I've Been Nominated for a Bobby Award

How exciting... my "Barbie's Toilet, Toilet Roll Cover" has been nominated for a Bobby Award for "Most Unusual Project" at Ravelry.com! I'm thrilled!

As the old cliche goes, it is an honour just to be nominated. And I actually mean that in all honesty. Okay, sure, I'd definitely like to win, of course, but I'm really excited just about the nomination.

To view the entries, you can visit www.ravelry.com/bobbys. Lots of great creative stuff to see. And if you'd like to vote for me, I won't stop you. :) No pressure...

Odyssey 12 inch Square - Free Crochet Pattern

Copyright 2010 by Letitia Sherriff

Materials Used

• Carnival 8ply Acrylic in Turquoise (Colour A)
• Spotlight Marvel 8ply Acrylic in Hot Pink (Colour B)
• 4mm crochet hook
  

Stitch Guide

Treble Cross (Trx) = Yo twice, insert hook in next st, yo and pull up a lp (4 lps on hook), yo, draw through 2 lps (3 lps on hook), sk next st, yo, insert hook in next st, yo and pull up a lp (5 lps on hook), [yo, draw through 2 lps] 4 times (1 lp on hook), ch-1, yo, insert hook halfway down st just made in space where lower legs join, yo and pull up a lp, [yo, draw through 2 lps] twice.

Odyssey 12 inch Square
Ch-4, join with a sl-st to first chain to form ring.

Round 1: With Colour A... ch-3 (counts as first dc), 11 dc into ring. Join with sl-st to beg ch-3. (12 dc)

Round 2: Ch-3, dc into first st, 2 dc into each remaining st. Join with sl-st to beg ch-3. (24 dc)

Round 3: Skip first st of round 2, *5 dc into next st (shell made), skip on st, sl-st in next st, skip st,* repeat from * to * 5 times, sl-st to beg of round (6 shells). Finish off Colour A.

Round 4: Attach Colour B in the middle (3rd) stitch of any shell. Ch-1, *sc in same st, hdc, dc, tc, dc, hdc.* Repeat from * to * 5 times. Sl-st to first sc. (36 sts)

Round 5: Ch-1, *sc in first sc, sc in second st, 2 sc in the next stitch*. Repeat from * to * all the way around. Join with a sl-st to first sc. (48 sc). Finish off Colour B.

Round 6: Attach Colour A with a sl-st in first sc of round 5. Skip first sc of round 5, *5 dc into next st (shell made), skip one st, sl-st in next st, skip st.* Repeat from * to * 11 times, sl-st to beg of round (12 shells). Finish off Colour A.

Round 7: Attach Colour B in the middle (3rd) stitch of any shell. Ch-1, *sc in the same st, hdc, dc, tc, dc, hdc*. Repeat from * to * 11 times. Sl-st to first sc. (72 sts)

Round 8: Ch-1, *one sc in each of the first 4 sts, 2 sc in the next st.* Repeat from * to * all the way around (13 times). Finish off the round with one sc in each of the last two sts. Join with sl-st to first sc. (86 sc). Finish off Colour B.

Round 9: Join Colour A in any sc of round 8. Ch-4, Trx in next st (see special stitches). Repeat with Trx's around. In second to last stitch... yo twice, insert hook in second to last st, you and pull up a lp (4 lps on hook), yo, draw through 2 lps (3 lps on hook), yo, insert hook in 2nd chain of beg ch-4, yo and pull up loop (5 lps on hook), [yo draw through 2 lps] 4 times (1 lp on hook), ch-1, sl-st to 4th chain of beg ch-4. (29 Trx).

Round 10: Ch-1, sc once in each st. Join with sl-st to first sc. (86 sc). (Hint: each Trx of previous round receives three sc - one in the top of the right leg, one in the middle of the two legs, and one in the top of the left leg). Finish off Colour A.

Round 11: Attach Colour B in any sc of round 10. Ch-1, *sc in each of the first four sts, 2 sc in next st.* Repeat from * to * all the way around. Finish off the round with one additional sc, then join with a sl-st to first sc. (103 sc). Finish off Colour B.

Round 12: Join Colour A in a sc that is in line with the centre of one of the six shells from round 3 (this will ensure that your centre motif is straight inside your finished square). Ch-3, one dc in each of the next 12 sts, *tc, tc, (2tc, ch-2, 2tc) in the next st, tc, tc, one dc in each of the next 21 sts*. Repeat from * to * 3 times (ending with 9 dc in the last repeat). Sl-st to top of beg ch-3. Finish off colour A.

Round 13: Join Colour B in any dc of round 12. Ch-1, one sc in each st all the way around, and (2 dc, ch-2, 2 dc] in each corner ch-2 space. Join with sl-st to beg sc. Finish off Colour B. (Special note: no, that is not a typo. This round is all sc, except the corners which are dc).

