Dekvenga Delights

Now on Etsy: The Potbelly Farm Animals Pattern!

2009-05-22T13:26:00.003-05:00

At long last--and after way-too-many trials and errors--I'm pleased to announce that I've finally launched my Amigurumi Potbelly Farm Animals Pattern set. You'll find it at my Etsy site.

There's a piggy:

A rooster:

A duckie:

. . . and a bunny:

They all build off of one potbellied body structure. Oh, they bring such plushie goodness to the world!

Next up: potbelly zoo animals!

Hook on!

Christina

Yes, We Have No Swine Flu Here!

2009-05-04T16:15:00.018-05:00

Sometimes a coincidence can be so serendipitous that the event becomes just downright eerie. How is it that I've been finalizing a pig pattern right at the exact same time that the swine flu blows across the globe?

Recently, I've been struggling to rediscover a potbelly amigurumi shape that I used last spring to create some Easter duckies. After discussing this struggle (and my lament for not jotting down the pattern at the time) in a previous post, I went forward and created two more morbidly obese plushies before, finally, I got the "stitch mix" just right!

First, the last of the fatty failures (that are--c'mon, admit it--exceptionally cute).

There's Eddie:

And Mucho:

But then it happened. Things went right. Now I have a four-animal pattern set, all based on the "potbelly" body shape:

While I've already taught a class using this pattern, I'm doing one final proofread before I post the pattern up on Etsy.

Someone in my knitting group asked me how I proofread a pattern. Great question! For me, I proof each pattern by suspending my intuition and using my pattern as if I were reviewing the instructions for the first time.

So far, so good.

Here are the original images of the duck I created while writing the pattern:

. . . and here's the test plushie (using a much thinner yarn and one hook size smaller):

Here are the original images of the rooster I created while writing the pattern:

. . . and here's the test plushie:

Here's the original piggy:

. . . and here's the test plushie (named HiNi, after the H1N1 virus. Sorry, I couldn't resist!):

Now, all that remains are a few edits to the current pattern and a test plushie of the bunny pattern.

Once the pattern's ready, I'll be sure to make the announcement!

. . . ah, now, hopefully, those amigurumi piggies I just created can serve as talismen that will ward off the flu virus! :)

Happy Hooking!

Christina

Hooks Down, Pencils Ready (Or, why-oh-why don't I ever learn?!?)

2009-03-28T11:16:00.013-05:00

Hi. My name is Christina, and I'm a yarn addict.

("Hi, Christina.")

They say that one of the sure signs that a hobby or interest crosses over to an addiction is when the action begins to impact daily life. Well, what I'm about to admit here isn't necessarily life-ruining--it's merely a public confession about how my hooking and needling vices recently created some unnecessary teeth gnashing.

Alas, I have only myself to blame.

About two months ago, while creating a couple freeform plush gifties, I decided it was time for me to write another pattern. After first making this cute (yet potentially-pregger-looking) bunny. . .

. . . I kept hooking away. Soon, I was really digging the potbelly appearance of this monkey and bunny:

I swore to myself--SWORE!--that I'd take some notes that I might then flesh out and into a full-length pattern (for sale and for my own personal use--I'm nearing 40, so the brain's not quite retaining as well these days;).

But then I got a wee bit cocky with myself.

You see, looking at a few pictures of some baby duckling plushies I crocheted last year . . .

I was able to replicate my pattern's basic body shape and make the bunny and monkey above.

After finishing the bunny and monkey this year, I was filled with so much crochet hubris that I figured I would remember my creative process.

Wrong! It was just Hooker's Luck.

I went to Germany. I crocheted and then knit pairs of fingerless gloves. And I knit a pair of socks. Other people's patterns--patterns that the authors, indeed, committed to page--swam through my mind, and, when I returned to the states I realized I didn't fully remember how the hell to make my monkey.

In a panic, I tried to jot down what I thought was my pattern, and I then tried out the pattern in the shape of a duckling:

Um, no (but bonus points for the German/Bavarian/Leiderhosen costume). Thanks for playing, Christina!

