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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 1 Comment

So I imagine for those who read last week’s post that the first thing you want to know is:

What did the Reliability Raptor get called? Well, drumroll!

Flapjack.

Yep. Flapjack.

An independent audience (friends and kids) picked the top three names – Dendrite, Roar-y and Flapjack – and Flapjack won. There was lemon cake as a celebration and…

This little tiny cutie decided to follow her mum and come to work too and be the main prize. For those curious, I modified Bag of Troodons from ‘knitted dinosaurs’ by Tina Barrett to match the velociraptor in colour and fluffy wool.

Immediately the competitive atmosphere was in full swing debating a name for what I was calling ‘Flapjack Jr’, much to my initial surprise.

But you know…

I think Flapjack and Cupcake make a very cute pair.

In non knitting news, the blog is a day late due to Engels work commitments (drinking beer with his work counterpart from the German branch) but a good laugh was had by all.

My mum was supposed to visit this weekend gone but, alas, finally caught covid despite avoiding it this entire time. So we had a very spur of the moment type weekend which had me giving Felix and her best friend knitting lessons during a heritage diesel train engines day!

They are both doing amazing! And I blame them both entirely for once more falling off the band wagon and purchasing some wool they both felt was ‘amazing’, and some they thought was ‘awesome’ and a few that where ‘squee! It’s so fluffy!’

Thats why there are nine more balls of wool in my stash. Though I have used three this week. But still.

Eventually I’ll have the same number of balls of wool that I started with this year! Maybe. Hopefully.

Wool Count

Starting total – 843

Wool used – 54 (3 since last post!)
Wool bought – 32 (9 new balls…)
Wool given to me – 27
Wool gifted to others – 1
Wool handspun – 3

Total – 850 (Net difference: +7 Sigh…)

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

Who doesn’t love a good play on words?

So, to rewind, the morale in my team got pretty low – I won’t go into details, but let’s just say that it only needs one bad apple to spoil everything – and as such I wanted to boost moral.

Rewind further back, and there was talk of the big, big, big boss visiting our site, and what could we do, as a team, to stand out? There was several serious suggestions and then the more silly ones… How about a motto? And if we have a motto, we need a mascot, right?

So Engel and I got nattering and I asked if he could think of anything – he was thinking on mottos and I was thinking on mascots…after a lot of back and forth, Engel came up with the best ideas…

“Device will find a way” – a play on “Life will find a way” which is from Jurassic Park, and for the mascot…

The Reliability Raptor. As I work in Reliability and Raptor begins with “R” and Jurassic Park… It was tenuous enough we had a laugh and left it at that. Then with morale being low…

Time to get Operation Theropod Trouble underway!

And here it is, the Reliability Raptor, knitted following the pattern Velociraptor by Tina Barrett from the book ‘Knitted Dinosaurs’.

And yes, I know it doesn’t look like the one from Jurassic Park, but that’s because I wanted something more scientifically accurate – and who can resist fluffy wool?

So last week, this little guy came to work, with his credentials and a cute smile and well, by the end of the week morale was better than normal!

A contest to decide his/her name was run last week, and the top three are now being voted on this week. So next post I’ll be able to tell you if this guy is called Dendrite, Roar-y or Flapjack.

In non knitting news, I saw Rammstein the weekend before last, which is why there was no blog post in Monday. I was feeling far too tired, and needed to nurse my poor throat from losing my voice shouting/singing at the concert…

It was amazing!

And on that note, I shall leave you all until next week!

Wool Count

Starting total – 843

Wool used – 51 (3 since last post!)
Wool bought – 23
Wool given to me – 27
Wool gifted to others – 1
Wool handspun – 3

Total – 844 (Net difference: +1 I’m nearly at my starting total!!!)

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting, Patterns 1 Comment

Hee hee…I do love a good pun…seriously though, I finished my mystery creation!

*Drum roll*

An octopus hat!

Much like the story behind the aviator hat, Rabbie saw a crocheted octopus hat, and demanded suggested that I should make her one…that was back in March and put on the back burner until now as I couldn’t find anything pattern wise that was remotely doable.

With her birthday coming up, I resolved to just wing a pattern instead. I have to admit, I’m fairly pleased with it! Especially the tentacles!

So cute!

After much debate, I have posted the pattern up as a free pattern! You can find it in the free pattern section, or just click here. Not sure if many people would want to wear an octopus on their head mind you, Rabbie is certainly a one of a kind individual…

Speaking of Rabbie, I’ve just come back from visiting her in Scotland for a birthday bonanza! (More about that on her blog.) In short though, BBQ at other sister’s, murder mystery with this sister, a rather soggy doggy fun day, birthday cake bonanza, Walking With Dinosaurs arena show (so awesome), Kelpies, soft play, trampoline park, back home. That was crammed in between driving up Friday and driving back down Tuesday. No wonder I’m tired!