Round 14: Join Colour A in any sc of round 13. Ch-3, dc in each st, and [2 dc, ch-2, 2 dc] in each corner ch-2 space. Join with sl-st to top of beg ch-3. Finish off Colour A.

Round 15: Join Colour B in any dc of round 14. Ch-1, sc in each st, and [2 dc, ch-2, 2 dc] in each corner ch-2 space. Join with sl-st to beg sc. Finish off Colour B.

Weave in all ends and you're done!

*(21 January 2010). Special thanks to HappyPeacock and Margate of Ravelry for pointing out a few typos on my original!

Barbie's Toilet - Toilet Paper Roll Cover

Once upon a time (back in January & February) the Crochet Lovers Victoria group on Ravelry had a toilet roll cover design competition. We entered our creations anonymously.

After contemplating several different ideas of what I could make for the comp, when falling asleep one night an idea popped into my head. I'd make a toilet! And I could have someone falling into the toilet with their pants around their ankles. I could even make a tiny roll of toilet paper hanging off one side, and a magazine rack on the other. Yep this was the one.

The next morning a sketched out my idea and started to plan how I'd make this come to life.

A few days later I got to work. I started with a large blue circle to represent the water in the toilet (and a hole in the center for the "person" to fall in to. I then moved on to the toilet seat. I worked down from there to create the base of the toilet, and then I attached a toilet lid. I then created the tank or cistern behind this and stuffed it with hobbyfill to make it more solid.

I added two different sized buttons to the top of the tank to represent the half flush and full flush buttons we have here in Australia. I then manipulated a small paper clip and some paper towel into a toilet roll and attached it to the side of the tank. (I have to say, the little roll of toilet paper is probably my favourite part!)

Then it came time to making the person to go down the hole. I got some flesh coloured yarn and started with the legs. Ugh! It looked awful and it definitely didn't look anything like a leg. I grabbed one of my old childhood Barbie dolls to get some perspective and to use as a model for my crocheted person. Well dang - this toilet was the perfect size for Barbie. She looks pretty darn funny sitting there atop the toilet.

That's it! I'll use Barbie. Oh I loved this idea 100 times more than making a crochet person for the toilet. It was like Barbie thumbing her nose at all those people who have made her stand inside a roll of toilet paper in some horrible garrish enormously puffy dress with some equally awful hat on her head. Love it!

Of my Barbies, my Miss Amercia 1970s Quick Curl Barbie won the honours. I changed her into a short dress that one of my other Barbies had been wearing (to hike up around her waist so she could use the toilet). She also had the advantage of having bent arms.... perfect for holding the newspaper! I also love the fact that she looks so much like a TV character Kath, from a show here called "Kath and Kim." The exact same frizzy hair and all.

My one regret is that I didn't not have a tiny pair of Barbie panties to put around Barbie's ankles, but I was still super happy with the result. I know it made me laugh, and I hoped it would give others a good laugh, too. Well, it must of worked because I won the competition! Yippee!

I wrote down the pattern whilst making Barbie's toilet. I will endeavour to get it up here on my blog sometime in the next week or so. So stay tuned!

HERE'S THE PATTERN

Barbie’s Toilet, Toilet Paper Roll Cover Pattern
Copyright August 2009 by Letitia Sherriff

Materials used:
3mm hook
*Carnival 8ply Acrylic White (approx 50 grams)
*Carnival 8ply Acrylic Turquoise (approx 10 grams or less)
*Any DK weight yarn (or 8ply) may be substituted for these yarns
Approximately two handfuls of hobby fiber-fill
Two different sized buttons (or one oblong shaped button)
One small paperclip
A small scrap of toilet paper or paper towel
Two small pieces of clear sticky tape
Two stitch markers
Yarn needle to darn in the ends
Barbie (optional)
Old sheet of newspaper (optional)
Roll of toilet paper to sit inside

TOILET BASE
With turquoise blue colour (this forms the “water” for the inside of the toilet)
Ch-22, slip stitch to first chain to form a ring.

Round 1: ch-1. SC once into each chain around (slip stitch into the first SC to finish the round, for this and every subsequent round). (22 SC made).

Round 2: ch-1. *Two SC into the first stitch. 1 SC into the next stitch.* Repeat from * to * around. (33 SC made).

Round 3: ch-1. *Two SC into the first stitch. 1 SC into each of the next 2 stitches.* Repeat from * to * around. (44 SC made). Finish off blue.

You are now going to be working the “toilet seat”.

Round 4: Attach white yarn in first SC of Round 3. *Ch-1, 2 SC in the first stitch. 1 SC into each of the next 3 stitches.* Repeat from * to * around.

Round 5: Ch-1. *2 SC into first stitch. 1 SC into each of next 5 stitches.* Repeat from * to * around.

