hello pineapples

Free Pattern search: Hooray for Canada Day!

Actually, as much as I dig my country, I'm not a huge fan of Canada Day. That sounds worse than it should. As Sloan sings in Coax Me, "it's not the band I hate, it's their fans" (a quote that the mister and I often apply to just about every imaginable situation). Canada Day would be much better if it involved less face painting, bad t-shirts, and novelty hats. Out for ice cream with J.Lau and Mr. Pineapples today, we saw an entire family dressed in red and white, complete with face paint; a couple wearing matching Canada t-shirts: hers in white, his in red; a mom and her son in Canada day t-shirts that were recently sold at the grocery store. I'm all for loving one's country, but I wish it was possible to do it with a wee bit more style.

Having said this, I thought I would attempt to celebrate the day with a free pattern (seeing as I missed the most recent Free Pattern Friday due to a new job, sale at Mexx, a board meeting, and playing Wii with J.Lau). The plan was to offer up a pattern that was something Canadian. This vague plan was easier said than done. A google search for "Canada Day crafts" or "Canada crafts" led me to crafts for children that involved items such as poster paint, streamers, and paper plates. Not that there isn't a place for such a craft, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for.



Truth be told, I really didn't know what I was looking for. So I tried looking for patterns/crafts by Canadian crafty types. This led me to crafts for kids by Arounna of Bookhou. I liked these because while they really are meant to be kid friendly, they're things I want to try doing and they are way more interesting than painting a paper plate. It also led me to the website of one of Canada's favourite knitters, the Yarn Harlot, which does have some free knitting patterns. But still...not quite what I wanted.

I then tried looking for something that involved one thing that embodies Canada for me: the CBC. Despite some of it's flaws (usually on the TV side or involving Jian Ghomeshi), I adore the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Every radio in my apartment is tuned to the CBC. Since there is a Ravelry group for CBC fans, I figured I might find some CBC themed patterns. Alas! This too proves to be easier said than done (If you can prove me wrong and are aware of CBC craft patterns, please let me know). So I'm going to improvise:

From those dark days of the CBC lockout comes a pattern that was knit into headbands:




I think that could easily altered in order to have a CBC logo embroidered/knitted into your project: just take off the part that makes it look like a lock and you're good to go.

Or, you could get really fancy and check out knitPro from microRevolt. All you need to do is upload a picture like this awesome retro CBC logo:



and knitPro will spit out a PDF pattern for your embroidery or knitting. Très awesome, non?

And finally, I'll finish this post off by sharing a link to the CBC's web archive on "Handmade in Canada: the Art of Craft," which features 13 television pieces on craft in Canada. I link to this because it is how I found a radio interview by Peter Gzowski from 1983, where he learns to knit over the radio (he's in Toronto, she's in Halifax!). While he doesn't actually learn to knit, it's well worth the listen.

Well, now it's July 2 and no longer Canada Day, but I do hope you were able to enjoy the holiday (if you're Canadian, otherwise I guess it was just another Tuesday for you). I know I did - it was sunny and hot and we spent the afternoon with ice cream on the waterfront, sangria and wine on a patio on Argyle Street and fireworks on Citadel Hill (sort of. there were buildings between us and the fireworks) - and that's why I'm posting now rather than yesterday.

Posted byHello Pineapples! on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 0 comments  

filed under: arts and crafts, embroidery, free pattern friday, knit, patterns

Just when I thought I knew everything about knitting...

I thought I had knitting abbreviations and stitches down to a science. I mean, I've even managed the kitchener stitch in the past. But with my recent acquisition of mochimochi's stackable cats pattern, I've discovered that I did not know how to "w+t" or, wrap and turn. I sort of guessed at it, but ended up with lumpy and holey looking legs. Thank heavens for google and knitters on the internet! It is times like these when I have to ask, "what the heck did people do before the internets???" I'm old enough to remember life before the internet, but this is one of those times when I'm glad I have more than a stack of World Book Encyclopaedias to help me out. (and wow! You can still buy printed encyclopaedias! who knew?)

Edited @ 12:38: good grief. I'm still trying to figure it out. I thought I had it, but then I was getting holes when I was trying to finish the pattern. Turns out that I needed to know more than just the mechanics of the w+t, but how to do a short row as well (I think I've done one of these before, but can't remember how it works). Ravelry and its forums came to my rescue and I found a how-to by misocrafty on the short row heel that (a) makes sense, (b) has pictures, (c) can be applied to my stackable cat.

Posted byHello Pineapples! on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 0 comments  

filed under: knit, patterns, ravelry, stitches

Free Pattern Fridays: Get your stitch on

After weeks without free patterns, I'm offering up a few sites with some nifty embroidery transfers and tutorials:

The transfers

Floresita has a blog devoted to her vintage transfers. I'm of two minds when it comes to vintage transfers - some are the kind of kitsch I love, but many take that step beyond kitsch and into the land of hokey. But to each their own. What I do like about these transfers is that Floresita occasionally photoshops them up to make them awesome, like the Saucepan Sabotage transfer:



Awesome, non? (you can get the full size transfer here)

Some of the finer embroidery bloggers have pooled together their vintage transfers in the flickr pool, Hoop Love. With 645 pictures in the pool, I'm sure one of them will fit your embroidery needs.

