A Fangtastic prop

Let us begin at the beginning. Like a lot of people, when I mention I like anime I always get asked what my first anime was. Then my first Ghibli movie (Princess Mononoke for those curious, and its still my favourite).

So as a vampire loving, alternative nerd of a teenager, I of corpse ended up watching Hellsing (the original anime, not the remake!) as my first anime. The perfect blend of horror, humour, plot somewhere in there, and heaps and heaps of sass.

So when my nephew announced that he was going to an anime con just after his birthday with Rabbie and her husband, and that they were doing a group cosplay and he was going to be Arucard…

Jealousy aside, the bite side of this was that I had a perfect opportunity to get involved and tie in his birthday present.

This particular project took quite a while to make, or perhaps, was a project I had to sink my teeth into.

Engel did the 3D printing, assembly, then sanding, filling, sanding, filling and final sanding, before I got them for painting. And what was this fangtastic gift for my nephew?

Why, Arucards iconic guns of course!

A big fangs to Rabbie who took this amazing photo of the finished result with the coat that she and my nephew helped make and also the gloves Rabbis carefully painted/drew.

Did I mention I was jealous?

In other news, Felix has now attended the weekly Viking meetings two weeks in a row and I think I have a proper little Viking! She’s been great company in the car, and incredibly well behaved at the meetings – she’s also made fast friends with some of the other kids. So much so, or perhaps, sew much sew, she made a pair of bow socks for two of them as part of her first sewing machine lesson.

She has taken to the machine better than I did upon first, second, third…umpteenth try, and I would like to think that’s because I gently coaxed her through the process, but its more to do with the fact she picks things up like a sponge.

I suspect she’ll be making a lot more for herself in the future, perhaps I should hide the good fabric…

Right. That’s all this week as I have a busy weekend planned and have a bunch of things to sort, prep and make before hand. Talk about Comic Crunch? I have Saxon Squeeze… Viking Viscera sounded a bit too violent…

Also, aren’t you all Vlad there aren’t too many vampire puns I could easily slide into this post?

Until the next one, get the garlic and holy water and stay safe!

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 66 (Used 1)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 22
Wool given to me – 31 (Gifted 1 from Engel as a pick me up)
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 852 (Net difference: +11 – this literally hasn’t changed!)

A knife day out

A few weeks ago Engel and myself took part in a blacksmithing taster session organised by my viking group for it’s members.

Vikings has certainly given me a new anvil in knife for all the possible hobbies I never thought I could try. It’s certainly quenching the never ending desire to learn!

But let’s forge on, back to blacksmithing and less hammering on about the vikings.

We all met at the Jarls house where a furnace was set up and the blacksmiths who were hired to run the event explained the different steps and safety precautions so no one would get injured. Once that was done, and some tea and biscuits consumed, we all stood riveted next to the forge as we each got to have a turn at the anvil. Choices were an S shaped hook or a knife – and judging by the bellows of excitement, I think it was knives all round.

Well. I say that. Me being me, I wanted to do something a little different with things I already have.

I turned two ‘viking eating spikes’ (not authentic at all) into little itty bitty knives to be cut and inserted into antler. I also brought my laser cut steel (as in flint and steel for making fires) to bash a bit so I can use it at shows. It now looks the part and I’ve checked, I can still light a fire with it! After all that I was definitely getting the tang of it!

Engel, unsurprisingly, went for a knife and has also picked out some antler from my stash to turn into a knife chopper. So that’s going to be a fun experiment! And yes, I also have a whole side of leather to make sheaves for all these weapons – good thing I’ve started to stab-le in leatherwork!

After all is blade and done, I did enjoy blacksmithing, but I prefer my hobbies softer. Engel on the other hand…

Rust not encourage that lest I end up with a forge in the garden!

In other news… Well… There isn’t much I want to chat about on here so… I guess we move on to the wool count?

Stay safe till the next post!

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 65 (Used 0 – it’s been too hot to craft this week)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 22
Wool given to me – 30 (Gifted two from Ratmans mums stash)
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 852 (Net difference: +11 – and back again to double digits…)

A willing sock-rifice

Going to start this post by saying sock puns are surprisingly scarce, and foot puns…eh, feet….

Alright, lets kick this post into gear before I get cold feet.

As part of my viking kit, I nalbinded myself a pair of socks. They are warm, wooly, keep my feet dry and cushioned, and knit the part – I know, what a socker – and this leads to a problem.

The kids need socks, nice, warm, cushy socks. But my nalbinded socks took me forever to make, and I am not confident at making two pairs for children who are growing like weeds. But, this was not going to defeet me, I just had to be clever…

I can knit socks, quite confidently and quickly, and I can knit them to perfect size using the NO Swatch, ANY Yarn Socks by Ida-Maria Tyyskä (free pattern, amazing one at that, recommend highly) but I can also knit them bigger…say, two sizes too big…?

