Window Cat Family - revised for humans to follow

I keep forgetting that people just can't read my mind. Thank you to KittyDobson for pointing out the confusion inherent to the instructions for the window cats posted here previously.

Yikes!

Apologies, y'all. It was one of my first attempts at writing things down and I'm still figuring out how to do it smoothly and with some elegance... or at least not littered with editor foibles.

I am always open to questions and editing suggestions. Seriously. Please let me know.

Here's the revised version: (free PDF availabe at my section of the Ravelry store)



Window Cats

C. A. Lira 2008 (rev 2009)

Note: crochet thread size 10
hook size 9 (1.75mm) (1.25mm)  oops - apologies

Wider Window Cat - finished height 1 3/8”
1) ch3, slst into 2nd ch from hook, hdc in 1st ch worked, ch5, slst into 2nd ch
from hook, hdc sc into next ch (3rd ch of ch5) , ch2 t   yet another correction thanx KAT
2) sc in sc of previous row, sc in each of next 2 sts, 2sc in next st, ch2 t
3) skip 1st sc, sc in next 4 sts, sc in turning chain of previous row, ch2 t
4) scdec (include 1st sc), sc in next 2sts , scdec (include turning ch of
previous row), ch2 t
5) sk 1st st, (scdec) twice (include turning chain in 2nd dec), ch2 t
6) sc in each of 1st 2sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in next st, ch2 t
7) sc in each of 1st 3sts (including 1st sc) , 2sc in next st, ch2 t
8) sc in 1st 5sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
9) sc in 1st 7sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
10) sc in 1st 8sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
11) sk 1st sc, sc in next 8sts, ch2 t
12) scdec (include turning ch), sc in each of next 5sts, scdec, sk turning ch of
prev row, ch2 t
13) sk turning ch, scdec, sc in each of next 3sts, scdec (include turning ch),
do not turn
14) ch12, hdc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, 2sc in next ch, sc in each of
next 7 chs, going up toward head sk last 2 Rows of body, slst to next st
on side of body, end off

Rounded Window Cat - finished height 1 ¼”
1) ch3, slst into 2nd ch from hook, hdc in 1st ch worked, ch5, slst into 2nd ch
from hook, hdc into next ch (3rd ch of ch5), ch2 t
2) sc in sc of previous row, sc in each of next 2 sts, 2sc in next st, ch2 t
3) skip 1st sc, sc in next 4 sts, sc in turning chain of previous row, ch2 t
4) scdec (include 1st sc), sc in next 2sts , scdec (include turning ch of
previous row), ch2 t
5) sk 1st st, (scdec) twice (include turning chain in 2nd dec), ch2 t
6) sc in each of 1st 2sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in next st, ch2 t
7) sc in each of 1st 3sts (including 1st sc) , 2sc in next st, ch2 t
8) sc in 1st 5sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in turning ch, ch2
9) sc in 1st 7sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
10) sc in 1st 8sts, 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
11) sk 1st sc, scdec, sc ineach of next 5sts, scdec, sk turning ch of prev row,
ch2 t
12) sk 1st sc, scdec, sc in each of next 3sts, scdec (include turning ch), ch2 t
13) sk 1st sc, scdec, sc in next st, scdec (including turning ch), do not turn
14) ch12, hdc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, 2sc in next ch, sc in each of
next 7chs, working up toward head sk last 2 Rows of body, slst to side of
next Row on body, end off

Window Kitten Kitty - finished height 1 ½”
1) ch3, slst in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch (first ch worked), ch5, slst in
2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch (3rd ch of ch5), ch2 t
2) sc in 1st sc of previous row, sc in each of next 2sts, 2sc in next st, ch2 t
3) sk 1st sc, sc in each of next 5sts, ch2 t
4) sk turning ch of previous row, scdec, sc in each of next 2sts, scdec
(include turning ch of previous row), ch2 t
5) sk1st sc, (scdec) twice (include turning ch in 2nd dec), ch2 t
6) sc in each of next 2 sts, 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
7) sc in 1st 3 sts, 2sc in next st, sk turning ch, ch2 t
8) sk turning ch, sc in each of next 6sts (include turning ch), ch2 t
9) sk 1st st, sc in each of next 6 sts, do not turn
10) ch12, sk 1st ch, 2sc in each of next 3chs, sc in each of next 7chs, slst to
body at end of Row 9, end off



Enjoy
Cecinatrix

Tying knots and the burger as art.

