Welcome to my journal~  This is where I post stuff that goes on in my life, as well as knitting content and book reviews.  My old blog, which can be found here, is no longer updated; I decided I like LJ better. However, some of my writing is still there, as well as past book reviews and some "About the author" stuff, so feel free to poke around.

Since LJ doesn't have a "page" feature (the only downside I can find so far), I'll keep this entry permanently future-dated to serve the same purpose - and to greet people when they show up.  I'll also put any other PSAs or polls, separated under LJ-cuts.

This journal is, for the most part, unlocked.  There are a few highly personal entries that are friends-only, mostly dealing with family stuff.  My policy has always been that if you don't want people reading it, it shouldn't be on the internet, and I try to put that in place here as well.  Feel free to friend me; unless I absolutely hate your guts, I'll probably friend you back.  (Eventually.  I'm slow with these things.)

If you want to email me, I can be reached at ladytemeraire AT yahoo DOT com.  (Replace the caps with the obvious.)

OTHER PLACES TO FIND ME

DeviantART
Ravelry
Twitter
Facebook

Archived listing of knitted objects: click the fo's tag, or the knitting tag.

DRAGON EGGS: please give them a click! 

After some consideration, I've decided to split this into multiple posts.  I just have too much knitting backlogged to fit into one post.  So here's catch-up part one: poseables.  Pics and descriptions after the cut.

( Click for pretty pictures! )

Luna has already gone to a new home, but the kirin will be offered for sale at some point in the future.  I haven't settled on a price yet.  When I do, though, I'll be sure to let everyone know.  Right now I'm working on an Asian dragon, and I'd like to get the patterns for the adult and juvenile Eastern dragons out to the test-knitters by this weekend.  Hopefully.  Thanks for looking, and check back soon for more knitting!

I know that's not how the joke goes.  So sue me.  :P

Anyway.

I managed to survive winter quarter - not just survive, but finish with 1 B and 3 A's in my classes.  Whoo!  About time my work started paying off.  Spring quarter is off to a good start as well.

As I said in my last post, my laptop's hard drive bit the dust on Christmas Eve.  Since then I've been sloooooowly rebuilding my database, finding login/password combos, and generally getting things back in order.  Between that and school, well, I really haven't had much motivation to post.  Hopefully that will change.

Speaking of which, I am seriously considering changing blog hosts.  If it happens, I'll be going back to Wordpress, still under the handle of LadyTemeraire.  Mostly I'm thinking about this because I would really like to get an online store up and running, and I'd like a professional place to host it.  And let's face it, Livejournal isn't exactly the first thing you think of on the list of professional sites.  XD

At the moment, I'm looking at ways to move old blog posts from one site to another.  It will probably take some doing, but I'm working on it.  I also want to put the final touches on my Rivendell pattern and get that out for sale.  I know I've been saying that for-ev-er, but I think I'm getting close.  Maybe.  Hopefully.

My (tentative) plan for pattern release is thus:
~Rivendell Sweater
~Poseable Juvenile Dragon
~AGD-sized Rivendell Sweater
~Poseable Adult Dragon
~Lothlorien Sweater
~Poseable Dino (Longneck)

I'll also re-post the free doll sweater pattern, as well as a few other things (mostly doll clothes), and of course you'll still get progress photos.  :)  Tomorrow when I have a free day I'll probably do a catch-up post of all the knitting I've done over the last few months.  (It hasn't been as much as you'd expect.)  For now, I'm going to go knit until my lab time.  Bye!

ETA 4/10/12: Found Wordpress' Import feature.  YAY!  Might try it out on some old posts to get the hang of it.

(P.S. My mouse touchpad is kind of on the fritz and randomly jumps my cursor to various places.  So if there are any typos or random words in this post, blame it on that.)

So I intended to post this on Christmas Day... only to have my poor laptop's hard disk go belly-up on me on the 24th.  /sob

Ah well.  A chunk of change later, I now have a shiny new hard drive with Windows 7 and everything reinstalled.  All my stuff is backed up (though some of it is on the external hard drive at my apartment), so the only things that I might have lost would be a few videos downloaded via RealPlayer, and my Firefox favorites.  That last bit was kind of annoying, but in retrospect, it's probably a good thing.  Fresh start and all that.

Anyway.

Because Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, we had to rearrange our schedule a bit.  We ended up spreading the festivities out over a few days, which was nice.  Lots of family time, lots of laughter, and a handful of tears that faded after a bit.  Everyone in our family made out like bandits.  Dad got a huge kick out of his socks, and Mom adores her dickie - she honestly forgot she'd asked me to make one!  (I was kind of hoping that would happen.)

Oh yeah, I haven't posted Christmas FO's yet.  Um... later.  Too tired.

I hope everyone has been having a wonderful holiday season.  Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and have a wonderful (and safe!) New Year.

Finally finished the little red dragonet I was working on!  As usual, pictures and details under the cut.

( I'm a little dragon, short and stout... )

In related news, I am pleased to announce that the craft bazaar was a resounding success!  I sold all the doll clothes except two sweaters, as well as over half of the little critters I made.  I even sold the green dragonet and ruby dragon!  I wasn't really expecting the poseables to sell at all, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Overall I did extremely well for my first time at such an event, and I had a lot of fun as well.  I made enough to put a large chunk into my bjd fund, which pleases me greatly.

My next order of "business" is to get a credit card and Paypal account.  Once that's done, I can set up an Etsy shop and start selling my products.  The remainder of the poseables, as well as the above dragonet, will be offered for sale, as well as anything I come up with in the future.  I have a list of commissions that I need to work on first, including two that I got at the bazaar.  After that, I desperately want to work on my next poseable idea, and I have a sweater that's been languishing on the needles for goodness knows how long.

