ReveDreams.com

I think I should find a large crochet project to do – something where I can just crochet back and forth and back and forth without thinking too much. That is so relaxing, especially right now when I have the end-of-month QR code deadline staring me down. I just want to make swatches.

Fortunately, I can call swatches “dishcloths” and “dustrags” and pretend I’m being useful. I have this lovely acrylic dustrag with which I’m practicing my bobbles:

Tuesday evening I began and finished a dishcloth out of some Sugar & Cream yarn I just love. It is just sc with an N hook (10mm), 19 sts by 21 rows, plus a row of sc with ch in between on top and bottom, a ch at each corner, and sc down each side.

The yarn ball was all floppy afterward, so I rewound it. That also relaxes me.

Of course, I prefer it when there is still enough yarn to get a nice smooth ball out of it. Center pull, of course.

On a related note, I’ve begun materials preparation for the embroidery class I’m still theoretically teaching this fall. Half a skein of embroidery floss per bobbin, so there will be a good selection of colors but people can still take their bobbin home to finish their project. It’s slow, though, and the process of unwinding it and lining up the ends so as to cut it in half is kind of laborious. I should probably do a bunch of that at once and all the winding afterward.

I bought a telephone chair last summer, that looks a lot like this except with a seat, uninspiringly upholstered.

After contemplating all the embroidered linen and upholstery-weight fabric in my stash (not an extensive collection), I decided needlepointing (or cross-stitching, or crewel-working) a seat cover for it is the way to go. I thought about koi, Chinese brush painting, art deco, art nouveau, and stained glass. After more consideration I had my decision: I want to design and stitch a Franz Marc rooster.

Roosters and abstract art meet on my dining room wall already (though in the picture below they’re still on my living room floor).

My man Marc was a member of Der Blaue Reiter artist group (whose most famous member was Wassily Kandinsky, an unfavorite) and I discovered his existence in Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne. He painted a lot of animals: Deer in the Forest; Piggies; Birds.

Small roosters appeal to me the most. I will draw from Nankin Bantams and Japanese Bantams with a bit of this probably mixed-breed beauty stirred in.

Wish me luck. What big ambitions do you have in the artistic realm?

Another image is done!

One of my favorite books as a child was We Were Tired of Living in a House, written by Liesel Moak Skorpen and illustrated by Doris Burn. The children try living in a tree, on a raft, and by the seashore, collecting an object from each but moving on when nature makes it impossible to stay. Burn’s illustrations are gorgeous, by turns excited, silly, and wistful, and full of detail. It was difficult to find one that was manageable for my project. Here is what I ended with:

Of course as I write this I am traveling, so I cannot fulfill my promise of telling you all the planned embroideries and appliques for the Children’s Book Quilt. However, I have images on wash-away paper and fabric selected for two (having decided after all to find a different Moomin picture): Sylvester and the Magic Pebble and Harold and the Purple Crayon.

The Sketchbook Project is a brainstorm of the Art House Co-op, which has its physical location in the Brooklyn Art Library. Blank sketchbooks are available for purchase; the buyer chooses a theme from the year’s list and is sent a book with a personalized barcode on the back: name and hometown appear on the label, and those plus theme are encoded into the barcode. The completed books must be sent back by the end of January of the title year and go on tour starting in April, with 14 locations (though in 2012 London and Melbourne will include only European and Australian books, respectively). People check out the books to look through them, which means the artists can find out how much their books are being selected, and after the tour is over the books are housed permanently in the Brooklyn Art Library.

After witnessing my sister waffle about doing the project this year, I waffled myself – there was a tempting theme, and finally I decided that if I didn’t complete my sketchbook, I was comfortable with having made a donation to the Art House Co-op.

My sketchbook arrived May 16, giving me eight and a half months to complete it. Since then I’ve had notepaper with me all the time – I always carry paper in my purse, but now I have it in the little mesh bag I tote around at the gym, for making notes on the exercise bike. I’m hoping the deadline will inspire completion, but the ideas are not – so far – sufficient to fill it, so let me know if you have suggestions along the way for themes or images.

My theme? Stitches and folds. Naturally. It was difficult to convince myself to mark the first page, but ultimately, that step had to be taken, so I just freehanded something. The inaugural work:

Don’t ask to see the back – I haven’t decided what to do with it yet.