I can't believe that this is the way my brain works.

My cousin owns and operates this fantastic burger joint. The Litty Bitty Burger Barn. Check it out if you're in Houston - really. This isn't just a case of familia shilling for the blood. Place has crazy mad good reviews from all media.

Anyway, commercial aside, this past Christmas I was inserting the little crochet motif/ ornament that I put in my outgoing X-mas cards and when I got to the one earmarked for them (not him and the burgers - him and his partner) I realized that they must have a logo that I could play with. Always on the edge of being bored = always looking for a new challenge. I checked the site and stole acquired a copy of the logo.

littlebittyburgerbarn.com

Hell. Easy peasy. So I thought.

It was already too late to finish one for Christmas (yeah yeah yeah last minute as usual - do you mind? - I'm telling a story here!) but maybe New Year's Day?

Well turns out crocheting decent looking siding with a star-accommodating hole in the middle of it takes me forever. Got it done though and in time for Jan 1st thank you very much (yes,of this year!)


Of course, I probably should neglect to mention that I only just sent it to them right before Easter but who am I trying to impress by hiding my flaws?

Anyway again, I like the way it turned out, modest woman that I am, and didn't even notice it was crooked until I looked at the picture just now. Got so tired of trying to make the cursive slipstitch embroidery legible that I put the thing in an envelope as soon as it was finished all those months ago and never looked at it again. That is until Easter snuck up on me and a surprise Auntie visit reminded me.

Still constantly lingering on the edge of the abyss that is boredom and still desiring a challenge-ette or two, I thought maybe I'd try making a 3D one. Just the idea of stuffing a little burger into a little barn makes my problem solving mental machinery start to grind its way back to life.

No. Haven't done it yet. It's on my list of fiction fantasy projects that someday I will do dagnabit! But it started me thinking about the burger as sculptural fiber art.

Ed Bing Lee is a fiber artist that uses a modified macrame technique to make the most amazing art. His super-sized burger was the piece that introduced me to his work and style:

From edbinglee.com, ahem, unofficially.

Fantastic ain't it? The topic, the mastery of technique, the colors - love it all. After enjoying its aesthetic and the warm creative place it has landed in my heart I noticed that this burger is art with the capital letters in the curly font. Craft art, fiber art depending on which of the seminal industry magazines you peruse, but art nonetheless.

Yet if you spend any time on line looking up crocheted items, you see the ubiquitous crocheted-burger-as-toy. Not art, but crafty toy. That's craft - with the small be-thou-ashamed-to-say-elsewise lower case letters in puny subservient font. You know, craft as dirty word. Don't necessarily know why, so I looked online for some examples I could pilfer (gotta love the google) for a compare and contrast.

Uhm. Okay. I get some of the lack of love. There are some fairly un-burger looking crocheted burgers out there. (But then again, there are also a lot of un-news posts out there too - un-news in the sense that they are not even remotely true.) I'm not going to steal and paste any example photos of the Nessie burgers - freedom of speech, self-esteem, sharing - all good things, Martha. But there are some really well done crocheted items for view that I am going to talk about.

Big burger of technical delight:

Photo lifted from Steph Chows.blogspot.com
(cyber-neighbor of complete stranger variety)

the teeny tiny burger of awesomeness:

Michelle Rheaume at flickr

and the art to wear burger of mind-blowing-dom:

Joy Kampia

What is the difference, art v. craft wise?

Is it the genre?

Sculpture beats art garment and firm beats soft sculpture?

The time commitment?

Tying a bazillion knots in waxed linen thread by hand certainly takes an excruciatingly longer amount of time than tying knots in yarn with a crochet hook.

Material?

Waxed linen thread has a sleek firm texture with a gently reflective quality. Yarn (even the industrial acrylics that are so very affordable) has a matte surface that imparts a fuzzy tactile squishiness on the finished objects.

Complexity?

Knots are knots, but more (lots more) does equal harder.

Name? Gallery representation? Publications? Personal aesthetic? Intention? Commentary? Social impact?

Probably.

But when the day ends and I lay snuggly in my bed, it doesn't matter what the world calls my work or my art genre. As long as I can close my eyes and dream dreams of juggling knots on a hook, I know I'll have spent another day actually alive. That is more than enough to keep me going. Uncharacteristically, there is nothing more I have to say on the subject.

