Monet in the Garden of Sophie Parts 1-4

Part 3

I released this version on Face Book Group :CCC Social along with the notion box.

The Gorgeous, original pattern Created by Dedri Uys is, unbelievably, free.   Please visit.

In Addition to Dedri’s pattern and very helpful instructions, there are video tutorials Made by “It’s all in a Nutshell”.    Please visit.

There were questions on the CCC Social group about the colors that I used. So, in an effort to be as accurate as possible I’m posting the palettes created for the project and the yarns, colors of the yarns and amendments made to the pattern are below the color chart. These are the palette files using ColourLovers.com as an aide.

Part 4

The completion of Part 4. The dog is attempting to sneak a snuggle with Sophie; Sophie draped over the back of the sofa for an idea of scale.

 

Monet in The Garden of Sophie Color Chart

Notes and amendments up to this point:

Notations for amendments to the pattern are made after the color definitions. Future rounds and parts colors and amendments will be logged as they are completed. Note about Caron Simply soft used with Redheart yarns: Simply soft has a tendency to separate and split without the added torture of combining it with the thicker Redheart yarns. Take your time with stitches. Have patience and love the texture and sheen in the end. I use a very old hook with Simply soft yarns. Years of wear on the old hooks have polished the working surfaces so that drag and tension are decreased. Keeping moisturizer on your hands helps as well. I wash my work at the end of each part to check for fray, remove residue and it helps the synthetic fibers remember their original density.

Part 1

I am using a size “F” hook instead of a “D” hook. The work is lighter weight but a lot more delicate as a result. Please keep this in mind as you choose your hook.

• Rnd 1= 4
• Rnd 2= 1A
• Rnd 3 = 1
• Rnd 4 = 10
• Rnd 5 = 14
• Rnd 6 = 11
• Rnd 7 = 12
• Rnd 8 = 14

Part 2

• Rnd 9 = 10 (After completion of Round 9, #2, “Monet” was front post Crab stitched to surface of each spoke in Rnd 1.)
• Rnd 10 = 1
• Rnd 11 = 6
• Rnd 12 = 5
• Rnd 13 = 5
• Rnd 14 = 12
• Rnd 15 = 11

Part 3

• Rnd 16 = 1 (This is the first row where Front post double and treble crochet are introduced as an outline. Follow the pattern. No need for changes. This is merely a notation of a marker.
• Rnd 17= 2 Where Front Post Outline Crochet  #10, Bright Yellow, is a change color.
• Rnd 18= 2 Where Front Post Outline Crochet #1, Pale Yellow, is a change color.Carry this color behind your #2 “Monet” and work the popcorns as well in #10, Bright Yellow.
• Rnd 19 = 2 Where Front Post Outline Crochet occurs  #1, Pale Yellow, is a change color.
• Rnd 20= 2 Where Front Post Outline Crochet occurs  #4, White, is a change color.
• Rnd 21= 12
• Rnd 22 = 13
• Rnd 23 = 7  Where Front Post Outline Crochet occurs  #4, White, is a change color.
• Rnd 24 = 6
• Rnd 25 = 14

Part 4

• Rnd 26 = 8
• Rnd 27 = 14
• Rnd 28 = 8
• Rnd 29 = 10
• Rnd 30 = 5
• Rnd 31= 1
• Rnd 32 = 11
• Rnd 33 = 12 (Optional adjustments: first corner (descending) sc14, hdc 6; Ascending to next corner hdc 6, sc 13. Repeat toward each corner. This mini repeat replaces 20 sc in each stitch (descending) and 19 sc (ascending).
• Rnd 34 = 13 (Optional adjustments:In corner 2DC, ch2, 2DC; DC 6 skipping first stitch; HDC 14 {Ascending}. Then {Descending} HDC 14, DC 6) This mini repeat replaces 20 HDC.
• Rnd 35 = 7
• Rnd 36 = 6
• Optional Flower Finish = 1A

Progress So Far at Part 4

Arctic Summer Crochet Projects

Back story About the projects and the fire Started by Dedri Uys  and Esther of “It’s All in A Nutshell”

Sophie in various forms, addendums modifications, incarnations.