In this space would usually appear my entries for the monthly crochet challenges I’m part of on Ravelry. However, I didn’t make it this month. Between travel and finishing my wedding gift potholders, I didn’t succeed in finishing either the Amigurumi Army’s June mission or the June CAL from Ravelry. Actually, I can’t entirely blame that; I also crocheted a dustrag and a third Swiffer sock. However, I wanted to finish the projects anyway, so I used the grace period between month’s end and this post to work on them. One was finished, on one I declared bankruptcy because I have higher-priority items. It will appear later.

The one I finished was for the CAL, with the theme of animals. I had been wanting to make Kristie’s Kids’ little mouse (the designer of the pig I indentured earlier) and these monthly challenges are providing me impetus to get through my TBC list (to be crocheted, analogous to my sister’s TBR(ead) pile). I worked, as usual, with my 2.75mm steel hook and six-strand embroidery floss.

While visiting friends, I made a couple of small things – or at least started them. The one I completed had the highest honor of making it into their middle daughter’s Cinderella purse. I don’t know what he is, but the bird wings were the suggestion of their oldest daughter, and I think he at least turned out cute.

With him, I had some inspiration for a better way to do small ears. Say you have 12 stitches around (as I did) and the ears are roughly halfway. To make the ears, sc 4, (sc, ch 1, dc, ch 1, sc) all in FL of next st, sl st in FL of next st, and repeat () in FL of next st. Sc 5 to get back to the beginning. For the next round, sc 3, sc in BL only of next 5 sts (this is the BL of the previous round’s st for the first and last, and the remaining loop of the ear stitches in between), and sc in both loops for the last 4 sts. I found the ears stood up more easily with the addition of the BL stitches on each end.

I then started on a teddy bear, using dc bobbles for the ears. My first attempt was a bit microcephalic, so I made a new head and produced the following. Both this and the winged thing were made with worsted weight yarn and an E hook (3.5 mm).

Finally, sitting in from of my parents’ television one day I made a bunny, from a pattern I believe I may have downloaded before I even knew how to crochet. Although it is very soft and squishy, the 22% wool of the yarn is too much for me, and it makes me itch even through my shirt. Someone else will have to love it. This one was made with bulky yarn (Sensations Angel Hair) and an I hook (5.5 mm). I made a 4dc bobble for the tail but you can’t see it in either picture.

A bunny tail is called a scut or a fud, according to my mother’s crossword dictionary.

The Amigurumi Army theme for June was mythical creatures, and I am halfway through a project, but I have some other projects with deadlines and travel upcoming this month, so it will appear in a later post.

While trying to think of crochet patterns I would like, I looked at my little ceramic lucky cat, bought in San Francisco’s Chinatown many moons ago. Locale of purchase notwithstanding, the maneki neko (beckoning cat) is a Japanese sculpture to bring luck, customers, and/or money to the owner – the raised paw is beckoning good fortune. The coin is labeled “ten million ryō”, which is something like ten billion US dollars.

I started the design process before really looking for existing patterns. I found a few, but only one at the level of detail I wanted, and it was not the shape I was looking for, so I persisted. Three heads, four raised arms, five legs, two lowered arms, and three bodies later, I present to you the pattern.

Good Luck Cat (beckoning cat, maneki neko)
Use worsted weight yarn and an E or F hook, in white except for the collar, which is red. You also need:
* some stuffing
* a small gold bell for the collar
* yellow, gold, or gold-painted felt for the coin
* a black paint pen for the coin and optionally for the facial features (otherwise, black embroidery floss for the features)
* small amounts of red, black, and orange or tan felt, or the same colors in fabric paint (I used Tulip Soft fabric paint in gold metallic (on white felt for the coin), red velvet, ebony matte, and golden tan matte, and a DecoFabric paint pen in black)

Head:
1. sc 6 in magic ring
2. *3sc, sc, sc* 2x (10)
3. *2sc, sc, 2sc, sc, sc* 2x (14)
4. *sc, sc, 2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, 2sc* 2x (20)
5. sc around (20)
Top center is between sts 9 and 10 of rnd 5. Embroider face here (if embroidering).
6. sc, dec, sc, *dec* 5x, *sc, dec* 2x (12)
7. dec around (6x); FO (6)