Oh, another cheer for the Hot Flash Dash on Ravelry:

Knit! Knit! Knit!
The dash will end in a bit!
Purl! Purl! Purl!
You’ve all done really well!

Wool count:

Starting total – 622

Wool used – 57 (1 since last post)
Wool bought – 8
Wool given – 6 (1 as a birthday present!)
Wool gifted – 0

Total – 579 (No change in net total)

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting, Little one, Uncategorized 1 Comment

So, when I made the Chaffys not that long ago, I mentioned that Felix liked to play ‘Find Chaffy’ with them. This is fine and fair enough when playing games, but the Chaffys appear to sneak around and get into all sorts of places…

Like under the sofa.

Nestled in the sock drawer.

Lurking in the toy box.

Peeping out from in the blankets.

Hiding under cushions…

The list is pretty endless. The point is trying to get all ten in one place and staying there was driving me mad. So, I did the obvious thing!

I made a  Chaffy bag. In all the colours of the Chaffys. It’s pretty bright, and almost but not quite rainbow like! I used the free pattern ‘Taffy’ by The Noble Thread – mostly because I liked the construction and it would allow panels of colour as opposed to the normal stripes.

It had nothing to do with the fact I found it highly amusing that Taffy and Chaffy rhyme.

Honest.

You’ll notice in the photo that only nine of the ten Chaffys are present, and a little set of fingers, this is because Inkling has taken a shine to them, especially the dinosaur one, and kept photo bombing and stealing them, this was the best of a bad bunch!

Wool count:

Starting total – 622

Wool used – 46 (1 since last post)
Wool bought – 6
Wool given – 5
Wool gifted – 0

Total – 584

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting, Uncategorized 1 Comment

Things have gotten a little bit manic here this past week – mixture of life not going as planned and taking on a few too many knitting projects which kind of got bigger and bigger…

More on that though when said projects are finished! So this weeks post is another ‘from the archives’ which is better than a ‘nothing to see here’ post at least!

Rather than picking a broad theme, like pineapples or tea cosies, I’m going for a designer here as I have made a lot of her things over the years. The majority before I started to document my various knitting successes and fails. Here is what I do have photos of though!

McIntosh the dog! Another pair can be seen on this post here.

The brontosaurus from Little Men and Monsters pattern – I’ve made them all, but only have photos of this one.

And here’s ‘Panda’.

And ‘Piglet’.

And ‘Koala’ (A butchered version can be found in this post where I turned it into a snuggly)

And lastly, a butchered version of the last three to make something a bit more unique – a little red bat!

Thats all now!

Wool count!

Starting total – 650

Wool used – 43 (2 this week!)
Wool bought – 33
Wool given – 49
Wool gifted – 59

Total – 630

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting, Little one 1 Comment

As I hinted last post, I really did knit some chickens!

A story first, my neice is moving house (she’s 12, and leaving the only home she’s known, it’s been a big deal) and to make matters worse, she’s had to rehome nearly all her pet chickens.

So I thought she may like a few knitted ones that could go with her anywhere.

Tiny chickens! So small they fit into an egg box! (I’ve based these guys on Anna Hrachovecs pattern ‘Tiny Chickens’ from her book ‘Teeny Tiny Mochimochi’, though it is available for free on her website…)

The only problem is, they breed. I mean, I only meant to knit six and then there was thirty…And seeing as all of them found homes, I will be knitting more as Felix adores them…

So, I was going to give these to my neice yesterday as I was up in Scotland to visit the family and the awesome Auntie Rabbie had organised an Otter Cuddle Party for Felix (she is obsessed with otters, and asked if she could have one)

The food was amazing, and the kids all went swimming, and there was a magic show (Felix was enthralled) and it was a fantastic day.

However, it occured to me on Friday, about 20 hours before the party, that my neice and nephew wouldn’t be so good sharing the chickens I had knit them. (It was three each, or seeing as I had a small army, I could have given them six each easily enough…But…)

Cue chickens from 7 million years ago! Based very loosely on the chicken pattern (I didn’t have time for anything else) I managed to whip these guys out with half an hour to spare.

Never. Again.

Apart from the fact Felix now wants her own set…

They all went down well though, so I’m pleased!

Starting total – 650

Wool used – 22 (2 since last post)
Wool bought – 0
Wool given – 46
Wool gifted – 16 (I’m working on my wool karma here! Rabbie is making a patchwork baby blanket for the baby to be and I decided to help by purging my wool)

Total – 658 (Almost at the starting total!)

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting, Uncategorized 4 Comments

As mentioned since the end of October, I’ve been Christmas knitting. Some I’ve shown, like knitted shrugs and pokemon hats, the rest I’ve been keeping a secret. But seeing as Christmas is now past, I can show you all what I’ve been making!

