Oh hi there...

I haven't forgotten about this blog, I'm just living in Russia for a year and it's taking all of my time and energy to stay sane. But I will post the completed patterns for Thor and Loki eventually! Also, I'm (very, very slowly) working on crocheting Sif and Beta-Ray Bill too. But mostly, I'm trying to both survive and enjoy Russian life and going to hella museums, monuments, cathedrals, teaching Russian kids English, trying to wrap my tongue around a language that loves three-consonant blends, playing the accordion, blah blah blah...

The least I can do is post some older photos here to fill space...

I purposefully didn't give Loki eyebrows since too much detail on a simple doll looks weird and I prefer them to have relatively neutral expressions to encourage the imagination...but I Photoshopped some in to enhance this picture.

And this one! And, yeah, I made three Lokis. College summers are conducive to that sort of thing.

By the by...I bought a pirated Russian copy of Thor almost as soon as I got here. The dub is pretty good. Loki sounds even more sinister and it cracks me up that his name pronounced in Russian (Лёки/Lyoki) sounds exactly like the Russian word for "easy" or "light," (лёгкий/lyokki) which when used about a person's character implies that they are a good, high-minded person. Heheheheheh.

Put your scheming caps on!

Before I bring you the patterns for Thor and Loki (I'm working on it, but it's slow going turning my notes and sketches into something other people can read...), here's a quickie project I whipped up on the side!

It's a Loki hat!

This cap began with a conundrum. I had planned to wear this costume

to the Avengers movie on opening night, but then I realized it was coming out in May, when I'll still be in Russia on my study abroad term. Packing a large green cape and a pair of "great Satanic horns" as Loki portrayer Tom Hiddleston calls them would be completely impractical. Also, costumed movie going is maybe not such an established thing in St. Petersburg as it is in Berkeley. Not that I'm opposed to trend setting, but...it's enough out of my comfort zone to be living there without also laughing in the face of cultural assimilation. So, I was faced with the need to come up with a subtler way to show support for my favorite character. Within a couple days, I'd come up with this hat, based on the design of the alternate helm Loki sometimes wears in the comics (when he's tired of banging those gigantic horns on door frames, I'm assuming). The result is casual enough to be worn year round, yet obviously a reference to my favorite Norse god/comic book villain. Also, it won't block the view of the moviegoers behind me the way more traditional Loki headwear would. And you thought your Jayne hat was cunning!

'

Needles: US size seven

Yarn: worsted weight in gold and dark green

Gauge: 1" = 7 rows of 6 stockinette stitches

Size: Fits loosely on a 22" circumference head; you may wish to knit in a tighter gauge or downsize as indicated in pattern for a snugger fit on a smaller (normal-sized...) head.

Cast on 102 stitches. Knit seven rows in 1x1 rib. Cut yarn leaving a long tail

Knit the next 32 rows following intarsia pattern in stockinette stitch (begin with a knit row).

Row 39: Knit 15, K2tog, repeat around

Row 40: Purl 14, P2tog, repeat around

Row 41: Knit 13, K2tog, repeat around

Row 42: Purl 12, P2tog, repeat around

Row 43: Knit 11, K2tog, repeat around

Row 44: Purl 10, P2tog, repeat around

Row 45: Knit 9, K2tog, repeat around

Row 46: Purl 8, P2tog, repeat around

Row 47: Knit 7, K2tog, repeat around

Row 48: Purl 6, P2tog, repeat around

Row 49: Knit 5, K2tog, repeat around

Row 50: Purl 4, P2tog, repeat around

Row 51: Knit 3, K2tog, repeat around

Row 52: Purl 2, P2tog, repeat around

Row 53: Knit 1, K2tog, repeat around

Row 54: P2tog, repeat around

Cut the yarn, leaving a long tail. Weave this tail through the six remained stitches and pull tight. Then use it to sew the center back seam, switching to the gold yarn tail to sew the seam at the rib part. With hat inside out, tie off all loose ends from colorwork , cutting ends short or weaving them in (you can also do this as you go).

This pattern is also available as a free PDF at https://acrobat.com/app.html#d=UOx1J3h*MC0-XZ5tmb0ECQ where the chart is bigger and there aren't all those weird font issues I seem to have with this blog...

THOR!

