NES 4 EVAR!

The NES (aka the original Nintendo).  This machine which eventually required specialized blowing skills in order to get the cartridge to work, was one of my childhood friends growing up.  I don't know if my brother and I actually spilled blood over who got to play the Nintendo or if we just threatened to.  Though somehow a blood sacrifice to the NES gods would not surprise me.  We never had a "Game Genie", and thus Nintendo could be a cruel and harsh mistress at times, despite our hours of worship.  Hard to imagine that the NES came to the United States in 1985.  God now I feel old.   Well, older.  Thanks a lot nostalgia and the Smurfs movie.

Now, I'm sure you're all asking yourselves how this rant over the video game system of yesteryear could possibly have a place on a blog related to knitting?  Wonder no longer and to quote Blazing Saddles, "rest your sphincter" as you gaze upon my sad attempt at an amazing knitting pattern.  Carrie Ouradnik aka Craftypuppylover (both Ravelry links) has graced the population with this Nintendo Kleenex Box Holder (click here for free download on ravelry).  Practical and entertaining.  Also appropriate considering Ray and I used to almost give each other bloody noses over who got to be player one.  I should apologize for my version, I crocheted the other sides (I thought it might turn out better...obviously I was wrong) and doing color work in knitting is certainly not my strong suit.  Still, it was a perfect project for when I started nesting at my boyfriend's place, especially because he was using it all the time due to his allergies.

Click here for a link to her etsy shop: craftypuppylover
Oh, you can check out her other work on flickr too!

Works in progress aka WIPS

This Hobbes wasn't built in a day

Most knitters are aware of the acronym "WIPS" (work in progress) and they are not afraid to apply it.  Me?  I am irrationally terrified of it.  Usually I'm actively working on something, otherwise I've just scrapped the project and stoutly refuse to think of it and my failure to complete it.  Even if I'm slowly nibbling away at a project, I practically get an anxiety attack at the thought of announcing I'm doing "X" only to find that whatever it is doesn't work out.  Remember when Sasha Cohen got the silver medal in the 2006 Olympics and the general murmer from the American public was, "awww.... that's too bad".  Nice.  Being a silver medal Olympian is a pitiable situation?

It's cute, people talk about "fearless knitting".  Trying something new, a technique you're not familiar with.  Still, with each stitch, you're investing yourself, your time, your effort.  I know I care FAR too much about the outcome of my endeavors instead of the process.  I suppose this accounts for me spinning my wheels in life for so long, partially at least.

Fingerless gloves for Kathy

Today for example, I was mulling over what to post.  Sure I have one finished project, another pair of Vancouver Fog fingerless gloves, this time for Kevin's mom, Kathy.  But other than that I've only got a number of WIPS.  First, I've got my little crochet amigurumi Hobbes.  It's my first attempt at amigurumi, and I'm also learning how to do "jogless stripes" at the same time.  Second, I've begun the first stages of experimenting in order to make my own patterns.  Finally there's the project that I've been so hopeful and fearful of, making my own site where I can sell things that I've created.  Figuring out what to put where, the subtle nuances of googlecheckout, potential policies, and what in the world I'll actually put up have been most of my focus.  Somehow I'm making small steps in each direction.  Wish me well?

Right turn in one quarter of a mile

Once upon a time, I crocheted a cozy for my Dad's portable radio.  He's unimpressed with Ipods and mp3 players in general; though he did admire the ipod armbands that people had at the gym.  I ended up making him one of his own and it's currently MIA or else I'd post some pictures.

However, this is just the precursor to another request from my father.  After some ham radio related excursion with my mother, he found that the cover to the Magellan GPS had disappeared.  I imagine that it was tired of the overly soothing voice always telling it where to go, and so the cover decided to escape in order to pursue fortune through whatever fate threw its way.  Of course, I may be wrong and it merely fell out somewhere.