And as they are toe up… well, no one sees the feet, just the cuffs… Sole why not knit the feet and nalbind the cuffs?

Even Sockrates would have been proud of such good thinking.

Seriously, if your still reading this post after that awful pun, you guys are maschoknits or suffering Sockholme Syndrome.

Regardless, lets move swiftly onwards to other, less unsockable subjects…

Vikings is going great, Felix and Inkling have officially attended two shows and are eager for more. I have started to learn combat with the lofty goal of playing with a Dane axe for real, as opposed to having a little play with one now and again under strict supervision…

Life itself has been fine, things are going in in the background, some of which are good, some less sole, but we’re getting there.

One socked foot at a time.

With that, until next post, stay safe!

Wool Count

Starting toe-tal – 841

Wool used – 65 (Used 5 – productive week again! I promise I will share the final result when it’s finished!)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 22
Wool given to me – 28
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 850 (Net difference: +9 – single digits guys!!!!)

Coming up roses

After the dust had petalled from seed knitting the cactus for Felixs teacher, I once more more put the petal to the metal with Inklings pick from Sarah Keens 100 Little Knitted Projects for his teacher.

His logic behind his choice? The teachers always wears dresses with flowers on them, and her favourite colour is pink. Plant argue with that…

So the ‘basket with flowers’ was chosen, Which gave me a good opportunity to play with all the pinks.

In other news, it has actually been a pretty quiet week. Getting some things sorted for chaos and mischief in the future, but that will be then and for the now, I’m embracing the quiet.

So with that, stay safe until next post!

Nah, I’m pollen your leg, that’s a bit too short a post! Although, other than the fact I have decided I want to learn the Dane axe at vikings, there isn’t much to say. The next dieing experiment with Felix has been selected, but I’m going to have to spin more wool for it at this rate.

This is going to mean that I need my drum carder put back together and get some serious carding done…

But that’s going to be a worry for future me. Present me is enjoying chilling with a scrap rug latch hook project!

Genuinely now, stay safe till the next post!

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 60 (Used 6 – productive week!)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 22
Wool given to me – 28
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 855 (Net difference: +14 – making some headway…)

Cactus makes perfect!

Its that time of the year where I end up having to fit in a few prick knits, else I end up in a right prickle come the end of the month…

What am I on a-drought? End of the school year teachers gifts. I actually have planty of time this year as I realised with three weeks to go , as opposed to some years where its the weekend before…but I digress.

Felix has two teachers in her class (one is a TA but I like that she refers to him as an actual teacher, not just an assistant) and for them, she has chosen a duck (which I already have knitted up in my spare knits bag, or the bag of old craft stock, or the bag of knitted whimsy’s) and a cactus.

This is where I go, ‘the best laid plants of mice and…’

I actually have a cactus in The Bag, but she was browsing through my copy of 100 Little Knitted Projects by Sarah Keen (Inkling needed it for his teacher, but thats next post) and…

She spotted the ‘Cactus in a Pot’ pattern and it was love. Managed to use up a small oddment of wool at least, and I may have had far too much fun with Felix digging through all the wool, but, its done!

Next post: Inklings foray into knitting patterns for his teachers…

But that aside!

It’s been a weird week where I feel like I have done loads and loads but don’t feel I have much to show for just how busy I’ve been. I have been doing a fair bit of reflection this week as well though – which definitely explains why my head is so tired – clearly been thinking too much!

No non knitting news or viking news this week. Just a quiet one.

And yes, I am fully aware that I have had a quiet week yet also stated I have been getting loads done. These things are completely exclusive of one another and I stand on that hill!

Anyway, till next post where I think you will be prickled pink at the knit I will be sharing…

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 54 (Used 3 – productive week!)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 22
Wool given to me – 28
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 861 (Net difference: +20 – creeping back down again…)

Can’t cedar wool fir the trees…

Seeing as we’re over halfway through the year, figured it was thyme to give you an update on a long term project.

Some of yew may remember that fir this years Christmas decorations the plan is to knit a 100 tiny Christmas trees.

Well, despite it feeling like its taken a centertree to knit them, all 100 have been knitted!

Only, small problem… well… I suppose a picture pinet-s a thousand words…

So lets do some clearing shall we?

The plan is now fir Felix and Inkling to decorate all the trees, and once done, I’ll knit the trunks and sew them closed. That shouldn’t take quite so long as knitting them, although tree-ing to find the time to get these decorated may be the more difficult part…

In non knitting but related to wool news, another batch of natural dying was done, this time Felix chose black currants as our black currant bush is overflowing with berries once again. So many berries…

Personally, olive the muted pinkish purple colour, Felix significantly less so. So no further experiments done on this batch (when it’s my turn to play with the dye pot again I am totally repeating this one and trying a few different things with it – including fleece, I think this on my distaff like some form of forbidden candyfloss wood be amazing.)

