can't judge the scale here, the shoes are about 5.6 cm / 2.25 in long.
That's five pairs I've made, a prototype and four test pairs with different sole styles (flats, wedges for flat feet using 3 and 4 layers of cork, and a 4 layer wedge for high heel feet). All that testing went into writing up a pattern up for sale.
Things have been... not that great, for the last couple months. Things will continue to be not fantastic for the next couple months at least. With that in mind, let's just focus on what I have been doing/can do that I enjoy.
I actually do not know just what I left out of previous posts to post later and never did, so there may be repeats from older posts.
I think the last I posted these socks they were half done. I finished them at Anthrocon 2013!
And apparently never posted them, which really hammers home how bad I have been at being visible online for the last several years.
There was an itty bitty ball left over and the con had not yet ended, so I improvised a shawl for Anjeni.
Anjeni is 27cm tall and is about the size of Barbie (a little shorter, a bit thicker).
I tried out a bit of a challenging sock pattern next. If I had standard sized feet they would have been simple, but with the combination of very wide feet, high arches, thick ankles, and bias knitting not being as stretchy as non-biased knitting... well I had some ripping and re-knitting to do on the first one.
The blurry heel shot is so you can see how the stripes wrap around.
These are a real pain to get on, I worry about ripping them even though acrylic yarn is about the last thing you normally worry about breaking. Once I get the heel band over my heel the fit is pretty nice though.
(I know my feet look funny, but I have short toes and the little ones are used to being crammed into shoes that aren't wide enough.)
I ended up using DK (category 3) weight yarn rather than sock yarn (category 1) and size 2 needles rather than the more typical 0 or 1 used for socks. I could have stood to increase a few more times to get about eight more stitches around the foot, which might also make the socks easier to get over my heel. Now that I have knit them once, with modifications for high insteps and thick ankles courtesy of the pattern author and modifications for thicker legs of my own fiddling, I should be able to knit another pair with ease if I maintain the same gauge. I may even try matching the stripes next time (there wasn't enough yarn to try it for these).
Then there was that early Christmas gift from Kris and Kay (awesome dolly friends!!) that I failed to publicly squee over. I have been worried that Dollzone would discontinue the Chen sculpt before I could get one because they've basically discontinued every doll I have wanted to get from them in the past year or two. So when Kris found this one second hand she arranged with Kay to get him for me. Best dolly friends ever!
He arrived wigless but not naked, which put him up on every doll other than Rico in my small collection. It's Michigan and it was approaching fall so he needed something to keep his head warm.
(I love his beautiful face. ♥ Those eyebrows! ♥ )
The hat gave me a chance to play with continuous spiral stripes, which is about my limit when it comes to color work tolerance. Four balls of yarn is at least two too many to have attached to my knitting.
Ian also needed a sweater, because all my dolls do, and a matching hat since the other one didn't really coordinate.
I could have made the sleeves just a smidgen longer, lanky man is lanky. (And also about 72cm tall, he's a freaking giant compared to my girls!)
Moving up to October 2013, Namid needed something to wear with her Jack o' Lantern shirt.
That finished off that color of thread for the most part. I have a small walnut worth left. I like that color so I should get some more of it, but it will have to be mail order since no one has it locally now. :(
In January I got some shots of Talar in her bandeau top since I needed her out of her snowflake sweater to try on something else.
She has a pretty back. And another one just for the colors:
So that puts me at about Further Confusion time, so time for hats!
This is what not to try to knit on a plane. I attempted it on the way out and ended up having to stuff it in my bag and fix my mess in the hotel later. It's also not to knit while having conversations. I did eventually manage to finish it at the con but there was so much ripping and re-knitting, OMFG.
Ripping out was a theme for FC this year.
I had it nearly finished only to discover it was way too small, so I completely ripped it out and started over with a larger hook, and enlarged it, and I could have probably stood to enlarge it more. It did however take all of the skein of yarn so it's as done as it's getting. The yarn is really pretty, much prettier that it looks in photos.
The leftovers from the cabled hat became this:
I actually did this one before the brown one, and it's what I tested my modifications with. The only difference between the two is the yarn, which goes to show how much variation there is in "worsted weight" yarn.
Still on a crochet kick I made another hat:
I'm of two minds about it. I'm not sure it's really my style. The post stitch pattern was fun though.
