Happy Hedgehog Day!

Nyyyyaaaaaah

Yes, that's right, the length of our winters was originally predicted by hedgehogs! During Roman times, in fact! Actually, I don't think people believed in it, even back then... but at least you got to see a cute hedgehog nose, right.

I'm celebrating with some older pictures of baby girl, before she went to her new home! She's happy and healthy, so is her brother :) I'm so proud. Anyway, enjoy.

Oh, and about knitting... yeah. I'm working on things. I promise.

FLCL Hat

I know, I know, it's been a while since I posted a pattern up! Here it is.

FLCL Hat

I go to RIT, home of a lot of anime fans. One of my friends on floor was talking to me one day and the subject of knitted cosplay came up. What would I make? Oh man, Naota's hat from FLCL! And thus this was born. A good gift for the FLCL fan in your life, or just someone who likes their ears warm.

Happy New Year!

So, this picture is all of my knitting projects from 2009... WHAT? REALLY? I only did 12 things!? It felt like way more than that... Whoa. Well, it makes sense I guess, because I didn't include a few projects that I didn't have pictures of or didn't feel like posting.

For history's sake, I'll label the pictures.

First Row: A patch of a quilt that I wanted to make before I got bored, Hat for my ex-roomie, Mother Bear that looks like a panda, Selbu Modern for Mommy
Second Row: Kitten Mittens, Bird One and Bird Two, Intertwined Leaves Socks
Third Row: Jaywalker socks for Warren, Octopus for Ben, A hat that I have since given to my mother, and Knucks with christmas trees on them.

Unincluded:
~My selbu modern hat for Taylor, because I never took a picture of the finished thing! Whoops!
~A hat I made for a girl on my floor in the spring, since I never took a picture of that, either.
~The Dude Socks.
~ A sock that I've been making that I really would like to submit somewhere but I need to get the kinks out of the pattern.
~Unfinished things: Ashley's Socks, A FLCL Hat for a guy on my floor, socks for my Uncle.

I have a lot of goals for 2010- It's gunna be big!

1. Make Hooks and Needles more awesome- which will be hard :P I know we're working on a pattern book, which will be awesome!
2. Work on some more original designs. I started strong that the beginning of the year, but I feel like I straggled when school started. I still have a hundred and ten ideas, but I just need to get it done!
3. Of course, maybe make something for myself... I got very close at the beginning of school, when I made a simple hat to wear to class. Then my mom coveted and I gave it to her over Thanksgiving break. Not that I'm bitter! She wears it everywhere!
4. And of course, try to stay on the topic of Knit Amigurumi...

What are your 2010 goals?

Happy Day After Christmas!

As a Christmas present to the world, I took some pictures of the hedgehogs! The babies eyes opened on Monday, and today when we cleaned their cage they played in my mom's bathtub. Okay, so I videotaped them playing and Warren cleaned the cage. Details.

Baby Girl was kind of a fussguss, but Baby Boy was very curious and friendly! Both of them like to gum hands, which might be a problem when they get teeth but is just adorable now. You can tell them apart because Baby Girl is bigger, and Baby Boy has brown hands and feet. Also, Baby Girl is more of a Momma's Hog, following Lotus around and calling for her if she's alone to long. Baby Boy is more independent and mellow. Sorry the lighting is kind of crummy, I thought it was bright but you can't really see their eyes.

Also, after they went back into the cage, Baby Girl went right to sleep in their blanket, but Baby Boy tried to stay up to explore the new cage! Lotus attempted to control him, but he fought her off and ran about, being very spoiled, which is unusual for him. It's actually usually the opposite. Anyway, after Lotus got a hold of him she ran on the wheel with him in her mouth, which he took like a trooper. When she does it with his sister, Baby Girl usually screams like the world is going to end.

P.S. - All of my Christmas knitting was finished, except of course the socks for Ashley and the socks for my uncle. I'm knitting my uncle's socks two at a time though, so they should be done readily!

As Advent Starts, I'm Seeing Stars!

Soon it'll be December first, which means that the days to knit up Christmas presents are fading fast. This year I've set a lofty goal of four presents, one of which must be finished (the others being surprises or gifts for understanding friends!).

The most important project this year is a pair of fingerless gloves for my sweetie. He's wanted these a lot, and I'm pretty proud of them! The first is almost finished, so I'm not exactly racing against the clock but if I don't finish it, I know that I'll never live it down... hehe. Everyone has someone like that they knit for I think.

My second favorite project is, of course, a sock. It's a slightly modified version of the Rapunzel Stocking from Knit 1 magazine... but this stocking is beastly. The heel is completely fucked, to put it gently. I don't wnat to complain about it now. Although the going is tough, Ashley will understand if I don't finish it- and she'll appreciate the cable-lace pattern and picot edging on the cuff :)

For my cousin, I'm making a hat like the one that I made for my mom for her birthday. My mom told me that my cousin was seriously jealous of her hat, so I decided to make it again... eeks! I hope I'll be able to finish it, but she doesn't know that I'm making it so, I shouldn't suffer if I don't meet my deadline. I really like these two colors!

My last project is a pair of socks for my uncle. They're just going to be plain, hand knit socks. I know he'll like them... he's been having a tough time for the past two years, since my grandmother and uncle died.

So there you go, my crazy December. I also would really like to make my mom a new hat, the one that's in the Alice and Wonderland spread in the current Vogue Knitting. I LOVE all of those patterns to death!

Glad you appreciate the updates. Here's some doodles from the meeting I had earlier today.

I find strange things at school o_o

In Occupational Health, we're covering toxicology and dermatoses. I needed to look up if keratin was involved in botanical disease response, and ended up finding this site.

The Skin Rash Hall of Fame

Ew, right? But oddly fascinating...

In other news, I'm not really knitting anything. I'm spending most of my time working or searching for a Co-op! If you want to hire me, let me know, haha.

(P.S. - I also found this site on pathology which actually helped a little bit, even though I still got the quiz question wrong.)

Octopus!

For my birthday, my bff Ashley gave me a copy of "Amigurumi Knits" by Hansi Singh. Let me say, that's an awesome book. My first project from it is... the common octopus! I made it for the secretary of Hooks and Needles, whose birthday was yesterday :)


While making this cute little guy, I realized how much I missed knitting (having knit barely anything over the summer...) and how much I missed making dolls. They're so quick to make... so easy... so admired by other people. I guess the reason I originally fell away from knitting amigurumi was because I ran out of ideas... which is a pretty pitiful excuse, if you ask me.

Also, in making this dear, sweet cephalopod, I've realized a technique that I've been totally underutilizing in making my own amigurumi- short rows. I've got to get on these, internet!