My weekend in pictures!

This weekend I went to sunny Philedelphia with my friend from high school.  We didn't do a ton - we just saw the Philly Art Museum and hung out at her aunt's house, but that was more than enough! I was too tired to drive all the way home yesterday, and so I went to bed early at woke up at 5 today to get to work.  Even worse idea than driving at night... because now I'm so tired! Boo!

But we did see some totally awesome things! The coolest being this painting by Van Eyke:

It may look unimpressive, but it was so tiny! About the size of my hands! The curator said that it was painted with a brush of two hairs...

And this photoshopped gate.  Yes, I did commit a horrible faux pas, as soon as I saw this painting I said... 

..."That gate looks totally 'shopped."

Though I have to admit that my friend said something equally funny, when we saw this altarpiece...

 ..."There's a bird trying to steal her hair!"

I love how the two of us did extremely well in Art History class, I got a 5 on the AP and I think she got a 4... if not a 5.  And now, 3-4 years later, we're in a museum poking fun at altarpieces. Hey, we did appreciate some stuff! They had some great impressionist works (I'm sorry that the Renoir exhibit wasn't open yet, because that will be AWESOME!) and some cool non-western art as well. Here's my top three (besides the Van Eyke, but photgraphs can't do that stuff justice, it's like Dali or Color Field paintings, you have to be there.)

Lotus spent the weekend at her grandmother's.  I'm such a typical teenage mom, dropping my hedgehog child onto her grandmother.  Both of them like it, though, I think.  At least, Mommy's never complained and Lotus has a whole room of her own, with a bed with piles of blankets to dig in.

  She was sooo happy last night, but she got grumpy as soon as I tried to get her under the light to take her photo.  I asked her "Don't you want to be famous on the internet!?" and she only replied by curling up into a ball and hissing.  She wouldn't stop, even when I put her back on her mountain of blankets.  So I decided she was done with playing and she went back in her cage, where she knocked her bowl over and then had me put it back, knock it over, put it back, until I finally gave up and went to bed.

Well, now I'm going to go back to work, then home to go to bed. Have a great week!

Time to Guard Your Stash

What better way to scare those evil spirits from your stash than a gargoyle? Knit up this one from Devon Monk and rest easy.

Free Pattern: Wooper

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Silken Teddy Bears

It's Wednesday, and you know what that means, amigurumi!
Also, I will be making some changes to the layout sometime today (probably after five) so if you visit around then and things look... off... I'm experimenting!

Anyway, this cute teddy caught my eye when I saw mildawg's finished project here.  (Hers looks much better than the photo, I think).

Know of some cute free knit amigurumi or toys on a blog, website, or ravelry? Send me an e-mail and I'll feature it!

We're having a party, there will be cake.

Specifically, this cake from bad metaphor.  Have a good weekend!

You'll never roam alone!

... With this travelling gnome pattern, by Raynor at Knitted Toy Box (adopted from the Simply Gnome! pattern from this lovely blog here. )

The tortoise and the... elephant?

I saw this turtle on ravelry and felt sad because I have a policy to not do ravelry links (out of courtesy for those that don't use/have/want it)  So hoe psyched was I when I found out that he's on her blog, along with a cute elephant! From knittybutton.

For those in your life who like to make noise.

What a great idea! A Bottle Rocket shaker toy made from yarn (of course) and a plastic soft drink bottle! From Running Jack Knits. Too cute :)

Look familiar?

I think this bear seriously resembles something designed by Rebecca Danger, what do you think? Yet another addition to the Lion Brand Pattern Library.

In other news, I'm at McDonald's and not knitting much due to getting Pokemon HeartGold as an Easter gift. I'm 19 years old, okay!? That's young enough to still play pokemon...

Does anyone who reads me...

... Speak Norwegian? Because, if they did, and also spoke English, and translated this, I'm pretty sure they would win the internet.  From mimounas hobbyblogg.

P.S. - for some reason I can't link the picture, but I'm posting this at lunch and don't have time to figure it out.

Itsy Bitsy!

Isn't this spider cute? Erm, I mean, creepy? Icky? However you feel about apiders. From ChemKnits.

What could be better than eggs...?

Baby Chicks hatching from them, DUH!
These adorable idea is from knittycat's tips.

Bunnies!

Sorry for the lack of posting. I still don't have internet in my new apartment. (I'm posting this from my mom's computer as she does my laundry. Independence is so hard!)

Anyway, these bunnies are super cute, super easy, and kind of remind me of totoro. Maybe that's just because, without internet or cable for a while week, I've just watched Miyazaki films on my laptop. Porco Rosso, anyone? Anyway, check them out on the barbarian horde, and if you don't hear from me for another week, you now know why.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program!