This post is really image heavy, you’ve been warned!

So, first, the bags!

Its a free chart called Spirit Cat Knitting Charts by Melanie Nordberg

Its a free chart called Spirit Falcon Knitting Chart by Melanie Nordberg.

Its a free chart called Spirit Owl Charts by Melanie Nordberg.

Its a free chart called Spirit Deer Knitting Chart by Melanie Nordberg.

Its a free chart called Spirit Wolf Charts by Melanie Nordberg.

And now, little wash cloths! (Yes, I did make everyone a wash cloth and give them soap, all wrapped up in their designated houses bag above. There was, I hasten to add, other bought presents!)

Free pattern Batty Dishcloth by Dee Frey.

Free pattern Halloween Cat Dishcloth by Kelly Daniels

Free pattern Whooo Loves Ya, Baby? Cloth by Elaine Fitzpatrick

Free pattern Mint Swirl Cloth by Sarah Florent (I tweaked the colour changes to create the pokeball effect!)

Free pattern Dragonfly Dishcloth by April Moreland

Free pattern Soccer Ball FaceCloth – Dishcloth by Barbara Bradford

Free pattern Louie the Lobster Cloth by Tricotine

Free pattern A Cheep Cloth by Elaine Fitzpatrick

Free pattern Dinosaur Washcloth by Elaine Fitzpatrick

Free pattern Pineapple Dishcloth (Knit) by Lily / Sugar’n Cream (and yes, this one was for my mum!)

Hope you all had as fun a Christmas as we all did!

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Cats, Knitting 2 Comments

Apologies for the lack of post last week, my grandfather passed away and I was, understandably not that inclined to be online.

It also didn’t help that last week was spent in Ireland, visiting the other half of my family tree. Distance does not make for an easy time arranging funeral details.

But it’s done, and was, in my opinion, a pleasant cremation.

I have been knitting, as I always do, especially when stressed!

The pattern is ‘Bag of Troodons’ by Tina Barrett and is from the book ‘Knitted dinosaurs’.

Close up of the bag. It was a birthday present for my nephew who is dinosaur mad. But…

Dashie has a soft spot for them too…

I also made a bolero for my neice, to go with a Monster High dress my sis (her other aunt) made her. Now, seeing as she lives far away, and taking a picture of a bolero flat is a tad pointless, my giant panda Tofu is modelling it for me.

It’s a free online pattern – Ribbed Lace Bolero by Kelly Maher. I also made a black one trimmed in pink rib, but didn’t get a chance to photograph it. So you can look at a photo of Tofu in this one again, but showing her better side.

Lastly, I’m once again knitting flat rat bookmarks – I blogged these guys November 20th 2013 – scary how time flies!

I’ll probably knit these for a while till my heads back in gear, or I get distracted!

Wool count:

Starting total – 697

Wool used – 79 (6 since last post)
Wool bought – 9
Wool given – 4

Total – 631

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting, Little one 1 Comment

Just a few things since my last blog post…

A request from someone at work who is expecting their first grandchild – it’s an adorable hooded cabled cardigan called, rather excitingly, ‘Design I’ from Sirdars Gorgeous Babies booklet. I’ve just cast on a blanket now for them also, but more on that on a later post.

Next of all, a little story.

Whilst in Edinburgh, at the museum of Scotland, Felix batted her eyelashes at Daddy and left cuddling a small triceratops.

On the bus ride home, she informed me it needed a mummy and I was going to make her it.

Can’t fault a two year olds logic sadly…

It was easy to achieve though using the triceratop pattern from ‘Knitted Dinosaurs’ by Tina Barret. Just a little bit of colour work and voila!

I must admit, the squeals of joy when I gave her it this morning made the effort well worth while!

Except, just one small detail.

She just asked for a Daddy dinosaur…

Wool Count down:

Starting total – 697 balls

Wool used – 11

Wool accidentally purchased – 9 (it was a super good offer and a really nice bright green that will make an adorable…something…)

Total – 695

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Uncategorized No Comments

A commission from work, made loosely following the ‘dinosaur toy’ pattern from ‘nursery knits for boys’ by sirdar. He’s turned into a cutie I must admit, but I could only work on this whenever Felix wasn’t around/paying attention in case she demanded it for herself!

Slow week knitting wise really as there’s been a bit of a cold virus going through the house, and with work and everything else…yeah…tired.

In other news I’ve not been made redundant, but seeing as nearly two thirds of my department will be leaving sooni’m wondering if  that’s a good thing or not…time will tell I guess.

No wool count this week as I’ve not used up any wool, a good bit of each of the dinosaur colours has been used, but not a whole ball!

 

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