A Day in the Life of AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Good Afternoon Folks

Please don't flog me yet (unless its made of yarn). My computer equipment was recently under 6 inches of water and I am finally making my way back onto the internet.

Good News?   All my yarn stashes were exempt from the muddy fingers of my basement flood. For once my attempts of organization pad off in my craft room so the things on the floor were minimal when the waters came in. My yarn was neatly tucked away by colors in their respective file boxes in a closet.

During my downtime, its come to my attention that my quiet blog gained followers from the recent influx of BBC viewers. I guess there are more like minded crochet people out there wanting geeky things made. HOORAY for US!!

Since certain hobbies of mine were taken away with the flood, its time to focus on the important things like crochet projects and things we need for the holidays. What this means for you lucky viewers is more patterns will be added to this site soon.  We need things that you can whip up in a pinch for people! I want people coming here to feel like they can create just about anything. You do not have to be fancy to make something memorable for your kids. I wrote down a few ideas on paper and crafted some things but I need to get the drafted works up here for you to read.  Crochet projects and a plastic canvas project I would love to see if you all can make something with.  I will still focus on gaming, geeky, and nerdy chic fun.

So stay tuned for more antics.

May Britishfest BBQ

Hello Everyone!!


The following is an announcement from the founder of Britishfest :

On May 25th, the Britishfest team is proudly hosting a BBQ cookout in Bellevue's Washington Park. It is encouraged that guests who are attending the BBQ bring a covered dish (excluding chips and 2 liter bottles of soda, no alcohol allowed) or to make a donation to help Britishfest become the best convention we can make it. There is also an opportunity to purchase weekend memberships at the BBQ and feature an exclusive Memorial Day BBQ discount of 10%. There is a list below of items that we still need which will be updated daily. Follow the link below to get your VIP in today.

https://www.facebook.com/events/513818391983631/


What is Britishfest you say?  its a new convention (in 2014) that is celebrating British entertainment! From Dr Who to Discworld. From Monty Python to The Prisoner.

Check it out here

http://britishfest.weebly.com/index.html

Turkey Curry

When it comes to feeding the masses for a Game Day, I find that I have several allergies to worry about and others who are trying to eat healthy. With this being holiday season, I found a really neat way to give your friends something good to eat and get rid of some leftovers.

Ingrediants: 

1 brick of Golden Curry
(when I say one brick I mean half of this package pictured below)

2 Cups of chopped/ shredded turkey (can substitute for chicken)

I can of sliced pineapples (can substitute for chopped pineapple too)

1 box of bow tie pasta

2 cups milk

To create this, break the brick of Golden curry into smaller pieces and melt in a saucepan with the juice from your canned pineapple. Mix up well then add in the milk to the bunch. 

Next add your turkey to the sauce. Let this simmer on medium for a few minutes.

Chop the pineapples into small bite size pieces to add to the saucepan. If you cheated and grabbed a can of chopped pineapple then just add it to the sauce. Let all this simmer while you boil up the bowtie pasta.

Pour sauce over cooked noodles. Enjoy!   

Serves about 6 people but my kids pretty much ate it all. 

Night Sky TARDIS Scarf

Happy Holidays Folks!

Yes, I understand I have not been about lately to post something cool and amazing in this blog. I was…uh…. In the TARDIS and doing a lot of traveling with different companions! I couldn’t figure the controls and I ended up back to posting in this blog 2 years later… yes…..yes that’s it!

To make up for the time loss, I am posting a work in progress that I wish for all you to create, make, and wear for the Dr Who Holiday Special.

The hard part about this scarf is the time consuming part of adding details. The main body is easily worked up in an evening but I must have spent a few hours single crocheting on top of the base scarf the black details and also whip stitching and weaving in the other sewn in details (like attaching the felt squares)

The Night Sky TARDIS Scarf

Materials:

1 Skein of Red Heart BlackFleck

1 Skein of Red Heart Blue

1 Skein of Black yarn (for trim)

a yard of white yarn (for light)

4 White Felt Squares (3in by 1 3/4 in)

1 tapestry needle

Scissors

Patience

This pattern is meant for someone who has a working knowledge of the basic stiches. There are great videos on Youtube and on Crochetpatterncentral.com for instructions.

We will be using the Following:

DC = Double Crochet

CH= Chain

SL= Slip stitch

Starting with Blue Yarn

CH  22

Row 1:   DC in CH 2nd from the hook. DC in each stitch across, CH 2, Turn

Rows 2 – 29: DC in each stitch across, CH 2, Turn

Row 30: DC in each stitch across, CH 3 in Fleck yarn, Turn (this is where we  do our color change)

Rows 31 – 89: DC in each stitch across, CH 3, Turn

Row 90: DC in each stitch across, CH 2 in blue yarn, Turn (this is where we  do our color change)

Row 91- 119: DC in each stitch across, CH 2, Turn

Row 120: DC in each stitch across, Bind off.