While this little squat duckling is really cute, it's not what I'd been hoping to render. Um, yeah: there's a bit of a difference between a potbelly and a beer belly (and I'm not making a dig at Germans. . . just a dig at my design).

Take two:

(Insert annoying buzzer sound here.) Strike Two!

Again, so cute, but not exactly the outcome I wanted.

I'm admitting all of this to you for a reason: likely, if you're reading this blog 1.) you share in my yarny madness; or 2.) you're a family, friend or loved one that I've shamed into subscribing to my site.

If you're part of the latter group--and you make freeform items and one-of-a-kind yarn items that, gosh darn, you wish you could make again,--then you must listen to me: set down the yarn. Set it down and do NOT start another project until you take the 40 minutes needed to make some personal, short-hand, chicken-scratch notes about all the neat little tricks you used to make that kick ass finished object.

Don't be like me. Don't get cocky. Don't trust your memory. Don't be so obsessed with the way the yarn moves across your hands that you complete one project and then immediately jump to the next--especially when you're pretty certain you might want to make something again (or for someone else).

The yarn stash will still be sitting there, and your skeins won't roll away because they're offended you're not paying them attention for a few minutes.

Please, for the sake of your sanity, heed my words: write it down. And write it down while it remains fresh. Not after you "just" finish the head of the next plushie pictured in your mind. Not after you create the cuff of your latest top-down sock. And, most certainly, not after you go on a nine-day trip across the ocean.

Do it now. Right now. Do not pass your notions nook. Do not leaf through the newest Interweave Crochet magazine. Most certainly, don't just "take a look" at knitty.com.

Right now: step away from your hook, and no potential patterns will get hurt.

Seriously.

Your yarn (and, maybe, all those safety eyes sitting in your eye bin;) will thank you later!

So, what am I going to do now? Well, I just finished making the little slender bunny (a.k.a., Banana the Bunny) about two hours ago, so she's still fresh in my mind. The moment I publish this post, I'm picking up my notepad (and ignoring the half-finished sock sitting on dpns), finding a pencil (and walking past the Noro wool I want to use to make myself some spring fingerless gloves) and sitting down (without taking a second glance at the lash yarns for a dog I'm making for a commissioned order) and scribbling out stitch counts.

After all, I can quit fondling my stash at any time.

Right?

(Hmmmm: is that mohair yarn inviting me to do a little casting on those new size 17 dpns? Must. Look. Away. Grab pencil. Take notes!)

(I'm Christina Court, and I approve this message, even if it means that I must spend one hour not caressing a ball of yarn.)

Souvenirs from Germany

2009-03-18T18:31:00.005-05:00

I went to Germany; I got my mother a mug, and my father received a t shirt. However, the way I wished to remember my time in Munich was through fiber.

On my third day in Munich, I decided to be brave, take the U-bahn alone, and venture over to Ludwig Beck's yarn and notions shop in the Marienplatz district. Communicating only in German--yay for me--I bought three gorgeous purple-gray-ivory skeins of Lang Yarns' Jawoll superwash Jacquard. I began working on Cookie A.'s "Monkey" sock pattern the night before my Schatzi and me began our journey back to The States, and I spent much of the overseas flight cranking through the first sock (nearly to the heel).

I just finished the pair this past weekend. (Okay, I still need to weave in all my loose ends, but I can still count them as FOs, right? Right????) While this is the second pair of socks I've made, this is the first pair I've made for myself.

Man, I always noticed how sock knitters in my knitting circles had a special look in their eyes. . . now I understand the depth of their fiber madness. What do I mean? Well, I'm already at work on another pair of socks. I cannot help myself. And I keep finding more and more delicious looking sock yarns. And cute sock patterns. They're everywhere. . . and they're just so dang portable.

Oh, I think I'm just falling deeper and deeper down the yarny rabbit hole . . . (and loving every minute of it!;)

BTW, I L-O-V-E this yarn. I also bought some cotton Lang Jawoll sock yarn while in Munich, and, because this first batch of yarn was so much fun, I cannot wait to give the cotton version a test drive!

I Do! I Do!

2009-03-18T18:09:00.002-05:00

They vowed, "'Til death do us part." I guess these hopeless romantics meant it. . . and then some!

. . . yes, these little skullyweds are the product of Creepy Cute Crochet patterns by Christen Hayden. You can find more of my Hayden creations here.

Betrayal

2009-02-23T22:51:00.004-06:00

Forgive Me Stash, For I Have Sinned.

Until this past weekend, it had been since early December since I purchased any new yarn. After taking photographs of my entire yarn stash, I'd vowed to myself that I wouldn't-couldn't-shouldn't indulge in any new yarn. I've vowed to decrease my stash before the end of the year!

But then a pretty little minx of a pattern strolled my way. Behold! Here is Hanna Jason's "Bettie's Lace Stockings", as photographed in the Spring 2009 Interweave Knits magazine:

Super sexy, right? Well, because I've fallen prey to the pleasures of sock knitting, I couldn't get these little Betties out of my mind. I want them. . . actually, I want to make them.

Before I knew it, I was at my LYS on a sunny Saturday afternoon and purchasing two skeins of Lorna's Laces sock yarn in Charcoal.

It's a toe-up sock, so it'll also be a new challenge . . . so long as my stash doesn't crush me out of spite. :)

Ah, dear stash: I love every bit, scrap, ball, WIP and skein of you! There's always room for, um, two more, right? ;)

My Brother is a Corporate Zombie!

2009-02-14T15:48:00.006-06:00

If you are a fellow crocheter and haven't yet checked out Christen Hayden's Creepy Cute Crochet book of patterns, you are doing yourself one hell of a disservice. I've already made a handful of these little ones for friends and family. . . and get laughs and thanks every time.

Tomorrow, I'll give my brother Kevin my most recent creation. . . HIM as a corporate zombie:

(Sorry, Kevin: I HAD to overdo the red hair. That's what sisters are for, right?;)

Granted, the pattern calls for a pool of brain blood to drip from his mouth; however, I tend to think that I'm often surrounded by slews of subtle zombies--it's more likely that I'd sit next to a zombie on the train if he's not chewing hunks of someone's bloody brain like bubblegum.

I've been a "Needle Noodles" pattern fan for quite some time. My first attempt was one of her Etsy patterns:

This Samurai was for my dear friend Thomas Spanos. We dated very briefly while in college. During that time, he gave me two pictures of himself: one with a special message written in runes on the back and another of him dressed in self-designed and created Samurai armor made exclusively out of cardboard.

(NOTE: The photo on the left was taken by Thomas Spanos and can be found with all of Thomas' other incredible costume creations on his website.)

I've also made a grim reaper for my sister-in-law Sarah, in honor of her 30th birthday:

I made my ex-now-friend Bob a fez-festooned monkey for Christmas/winter holidays:

. . . and I also made my Uncle Dean (a classics and humanities college instructor with a passion for Greek and Roman history/mythology) a Trojan:

Next week, I need to make a Nosferatu for my hair designer (she asked for the little baldie!), so I'll try to share that one with you, too.

Overall, these are super-easy to make, and I've made nearly all of them in under five hours.

Happy birthday, Kev! Glad you haven't sold out all the way! :)

A Little Serenity

2009-01-28T21:22:00.007-06:00

I've been away from the blog for a wee bit, but I've certainly not been away from my hooks and needles. This marks the start of my finished projects premieres!

I reached the halfway point in the crib mobile project (referenced here) and thought it was a great time to share.

First, there are the actual Papillon supercuties, Macy and Elly:

. . . and (sans tails), here are my interpretations of the pups:

This one's Elly:

And this one's Macy:

This evening, I finally stitched the tail onto one of the two kitties, Serenity. The real kitty looks like this:

. . . and allow me to introduce you to my crocheted interpretation of Serenity (and, yes, I used the pattern that I sell on Etsy!):

Oooh! It's going to be difficult to let these little ones go! :)

Vrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooooooom!!!!!!

2009-01-11T10:51:00.005-06:00

Today is my nephew Liam's third birthday. He and I are kindred spirits: he L-O-V-E-S cars about as much as I love yarn. When we gathered at my parents' home to celebrate Christmas/winter holidays, he would continually ask my boyfriend and me, "Wanna play cars?", and, in fact, I did play cars with him for quite some time.

So, what do you give a little car-loving guy for his birthday? Well, another car!

I was going to try and freeform a car, but then I stumbled upon an awesome "Race Car" pattern by Etsy's Nustsaboutcrochet13. Problem solved!

This pattern contains three completed pieces: the car, and the removable driver with a removable helmet.

I did some mild modifications, but, overall, I just followed the pattern as written. (It's a great pattern, by the way!)

I will admit that my yarn choice is a bit odd, but there is a method behind my madness: the yarn is the remnant from a skein I used to make my brother Kevin (i.e., Liam's father) a hat about two Christmases ago. Now, father and son can match. :)

Happy third birthday, Liam! Let's play cars!

Now There Are Papillon Heads: A WIP Sneak Peek!

2009-01-05T23:06:00.008-06:00

Typically, I'm not the type who likes to document my amigurumis while they're in an "in progress" state. A crochet head rolling around the table without a body almost always evokes nervous laughter and comments about how "weird" it looks to see a future plushie out of its completed context.

That said, I just had to share this image--it certainly made me laugh!

If you look at my first blog entry, you'll see how I took a group picture of the first WIPs (Works in Progress) to watch for in my blog:

To date, the demon gang has grown (I'm almost finished with the seventh "good egg", which I haven't photographed yet)

I've turned gold (yarn) into a Stumpy pencil and an in-progress pattern

I've turned gray yarn into a Wordy and trumpet-tooting elephant

The Papillons are actually represented by the teeny-tiny kitty that's sitting next to the shaggy-haired doll (and sitting atop the mint green box).

In early Autumn, I met a woman who asked me to make her a set of amigurumi dolls of her five pets: two cats and three dogs. Two of the dogs are Papillons. I'm not working with any patterns--instead, I'm creating these little ones based on pictures of the real dog and cat cuties! Let me tell you, between their bottle-like noses and large ears, it was quite challenging to get these dogs' faces just right.

When I went to take pictures of the heads, I set them atop a reference picture of the dogs. . . and ended up finding it so funny that I took a picture of my ami-heads atop the picture containing the real pups' heads.

If you're one who doesn't like to see her/his amigurumis incomplete and out of context, check back at the end of the week--I'm hoping to have all the pieces for these cuties completed and stitched together before the weekend's over. Also, if you're more of a cat person, be sure to check back next week!

Sixty-Six Percent

2009-01-03T20:03:00.006-06:00

Six down, three to go! My DePaul Blue Demon "Good Eggs" are settling into their new digs quite well. So far, they declared today DGEAD--Demon Good Egg Awareness Day--and paraded across my couch.

This evening, they decided they'd make a great cheerleading squad, and they tried their "hand" (well, figuratively, since they don't have hands) at getting into pyramid formation.

Overall, these little demons are quite cute and sweet. Perhaps I'm procrastinating completing their army because I'll be quite sad to see them go.

Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's Back To Work I Go!

2009-01-01T22:07:00.005-06:00

In my next life, I'd like to be an heiress who could knit and crochet the day away!

I never find any type of vacation, holiday or break quite long enough to do everything on my "to do" lists. This winter break from work has been just the same as all those of the past.

Enough with the grousing! I want to take a moment and share the item I most enjoyed creating during my winter break--Stumpy:

Oh, he's such a stout and flirty little fatty. I mean, look at those eyes! Don't you just want to kiss him and squish him???

Stumpy's not my first attempt at a pencil. During the summer, I made a larger (and thinner) pencil and pet apple for my friend Julie. Julie had taken an enormous leap in her life: she quit her job and began earning her degree in elementary education on a full time basis. Pencil and Apple were my congratulations gifts to her.