In non knitting viking news, I passed another two tests! I can now recall all manner of viking facts, carry sharp knives, light fires and act my nalbinded socks off! Was a really good weekend but yew woodn’t be-leaf how tired I am from it!

And that’s about it, really. Oh, turns out a few of the other vikes are as bad as me fir wool and there was a wool shop near the test site and… impromptu wool shop! I was good and walked out with three balls in acrylic DK in colours I knew I was lacking fir toy knitting (yes, wool is better, no, I am not knitting a toy that’s going to be dragged through the mud every five seconds that requires hand washing. That’s a special kind of cruel.)

And with that I bid yew to keep safe until the next post!

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 51 (Used 5 – productive week!)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 22 (Up by 3)
Wool given to me – 28
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 864 (Net difference: +22 – creeping back down again… Just need to refrain from getting more wool!)

In Great Ant-icipation!

Its been a few weeks since this one was completed and gifted to a friend at work, but its also been a busy few weeks full of Viking mischief and mayhem.

(Yes, you can all bee excited that this is a non viking post! Kind of. More on that later.)

On the run up to my friends birthday, I was debating just what to make for her. Idea after idea but no ant-ser came to mind until…a conversation about pets.

As well as the cutest bearded dragon and the fluffiest main coon kittys, she also has several insects which she keeps. Some ant-astically bee-autiful beetles, and a few different breeds of ants. And it was these that gave me an ant-cellent idea…

This is one of the more exotic but beginner friendly ants you can have – Messor barbarus (Harvester ant).

And this is my knitted version. (Ant from Amigurumi knits by Hansi Singh) I’m pretty happy with the result, although everyone who saw it in progress (The Valkyries, my pathfinder group) all felt it was less antsy and more eldritch nightmare. I mean, it does look right at home on my Cthulhu Death may Die board…

The little critters went down a treat, and my friend was like the ant who got the honey.

Not sure my other work colleagues are quite so smitten with it, most look at it, and my tardigrade, with bee-musement.

On to other wool news, I have done quite a bit of spinning (three skiens since last week) and Felix has begun the great dying experiment. Nettle was first:

Such a nice greenish yellow (or garlic butter coloured as Felix has informed me) and then a second skien was put in the dye bath with a pinch of iron, giving it a slightly duller, darker tone (skien on top).

Do excuse the lighting – the sun is out and everything looks either bleached out or strangely dark…

Anyway, right now we have another cooking away – black currants, as our black currant bush is looking to be producing another bumper crop. Not as much as the 5kg of berries from the other year, but there’s a lot!

Will share that one next post, if it’s a success or not.

In non knitting or spinning news, we have viking news – I passed my history test and I’m now a Frihal! No longer am I slave to the title thrall, and I have a pendent and certificate to prove it! Not going to lie, studying for that test was hard – I hadn’t realised how little time I had to commit to something like that. Although between full time work, full time mum around said work, all the hobbies (weaving, knitting, spinning, dying, carding, shield making), vikinging, cthulhu, boardgame club, pathfinder… Yeah…

Hmm. May need to adjust my work-life-hobby balance…

Anyway, it’s been busy. But it’s been the good kind of busy. Oh, I snuck off to Alton Towers on Monday with Timbercat, highly recommend the nemesis reskin – it’s bee-rilliant! Especially if you get front row seats!

Until next post, stay safe and try and keep out of the worst of the heat!

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 46 (Used 1)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 19
Wool given to me – 28 (Engel picked me up two)
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11 (up by three)

Total – 866 (Net difference: +24 – creeping back up – but it bothers me less when it’s hand spun wool, as I am using fleece that’s already taking space for that)

Now entering warp speed!

Thats certainly how this year feels – I genuinely don’t know where it’s gone. I feel like if I stop, I’ll get weft behind!

Enough of that, let’s shuttle along…

Its been a whirlwind of a weekend – Rabbie, Missy, vikings, oh my!

Rabbie does an excellent job as always summarising things her end, and yes, dog napping was attempted, no I did not meet Mr Motivator, yes there was an endless bag of bacon, yes, there was a meeting of the coven (Rabbie even brought the cauldron) and sadly yes, OwlLady did take a tumble and hurt her wrist.

Thankfully it has been confirmed as not broken, but it’s in a splint for a few weeks and already OwlLady is getting a bit warped about not having her knitting or arrows.

The whole weekend was great, but it was also a blur, and I am still shaking off the tiredness. We got two new people last night, so all the hard work Rabbie and Timbercat put in has well and truly paid off.

