Now I feel just like a kid again!

Meet my new project! Adult sized bunny slippers, and a matching beanie, because apparently this winter needs to test my ability to withstand frostbite...

If you want to try and make these yourself then the pattern is for sale in my Ravelry Shop! they are super easy, and super warm!

They make me feel like a little kid again, running around in bunny slippers... but they do make me miss the summer, and it being August it is supposed to be warm not almost freezing.... but being in Australia means that I get to go to the beach at Christmas instead...

On a different note, I am awaiting the start date for a new job, I got a new (well its an old desk but its new for me) which made a lot more space in my crafty room, we got our oven and hopefully it will be put in this weekend, we have started trying to teach Sade to do some tricks....  Which isn't going very well at all... apparently she thinks that "Shake!" means she should shove her face in your hand or roll over onto her back and kick you... but I'm sure we will get there in the end, and that will be one more thing I can cross off my bucket list! I wanted to put up a video of Lewy trying to teach her, but my blog is being a pain in the proverbials.... it only wants to let me do a video if I have a webcam hooked up and since the laptop died I haven't had the time to get one...

Also I have taken it upon myself to try and make backups of my stuff now, so my desktop is nice and neat and organized, all my pictures are in properly labeled folders, and my loose photos that still need to be scanned have all been filed away in what I'm hoping is chronological order... there are so many pictures I want to put up for family to see.... My cousin over at A Bookworm and a Baby is one of the ones who is in so many of these photos I have, and I'm not sure if she even would remember being in half of them.... but alas I need to get a scanner...

Here's hoping you are all having a great week!

XxX ~ Rah Rah

2.1k VIEWS!!!!!

Yup, that's right folks... We have finally hit the 2,000 view mark! I couldn't be happier!

So in honor of this special event, I've decided to do a blog on origami butterflies.

I'm making a whole bunch of little ones, so I took some step by step shots using my awesome new phone, who's camera is 100 times better than my old one, so get ready for some extra crisp views!

Step one: you start out with a square of paper. (The ones in the picture were made by folding an A4 sheet of paper in half and making a large triangle first, then the scrap of paper left over is what I have used to make the triangles used in this blog.) You can make 2 triangles from each scrap of paper. Now I say triangles but you really end up with a square that is folded in half diagonally.

 Step two: take the top corner and fold it down lining the edges of the paper up. You should be able to make two if these triangle shapes from the scrap of paper, but it will depend on how many you personally wish to make, and what size paper you are using.

Step three: while the shape is still folded in half diagonally cut off the excess paper from the bottom of the scrap, make sure all the edges line up and there is no excess paper on any of the sides, or your butterfly may end up with some overlap in its wings.

Step four: now that you have the square piece of paper, you need to make the pre-folds. Fold the piece diagonally both ways so there will be an X shape of folds. Once you have done this fold the paper in half so you will have a straight line going through the middle of the X folds.

 Step five: collapse the folds in on themselves. You will end up with another triangle shape with two flaps on the inside, which you will be able to see from the open end of the triangle.

Step six: now its time to start forming the butterfly, we will start with the bottom wings. Turn the open end of the triangle away from you.

Step seven: take on of the corners from the open end and fold it down to meet the top point of the triangle. Make sure not to grab both corners, or the butterfly's top wings will have creases in them.

Step eight: do the same to the other corner. You should end up with something similar to the picture on the left, with what looks like a small square in the middle of a triangle. These two folded down flaps will be the butterfly's bottom wings!

Step nine: flip the whole thing over, so now the two corners you folded down are on the bottom and the plain triangle shape is facing the top.

Step ten: take the pointy end of the triangle and fold it upwards towards the open end. Make sure and fold it so the point is higher than the open edge. Doing this will pull up the other edges as well but this is ok, we want this to happen.

Step eleven: after you have folded the point to the top you need to flatten the shape. The bottom edges will have pulled up so you need to pull them back down and flatten them, it will make a small overlap of paper on the flap you pulled up in the previous step and look similar to the picture on the left. We're almost done!

Step twelve: once again flip the whole thing over, It should be starting to look like a butterfly now, and you should have a small triangle peeking out over the open edge of the top wings.

Step thirteen: fold this small triangle back over the open edge of the wings. this will keep the whole thing closed together without having to use staples or glue.