...today.

Hook on!
C

Notebook antics.

I was in my notebook attaching the rejection letter to the first project page (yet another attempt at keeping things organized) when I saw the sketches that started the whole thing. It sounds arrogant, but I sometimes really like the sketches. It just isn't all that easy to reproduce them in thread. I thought it would be fun to see how things progressed:

Call for entry topic was: "With or Without Water".

First idea that came to me:

A "water is life" thing.

I envisioned a river-scape teeming with behind the curly stylized wave side of the figure and the sered, cracked fissures of a dried lake bed under the stylized skeleton half. Didn't draw it in because I couldn't figure out how to make the dry lake bed look like it was approaching the horizon (remember - no art training at all). So I started on the figure to see if I could at least get her to where I wanted.



So the skeleton is more of an outline than an empty cage form butI liked it. So much so that I didn't want to ruin it with color work on the waves. So I made another one.



This second thread sketch/prototype, as I like to refer to them, also served to see if I could repeat the figure satisfactorily. Ever have trouble making the same thing look the same way twice? sigh. I do.

I make my prototypes out of white thread so I can see all the stitches clearly (never try to use black or navy for this purpose unless you have a police-grade search light in your working space). Usually I then switch to another color for the final product and for this one I was going to use a blue body. I tried several variations on small test swatches and didn't like any of them. The white body made the blues in the curls pop. So I stuck with white. Glad I did. When it came time to make the heart/wings the white makes the figure stand out better against all that green.

The skeleton half of the body could have been made of that linen brown color that was used for the heart/wing background loops. I didn't think that the black lines alone wouldn't stand out enough. So white it was for that half too.

Next choice was black or white background for the photograph?

Dramatic but hard to see the edges of the wings/heart.

or


see the edges but loose the "haunty" feel.

Ah, White is more of a standard for these things (I think) so that's what went in despite the crap-tastic-ness of the photo quality. I know better, but I did it anyway. I swear by everything that isn't blurry; next time, professional photographer!

So that's how a faint little sketch becomes a final crocheted project in my little corner of the universe. This was fun. No one ever hears about how the design decisions happen along the way. Only my cats if I happen to be talking aloud. Hmm. Who knew?

Hook On!
C

Rejection, thy sweet sting.

I'm still feeling my way around the life in artistry and this entails wanting to enter competitions but missing the deadlines due to that old insidious subconscious saboteur "lack of confidence". Usually I just refer to it as sloth. But is it really being lazy if I complete an item and just not mail it in?

"Life Blood" - CALira '08

Well, no more! I finally applied on time to an actual hang-stuff-on-the-wall type competition. An international one to boot - the IX Triennial of Mini-Textiles in Angers, France. Dream big baby.

Good news! I learned how to say "No way, Josephine" in French!



and the fates have chosen to screw with me psychologically:


This is the fortune that was in my cookie/dessert received after the Chinese feast my brother and I had to celebrate my good news from overseas. Ooooo. Irony.

No I'm not some sugar coated optimistic junkie of a Pollyanna, this rejection was good news because it meant that my piece was at least submitted to be reviewed in the jury process. I thought for certain that they would simply chuck my file and send me a "Wrong venue, nimrod!" email of shame.

As you may know, I work fairly exclusively in crochet and both live for and relish the opportunity to cram crochet-as-art down people's throats. Uhh. I mean "to promote crochet as art at every possible opportunity". :-) The call for entries specifically said that the object must be made entirely of thread and be no larger than 4" square. I use crochet thread and work very small. Perfect! Right? I refer you to the photo above of the letter of "get-lost".

Once I got over the initial disappointment, I started to enjoy my attempt at subversion and the acknowledgment-by-review that I choose to see in all this.

First rejection out of the way. So many more to go.

Hook On!
C

Crocheted Soup Shoe

My 2009 contribution to today's Empty Bowls Houston:

"Let Them Eat Soup" Lira '09

Empty Bowls is a great concept as well as a noble endeavor. A fund-raising event for the Houston Food Bank where participates donate $25 for a meal of bread and soup and a handmade bowl chosen from a pool of donated work from all manner of local craft artists.