At the moment, I have a stealth knitting project with a deadline, so I'm going to sign off here.  See you soon!

Time for another round of Look What I Made!  Pictures and details under the cut, as usual.

( Clicky clicky! )

SPEAKING OF WHICH.

The bazaar is this Saturday, from 9 to 3, at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Kettering.  I will be selling small critters, American Girl clothes, and poseable creations.  Prices will be as follows:
  ~Critters: $8 each, 2 for $14
  ~Doll Sweaters and Dresses: $12 each
  ~Doll Hat/Mitten/Scarf sets: $15 each
  ~Poseables: prices vary.  Horses are $35; small dragons $25; large dragons $50; other creatures have varying prices.

Anything that doesn't sell will be offered for sale at some future point.

Besides my stuff, there will be jewelry, woodwork, a bake sale (the baklava is to DIE for), soups and sandwiches, a children's show, and much more!  Hope to see a lot of people there!

Last one, guys!  Congrats to anyone who's stuck with me so far.  ;)  In this episode, we will add the luxurious mane, tail, and hoof feathers to our horse, as well as a bridle if you want to make one.

Ready?  Here we go!

( One last series of pictures! )
LINKS TO OTHER KAL SECTIONS
1. Intro and Materials
2. Head, Neck, and Body
3. Chest/Pelvis, Legs, and Details
4. Mane and Tail - you are here!
Index of all Pony KAL posts

Time for part 3!  Just a little more knitting, guys.  Pics/directions under the cut, click to embiggen.

( Click me! Click me! )
LINKS TO OTHER KAL SECTIONS
1. Intro and Materials
2. Head, neck and body
3. Chest/pelvis, legs, and details - you are here!
4. Mane and tail
Index of all Pony KAL posts

Part 2 is here!  Pictures and full directions under the cut, so I don't break anyone's f-lists.  As always, click to embiggen.  **Picture heavy, readers with dial-up beware!**

( Click for lots of words and pictures! )

LINKS TO OTHER KAL SECTIONS
1: Intro and Materials
2: Head, neck and body - you are here!
3: Chest/pelvis, legs, and details
4. Mane and tail
Index of all Pony KAL posts

That's right, folks!  This is the start of the poseable pony walkthrough/KAL (knit-along) I've been promising for so long! 

***NOTE: This is not your pattern.  It is also not fully my pattern.  The original comes from a French blog and was translated by the original designer, and can be found here.  I just added some numbers and dimensions based on my own attempts to follow the sparse notes provided.  If you want to follow my directions or point other people to them, fine, but at least provide them a link back here or to the original blog post, ok?  Don't go traipsing around claiming this stuff as your own.  Thanks!  <3 ***

So you want to make your own horse, huh?  Great!  First, let's talk about what you'll need.

~Yarn and needles.  Size is largely irrelevant, but you want to end up with a relatively thick, dense fabric that won't let any stuffing show through.  However, your gauge will also determine the final size of your horse, so keep that in mind.  Here are some suggestions and the approximate size of the horse:
          -US 2 needles and fingering weight yarn: 7-8" horse.  (This is what I used.)
          -US 4 needles and sport/DK weight yarn: ~10" horse.
          -US 6-7 needles and worsted weight yarn: 12"+ horse.
   Obviously you should test out your combination to make sure you're getting a fabric you want.  You'll need at least 200 yds of yarn, in your desired colors.  Pick any color yarn you would like, or multiple colors if you want a painted horse or zebra pattern.  I'm just using white, because that's what the customer requested and it makes everything easier to see.  You will also need small amounts for the hooves and horn (if you're making a unicorn).  If you want to make a bridle, you'll need a little yarn for that as well.
~Wire, if you want to make your horse poseable.  You want a wire that is thick and stiff enough to hold a pose and support the weight of your horse.  I used a spool of jewelry wire from Hobby Lobby.  Again, some suggestions:
          -20-18 gauge for fingering weight
          -16-14 gauge for DK weight
          -14-12 gauge for worsted weight
~Stuffing material.  I used polyfill and yarn/fabric scraps for softness, as well as some small pouches of polystyrene pellets in the torso for some heft (and so the horse can hold some poses better).
~Scissors, sewing needles, and a crochet hook of appropriate size.  I used an E hook.  This will be for starting the horse (adjustable loop), attaching the wire, and eventually making the bridle.  Depending on your preference, you may also want a latch hook for when we do the mane and tail, though the same thing can be accomplished with a crochet hook.
~Embroidery floss or fabric paint for the eyes and nostrils.

Gauge: again, this is not terribly important, but you might be able to use it to estimate the finished size of your horse.  My fingering/size 2 combo gave me a gauge of 8 sts and 10 rows per inch.  The easiest way to make your horse larger or smaller is to alter your gauge rather than the numbers in the pattern.  Trust me on this one.

Skills you need to know: knitting in the round, knitting/purling flat, increasing/decreasing (both ITR and flat), three-needle bindoff, knitting up/ purling up stitches, short rows (directions will be given, but having done them before is a plus).  EDIT: you also need to be able to graft/seam, or follow the instructions for doing so.  Sorry for forgetting that!

Next time, we'll do the bulk of the actual knitting and wire the horse's spine.  Ready your needles!

LINKS TO OTHER KAL SECTIONS
1: Intro and Materials - You are here!
2: Head, neck and body
3: Chest/pelvis, legs, and details
4. Mane and tail
Index of all Pony KAL posts