Getting back to the request made by my father, he wanted a replacement cover to keep the screen nice and pretty.  Why is the Magellan cozy a shocking red that not even a lady of the night would consider for lipstick?  Easy, it will be far harder to -NOT- know where this thing is than it would be to lose it.  Making it was deliciously simple and didn't take much time.  I just started with a crochet chain that was just as wide as the GPS.  Then I went around and worked the backloops until I got to the start of the chain, then turned and did it again.  Since it wasn't wide at all, I think I may have done that widening round once more before I began working it evenly in single stitches.  Row after row of spirals and far too quickly it was done.  After the finishing touches of a slip stitch and weaving in ends, and I handed it off.  My father is not easily impressed, except of course with my crochet and knitting.

Pineapple Swirl

Right now (and whenever I'm between projects), I sorely miss having Lexi within reach.  While I really dislike knitting things for myself, there seems to be no larger warm fuzzy than crafting for others.  Ok, and Lexi especially, she looks good in everything.  A year or more ago, I grilled her for ideas on something that I could make for her that she'd actually wear and like.  She probably first suggested a sweater, which I would quickly nix since I've never completed one before and my courage for new things tends to run thin.  Eventually she mentioned that she loves skirts that swirl.  Full luscious skirts.  Poor thing, after I had considered the idea and began to run with it, I practically chained her to the computer and made her pour over Ravelry's wealth of patterns looking for a good fit between her desires, my skills, and the craptacular yarn stash on hand.  Thus we settled on the lacy look of the Den-m-nit Pineapple Skirt or Poncho by Flora Yang (incidentally to use this link and get the pattern, you need to be a registered member of Elann.com - registration is free; however I don't recall having to go through this silliness to get the pattern).

Again, Lexi chose the color.  She wanted a GREEN kinda green. You know, the kind that makes you look like you stumbled into an Irish pub on St. Patrick's day and sadly I had it ready and waiting in my stash.  Even though crochet is certainly not my strong suit, and I'm still not completely comfortable with reading crochet patterns, it wasn't too bad for a beginner like myself.  We measured her up, and I started hooking for her (wait... that doesn't sound right).  When I had finished, the skirt was so heavy there was simply no hope of a mere drawstring cord holding it up.  Fortunately, we had supplies on hand:  an exceptionally wide length of elastic, and some 2" wide folded satin blanket binding (in the right color no less!).  Lexi wears it over a few of her skirts, and the good news is that it requires no special care when washing.   Oh, and bless her heart she told me that every time she wears it, someone compliments her on it.  Even if it's not the truth, she's sweet to tell me such an uplifting lie.

Rolling in the Fog

Jordan's wee gloves

Continuing on about the project that has been very much apart of my life for the past month, I think I might be done making Vancouver Fingerless Gloves for a while.  In an earlier post I blathered on about how I got started with this pattern after my boyfriend suggested that I look into making some gloves.  I suppose that excuse only lasts for one pair though.  The rest are going towards gifts and *gasp* one commission. 

Jessica's pair in progress

My boyfriend has two half sisters.  Jordan, who seems to be a force of nature at times is nine years old.  Whenever I've visited with my boyfriend, she's been wonderful with her attention.  There's always some new thing that she'd like to show me.  Not only that, but she seems to enjoy my knitting and crocheting.  As soon as I start working my way through a project, she gets her embroidery floss and begins working on this interesting knot-work which makes bracelets, necklaces, keychains, and bookmarks.  I showed her the gloves I had just finished, and before I knew it, I was thinking about working on a set for her.  The only problem is that not only is she nine, she's also small for her age, and the pattern is for adults.  I'm hoping the smaller needles and the sport weight yarn will work out.

Daniel pointed out that it's not kosher to make a present for one sibling and not the other, so I immediately got to work on a pair of gloves for Jessica.  Jessica is fifteen and has the opposite problem of her sister.  She already towers over me, and I think she's taller than Daniel as well.  Not surprisingly, her school's volleyball team has snatched her up, where she excels.  The color choice was easy, it's one of her school team's colors.

