Dumpster of Life (or Death)

Every year I try to get ornaments that have significance in our past year...Last year, if you were paying attention, you would have seen the podiatrist shrunken head and ingrown toenail ornaments I made for my son....

This year, I decided I needed a Glenn Dumpster...Now, of course I made it as an ornament, but it would make a great gift box for any Walking Dead fan...Or just a fun little table doodad...you could put some zombie guts in it or something...or candy...ya...candy!!!

Anyhow, here is how you make this little gem

With worsted weight yarn I recommend 100% wool-I didn't have wool, I used acrylic, but it isn't as structured as it could be if you used wool...
US 3 (or any sized needle that will give you very tight gauge)

Very small amounts of white, brown, grey, yellow and dark blue.

Base
with dark blue CO 15
Work 10 rows of stockinette (starting with a knit row)
BO

Long sides (make two)
with dark blue CO 15
k 3 rows
work in stockinette for 7 more rows starting with a purl row
BO

Short Sides (make two)
with dark blue CO 7
k 3 rows
work in stockinette for 7 more rows starting with a purl row
BO

Lid
With grey, co 22
(k1tbl, p1) across for 12 rows

The garter edges are the tops of your sides-so keep that in mind for the embroidery:
 using your yellow and grey and looking at photo for the details, use duplicate stitch embroidery to make the little yellow sign and the grey thinamathing....




White bag
with white, pick up 3 stitches from the top of the front long side
1.  kfb, k, kfb
2.  k2, k2tog, kfb
3. BO2, k2tog
4.  k2tog and finish off

Cardboard box
with brown, pick up 3 stitches from the top of the front long side
k 3 rows
BO

Chain

separate strands from your brown yarn.  Using one strand chain loosely, until your chain is the desired lenght.

Whip stitch the side seams-only sew the lid on the very back long seam.
Update:  I've finally gotten my Christmas Tree up and I am happy to report that Glenn's Dumpster was the first ornament on the tree!  If you listen closely, you can hear Sebastion singing softly to Glenn, "Unda Da Dumpsta!"

DIY Advent Calendar!

I have always wanted an advent calendar!  I thought it would be cute to knit some little stockings and hang them on a stick and use that as our advent calendar!  Inside each stocking will be two goodies and two papers with a random act of kindness (I have two kids so it works well that way).

I used this FREE superminis sock pattern to make my little socks.  I'd never knitted any socks before-so these were my first.  There is a great German rows tutorial included if you have never done that technique.  I have done it before so I didn't need it, but it is nice to have if you are a newb!  I used worsted weight, so they came out to be a pretty decent sized sock for the advent calendar.  Then I decided I wanted to get all cutsey and have some little ones too so I modified the pattern by:

CO 12

Omit the second short rows section

did my decreases on every row instead of every other row

There are loads of other free socks patterns I considered-this was just the first one I tried-and liked it so I just went with it...here are some more free patterns that I considered, I just haven't gotten around to trying them yet!


Sockknitters Mini-Sock
Toe-up Mini Sock
Mini Stocking Ornament

And for the crocheter in me:

Little Christmas Socks


Once I got finished with my 16th sock I hit a rut...I got sick of socks...so I tried my hand at some brioche...knitted a fun colorwork hat (and even a matching one for my dog)...caught up with a few orders for friends and family....and then went back to finishing all the socks so I could get to the even more fun part!

I then went hunting for a nice big stick...this was pretty easy as we live on a wooded lot and it has been really windy here! Of course, once I brought it in I realized there were a few creatures on it so now I have a few leaf hopper bugs in my house! DOH!

I took some wire-unfortunately I don't know the gauge-it was just thick enough to be easy to cut but also easy to bend into shape but not bend back with the weight of the goodies inside the socks...I wish I could be more helpful there, but my days of jewelry making are over and I've long since thrown out the little tags on the wire I have.  I originally wanted little hook things from Home Depot, but my husband seemed very uninterested in helping me at all, and I have to pick my battles.  Before you go hating on him, he's a wonderful man who does everything for his family, but works very long hours.  I have to keep my "Honey Do" list reasonable so I get the things I need to get done...done!  He still needs to tarp over my chicken run, and I have that as a priority as we are supposed to get snow on Friday!

I made little hooks by twisting the wire around the stick, leaving one end long enough to shape into a hook.  That's it!  I'll need to get hubby to actually hang this on my wall for me, but that can come after the chickens are all cozy in their covered run....and probably after I host Thanksgiving! :)

The Hatred Test

My good friend posted a photo of a kitty wearing a hat on my facebook yesterday...She said her dog needed one...I advised against this at all costs...Surely the dog would hate her forever if she did such a thing!  Then she told me she was only kidding...

Well...you can't tell an obsessive yarner that you think something should be made and not mean it...So I just got done making a baa-ble hat (awesome free pattern!!)  and figured I'd attempt to make my very first (and hopefully last) dog hat!  Just to test the theory that dogs do not appreciate such things....and they will hate you.....rather emphatically until the end of time...But cats...cats don't like humans anyhow so go ahead and make the wear hats!


I have to say, Lola actually didn't mind it.  She was pretty chill throughout the whole process of  taking measurements, trying it on and modeling it...

For those that want to recreate what I did....here it goes:

Click that link above to bring you to the baa-ble hat so you can follow along...

I decided that for her head size she'd need a cast on of 60...

I did K2, p2 for the ribbing-about 3/4 of an inch...
Then I did a straight k row
then I did one row of the little flowers from the baa-ble chart...