If you were wondering, I'm doing well, though not settled in yet! I start my internship on Monday :) Until then, maybe you could make a pocket-sized robot from kat knits.

Dino the Dinosaur!

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Little Blue Bear, Come Blow Your Horn...

I don't know why I chose that title. I'm having a strange week, so don't ask why it was the first thing I thought of when I saw this Bear from Susan Dennis.

What Little Boy Wouldn't Want One?

And I'm not being sarcastic. This knit chinook is pretty sweet, from Trying to Grok.

Howdy!

Check out this cute monkey from Haun'Knittit! I love his little mouth, I see him as kind of gaping in surprise/awe. What do you think? She also has a cutie octopus!

In other news, I have a big job interview on Monday! Wish me luck please :)

Speaking of Elephants...

I decided to be a little backwards this week. Instead of searching ravelry by recently published... why not go back in time and see what I missed? Well, I found something! This garter stitch elephant is such a cute design, the pattern doesn't have any pictures but from the 93 projects on ravelry, I guess he's quite the looker.

OHMY! That's so cute!

I don't know if you've noticed, but I've tried to keep up the policy of not having ravelry downloads on this site -- mostly because I don't want to leave out people that read this blog that don't have a rav account. This is too adorable though! If you only get a ravelry account just to get this cute little elephant, I would understand. I think the rest of the 'rumi would would, too!

Help for Haiti

I know that the vast majority of you who read my blog have access to the internet, so you've probably heard about the earthquake in Haiti. What can I do? You ask. I don't want to give money to a scam and I would like an incentive to give, because who doesn't? I understand, and so do a few designers you might want to buy from!

If you buy their designs via ravelry, these designers will donate a portion of the proceeds to relief in Haiti!






Bob the Dog is a very cute retro design rewritten for the modern knitter by Kristen Rengren of Retroknit Design.


Kristen will be donating 50% of the sale price of this pattern.









Look who else is involved! Ysolda Teague, don't pretend you don't know her, is donating half the sale price of her beautiful toys, Smith, Mousie, Wee Mushrooms, and the famous Elijah. Until January 31st, the donations will go to Médecins Sans Frontières.



















Until February 15th, Tanya Brooks is donating $2 of every sale of her cute little ChiChi will go to the relief effort! She's trying to get a match from her husband's employer, which would be pretty cool.










Last but definitely not least, Jennifer Small of Blue Canary Creations is donated all of the sales from her Farmer's Market to relief efforts until January 31st! Wow! That's quite the bargain, especially for so many objects in one pattern :)






I know this is a blog about free patterns, but you don't mind, right? What better reason to buy something then "it's for a good cause!" If you're in the buying mood but don't feel like buying toys, maybe you should look at the other patterns labeled "Help for Haiti" on ravelry.

Snowmen!

I was just starting to get into the winter mood, then the rain came and melted a good portion of the Rochester snow! At least now maybe I can make up my own snowperson who will last well into summer, rain be damned! From Old Habits New, in both English and Dutch!

FLCL Hat

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Who doesn't like fruit?

These scrumptous looking pears hail from Susan B Anderson of Spud Says!, the blog for Spud and Chloe yarns. So, on top of a free pattern, you can oogle some good-looking yarn candy... There goes my afternoon!

Deck the Halls!

Have you ever heard of kawaii not? W and I bought a copy at Barnes and Nobles ages ago, and spent hours laughing over it! Definitely a good gift. Anyway, Raynor from Knitted Toy Box has adapted an adorable knitted mistletoe, from this pattern inspired by this comic.

You can hang in that special doorway. Or above a certain someone's chair. Or the sink. Or that place where he always drops groceries right on the dining room table before running out to the car to get some more... you get the idea.

One Swanky Hog

People who know me personally know that I have a soft spot for hedgehogs. Lotus, my sweetie's and my baby, had little hoglets about two weeks ago. They don't look as smart as this guy, though, from the forums at Craftster. They're not as huggable either. And I'm not quite sure we can keep them... :( *gloom*

Knit Amigurumi List!

I feel like this will make life ever so easier for people that visit this blog.
I've been meaning to make this list for a while, and I hope to keep it updated :)

Animals:
Alligator
Bear, Koda, from Petite Pearls
Bee
Bird
Cat
Cat from the Lazy Knitter
Camel
Garter Stitch Elephant
Kawaii Elephant
Frog
Goldfish
Hedgehog
Lamb, from Petite Pearls
Moth
Mouse
Monkey
Moose
Rabbit by Raynor
Rabbit By Rebecca Danger
Scorpion
Snail/Slug
Ziggy and Boing

Objects:
Mistletoe
Rocket Ship from Adventures of Thomas
Rocket Ship from CaffaKnitted
Sea Anemone
Snow Men

Food:
Cherry
Cupcakes
Eggs
Fortune Cookies
Lobster
Mushrooms
Pears
Pie
Radishes
Apple, Peach, Banana
Peas, Pizza, Cake, Tofu, Poptarts

Monsters:
Xlormp
Dinosaurs

Namesakes:
Boots from Dora the Explorer
Futurama Brain Slug
Little Red Riding Hood, from Petite Pearls
Rufus the Leprechaun
Stinky Cheese Man
Tiny Santa

Winter Magazine Round-Up!

As you may know, Knitty, Petite Purls, and Twist Collective have all come out with their winter issues. Squee! Knitting doesn't have much in the doll department this year (except for a water bottle cover, which is cute but... not quite, knitty.) and Twist Collective isn't free, so they're not quite in the scope of this often off-topic blog.


Petite purls, though, has three adorable patterns for your knitting pleasure:

The first is Koda, a snuggly bear.
The second is little red riding hood!
The third is a cute little lamb! :)

Of course, all of these online zines are worth a look-over, even if you only knit amigurumi. I personally spend at least an hour an issue pouring over twist and keeping myself from buying every pattern.

Don't even talk to me about my projects- it's a week from Christmas!!! AHHH!!!

I haven't posting in a MONTH!

Is school really that busy? It doesn't feel like it. Also, I've barely finished a single project and I haven't spotted any good Ami on Ravelry.

Picture from Down Cloverlaine

But I thought I'd update with this awesome modification to my Kitten Mittens! Cloverlaine from ravelry made this mittens from the bottom up for her grandchildren. How adorable!! So now, if you didn't want to make them top down, you can do it her way here.

Don't forget to thank Elaine for her helpful mod and to check out some of her adorable designs, especially the ones for bibs... they are so awesome!

I've noticed that for some reason, I am backwards! I like making mittens top-down and socks toe-up. Not that everyone is the opposite, but most of the people I'm close to are! I wonder how I got that way...

Moose!

Photo Copyright Pattern Designer

I know I've been a tad bad at publishing 'Rumi, but I thought I'd put this guy up. He's adorable, isn't he!? Make sure you leave a word at Wife "Mom" Knitter thanking her for this design!

Armadillos!

<3 <3 <3 <3

That's all I have to say. I LOVE ARMADILLOS! Make sure that you click the link in the post to get the pattern :)

Praise the knitting gods, and the lovely Gabybou de Punto blog!

Radishes

This Cozy Life put up a lovely pattern for radishes! Makes me hungry...

Sugar Bunny!

The lovely Raynor has once again given everyone a lovely pattern for everyone <3

Enjoy this lovely little bunny!

Blast off!

Who doesn't want to sail to the stars? Caffaknitted even provides you with your own spaceman!

Simply Knitting!

I often have a horrible fear that those magazines wrapped in plastic at the grocery store will be a huge disappointment. They can't let you see inside! How do I know that I REALLY want that pattern?

In a way, the same thing happened the other day at Barnes and Nobles. I saw a magazine wrapped in plastic... but with a pattern for a knit cake inside. Hmm. I bought it, found out how easy the cake was, and hit myself in the head for spending $10.50.

But then I realized that this magazine- Simply Knitting- had so much more stuff inside it.
True, the patterns leave something to be desired, but if you're truely obsessed (comme moi) you'd probably find Simply Knitting a fun read.


Reveiw breakdown:
P(s pattern)= (2/8)=25%Overall, the patterns were a little disappointing. I really liked this hat, though! Bulky is in. The other pattern I liked was a cute little baby dress, and a shrug for a small child... but the shrug was CROCHET.

Nonsenicalness= 1- This may be attributed to the fact that it's British, but a few of the stuff in this magazine didn't make any sense. There was an add encouraging you to order back issues, but according to the chart, all back issues were sold out EXCEPT THIS ONE. Also, there's a module titled "Sheep of the Month."

Interestingness= 5- "Sheep of the Month," while a little confusing, is still pretty interesting. Also, this magazine had a TON of fiber-related stuff, from yarn reviews to blog reviews to a knitting horoscope. Oh, not to mention a designer spotlight, articles on interesting charity projects, and HELPFUL yarn reviews. (Personally, I think a yarn review without a swatch is pointless.)Oh, need I bring up the fact that they have discount codes for buying yarn from the distributors that sell their product? It almost makes $10.50 worth it.

My overall review: four stars, but don't bother buying the magazine for the patterns.

Knit a scarf: hug a tree

Knit a scarf: hug a tree

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Interweave Summer Preview

Okay, so usually I don't subscribe to magazines, touting them all over oblivion. There are a few online blogs that I love, but sometimes I find a magazine and just want to die. It's the same for books: sometimes, you just see one thing and you have to have it.

