La Sirena

Mini Birthday Cupcake

There may be many reasons for knitting female anatomy but I suspect that the reasons for knitting food all ultimately fall under the "because we can" category.  Needless to say knitters and crocheters love to show off what they can do and knit and crochet food is very popular.  There are whole directories dedicated to knit and crochet food patterns.  Though I've observed patterns for knit beets and crocheted coffee with interest, there was something about the sweet simplicty of crocheted cupcake that drew me in. 

 

 

On Knitting Female Anatomy

There are many reasons people knit (or crochet) female anatomy:

- For educational purposes:

Some midwives use knit and crocheted uteri to demonstrate concepts of dilation etc.  These can be purchased here.  A free pattern is given here.

Breastfeeding organizations find knit breasts helpful in teaching new Moms proper lactation techniques.  There's actually a lot on this on the web, but one such article (with a pattern link) can be found here.

- For charity and comfort during hard times:

This prosthetic breast pattern appeared in the Fall 2005 Issue of Knitty. Designed by a breast-cancer survivor who sells already knit versions here, the pattern has inspired knitters across the country to knit these more fashionable and cozier versions of the standard breast prosthetic for their less fortunate sisters.

- To showcase our (pro)creative powers:

(these activists suggest piling knit uteri on the White house steps)

- To endear us to the beauty and mystery of our anatomy:

Knit Uterus pattern featured in Knitty Winter Issue of 2004.

--Because we can...

This pillow pattern is for sale on anslybleu's etsy shop

My mother, a midwife, who will be lecturing at Yale next week (just had to throw that in) sent me this photo of a soft and voluptuous crocheted birthing doll with newborn attached by the umbilical cord alongside a plastic Barbie doll with baby emerging from her stomach; both visual aids to an interview appearing in Midwifery Today.  My mother's note in the margin read:  "What do you think? a new knitting challenge?"  I can't say that it is particularly new, in fact, crafting likenesses of the female form is certainly one of the oldest of art forms, but am I up to the challenge?  Absolutely.  After all, it is for educational purposes.

Korsnas

I think I could stare at this image all day.  These will definitely be going on my wishlist and once they are finished I will be sure to find an excuse to carry about lots of talavera pottery, (and take pictures to post of course).

The pattern for these stunning fingerless gloves and a wonderful article on Korsnas knitting and crochet work can be found at http://www.black-purl-magazine.com/

Miscellany

A crochet swatch that is thinking of becoming a yoked cardigan.  It has not entirely convinced me yet.  The yoke pattern is from Lionbrand. The yarn is elann.com's Adara.

The embroidery on this apron has been finished for over year, but I just finished the border and ties yesterday  I didn't use any darts, so it wrinkles a bit.  There is something about machine sewing that begs procrastination for me.  I think it is the fact that it demands that I set aside both space and time.   I can't just pull out the sewing machine on a park bench, or  look up at movie or my daughter's newest dance moves between stitches (though perhaps with strategic placement of the machine and more practice, this could be arranged). 

This project was born of my daughter's inspired observation last year in Mexico, that the traditional embroidered tortilla napkin would make a wonderful apron.  She chose the Asian hello kitty motif, I chose to do modified red-work and edge with a 30s print instead of the more traditional crocheted edging (to save time, LOL).

Like Water for Chocolate

The main character in the novel (and film) "Like Water for Chocolate" expresses her life through her art in the kitchen, but in her darkest moment she turns to crochet.  She produces an afghan so long it trails behind her as they try to cart her away.   When I read this, I was surprised how easily I could imagine myself in her place, not at that moment per-se but in an alternate despairing world, possibly as an older woman with an afghan too long to fit on any bed trailing behind me.  Perhaps this is part of the reason I've shied away from afghans until now.  I made a couple of baby blankets when my daughter was born, but for some reason, this seemed in an entirely different category than the afghan.

Now, of course, no such tragedy or heartbreak has struck my life.  The house simply feels lonely with myself as its sole occupant for this week and the next and the rain pouring down all afternoon.  It seemed like a fine time to work on an afghan (on my new year's to do list, if you recall).

The yarn is Vanna's choice by Lionbrand, picked up at a nice sale price earlier this year.  It began in ripple stitch.

But wasn't quite turning out the way I wanted my afghan to look.  I think it makes a fine scarf.

Switching the stitch pattern to Afghan Squared (basically a huge granny square) gave me just what I was looking for.  Here's what I have so far:

   

Valentines

Half asleep, on my way to the bus stop this morning, the sidewalk gifted me this beautiful Valentine... a sacred heart, dropped perhaps by a student or faculty at the nearby Catholic highschool.

I also share with you an easy pattern for a crocheted Valentine.  Mine was worked with a size L hook and worsted weight cotton and produced a facecloth sized Valentine (about 8" across), however you could also work it in a finer gauge to stick on a greeting card, use as a coaster...etc.