Needlecrafter.com also has a great selection of transfers, many of them vintage and a lot of those seem to be from old Vogart collections. I haven't looked closely enough to know for sure, but you may find some overlap in Vogart transfers within the various vintage transfer sites. Needlecrafter also offers an insane glossary of stitches, as well as articles, links, and more. Even if the vintage stuff isn't your style, there is probably something useful at Needlecrafter.


the tutorials

Found this tutorial for Japanese Sashiko embroidery via a post on Feeling Stitchy. The Purl Bee claims that Sashiko only looks difficult. I'll have to wait and see about that - it does seem to require some special materials.

the not so free

These patterns by Peapies aren't free, but they're so darn cute that I have to share them:



There's a good chance I'll be purchasing at least one of those designs in the near future.

the inspiration

In need of some embroidered inspiration? Then check out Feeling Stitchy's flickr pool. There is some amazing work to behold in that pool.

and finally...
the just plain old awesome

Have I mentioned Feeling Stitchy before now? It's a recent find for me and I might be in blog love. They have a number of fantastic tutorials, including one on needles - something I could use since I (a) haven't a clue about which needle to use when; and (b) I broke a needle while working on my quilt the other evening (snapped in half!). And if that weren't awesome enough, they also have the Crafty Blog School tutorials. That's one I'm intrigued by since I'm still new to the world of blogging (unless you count my time on LiveJournal a few years ago...but that didn't have much of a focus).

Purl Bee, the blog of Purl Soho, is another great stitchy crafty resource. I was excited to see that the most recent post is on thimbles. It's a bit of serendipity for me, seeing as it was only yesterday that I was complaining to le husband about needing either a callous or a thimble for my thumb (a thimble would be preferable). That pain in the thumb is from holding onto the needle and trying to pull it through the fabric; I also need one for pushing the needle through or for general poke protection.

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So that's it for today. Happy Weekend and happy crafting! I picked up my tofutsies yarn from The Loop (one of my LYS) today. Why the tofutsies? For Sock Wars III! My dossier arrived via e-mail at noon and I've got to get my knit on tout de suite. The only trouble is: I detest working with eensy needles. Even 4mm needles are small by my standards and this stuff (like a lot of sock yarn) calls for 2.75mm needles. Teeny needles and dainty yarn will be my undoing in this war. Regardless, I will be giving it the old college try.

Posted byHello Pineapples! on Saturday, May 10, 2008 0 comments  

filed under: embroidery, free pattern friday, patterns, sock wars iii, yarn

Free Pattern Friday: Lobster time

My latest plush creation, which took frigging forever (well, just over a week really), was a felt lobster. He's off in the mail to his owner from a plush swap.



(please ignore my messy fridge)

I enjoy lobsters. That is not to say that I enjoy eating lobsters, but that I enjoy lobsters as a concept. You could say that they are my favourite crustacean. I've never actually eaten a lobster, which is sort of odd seeing as I live in a place where lobster is king. It is actually one of the few places on earth where you can buy a McLobster in the summer.




Seriously, I can only imagine that it's as gross as it looks/sounds. I'll try lobster one of these days, but it'll be fresh and not from McDonalds. And I probably won't be able to cook it myself.

My amusement with the lobster has even led to travels with a bobblehead lobster:



(Sadly, this is not one of the best photos I've taken of the lobster. Many of those were lost in the Toshiba Crash of '06).

Anyway, my lobster is not today's free pattern...but that's because no pattern exists. If I ever manage to make a pattern, I'll share it. Today's is for this guy:




A knitted lobster!

Words fail me. It is one of the cutest. The creator of this charming plush crustacean also has a pattern for a knitted buoy. I really enjoy the Maritime theme to her knitting. It speaks to the faux-Maritimer in me (I am technically what they would call a "come-from-away" or a "CFA").

Happy weekend!

Posted byHello Pineapples! on Saturday, March 08, 2008 0 comments  

filed under: free pattern friday, knit, patterns, plush, show and tell

Free Pattern Friday Saturday: Cozy Coffee

Recently, le husband has begun to use a french press at his office. Since there is already a kettle there, I guess it's easier than a regular coffee maker. I was a bit surprised when he expressed an interest in having a french press; he had been off coffee for some time now. But I guess the long dark winter semester and his upcoming thesis mean that coffee is a necessity.

So when I saw this pattern on design*sponge on wednesday, I was pretty excited. I think it will be queued up on ravelry as my next project (I'd start it right away, but it is still very much winter here and I need mittens). Apparently non-knitters can make something similar with an old sweater - or so says a commenter at design*sponge. Check out the videos at the CBC site for Steven and Chris to see what's up with that.



On the subject of coffee cozies, I've also found free patterns for coffee cup cozies at the blog Carissa Knits. She has two there, the Starbucks cozy and the Poison! cozy.

