Blog Move

Hi there!

Sorry I've been so inactive as of late... I have a confession... I've been seeing another blog host site.

That's right, I've moved onto Tumblr. I just find it way more interactive, people can actually send me messages and I can collaborate with other blogs. I'm finalizing the nitty gritty of it now, but if you wanna still follow what I'm up to (all 2 of you who haven't given up on me entirely), I can now be found here. I hope to see some of you guys there, and hopefully get to know a couple of you! Don't be shy if you ever feel like dropping me a line!

See you there,
Hamallie

Stella! (unfinished)

I was starting this post off with an apology for being so late, when I realized that the majority of my posts are late, which would make my lateness normal.... So I guess I'll apologize if I post something early, for the resulting shock.

Yeah...

I've missed crocheting! I've been picking up and putting back down a whole bunch of projects, so I'll hopefully be able to put up another post (or, dare I say it, two?) before I go back to school.

 If I do post, it'll probably be a crocheted Sherlock because OMFGDSDHFGIJA, if any of you follow BBC's Sherlock or Dr. Who, you know Moffat wouldn't give us such a nice episode 2 if he wasn't going to drop a major bomb on us for the finale.

Anyways...

Meet Stella

She belongs to one of my closest friends, and is probably the coolest dog ever. I basically visit my friend so that I can see Stella... just kidding (not really... She's just probably reading this post).

 I'm counting this project as unfinished because I didn't finish the details on the muzzle or the eyes. This was an interesting project because it was the first time I've ever crocheted something from real life, instead of some sort of character.

It was a pretty basic project most of the time. You start out with a rounded cylinder for the body, and four cones for the paws.

 

 

 Stitch them together

Everything's going fine. I made a sphere for the head...

 

And thenn... I realized Stella's head wasn't so much circular as it was a sort of rounded cone. So I took it apart and figured I'd just start with a cone and see what happens from there. Once I reached the right length for the muzzle, I put in half-way markers (the piece of white yarn), one on each side, and double stitched the stitches up top, while only single stitching the bottom row.

I'm pretty happy with the results, it's definitely a technique to use in the future.

And voila, Stella.

She wasn't quite finished when I gave her. I tried a bunch of different eyes, but none of them seemed to work, and I didn't get around to making the white strip down her nose. Hopefully I'll figure out the eye thing sometime soon. Maybe Stella will grace us with a side by side shot with mini Stella!

That's it for now guys. I'll have another post up soon, hopefully... if the final Sherlock episode doesn't kill me inside.

Until next time, take care!
Hamallie

I Know...

So, to anyone following this blog, you've probably noticed the recent lull (understatement) in activity. I know what you're probably thinking...

But I have been busy, promise!

Unfortunately, my school work has reached an all-time high and I haven't been able to crochet recently. Trust me, this hurts me just as much as it hurts you... probably more, as I'm fairly certain at least half of the views on this blog are robotic.

BUT this does not mean I've dropped crocheting as a hobby, nor does it mean the end of this blog. It will just probably take me until thanksgiving or winter break to make another post, but I already have plans for what I'll make.

Future projects include: Ike from South Park, Patamon from Digimon (though I'm more of a Pokemon person), Snape from Harry Potter, a secret project because I know the person involved will read this... oh, and I'm going to try to crochet a model boat, so we'll see how that works.

Before I went back to school I had started another project, so I'll leave a sneak peak here. This is the first time I looked up something to crochet .There wasn't a pattern involved, but I got the idea from Pinterest.

Even Stewie helped

So yeah, it's fairly obvious what this is, but I'll get the finished project up as soon as I can. For those of you who would like to get notifications (sporadic though they may be) of my new blog posts, you can follow me on blogger.

I offer digital versions of cupcakes I made this summer as thanks for sticking with me.

Until next time, take care guys!

Hamallie

Ladies and Gentlemen, Stewie Griffin!

WOW.

Ok, it's been quite the while since I've last made a post. In my defense, I've been kind of busy.

Though, I think Sweet Brown puts it much more eloquently:
Ain't nobody...

...I couldn't resist :D

I'm hoping this project will make up for the delay though! I promise I didn't just abandon you guys. I've been hard at work behind the scenes... and only procrastinating a little...

I made Stewie as a birthday/ graduation gift for one of my friends. I figured this would be an appropriate choice, as she loves Family Guy.

Overall, the project wasn't too difficult. His head is sort of oddly shaped... but, if you just start off making a sort of rounded cone, and then do the mirror image of what you did once you hit the middle of his head, it's easy.