Round 6: Repeat Round 5. (You should now check that the circle you’ve made is the same size as the top of the roll of toilet paper you are going to use to put inside the cover. Roll sizes vary greatly from brand to brand. If necessary, you can repeat round 6 to make it larger… or rip out a row if it is too big).

Round 7: TURN WORK OVER TO THE “WRONG SIDE.” You are now going to surface crochet (around the post) on the bottom of side of Round 6. 1 SC around each stitch of Round 6.

You are now going to be woking the base of the toilet, under the toilet seat.

Round 8. Ch-1. 1 SC into each stitch.

Round 9. Ch-1. *1 SC into each of the next 4 stitches. You are now going to do a SC decrease over the next two stitches (aka SC2TOG).* Repeat from * to * around.

Round 10: Ch-1. 1 SC into each stitch.

Round 11: Repeat Round 10.

Round 12: Repeat Round 9.

Rounds 13-22: Ch-1. 1 SC into each stitch.
At the end of round 22, you should make sure to check that your item now adequately covers your roll of toilet paper. If it is not long enough, you can add additional row(s) of SC. Fasten off.

LID
With white… Ch-4. Slip stitch into first chain to form a ring.

Round 1: Ch-1. 10 SC into the center of the ring. Slip stitch to first SC to join round (here and at the end of every subsequent round). (10 SC made).

Round 2: Ch-1. 2 SC into each stitch around. (20 SC made).

Round 3: Ch-1. *2 SC into first stitch. 1 SC into next stitch.* Repeat from * to * around. (30 SC made).

Round 4: Ch-1. *2 SC into first stitch. 1 SC into each of the next 2 stitches.* Repeat from * to * around. (40 SC made).

Round 5: Ch-1. *2 SC into first stitch. 1 SC into each of the next 3 stitches.* Repeat from * to * around. (50 SC made).

Round 6: Ch-1. *2 SC into first stitch. 1 SC into each of the next 4 stitches.* Repeat from * to * around. (60 SC made).

Attached lid to base of toilet by single crocheting the two together over approximately 8 stitches. Attach the lid at the raised round that forms the outside edge of the toilet seat above.

CISTERN / TANK
With white… Ch-17.

Row 1: SC into the 2nd chain from the hook and into each chain across (16 SC made). Ch-1 and turn.

Rows 2-77: SC into each stitch across. Ch-1 and turn. (work should measure 16 inches long. If work is not 16 inches long, you should add additional rows of SC as necessary or rip out rows if too long).

Measure six inches down on each side of the work and place a stitch marker on each side.

Turn your work ¼ turn clockwise. You will now be working one of the sides of the cistern (as indicated by the A & F in the diagram).

Row 1 (Side A/F): Ch-1. Place 10 SC evenly spaced over these 6 inches (as indicated by your stitch marker). Ch-1 and turn.

Row 2 (Side A/F): SC in each stitch across. Ch-1 and turn.

Rows 3-10 (Side A/F): Single crochet in each stitch across… until the side measures 6 inches.

Rotate work ¼ turn clockwise. Work 10 SC over the side of the cistern side you just made (indicated by A in the diagram). Continue with an additional 10 SC over the top of your work (indicated by B in the diagram). Turn work ¼ turn counterclockwise then flip.

You will now repeat the instructions that you did for Side A/F, but now for Side C/G.

Turn work ¼ clockwise and work 10 SC over the side (indicated by C in the diagram). Slip stitch to last adjoining stitch of area B and finish off.

IMPORTANT: At this point please remove about 2 feet of white yarn from your ball or skein and set aside.

Making Up (all will be done with SC).
With white… Join yarn at the corner where G & H meet.
You are now going to join sides G & H together.
Continue by joining areas E & K together.
Continue by joining C & M together.
Continue by joining B & N together.
Continue by joining A & L together.
Continue by joining D & J together.
BEFORE YOU DO THE FINAL JOIN OF F & H…..
Now is a good time to sew on any “flusher buttons” or items that you intend to attach to the cistern while you still have access to both the interior and exterior of your work.

You will also need to attach the cistern to the base of the toilet at this point. Make sure you line it up properly with where the toilet lid is attached to the base. Using the two feet of white yarn you set aside earlier, threaded through a yarn needle, just whip stitch the two together, attaching the front of the cistern to the back of the toilet in a few spots.

Now take your hobby/fiber fill and stuff it into the cistern. I recommend stuffing it pretty full so that the cistern is nice and firm and will stand up well. If you run out of hobby fill you can even use some paper towel, toilet paper, etc to fill it up. I DO recommend using something white to stuff it so no colour shows through your white yarn.

You are now ready to finish up the cistern by joining sides F & H with SC. Finish off and weave in your ends. Ta-da!

