Arigurumi Bananas (...and corn???)

So my sister found a picture of this really cute crocheted banana and so, what did she do? Why asked me to make it of course! The banana seemed simple enough so I went ahead and searched for a pattern on Raverly.com and lo and behold, a really easy one appeared. A shout out of thanks to Barabara Strasser with her "Arigurumi Banana" pattern, which can be found on her blog in the link below:

http://esbelotta.blogspot.com/2012/02/free-pattern-amigurumi-banana.html?m=1

I had a lot of fun with this pattern because each one is completely customizable. I decided to go with a happy manga face for the first one because whoever doesn't think that is the cutest thing ever needs some schooling. I made the mouth with normal sewing thread that I just sewing in back and forth with red and added a black outline. The blush was made by red paint. 

 I was playing around with a second banana and decided to try using green as the bottom half (cough cough, I was out of yellow) with the idea that I could make it like a baby banana that hasn't yet matured. I haven't quite done that yet, but many people have been telling me it looks like corn... You can decided for yourself. If I decide to do the baby banana I'm thinking of adding a pacifier and a curly hair with a bow on top of its head.  

*sigh* I can't believe I made bananas. I wa thinking about it so much during class that I actually drew out my entire family (including cat) during class... What have I done to myself? :D

Classic Winter Patterns

So my awesome boyfriend decided to give into my crochet/knit craze and got me some knitting and crochet books for Christmas. Lucky for me, the knitting book had a pattern that I've always wanted to try: Fair Isle Knitting. I was super excited when I saw the pattern and so, instead of devoting myself to an entire project while I'm still working on the crochet blanket, I decided to make a swatch with the pattern. I also thought that this was a good way to practice carrying yarn throughout a piece (which I have avoided thus far). Lucky for me, the pattern is a lot simpler than it seems and wa easy to understand. You can see the end result below. I'm suuuuper happy with it :D

I'll add the pattern picture I used below as well as the book title I got it from. The full pattern is knitted in the round and creates a scarf so maye I'll try that one day... I actually want to use this pattern to make a hat, so maybe I'll try that first ^^

Winter Project: Customizable Crochet Blanket

Hey there!

So, there's no better way than to hop right in. 

Mostly, I make hats, scarves, gloves, and other such accessories that take maybe an hour or two, but currently I am working on this really, super awesome blanket that's totally customizable. For new and experienced knitters and crocheters (which I am somewhat surprised is actually a word ^^'), a great site to be a part of is Ravelry. It is a free site where you can find tons of free patterns for just about anything. I like simply browsing through it, seeing if anything strikes my interest. What's really great is that once you get a profile, you can search based on what gauge you want, types of yarn, and even the appropriate age range you want. This saves some serious time because you can start working instead of trying to convert between guages.Also, it helps keep you from finding something you love and then realizing you can't make it currently. Either way, great place to check out.

Anywho, I found the pattern for this blanket on Ravelry (hey look, I knew I talked about it for some reason!) published by Russ McAllister. He made an 8-bit granny square Mario blanket, which can be found here. Now, while I am a Mario fan, I am an even larger Legend of Zelda fan and I thought, "I wonder if I can make an 8-bit Link blanket...." 

A few Google searches and bara-bing-bara-boom, I found a cross-stitch 8-bit Link pattern, which, believe it or not, actually made my life easier. Because the blanket is made up of individual granny squares, each about only 4-5 inches in size, you have to treat the final product as if it were a cross stitch.  After further thinking, I also decided to find a pattern for the Hylian Shield. After I found these pattern, I made my life easier by basically transferring them into an excel spreadsheet, as can be seen below. Using McAllister's advice, I also totaled the amount of squares required for each color. 

As you can see, the total number ends up being 270 squares per blanket, which sounds like a lot of work but actually goes really quick. Because the squares are small, there's a quick turn-around time, which actually helps me keep going. I am really bad at keeping up large projects because I always get bored of what I am doing and need to change. With this one, however, I am constantly starting and ending another square, which keeps adding pieces to the "puzzle" and which I can then cross off on the chart (a great way to keep track, btdubs).

This gets me to the real meaning behind this post: celebration! I decided to do the shield blanket first and so I have been switching between red, yellow and green (I mean, I still need variation while I work... :D). Aaaaaaand, I just finished the yellow squares! Woot! Now I get that someone's gonna be like: "Seriously, that was like 12 squares." I know, I know. shhhhhhhh. Don't spoil it for the rest of them (including me ^_^). For now, I will victory dance into the sunset!!!!

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