Patttern:

1: Ch 4, 3dc in 4th ch from hook; ch 4, turn

2: Dc in next next dc below, ch1, dc, ch1, dc, ch2 turn

3: 2dc in ch1, 3 dc in next ch, 2 dc in last ch, ch3 turn

4: dc in same st, dc in each st across, 2 dc in last st; ch4, turn.

5: 2 dc in next ch, 1 dc in nxt ch, 3 dc in nxt ch, 1 dc, 3 dc; 1 dc, 3 dc, ch4, turn 

6: Skip 1st st, 4 dc in next st, *sk 1st, sc in next st, 5 dc in next repeat from * 2 more times, ch2 turn.

7: sc in 3rd dc, in next sc st, work 5 trbl crochet, work 2 slip stitches across the downward slope fo the cluster below, slip one stitch in the center dip at the top of the heart, work 2 more slip stitches leading up in the central dip at the top of the heart, slip 2 stitches along the opposite side of the heart.

Sc around the entire perimeter of your heart, when you reach a curve, such as the curve of the heart tops, or the point at the bottom, work 2 sc in the same stich.  Work two full rounds in the manner. 

For the Lacy Edge: *ch3, sc in next st, repeat from * around.  When you reach the center dip at the top fo the heart, ch 16 stitches and  sc in the same stitch to create a loop from which you hang the doily if desired.  Once you created a lacy edge around the entire heart.  Bind off and weave in ends.

Seeing Results

My progress on the sleeves has been slower than I would like.  At least I am doing both at the same time.  But just when I was starting to feel like I can never quite finish what I start...

This arrived.  The 2008 "Crochet a day Calendar", featuring one of my patterns on January 16th.  I had originally designed the basket for the BlackPurl Magazine Diabetes awareness calendar and submitted for this instead shortly after it was clear that the BlackPurl calendar wasn't quite ready to materialize yet.

I have to admit I've always been a bit sceptical about these sort of calendars and expected to see mostly cell phone cosies and the like, and there are a few of these, and there are also quite a few patterns that can be found for free online elsewhere, but overall the quality and variety of the patterns greatly exceeded my expectations.  And I love the idea of being inspired by a new crochet "thought" of the day.  I will definitely be contributing to next year's calendar and hope that you all do the same!  http://www.knittingpatternaday.com/index.htm  There's a knitting calendar also (at the same site, don't worry I gave the right link), and I bet it's got even more diverse and wonderful content than the crochet calendar, but come on lets give those knitters some competition!

In the same vein, my sequined slipper pattern is now up at Black Purl, along with a brief history (of sequins that is) and some other wonderful articles, including a fab article about Turkish knitting accompanied by an equally fab TurKish hat, but I won't spoil all the fun surprises, go check it out yourself!

St. Clare

I felt drawn to this candle image of St. Clare at the supermarket today, even though I couldn't fully remember what St. Clare was about other than being the patron saint of television (because when she became too ill to attend mass she was said to miraculously see images of mass projected on her wall) and guessed from her name and the image that she has something to do with clarity and light, which is why I was drawn to the image I think.  She seems so peaceful and yet so focused on nurturing and offering up the light, so quietly centered and powerful with rays radiating out from behind her.  As it turns out, she is also the patron saint of embroiderers.  Apparently there is no Saint specific to knitting, but St. Clare and St. Anne both seem like good candidates.  St. Anne is also the patron St. for lace makers, wool carders and embroiderers as well.

I finished an "investing in peace" vest for afghans for Afghans yesterday.  Now I just need buttons.  The color pattern was a little bold, but I wanted to use up my wool scraps as we have so few opportunities to wear wool here, and this is a worthy cause.   Hopefully, St. Clare would have approved.

Swatching

I've been doing a lot of swatching this year. That's a nice way of saying I've started many more projects than I've finished, putting a positive spin on my numerous false starts and calling them well thought out experiments. After all, swatching is a responsible thing to do, whereas cultivating a collection of unfished projects is not. So rather than cast on, I decided to "swatch" for this quick crochet summery cover-up (garnstudio crochet waistcoat). Just to keep my fingers loose while I figure out what to do with the sleeves on the crochet top I'm working on (the rowan linen-print one, but that's a story for another post). 

On the third row, a feeling of deja-vu began to set in as I watched the double crochet clusters topped with chained loops take shape.

I guiltily dropped the hook as I remembered another false start swatch, sitting in my workbasket: Jolly-Rancher a crocheted skirt, with a suspiciously similar cluster pattern.  Although, after a quick comparison, not the same...  I don't know why this was such a relief. I got pretty far along with this swatch, then decided I had too many repeats for the fit I wanted (I'm holding a scrunched portion of the skirt behind my back for the picture) and never got around to ripping and repeating. 

Another day, another stitch swatch.

The things you can think...and crochet...

Look at what I found on the internet today:

A crocheted bag from recycled cassette tapes.

You see Mom? I'm not alone.  You can find the pattern for this and lots of other crochet projects from recycled materials here: 

http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/03/14/recycled-cassette-tape-granny-square-bag/