You can now add your toilet paper roll to the side by manipulating a small paper clip and using some toilet paper or paper towel. (You may need a small piece of clear sticky tape to start the roll and to finish the roll). Don’t forget to leave some of the roll dangling!

Now you just need to find a Barbie to put on the top and you’re done!

Three 12 inch Squares

I was asked to make a 12 inch square to contribute to a special blanket. I was watching TV one evening, got a little carried away, and ended up making three instead.

The first is in an interesting Carnival variegated with different shades of blue and white from a pattern called Arches by Dayna Audirsch.

I also wanted to use some of the "eyelash" art yarns, and ended up making two traditional granny square style squares (since the gaps make it less difficult to use the art yarn). One was in turquoise blue/green with nearly identical eyelash yarn.


The second one was in a soft blue with a variegated eyelash yarn with different shades of blue and white (which you can't really see in the pictures).

I'm excited to see the finished blanket when it is done - it is going to a very deserving recipient!

Niece 9's Birthday Shawl

I recently finished a shawl for my 9 year old niece. Her birthday is August 12th (aka - 8-12). I used her birthday as a guide for my row changes. I used an eyelash yarn from the Palette Collection in Wisteria (a lovely shade of purple) as well as some Moda Vera Wisp yarn in a lavender and silver colour.

So I had 8 rows of eyelash, 1 row of wisp, and 2 rows of eyelash. I then reversed it... 8 rows of wisp, 1 row of eyelash and 2 rows of wisp. And then back to the original set of 8 rows of eyelash, 1 row of wisp and 2 rows of eyelash.

I am so happy with how well the purple's match and I'm so pleased that the set of three repeats gave me a perfectly sized shawl for my niece. It is super soft and squishy - exactly what a shawl should be.

I have now started on a similar one for Niece 6 (who's birthday is May 31, aka 5-31, therefore 5 rows, 3 rows, 1 row, repeat twice).

These will be the first crocheted items I will be able to give my nieces in person (the rest have been posted or delivered by someone else). I am really looking forward to seeing their reactions to their shawls. I know how excited I'd have been at their ages to get something like that!

Aaron's Blanket

A dear friend's best friend has a little four year old boy with cancer (Ewings Sarcoma). With the help of several lovely ladies from Ravelry's Crochet Lovers Victoria, we were able to make him a blanket in green and yellow (which I'm told are his favourite colours). Some of the ladies also made Aaron some cute cuddle toys and hats!

Many, many, many, many thanks to Cathy, Dawn, Daphne, Tess, Sharon, Lyn, Julie and Michelle for all of your help! (aka: CRC, DawnieDear, HappyPeacock, KingsvilleTess, LaughingPurple, lyndymb, Shilo and Yarnplay67)

More Dyeing - Food Colour Attempt Two

This past week I made another attempt at food colour dyeing. This time I was more prepared wtih plenty of food colour on hand as well as my plastic mustard and ketchup picnic bottles to squirt on the colour (a tip I received from someone... sorry, I can't remember who, but thank you whoever you are!). Edited to add: Oh, I just looked it up. It was Meagan who gave me the plastic bottle tip. Thank Meagan - they worked PERFECTLY!

I have been using Queen food colours from the supermarket. This time I used an entire bottle of rose pink, an entire bottle of conchineal (sp?), an entire bottle of blue, and about half a bottle of green. All that for just 200 grams of wool!

I was aiming for mostly red to pink (and varieties in between). When I was squirting the dye on, the red and the pink looked nearly exactly the same and I was afraid I'd end up with more or less just one colour all over. That's fine, but that's not why I was doing home dyeing. I then decided to try and add a little bit of "turquoise" to the mix.

I REALLY saturated the wool because I wanted nice strong bright colours and I didn't want any of the natural colour of the wool showing. I followed the same directions as my first attempt - soaking in vinegar, putting it in cling wrap, squirting on the colours, then microwaving. After giving it a post microwave rinse in tepid water in the laundry sink, I noticed A TON of colour was coming out. And since, from my previous experience, I didn't want a residual vinegar smell, I decided to let it soak in some wool wash for awhile.

Later that night I was on my way out to dinner when I realised - oops! I'd left the wool soaking in the sink and had forgotten to take it out! Not much I could do about it at that stage, so it had to wait until I got home a few hours later. Because a lot of the colour that was coming out in the sink was of the blue/green variety, I believe it affected the rest of the colours.

Although I still have a bit of red and pink colours, more of that has turned to purple. Ultimately though, I am really happy with the colours and I love how they look. I started making a hat with the wool and it was working up beautifully. Unfortunately the pattern was awful and although this was supposed to be a large sized adult hat, it ended up being a good size for one of my niece's doll. I ended up having to frog it and will have to just wing a hat pattern as I go. Can't wait to finish it. Oh, I think that means I have to start it first!