Step fourteen: fold the whole shape in half, along the line between the bottom wing flaps. Make sure the small triangle doesn't come unfolded during this because the butterfly will sort of fall apart.

Step fifteen: pinch the top where the triangle was folded over, with your fingers, and flatten. This will give you a butterfly body ans well as pull the wings away from each other slightly giving the whole thing a more butterfly feel.

Flip the whole thing over and you should have something that looks similar to the little butterfly pictured above!

Now you can decorate it however you like, add some antenna, draw on some spots.... make some different shapes and sizes and colors.... the possibilities are endless!

Next blog:

Instructions on how to make this adorable little bunny using a pattern that I found for free on pinterest!

The Teddies!

First of all, let me state that there has been a problem... I am not sure if it has to do with the loss of my laptop or what has happened, but all of my blog photos and videos have seemed to disappear...

I was able to replace 98% of the blog photos, luckily because I have them all saved to my pc (which Lewy fixed for me) but the videos are pretty much gone... they were all done using the webcam attached to the laptop and not saved anywhere but here *sad face*

One of the ones affected was the blog about the little teddy bears I made, so I decided to do a proper blog about them... I did leave the other post up because it has the link to the ravelry website so you all can get the pattern... but here is is one more time.

The pattern is pretty straight forward, all knitted on straight needles and sewn together, it's overall a very cute little teddy bear and they are pretty addictive to make.

These pictures are just a few that I made, the brown one on the right went to little Bella, and a twin one went to Daniella for her first Easter, the black one with the white face goes to my mom, the stripy one went to my cousin Ashley's little boy Dylan, and the two little ones are what I like to call my Mr & Mrs bears. They take about 3 days for me to make, the larger ones take the least amount of time, but because my fingers tend to cramp up a bit when knitting for long periods of time I have to put it down and rest a little before starting up again, if you are able to do the whole amount in one sitting it should only take you a day or two at the most to finish one off. I thought it would be pretty fun to play around with them a little bit, hence the stripes and the accessories. The brown bears both had sewn on felt eyes, but you can use fabric paint (like I have done for the rest of them) or even buttons, but I wouldn't suggest that if you plan on giving the finished product to a small child.

 Now the only thing I do differently from the pattern is that I don't stitch closed the neck, I attach the head and the body together using the cast on edges as a guide, I find it makes the whole thing a little bit stronger which is good if you want to have little kiddies dragging it around. The Mr & Mrs Bears were by far my favorite to do, because they have accessories!

 The Mr bear is sporting a nifty little felt top hat, a stunning little mustache, a powder blue tie to match Mrs bear, and not pictured is his little Ball and chain... While Mrs bear is sporting a lovely white veil with a jeweled tiara in blue and silver, as well as a nice little bouquet of silver roses! The had their eyes put on using fabric paint, Mrs bear had a nice little pre-wedding nose job because I made the mistake of painting on some horrid red lips that made her look like a clown, but luckily enough I had enough yarn left over to make her a new nose.

Finally!!!

Yup, thats right! Rah Rah is back in business!! I'm very sorry it has taken me so long to get back into writing, but over the past month both my laptop and pc have died, and both me and Lewy have been sick as doggies...

But now I'm better, and while I havent gotten a replacement laptop just yet I HAVE gotten a new hard drive for my pc.... and believe it or not but when Lewy tried to put it in the old one just magically started working again. So I didnt lose any of my stuff!

So now I have all my pictures, wedding stuff, and my knitting patterns backed up on usbs and kindles XD



Now since my last post promised instructions on knitting a beanie, I will hold true to my promise.

Body of the Hat:

Cast on 84
k 8 rows in rib knit (k2, p2) * Repeat to end
Optional: Attach a different color to being new stripe
k27 rows in St. st.
Optional: Attach another color for final stripe
k13 rows in St. st, ending with a purled row
Note: If you want your hat to be longer or shorter, you can add or subtract rows here before you begin decreasing.

Decrease:

(k10, k2tog)* Repeat 7 times to end
Next Purl
(k9, k2tog)*
Purl
(k8, k2tog)*
Purl
(k7, k2tog)*
Purl
(k6, k2tog)*
Purl
(k5, k2tog)*
Purl
(k4, k2tog)*
Purl
(k3, k2tog)*
Purl
(k2, k2tog)*
Purl
(k1, k2tog)*
Purl
(k2tog)*

Finishing:

   Cut the yarn, leaving a long tail, and pull through remaining stiches, securing in first loop. Use the remaining tail to join the sides together. If you used multiple colors, use the tails from the color change to join that color's section together. Weave in any remaining ends.