Eight petal Sophie waiting for frogging, fixing and finishing.

Eight Petal Sophie awaits her resume game.

I’ve been messing about with the Sophie’s Universe pattern. Dedri Uys’s very graciously  released the pattern for no cost and I have been playing with it a lot. My first attempt was an eight pointed flower instead of a six point. My goal was to attempt to follow the Sophie design as closely as possible while giving the overall appearance of a different animal. You can see that beginning attempt, although pretty, needs work and I’m currently in the process of frogging out the last few rows. That isn’t easy as I’ve managed to weave the ends in successfully and after washing this (The dog decided it belonged to him exclusively) the ends have welded themselves to the crochet. I’m not a big fan of wasting yarn to cutting so it’ll be a while before I get back to it to frog and fix.

There have been quite a few incarnations with Sophie as the crochet inspiration: The latest and in my opinion, best so far is, Monet in The Garden of Sophie. I had a few inspirations for it. I found a color called “Monet” and bought it with intention to use it in a Sophie blanket.

The Inspirations:

From Gaudi’s Parque Guëll in Barcelona Spain

Water Lilies 1907 by Claude Monet

Next Post: See the results as they unfold…

Today’s Accomplishments

As i sit down to have my dinner I choose to be on the Internet instead of  watching a movie or a documentar or even a series. Because tonight I’ll be re-scheduling my task list. My list has gotten crazy out of hand and I’ve gotten crazy far behind. So this is what I’ve accomplished today:

1:) Reclaimed, upcycled, rescued from the garbage chair. I wish I’d taken a before shot.

2:) Spice Drawer Organizer. Humble though it may be, it functions.

3:) Upcycled soda box which will be one in many drawers..

I’m okay with today’s accomplishments. Tomorrow…MoRe. Yikes. Still running behind.

Today’s Stuff and even more stuff

I finally finished the status bars a few days ago and I’ve been working on a lunch box project for Lyvanna. Trouble is, that I thought it would be nice to show photos of all the steps to make the lunch box. I thought it would take a day or two but stuff happens and now it’s quite a few days that have gone by and I still haven’t quite finished and I think I’m going to have to go somewhere to procure some Velcro for the closures on the lunch box. I haven’t decided yet If I’m going to upload the photos and continue with the final details tomorrow or if I’ll just wait till it’s done and upload the whole thing.

So.. In the event of editing later…I’m posting a teaser. 🙂

Opening Pandora’s Pokeball

I’m still working on the status bars today. I have a large task ahead making the frames and I am procrastinating. I need to quit that.

I want to make a  crochet Pokeball for Lyvanna. Trouble is, I don’t want it to be just a solid plushie. I want it to be a functional Pokeball where she can store a few of her Pokemon. She’s just started her collection of small plushie Pokemon. She does love her Pokemon. She pretends scenarios all the time and I think a prop like a functional Pokeball would give her hours of imagination time away from the Tele.

The approach to this is going to be just a little tricky. I’m planning to extrude used plastic milk jugs into two hemispheres for the overall ball shape. That alone is a process involving extreme heat and very fast work. Then I plan to put holes into the two hemispheres to hold the crochet at the rim of each hemisphere. The black middle band can be made of plasitic canvas and affixed to the upper hemisphere. The entire contraption can be opened and closed using a button sort of device cut from the other parts of the milk carton. A loop of crochet chain would hold the hemispheres closed over the button. This all works in my head. Let’s see how well it works outside of theory land. I found a photo online of a general direction to follow sans bells, whistles and size:

Mnemonic Deja Vu

There’s some science that declares deja vu to be a really big red flag for epilepsy or mental illness. I’m thinking about that today. If deja vu is a sign that there’s something amiss in the brain, then so is partial memory. If you can’t remember everything that happened in complete detail, then your mind is melting. I find that really silly. I don’t believe in the supernatural. I do, however, believe that there are a great many discoveries about our world and outside our world that have yet to be understood. In short, although deja vu might be an indication of epilepsy or mental instability in some cases, that doesn’t mean that it is an indication for every case. Not everything with legs is a table. And that’s part of the problem I have with the way that we use science to deduce everything to one convenient common denominator that applies to everything. 

