for household Archives - Page 16 of 16

Pi pillows

Recently I was asked by a student to participate in a Pi(e) celebration, giving the mathematical side. I decided to make Pi Prizes to give out for trivia such as where the first zero is in the decimal expansion of pi, the best fractional approximation for pi, mnemonic devices for the digits of pi, etc. I intended to crochet an amigurumi pi or three, but quickly realized that would take far too long.

Instead, I typed a boldface pi in the largest font size LaTeX makes, blew it up to maximum magnification in the pdf viewer, screenshot it, used iPhoto to print it out as an 8×10, drew a half-inch margin around it and used that as a pattern. When I sewed I actually only used a 3/8″ seam allowance, and if I were to make more I would probably adjust the pattern so the pi is not so spindly. I would also leave the top as the opening for turning and stuffing, even though stitching it closed there would be more visible – the first one I made I left the inseam of the left leg open, and getting the stuffing into the right leg was very difficult. In the latter two I left the top of the inseams and the bit of crossbar connecting them open, and the closed-up corners are not as neat as they could be.

Pi in the Sky and Cherry Pi:

Lemon Meringue Pi and my original crochet pi:

The fabric was all from my stash, including the cheesecloth meringue puffs. Pumpkin, apple, and pizza pi are other obvious choices, and I’ve thought about finding a lime-printed fabric and extending the crossbar of the pi to the right with a trefoil-shaped end to make key lime pi. Moon pi would be adorable. There are apparently several kinds of velvet pi. I may be missing other easy ones, but it seems to get abstract fast – chicken pot pi? Mud pi? Mincemeat pi? Humble pi? Cow pi?

I’m just glad I didn’t got through with my original plan of crocheting pi from furry yarn.

Spring cleaning

Up here in northern New England, spring doesn’t really make its appearance until late April. That means I am not inspired to do spring cleaning until then, but hey, at least it happens eventually (← lying).

This year spring cleaning involved crochet. One of the earliest crochet patterns I downloaded was CRAFT magazine’s reversible Swiffer sock, by Linda Permann. I love the maneuverability of the Swiffer and its ability to get under furniture, but every time I throw out one of the covers I feel like I’m telling the Earth “today, I hate you a little.”

That’s overly dramatic, but I was happy to find a replacement. It cuts the maneuverability down a bit because of its thickness, but works surprisingly well for dusting.

Say hello to my kitchen floor.

The darker one is my first effort. It fits, but is very snug. The Ravelry page for this pattern tells me newer Swiffers are larger than older one, though I think the problem is more likely the fact that I crochet tightly. You can see I’ve already used it; I’m pleased to report it works very well. Both yarns are Red Heart Scratchy Super Saver Special, and I’m pretty sure the bottom color is Cherry Cola. The skein bands are long gone and I have no memory of the top color name. Incidentally, I have no idea why acrylic yarns of the same brand and line vary so much in texture. I have Red Heart Super Saver that’s quite nice to the touch, and other acrylics like Red Heart’s TLC Essentials line also run the gamut.

The pattern is easy, although slip stitching the end of a chain in splitty yarn is obnoxious. It didn’t take much brain, so I was able to do it while on the phone or listening to talk radio.

For my second sock, I switched from an H to an I hook. I haven’t tried it on the Swiffer yet, but it can’t help but fit better.

Finally, while trying to get a picture of the Swiffer in situ (i.e., hanging on the landing of my basement stairs), I knocked over my broom for the last time. I have two brooms now, as I realized my older one had been used outside so much it was no longer very good for indoor use. While the old one has a braided yarn loop for a hanger, the new one had nothing, and its built-in hole wouldn’t go on my hook (at least not easily). Yet a third color of Super Saver came out of the bag.

Instructions: ch 25. Pass ch through hole in broom handle and sl st in first ch to join. Sc around, including in sl st, and sl st in first sc; cut yarn, pull end through sl st, and tie ends of yarn together in a square knot. Trim.

Clearly, you don’t need to chain 25 stitches to get an adequately long loop. It looks like 15 would be ample.

Webcomic coasters

My brother-in-law writes the webcomic Binary Souls / Other Dimensions, starring the hapless robot Hondo. I wanted to give him a personalized Christmas gift – one that he would literally not be able to get elsewhere – so I made him Hondo coasters. A tutorial on making fabric coasters will follow in a later post.

For these coasters, I found appropriate images in the comic, and used thin white fabric like tracing paper to draw the images with fabric markers and (when necessary) paint pens. I let them dry for 24 hours and heat set them. I had to flatline (a.k.a. underline) with a second layer of the white fabric to avoid showing through (though there was still a little bit of that), and I backed them with black fabric.

They came out better than I expected. Here are the originals with the tracings: