Tazz Has A Club?!

Well, this was news to me! I got up in the middle of the night because I kept hearing strange sounds, and look what I found! A gathering of furry cuteness (most likely Tazzy's best kept secret) until now!
Everyone is hanging their head in shame, except that mouse at the end, who had the nerve to look me in the eyes and ask me what I planned to do about it.

More Gothic Crochet

No one's going to tell me I'm too old too let a little goth linger in my closet for a few more years, I keep finding all these cool patterns! Check out this spider web pattern I've been working on. I worked a few rounds in black to test it out, but I think I'm going to make the spider web in grey...then wear it as a shawl! So Awesome! Click here to get the free pattern from Caron International Yarns and Latch Hook Kits.

I also found a pattern for a skull motif/applique that I can put on anything...pillows, tops, etc. It works up so fast, I love it! I found the pattern called Day Of The Dead Skull Motif on Kristinskrazyknits
   

Knitted babe In Progress

You may or may not remember my knitted doll, which my mum has named Alicia. You already know that I am the world's finest procrastinator, but I have been making some progress on this project. It's really just a matter of sewing and seaming at this point, two tasks that turn me off. Hopefully next time you see her, she will be at home on my new bookshelf.

The pink piece is a shawl, and the mint green is a dress. She's going to be platinum blonde, maybe with a couple of light pink or light teal streaks? Knitted Babes by Claire Garland provides endless possibilities with all those cute outfits and accessories! Here's a peek at how it all fits together...

So In Love!...With Lace Knitting

I never thought I would say it, but I think I'm actually starting to prefer knitting over crochet. It's all thanks to lace knitting cause it's so pretty! I have a short attention span, so lately I've been working swatches in colours I like and rippin' em out again...check out my experiments bellow...

 

This pattern is from the Knitting Fool website, and it's called Openwork Diamonds 3. Click here for the link to the pattern. I work mostly in acrylic yarn, and none of these have been blocked, so they could probably look much better!

The photo above is a sample from Red Heart's Knit seaside Waves Knitting Pattern which you can find here on their website. I love the way lace looks when the light shines through it! For the longest time I wanted to make a crochet sea creature afghan for my bed, but I think I'lluse this pattern to knit it instead. Not bad for a newbie using acrylic yarn!

That's Sooooo Goth!

Greetings everyone! It's been a while! Over a year actually, but I am back with more fun, exciting projects and ideas to share. While I was away I learned a lot about knitting (lace knitting to be precise...it's now my favorite!) I was in a super creative, experimental mood, so I decided to see if I could create a really messy, random piece of lace knitting that would have a torn gothic lace look. I think I succeeded! I'm really happy with it, and can't wait to try this out on a shawl or shrug.

My gothic lace obsession went on for some time, and so I came across some other awesome stitch patterns that could become 'goth' by knitting them in black, but also by using bigger needles and finer yarn to make things look really open and lacy. Here's a site of free knitting patterns that is simply awesome http://www.knittingfool.com/

That's all for now, stay tuned because I may actually do something on this blog this year!

Crochet Birthstone Bears!

I wanted to make something special for each one of my friends at our annual Christmas Party, so I whipped up nine birthstone teddies! I had fun picking out the yarn colours, and I especially enjoyed working with the mixed pastels skein for October's Opal stone.

To make the bears, I used a pattern called Mini Cupcake Bear, created by Stephanie, posted on her site at All About Ami. Please follow the link to see the pattern, and check out much more of her work. The original sits in an adorable little muffin/cupcake cup with a tiny cherry on its head! How cute is that?! I got the idea to make birthstone bears when I went to the dollar store and saw packs of multi-coloured rhinestones on the shelf. Later, when I looked at the bear pattern again, this idea came to me. Thanks so much Stephanie, for sharing this adorable pattern, it was very fun to work with :)

Above you see all nine bears that I made: purple is Amethyst (February), Teal is Aquamarine (March),
two are Diamond (April), Red is Ruby (July), Green is Peridot (August), and Three are Rainbow for Opal (October).  I still have to make one in golden Yellow to create Topaz for November.

Here's a group shot of the coloured ones. I had way too much fun with those rhinestones didn't I? Well, I don't want to grow up yet, that's all. Life is short people, don't ever let anyone steal your childlike delight!

And here's a shot of the Opal triplets.... there is something adorable about making several of the same thing and photographing them together. I hope more people will start requesting bears *nudge nudge* to my friends who follow this blog, you know you want one, and I'd be glad to whip one up for you!

Crochet Baby Octopus

This is another project that I made months ago, but never blogged about. This little octopus fits in the palm of your hand, and is just over an inch tall! I like to make them in pastel colours, using a size 1 fingering weight yarn. The Pattern I used for guidance comes from the book Amigurumi World by Ana Paula Rimoli. The octopus pattern in that book uses worsted weight yarn and larger hooks, thereby giving you a larger toy, but who says you can't make it smaller?
I think he'd make a great cellphone charm!