Now just a side note that this beanie is made using straight needles. (I have a project in the works using circular needles but I need to finish it)

Because I have to work today, that means this blog will be sort of short and to the point. Tomorrow, however, I am off, and my only housework involves doing laundry in my brand new washing machine, and making my bed....

We have some interesting things to cover, some new patterns to put up, and lots of projects to finish so stay tuned! Also I'm sorry for the gifs, but I am super excited to be able to write on something with a real keyboard again!

Lots of Love,

*Rah~Rah*

All good things must come to an end....

Relax, I don't mean my blog!

Unfortunately my laptop has chosen this week to die... *Insert a bunch of crying here*

I have this kind of mood right now...

I love that laptop, not because it was the best thing ever, but because my Lewy bought it for me... It had all my wedding planning stuff on there, all my harry potter planning on there, all my music and my books for my kindle... a whole bunch of movies I hadnt had a chance to move to my portable hard drive yet, and the worst thing of all:

All the pictures of our house from the day we moved in until now.... I'm utterly devastated! Lewy said he thinks it may just be the motherboard that has messed up, it wasn't a very expensive laptop after all, and the thinks we may be able to salvage some of the stuff off the hard drive.... but at the moment Dr. Dad is having a look at it to see if he can fix it up for me.

Mr. & Mrs. Bears

Mrs. Bear with her tiara and veil

On a different note:
My Mr. & Mrs. bears are almost 100% finished!!!!! Mr. Bear is sporting a light blue knitted tie, a felt top hat and moustashe, and will soon be sporting "the old ball -n- chain" bit on one of his legs (providing it looks good) Mrs. Bear is sporting a white knitted veil, complete with a little jeweled tiara, fabric paint red lips, and a small bouquet of silver roses. All

they need now is their eyes and they will all be done!

I am still hoping to get up a pattern for my Mousy Beanie that I put up a while ago, but the pattern was on my laptop and I cannot for the life of me remember what it was exactly... So for now I beg you all to bear with me (no pun intended) while we work to salvage what we can off my poor departed laptop....

Now many of you have seen people writing about or heard them talking about something called a Bucket List.... I'll be a sheep and say I have one too, mine might be a little bit short, but after all it is only supposed to be things that are really important to you:

My Bucket List:
1. Learn to play the violin
2. Have a well trained dog, one that actually listens to me
3. Go on an exotic cruise somewhere like the Pacific Islands or Alaska
4. Marry the Man of my Dreams
5. Have a baby
6. Sometime before I die I want to hold a baby sloth and a baby chimpanzee
8. Own our own house
9. Get a job I actually love doing
10. Do a world traveling Holiday
11. Visit Japan
12. Learn to speak a different language fluently

As you can see I have already marked off two of the things on my bucket list! I think I am doing well for some one who is only 25... We are currently training Sade to shake her paw, she can already sit and stay, so we are on our way to marking that one off. Lewy has been trying to teach me Italian for the past 8 years... and I am getting it slowly... some of my words dont sound right because I am unable to roll my "R's", and today my mom sent me an early birthday present.... A BLUE VIOLIN!!!

I love it already!!! It's all set up and now the only thing I need to get for it is one of those electric tuners so I know if I'm playing the right note XD

She also got me three books on how to play it and I have endless amounts of youtube videos to watch on the matter but hopefully within the next year I can mark yet another thing off my list!

Now I am off for a while, hopefully will be able to update some of these patterns soon, wish me luck for getting stuff off my hard drive!!!

XxXx,

~Rah Rah

Oh the weather outside....

It really is frightful....

It's supposed to be autumn down here and its as cold as winter normally is! This week I have done the impossible.... I finally made a beanie to fit myself!

It even has some ears!!!!This is the first one I've made that has actually fit my fat head, and it only took me two days to do it! I dont have the time to put the pattern up now because I'm only on my lunch break from work... but dont worry it will be up soon!

My cousin finally got her package in the mail, and I''m super excited to hear what she thinks of it once she gets back home to see it!!!

Other than that we have been busy little bees lately, we got tiles for our kitchen, we had a bbq and our friend Aaron got himself a new ute, and this week I have been pulling double shifts at the pool to cover some one who has been sick.... speaking of sick, I'm starting to feel that way myself, jumping in and out of the water 8 hours a day and being cold outside does not a well person make... I've been waking up feeling like I've swallowed razor blades and sand paper =(

So until the next time I can get on to update my bloggie I'll leave you guys with a "Hope you are all well, and enjoying the day!"

XxX ~Rah Rah

Well then.....

So I've been a busy little bee lately!
Finished both my commissions ^_^ and now I'm a happy little girlie! Now until I get another one to do I'm making two of my very own little teds for my self (or future kids).

The blue and white stripey one is made with yarn that has no harsh dyes or chemicals in the yarn, and I have personally tried to rip him apart to make sure that no part of him could come lose by pulling (he's intended to go to a very special little boy soon!),and the face has been painted on as has the anchor on his chest, using nontoxic fabric paint so there is no risk of any buttons falling off and making their way into little tiny tummies.
Th black one has been made the same way and that one is going to my mom!

On a different note I have been awake since 5:30am ish today.... Lewy woke me up before he went to work, and I was bored out of my little mind waiting for the stores to open so I could go and do some shopping. I still got there early lolz and had to wait for almost half an hour for Aldi to open. Last night I had decided to make terriyaki chicken for dinner tonight, and I had to go out and get some white wine for the sauce... let me tell you, in my area NOTHING makes you feel more like a boozehound than waiting outside a liquor store for it to open at 9:30am. And because I'm all of 2 feet tall with a handbag thats almost as big as me, walking around said liquor store all wobbly while trying to knock things over with said huge bag does not help the drunk and disorderly stereotype..... Ah the joys of living here!
On the bright side I have gone out and done all my shopping, donated some clothes to a local charity shop, and made it home before 10:30am! Clever me!!!

Now for the rest of the week I plan on doing my housework and spending the rest of the days in bed watching movies while I knit my little heart out.... that is until Sunday when I have a bridesmaid dress fitting for my friend Rhiannon's wedding!!! It's less than a year away I'm so excited for them!! I'm looking forward to showing pictures of my own teds when they are done!

As always check out these awesome links:
Our Facebook Page!
My Ravelry Page!
My Deviant Art Page
and of course
A very special blog belonging to my cousin!!!

The Little Punkin' set!

Itty Bitty Baby Booties! (newborn size)

What you need: 1 pair of knitting needles (the size recommended for your yarn, I used 8ply yarn and size 4mm needles), 1 ball of yarn (or different colors if you wish to make stripy shoes), 1 yarn needle or tapestry needle.

Instructions:

• Cast on 38 stitches

• Knit 10 rows (sole of the shoe)

• Knit 16 stitches, slip 1 stitch, knit 1 stitch, pass slipped stitch over knitted stitch, knit 2 stitches, knit 2 together, knit 16 stitches

• Purl 15 stitches, slip 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch, pass slipped stitch over purled stitch, purl 2 stitches, purl 2 together, purl 15 stitches

• Knit 14 stitches, slip 1 stitch, knit 1 stitch, pass slipped stitch over knitted stitch, knit 2 stitches, knit 2 together, knit 14 stitches

• Purl 13 stitches, slip 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch, pass slipped stitch over purled stitch, purl 2 stitches, purl 2 together, purl 13 stitches

• Knit 12 stitches, slip 1 stitch, knit 1 stitch, pass slipped stitch over knitted stitch, knit 2 stitches, knit 2 together, knit 12 stitches

• Purl 11 stitches, slip 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch, pass slipped stitch over purled stitch, purl 2 stitches, purl 2 together, purl 11 stitches

• Knit 10 stitches, slip 1 stitch, knit 1 stitch, pass slipped stitch over knitted stitch, knit 2 stitches, knit 2 together, knit 10 stitches.

• purl 1 row

Eyelet Rows (if you do not want eyelets then knit/purl across the row):

• knit 2 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 3 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 3 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 3 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 2 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 3 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 3 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 3 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 2 stitches.

• purl 2 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 3 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 3 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 3 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 2 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 3 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 3 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 3 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 2 stitches.