Debbie's Vancouver Fog

In an email to my mother letting her know what I've been up to recently, I attached a few pictures of the projects.  Since my mother is the personification of "supportive", she forwarded the pictures to one of her lifelong friends, Debbie.  Not a knitter, but a crafter, Debbie exclaimed over the gloves, and commented on how cold it gets in Iowa asking if she could buy a pair from me.  Does it get better than that?  A few days later I finished the fourth set (the second pair in royal blue), and that Friday I went to the post office and sent them off.  Can you tell I was excited to have a commission?  With any luck, I could get a few more people to use me as "needles for hire".

Very foggy lately

It started off innocently enough.  After completing and sending the baby projects (the Green Lantern Baby Blanket and Converse Style Booties), I didn't have anything particular to move onto.  I wonder what kind of hell I put my boyfriend through when I don't have something on my needles.  After he gets home and wants to relax by playing a video game, I'm there sitting next to him twitching, fidgeting, restlessly playing with my knitting needles, crochet hooks and whatever yarn is in the caddy next to the couch.  This only lasts for about ten minutes.  By that time I can't stand it any longer and I'm trolling the Ravelry website looking for some new project to leap out at me.  Still, he doesn't get any peace.  It doesn't take me much time to get updated on all of the recently added patterns, and then the whining starts, "aaaahhhh!  I don't have any projects!  What should I make?"  Stoically, he makes nice suggestions which I usually shoot down like skeet.  The good news is that he'll usually say something that gets me at least started in a direction which leads to a new sort of annoyance.  Once I've settled on a pattern I become consumed with working on it.  Sitting next to him, I tend to count under my breath, reach over to click my row counter, require the light on for pattern reading, and all other sorts of obnoxious things.

Recently, when I began my itchy-no-project routine, he pointed out that here in Chicago winter is ever so slightly different than it is in Southern California and I might want some gloves to wear.  In fact I think he said I -WILL- want gloves.  Oh, and maybe he said need, not want.  Onto Ravelry, searching, and searching, and even more searching; not finding anything that blows my skirt up.  Then I caught sight of Vancouver Fog Fingerless Gloves on orangellous blog.  Sure they wouldn't cover my fingers, but just look at those sexy cables!  I quickly dove into my yarn stash, and casted on.  All too soon I finished my first pair of Vancouver Fog Fingerless gloves, with no intention of keeping them for myself.  At that point I sighed and thought about my lack of projects.  Silly me.  As of yesterday I finished my fourth set; though I probably blather about the other three in a different post.

I doff my hat to you lady!

Dear, sweet, benevolent Sukigirl (visit her blog here), I have no idea who you are but I want to let you know that I am currently harboring a budding school girl crush on you. 
I can honestly say that I've been looking for a FREE Hobbes knit or crochet pattern for years. Not only is it that I'm too damned cheap and poor to purchase the $5.00 pattern that someone posted of Hobbes a few years ago; It's also knowing that it is utterly and totally going against the entire spirit of Calvin and Hobbes.

My introduction to Calvin and Hobbes
Click here to see it on Amazon.com

Finding someone who is popular and still unwilling to compromise their principles? Bill Waterson (click here for more about him courtesy of wiki), creator of the hilarious and brilliant comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes", was more concerned putting his messages out there than with fame or fortune. In that spirit, he never allowed the creations of Calvin and Hobbes to become the subject of billions in merchandising opportunities. See why I'm so opposed to the idea of "buying" a pattern of Hobbes? While I am completely for fan based creations and homages to this life changing strip, turning a buck off of it?

Ok, getting down from my own soap box now. For those of us that appreciate Bill Waterson and want to share it with loved ones, Sukigirl has posted a FREE crochet amigurumi pattern of Hobbes. I love that she cites the same reasoning as to why it is available to the public. Thank you two (Bill Waterson and Sukigirl) for contributing to the world because you wanted to put something positive out there.

