A completed project after much delay

Hey, everyone. It's been a while since I've posted - three weeks, wow! I will be perfectly honest by saying that it's been a bit of a rough month for me. I've been having off and on bouts of depression - I really think the season/weather change is just messing with me; this happens every year, though.

On the bright side, I've received a bunch of baby stuff over the last week or so. My boyfriends parents bought us a crib and change table, which we set up immediately! And my aunt drove all the way down here - it's about four-five hours away - just to bring me some stuff.

She brought my a bassinet with stand, a baby bath, a toddler stroller and a bunch of clothes and bedding. She also brought with her a small box of baby stuff from my grandmother and a giant box of clothes and various other baby things from my other aunt.

Receiving all these things was a giant weight off my shoulders. Now, all I just need is the baby's dresser and I can really start getting things organized, especially after the baby shower, which is in four weeks today. :)

So, anyway, after much delay, I finally finished the project with the pumpkin I had been working on last time I posted. There was about a week or so where I was pretty much a few pieces away from being finished; I just couldn't bring myself to sit down and do so. But, if you follow my Deviantart at all, you'll see I've made progress.

This part was interesting to do, I've never really done a piece quite like that before. 

Some progress here. Each little spike piece is done individually and sewn on. As for the top curl, well, that took me a day or so to really figure out and settle on a design I liked best. There were mnay failed attempts at this before I decided to just go with something rather simple. There is also several pieces of pipe cleaner to help hold its shape.

Here is the body completely finished.

And now, a few of angle pictures of the completed project!

Isn't he adorable?! He'll be entered in the Amigurumi-Challenge and the Knit-and-Crochet contest on Deviantart.

Oh, and in case anybody is wondering, that is Buddy in the background. He had been neutered the day before, and thus was stuck in the cone of shame. He's out of it now and doing pretty good, hyper as ever, even just after we brought him home. There is something seriously wrong with my cats. When they should be dopey and lethargic, they're wired and bouncing off the walls.

Anyway, I have written out the pattern for this guy, too. I think I'm going to be sprucing it up some and eventually putting it for sale on Etsy. :)

But, I think that's all I have to post for now. So, until next time!

Progress and a New Style!

So, there hasn't been too much going on this week.

Last week at TADA, I somehow got volunteered to teach the group how to make working paper clocks. Luckily, I managed to talk my way in to making it a Christmas event, meaning I have until December to figure it out. I have a general idea of how I'm going to do it, but need to fine tune it.

But, on to the more important things! My project that I've been slaving over. I'm nearly finished! And I made sure to take lots of progress pictures!

I finally finished this, the body, after so much trial and error - meaning the fail attempt from last weeks post. This little body only took me about five days to do - mostly because my hand was sore from the previous attempt. And from here, it was joyous, I'm most of the way finished!

Then I made this little cuties. No, they're not a single piece. The foot and the leg are two different pieces sewn together. And now, this is where the fun begins!

There is wire in both the legs - my first time using it! Let me tell you, wire makes sewing on the body part sooo much easier. There was next to no effort. <3

I forgot to take pictures of the little circle pieces that go on/above his legs, but they're just a simple, generic circle. Here's a side view of how nice it looks.

I just love how it's turning out so far! Only the upper body left to go!

This is the arm, wire and all! I've been really enjoying working with the wire. I'm sure you wondering about those three tips sticking out. Well, soon you all shall know what I'm working on - if you haven't figured it out already!

These. Are. Annoying. They also hurt my hands - of course, if I stopped for more than a day to rest my hands, they probably wouldn't hurt. I've had to make a few of these. Luckily I got it right the second time I tried making one of these. They go on the three wire pieces coming out of the arm.

Pretty epic, no? I found it was easier to sew the arm to the body first, then attach the green bulbs. Just one arm left to go, and the head piece!

And here is where I'm conflicted. Females have a longer head branch then males. But, I usually prefer my things to be male. I'm thinking, for the sake of my sanity - working with small things is maddening - that I'm going to make this a girl.

I'm hoping to be finished the arm and head piece some time tomorrow. I only have one green bulb left to make, an arm and the head piece. From there, I just have to do the details on the body. Which brings me to my next topic.

I finally invest in this.

Needle felting! I had already tried it out a bit before I thought to take pictures; my excitement got the better of me!

I knew I couldn't try it on my main project, that would just be a silly idea. Then I remember something I made ages ago, but never finished because it was so tiny and I just said screw it. A Kirby!

I don't remember where I got the pattern for it, as it was one of the first things I made when I started crocheting. But, it's tiny, and as no face. Until now!

