And now for something completely different...

So a co-worker made a comment to me yesterday when I asked if she had made something on her desk and said, "Yeah, I'm not really into super lame crafts." So inspired by Amy, here is my post highlighting my favorite, not-necessarilly-super-lame, but definitely quirky crafts of the week:

1) Fake Dog Poo Knitting Pattern

I am not even joking. I found this two nights ago and couldn't stop laughing. For only $0.50 it can be yours. Find it on Ravelry here.


2) Fish Hat [Dead or Alive?]
I actually really really like this pattern. And what's not to like about a hat that looks like a giant fish is eating your head? But you've got to admit....it's quirky. 1,127 Ravelry knitters who have made this pattern can't be wrong! Find it for free on Knitty here or on Ravelry here.

3) Babies in a Blender
It's a hat. It has plastic baby appendages. It's....really weird. In fact, it's so weird, I'm really surprised this woman doesn't live in Portland. It's not a published pattern, but Ravelry users can see it on Ravelry here.


4) Womb
A knitted womb, that is. So in case yours has gone missing, you can knit yourself a replacement. Also featuring pirate version, "biological" clock version and anti-hitch-scrotum version. Pattern available for free at Knitty.








That's all for now! And don't forget: craft weird. It's the Portland way!

BookWorm Hats and Free Pattern

BookWorm Hat Pattern
by Carissa Bonham
***This pattern may only be used for personal, non-commercial use. Any other use of this hat including using the pattern for group knitting, publishing or to sell requires the specific written permission of the author (that would be me)***

Gauge = 8st = 3”

Yarn = 1 ball Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Pine 182 (color A)

& 1 ball Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Grass 131 (color B)

Needles: sz. 11, straight needles or size needed to optain gauge

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cast on 59 stitches with color A

Work in St. st for 4 rows

Switch to color B for 4 rows

Alternate 4 row sections of each color until there are 6 stripes worked or until unrolled hat measures 6”.

Switch to next color and K1, *K6, K2tog* seven times, K2

Purl across

K1, *K5, K2tog* seven times, K2

Purl across

Change colors and K1, *K4, K2tog* seven times, K2

Purl across

K1, *K3, K2tog* seven times, K2

P2, *P2tog, P2* six times, P2tog, P3

Change colors and K1, *K1, K2tog* seven times, K2

Purl across

K1,*K2tog* 8 times

*P2tog* 4 times, P1

Leaving an 8 inch tail trim yarn and thread through remaining stitches on a blunt needle, pulling tight.

Alternating the yarn (so that colors match up) sew up seam with mattress stitch being careful to be sure stripes match up across seam.

When you get to the last stripe along cast on edge, sew seam on WS so that it doesn’t show when edge is rolled up.

Weave in ends

**Tip: to decrease the amount of finishing work required, instead of cutting and re-tying yarn at each color change, allow the color you are not working with to dangle and allow it to run along the side (it will be hidden inside the seam when done).

If anyone decides to knit this hat, please let me know! I'd love to see pictures.

To contact me regarding permission to use this hat for anything other than personal, non-commercial use, please contact me by posting a comment in this post (being sure to fill out the e-mail address field).

Thanks!

Christmas Knitting Round 3: HatMania

Hats Hats Hats!!!!

I sure hope people like hats because it looks like that's what almost everyone is getting for Christmas this year.....

Purple Fuzz

This is the Lion Brand Velvet Spun hat I made for my Husband's Aunt in Lavender on size 11 needles. Loosely based on the kittyville hat pattern (see below).

My husband calls this the
"Hospital Patient Hat"
(I don't think it's that bad!)

Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick in Sky Blue for my Sister-In-Law Crystal. Knit on sz. 11 needles. Loosely based on a modified version of the top-secret meathead hat pattern

Matching Acorn Hats

These are matching hats for my nephew and his dad (that would be my brother-in-law). Hats were free-styled out of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky Yarn in some brown color (I lost the label) on size 11, 10, and 9 needles (decreased the size as I got further up the hat).

Falicia's Kittyville Hat

Kittyville hat made for my brother's girlfriend out of Red Heart Yarn in black on size 7 DPN's.

BookWorm Hats

These are complementary hats I made for my husband's parents out of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick yarn in Grass and Pine on size 11 needles. I came up with the pattern myself and will list it in my next post.

And now it's time for Carissa's Infamous BLOG QUIZ!!!!!

Christmas Knitting Round 2

Hooray for more Christmas knitting!

I found out my brother's girlfriend (whom I have never met) was going to spend Christmas evening with my family when I go back to Seattle for Christmas. Since they have been dating for a whole year now, I figure it may be a smidge on the serious side and so I should be a good possible future sister-in-law and give her something (plus I'm nice like that). Since most of my family is getting handknit items, I decided I would feel like a cheap jerk if I just got her a token store bought something.

From her myspace page, I'm thinking she's of the punk rock persuassion and might appriciate something fun, so I decided to make her a kittyville hat. This is me wearing it:

Okay, I know it's a stupid pose.....but it was really the best one of the hat (stop laughing).

Now I have a dillemma.....I kinda like the hat. I'd wear it. I'm scared if I give it to her, she'll think it's dumb and throw it away or give it to goodwill. It's not like the yarn was expensive (it's acrylic) but I spent a long time working on this thing! And I think it's tacky to say, "I made you this hat. I spent a long time working on it. I hope you like it but if you hate it, please don't throw it away. I'd rather have you give it to one of my sisters and know you hate it than have you pretend to like it and have it end up in a dumpster."

So I'm not sure. I figure I have 3 options:

1) Keep the hat myself and make her a beanie to match the one I'm going to make for my brother
This has the slight downside that now I have an acrylic hat when I would have prefered wool plus now I need to knit something else (Christmas will be here soon!)

2) Give the hat to her and make one for me out of wool
And maybe tell Chris privately that if Falicia hates it, to please not throw it away??

3) Give the hat to one of my sisters who I know will appriciate it
I think either of my sisters would like this hat. Plus even if they hate it, I don't think they'd throw it away....they'd probably just give it to the other one.

Hmmmm. What to do, what to do? So to facilitate the decision process, I would really appriciate if you took my "What should I do with this hat??" quiz:

Thanks!!!

Christmas Knitting, round 1

I've been doing a lot of knitting for Christmas. A lot of it is a bit hush-hush (the recipients either read or know about my blog), but some things are not-so-secret. This is one of my latest Christmas Knitting creations:

It's called a "Meathead hat" (don't ask....I don't know where the name comes from). The pattern is by Larissa Brown and I made it as part of the group of test knitters for a knitting book she is doing.

I was originally thinking I'd give it to my 9-year-old sister for Christmas but then Cambria (the 22-year-old sister) called and said she wanted it instead. Hmmmm.

Since there is still the possibility that I might need to send it to Larissa to take pictures for her book (I'll know by the end of the week) it might turn out that nobody will get it for Christmas.

I guess it will be one big surprise.