• knit 1 row

• purl 1 row

• work 13 rows in ribbing (knit 2 stitches, purl 2 stitches)

• loosely cast off

• sew up edge

• flip down cuff

• using a ribbon or some yarn thread through the eyelets and tie into a bow

• put on a baby and admire your work!

Enjoy the video and have fun making your very own baby booties!!!! Please visit my ravelry shop to purchase the pattern for my adorable little punkin' beanie and make your very own set!

CTHULHU!!!!!

So it's finally here! I have decided to let it go for free!!!

Now you can find this pattern with a link to this blog in my Ravelry Shop, or on my Deviant Art Page.

And as promised the instructions to make this beautiful piece of work:

Cthulhu Ski Mask
Single needles (beginner’s ski mask)
Ski Mask:
Start with size 3 ¼ mm needles, cast on 180 stitches, stocking stitch four rows.
Switch to size 5mm needles and continue to work in stocking stitch until piece measures four to five inches long.
Switch to size 9 needles, continue to work in stocking stitch until piece measures approximately 11 inches long.
Switch back to size 5mm needles, stocking stitch two rows. Cast off 15 stitches from beginning of a wrong side row and knit to end. Turn work and cast off 15 stitches purlwise, purl to end.
Continue working in stitch for approximately 3 inches. Cast on 10 stitches at the beginning of a wrong side row, knit to end. Turn work and cast on 10 stitches purlwise and purl to end of row. (This will be the opening for the eyes in the ski mask)
Stocking stitch two rows, and then switch back to size 9mm needles. Work in stocking stitch decreasing on wrong side rows only, decrease evenly across the rows until only ten stitches remain.
Switch back to size 5mm needles and stocking stitch two rows, thread a yarn needle and pull remaining yarn through stitches on needle and pull tight. Use the yarn on the needle to stich closed from the top to the eye opening, and from the bottom of the eye opening to the end of the work.
Bridge cover (between the eyes)
Using size 5mm needles cast on 8 stitches, decreasing two stitches at a time stocking stitch until only four stitches remain, stocking stitch 3 rows, increasing 2 stitches per row stocking stitch until you have 8 stitches and cast off. This will be going in the middle of the eye opening.
Eyebrow Piece:
These are optional, you don’t have to make them if you are afraid they will obstruct your vision, or they will make the mask too uncomfortable.
Using size 5mm needles, cast on 20 stitches. Stocking stitch several rows, increasing stitches evenly across wrong side rows, increase to 40 stitches. Decrease to 10 stitches evenly across wrong side rows. Stocking stitch several rows, increase evenly to 40 stitches across wrong side rows, decrease to 20 stitches evenly across wrong side rows, stocking stitch several rows, cast off.
Fold piece in half and stitch closed all the way around. We are going to sew this over the eye opening for the eyebrows.
Tentacles!
So we will start off with some small tentacles. I used 3 ¼mm needles, casting on 10 stitches. Knit one stitch and increase 1 stitch to the end, purl one row, Knit 1 stitch and increase 1 stitch to end, purl one row, cast off. This will give you a very curly tentacle.
Repeat the same steps by casting on 20 and 30 stitches, this will give you longer versions of the tentacles.
Switch to size 5mm needles, and continue to make tentacles by casting on 10,20,30 stitches and following the same steps.
You can stop at any point when making the tentacles, because each mask will be individual, just keep increasing the size of the needles and continue to cast on 10,20,30 stitches until you have a mask which suits your tastes!

All Hail the Video Blog!!!

Lets see how this works! Don't mind my hair or clothes (It's rainy outside, I just woke up, and I'm still in my jammies XD) Hope you enjoy my first ever video blog!

As I said at the end leave any comments below (Please make them tasteful!)

I choose you Pikachu!

So here's a new project for you all!

A lovely little Pikachu beanie!! Now the size of this beanie will depend of on the size of the yarn you use and the needles. This is a pattern for single needles so you will have a seam up the back. You can knit in the round if you choose however.

The pattern is basically a beanie like the one found here. It does say in the title that it is an adult size beanie but when I made the pattern it didnt fit me. I used normal 8ply yarn and size 4 needles, it ended up being more of a childs size beanie.