Well, not really, I got the white of the eyes in, and then while I was trying to do the blue to the eyes, silly me went and broke the needle. D= I had only been working with it for maybe ten minutes before that happened. I'm not surprised, I actually saw it coming, and yet I didn't buy replacement needles when I bought this. -.-

The nice thing, though, is that I had two 40% off one item coupons. So, the needle - which was expensive - was no longer so pricey. And I used the other coupon on one of the roving felt kits. Even more good news, I have another two 40% off coupons! I just can't use them until the 25th - tomorrow. That is when I shall go out and replace my needles. No point today, as I don't need them yet. :)

But, that I all I have to post about for today! I just figured I should because it had been almost a week! I'll be back in a few days with more things to talk about! And hopefully more crafts finished. <3

A Wild Venonat Appeared!

After nearly a week of diligent work, I have finally completed my newest project! It took a while, and it was torture on the hands, but I worked diligently on it. I even made sure to take lots of pictures to show my progress. :)

It starts with this adorably fuzzy circle - one strand worsted weight, two strands of the purple fuzzy yarn. :) Luckily, because of the thickness of it all, I was able to work in a larger hook size - not that it felt much different on the hands at that point.

This is what it looked like as I was beginning my decreases - not so easy when the loops are a bit difficult to see. But, I managed! And it turned in to this fabulous ball.

Here is a very good lighting photo. My phone has been on the fritz with taking pictures. I might eventually invest in an actual camera. Anyway, as you can see, it's pretty big - bigger than the Ghastly I made ages ago, yet only the same amount of stitches I use in a Pokeball. :) I really need to find my measuring tape to see just how big this guy it - I'm not sure if I hid it on the cats or if they hid it on me. >.>

This was the next step, figuring out the face. It took a while, but I eventually got it. The teeth are sewn on with an actual needle and thread - I got annoyed at trying to do it with yarn on such a small piece!

And here we have the creation of the cute little arms - I know, they look nothing like they're supposed to, but I was trying my best! Besides, these look adorable. And claws just don't seem easy to make. :)

This was the fun part - making the antenna! I decided it would be a good idea to make them poseable, that and I don't think they would have stayed up without doing so.

Isn't it coming along nicely? Then we ran in to a problem, I really didn't like the eyes.

Even without eyes, he's still pretty darn cute!

There, now isn't that better? And guess what? I'm almost finished at this point! Just needed to make the feet and sew things on.

Surprisingly, I made the feet on my first attempted and they turned out pretty good! I had to write down the pattern so I wouldn't forget when I went to work on the other foot.

Last pose before he's finished!

Voila! Venonat lives in dark forests, in the underbrush, where very little light reaches. This is the best I could find, and it worked out perfectly!

As always, my works are for sale. However, I just haven't figured out a price for this guy yet. So, feel free to ask. :)

Also, be sure to check follow me on DeviantArt - sometimes I post teasers before I blog about them here. :) Also, somebody suggested to me that I start using Instagram..? What do you all think? I have no idea how to do it, though, so I'd have to look in to it.

And now my hands are in need of a serious break - I didn't realise a crochet hook could actually pierce skin, until I did it. >.> I also punctured my finger a couple of times with a yarn needle, even got under the nail once. So, that was an experience. Well worth it. :)

I also have some exciting news before I wrap this up. We get to find out the gender of the baby today! In five hours! I'm so excited!! We even have a friend coming from out of town to be there with us - she's really close to us. :) However, due to her coming down, she will be staying for a couple days. Which means I probably won't be doing much crafts. But, we shall see. She's the one I'm making the scarf for - you know, the scarf that totally got pushed to the farthest depths of my closet, yeah, that one.

Anyway, that is all for today!

Nautical Pot Holder and a New Project!

After much work yesterday and this morning, I finally managed to finish the Nautical Potholder I have been working on. I forced myself to sit there and do as many rows as I could before needing a break. Eventually my hands adjusted and I managed to finish it this morning, some time before noon.

I even made it six rows longer than the pattern called for - mostly because I felt it was too small, even for my hands, which are quite tiny. I really like how it all blends together.

Anyway, after packing and going through boxes that never got unpacked from the last move, I found a completely unused sheet of plastic canvas! Needless to say, I started on a project that has been running through my head since I was working on the Coin Block Piggy Bank. 

Awesome, right? I wasn't sure if the sheet of canvas would be enough for what I wanted, but it turned out I was able to make four of these pieces, with canvas to spare!

I know I said I really didn't want to start any more projects until after the move, but I just couldn't help myself! However, I think I'm going to have to wait to finish this idea, as I will need more canvas to continue on, however, I shall do what I can until then! 

I am very excited to do this. I even used to my plastic canvas stitches book! It took me a bit to figure out which square pattern I liked the best and would work well with this image, I finally settled on this. 

