Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Coco The Cat and her Tent Dress

2012.05.07

Coco The Cat

I am making this crocheted cat, Coco The Cat, from the most recent issue (Spring?) of Crochet Today Magazine,   I checked the gauge, even though it is a toy, because the mice I made were a bit mutant in size.  I was getting close to the correct stitches/in., but not the rows/in. or height.  Oh well, it doesn't really matter, does it?  It's a toy.

So the cat came out pretty cute, though a bit short.  I am making it for my god-daughter, M, who will be 4 years old this month.  The idea in the magazine is that you make the cat, with the current clothes, and every issue for I don't know how long, there will be more clothes.


I did not buy eyes, just used French Dots.  I'm not sure I made the right choice there.  M is going to be 4 and she is the youngest of 3 kids, I doubt there will be more, so is there a chance of choking?  Probably not.  I used different yarn for the body and the clothes, though, and it shows.  I didn't have red in the same Vanna Yarn as I used for the body, so I used the One Pound of acrylic I am using to make my sons' afghans.  Bad choice.  First the gauge was a bit off, so the clothes are kind of .. Large.

I had to add a few rows where I tightened up the waistband of the bloomers so they didn't just fall down, even with the cute hole for the tail.

She was swimming in them.  They look ok now, I think.  Note the bit of lace on the bottoms of the legs.

The dress, however, is a disaster, and I will remake it.  It is super stiff (single crocheted, so too dense, and bigger yarn, so just giant size)


I think I will leave the beret (I need to add some elastic as a chin strap), and the scarf is fine.  Otherwise, I like this little cat.

There is a small bag for this outfit that I might crochet if I have time.

Where in the World is f1bercat?

Well, after last week's triumphant failure, just rode once, I am a bit more cautious.  I am writing this blog Tuesday morning, but I actually rode yesterday.  I am hoping to get to the Y MWF this week, and do 20 min. of knitting on the bike.  I think I can handle that.

However, I did ride, and it was a mere 3.68 miles in 20 minutes.   I brought the Fish Hat I am knitting for my nephew A as a wedding present, since that is simple stockinette in the round.  The wedding is at the end of June.  I have a hate/love relationship with knitting to a deadline.  I like the push, or stuff has a tendency to languish on the needles (can anyone say Great American Aran Afghan?  or poor Tony's Sweater - more on that tomorrow).  But then, OMG, I have to get the knitting finished by a certain date.  So I actually added up the inches for the hat, and figured that if I do 1 inch each day, I will be finished with the main hat knitting in 25 days.  That gives me 3 weeks to make the fins, tail and eyes,  block and weave in ends.  In my dreams, I want to have it all finished before the end of June.  So I will try to do more than 1 inch every day, and when I hit the end, rather than let it all sit, I hope I can crank out those fins.  I will feel no pressure as the wedding approaches, knowing I have finished both of the gifts in good time.

I am getting close to Portland State University.  When I get there, I will "visit" my Darling Daughter, S, and let her send me to a few of her favorite hangouts.  Unfortunately, S does not knit or crochet, though she proudly wears the Glass Slipper Socks that I made for her,








and has one of my afghans on her dorm bed.  Obviously, I love my daughter a lot.  This can be seen by the full sized afghan I made.








So, she will not be recommending any LYS's.  I will have to find those on my own.  Portland is supposed to have some wonderful yarn shops.



Before I got sick, I had knitted a total of 175.95 miles.  With the new 3.68 from yesterday I am at 179.63 miles which puts me here:


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stuck on the side of the road.  I thought I was closer to Portland... Maybe I should either knit longer tomorrow, or, get to the Y on Thursday, also.  I just don't want to jinx my riding by trying to do too much.

This is what the trip looks like so far with all of the stops:

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And here is the big map showing my progress as I head to Southern California:


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Sigh.  California is a very long state.  Oregon seems long, also.

Yours,
f1bercat
shaping the planet one cat at a time.

2012.05.07












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