Scarf of Unicorn Barf

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I know... but still!  A few years ago I was expanding my brother's minimal store of winter wear items before he left southern California for the snow laden winters of the mile-high city.  Again, any opportunity to knit something that might actually be used fulfills almost a spiritual yearning.  The story goes that I asked my brother to come with me to pick out some yarn for a scarf.  When we got to the store I started looking at bold solid colors, remembering that when my brother worked at a movie theater, he enjoying startlingly bright ties.  Roadwork orange?  Truly a must have.  It says:  Caution:  Awesome Ahead" in his mind.  About this time I hear a triumphant, "found it!" from across the aisle.  What can I say?  My brother never fails to astonish me with his fashion forward thinking.  Not deterred by the word 'novelty' and it's connotations when used in the phrase 'novelty yarn', my brother had selected a few skeins of the unsubtle Lion Brand Multicolored Boulce in what color?  Jellybean.   Oh yes, Jellybean.  At this point I would like to remind the reader that my brother is straight.

I ended up knitting him the scarf while holding one strand of this *cough* unique yarn, as well as a strand of Caron's Simply Soft white yarn.  Though Ray couldn't have cared less about how I knitted the scarf, I decided at least I'd try a new pattern.  So here it is, knitted on a bias, using the Commuter Scarf pattern by Ruth Ellen found for free on her blog.  The finished product reminded me of the Pillsbury Funfetti cakes my brother and I used to make occasionally; so I affectionately called it a funfetti scarf.  My brother was delighted, I was glad to have made him happy, but had mixed feelings about the remaining yarn that I had no clue what to do with.

Enter Lexi.  A few months had passed since Ray had left, and she was looking through my embarassingly large yarn stash after I complained of a lack of knitting projects.  "Are you saving this yarn for anything?" Lexi shyly asked.  Instead of telling her that I was tempted to see if I could knit a kitty litterbox out of it, I told her that it was merely left over from a scarf I made my brother.  Her enthusiasm for the scarf was undampable, despite my best efforts.  This time it was paired with some black yarn, and done in a seed stitch (not that you can tell with a boucle yarn, particularly one that is jelly bean colored).  Just like my brother, Lexi was delighted with the scarf, and was even willing to let me capture photographic evidence of her wearing it.  For my ravelry page, this scarf ended up with the title, "Unicorn Barf", aptly named by her boyfriend.  As a side note, shockingly, this deafeningly loud yarn has been discontinued.

Groovy Chucks Kid!

Big boy converse...

I love converse sneakers.  In fact, I'm not even sure how many pairs of low top chucks I've gone through since I acquired my first pair.  Easy, comfortable, and appropriate for occasions ranging from taking out the trash to black tie affairs; what is not to love about this classic of footwear?

Not one to shy away from the opportunity to inflict knitted creations on others; I realized that the new baby would be in dire need of hip and stylin' kicks.  In fact, here's another one of the pictures from the proud poppa-to-be's blog at http://brandxsketch.blogspot.com where he's rocking the same flavor of shoes.

Rock them shoes too Mr. Laundrie!

As always, Ravelry comes to my rescue.  I used the pattern here that had been modified by xalleykatx on livejournal.  After knitting up the booties and laces, I did go all in and got some white felt, sharpie'd a star and stitched them to the outside with matching embroidery floss. 

Not-so-big boy's chucks

One of the things I liked most about this project was the reaction of the adults that saw them.  While I was blocking them with little paper towels inside, my boyfriend came home to find them on the counter.  Even though I was in the bedroom, I still heard his 'that's so cute' voice/squeal saying, "OOOO!  WEE LITTLE BOOOOTIES!".  I'm not sure if I smiled wider at that or the postal clerk who thought they were darling and couldn't resist commenting as I mailed them off.  There is something about a stranger commenting on something I've made that makes me feel like I did as a kid when my artwork secured a coveted spot on the refrigerator gallery.