Alternative (simplified head):
1. sc 6 in magic ring
2. *2sc, sc, 2sc* 2x (10)
3. *2sc, sc, 2sc, sc, sc* 2x (14)
4. *2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, sc, 2sc, sc* 2x (20)
5. sc around (20)
embroider face, if applicable
6. *sc, dec, dec* 4x (12)
7. dec around, FO (6)

Ears (make 2):
ch 3; sc dec (the second and third ch from hk; not inv dec); ch 1; FO

Body:
1. sc 6 in magic ring
2. 2sc around (12)
3. *2sc, sc, sc* 4x (16)
4-6. sc around (16)
7. *dec, sc, sc* 4x (12)
8-9. sc around (12)
stuff
10. dec around; FO (6)

Raised foreleg:
1. sc 5 in magic ring (5)
2-4. sc around (3 rnds, 5 sc)
Now proceed flat, turning after each row.
5-9. sc 2, ch 1 (omit ch in row 9), FO
Fold flap over opening of tube and then fold under so last row meets free edge of tube. Stitch flap to itself and to tube.

Lowered foreleg:
Worked in rows. Ch 6.
1. 2sc in 2nd ch from hk, sc across (6)
2. ch 1, *sc, 2sc* across (9)
3. ch 1, sc across (9)
4. ch 1, dec, dec, sc, dec, dec, FO (5)
Sew row 1 and 4 together to make a tube; slipknot end is paw.

Rear legs (make 2):
These start with a magic ring but proceed in rows, not rounds.
1. sc 3 in magic ring (3)
2. ch 1, 2sc across (6)
3. ch 1, sc, dec, dec, sc (4)
4. ch 1, sc, dec, sc, ch 3 (3 + ch)
5. starting in 2nd ch from hk, sc across (5)
6. ch 1, sc across (5)
7. [no ch] sl st in 2nd st from hk, sc across (3 + sl st)
8. [no ch] sc 2, FO
Fold bottom of leg so row 8 matches row 3 (fold line between rows 5 and 6) and sew. Make sure to fold one leg in each direction. Tighten the initial magic ring and puff the row 1-3 portion of leg out toward the smooth row 1-5 side (the outside).

Collar:
ch 14; optionally, sl st across.
or, in embroidery floss with 1.3mm steel hook: ch 17, sc across.
or, cut a narrow strip of red felt, 1/4″ by 2 1/4″.

Assembly:
Following the picture, sew the forelegs and rear legs to the body. Paint the inside of the ears red, draw on the facial features, and paint the tan part of the calico spots. Once the tan part is dry, paint the black part of the spots. Alternatively, cut out small triangles of red felt, small ovals of orange/tan felt, and even smaller ovals of black felt and glue or stitch on. Paint some felt gold if necessary, and when that is dry draw on the “ten million ryō” characters. Sew the ears to the head, the head to the body, and the raised paw to the side of the head. Cut out the coin (if you are picky, paint the new edge and let dry) and sew or glue it to the lowered paw to hold it in place. Thread the collar between the raised leg and the neck and sew it around the neck, sewing the bell onto the overlapped edge and placing it center front.

Intermittently I cook and bake items of varying fanciness.  I will review some of my favorites four times a year (regular feature!  extremely infrequent, but regular!).  Conveniently, the blog began right at the start of the second quarter of the year.

One of the themes of this spring was “use it up!” I discovered I had an unreasonable number of open jams and jellies. In addition, I had a little bitty can of chestnut spread a friend brought me from Paris about two years ago, and I had just left to sit decoratively on a shelf in the kitchen. The solution was clearly thumbprint cookies. One pan took care of the chestnut spread, and the other an altogether too small quantity of jam (raspberry, apricot, and pineapple macaroon).

Later on, nearer to Easter, I made a coconut cake with cream cheese icing, with extra coconut and Jordan almonds on top. The speckles are dried orange peel:

There are mini chocolate chips inside:

The problem I have with baking is that it tends to become breakfast for the immediate future.