Lyvanna and I were playing with chalk the other day on the back porch to practice letters, spelling and so on. Well, she took a shine to the phrase “Dead End” and began writing it everywhere. I allowed her to play for a while outside with the chalk and when I came back I saw “Deadly End” written on the banister rail. When I asked about the ‘LY’ ending, she simply said to me, “I practice the adverb”. I smiled. She did remember the day’s lesson after all and applied it. It did, however, leave me with a vision in my mind’s eye. I submit the vision below:

Funny how two little letters change the perspective of a familiar icon.

Today, aside from working on that little story of the mind, I’m working on an animation of status bars. Not really anything especially grand, but still, 300 hand painted frames are nothing to sneeze at. Here’s what the status bars will look like when done: And please keep in mind that even though I’m not getting paid for this particular job, the image is copyrighted just in case my client decides to take the work to a higher level.

. See you tomorrow.

 

The Big Move–Made from Scratch Starting With Less Than That.

On March 4th I moved to Alaska. Because I’m starting from scratch and afresh, I’m just going to leave the subject of why behind. Sometimes you just have to move on. So I did. I left many things behind. Some of those things were pretty important, like my sewing machine and 98% of my craft supplies. I figured that like everything else they were just stuff and stuff is expendable. So, myself one of my two favorite pillows, my well-worn clothes, some dear fabric that I’d saved for many years, a basic hand sewing kit with my crochet hooks and my laptop boarded a plane and we haven’t looked back. I do miss my dear friend, Cara Scott. I miss her a lot. I hope she follows the blog as I enter what’s new on the Alaskan Nanny and crafting front. Many hugs to you Miss Scott.

As it turned out, the family for which I’m employed, furnished me with a very nice sewing machine and thread kit with scissors and other basics.

The machine is a vast improvement over my old one and I’m looking forward to the trip to the thrift store to get some sewing materials. In the meantime, I’ve been working with the little one, Lyvanna. We’ve been doing manners and basic kindergarten things and learning how to deal with temper and anger issues. I have to say, she’s come a long way. Tantrums are fewer and farther between and sometimes I can get her to see that it’s silly and she’ll start laughing at the tantrum and herself for having one and that is, in my opinion, fabulous. We are still working on getting to sleep when bedtime comes and mealtime picky-eater blues. We’ll get there. We’ve already made a huge amount of progress. . I’ve also made a few things. I got some yarn here in Alaska and the first task I undertook was making a sweater for Lyvanna. She seemed to need a light sweater for inside places like at restaurants and sometimes even at home. I have yet to finish it. It’s been through about seven incarnations, but while I love the Crocodile Stitch in its present incarnation, the stitch in worsted weight yarn defeats the purpose of the definition “light” which is what I wanted it to be for practicality’s sake.

So, I’m considering pulling it all out and starting over. I found a wonderful resource for crochet books online and I think I’d be better off choosing a stitch pattern from one of those that is much lighter. I’m still going with a custom overall pattern because Lyvanna is slim for her height and many things just hang badly on her small frame. I’ve made some crochet table mats to protect the new and really lovely dining table

.

I trusted myself to remember a few crochet in the round patterns and designed a few patterns that came out rather well. There are four table mats in all each one is a variation on a design theme and I need to make 2 more in the event of company. There are four coasters too, but those are just basic single crochet in the round with a chain stitch scolloped edge. If I had cotton, these would not be so fluffy and furry. Fluffy and furry is fantastic for a sweater but you don’t really need your table mats to “warm-fuzzy” the table.

Simesthesia- the perception of tactual sensations through an avatar or SIM

Actually, I think Simaesthesia, like synaesthesia, is a real condition. I just couldn’t find any mention of it anywhere.  The next best thing is to make it up, send it to the “Urban Dictionary” and see if it flies. I’ve done that with a few other words. They have been approved and then suddenly they are not approved without any explanation. Sigh. Well… At least someone is having their words taken seriously.

Somaesthesia is about organs taking in sensation and is frequently (If I need to I can site a few instances) misspelled as Simaesthesia. I say that with tongue firmly in cheek.