Imagine a Green Lantern crocheted baby blanket

BrandXsketch

A friend of mine is expecting a son sometime in the VERY near future.  His love of comics, and is astonishing ability to create them (just check out some of the things he does on his blog:  Brand X Blog, where he is a smokin' pencil for hire).  Not only is he exceptionally talented in creating images with pencil, ink and paper; he also delves into the digital arts.  Here's sort of a self portrait he created (I love it):

This seemed like the perfect opportunity to create a project for one of my favorite audiences:  BABIES!  They can't tell you they don't want to wear it, they are at the mercy of their parents sense of style.  If an infant doesn't like wearing something you've knitted, the crying exhibited can be easily blamed on 1) gas, 2) dirty diapers -perhaps an active display of displeasure towards a project that no sane person would considering wearing- 3) general fussiness.  In short, you can torture small humans with knitted and crocheted gifts and there is nearly nothing they can do about it.  Meanwhile, if they happen to smile while wearing or touching one of these handcrafted disasters, it is clearly as sign that they adore what you made for them... nevermind the dancing stuffed animal that they're looking at.



Considering the source of the new bundle, I started to look for something with the Green Lantern logo.  I found a chart for a tunisian crochet (and interesting technique that I have yet to try) by Maria Merleno on Ravelry.  It cited that the pattern was available on associated content website, but I couldn't find it.  After some tedious counting on the image they provided I duplicated it and have posted it here (with some graph lines).  Still, I wanted to do single stitches, but my gauge wasn't exactly 1:1.   I decided to double all of the numbers, so that it was twice as high and twice as wide.  I had to tweak the rows between for a smoother transistion on the curves, and it seems to have come out pretty decently. The finished project, complete with scalloped edging, and slip stitch finishing where color changes take place has already been shipped!  I'm such a procrastinator, it is astonishing to think that this blanket will be delivered before the little man is!

Click here for link to google doc graph

Cat Hats

Lexi with some mottled violet cat ears

Practically the definition of simplicity, this hat is made with bulky yarn and is a rectangle folded in two. The corners act as ears. Since these little babies were so easy to whip up, I made several. More than several. The beauty of this project is that I'm able to just grab it and go, perfect for knitting while carrying on conversations without fear of screwing up on the pattern.

 

 

When it is seen folded flat on a table, it's about as exciting as watching cement set. However, when placed on someone's head... Viola! Instant kitty ears! Hilarity ensues as humans suddenly feel the need to display their best cat immitations.

This includes the best impressions of a "doe-eyed" feed me look.  I don't know about anyone else, but most of the time, when a cat makes eye contact with me, it's with this wide eyed appeal for me to do... something.

 

Easier than a drunk cheerleader at the prom

Hordie Hat

I'm torn. I love knitting. I love WoW. At times though, trying to find WoW related projects means embracing my mortal enemies, the Horde.

WoW is separated into two factions, the Horde and the Alliance. Whenever you make a character on WoW, the first thing you decide is what faction you will be a hero for.

While searching Ravelry for a knitting chart depicting my the Lion insignia of my beloved Alliance, it seemed I could only find patterns for the significantly inferior Horde symbol. Truly tragic I know. Some day I fear I may have to come up with one (assuming I get more talent). Anyway, I knit a generic hat pattern, which I found on the AMAZING Kody May's Blog (please visit this knitters, she's kind of awesome). Afterwards I did duplicate stitching of the *cringe* horde chart on the front. Here's the result:

Not knowing what to do with this, but feeling the need to show the folks I play WoW with (I desperately crave approval from anyone and everyone); I brought it with me to visit my friend Lexi's brother. He's a fellow guildie and Buttonshire was at one point a Hordie (thankfully he wised up). Anyway, I brought it with me when we visited him, and somehow it found a home with him permanently. I just had an unpleasant thought... I hope he doesn't revert to being part of the unclean Horde masses!

