A Hat For Me

I found this really cute pattern for a winter hat, and decided to make one for myself.

Here’s the pattern: Iceland Earflap Hat

I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Claret; I was afraid the color was a little too meat-sauce-y, but it turned out to be the perfect wine-ish color that I was hoping for! And I just used the size 10 circulars and did Magic Loop (my first time, and it came out pretty good!).

I like this hat because of the cute little point at the top! Though the way mine came out, it looks a little more acorn-shaped. I still think it's cute. And I love ear flaps!

Decreasing and finishing off the hat was fun, and I really like how it came out!

Thanks to Tim for taking a break while shoveling out the car to take these pics!

First big snow of the year!

Caps for Kids

A bunch of us at work donated hats and scarves as Christmas presents for Caps for Kids. Here are some pics of what I made.

Newborn Baby Hat – Rolled Brim:

This is the first hat I ever made, so it's totally ladder-city. But it's uniform so it looks like I did it on purpose. Used up some left-over yarn (Sugar 'n Cream in Faded Denim), but ran out so the hat's a little shorter than the pattern suggests.

Finished it off with an i-cord, but the way I weaved in the ends, it looks like a pumpkin stem!

Purple Scarf:

My friend Melanie gave me some Homespun yarn, and I'd never knitted anything with this kind of yarn before, so I started with a simple project. At first I used size 7 needles & CO 36 stitches. This made a REALLY wide scarf, so I turned it into a cat bed for my friend’s kitty. Tried again casting on 20 stitches; it worked fine and was wide without being too wide!

The scarf being modeled by my lovely sister Amelia! The color is "Baroque" and it's really pretty.

Homespun Hat:

Since Homespun is so soft, I wanted to make a nice hat with it. This yarn color is "Fiesta."

The colors are really nice! Reminds me of one of those giant multi-colored lollipops. This pattern is really simple and easy, and it comes out quite nicely.

What it looks like on! (The colors are way off, but at least you can see what it looks like on.) Since it fits me, then it's probably going to go to an older kid.

Fiesta Scarf:

Since I had leftover "Fiesta" Homespun yarn, I made a scarf with it. Used size 9 needles, CO 18 stitches, and knit until I had no more yarn left.

Amelia is a champ and is modeling this scarf, too!

Melanie is in charge of mailing in the caps and scarves. She says there are three whole boxes full! Way to go, Teamwork!

Cubee Love

I was always torn whether to post gifts I make for people or not. On one hand, they’re personal things that become no longer mine. On the other hand, most of the stuff I make is for other people, so I wouldn’t have much to post if I didn’t share anything. I’ve come to the decision that I think I’ll just use my discretion.

So! In an earlier post, I professed my fascination with paper crafts. One particularly amazing free paper crafts website is cubeecraft.com: Not only are there a bunch of cool artist original designs as well as Cubee’d versions of your favorite pop culture characters for you to download, print, cut out, and assemble (no glue needed! So cool!), but you can also freely download a template to design your own Cubee toy.

Tim and I both love assembling paper toys from this website! So for our anniversary (back in June; yeah, I’m a bit slow in posting this), I thought it’d be brilliant to design Cubee versions of ourselves. Of course summers are super duper busy at work, but I managed to make these in time:

Here's Tim!

Here's me!

What the template of Tim looks like.

And this is the me template.

I also made Action Hand-Holding Arms. The arms stick out to the side and hopefully the heart folds up somewhere inbetween. Tim hasn't made these guys yet... And I haven't tried it out to see if it would work... It's part of the surprise Tim will feel when he finally assemble this thing, haha!

sexy un-Cubee'd lovebirds

If you haven’t already, check out cubeecraft.com for awesome toy designs!!!!!!!!!!!! And try designing one of your own, it’s great!

Tofu Update II: Not Really About the Tofu

I happened upon that entry I wrote  a year ago about my knitted tofu friend, Oishii, living at my desk at work. And I noticed that his plant friend standing behind him was a SHRIMP! Now it’s a giant mess!

Before: A piece of one of my house plants re-rooted and brought in to the office. How will it fair without any natural light?

After: Apparently, it fairs quite well. LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT THING.

If, like me, you’re awful at taking care of plants, just get one of these things and leave it at your work, because it will thrive.

Fingerless Mittens

I made fingerless mittens! This is the first project that I’ve knitted in the round as well as adding something to it like a thumb gusset. Here’s the link to the pattern I made: Fingerless Mittens

I used Berroco Comfort in Liquorice. It's a great black color that my camera doesn't pick up very well, but it's pretty darn black. And it was hard to see what I was doing since it was so black, but I think it came out pretty well. A simple and cool design. I'd like to make these in other colors too!

Close-up.

One of the mittens is smaller, so I think I knitted one tighter than the other. But they both fit pretty well!

**UPDATE! 11/19/09**

They do good at keeping my hands warm at work.

Chef Paul’s iPod Cozy

To the awesome chef with the awesome tunes! My friend Matt’s birthday was this weekend, so I knit him an iPod cozy!

Here’s a link to the pattern I used: 3rd Generation iPod Cozy. I used Berroco Comfort in Liquorice (that excellent black that my camera seems incapable of taking a good picture of!), so I altered the pattern so it would be the right size: I cast on 15 rows (I didn’t realize until it was too late that I should have CO’ed an even number of rows, so the button is slightly off center; this just means it’s got extra character!), and I knit for 11-ish inches.

I also embroidered a skull wearing a chef’s hat that says “MP” (Matt’s initials) on the back of it for a personal touch (using Berroco Comfort in Lovage).

iPod cozy!

Closed.

Open.

Open; back view.

Fits my iPod with and without the case!

Hot Heads, Happy Hearts!

Knitting for folks in need is a great way to help out as well as make lots of fun project that you might not normally get to make!

I recently knitted two baby hats for Hot Heads, Happy Hearts! My friend Melanie hipped me to this project, and I also used some of the most excellent Peaches & Crème yarn that she gave to me as a gift.

Here’s a link to the pattern I used for both hats: Newborn Baby Hat Pattern – Rolled Brim

Yarn color is Orange Sherbert, but it totally reminded me or Circus Peanuts when I was working with it! (I have a love/hate relationship with those.) This is one of the first projects I've knitted in the round, and I was getting ladders between the first and second stitches on each needle. At least it's consistent and looks like part of the design, haha! Ended the hat in an i-chord instead of just threading through the yarn.

I like the texture on the inside!

This yarn is Rainbow Ombre. I solved my ladder problem! I was pulling the yarn in between each needle too tight, so it evened out when I loosened up.

Did the normal finish, and I like it!

Frankie

So one cool thing about going through all of that stuff (please see the previous post!) is that I found some original paintings that I did, that I’d been looking for. Yay!

 

Here's a watercolor I did about four years ago, of a little girl in a Frankenstein monster costume. Used it to make a few Halloween cards and sent them to the place I interned at and a couple of clients/designers/artists/pals. I never thought I would see this again. So now I'm sharing this with all of you!

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

SKETCHBOOK: Part 2

The previous post was written over two years ago. What does this mean? It means that those are still currently some of my latest sketchbook pages! Because I have so much awesome stuff collected that I get overwhelmed and don’t know what to do with it all.

Sometimes I’ll put things I really like up on the wall.

For example, here's a pic of my cube at work. I like being surrounded with images and designs that I think are great and inspiring and fun(ny). Also, somehow, visual clutter helps me to better concentrate.

Here's my work space at home. Lots of stuff up on the walls here, too (you should see the rest of the apartment...). Look past the non-wall clutter; I'm in the middle of reorganizing... And yes, that is a lightsaber on my window sill!

If it’s not on a wall or given to someone else that I think will enjoy it, it currently resides in a drawer in a closet.

Here is said drawer, out getting some fresh air.

What it looks like dumped out on the floor.

I tried to sort through it, but I got overwhelmed and gave up. Started making small, categorized piles though!

I'll show some to you! Here's a small sample of packaging I like that I've collected.

Some wrapping paper that I've collected. Yup, I'm one of those people. Mostly not to reuse it (though believe me, I have two bags full of gift wrap/tags/tissue paper/ribbons/you name it, featuring recycled materials as well), but because I think it's really cute/cool and I like looking at it. By the way, the black wrapping paper with the little white faces down on the right is something that my sister Liz (of rippin-kitten.com fame!) made for me one year! So cute and amazing!

Some illustration/design/art work that I like.

Some things that I liked the look of, but probably should have never collected. Including: a paper towel, a tissue (not used!) that has cute monkeys on it, a chocolate snowman wrapper, a haw flakes wrapper, an empty sugar packet, and a non-empty sugar packet.

Some things that I've had for a long time. (Why do I have a photocopy of me with my arms cut of??)

Actual sketches! I also keep old ideas for projects that didn't work out but I'd like to revisit one day, and unused printouts of work in the early stages that I liked or thought was cool.

Lots of sticky notes and things written on little pieces of paper.

Some other categories that I could make with the rest of this stuff:

- stickers

- design and production information/cheat sheets

- note cards that were sent to not me, but I liked them so I rescued them from the trash/recycling

- ads

- paint/color chips/samples (I think this will be it’s own post someday)

- doodles/drawings that people made for me

- stationery

So what on earth should I do with all of this?? I’d probably be a lot less anxious person if I didn’t hold on to so much stuff. Being able to purge unnecessary things from one’s life and to live minimally is a concept that attracts me to no end. But what do you do when you’re obsessive about objects and visual stimulation and ideas? How do I better store and present this information for it to be a useful and effective tool, rather than just a pile that I continually add to and fret about? Visual experience and concepts and objects help inform my work as a designer and artist, but I think I’m at the point beyond taping things in to sketchbooks.

SKETCHBOOK: Part 1

I originally posted this on my MySpace blog a while ago (Saturday, June 02, 2007). Reposting here for your enjoyment, and to kind of explain the next post!

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In my last entry (** Ignore that! -CK **) I mentioned that I never have time to draw. It’s still true, but I remembered what I do have time to do. SKETCHBOOKS!! Cyrus Highsmith (my independent Type Design teacher) loves sketchbooks, and, since he’s kind of famous and awesome, I thought I’d give them a whirl.

My sketchbooks turned out to be more of a collection of things that I, uh, collect. I collect things that I think are visually interesting or funny or weird or stuff that I just like. Realizing I needed a place for all this random inspiration, I started taping this stuff into my sketchbooks.

So really my Sketchbooks are Things That Inspire Me Plus Some Ideas That I Have.

Here are some pages from my first, and most complete, sketchbook!

This 6" x 8.5" sketchbook is a graduation gift from Kai Yee! The cover now features a partial baby-in-a-grape-costume (yikes!!) and some skinny black tape that I use to tape back pages.

Inside Cover.

Taking notes, writing down ideas, and client sketches.

Personal Design/Presentation ideas.

Obligatory Adam Ant page.

Notes on a lecture by Linda Norren on Ed Ruscha; crazy clippings from a Security Guard stuff catalog.

I love stickers!

I love stickers and Christmas!

I love Christmas and gambling!

I love packaging!

Drawing, stickers, an old greeting card.

Playing around with materials for self-promo stuff (Senior Jury/Portfolio class at AIB).

Inside Back Cover: more self-promo experiments, and Preppy Party costume idea.