I Spy Busy Book

Something other than an amigurumi today: it's the I Spy Busy Book for trilingual children! In my 3 year-old niece's house they speak English, German, and Japanese, so I made a book to keep her entertained while it improves her vocabulary in all three languages.

The book is made of 6 inch x 6 inch fabric scraps. I bought 14 different kinds of ceramic beads that were representative of things you would find in a child's picture book: cats, dogs, apples, etc. Next, I took digital close-ups of each bead, cut them out in Photoshop, and added text to the pictures.

Each page was printed onto the iron-on fabric transfers that are made for ink jet printers. Honestly, if I were ever going to make a second book I would use a custom fabric printing service like Spoonflower, because transfers are a pain. If you go the transfer route, cut the transfer the same size as the square, so you can't see where the iron-on stops once it's tucked inside the seam allowance. Iron on the transfers and sew the pages back to back, leaving the left edge open for binding.

For the back page, cut a small plastic window (Hint: I cut up the packaging that bed sheets come in) and insert it into the back cover. Fill this back page with Poly Pellets and the ceramic beads before you sew it shut. Kids (and grown men, apparently) hunt through the pellets for each ceramic bead by squishing the book and watching through the window.

Update 9 May 2010: There was some debate about how best to translate the more uniquely American names, especially for the dessert items. I swear, "A Doughnut Taxonomy of Human Cultures" is an anthropology thesis just waiting to be written. However, it turns out that the German word for "cupcake" is... "cupcake". (We had previously settled on das Törtchen.) Thanks for clearing that up, McDonalds!

Camo Yarn for Veteran's Day

My daughter's school was collecting items for care packages to send to soldiers in Iraq. My first thought was amigurumi, naturally, but I couldn't find a pattern that was both quick to make en masse and not an incongruous use of camouflage yarn.

While browsing Etsy for inspiration I saw one shop selling lip balm cozies, and figured those would be perfect! Fast to crochet, useful (especially when you include the lip balm), and looks nice in camo.

At Target (shopping for lip balm) I couldn't resist getting the five new Magic: The Gathering 2010 Intro Packs. Although I haven't played Magic in years, I have many fond memories of summoning piles of 1/1 saproling tokens on the living room floor in the mid-1990s. If I were stuck on a deserted island* (or a desert base), it's the one card game I would bring with me.

CCG card decks need deck boxes to keep them organized, and this meant... more stuff to crochet! Because I left the card packs sealed, I folded cardboard inserts for the deck boxes and stuffed them with candy so they would keep their shape during transport.

The patterns were more or less invented on the fly. I used Bernat Camouflage Yarn in Mash and Desert Sand with a size H (5 mm) crochet hook, bachelor buttons, and split rings.

Here is a rough pattern to snugly hold a typical M:TG tournament deck package (75 cards). To get the proper fit, you'll want to have a sample box to try inserting as you work and adjust as necessary for your yarn. Case in point: even though the two yarns I used were different colorways of the same product, they were noticeably different in thickness and texture. Instructions are given for both the Mash and (Desert) yarns.

Begin with the bottom "floor" of the case.

Ch 13 (15)
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook, 11 (13) sc, ch1, turn
Rows 2-4 (6): 12 (14) sc, ch1, turn
Row 5 (7): 12 (14) sc

Now you switch from rows to rounds to make the sides of the case.

Round 1: In the next st, 2 sc. 3 (5) sc in the spaces of the short side of the rectangle. 2sc in the corner st. 12 (14) sc in the spaces of the foundation chain. 2sc in the corner st. 3 (5) sc in the spaces of the second short side. 12 (14) sc across the final long edge.

Round 2: Working in back loops only, 38 (46) sc

Rounds 3-18 (21): 38 (46) sc. Do not join rounds.

When you get close to the top, insert the card box every few rounds to check for proper height.

To make the top flap, switch back to working in rows.

Ch 1 to start first row
Rows 1-9: 12 (14) sc, ch1, turn
Row 10: 6 (7) single dec, ch 1, turn

For Mash yarn:
Row 11: 3 single dec , ch 1, turn
Row 12: ch 5, sl st in farthest single dec to make button loop, fasten off, sew in ends

For Desert yarn:
Row 11: Single dec, 3 sc, single dec, ch 1, turn
Row 12: Single dec, sc, single dec, ch1, turn
Row 13: ch 5, sl st in farthest single dec to make button loop, fasten off, sew in ends

And here is how to make a lip balm cozy. Again, it is helpful to have the lip balm tube on hand to test for width and height, then adjust the pattern to fit your yarn.

Begin with the "floor", working in the round. Do not join rounds.

7 (8) sc in the magic ring
Round 1: 2 sc in each st around
Round 2: Working in back loops only, 1 sc in each st around
Rounds 3-13(14): Sc around

Switch to working in rows to make the cover.

Ch 1 to start first row
Rows 1-6: 6 sc, ch 1, turn
Row 7: 3 single dec, ch 1, turn
Row 8: ch 5, sl st in farthest single dec to make button loop, fasten off, sew in ends

Enjoy, and happy Veteran's Day!

* Deserted but for me and at least one other person with whom to play a card game. If I'm totally alone I want tarot cards.

Adi-Boos

For Halloween, this is what I hope will be the last adipose variation: the adi-boos. Made with Sugar'n Cream Hot Orange yarn, he also has the Doctor Who Fans Unite logo on his chest.

I've now made about 40 adipose and, honestly, I'm sick of the little buggers. I've already got the yarn for my next project: some crocheted hyperbolic planes for my daughter's school library.

The Great Day of Assembly

At last it was time to put all of them together. 20 bodies, 40 hands, 40 feet... around 120 hours of my life. Several callouses in the shape of a size G crochet hook.

Of course, it was totally worth it to see the kids' faces (both the young ones and the old ones) when they came to the theatre to pick up their adipose.

Rad-ipose

The radioactive Rad-ipose must have formed inside a Springfield nuclear power plant employee! He was made with a double strand of Night Lights glow-in-the-dark yarn and Paton's Grace in Snow (for bulk). The little radiation symbol sewn to his chest is actually a Shrinky Dink that you can run through your ink jet printer -- which is just about the coolest crafty invention I've seen in ages!

Egads! The parthenogenesis has accelerated, destroying the host! Oh, the price of vanity. (Like the pill props? Capsuline carries many colors and sizes of empty gelatin capsules.)

Adipose Invasion

Three regular adipose, and one adi-rose! These little guys are going to raise money for charity at our local Doctor Who fan club's monthly meeting.

They are all made from the pattern by Crochet At Midknight. (Rose pattern from Planet June.) All use a size G (4mm) crochet hook. From left to right:

• Lion Brand Cotton-Ease (worsted, 50% cotton/50% acrylic) in Almond
  
• Lion Brand Vanna's Choice (worsted, 100% acrylic) in Linen
  
• Lion Brand Cotton-Ease (worsted, 50% cotton/50% acrylic) in White
  
• Lion Brand Cotton-Ease (worsted, 50% cotton/50% acrylic) in Berry

One special mad-ipose, made by request for my husband. (Also in Cotton-Ease, black.)