Oh, I feel a the need to post a quick disclaimer: While there is just a smidge of bias in here, I think that there are good and bad people no matter what faction you choose. I just like teasing and pretending I care. Much like my whole UCLA vs USC cross town rivalry thing. When it comes down to it, I'm not desperately invested in believing one is better than the other. Again, it's just kinda fun to pretend like it's a huge deal when really it has about all the significance of choosing which statement you like better, "six" or "a half dozen".

Butterball's Disgusting Oozling colored hat

Another Wow story for you all. Over the summer my idle hands got the itch to knit again. Frustrated with all of my wips (works in progress), I asked my WoW playing friends for suggestions on projects to do.

I’m partial to making hats, so when my guildmate (we're both in Anxiety on Perenolde), Butterballs , mentioned that he wouldn’t hate it if I sent him something, I jumped at the chance. After quizzing him thoroughly, I found out he liked what I consider to be one of the fugliest (not a typo) colors ever. Fortunately for him, I found a yarn that’s somewhat similar to what he was describing. I eventually swallowed down the bile that had come up after seeing it, and knit him a hat.

Ear flaps, tassels, and a pompom later; this atrocious creation came into existence. Not so sadly, this is my only picture of said abomination. A warm welcome to Kevin (aka Steelrain), for bravely wearing and being the model of this monstrosity.

Disgusting Oozling - similar color, no?

I ended up sending it and (despite the hat) Butterballs still talks to me on WoW. Is this where I mention that it takes all kinds to make up this world?

WoW and Dropped Stitches

World of Warcraft and knitting can go together in so many different and strange ways.

Last night I logged in and jumped on my Warlock so that I could do the special Halloween event that’s taking place right now. While there are a few million people that play WoW, you typically only interact with the few hundred that are on your particular “realm”. Though, for the special event (fighting the Headless Horseman), you will meet up to four other players who might be from other realms. Last night, I noticed our group’s healer was from a guild called “Dropped Stitches”.

The Headless Horseman

After the fight, I asked the healer, Nyanaeve, if they were a knitter. She quickly responded that she was. Immediately we both asked each other “Are you on Ravelry?” A fast giggle later, we exchanged user names. Apparently the Dreanor realm has an Alliance guild of Ravelry Knitters. I love the name! Not only a knitting reference, “Dropped Stitches” refers to beating an abomination in the game called “Stitches” (the ugly brute on the left).

"Stitches"

What a wonderful small world (of warcraft)!

Promising Musical Scholar Falls Victim to Fashion Related Head Injury

This morning I got an email from my cousin, Dmitri (aka Moosa to family from his younger years - don't ask me how he got the nickname... I just heard it and it stuck). One of my previous knitted-gift victims, he can be seen wearing the Navy Twist hat I made for my dad.

Anyway, my cousin has the same incredible knack for music that is present in his nuclear family. His considerable talent is currently being nurtured in Bennington college, set among the woodland scenery in a deliciously rural part of Vermont. What does this mean? Well, aside from him having (hopefully) the time of his life in college; he's also in a cold climate. To me this means he needs LOTS and LOTS of knitted goodies to keep him warm.

Fortunately, he doesn't seem to protest. In fact, he indulges me by asking that I make him some goodies. This past summer while he was at home in Santa Monica for a few weeks, he went and selected some yarn he liked. My job was to turn it into hats with cables (he liked the hat I made which ended up being a chemo-cap for his mother, Aunt Randi). This was just as I was finishing my purse project, and soon my needles turned out two hats for him.




Well, as I was saying earlier (much earlier), warm fuzzies ensued this morning when I got the following email:

Dania,

My hats are so beautiful!! Thank you so much! Whenever I wear them and say my cousin made them they stop and say "wow, really??" They're quite awesome.

How you doin? Fall colors are SO unfortunate, I have to look outside my window and see all these glowing gradations between red and orange and yellow, and then see brilliant sunsets at the end of the day. Sometimes, when it's really shitty, there's snow on the mountains on a clear day, and you can see the colors and the snow. Shit.