I used black yarn to outline the body of the TARDIS by single crocheting around the top of the TARDIS body. This is done by using the stitches on your TARDIS body as you would a foundation chain. I did this my eyesight so take your time and keep your stitches loose (not too tight) as you work your way around the crocheted piece.

The black bar at the top of the TARDIS where you normally see the “Police Box” sign I weaved black yarn through the stitches with a tapestry needle. It took about 4 rows woven in and out of the yarn to make what seemed like a satisfying black bar for here.

My White Felt squares for the windows I cut 4 approx 3 inches by  1 and 3/4 inches

I sewed them into place once again with a Tapestry needle. This may take some elbow juice on your part doing so since the felt is a little tough…..well…. it’s probably because I also used some Fabric glue and lightly glued them in place so they wouldn’t move on me later when sewing them in place :’)

The door panels I outlined with black yard using a tapestry needle once more.

The light on top of the scarf is done with scrap white yarn and blue yarn. Use a tapestry needle to weave your yarn in and out of the crocheted piece to create the light. Optionally, you can replace the sewing of the light and glue in a felt blue and white piece to the top. Whatever works best for you.

This is my rendition of the TARDIS, Whats yours? 

This pattern is copyright Tattiana Talahandra December 2012 and can be used to create gifts for your friends and family. Please do not sell creations from this pattern without author’s permission. Really folks, I am a nice lady but there are people out there that like stealing other peoples works and calling it their own. Please site credits back to this blog or Tattiana Talahandra.

Dr. Who and the mention of TARDIS in this pattern is copyrighted to BBC and its creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber and Donald Wilson.  I hope this serves as free advertising so they make money off all those viewers soon to be watching the latest Holiday Special.

Absense and Nonsense

Good Afternoon Folks

Sorry for the long absense but life became very busy for me out here in Omaha. I went to the Non-Commissioned Officers Academy for the Air Force. Found out quickly that bringing along my crochet projects was a bad idea. I wasn't able to do any of them while out there with the massive amounts of study materials we were given.

Good News, life is nuts but heading towards a manageable level. My friends and I have a few projects we are coming up with that I hope to be posting the ideas here soon. One idea is a simple for creating 8-bit blanket designs. With 8 bit games, think in blocks......lots of blocks.  Now go look on the web at some of your old favorite games from Atari or the First generation Nintendo games.  Got that picture?  Ok  now go get some grid paper and take that image and put it to grid form. .......     you seeing what I am seeing yet?      There is a whole realm of cool patterns you can create using some nostalgic game references.


To do these things you need to know your basic stitching like single crochet, creating rows, and following a grid pattern. To do such you also need to know how to change colors in the middle of the row so look up the "tapestry stitch".  I found the best lesson on how to switch colors came from the book "Stitch and Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker".  If you can do the above then you are on your way to making cool retro gaming patterns yourself for block blankets, shirts, and whatever your heart is set on.

Go try it!

We Moved!

Good Evening All

I am still alive. I haven't forgotten about you all. In the past month alot of crazy things have happened to me here. Due to some relationship changes, my sons and I have moved.  We been spending the past few weeks packing and unpacking boxes. I have found most of my craft things and I am playing once again with my yarn.  Its amazing what comfort you can get with a hook and something long and fuzzy :')

I have a few ideas milling about in my head but I am not sure exactly when I will be implementing them for here. For now I may be creating and putting a few finished creations up on Etsy. I will keep you posted when that happens. Also I will be heading to Mississippi for 7 weeks for some military training. Since I will be away from my boys, I will be seeking much comfort from my crochet projects. It will be my sanity away from home.

Anyway, from the wintery heartland of America, I wish you all the best in your projects. Keep warm!  Its snowing like crazy here.

Simple Pretty Face Cloth

(Copyright Tattiana Talahandra December 2010--  see note below pattern  )

Here is something I made to help in the bath. I love to place a warm washcloth on my face but hate not being able to breath. With this cloth the Double crochet stitches in the middle will help solve that problem. This is also a great gift idea to make that's really quick.  I can get one done while watching a movie.

Materials:

1 ball Sugar'N Cream  100% Cotton Yarn in Light Blue and Hot Purple (or pick your favorite color)

Scrap White yarn

Size H/8 Hook

Yarn Needle

Instructions:

Chain 35

 Row 1 - 12: Single Crochet in each stitch across, Chain 1 then turn (repeat this step until row 13)

Row 13:  Double Crochet in each stitch, Chain 2 then turn

Row 14:  Double Crochet in each stitch, Chain 1 then turn

Row 15 - 27: Single Crochet in each stitch, Chain  then turn (repeat this step up to and including row 27)

Finish off

To create a finishing touch use some white yarn or a complementary color of your choice to single crochet around the edges.

I added an embroidered butterfly on one side  to give it character. Up to you what you wish to do :')

(This crochet pattern is copyright of Tattiana Talahandra (December 2010). DO NOT reprint this pattern, or post it on any other website. You may make a copy of this pattern for your own personal use, but do not include it in any collections, website, or cds. You are welcome to link to this pattern and if you post your own pictures of what you create, please credit accordingly and include a link to this original pattern. )