30 March, 2008

TIF March -- finished, along with most of our snow

I spent the early part of March thinking about Sharon B's March TIF challenge. We still had snow here, so I thought a lot about snowflakes and snow crystals.

But the month got away from me, sewing wise, and 10 days ago I realized I'd better get something going, or March's project would end up simmering like January and February -- started but not finished.

Enter a crocheted 12 sided 3-D snowflake from Berroco:
It could also be dubbed "cow udders from space" or "Madonna's rejected bustier prototype from the 80's."

It turned out to be a fascinating project, for the "details."

Vague directions and maps confound me.
So I truly enjoyed watching this 3-D object come together, although things weren't "all clear" until the 3rd point or so.

Mid-way through I realized I could have gone down a hook size to make things tighter. I used old pantyhose for the stuffing.

There was actually a lot of crocheting, so my mind wandered and thought about possibilities of future crocheted glove fingers and how now I could design something.
For the most beautiful crocheted gloves and tapestry crochet, look at these gems: Lara Croft

I tried some Regia Kaffe Fassett Design line wool, and was pleased. I was afraid it would be thin or have a superwash feel, but it is a nice wool that works up thicker than it looks.

This would be a good project for a patient teacher and teens, too. But I have newfound respect for all the crocheted toy folks out there -- you have to pay attention to what you are doing and watch your row joins counts!

11 comments:

fluffbuff said...

Thanks for showing the construction in progress. WIP shots are even more interesting than the finished objects for special constructions like this. I hope you didn't have to darn in all the lose ends; they look like they could simply just left as they are inside, right?

Anonymous said...

It's totally fun looking!! Maybe fiberfill or decreasing more rapidly at the tips would have created more pointy ends, but either way this is a fun little toy. Great job!

MaryjoO said...

I sewed about 1/2 the ends in and left the rest stuffed with the cut up pantyhose (which was sort of funny, cutting up the legs)

MaryjoO said...

Mintyfresh -- I could have "read" the instructions wrong to start with and just did one too many rows for each round. Have to try your knitted version sometime!

juanita sim said...

Very nifty! I like your colourful snow crystal. The delicate little crochet stitches are wonderful.

Meg in Tennessee said...

This is a great project for this months TIF. My personal favoite is the Cow Udders from Space!

Kay said...

I can't crochet, so this amazes me. It is a very cute thing, and an original look at the theme.

Acey said...

really enjoyed your alternative names for this project. Too funny! Have popped over after spying your comment on my blog. Thank you so much for dropping by and leaving such kind words as a footprint.

die-fadenwerkstatt said...

This looks great. I saw this at Berocco but I do not have the courage to tackle this as I am not very good at crochet.

Timaree said...

Thanks for visiting my blog. I hadn't seen yours yet (just not enough hours in a day, are there?).

Love your take on the March TIF. Totally different but appropriate.

MOONSTITCHES said...

Love the insight!