Hope you're doing well, and thank you SO much for the beautiful hats (I bother my girlfriend by wearing them both at once, then rolling up the bottoms and clowning around)

Muah!
-Moosa

If you're interested in the patterns, the red hat was made using Cherry colored Red Heart yarn and Lizzy Grant's Garmish pattern (Click here for the Pattern if you're a member of ravelry). The second hat was made using Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice in Olive done in a pattern by Nancy Hand called Cabled Hat (again, click here for the pattern if you're a ravelry memeber) I found on Ravelry. A bit of warning though... that particular pattern wasn't as well written as I would like and on quite a bit of it I had to fake it. Still, for being a free pattern it's got some amazing cables, and was very close to what I imagined my cousin had in mind.




While I'm busy patting myself on the back for churning out those two projects relatively quickly; it should be noted that I also promised him a scarf that has yet to come into existence. Personally, I do hope I manage to get it done before he graduates, but no guarantees. Heehee, oops.

To Die Four

Sorry about the pun, but this dice bag is to die for. Since my brother plays Dungeons and Dragons, it seemed natural to make this dice bag for him. He desperately wanted it to be stiff enough to acutally roll whenever he needed a four sided die. Alas, Ray, me thinks that this little baby has a few too many human errors and modifications to be a fair roll.

Anyway, it took a bit of math, some embroidery thread (I probably could have gotten away with yarn though), a zipper, and a little over an afternoon, but I succeeded in making him a little happier in his weekly adventures.

Again, I found this amazing pattern from on Ravelry from a person who posted it for free. If you're interested in making it or checking out the original, it's here via livejournal (thank you klayre53!).

Lana's Blanket

   My Aunt Lana lives in Redondo Beach above a bluff over looking the pacific ocean. It’s gorgeous, if you don’t mind the 150 yards (mostly vertical) that separate you from the beach (and ant-like people) below. Every year, she shares her good fortune by having everyone come by for the 4th of July to watch the fireworks (one of her neighbors hires a barge full of ‘em).

   As I sat there watching the waves crash down below us; I noticed it was a bit chilly, despite it being July. With Lana being amazing and playing hostess every year, it seemed like a nice idea to make her a gift that was reminiscent of the view she loves so much.

For so many reasons I chose to use acrylic yarn. It’s washable, inexpensive, I don’t have to worry about dye lots, and I could get the colors I wanted. And thank goodness it’s inexpensive, since I was holding two strands of worsted weight throughout making it sort of a bulky weight. I saw in a catalog where colors gentle shifted into one another by holding one strand of the old color and one strand of the new color you’re transitioning to.

I chose a stitch pattern from one of the stitchionaries I have that reminded me of waves.

Erickson the Red

Doesn’t he instill fear in your very soul? I know... growing up as a kid, my brother used to make me scared all the time. Though after we both became teenagers, my brother actually became one of my closest friends. So, when I saw this pattern for a baklava with a beard, and specifically the modified version made by Davitron and TricotChico (which combined the bakalva with Chile con Yarne's viking hat pattern), I knew I would have to make at least one.

It took me forever to find the perfect heather yarn for the beard. It’s this amazing red with a bit of blond and brown fibers as well. In short, it’s ideal for my brother (hey, we’re part Swedish) and he’s kind of a dirty blond (especially since he’s a greasy gamer guy at times).

Aside from those wonderful horns, there is an i-cord brim where the helmet meets the beard. Oh, and Velcro attaches the various mustaches so that he can change them as his mood varies. 1900’s ‘stach? No problem! Need that handlebar ‘stach, brother (said in gruffy prison voice)? It’s right there.

I completed this little gem for my brother while we were on vacation in Estes Park Colorado. As we were driving around I put the finishing touches on it. I got one of the best compliments of my life as Ray wore it around as we were touring a lake: A random tourist stopped my brother to take a picture of him wearing it. DEAR GOD... DOES IT GET ANY BETTER? Seriously, an unintended compliment like that is balm to this knitter’s soul!

Oh, and interestingly enough, we were staying at Valhalla Resort when I finished it.