I've had a lot of people ask me how I make the projects I've done. And I know people won't believe me when I say this, but it's really not that difficult. Once you've learned the basics it's just about applying them. I'm actually thinking of making a few "basic shapes" videos on Youtube, so keep an eye out for that and I'll keep you guys posted on that project's progress.

 Annnnyways...

The only issue (and there is always an issue) that cropped up with this project was with the eyes. Normally I like to use felt for sharp features that need definition (like eyes). BUT, in this case, I realized that a Stewie without eyelids was a creepy Stewie indeed:

 

Actually, Stewie creeped me out a couple of times during this project

And since I didn't have felt in his skin tone, I had to crochet his eyelids. This left the question of whether or not the eye itself should be crocheted. And, as with most of these sorts of questions, it was best answered with a little compare and contrast.

After a lot of deliberating, and advice from a friend, I actually decided I preferred the crochet version over the felt, for once.

And Voila. Stewie, lord high lord of the yarn balls (I've been playing Ni no Kuni).

 I'd just like to note that the smug expression on his face wasn't even planned; it just sort of happened.

 And, yeah. I'll be updating more frequently now.

So take care guys, and I'll talk to you later!

Hamallie

Tails!

Meh Hello!

The semester is winding down, which means I'm probably going to disappear for a while (or cave and write a bunch of blog posts, it's a toss up, really). Seeing as I'm theoretically going AWOL it's only fair if I leave you guys with one of my favorite projects, Tails.

Honestly, one of the hardest parts of this project was telling people I was crocheting Tails. The non-Sega/ Sonic fans of the world kept giving me the weirdest looks.  It got even more difficult when I tried to explain how he uses his tails to fly...

Anyways, Tails turned out WAY bigger than I thought he would. The thing is, I don't make or use patterns, I have a more "figure it out when you get there" approach to crocheting/life, so I figured the torso I made would be fine, and then I checked the proportions and Tails' body is WICKED small compared to the rest of him, but I didn't want to re-do anything at that point so I just stuck with it... 

Just look at the size of his foot compared to his body!

It's funny, my friend just pointed out that Tails was the biggest project I've ever worked on, but I got it to my friend the quickest out of anything I've ever crocheted (it was still two months late for his birthday, but that's basically early in my book).

Annnd yeah, I nearly forgot to attach a finished product, but here's Tails

I'll probably write again in a couple of weeks, but until then, take care everybody!

I'll see ya later,

Hamallie

Pikachu!

It's been... a weird week. So I figured now would be the perfect time to settle down with a cup of tea and write a new blog post.

Before I start with that though, I have had a couple of questions about if I crochet clothing.

I have crocheted scarves and mittens (and the odd blanket) in the past, but it's never been something I've been particularly fond of. The best way I can explain it is that, if I see some clothing crocheted in a store, I'll probably just think "that looks nice". I don't have the same "I could make that" feeling when I look at clothes that I get when I look at animals or characters.

BUT, one of my closest friends crochets like a boss and makes a lot of wearable items. To top it off, she has a blog too! I seriously recommend checking it out sometime at: http://1001knit.blogspot.com


Now, back to Pikachu

This was another one of my earlier projects (almost exactly a year ago), before I started taking nice pictures and before I learned the proper way to expand stitches.

Side note, if anyone ever has questions about how I make anything, leave a comment and I'd be happy to help!

I made Pikachu for a friend's birthday and I just realized that he doesn't have any feet! There's always something I've forgotten. So now I'm going to have to kidnap Pikachu...

Wish me luck!
See you later,
Hamallie

A Love Story

Meh hello!

Long time no see... write?

I've been spending my break in a very productive manner... (i.e. freaking out about The Office ending, playing Uncharted, and having staring contests with my cats) BUT I have managed to make a couple of things and today I'd like to share with you... A love story.


Once there was a cheerful asparagus. He had lots of friends and led a happy life.

But, despite everything, the feeling that he was missing something lingered...

until the day he met her

     And then life was perfect

The back story for this project is a little less magical.

My friend has an asparagus stuffy and I figured, for her birthday, I'd make him a spouse.
Annnd, as per usual, this project ended about a month before the year anniversary of the date I was originally supposed to give her her birthday present.


Making Mrs. Asparagus was a really fun project. I sewed together half-spheres for her "hair" and her body is cone-shaped with the dress sewn over it.

Another plus was that I finally got the hang of the sewing detailing that I used for her face (there were a LOT of pins and redos involved).

But it was totally worth it to see these two lovebirds together.

I'll probably have another blog post up sometime during the week and I hope y'all have a good one.


See you later,
Hamallie