Newly forged from the flames of...my living room...is a new take on my doll pattern -- Thor! Doubtlessly, this is the cutest incarnation of the god of thunder yet. I'll have the pattern up for him soon (that luscious hair takes some doing, let me tell you), Mjolinir included.

Unlike Loki, I went for the classic Thor (I've been reading the original comics and am deeply under their sway now) over his newest incarnation, with some tweaks to his costume to suit my dollmaking fancy. If you prefer Chris Hemsworth's Thor (though I'd say he's already a doll!), it would be easy enough to make the hair shorter and satin stitch embroider a beard.

Huzzah!

Bringing Dolly to Life

So, you've got all your little dolly parts laid out, well...

The modifications for Marvin are pretty simple and self-evident: two felt triangle eyes and some black yarn stitched around his joints. Olympia, though an older model of robot (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Sandmann), is a bit more involved, and I'll post her schematics at a later date. Let me know if you're interested in making an eyeless early-nineteenth century-styled doll!

(King Of) Limbs

As promised, here are dolly's arms and legs! And why not listen to Radiohead while you crochet supervillains? I'm actually assembling playlists for each of my current doll projects right now...Loki gets plenty of angsty alt-rock, naturally. For Thor, I'm paying homage to the Silver Age with classic rock. I'll post the playlists with the instructions for each character so you can listen while you work if you'd like. It's inspiring and staves off the tedium!

Anyway, here are the instructions for basic arms and legs.

Now we're nearly done with a base doll!

Gettin' Started

Since making Loki is an appropriately tricky job, I'm going to start by posting my basic pattern, and then showing you how to adapt it into Loki. Or anyone else! Maybe you actually prefer the good guys, or want to make a self-portrait, favorite musician, or something else entirely!

I've tried to write out my pattern simply, trying not to use too many annoying abbreviations (conventional knitting/crochet patterns can look like total gibberish!).

SC = Single Crochet

st = stitch

Stay tuned for the arms and legs!

Loki!

Mischief managed! I finished my first Loki doll! I'm going to make one or two more because I'm a perfectionist (got to test and polish my pattern) and a huge nerd with lots of time on my hands right now.

It's hard to know what to do when you're smitten with a fictional character/film actor. My answer is -- get crafty! Now I can finally give Loki a hug. I think if he had gotten more hugs, he wouldn't have turned out as violent and moody.

At any rate, it takes the sort of mad, mad love that a nerd can have for a comic book supervillain combined with that a girl can have for a charming Brit to propel a difficult and involved project like this into existence. I went in for detail: his helmet is removable, revealing accurately styled hair; he has thumbs, toes, and ears; his cape is gathered at the shoulders in the style of the movie, revealing some of his back armor; and he's got a cute little smirk! Plus, he's poseable (with cape swooshing action!).

I'll be posting the pattern and instructions I've created in installments so that all you crafty crafters out there can make your own Lokis.

And, yeah, I'll make a Thor too. Little Loki must have someone to plot against!

Schemin'

I felt I needed a place to organize and publish the patterns for my original craft projects. I often knit/crochet/sew/etc. without direction, but jot down what I end up with so I can re-create it later. And on occasion, the latent desire for orderliness crops up within me and I design a pattern first.

I already have Facebook for showing off my finished creations, but I wanted to also share the process so that my fellow crafters can gain from what I've been up to. So many friends ask me to make them a copy of some piece or other and the problem is, I'm an artist. I am a slave to my creative whims and don't always want to make the same thing twice (unless I've got loads of time, which only occurs during the summer). Also, I'd probably charge a high price because, darn it, these things are my precious creations! I can be talked into commissions if you're determined, sure, but I get an even greater sense of satisfaction from helping people harness their inner crafty one to meld my ideas with their own.

As well as patterns and photos of finished projects, I will use this blog as a journal for my ideas that are in the process of being schemed and seamed into existence.

Things that inspire me that will show up in my crafts: robots, food, supervillains, folklore, literary characters, Russia...

Check back here in a few days (OK, maybe a week) for pictures and information on my current projects-in-progress inspired by Norse god of mischief/comic book supervillain/wonderful breakout film role for a devastatingly cute British actor that I'm now obsessing over like some silly high schooler, Loki. So far I am crocheting a doll (almost done...making armor out of yarn is ridiculous) and sewing my own helmet out of gold lame (horns and all...it's going to be, again, ridiculous, and may well spawn an entire costume. I am going to bring shame to my family.)