After you have made the beanie in yellow then you need to make the ears and the stripes for the back.

to make the ears:

Cast on 40 stitches in yellow, stocking stitch for 10 centimeters decreasing to 20 stitches along the way, switch to black yarn stocking stitch for 5 centimeters decreasing to 6 stitches along  the way. Pull yarn through remaining stitches and pull tight. Sew closed. Make two ears. Sew to the sides of the beanie.
Make the stripes for the back. Cast on 10 stitches in light brown, knit one row increasing to 20 stitches, purl one row, knit one row decreasing to 10 stitches, cast off. Make three stripes and sew to the back of the beanie over the seam to keep them in line.

Cut out two large circles in black felt and a small black triangle. Cut out two small white felt circles for the eyes, and two large pink or red circles for the cheeks. Sew the face in place and stitch a mouth using black yarn.

You can find proper patterns for sale, but this one's free!

Wands and Kitties!

Well things are finally starting to come along nicely with my Harry Potter gift bags.... now that I've actually finished all the bags I've made a startling discovery....

ALL THE STUFF ISN'T GOING TO FIT INSIDE THEM!

lol! But all is good because I will just make it into a couples goodie bag and put two or one of each thing in the bag (Don't worry I'll probably make those as well and they are easy as anything to do!)

We'll start this post off with the details of the magic wands.

I went to the local cheapy shop which is just down the street from me, and since it was Halloween time they had plenty of decorations to snag for a bargain! They had some basic plastic magical wands to use for costumes so I grabbed some of them and since they all looked the same I decided to make them all individual.

First thing is that its alright if you cant find a plastic wand there are heaps of tutorials on google to make them out of plain paper,this one is a good example!


You'll need to have some paper towel or toilet paper handy and some plain white glue that will dry clear. Mix the glue with an equal amount of water and then paint the plastic wand and start sticking on the toilet paper. Once you've covered it all set it aside to dry.
Now I wanted to make mine uniform in color, not identical but similar. So I used some black tissue paper and put a few layers over the paper towel in the same way.
And don't worry about getting it perfect the first time around because at this stage you can always cover up and places you have missed with a scrap of the paper you used on the last layer.

You can make them any way you like, to make each wand unique for myself I wrapped some bits of yarn in interesting patterns around them before I started the paper mache. After you have them looking the way you like then just add any extra details with some paint or a paint pen and cover the whole thing in a layer of glue (don't mix this layer with water though) and it will give the wand a shiny lacquered effect.

Now for the kitties!
 There is a free pattern for these kitties found here! but I'll go ahead and write it down on my own blog. (just giving credit where it's due!)

It makes three separate pieces which will need to be sewn together. I'll be using a yarn needle which you can get from any craft store where yarn is sold.
We'll go through this step by step so it's easier to understand.

The Body:

1. Cast on 24 stitches of any yarn in any color in any type on any size needles. (the finished size of the kitten will depend on what type of yarn you have used and what size needles you need, but as we are stuffing this kitten make sure the knitting is tight so the stuffing doesn't peak through!) 
2. Straight Knit 52 rows 
3. Cast off.

Simple right? But it looks like a square of yarn. Fold it in half length ways, and make a stitch in the yarn to hold the place. Now you will have two more edges, and pull each of those to the middle and make a stitch to hold them in place. You should have four corners now and four openings to sew up. Sew up three of the openings and place some craft stuffing inside to fill out the body before sewing the last opening open.

The Head:

1. Cast on 12 stitches in the same yarn you used for the body.
2. Straight Knit 14 rows
3. Knit 4 more rows but knit two stitches together at the beginning of each row. (this will give the head a tapered effect.)
4. Now Knit 4 more rows but increase one stitch at the beginning of each row. (we're gonna fold the head in half!)
5. Straight Knit 14 rows
6. Cast off.

Now you have a shape that slightly resembles an hour glass right? Good! Fold the shape in half where the cast on and cast off edges are even. Stitch around the head, leaving a small opening to stuff, and be sure to stitch around the ears!
Now pick an end of the body and sew the back of the head to it!

The Tail:

1. Cast on 14 stitches in the same yarn as the body and head.
2. Straight Knit 7 rows.
3. Cast off.

Sew the long edge together and across one of the short ends. You should have a small tube with one end sewn shut. If it is big enough you can stuff the tail, but it is not necessary. Sew the open end to the end of the body.

With some black yarn or thread sew on a little face and some whiskers and VIOLA!!! Your very own easy peasy knitted kitten! 

All the BAGS!!!!

So we have finally come to it, the last of the bags and scarves!!!!