Of course, if knitting is not your thing, you can always buy a plush coffee cozy over on etsy, made by Nervous Onion (who I found via The Needle.org).

Posted byHello Pineapples! on Saturday, March 01, 2008 1 comments  

filed under: etsy, free pattern friday, good ideas, knit, patterns

Free Pattern Fridays: Peeps!

It's been a pretty lousy day. My hyperthyroid cat seems to be getting a little more ill - but for different reasons. I'm really hoping that it is merely a side effect to the medication. If that is the case, then I'm out $2000 for treatment (we're already out $700). If it is not the medication, then I do not know what will happen next - and quite frankly, I'd rather not think about it.

So, too cheer myself up, I've been trolling blogs for fun free patterns. And with Valentine's barely over (and my teeny hangover still recent history), it is, of course, time to think about Easter. I find the marketing of holiday chocolates to be a pretty ridiculous. Of course, this doesn't stop me from enjoying Cadbury Creme Eggs long before Easter arrives.

The arrival of Easter chocolate also means the arrival of the Peeps. Personally, I am not of fan of Peeps as a treat - I find them odd and sort of scary, like a twinkie, in the way that they are impossible to break down. Have you ever tried to kill a peep? A friend and I did "science fair projects" on them, with often hilarious results. The microwave was our favourite.



This Easter season, I hope to get crafty with my Peeps. Perhaps enter the Peeps diorama contest. And this is where the free pattern comes in:



Yes! Knitted Plushy Peeps! Courtesy of Berroco yarns.

And there is more Peepyness over on Flickr. There's even some crocheted Peeps in there.

(peep pattern links via Craft magazine's blog)

Posted byHello Pineapples! on Friday, February 15, 2008 1 comments  

filed under: free pattern friday, knit, patterns

Free Pattern Fridays

Okay, it's technically Saturday, but since I haven't been to bed yet I'm going to call it Friday. And I'm going to attempt to share some of my favourite free patterns on Fridays. Hopefully I'll remember to keep track of where I find them. As a student on a very tight budget and a self-taught crafter, I'm a huge fan of the free pattern. I've learned a lot from patterns that talented crafters have shared online. And I appreciate crafters who share their patterns. They really don't get anything out of it, other than some joy in knowing that others are out there are enjoying their designs.

Since I'm a sock monkey junkie, and new to crochet, I thought this is a great one to start with:



Crochet Sock Monkeys by Lisa Thoms of Q.D. Patooties. Pretty fantastic, non? I'm going to add these little guys to my queue of projects to do on Ravelry.

Posted byHello Pineapples! on Saturday, February 02, 2008 1 comments  

filed under: crochet, free pattern friday, patterns, sock monkeys

Etsy and me

Well, I've finally managed to take some pictures and post items on my etsy shop. It remains to be seen if people will buy anything, but my fingers are crossed. I've had a few sales to friends and co-workers recently, which is awesome and will make Christmas a little better. There really isn't much money in this poor student gig.

Speaking of Etsy, as I was browsing about this evening (instead of sleeping, which I should be doing), I found the shop of the girl who was next to me at the FemFest craft fair at the Khyber. I had meant to take one of her cards and put a link here, but forgot and had no idea where to look for her shop.

In case you're wondering what the heck Etsy is, well, it's like a big online craft fair. If it's handmade, then it's probably on Etsy. Columnist Karen Von Hahn of the Globe and Mail recently did an article on Etsy and how she did her Christmas shopping there. Unfortunately, you can't read the article online. It was in last weekend's G&M Lifestyle section, in case you haven't recycled your newspapers yet. It wasn't an awesome column, but pretty cool that Etsy got the mention in a national paper. The more people checking Etsy out, the more chances that one of them will stumble onto me.

And it really is all about stumbling on Etsy. There's just so much that even a search barely narrows things down for you. Type "sock monkey" and you get 64 pages of sock monkeys and sock monkey related items. The odds that you're the one sock monkey maker that jumps off the page do not seem all that great. Of course, this is no reason not to try to sell stuff there. Who knows, it might pay off. As it is, some monkey money from the Khyber sale bought me a new dress at Winner's and a Lindt chocolate advent calendar (so much tastier than the cheap waxy chocolates you find in most advent calendars).

Anyway, bedtime and cat feeding time. This entry really doesn't have any need for pictures, but I do have to share my latest creation: monkey sized toque and scarf that I knit up on Friday at my Stitch n' Bitch (not much of a bitch, as I was the only one there - must advertise better next semester).



As well, the Gerkins (not their real name) arrived home from their trek about South America and I was finally able to give Mr.G his Octopus (a free pattern from knit.1 blog - except I screwed up a step. And then added legs and a set of bagpipes):



heh. the silly thing kills me everytime. If you're wondering why the octopus is playing the bagpipes, well, that's a story for another day.

Posted byHello Pineapples! on Monday, December 03, 2007 0 comments  

filed under: arts and crafts, crochet, etsy, khyber, knit, patterns