"Let Them Eat Soup" with bowl out of cradle

I also like the idea that my particular "empty bowl", as a 3D form created in an open mesh, serves more as reminder of a good deed and worthy cause rather than as functional object. Added bonus is I get another shot at forcing crochet as art down people's throats. Uhm...of course I mean "sowing the seed of crochet as a legitimate art form". ;-]

For photos of different angles see me at flickr

Live long and crochet.
C

Crochet Space Ship Appliques

Was born the year man walked on the surface of the moon (stop doing the math!) and just have this mad love/tender bemusement thing for spacey things. In particular, space ships with fins, flying saucers with glass bubbles, friendly aliens and the complete disregard for the actual scientific principles of astrophysics found only in 50's scifi "epics". An inverted fishbowl really can let you breathe in space, honest! Especially when it isn't attached to anything other than your head. ; -)

So I designed and crocheted both a saucer and a rocket. Had the idea for quite some time now, made one of the rockets for a fiber book I'm perpetually working on (3 yrs and running - woohoo!):



I've been a little fixated on chatelaines (pincushion/scissor holder combos for the sewing kind) so I thought I'd use the space ships for one of those. The chatelaines aren't really moving at my etsy site (who would have thought that businesses need to advertise?)


I still think the designs are fun and cute and want others to be able to make them too.

(D'Oh! By the way, the pattern is available at ravelry as a pdf dowload. Thanks to Kathy for the heads up.)

So, since I've also been on such an applique kick lately, I thought I'd write up the patterns. I know I've been sharing patterns for free, but they are very time consuming and it would be really helpful if I could generate a little income in these sucky financial times. But then, who wouldn't benefit from a little cash flow these days?

So please understand that I am not the greedy, money-grubbing, opportunist that I may seem to be; just one broke hermana with a hook and a vision: decorate the world the crochet applique way!

Hook On!
C

Wearing of the Green

Hmm. Now how did that happen? I was minding my own business and just happened to look up from my hook one day and it was suddenly March! WTF?! I had intended to do a "motifs through the ages" thing by posting something for each month of the year. Alas, but time can be a harsh mistress. Fortunately, this particular "mistress of crochet" is quite forgiving - especially when it comes to myself and those imaginary deadlines. :-)

So, March. (Forget February for now - ugly baggage in my attic about Valentine's Day anyway). Soo. Ah, of course - St. Patrick's Day. Now, what to make that isn't too much of a stereotype or worse yet a complete cliche. Something still green and fun. Hmm. Well,(to be perfectly honest)I made this last year but it is simple and the 15th doth approach fairly quickly soooo:



Clover Heart

C.A. Lira 2009

Heart – Green

1) ch2, sc1 in 2nd ch from hook, ch2 turn
2) sc in 1st sc , sc1 in turning ch of prev row, ch2 turn
3) sc in 1st sc, sc1, 2sc in ch, ch2 turn
4) sc in 1st sc, sc3, 2sc in ch, ch2 turn
5) sc in 1st sc, sc 5, 2sc in ch, ch2 turn
6) sc in 1st st, sc7, 2sc in ch, ch2 turn
7) scdec (including 1st sc), sc4, ch2 turn
8) sk 1st sc, scdec, sc1, scdec, ch2 turn
9) scdec (including 1st scdec), scdec (including ch), end off
10) insert thread in 6th sc (center), sc4, 2sc in ch, ch2 turn
11) scdec (including 1st sc), sc2, scdec, ch2 turn
12) sk 1st sc, scdec, scdec (including ch), do not turn
13) sc1 into the side of last scdec and continue left down to tip of heart (9 scs)
14) ch1, sc into the side of the next st continuing up and around (10 scs)
15) sc1 into each of next 3 scs,
16) slst into side of next st, slst into sc beneath center sc, sl st into side of next sc,
17) 2 sc into next ch2, sc2, slst to next st, end off


Wee Clover – darker green
Ch8, slst in 4th chain from hook (hub ch), (ch3, slst into hub ch) 3 times, end off.

Strap - Black
Attach into side of sc at right end of R6, ch11, slst into side of sc at left end / (beginning) of R6, slst11, end off

Buckle – Gold
Attach in 4th sc of R5, ch2, sk2 sc, slst in next sc, (turn 900, slst3) 3 times, end off

Assembly
Tuck stem of shamrock under ch2 of buckle.


I made a chart but I don't think it's particularly helpful. I'll add it to this post anyway. Uhm. Later today (forgot to change it to a jpeg - dopey me)

So I hope you enjoy.

C

chart: