#this isn't my first time picking up a crochet hook and crocheting but this is my first actual single crochet

[uncanny-tranny]

The most fulfilling thing about art (and why I'm so passionate about it as a concept) is just knowing that this is a piece of you entering this world and being born, and it's as imperfect, messy, and human as you are.

Like, this is my first single crochet, and look at it!

It's lumpy and not even whatsoever, but that came out of my hands. It is, essentially, not unlike a toddler who has just learned to walk with uneasy legs. Would you punish a toddler for toddling, for being unsteady and unrefined? Then why is it that we must punish ourselves for being in what is essentially that same state? Create, even if you cannot run with it. You can still walk with it. You can still crawl with it. But, create

#art #crochet #described images #image description in alt #a lovely lovely crochet youtuber helped me by uploading a video too (it was overwhelming to watch her crochet with me though) #i am going to be so mentally ill about this by the way #i wish i hadn't picked up this acrylic yarn but i got it because it was yellow and so bright and happy-looking #plus it's one of those yarns that come in the huuuuge skeins #my grandma had so many of those skeins and they always fascinated me #this isn't my first time picking up a crochet hook and crocheting but this is my first actual single crochet #whereas i always stopped at a chain #i always talk about how important all of this is but it still feels vulnerable #i was in So Much Pain sitting on my bed to do this 😭

[starchaserwrites]

@jegulus-microfic / march 14: choice / word count: 558

Stab it, strangle it, scoop out its gut, throw it off a cliff... it repeats over and over in his mind. 

Four chains, three double crochet, three chains, repeat four times...

The first few times Pandora tried to teach him how to crochet were a total failure. The wool got tangled, the stitches were either too loose or too tight and picking up the crochet hook was a problem on its own. But since he learned to crochet, Regulus takes his knitting wherever he goes. 

Today in particular, he has taken it upon himself to bring extra balls of wool, as he intends to be productive in the nearly three hours it will take him to travel by train from Liverpool to London to visit his estranged brother after nearly five years. And no, of course Regulus isn't nervous. That he's gripping his crochet needle tighter than necessary and knitting furiously has nothing to do with it. He doesn't even notice when the seat next to him is taken. 

One, two, three... nine double crochets, his hands move skilfully creating new rows.

He has been trying to finish this tote bag for an eternity and... What the hell is that?

There are no mistakes in knitting, only design variations, the voice of his best friend echoes in his head.

Well, clearly Regulus made a mistake several rows back that's making his granny square look more like a rectangle, and there is no way to make it look intentional. With a huff, he has no choice but to start pulling the wool to undo his failed progress.

"No!" an urgent voice protests from his right side, leaving him confused.

Regulus turns his head slowly, scowling and ready for a confrontation, which is quickly forgotten when a pair of warm, honey-brown eyes open wide and stare back at him. Regulus frowns even more deeply.

"I'm sorry! I swear I didn't mean to intrude, but it's just that you were doing something beautiful and you took it apart so fast I couldn't help myself and-" the man continues speaking hurriedly but Regulus is more focused on the way a lone curl of brown hair covers part of his forehead, and his hands itch eagerly to touch it to find out if it's as soft as it looks. 

"Yeah, never mind," is all the answer he gives before resuming his knitting slightly flushed.

Three chains, three double crochets-

"Where did you learn how to do that? I mean, crocheting. It's really cool, you got me hooked, you know what I mean?"

Regulus stares at him for a long moment refusing to let the ridiculous phrase have any effect on him. 

The right corner of his lips betrays him and rises against his will.

"My name is James. Oh, and I need your surname to know-" Regulus merely covers James' mouth with one hand and his own face with the other.

"We'll see about the last name. I'm Regulus, and please stop saying all those embarrassing things."

It's safe to say that Regulus invested his nearly three hour journey very well getting to know this now not-longer-stranger... but once again he didn't finish the bag. 

And well, big is their surprise when they find out that they are going to the same place to see the same person, but that's a different story.

In case you are wondering about the crocheting chant

#ode to my own uncompleted tote bag #jegulus #regulus black #james potter #starchaser #sunseeker #james x regulus #jegulus microfic #microfics #marauders #len writes

[good-prog]

First hat!

I was inspired by a friend in FFXIV that always runs around with the Flannel Knit Cap as part of his glam to create something for him irl. (I wanted something fancier than ribbing, hence the cables).

Project dates: 2024/01/15-01/17 (plus a few days for blocking)

Pattern is the Imperial Stout Cap from Tammy Kirschner.

Yarn is Malabrigo Rios in Sand Bank (from a local yarn store). I really liked the color + stitch definition. When I was working on the ribbed section, I noticed that small inconsistencies (e.g., putting down/picking up my work between rows) would show because of it; thankfully, once the piece is considered as a whole (and because of the cables), any tension issues are obscured by the pattern.

Since the cable was just 2x2, I used the opportunity to try to wean myself off of the cable needle. I was somewhat successful (though still prone to twisting stitches), but I would be more comfortable using the cable needle for wider cables. Through that process, I learned that dropping stitches isn't actually that scary, and can easily be fixed with a crochet hook.

I'm not sure what the proper procedure is when knitting on circulars; I started with a 16" cable, then swapped it out for a 48" cable once I got to the crown (and continued working in magic loop). To be honest, I'm a bit worried about laddering with the magic loop method, but it didn't seem to be an issue once I was done.

After knitting/crocheting with acrylic for so long, the softness of the yarn was quite satisfying, and frankly, spoiled me for future projects. I'll definitely try to invest more in good yarns for wearables if I can!

Images depict hat before and during blocking (stretched over a latex balloon).

Despite my friend's reminder about superwash yarn's tendency to grow when wet, I didn't make any changes to the pattern to accommodate. Regardless, my first time wet blocking went fairly smoothly! I was surprised by how delicate the wet fabric was, and was afraid I would damage it when stretching it over my balloon support. I know a lot of fiber artists dislike blocking (like hemming for sewists), but I think getting the tension to even itself out is quite satisfying.

#knitting #hat #knitblr #closed tab

[vin-robles]

Character Info Sheet

Tagged by: @apexulansisTagging: I don't know who's even active on here anymore, so if you see this, consider yourself tagged, you lucky ducky.

Name: Vinley Nidena Robles

Name Meaning: "Dirt". As in the literal thing. Not the loftier, more spiritual concept of "earth".

Alias: Vin. Call her "Vinnie" and she'll make sure you have regrets about this.

Ethnicity: Midoan. Of Mido. From the planet, Mido. She used to live in a forest somewhere. That's about as specific as she gets.

Pictures You Like Best of Your Character: I'm too lazy to pick through my folders so I'll grab what I already have here despite it being so ungodly old.

Three Headcanons You've Never Told Anyone:

Vin has dislocated her shoulder in the process of trying to lick her own elbow. Twice.

When she was a kid, Vin had dreams of eventually moving to the city and becoming a radio star. Her mom pretty much shamed her out of this one. Some shit to do with abandoning the family and how wasteful and detrimental to the environment city people were.

Vin's got a couple of half-siblings running around somewhere that she doesn't know about. Same mom, different fathers. Her mom wound up settling down with Marok because he made her laugh. Like, on a regular basis. Not like that plot hook from The Golden Goose where the king gives his daughter away to the first guy to make her laugh. That would've just been dumb.

Three Things Your Character Likes Doing in Their Free Time:

Skipping rocks. Not constructive, but it kills time and she thinks it's relaxing.

Crochet. She learned it from Nena. She also finds this relaxing.

Tinkering. Mostly with her guns. Mostly so she can see how ridiculous she can make them. It's the closest thing she has to amusement that isn't just tatering out on the couch, playing video games.

Eight People Your Character Likes/Loves:

Ardaka.

Ardaka.

Ardaka.

Ardaka.

Nena.

Ardaka.

Her dad.

Ardaka.

Shut up. She's disinterested in having a ton of friends. I also maybe don't write enough for her to have any. Oopsie.

Three Things Your Character Regrets:

Kicking her little brother into the watering hole that one time. It was funny when she did it but it definitely added to the permanent chip on his shoulder.

Agreeing to go on the supply run that landed her on Sigma Rhada. Sure, she might not have met Ardaka if she hadn't gone. Or maybe she would have, just later on. Whatever the case, she couldn't have known what she was missing and she really wishes she had the cash to get back to her family already. Space travel is eye-wateringly expensive, even the cheap seats.

Accepting that first sweater from Nena. The Alpha Sweater. The beginning of the deluge. She has more sweaters than god and there's no sign of it stopping. There's no reason to even have a sweater in Neo Shousis but somehow Vin has thirty.

Two Phobias Your Character Has:

Fire. Kind of a gimme if you grew up in a village made completely of wood, with wooden foundations, at least a thousand feet off of the ground.

Being snatched off of the street. It's happened once already and she's a little bit paranoid that it'll happen again. Unrelated: Be sure to ask her about her pepper spray collection.

#|| dash games || #|| v: we communicate in waveforms || #|| meta ||

[gaviicreates]

Journeys in Amigurumi (Bingo Roll 1)

Spoiler: This was a challenge!

For my first roll of the bingo card, I got "make an amigurumi" - and as someone who is most comfortable with flat 2D projects with little sewing, I knew this one would really be taking me out of my comfort zone. I'm not happy when I have to sew, and I am incredibly not happy when I have to attempt embroidery.

I may not do a full blog post for each bingo roll, but as this is so completely new to me and a large part of this bingo is the journey, here we go!

For full disclosure, I've made ONE amigurumi project before this, and I haven't picked up the technique once since. So before we dive in - have a quick picture of where I started 12 years ago.

I had to dig some really old photo archives for this one.

This lil' guy was made to be a warbler for my fandom at the time. I am sure he was based off a pattern, but it's unlikely I'll be able to find it now. I also don't think I know where this lil birb is anymore; he's gotten lost in the shuffle of moving a few times since.

Step 1: Research

Research - Before even choosing a pattern to begin this challenge, I wanted to first understand more about amigurumi, so I took to Youtube, which is my usual place to learn all things.

For my intro to amigurumi, I started with a few channels:

LePetitSaint Crochet, especially this Amigurumi fundamentals playlist; olliehollycrochet, especially this beginner tutorial video; For inspiration, I've also found Skein Spider

There are quite a few amigurumi channels out there - these are just a few that I enjoyed across my youtube dashboard.

The next step of research was finding a pattern, and I feel as though this is the part of the rabbit hole I am going to ADORE continuing to explore.

Step 2: Practice

Before I started "the" project, I wanted to first get a sense of the tension and play around with a project. Just something small. In effort to avoid buying more materials, I took to stash busting some of my scrap cotton. For the test piece, I found the pattern Octobuddy by the blog, Sweet Softies.

As someone with already pretty tight tension, working with a smaller hook took some getting used to, but I liked the way this pattern was written - he's an adorable little Octopus, but it also helped me get used to the shaping and stuffing process. I used household cotton balls since poly-fil isn't the type of thing I just have on hand. I did end up buying some for the final project.

This was a good exercise for me, as I started to feel comfortable with the actual crochet and using a tighter gauge. As I was sewing the eyes, I ended up pulling the cotton up or not being able to push the needle through. He was a bit overstuffed, or maybe I tried to assemble out of order, or maybe it's just my lack of sewing experience striking again.

Beyond that, the hardest part was in fact the the embroidery of the eyes, and his are quite... something. I was not originally going for the wink, but as the two sides became less uniform, I decided to lean into it. They still turned out pretty shoddy, and I can NOT stand doing this. I told myself never again, but for another spoiler... I did it again.

My Octobuddy might still be a bit overstuffed, but he's super squishy and relaxing to squeeze, just like a stress ball, the perfect size for my palm. So he's been hanging with me at my work desk.

Step 3: Do the thing

I won't say I was ready for the next thing, per se, but I also wasn't getting anywhere just looking at the cool things that could be made with this technique. So why not jump right in?

For my actual pattern selection, I chose "Hubble" by Projectarian, available on ravelry. I love me an aquatic creature, and it called to me that not only was this pattern free, it also came with a beginner friendly pdf, quick reference, and an entire selection of written tips for the new-to-amigurumi crafter.

Squid time!

Again, I wanted to use up scraps, so my first challenge with this pattern was adjusting it for the yarn weight I had on hand to use. As a result, the eyes were made with a way too tight tension. The pattern called for some crochet for the sleeping pupil lines, but there was no way I was going to get my hook in there. For the second time, I took up a sewing needle and attempted embroidery. This time turned out a bit better than the Octopus. I adore how soft he looks with the brown cotton yarn I decided to use when I couldn't find black.

At some point in attaching the legs and tentacles, I did lose track of where I was - but that was on me since I got lazy with the stitch markers. It was so close to the end, I was able to wing it to decrease the final row and stitch up the center. Before then, I added a bit more poly-fil.

I chose not to add pom-poms at the end of the legs for the same reason as I didn't add tassels to the blanket I made. Being a mom of three dogs makes you super aware of the types of things the furbabies will get into. You should've seen their faces when I brought home the poly-fil.

But I'm ranting away and you haven't even seen him yet!!

Step 4: Finished Object!

Body: Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4 - Rosewood, 3.5mm Eyes: Hobbii Rainbow Glitter Gold 8/4 - Natural White, Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4 - Light Brown, 2.00mm Legs and Tentacles: Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4 - Rosewood, 3.25mm Pattern: Hubble the Squid by Projectarian I call him Hubblet since I made him so small. Sleeeepy squid baby.

Make an Amigurumi✔️

#gavii makes stuff #amigurumi #crochet bingo fill #crochet #crocheting #yarn crafts #stuffies

[shayberri789]

*rolls up my sleeves* if there's no fandom for technically you started it then I will BE THE ONLY ONE FUCK IT

ANYWAY I am rereading the book for the who-fucking-knows-th time since I first read it 3.5ish years ago and I have some HEADCANONS LETS GOOO

One day M goes over to Haley's early in the morning and she decides she wants pancakes. M suggests they make them and looks up a recipe. It's an absolute disaster, the first like 5 are inedible, the next 5 a mess, but they get the hang of it. By the end they're covered in chocolate and batter and giggling like schoolchildren after spending 2h together trying to make pancakes. In the end they agree it's the best they've ever had

Haley's parents have definitely adopted M as one of their own. They treat him as if he's part of the family. Haley is deeply embarrassed but M loves it. They let him sleep over whenever he wants, but he can't go in Haley's room. He'll occasionally join in on family game nights, and the Hancock's and M will play their games and go on raids together. They're all a powerful team

At one point, M has to make a hard decision and is upset. He doesn't want to go home so he goes to Haley's instead. She isn't home, but her dad is, and he gives M a hug and tells him he's proud of him. It makes M break down and cry because his dad rarely says he's proud of him, and he didn't know how badly he needed it

Afterwards he gathers up his courage and has a heart to heart with his father afterwards. Their relationship improves a bit

M's mother adores Haley. Chuck doesn't quite know what to make of her, but they eventually end up in a three hour conversation about geology and architecture

Martin and Haley attend pride together. Haley makes a new aspec friend and finally has someone who understands how she feels (more than even M and Lexi)

M goes on a family trip with his dad overseas, but Haley isn't able to come with. She promises M a real wacky adventure this time. She, Lexi and their new aspec friend end up on a road trip across the state to see an attraction and keep getting into Shenanigans - like that time Lexi got stuck in a restaurant bathroom and had to shimmy out the back window, and the three of them had to do distraction and extraction to get lexi free from the fenced off Back Area

During their senior year, one day while M and Haley are hanging out, he finds himself stupidly bored and asks Haley to tell him about her book. She ends up reading a few chapters to him and he gets hooked. Over the next couple months, Haley reads to him several books and he finds a genre he likes and begins to read more himself, for fun, and to understand Haley's interests more

The two of them spend hours either ripping stories to shreds or analysing the fuck out of it, or coming up with theories. Some of it is stupid and some has merit, but they have great fun

When it comes time for university, M decides to minor in English literature

Haley goes into poli-sci, with electives across a wide variety of subjects

She ends up in her second year doing some tutoring, and heavily encourages M to do the same because by this point she's figured our he's good at teaching and enjoys it

M decides to give it a shot and finds out she's right - he DOES like teaching

M ends up changing majors and doing a teaching degree and becomes an English teacher and maybe something else

Haley and M still have nights where they will lay together on the couch and cuddle while they watch a show, or read to each other

Haley picks up knitting. She's awful at it but DETERMINED to get better. She doesn't quite succeed, much to chagrin

Lexi on the other hand is GREAT at crochet and teaches Haley how to do it. She has more success at this

Okay that's a lot of headcanons for tonight. I'll add more later if I come up with any while I read

#technically you started it #tysi #lana wood johnson #haley handcock #martin n munroe ii #shay posts #i love martin and haley sm #this book is srsly all that got my through my stupid history exam in 2019

[dear-ao3]

attention friends, romans and countrymen alike.

i have a question.

first of all, no, i am not dead and left my blog to run off of queue for the rest of time. i am very much alive, just now at home because the semester ended and i had to make the terrible trek up through the damned state of delaware to my home, which took far longer than it should because a prime truck decided to not deliver things with its promised next day prime shipping (smh jeffery put your back into it). and since i am now at home i am slightly sad because i can no longer see brad whenever i wish, nay, i cant even text him whenever i wish because he is off galavanting in some european country or other having a glorious time leaving me alone by myself with my dog and my squishmallow, which has since been named dino de vito so thanks for whichever one of you sent that one in.

but anyway.

my mother has been trying and failing to convince me to crochet something for brad for the last few months (which is really a feat because she only found out at thanksgiving that we were dating) and i keep declining because 1. crocheting takes a lot of time an effort, 2. it costs money and 3. you should wait awhile before you make someone something because there is every possibility that they will hate you in a few months and burn all of your hard work into ashes along with the polaroid pictures that you took in a five guys.

now brad and i have been dating for like 3.5 months, which isn't very long in the grand scheme of things, but we have lasted officially longer than taylor swift and jake gylanhaal did and considering she gave him a scarf when they had been dating for less time (yes i know they broke up and it was terrible and also the scarf is a metaphor for virginity and all of that and theres only supposed rumors that the scarf existed and she didnt make it it was one of hers anyway but the principle remains the same) i think that i can make brad a scarf.

now is this just to quell the pestering of my mother? perhaps. is this mostly because i miss my absolute himbo of a boyfriend and wont see him until january 27 because we have a stupidly obnoxiously long winter break? potentially. is winter break boredom getting to me? quite possibly. (seriously i have been home for less than 48 hours and have been covid tested 4 times in 4 days) in any case. i have decided that a scarf is in order.

will this cost me money? yes. but. i think that im getting paid one more time and also brad is a stubborn himbo with an unhealthy dose of toxic masculinity that manifests in him feeling the need to buy me literally everything ever (seriously one time he almost rejected the sandwich that i bought him as a thank you because he had spent far too much money on leggings that i didnt exactly need for me even tho it was literally 4.95) i think this would be nice. also we are planning to take a day trip into nyc when we get back to school and 1. it will be freezing and he has no cold tolerance and 2. he will once again insist on buying everything on said trip so the least i can do is make sure that he doesnt freeze.

i have a pattern for said scarf picked out. (and i also bought not one but two crochet hooks from michaels today but i had a coupon so it was fine. even though i haven't bought yarn yet but we will get to that.) it is very nice and i will not show a picture of it because i haven't purchased it yet off of etsy (yes that is right i am buying a pattern. i only every follow youtube tutorials or make something up but well i want it to look nice and this was a very pretty pattern. i must really love this man.)

but now. the question. the one that i said i needed to ask about 700 words ago.

is getting red yarn to make it from bad luck?

i only ask this because the scarf is red in the taylor swift song, all too well, which was referenced above, and she and joke gylanhaal broke up quite catastrophically after he stood her up on her 21st birthday, not that that will be an issue for brad and i as he will literally be in europe during my 21st birthday and would not be here regardless and also he would not have the scarf yet. but my mother thinks that he would look in "a nice cranberry red" or "a greenish blue." she is also outraged that he owns literally no colors and wants me to somehow fix that with this scarf.

these are the yarn colors that i have to choose from:

i personally like the red one more because he has a navy blue wool coat and i think that the red would look better with it and also he would think its funny that im giving him a red scarf because of his recent taylor swift obsession but i do not want to curse us so.

who has thoughts.

#not a tag #from saph #saphs himbo

[roboticchibitan]

Fixing mistakes in lace

So you are knitting your first lace project, and you've got the wrong number of stitches and you're stuck and you don't want to frog. I'm here to help. But! My advice depends on you being able to read your stitches on the last patterned row (whether that's every row or every other row depends on the pattern). If you don't know how to do that, try knitting a swatch and putting in some decreases, double decreases, yarn overs, etc and then look at your work to locate those stitches and see how they look.

First advice: if your pattern is repeating, put a stitch marker in between each repeat. It's possible these stitch markers will move, but you need to know which repeat(s) you've made a mistake on and this makes that much easier because you'll realize you made a mistake when you get to the end of the repeat instead of the end of the row. I know not everyone does this, but I've been knitting 15 years and I see no shame in taking all the help you can get. All the advice here assumes you are doing this.

So after you've separated out all your repeats, and you get to the end of a repeat and are missing a stitch! What to do? Missing stitches are usually either 1) forgot a yarn over somewhere 2) dropped a stitch.

Forgotten yarn overs are an easy fix if you can find where the yarn over was SUPPOSED to be. Tink (un-knit, knit spelled backwards, means to undo your stitches one at a time as opposed to just ripping them all out.) back to the stitch before the missing yarn over (YO). If the missing YO is in the row you're knitting, simply add the YO and keep going. If it's in the row before (or second row before if every other row is plain), tink back to right before the missing YO, and insert the left needle into the bar between stitches as if to do a make one increase (there's YouTube tutorials out there). Knit the stitch without twisting it. This is your new Jerry rigged YO.

If your missing stitch is NOT a missing yarn over, it's time to start looking for dropped stitches. Sometimes these are just impossible to find because they rip down to whatever YO they came from and that can be really difficult to spot. If your pattern is symmetrical, look for missing symmetry. If it isn't, look for differences between this repeat and other repeats of the pattern.

Now, finding these missing stitches and then knowing what to do with them are two different things. Ask yourself: if I use a crochet hook and go slowly, can I fix this? If the answer is no, please don't give up. Let me tell you a secret. I make. So. Many. Mistakes. When I knit. And sometimes you just have to fudge. Pick a spot that works best for the pattern and just add another stitch. I prefer knit front and back (kfb) but you can also make 1 left or right (m1L/m1R). I promise it'll be hard for anyone besides you to spot.

But what if we have an extra stitch? These either come from missing decreases, forgetting part of a double double decrease, or an extra yo hanging out where it has no business hanging out.

Go back and read your work. First look for any extra YOs. If you notice an extra YO, tink back to it and just drop it. It'll mess with your tension but that's what blocking is for.

Once that's ruled out, look at any double decreases you have. If you are doing a decrease where you slip stitches and pass them over other stitches and off the needle (pass slipped stitch over or psso), did you remember to do the psso part? I forget this sometimes even tho all I knit is lace.

This is my personal most frequent decrease mistake. If you made that mistake on your current row, tink back and pass the stitch like it's supposed to go. If it was a previous row, tink back to where you made that mistake, and either knit two together (k2tog, right leaning decrease) or slip slip knit (ssk, left leaning decrease), whichever leans the correct way.

So there's no extra YOs and your double decreases are good? Time to look at your normal decreases. Do you have any decreases that you missed? Tink back and do them. If they were missed on the current row, just knit as instructed. If they were a row ago, you might have to do some analyzing to figure out where the right place is, but go back and decrease as close to where it was supposed to be as possible.

I cannot begin to tell you how forgiving lace is of mistakes. Hell. I spent 18 months knitting this

And when I got it all laid out, IT HAD TWO HOLES IN IT. I'm still mad about it but I fixed them well enough that I could block it aggressively. Can you see where I missed stitches, my tension was weird, I had extra stitches for some fucking reason, etc? No! You can't! This is what blocking is for.

Blocking is the heavenly primordial being who wipes away all your mistakes and knitting sins and says "You worked hard on this, and it looks heavenly, good job." You should block everything, not just lace. It evens your tension and can give you a little leeway if something is just a little bit too small. Got a sweater with two slightly different sized sleeves? Blocking.

And if you really don't believe me that blocking fixes almost anything, take a look at this:

You can't see the beads in this photo, but this shawl has somewhere around 1500 beads. I decided right off the batt I wasn't going to be frogging beads. So this became a YOLO project. I gave myself permission to make mistakes and just fudge the solutions. Can you see my dozens (literally dozens) of mistakes? No!!

So don't be afraid that your lace isn't going to turn out right. Cuz only you can see that spot where you dropped a stitch completely or that double decrease you forgot to do or whatever other mistakes you may have made. Blocking will fix a lot. And even if there's still a glaringly obvious hole somewhere (I have one that drives me nuts in the white shawl but no one else can spot it), I promise it's not glaringly obvious to anyone else and also everyone here on knitblr doesn't care and if someone gives you a hard time tag me and I'll scold them for you.

In conclusion

#v's fiber arts tag #knitting advice #knitting #lace rot disease #lace for the lace gods

[halliewriteshockey]

If your up for it, I would like to request a fluffy headcanon (any of your boys). We had to say goodbye to my grandma last night and I could use some fluff. Thank you.

I'm so sorry to hear that, Anon. How about a headcanon about Elvis? His grandmother teaches him to crochet and he hates it at the time, full of the energy of youth and squirming at having to sit still and focus. He could be playing hockey, and he resents the hook and yarn fiercely for taking him away from that, but he never does anything without throwing his whole heart into it, so he listens to his grandmother as she shows him how to hold the yarn, how to twist it and slip the hook in and pull it through, and he's reluctantly delighted when his work grows and takes form and becomes a (slightly misshapen) hat. He learns to knit after that, because it's even more interesting to do color work with a knitted pattern.

(Oops this became a ficlet)

Now he's an adult, and he knits or crochets on road trips, in his hotel room at night, on the plane to and from games. It helps him focus, to settle into that headspace where his nerves and fears and worries melt away and he becomes nothing but bright, shining purpose between the pipes. (The guys chirped him for it until he finished the first stunning hat and mittens set and gave it to Pierre Luc Dubois, one of the few who hadn't teased him. Now everyone just hopes they'll be next on his list.)

But then his captain gets traded, and Elvis loses his rock, his partner, the man who's always there to calm him down, make him laugh, catch him after a game when Elvis flings himself into his arms, and Elvis is too heartbroken to knit for a long time. (His team is worried, discussing it amongst themselves, but no one knows what to do. PLD is gone, and now Foligno is gone too and how do they bring back the smile of the man who makes everyone else smile?)

Elvis doesn't stay down for long, though, even with a broken heart. He starts to knit again, and everyone's so relieved when he brings out the needles that there's an impromptu cheer among the rookies (quickly hushed by the veterans before Elvis notices).

He knits, and keeps knitting. He weaves all the traditional Latvian Lielvardes symbols for health, prosperity, and protection into what he's making. He whispers luck and wellbeing and every ounce of love in his considerable heart into each stitch, lips moving in soundless prayers as his fingers fly and needles click in their soothing rhythm.

When he's done, the scarf is exactly six feet long and he's gone through so many skeins of yarn the team have lost count. Everyone wants to know who it's for, but every time he's asked, Elvis just smiles and doesn't answer. He finishes the last stitch, binds it off, and holds it up, mouth pursed as he considers it. The players hold their breath. Then he folds it into neat quarters and puts it in the pocket of his bag and picks up a book.

His teammates deflate. If it's not for one of them, who is it for? No one knows, and Elvis isn't telling.

He goes straight home that night when the plane lands, saying goodbye to everyone with a smile and his usual sweet demeanor firmly back in place, but the smile fades once he's out of sight and no one can see the way he droops and rubs tiredly at his forehead. Even the prospect of his own bed isn't enough to cheer him, because the person he once hoped would be in it with him is in Boston.

But someone's on his doorstep when he gets out of the car, sitting on the stoop with his arms around his knees. He unwinds and stands up as Elvis gets out of the car and Elvis feels as if he's floating somewhere above his body. He doesn't register his own footsteps as he crosses the lawn and walks straight into Nick's arms without stopping, burying his cold nose in the crook of Nick's neck. He's shaking, pulling in deep lungfuls of Nick's sweet-spicy aftershave as Nick rubs his back, murmuring nonsense against his hair.

"Missed you," Nick whispers, and presses a kiss to Elvis's ear, his jaw, his cheekbone, lips warm and soft when Elvis turns his head and their mouths meet. He's dreaming, he thinks dimly. He's conjured Nick into his dream with the strength of his longing, and any minute now he's going to wake up and come back to reality.

But Nick is stepping back, slipping Elvis's bag off his shoulder and drawing him toward the door, and Elvis decides if he is dreaming, he's not going to try to wake up.

Inside, he drops the bag and bends to rummage in it. He's hampered by the fact that Nick is holding his hand and doesn't seem to want to let go, but Elvis doesn't care. He fishes around one-handed until he comes up with the scarf, and Nick's breath catches as the folds shake out and the entire pattern is revealed.

"It's for you," he says, and loops it around Nick's neck, using the ends to pull him closer. "To bring you back to me."

Nick is smiling up at him as he leans into Elvis's body. He's warm and solid and Elvis is beginning to believe that he really is there and he's not just dreaming, as happiness swells in his chest, making it hard to breathe.

"I guess it worked."

#I have... no idea what this is tbh #but Elvis DOES know how to crochet (I made up the knitting bit) and the idea of him doing it for teammates brings me endless joy #and the Latvian Lielverdes symbols are real and so so pretty #Elvis Merzlikins #Nick Foligno #hockey rpf #Michaela writes #I just blacked out and when I came to I'd written 1K about Elvis missing Nick so much he brought him back to CBJ by... knitting? #idk man #just take it and go #(and I hope you feel better soon Anon)

[auralaesthetics]

Life is funny

This is a needlework (crewel) picture I made for my two little girls for Christmas this year. (Forgive the quality of the photo, it was hard not to get my reflection in the frame in decent lighting) I don't consider myself a very crafty person, but when I was younger, due to the influence of my very crafty grandmother and mother, I attempted a few different methods such as hooking, crewel, sewing, and crocheting (none of them really sticking). I was about 12 when I picked up the crewel picture you see in this post. My best friend was one of my cousins, and I thought it would be so neat to have a cute picture that reminded me of our sleepovers when we were younger, since we both resembled the girls in the photo (I'm the dark-haired one). I bought all the supplies and gave it a go.

