Day 19 - 4/14/15 - Baymax Head

Hello.  Well I'm generating a buzz with my Baymax.  There is much interest at the office.  Can't wait to crochet some more!

And by the time I got home I was absolutely exhausted.  All I did was finish Baymax's head:

I was having an issue with this head in that I kept messing up my count.  I'd get to the end of the row and still have stitches to do.  I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what I'd been doing.  The head is fine, but I was doing something wrong.

Good night.

Day 18 - 4/13/15

Got to show off my pieces today.  Been working on the scarf:

I really like my scarf because it gives me a great opportunity to practice different stitches and patterns and working on improvisation. It gives me a chance to practice and practice, and I still feel like I'm working on a project. I have a hard time working on "practice swatches.

I'm still "getting" what the next stitch to put my hook into is.

My main weakness right now is pulling the hook through the final loops of yarn (at the end of the stitch process). My hook gets hung up and I have a hard time coaxing it through. I've been working with different ways to hold the hook and to hold the yarn.

The Susan Bates hooks have a deeper hook well than Boye or Clover. Both of those other hooks were unable to hold onto the yarn after I got it through the loops. I couldn't figure a way to make them work. When I tried the Susan Bates I felt a lot more confident working the yarn because it felt more snugly held in the hook.  I worried that the hook was getting caught in the loops but I really believe that as I mature and continue to practice I will develop a way to deal with this.

I'm definitely working a Baymax as my next project.  I want to make one for Amy in the cafeteria at work.  I'm going to see if I can do the head tonight.  It's pretty small - just 12 rounds.

So if that pans out I'll post photos.  If I fall asleep then I guess it wasn't meant to be.

Oh well, who needs sleep, right!

I am really, very, super happy with the quality and consistency of my stitches.  I'm grateful for the years I've spent knitting because I learned how to use yarns and needles.  Crocheting is like falling off a bicycle.  Once you've fallen off a bicycle, it's easy to fall off the next time!

Love you guys - life is really good.

Day 17 - 4/12/15

Today was finishing day - TWO PROJECTS COMPLETE IN ONE DAY!!!!!!!

As it should be...

#1 - the crochet hook bag:

I was inspired by a crochet hook bag I saw on Pinterest.  I decided to do a circular pattern up to the flap, After I'd crocheted enough to hold the hooks I Just started moving back and forth until the flap closed over the bag.  I used a couple of rows of triple crochet which worked out great as the buttonhole without having to crochet a buttonhole.

I have adopted Rosa's "make it up as you go along" philosophy.  If I continually work projects that require me to acquire new skills then I will develop those abilities and be able to apply them as needed when I'm creating my own works.

#2 - ball monster

His rather goofy shape is due to a placement error on my part. Everything got crocheted fine.  I attached the eyes, which I felt showed too much white yarn (I considered doing a chain that I could put around the eyes to hide the yarn but decided against it).

So I put the feet on first (probably should have started with the arms).  I put the feet on virtually in line with each other, which left me no room to put the arms on.  Here's a quick reminder of the final pattern:

So after some thinking and calculating and trying stuff I decided to use the arms as bunny ears.  My friend Rosa fell in love with the little guy so I let her have it.

Now that I can breathe I'm working a little on my practice scarf.  I've decided to do the Baymax pattern next.

Day 16 - 4/11/15

I did a lot of yarn work today.  I made really good progress on my crochet hook bag.  I'll post photos when I finish.

I cannot express how much I love Susan Bates wooden handle crochet hooks:

I've adopted a smoother style of crocheting using the pencil hold.  These hooks give your hand a little more surface to grip.  It's much easier on the wrists.

It's odd how sometimes in life someone will just do a tiny little something that completely changes the way you look at the world.

I mentioned in an earlier post how Rosa showed me how she crochets and how she has a super-flowing style that doesn't even look to be the slightest bit stressed or cramped.  Mind you she's been crocheting for decades, but her style totally influenced me.

My crocheting style used to be similar to a famous movie:

Take THAT yarn!

But I practiced on my crochet hook bag and I have gotten the hang of the flow of this style.  I'm super happy that I got this hint early on in my crocheting career so I don't have to re-learn anything.

I also finally made a couple of eyes for my monster that I was happy with:

See you tomorrow!

Day 15 - 4/10/15

So, if any of my invisible readers are interested, one of the best websites I've ever found (I wouldn't in a zillion years use hyperbole!) is Noise Machines Online.  They have a bunch of amazing ambient sounds including water falling in a cave, cat purring, Indian drone, and white noise.  There are 8 sliders that you can use to adjust the ambience (more water, less echo), and you can animate the sliders so that the sound is constantly evolving.

I find that when I crochet it is difficult to listen to any kind of music, as it distracts my mind from the pattern (you know when you do amigurumi you often need to pay attention), but I've discovered that these ambient noises are an amazing tool for letting yourself go.  I can crochet while listening to rain and thunder as it doesn't distract me from counting, it provides a nice background for my mind.

If you make any donation at all, you're given access to all of the sounds on the site.  I love this site so much that I plan on donating again!

Boy I'm glad I didn't finish the monster last night.  I looked at my white eye rounds and realized that the yarn is too thin and that there are big holes.  I hauled my tuchus down to Joann to get a giant skein of white and black yarn so I can re-crochet the eyes tighter and I think I'm going to make them a little bigger.

So I'm patiently waiting for when I can start crocheting again.  My main goal tonight is to finish the eyes and make sure everything is ready to stuff.

ALL HAIL THE HOLK!

Here's an illustration of why I'm redoing the eyes - check the holes!

Hole-y Stromboli!

But I'm making progress on my improvised crochet hook bag:

Day 14 - 4/9/15

More crocheting today.  I'm sensing a trend!

I have no idea - it's a pretty cool photo isn't it?  Loved that movie but I will be the first to admit that it is very, very slow.

Anyway more crocheting as promised.

My friend Rosa from work, who is a super-amazingly talented crocheter, told me I had tight stitches, not in a critical way but observing.

Are our personalities represented in our knitting or crocheting?  How tight are your stitches?  I live a pretty exciting life with commitments and challenges galore.  I have stress - perhaps my tight crocheting is a reflection of stress.

But on the other hand, since I'm crocheting toys, you want a certain tightness so that the stuffing doesn't show through.

By the way - Rosa showed me her technique - Jiminy Jillikers!  She has such a smooth and rhythmic technique.

Oh, and I'm designing a crochet raven:

I managed to finish the body up to the point where it is ready to stuff.  I stayed up semi-late and was going to push myself to finish the monster, but I didn't want to sell out the fun of putting it together. So I decided to finish the project on Friday.

Here's the ball body to this point:

Day 13 - 4/8/15

I got through all of the increase rows (10) and have done a couple of rows down. There are 60 stitches in a round at this point.

I'd love to finish the body today - lot of work.  Let's see if we can make that happen.