While making that pencil, I kept telling myself I should take notes, but I didn't. (Schade!, as the German might say!)

I made Stumpy freeform, but took copious notes all along the way; I hope to reproduce him and write his pattern in the near future. He's a big guy, but, unlike the original pencil, he has more girth than length. He's actually big enough to be a roll pillow! As a point of reference, check out how he looks in relation to "real" highlighters and pens:

Alas, I must get ready for work. . . that is, for the work that pays my rent. :)

Happy New Year!

Wordy Says, "Look Into My Eyes"

2008-12-31T11:37:00.019-06:00

Meet Wordy the elephant. He's a talented little guy who hopes he can be the first elephant to chair the Chicago Symphony Orchestra trumpet section. Wordy plans on auditioning some time in 2009 and, if his playing doesn't impress the CSO's new conductor, he's hoping his "begging face" (which he's been practicing almost as much as his repertoire) will get him where he wants to go.

I will give Wordy to Traci Nelson, one of my student employees in DePaul University's Department of Writing, Rhetoric & Discourse. Traci is preparing for graduate school auditions this quarter, so I have a feeling that she'll need someone cute, soft and squishy to travel with her around the country.

Traci is both an amigurumi recipient and one of my benefactors. For her birthday this year, I decided to make her a "Mini Me", complete with a fully-hooked head of hair and golden trumpet:

Traci also commissioned me to make a full tea set for her roommate and best friend, Olivia. I found this to be a great challenge, and I made everything freeform. The result: I fell a bit further into amigurumi madness, and she and Olivia ended up with a crocheted, full-sized tea set, complete with spoons and sugar cubes:

I do wish that I'd taken notes while creating the teapot (which Traci and Oliva named "Christina," in honor of me;)--I like her shape. . . and I also like the fact that I built a storage "core" that goes all the way down the inside of the teapot's body.

Prior to Wordy, I've made two other elephants. Frank was a pink elephant who wore a top hat (and never sat down once he put on his pants) . . .

. . . and I made Hansa for the Woodland Park (Seattle, WA) elephant keepers upon learning of the sudden death of their super cute baby elephant.

I was living in the Seattle area when Hansa was born, and she (the baby elephant) brought me back to the zoo again. (I hadn't gone in about a decade.) Hansa was a playful little stinker who would run around the zookeepers (and knock over the tub, wrap her trunk around the water hose and steal reward carrots) while her mommy received her morning bath. When I learned that Hansa passed after only six years, my heart sank. Because I'd since moved to Chicago, I didn't know how to honor her life or how to communicate to the elephant keepers how much I appreciated their efforts and educational outreach. I crocheted this elephant and sent it to the zoo with a small thank you note.

These two previous elephant creations had caught Traci's eye. She loves elephants (almost as much as she loves playing the trumpet and drinking tea). In fact, for quite some time, she had her eye on Frank. When someone purchased him at a craft fair, she was bummed. I think Wordy, her New Year gift, will make up for my selling Frank before she could buy him. Anyway, Frank was more of a "Rat Pack" wanna be of an elephant; Wordy is more Traci's style. I imagine the two of them playing pieces together and talking "best practices" about everything from breathing techniques to the most efficient ways to clean a spit valve.

Welcome to the world, Wordy!

**Wordy is a variation of a pattern found in Amy Gaines' book, Cute Little Animals. The other elephants came from a pattern I found in a crochet magazine quite some time ago.

The Traci Trumpet "mini me" and teaset are my original (Dekvenga Delights) patterns.

Hooking Into The New Year,

Christina

. . . And Then There Were Three

2008-12-30T17:22:00.004-06:00

DePaul Blue Demons never looked so cute! (Yes, I work at DePaul University in Chicago.)

My Blue Demon "Good Eggs": Should I Be Suspicious of Their Crooked Smiles?

Three down, and only six more to go! Ideally, I'd like to have an army of nine by Monday, but I'll just need to see how fast I can truly work my hook.

(Here's a teaser, Dear Reader:) That said, while looking at these little guys, I find myself devilishly tempted to take a minor detour before returning to demon making. If I do, you'll be the first to know.