But where is the crafts? I hear you cry, well, not knitting today. I know, you win some, you loom some.

I have been doing a lot of tablet weave, just shy of seven meters in fact, following an adapted version of a viking age find from Birka. This was cut off the loom last Monday and was sewn into all the edges of my cloak by Thursday. Friday was spent sewing leather onto my full sized shield after working out how to use an awl on Missy’s mini one (pictured)

And with that, I’m out. I need to get some rest before the next wave of chaos hits!

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 47 (Used 1)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 19
Wool given to me – 26
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 8

Total – 862 (Net difference: +21 – creeping down now!)

Can I axe you a question?

Have you ever needed to attack / defend yourself from hoards of knitted monsters?

Or perhaps your little (or large) viking needs an axe-essory to sharpen their day?

If yes, axe-ellent! You have come to the right place!

So, I had a commission to knit the tiny axe (four actually) I did for my Christmas decoration last year and…I hadn’t written the pattern down… Which in hindsight, was axe-tually a bad idea… and thus, I now present:

The little axe pattern! As always, free on the blog!

Aren’t they axe-orable?

(And yes, I am laying it on heavy with just ‘axe’ as the pun because if you list all the parts of an axe – bit, head, shaft, butt – you end up with innuendos, not puns, and I’m trying to keep it fairly clean here!)

In non knitting news, but spinning news, I have spun two balls of Romney fleece. Nice, soft, springy wool and more importantly, white in colour. Why? Felicity has a grand Viking related plan for a display she wants, and it involves nettles, hand spun wool, and lots and lots of natural dying materials… When this begins to come together I’ll be sure to share!

In non crafting news, Vikings last weekend, Vikings this weekend. You can tell we’re deep in the Viking season. Does mean that my crafting time is severely impacted, and also being used for very different crafts. Again, when it comes together, I’ll share!

That’s all for this post as I have a lot to do, nowhere near enough time, and despite being really excited about things behind the scenes, I could actually kind of do with a nap…

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 46 (Used 1)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 19
Wool given to me – 26
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 8 (up by 2)

Total – 863 (Net difference: +22 – creeping up, but that’s cause I’m using my fleece so…cant complain?)

Lets get ready to Ragnorock!

Shed your cloak and take a seat be the fire, have a horn of mead (or tea) and settle down to an epic saga. Tonight I shall weave a tale of fearless warriors, a tapestry of adventure and intrigue…

So be prepared to shield yourself from the pillage of puns coming your way!

Last weekend was the first big viking event for us – myself, Inkling and Felix spent three days as vikings at the Birmingham Games Expo (Engel was on hand to child wrangle of necessary and as a civillian was mainly dispatched to get things for us – ah…so nice to have a thrall to ourselves). It was a raiding good time. There was much laughter (no slaughter), lots of learning (no looting), lots of sharing (nor pillaging) and explaining things to the public.

It was a fantastic plunder-cise for the kids, involved enough they got the feel of a proper show, but with so many vikings (142 approx) they could happily sit back and have quiet time away from the public.

Not that they wanted quiet, all they wanted to do was axe questions! We learned to make nettle cordage, Felix learned to blow a viking horn, Inkling learned to play hnefatafl. We learned about natural dying, and did loads of foraging. We even took part in a viking spa and learned about all the products they would make to ensure they were fighting fresh!

Dont be surprised if things relating to all these start cropping into the blog, it’s already become odin-ary for the kids to pop up with a bag of foraged leaves and things to start an epic natural dying display…

But I will worry about the tiny nettle baskets after I finish my shield. That’s gonna be a post in itself once it’s done…

But enough of this saga, let’s get to the good bit – the knitting!

(Credit to Timbercat here who was precariously balanced to provide more light to get this photo just right)

I was given this pattern, Shields & Axes by Amanda Berry, by one of the fellow vikings at my viking club and I knew I had to make the longship asap. I Keely needed to knit it like now. So I did. This project barged all the others out of its way, leaving them abandoned in it’s wake.

And I’m glad I did, even to me it’s rudderly oar-some. Keeping things above board, I managed to actually follow the pattern for this one. Sort of. Oar-most. I changed the sail colours and altered the shields to match my viking groups. The pattern also includes little (historically incorrect) vikings which, I wreck-en with a few tweaks, I could turn into all the members of the group…

But that will be a project ferry far into the future, as I am battening down the hatches to concentrate on a whole bunch of things to make and do right now. Don’t axe, I’ll just shield you from the chaos until it’s time to reveal it here in the blog!

So until next post, I raise a horn of mead (tea) and wish you safe adventures.

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 45 (No change)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 19
Wool given to me – 26
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 6

Total – 862 (Net difference: +21 – no change, which is better than it going up again…)