Fast forward several years. Surprise, I never did finish the picture, and eventually after several moves it was lost. Eventually I grew up, got married, had a couple of kids, and it was totally forgotten. Then, when my second daughter came along and started to grow, something really stuck out to me. My daughters very, very much looked like those girls in that picture that I started all those years ago. Which greatly surprised me. My husband has brown hair like me, so I was not expecting our first girl to be a little curly-haired one. So then, inspiration struck me; why not finish the picture and give it to my daughters instead? Sometimes I find it hard to get motivated to do things for myself, but when it's for other people I can be much more focused and persistent.

Since I had lost the original, I looked to the internet to see if I could find another copy. Easier said than done. I had forgotten both the title and the manufacturer's name, so it was a bit of a challenge. I was nervous at first that it would be out of print and I wouldn't be able to find it. Crewel isn't exactly a popular hobby, after all. But fortunately, after a few days worth of searching and lots of scrolling later, I finally found a brand new copy. Success!

To make a long story just a bit shorter, I worked my butt off for the next month (figuratively, of course) and managed to get it done just in time for Christmas. Now, the picture from my youth that I started for my own childhood nostalgia and never got to finish was now finished because my own two children took my place in the picture instead.

Life is funny.

#Life is funny #One of my favorite life coincidences

[keevajayneee]

Milk Bottle Installation 

Taking inspiration from a previous conversation with Sue (fibre textiles technical demonstrator) and certain artists which I have studied from (displayed in contextual research folder) such as, Judith Scott, Ruth Asawa and Pamela Longobardi, I have created this textile installation piece. 

Like the previous polystyrene pieces, I made holes around the base of the bottle, but this time I used a soldering iron, which is something that I have never used before. I found the iron quick and easy to use, however the iron did get rather hot and quite quickly. I also found that due to the bottle being plastic, this did create a slight burning stench in the atmosphere. Not only that, soon after I felt that I had created a slight juxtaposition and contradiction, as technically I am burning plastic and throughout my research I have found this to be extremely bad for the environment. Yes, this was of course on a small scale compared to say a factory, however it is wrong and I wont be using this technique again, against plastic. Once I had got over this issue, I had began to start my work. Like the pieces prior to this, I used a crochet hook and yarn to help begin this piece. Using small needles between 10mm - 2mm, I started to knit. Again combing yarns together, dropping and then picking up stitches, I soon started to form what I believe to be my most successful work so far. I had no planning for this piece and so I simply started out with the intension to experiment and I wasn’t expecting this to become successful. I didn't think that it was possible to be able to knit from a round base, but I attempted to try this out anyway. Some parts to this were tricky, as like the polystyrene, the milk bottle is also light weight and therefore the yarn tension is very weak. Putting the bottle behind a heavy objects, helped with this. I first thought that the piece was complete, but then I used a crochet hook and began to tug at some knitted loops, they became raised and this built up even more texture and dimension. This can be viewed in the second image. Towards the tail-like end of the work, I combined the plastic garden twine, which has made an appearance in other projects. I felt that it was important to consistently use plastic based materials that I could knit with, like the twine throughout my works. Visually it relates to discarded fishing equipment, the colour of the twine fits in appropriately with the rest of the piece and the twine also add another dimension and attraction to the piece, which I like.     

I didn't want to push this piece too far, as the overall appearance could have changed and even ruined it. Lastly, I hung up the piece and suspended it using white yarn from the ceiling. I have become really fond of suspending my work. I feel that the audience is able to view the piece better and therefore they can really ‘take in’ my message. 

In many ways, I feel that this piece is rather beautiful. The way it has been displayed I feel helps greatly, as being flat on the ground, the work that has gone into this composition, may not be appreciated as much. To me, the piece appears rather angelic, yet this may be due to it being suspended underneath a light. The installation isn't too high and therefore the audience can walk around or underneath, to view all of its beauty and appreciate the work. I am still able to and maybe it would be best if I filled the bottle with the same green liquid used in a previous milk bottle piece. This way, the piece would possibly give off the impression that it has just been fished or pulled out of the sea more. Not only that and I can also change this, the yarn used to suspend the piece may be better off being clear and ironically fishing wire. The bold white yarn becomes a distraction slightly and it also doesn't appear to be professional enough.                 

#studiopractice