Paigeedd!: 2013

Sunday, December 29, 2013

I Need To Craft More

I really do.

There is something about creating. Even if it doesn't turn out great. Even if it is just going to be thrown out. Finishing something - seeing a final product of the effort that has been put out - gives a feeling that is hard to come by through any other means.

I live with depression. It does not help that I work in a field which is often under-appreciated and where it can be hard to see the fruits of your labor. The problem with depression is that it makes it harder to do the things you enjoy, because it either sucks the energy out of you, or sucks the enjoyment out of the activity, or both. So even though crafting something would probably make me feel better, I can't motivate myself to just pick up a project and get it done.

I am going to try to change that. Every morning I have between 45 minutes and an hour of time between arriving at work and actually starting my day. Most of the time I just sit on my phone playing mindless games and waiting for Facebook/news websites/NotAlwaysRight/Dear Abby to load. I am going to try to bring projects that I need to finish or easy quick projects to work on in the morning instead of killing time (and brain cells). I will not bring the complicated projects because that will end up frustrating me, but I will bring things that I can complete in a day or a few days. Maybe I'll even remember to take pictures and post about them.

I am not going to get upset with myself if I need to have a break from morning crafting, or if a project turns out to be more complicated than I thought. I won't judge myself for needing to do something mindless, or read the news, or read a book (if I can drum up enough interest in a book to read again - another victim of depression).

I am just going to try. Because that is what I can do. I can try to improve my life in a small way, and hope that it causes a ripple that helps me improve my life in bigger ways.

Christmas Present - Crocheted Mini-Loki

Backstory: My sister Caith likes Loki (from Thor, The Avengers, and Thor 2) a lot. As part of Christmas this year us kids exchanged stocking stuffers as well (to help Mom and Dad so they didn't have to do all of the stocking stuffing). We found a keychain I thought she'd like, but I wanted something else. I had seen the PocketLoki pattern on Over The Bifrost (http://overthebifrost.tumblr.com/lokipattern) but didn't have the right yarn or tools for that pattern, so I took it upon myself to figure out something similar using what I did have.

How I Did It: I decided to use the base head and body from Creepy Cute Crochet (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1594742324?tag=needle-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1594742324&adid=1ZTGQTQ5BZYKAW5HD7X2&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fneedlenoodles.com%2Fhome%2F) and modify the arms and add legs so it would be similar to the PocketLoki from Over The Bifrost.

I made the arms with a magic ring and increase round and then I think one round in the 'flesh' (a kinda off white color because Loki is pale) yarn, then switched to black for another few rounds until it seemed long enough. I know, real scientific here and if I want to make another one (or maybe a matching Thor for my sister Sarah) it would have helped to have it written down. Oh well.

The legs I made just a tiny bit wider than the arms, but following the same principal (magic ring, increase, keep going until it seems long enough).

For the jacket I used the pattern from Over the Bifrost, except I added width in the back because my guy was obviously differently sized due to me using a completely different body pattern in different yarn on a different size hook than their pattern. I kept checking the sizing against the base doll. I stitched the jacket closed at the shoulders but didn't sew it to the doll - it slips nicely around the arms and stays in place.

I used the hair directions from Creepy Cute Crochet (http://needlenoodles.com/home/?q=node/83) to make a fringe from tatting thread. I tried to use a hairpin lace loom as suggested, but it kept shifting and sliding apart and pissing me off, so I ended up ripping a piece of the cardboard the loom had come on and used that instead. It was still a pain in the butt to make, and I definitely gave up on trying to use a thin thread to hold it together. In the end, Loki ended up with extremely thick luxurious hair.

I tried adapting the helmet directions from Over the Bifrost but did not like the way it formed, so I decided to make it up, starting from the bottom edge and working up to the point at the front edge. I did adapt the horns from Over the Bifrost, just shortening them.

What I Learned: It probably would have been easier to get the right yarn and hook and follow the pattern, but I was able to tweak things to make an end product that I was pretty pleased with. Trial and error seemed to work.

What I might try next time: I might try getting the lace weight yarn and small hook. If I make a Mini Thor, I will have to figure out his outfit pieces.

Final Thoughts: I think Loki is cute. And the crochet hook made a great makeshift scepter!