For now, we must part--I hear the call of my hook!

Christina

Dekvenga Made Me Do It, But My Couch Says It All

2008-12-28T16:29:00.019-06:00

Dekvenga, My Invisible Friend, Lounging on That Which Contains My Darkest Secrets

My invisible friend, Dekvenga (Deck-venge-uhh), is driving me crazy. She's served as my council since I was nine years old, and rarely has she ever steered me in the wrong direction. She's been with me through my crushes on Han Solo (Star Wars) and Simon LeBon (Duran Duran), and she even endured graduate school and the dozens of workshops where I eventually churned out an over-intellectualized-now-permanently-shelved novel. (And she's watched me move through all these phases without even one eyeroll. Then again, she is invisible, so who can say?) Dekvenga knows how I work and what works for me; however, when she thinks she knows what I "should" do but feels that I'm moving too slowly, she can get downright annoying.

This blog is partly the result of one of those things.

I've wanted "to blog" for about a year now, and I made the mistake of mentioning this notion to Dekvenga back when "the blog" was merely a germ within my imagination. She jumped all over the idea and then bit into it and asked, "when?" with such frequency that I began to wonder whether or not she had a bit of a terrier in her.

I might live in Chicago and have a splash of hot pink in my hair, but I don't really consider myself cosmopolitan. Most of my leisure time (r)evolves around yarn. . . and it takes a heap of talent to turn yarn into something glamourous and gossip worthy.

Then I thought about the couch I bought earlier this year--and I realized it was time to unleash a deep, dark secret: I didn't buy the couch just because it's pretty. . . I bought it because of what it might hide.

Beneath that pretty green-blue pool of plump cushions is a wonderful big "bonus:" space.

Regard! Here's the dirty little secret under my couch cushions:

That's right: my couch holds most of my yarn stash.

Under each cushion (including those on the two ottomans) is a deep, sealed-bottom bin where I keep my stash well-organized and clean.

I have heaps of chunky, chenille and boucle (left)

. . . and more lash and novelty yarns (right) than many craft stores carry.

But wait, there's more:

Despite all my couch's storage space, I still need to stash under my bed and in the one built-in bookcase in my teeny-tiny studio apartment.

Here (left), you'll find all my wool, acrylic and scrap yarns. The tins and bins on the top shelf hold notions, various knitting needles, pom pon makers and all the safety eyes and noses for my amigurumi creations.

. . . and, in case you were wondering, yes, those four conical things atop the case are giant bobbins of chenille weaving yarns that I use to make plushies.

Because I want to keep all my yarns clean and untangled, I've become "basket crazy." There might be a method to my madness, but, after all is said and done, it is the madness that feeds my stash.

I have so many unfinished projects (promised to many near and dear friends) and Works In Progress (WIPs) that I could nearly weep:

A Family Photo: all My WIPs in One Location

The Skull Scarf I Promised (and continue to promise) Bob, My Ex--

I Started This Before He Became My Ex

So, what does all this mean?

While sitting and crocheting on my couch with Dekvenga this past week (as we chatted yet again about erecting a blog), I began to ponder what my stash might look like in another five years. I freaked, and then I realized that I am the only one who controls my stash's destiny. Before I begin to bust my stash by becoming a yarnifactor (i.e., one person's overflowing yarn bins is another yarn-lover's new treasure), I want to try and work through all those skeins I adopted and brought into my home.

This blog will document my progress (and, likely, stumbles) as I bust my ass to get through my stash. I will not rush, and I will not churn out crap just so say that I've knocked out another skein.

Where will I begin? Right here, with a few of my current WIPS:

The First WIPs to Watch

Curious to know what these things are or what they might become? If you answered, "yes" (and I hope you did), then subscribe to my site--or, at least, stop by every so often--and see what I'm pulling off my hook and needles.

Also, here's another reason to stay tuned: I hope to post a free pattern every so often!

Okay, I need to put away my stash and get cracking! Wish me luck!

In Yarny Goodness,
Christina