We'll start with the awesome set of Harry potter bags found HERE!! Now when and if you try these yourself here are a few tips:
1. 1 normal ball of 8ply yarn will make a bag as large as the Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw/Slytherin bags in the photo (the black thing in the background is of course my laptop just for a size reference) Of course you can use any size yarn you like and the bag size will vary.
2. You don't have to have the fringe at the bottom, you can sew the bag up and it will still look nice.
3. Because of all the yarn crossovers on the inside, if you actually plan on using your new bag for anything it would be best to make a lining for it. (I just used a Flat Fats from Spotlight it was enough to do both bags I made in each color with enough left over for a third bag if you choose to make it)
4. The colors I have used are the actual colors recommended in the pattern but you can make them whatever color you like!
5. The patterns also tell you to knit in the round, now I myself am only a novice knitter teaching myself, and I havent quite grasped the ability to do that yet. These bags can be knitted conventionally on two needles and stitched together on the open side. It's barely noticeable.
6. We all make mistakes, I made several when making these bags. I forgot a stitch or missed a color, but here's the thing, at first glance you wont notice at all! So dont think that you need to start completely over just because you accidentally made 6 stitches in the main color instead of 5!

Over all I know it has taken me FREAKING AGES to complete all of these, and considering that I have only done 8 bags it really has been a bit too long. But when you consider we have moved house and had to unpack, as well as remodeling and actual real life work that took me two hours to get too and from every day and working weekends, I really hope you all dont hold it against me...

Now for the scarves!!! I am admittedly still completing these but I have finished the first set (hence the photo)

Now I cant take full responsibility for these, The pattern that gave me the Idea can be found HERE!! but as you can plainly see they dont look alike. All I did was google "Hogwarts House Scarves Images" and there were two types of scarves. The one with chunky blocks of color (as seen in the photo) and then one for the older students which has large blocks and smaller stripes (this is the set I am still in the process of making).
As you can see in the photo the scarves tend to roll up in themselves after you make them, easily fixed by ironing them flat! I have decided to mix it up a bit and only add a fringe to some of the scarves and leave others with a plain edge.

Now for the next item on my to do list: Making the wands! This one's gonna be messy folks!

Update on Harry Potter Night!

Alright, lets just get it all out here on the table...

I've been a lazy LAZY little girl lately with my arts and craft projects...  at the moment I have about 4 things laying around half finished. BUT it's all OK.

Why? I can hear you asking yourself, let me tell you why. I've noticed it! Plain and simple truth... I'm slipping back into my old habits of starting stuff and never finishing it so now I'm doing something about it!

First thing's first, the Harry Potter night goodies. I have finished the Hufflepuff set of bags and scarves, and am 80% finished with the first Ravenclaw bag (the last of the sets that I need to make) And I've found that as long as I am doing other things while crafting I get a lot more done.

So I've been watching movies, and even the Australian version of Kath & Kim, and have almost finished this bag in record time!

Now if only things will stop interrupting me... either some one comes to visit us, the dogs have  been escaping our back yard because our next door neighbor is a moron who has no respect for his neighbors, or we have had to go out to see other people....

This week I have no plans to go anywhere, all I need to do is my housework and my crafts.

So with you all as my witnesses, I plan to at least have my Harry Potter sets finished and photographed by the end of this month!

Introducing Sackboys!

So I know lately I've been working on my Harry Potter things, but I have decided to take a little break from all that (we don't want to get bored do we?).

Here we have the marvelous Sackboy from the very fun playstation game Little Big Planet!

This one to the left is the doubled size version.  He's about 1.5 feet tall, and yes I know the photo is not the best, but I couldn't find big enough buttons for his eyes and now he looks creepy.
The photo on the right (the gray one with the play station remote) Is the size of the doll you will get if you follow the pattern given from HERE!  As much work and effort as I put into the double sized version I really do prefer the original one, he's just so much more adorable!

If you are feeling up to the task I will give you the pattern I used to make the big one.