Then I came to the ear holes

k7, BO 13, k17, BO 13, k8  (in case you need a different cast on number-basically you are knitting a quarter of your hat, then binding off just a tad shy of a quarter, knitting a little more than a half then  binding off a  tad shy than a quarter and then knitting to the end)

next round: k7, CO 13, k18, CO 13, k9

Then I started the sheep (I left their little feet off because my dog has a little head and I didn't want a huge head-I planned on duplicate stitching on some feet-but don't seem to mind them footless)

Then I started decreasing after two rounds of the sky-I evenly placed 10 stitch markers then did my decrease rounds like this:

k to 2 stitches before marker, k2tog
k one round even (putting random white splotches in where I felt they looked good)

Once I was able to k2tog only in between each of the stitch markers I finished off....

Then I took a crochet hook and did some sc around the ear holes so that they wouldn't curl...giving them a nice little edge.

The verdict:  She doesn't hate me!!!  She still loves me!!  AND she has an awesome hat that matches mommy!!

White Elephant Gifts!

Every year our bunco group does a white elephant gift and every year I try to outdo myself...I don't want to just to some dumb thing..it has to be creatively dumb...The first year I did the Elf That Fell Off The Shelf-an incredibly creepy doll accompanied by an even creepier poem-complete with clown's head (perhaps the only thing creepier than a clown is a creepy elf holding a decapitated clown...

Here is the poem that accompanied him, if you choose to copy my idea and start this creepy tradition...

The Elf That Fell Off The Shelf

He once was an elf…sitting upon a shelf so high

But a task from Santa went a little awry!

He was not the most graceful and did suffer a fall

And now he gives his message to all!

You better be good for goodness sake!

Because otherwise your presents-he will take!

Into your dreams he will creep…

Stealing your gifts as you sleep…

He’ll take your chocolate when your back is turned…

He’ll make sure your carefully cooked dinner is burned…

You’ll think you’ve seen the last of this little pest…

But you’ll find he’s an unwelcome and permanent house guest….

Throw him away and he’ll just get meaner…

He’ll find his way home-and not any cleaner…

Missing socks and tennis shoes?

You might have The Elf That Fell Off The Shelf Blues!

Teenagers giving you a nasty attitude?

He’s probably spiked their food!

Toddlers whining and in your face?

Must have an Elf That Fell Off The Shelf in your place.

“How do I break this curse?”  Do you say?

Well listen close, I’ll tell you the way…

Carefully wrap him up with care…

With a new person you must share…

You must be an Elf That Fell Of The Shelf Sharer

Thus spreading the joy of the season…and the terror.

In return, I received my neighbor's son's old holey underwear...So I saved them...For a whole year...so that I could plot my revenge...

Enter Johnny's Underwear Ornaments!  

 I've already made Johnny's Underwear Snowman a pattern on Ravelry-feel free to download it for free here.

This is how I made the ornaments

With the (freshly laundered and ironed) underwear laying with two layers...I used a pinking shears to cut out some heart shapes and some star shapes.  You need two of each shape for each ornament...

 I then cut out some ribbon and stuck it between the two layers so that the ornaments would have a hanger...

Then I sewed around the ornament-about 1/4 inch from the side but left a little open so that I could stuff it...

I then lightly stuffed the ornament, just to give it some POP!

After sewing the ornament closed you have a final, unique, disgusting gift to give for your next White Elephant gift exchange! :) 

The Struggles of a Muggle....

So, my daughter has gotten into Harry Potter...Like over the moon crazy in love with the books and movies...So I thought I would be an awesome mom and buy one of those awesome pattern collections and make her a Dobby hat....She was very upset that I would do such a thing because apparently, all Potter fans would only get depressed if they saw that hat.  Such a shame too because it is awesome....

So then I thought, SURELY she'll want a mandrake...Those things were super awesome and every Potter fan needs one of those!  Duhhh...So I made one...Um ya..she was having none of it..She did, however, get in costume and take a few photos with it just to be a good sport! :)  If you want to know how I did it, this is what I did-it isn't a true pattern though...just a recipe. :)

I'm not going to work up a whole pattern as I sort of freeform knitted it...BUT if you want to sort of follow what I did here are some random little notes:

On waste yarn provisional CO 18...Then in the round for as long as you would like your head portion-increase two stitches about every inch or so...As you are knitting in the round, randomly bind off some stitches here and there-when you get to those stitches you bound off simply pick up the same amount of stitches by using the purl bumps two rows down (that gives you the nice little wrinkle look)..

Just before you get done with the head section start increasing for the arms on either side-every other round I did an increase round as if I was working a raglan top (I gave each arm 8 stitches) then put the arm stitches on a holder and continue working in the round for the lower body, but you will start decreasing two stitches every inch or so...continuing to put your wrinkles here and there...I ended with 18 stitches so I could put 9 per leg....I worked the arms and legs in the round-decreasing as I went and then finished off with icord and then a few chains with a crochet hook...

After I undid the provincial cast on, I made the branches by making icord out of them in sections...Then I stuffed and sewed closed and then I used a crochet hook to make even more branches and leaves...

I just tied some loose yarn strands to the ends of the legs and arms and frayed the ends for the little 'root' look and embroidered on the face with some black..I had actually done colorworking as I went for the eyes and mouth in dark brown but didn't think it showed up too well so I went over it with black. :)

So there you have it...my recipe for a mandrake.