One meal experiment that was not particularly photogenic was black bean and mushroom burgers. I had dried shiitake mushrooms I bought who knows why (I’m not a fan of the non-portabello mushrooms, generally), and I soaked them and mixed them with bread crumbs, oatmeal, rinsed canned black beans, lots of onion and some garlic, and a bit of avocado (the original called for cheese, and I thought this would save it from being dry in a bit more healthful way). Oh, they were good! But when you bit down on the bun, half the burger would squoosh out the opposite end – well, depending on the bun. I tried two brands and the second was better than the first in that regard. One friend said he’d had good luck with oatmeal as a binder, and it’s possible I just didn’t put in enough. I hated to take something so vegan (no fake meat or cheese, hence the “so”) and put egg whites into it, which was a chef friend’s suggestion. Another friend suggested crocheting the bun shut with noodles. Points for creativity!

My sister is suffering continued ankle problems from a misstep on Easter Sunday, and it’s making her grumpy. Just the excuse I needed to create a crochet Grumpasaurus.

He is made of mildly scratchy acrylic, because Grumpasauruses are not cuddly. I was inspired by Kat’s knit Grumpasaurus, but mine looks very little like hers and is probably overcomplicated. I sewed the limbs on before closing up the bottom, but after stuffing the shape changed a bit and his legs are not even close to symmetrically placed.

Should you want to take a Grumpasaurus home with you, here is the pattern. See the crochet reference page for abbreviations and pattern conventions. For this I used invisible decrease.

Grumpasarus Body:

1. sc 6 in magic ring
2. 2sc around (12)
3. *2sc, sc* around (18)
4. *2sc, sc, sc* around (24)
5. *2sc, sc 5* 4x (28)
6. 2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, sc 11, 2sc, 2sc, sc 11 (32)
7. sc 18, 2sc, 2sc, sc 12 (34)
8. sc 19, 2sc, 2sc, sc 13 (36)
9. sc 21, 3sc, sc 14 (38)
10. sc 3, 2sc, 2sc, sc 17, 2sc, 2sc, sc 14 (42)
11. sc 3, 2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, sc 18, 2sc, 2sc, sc 15 (46)
12. sc 5, 2sc, 2sc, sc 21, 2sc, 2sc, sc 16 (50)
13. sc 31, 2sc, 2sc, sc 17 (52)
14. sc 6, dec, sc, dec, sc 21, 2sc, 2sc, sc 18 (52)
15. sc 6, dec, dec, sc 21, 2sc, 2sc, sc 19 (52)
16. sc 4, dec, sc, dec, sc 21, 2sc, 2sc, sc 20 (52)
17. dec, dec, sc, sc, dec, dec, sc 40, dec (47)
18. dec, sc, sc, dec, sc 18, 2sc, 2sc, sc 19 (46)
19. sc around (46)

Somewhere around now, embroider the face.

20. 2sc, sc, 2sc, 2sc, sc, 2sc, sc 19, 2sc, 2sc, sc 19 (52)
21. sc, 2sc, sc, 2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, sc, 2sc, sc 43 (56)
22. sc 3, 2sc, sc, 2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, sc, 2sc, sc 12, dec, dec, sc 7, 2sc, 2sc, sc 7, dec, dec, sc 9 (58)
23. sc around (58)
24. sc 28, dec, dec, sc 6, 3sc, 3sc, sc 6, dec, dec, sc 8 (58)
25. sc 38, 3sc, 3sc, sc 18 (62)
26. sc 25, dec, dec, sc 12, ch 4, sl st in 2nd ch from hk and down ch (3 sl st), sc into next st of prev rnd, sc 11, dec, dec, sc 5 (58 + ch + sl st)
27. sc 39, sc 3 into rem lps of ch, 2sc in turning ch (tip of tail), sc 3 in sl sts, sc 19 (66)
28. sc 9, 2sc, sc, 2sc, sc, 2sc, sc 8, dec, sc, dec, sc 16, 3sc, sc 16, dec, sc, dec, sc (67)
29. sc 45, 2sc, sc 21 (68)
30. sc 46, ch 4, sl st in 2nd ch from hk and down ch (3 sl st), sc into next st of prev rnd, sc 21 (68 + ch + sl st)
31. sc 46, sc 3 into rem lps of ch, 2sc in turning ch (tip of tail), sc 3 in sl sts, sc 22 (76)
32. sc 5, dec, sc 6, dec, sc 6, dec, sc 27, 2sc, sc 25 (74)
33. sc 6, dec, sc 3, dec, sc 3, dec, sc 30, ch 4, sl st in 2nd ch from hk and down ch (3 sl st), sc into next st of prev rnd, sc 25 (71 + ch + sl st)
34. sc 5, dec, sc 3, dec, sc 3, dec, sc 28, sc 3 into rem lps of ch, 2sc in turning ch (tip of tail), sc 3 in sl sts, sc 26 (76)
35. sc 5, dec, sc 5, dec, sc 31, 2sc, 2sc, sc 28 (76)
36. sc 3, dec, sc 3, dec, sc 3, dec, sc 30, 3sc, sc 30 (75)