However, I ran into a slight dilemma. This particular square pattern calls for a 5x5 square. As you can see on the cut out sections of the stairs, they become 4x4. So, I need to find a new pattern to use for making this a 3D figure - I didn't quite think this through before I started it, I never really do, though. So, I'm going to have to study my new book and see if I can find a 4x4 square pattern that is similar to the 5x5 one, for consistency.

I also realized that in trying to make this accurate, I may have complicated things for myself. As you can see, the lip of the pipe is one square bigger than the shaft, meaning that I'm going to have to cut out and work with a simple square width piece. That ought to be fun. =\

Anyway, now I have to figure out how wide I want these figures to be, which will probably have to wait, as I don't have many scrap canvas pieces that I can work with. Unless I get lucky and find another unused sheet, or even just a partially used piece. 

But, in other news, I've been finding a bunch of old projects from when I first got back into crafting. It's kind of neat to see just how far I've come since January. However, I had a bunch of Pokeball coasters and a Pokebox made, and I can't seem to find them anywhere! D= The coasters were kept inside the box. 

I know I took those with me to Anime North, along with a bunch of Pokeball amigurumi I made. I still have to amigurumi, but all my plastic canvas work is nowhere to be find, so I'm hoping it's just misplaced - as I'm still not finished packing - and that I didn't actually leave it at the convention. That would suck, and I don't think I'd want to redo them again. :(

But, I think that is all I have to post for tonight. I do plan on working more on the boa scarf, hopefully I'll do that tomorrow. I am trying really hard not to start any new projects until after the move, even though I have a million ideas going through my head of plastic canvas creations, and some crochet ideas. Luckily, I am too broke from moving to even afford anything for a bit - I can't tell if that is good or bad. Oh well.

Oh, one more thing, if anyone actually reads these, it would be wonderful to get some sort of feedback. :) And perhaps a follow on my DeviantArt, maybe? =D

Good night, all! :)

Friend (Poke)Ball and Tomorrow's Project!

Good evening, everyone! 

To start, I will ramble a bit. I moving shortly, so I decided now would be a perfect time to go through all my crafting supplies - largely just yarn, plastic canvas, various sheets of felt, some paint and, oddly enough, sewing needles and thread - that's really not my area. 

Anyway, while I was going through my bins of supplies, in some deranged attempt to organize it, I found this:

 If any of you are here because you followed me on Deviantart, you'll know that it's been quite a while since I've made a Pokeball - the main reason is I want to try needle felting the designs on the balls, but that stuff is rather expensive currently and I have yet to learn how to use it. All in due time.

So, I had a pattern saved to crochet little rain drops, but after several failed attempts, I finally said 'screw it'. As I found my sheets of felt, I decided to just be lazy and cut out the rain drop pieces - again, not so easy >.>

After putting far more effort than was probably needed into finishing this Pokeball, I finally ended up with this:

I know, it's not entirely centered - and yes, I crocheted the yellow dot as I lacked yellow felt - but I tried. The glue I was using dried too quick, and left an unsightly stain on the yarn when I tried to fix my mistake. This was the best I could get. Oh well, I still like how it turned out. Practice makes perfect! I will eventually revisit many of the Pokeballs I have made and attempted once I learn the art of needle felting - I'll youtube it eventually.

Other than spending more than an hour trying to finish the Friend Ball, I haven't been up to too much today. I worked on my friends scarf a bit, nearly doubling what I had done yesterday. Take a look:

So, as I was knitting this, I realized that I was a fool yesterday for not measuring my progress in a day. So, I decided to start today - also because I send my friend a picture update at the end of every day, just so she knows I'm working on it for her. :)

I know, I'm a bit of a slow knitter, it took me over an hour to nearly double what I had done yesterday - and no, I will not be attempting to double the length tomorrow! 

I have some plans for what I wish to get up to tomorrow. As I said, I was going through my bins of craft supplies and found some odds and ends of plastic canvas pieces. A bunch of squares that I have no idea what I was going to do with. Then it hit me - or rather, I hit it - A Mario coin block piggy bank! (See what I did there, with that pun? ;D)

Anyway, I was originally thinking of doing it in the classic Mario style, but I realized I don't have the appropriate colours and I really don't want to buy more yarn until I've either sold some projects or used up more of what I have.

So this appearance:
 

 Instead of this:

Maybe one day, when I have a sufficient amount of funds, I will track down the right colours to make a retro Mario coin block. I have so many ideas on how I want to do this! I can't wait for tomorrow!! I just might start it tonight. Or not, I'm getting a bit sleepy. So, I'll wrap this up and bid you all adieu! Be sure to check back tomorrow for an update on the progress of my projects!