That's what happened ten short minutes ago when I read Knitting Daily today. Turns out, the Summer Preview is out on their website.

I fell in love with this lovely mesh lace tank, and had to dig deeper.Then I found these two gorgeous garmets, the Great Gatsby Dress and the Luminarie Skirt:

My verdict: I haven't even go the magazine in my hands and I love it. I'm going to preorder as soon as that paycheck deposits...

Mouse!

I love keeping up to date on the knitted toys of the interweb, and I think this might just be as fresh as it gets. This adorable mouse from the yarnigans

Enjoy.

MPMK SPRING!

Please take a moment to heed my all-caps header and look at MPMK's spring issue. Enjoy the lovely drawings as they model high fashion knits. Enjoy the socks made by yours truly. Make them. Wear them. And don't laugh at my picture, it was seriously the only decent one that wasn't of my feet.

Oh, and make sure you check out my ravelry page and, for those not in the ravelry world, my flickr feed for some exclusive dude action shots.

If you are one of those kind of people that... enjoy... sock action shots...

Studies Show, Danger Turns People On.

... You know what should be turning you on, internet? Rebecca Danger.

You may be asking so many questions right now. "Who's Rebecca Danger?" "Oh, yeah, that awesome Etsy shop... I thought you only did free things?"

Well, guess what internet, this is free. :)

At first I saw this as a ravelry pattern. I contemplated it, then rejected it as I do most ravelry patterns, in an attempt to not alienate those people who have yet to experience the joy of ravelry.

Then today when I was supposed to be doing homework, I thought, "Why not?"

Then I found out that it's not just on ravelry! You can find it on her blog, too :)
So, you know, now everyone can bring some danger into their lives. Make sure you keep on top of this one, perhaps she'll be sending out more swag as time goes by.


(*Number of times this post has included a pun on the word danger: 2. I could have been worse. Anyway, I love her enough to tease her.)

Yellow Center, Crunchy Shell... <3

Well, I'm not exactly big on the eggs. Yeah, they're good for you, and blah blah blah but for some reason, I can't eat them without gagging.

Luckily, I could knit these eggs from Curly Purly all night long, oh yeah!

Also, check out this tribute to eggs.

WHooo!

The new knitty is up, I'm always the last to post it, I know! Anyway, I've been crazy busy with school, it's unbelievable... but hopefully I can schedule in more knitting soon.

Anyway, they have included this awesome mobile! Check it out!

Of course, you can't forget the lovely, gorgeous socks and shawls and... *falls over content* It's all so beautiful.

Kitten Mittens

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PIE! Mmmm...

It's been ten weeks since I've had food that's not from the campus. This pie is taunting me, I want to eat it. It just looks so good! Wah!

Anyway, this is also a rogue link, as I found absolutely no way of contacting the designer on crumpart.net ... I can't een tell you who the designer is, other than she's female and lives in Australia, and may or may not be married. All this from snooping through her blog, etsy store, and encountering about 10 different dead links on her website. I tried! There are some names at the bottom of the pattern, but I can't really tell who took the photos and who wrote the pattern.

There's my rant. Make some pie.

XLORMP!

So I'm a little behind on my pattern posting, mostly because I'm a nice person and I ask permission from people before linking to them. Poster's etiquette, I guess. Anyway, sometimes certain notifications get sent to certain bulk folders in certain email accounts, and I get angry. I may change my ways soon and just send a courtesy link in the future, I don't really know though. Any thoughts out there?

Anyway, here's a real cutie. I think he's just crazy adorable, yes? Mmm, crazy adorable. Brought to you by The Most Popular Book in the World. Read it!

Happy almost midnight! I've been sick recently, so I've been sleeping and waking at strange hours. And throwing up. My favorite thing to throw up: Chocolate cake mixed with white tea crystal light. Try it some time.

Anemone Your Enenemy!

Okay, have you ever heard of Andrew Pants? DO IT NOW.


Another thing you have to do is check out this awesome creation. No lie. It is a real knit sea anemone from Beth Skwarecki, the lady who brought you Nautie, if you read Knitty.

And why I have an Andrew Pants song in my head :(

It ain't easy being green!

So, I'm totally crazy for this adorable frog! Isn't it cute? I just want to eat him up, he reminds me of a little jelly bean... s'aww! This is brought to you by the lovely Rachel at Knit Party.

When will this madness end!?

Yeah, so, even though everyone I know is starting up the new semester, RIT is mid-quarter, and I've got the midterm blues. Bah humbug!

Anyway, check out this crazy stuff. It makes me wish I was in Texas, because that would be an awesome exhibit to see....

http://homepage.mac.com/esbradford/Menu3.html

Yeah, I'm even too lazy to hide the link in the text. That's how swamped I am.