I know I posted this one before, but I'm still impressed.
In fact I want to make one in different colors because it came out so well.
For the last couple years I've been adding some orange to my wardrobe. It wasn't a conscious thing really, it's just been available in things in my size and I look good in certain shades... and the bargains when orange things hit the clearance rack are pretty amazing. Anyway, some socks were due.
The stitch pattern is from a Japanese knitting pattern book. I didn't think about how the twisted stitch chevrons would keep the socks from stretching so the fit isn't the best, and I had to swap the pattern for ribbing on the back of the leg to even get them on, but I still like them. Which is good, because socks for feet as huge as mine take a damned long time to knit.
And now for something
My prototype summer BJD shoes. Four layers of cork tile glued and trimmed into a wedge sole suitable for flat doll feet. I joined the pieces with slip stitches, which was not ideal and why I label these as prototypes. They were really popular in the doll communities I hang out in though, so I worked on the idea for a while.
The shoes kicked me over into changing all the dolls into warmer weather clothing, so Rico got a new t-shirt inspired sweater and some capris. The shoes were an earlier experiment, one that taught me that gluing acrylic thread is a pain, the thread doesn't absorb the glue so things slip around until the glue sets.
She poses so nice, the other girls can't hold themselves up like that.
Namid got a new skirt to go with her striped top (which I finished neatly enough she can wear it inside out, as you see), and shoes to go with the skirt.
Another four layer sole on these shoes, but this time I remembered to account for the curvature of the high heel feet.
After making two pairs of the shoes as wedges I thought I should test that they work as flats too.
And as per my normal operating procedure, I then had to make an outfit to go with them.
I actually don't remember when I made the shorts and bandeau top, sometime after Christmas because I received the threads as a gift. The vest is a motif (and wedge variation) from Blueprint Crochet that I joined together in a somewhat creative manner. I deliberately chose to use the darker green on the vest to match the shoes but I get the feeling maybe matching the shorts would have been better. Oh well.
I also made a bone colored bandeau that would show off the vest better but it's still in need of a snap.
More crochet! It's been a thing lately. I'm finishing more crochet than knitting projects these days.
The pattern called for a paper yarn but I worked it tightly in cotton. I am considering starching it but I'll wait until it's been washed and dried since that should tighten it up a bit.
I also did a doll size to send to Kris for one of her boys; one of the flamboyantly fashionable ones.
Rico may need one of her own, when I can face that much single crochet again.
That brings me up to date, finally. The doll hat was finished at Anthrocon, on the 4th of July to be exact. I started a pair of socks to work on for the rest of the con, but socks always take me ages so don't expect to see them for a while, even if I do manage to update before FC in January.
And outside the cut for being recent and pretty (in my opinion) some more crochet doll shoes.
I sent these to Kris for her MSD sized girls. I wanted to know if they would fit Planetdoll minis since I only have Resinsoul and Dollzone (old b45-002 body) dolls to fit things on. The answer is yes, but they could fit a bit better, so I have some tweaks in mind for my next attack of shoe making. Since you can't judge the scale here, the shoes are about 5.6 cm / 2.25 in long.
That's five pairs I've made, a prototype and four test pairs with different sole styles (flats, wedges for flat feet using 3 and 4 layers of cork, and a 4 layer wedge for high heel feet). All that testing went into writing up a pattern up for sale.
All the fiber arts!
I haven't tried my hand ad doll clothes yet but I LOVE LOVE LOVE crocheting and knitting. I love crocheting hand bags and hats most of all.
And I have knit at least 8 wingspans due to needing something fidgety I can do with my hands that doesn't require tons of attention.
Also, I feel like I could write stories about your dolls :) They look so realistic with the crochet/knit clothing on them. They have personalities!
And...Love "Word Crimes" lol.
I know I'm late to the party on some of my comments, but I haven't been on dreamwidth in forever so I'm going through my "Reading Room".
Re: All the fiber arts!
I am glad I'm not the only one that sometimes just repeats a pattern over and over. I have a few that I just keep going back to because the knitting is enjoyable and the results are mostly guaranteed.
My frustrated writer urges get out in the dolls I think. :D I am horrible about actually finishing things I start to write but the dolls all have personalities in my head and varying amounts of back stories. Ian is actually from one of my unfinished NaNoWriMo novels.