From here you no longer work in rounds; you are making the bottom flap of the body. Odd rows proceed head to tail and even rows tail to head. You may still use inv dec because the only row that uses it faces the right way. Unless otherwise directed, do not use a turning chain, and make your first sc or sl st into the second stitch from the hook. Turn after every row.

37. sc 2, dec, sc 3, dec, sc 3, dec, sc 29, sl st (40)
38. sl st, sc 33 (33)
39. ch 1, 2sc in 1st st, sc 29, sl st (31)
40. sl st, sc 30 (30)
41. sc 26, sl st (26)
42. sl st, sc 25 (25)
43. ch 1, sc 22 starting in first st, sl st (22)
44. sl st, sc 20, sl st (20)
45. sl st, sc 16, sl st (16)
46. sl st, sc 14, sl st (14)
47. sl st, sc 10, sl st (10)

FO, leaving a long tail. Stuff firmly and sew the flap to the free stitches of round 36.

Grumpasarus Arms (make 2):

1. sc 6 in magic ring
2. *2sc, sc, sc* 2x (8)
3-4. sc around
5. sc, hdc, hdc, sc 5
6. hdc, dc, dc, hdc, sc 4
7. sc, hdc, hdc, sc 5
8-10. sc around (3 rows)
11 (partial round). sc 5, sl st.
FO, leaving a long tail to sew with.

Stuff with a doubled length of pipe cleaner, bent in the middle, to assist with the elbow bend. Sew onto the Grumpasaurus so he is fists-on-hips.

Grumpasarus Legs (make 2):

1. sc 6 in magic ring
2. 2sc around (12)
3-6. sc around (4 rows)
sl st and FO, leaving a tail to sew with.

Stuff and sew onto the Grumpasaurus on the bottom of each side, forward of the center point.

When this appears I wil be in Colorado for a wedding. Last month I spent a good five and a half hours at the Sew-Op, talking to people and embroidering in between. It was a good time, and I got the luggage tag blanket stitching done and made progress on the Landscape of Love.

In June, looking for a picture of a sarcophagus of the ancient Egyptian variety, I learned about Etruscan sarcophagi. The Etruscans were very different from the Greeks and Romans, with highly permissive sexual mores even by modern standards, and a much higher level of freedom for women. The better standing of women translated into sarcophagi (and urns) for couples, in many cases, with corresponding images on top.¹

The most famous is the Sarcophagus of the Spouses, which is also written about here. I prefer this sarcophagus with an elderly couple (additional image here, from this page), because there’s something about people who are happy to have their image through eternity be them in their old age. My absolute favorite, though, turns out to reside in Boston: a sarcophagus with a married couple in bed. Intimate but not sexual, it conveys a wonderful devotion.

Coming attractions? Well, Iron Craft tipped me off to the following:

QR code made with QRStuff.

I have Plans for that, but I knew I wouldn’t finish them in a week, so I held off entirely. If you want to make your own QR codes, the best generator I’ve tried is Kerem Erkan’s.

As for the rest, this month will feature: cock-a-doodle-doo! Meow. Squeak squeak! Harrumph.

¹ Disclaimer: I am neither an archaeologist nor a historian. All Etruscan cultural information gleaned from the innertubes. While information online is guaranteed minimally 107% correct, my interpretation need not be. Do not use this website for a term paper. Results not typical. Void where prohibited.