Head
Cast on 24 stitches
purl one row
knit one row
(increase 2, increase 2, knit 2)  to end (gives you 40 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(increase 2, knit 2) to end (gives you 60 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 2, increase 2, knit 2) to end (gives you 80 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 2, increase 2, knit 4) to end (gives you 100 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 4, increase 2, knit 4) to end (gives you 120 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 4, increase 2, knit 6) to end (gives you 140 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows
(knit 12, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 12) to end (gives you 130 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows (beginning and ending on purl rows)
(knit 12, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 10) to end (gives you 120 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows (beginning and ending on purl rows)
(knit 10, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 10) to end (gives you 110 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows (beginning and ending on purl rows)
(knit 10, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 8) to end (gives you 100 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows (beginning and ending on purl rows)
(knit 4, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 2) to end (gives you 80 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
(purl 2 together, purl 2 together, purl 4) to end (gives you 60 stitches total)
stocking stitch 4 rows
(knit 2, knit 2 together, knit 2 together) to end (gives you 40 stitches total)
purl one row
knit 2 together to end (gives you 20 stitches total)
break the yarn off leaving a long tail, using a yarn needle thread yarn through remaining 20 stitches and pull tight, and use tail to stitch up head to neck. Stuff head.

Body
cast on 24 stitches
knit one row
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
knit 2, (increase 2 x6 times), knit 6, (increase 2 x6 times), knit 4 (gives you 36 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
knit 2, (increase 2, knit 2 x6 times) knit 6, (increase 2, knit 2 x6 times), knit 4 (gives you 48 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 4, increase 2 x6 times), knit 10, (increase 2, knit 4 x6 times), knit 2 (gives you 60 stitches total)
stocking stitch 26 rows
(knit 4, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 2) to end (gives you 48 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 2, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 2) to end (gives you 36 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 2, knit 2 together, knit 2 together) to end (gives you 24 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 4, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 4) x2 times (gives you 20 stitches total)
cast off
Using the zipper start at the cast off end, sew around the zipper attaching it to either edge making sure that it covers the length of the body (overhang is fine at the top as you can tuck it into the head and you wont see it). Once the zipper is secured sew the body to the head it does not matter which way it faces. Open the zipper and stuff the body, when re-zipping the zipper add some glue to the teeth, this will make sure the zipper cannot be opened again (especially good if you are making this for a child)

Arms (make 2)
cast on 12 stitches
purl one row
increase into every stitch (gives you 24 stitches total)
stocking stitch 27 rows
cast on an extra 6 stitches at the beginning of the next two rows (gives you 36 stitches total)
cast off 6 stitches at the beginning of the next two rows (gives you 24 stitches total)
stocking stitch 4 rows

Fingers
knit 15 work these stitches only 
purl 6 work these stitches only
knit one row
purl one row
knit one row
break yarn, leaving a 60cm tail. Using a yarn needle thread the tail through the 6 stitches and pull tight, sew down edge of finger and continue knitting using the tail of yarn.
RING FINGER
knit 3 from left needle and work these  12 only
purl 6 and work these only

knit one row
purl one row
knit one row
Using a yarn needle thread the tail through the 6 stitches and pull tight, sew down edge of finger and continue knitting using the tail of yarn.
MIDDLE FINGER
knit 2 from left needle work these 12 only
purl 6 stitches work these only
knit one row
purl one row
knit one row
Using a yarn needle thread the tail through the 6 stitches and pull tight, sew down edge of finger and continue knitting using the tail of yarn.
INDEX FINGER
knit 4 from left needle
stocking stitch 4 rows
Using a yarn needle thread the tail through the 6 stitches and pull tight, sew down edge of finger and continue knitting using the tail of yarn. Using the tail, continue to sew the edge of the hand, stuff and close the opening, then sew to the edge of the body. Remember to make sure that you're thumb is pointing out!

Legs (make 2)
cast on 16 stitches
increase into every stitch (gives you 32 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(increase 2, knit 2) to end (gives you 48 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows
(knit 2, knit 2 together, knit 2 together) to end (gives you 32 stitches total)
stocking stitch 23 rows
knit 2 together to end (gives you 16 stitches total)
break yarn, leaving a long tail. Using a yarn needle thread the tail through the stitches and pull tight, sew down edge of leg, stuff and close opening and sew to body

Taking a contrast color make some little X's around the bottom of the legs near the feet, around the wrists of the arms, and around the top of the head. Stitch a cute little mouth, and if you can find them use some really large buttons for the eyes. If you cant find large enough buttons you can always cut out circles of felt and use that!

Remember this is the pattern for the large doll. The pattern for the normal size doll can be found by clicking the link above!