Whovian Photoshoot #3

This past saturday was our third annual Doctor Who photoshoot in Chicago. It was tons of fun, I pulled out my Ten and Eleven costumes. We're lucky enough to have a friend who is a professional photographer and does these photoshoots for us. Here's just a few quick pics from my camera:


It's always loads of fun and I can't wait to see Nick's pictures, they're always bloody fantastic!

♥ Freckled Crafter

Finished Project: Doctor Who Scarf

So I finally finished it! About a month ago I decided my almost one year struggle to complete a full sized season 18 Four scarf was pointless. So I started over with the width I wanted and in less than a month finished it!


Made with the now discontinued Lion Brand Suede this scarf is super warm and just about perfect! It's my new favorite.

♥ Freckled Crafter

Adventures with my knitting machine...

A while back my friend Beth gave me her old EZ Knitter knitting machine. I just got around to trying it out last night and after a good deal of false starts, dropped stitches, and swears I finally created my first machine knit item, for a costume no less!



That's right! I knit myself some suspenders!!! My fem!eleven is almost done and I'm soooo excited!

And although machine knitting has been fun and I can accomplish a lot in a small amount of time it'll never take the place of hand knitting!

♥ Freckled Crafts

Because there's no such thing as too much Classic Who!

When I go to conventions or do things in costume one thing that always bugs me is not having a bag that matches my costume to carry all my stuff in. And I don't end up putting pockets in a lot of things so I decided to solve my dilemma, well at least for Doctor Who related things.


So I made myself a K-9 bag! I used it a few weeks ago for a group Whovian visit to the Chicago Botanical Gardens, it worked great! Just big enough to hold all my necessary things and cute enough to actually want in pictures! I especially can't wait to use it with my femme!four since he's the Doctor who traveled with K-9.

I think it turned out well, although FAR from perfect.

♥ Freckled Crafter

Winston Churchill the Dalek

Sorry all for the impromptu hiatus. I was so sick of the computer after finals that I took almost a week off of using it at all. Luckily my disdain for it has worn off and I'm ready to start posting what I've been up to these past two weeks! Cause I've been doing ALOT of crafting and I've got tons to show.

No better time to start than now, right?

Pattern: EXTERMIKNIT! by Peniwiper
Yarn: Vanna's Choice and Lionbrand Cotton from ze stash (triple stranded)
Needles: size 9s

Whovian craftters probably already know the pattern, it's kinda legendary. For those who don't know Daleks are the forever enemy of the Doctor. This is actually my second Dalek and it was my post semester project, started it on saturday after Matt's graduation on our way back home for the weekend. He's alot larger than my first dalek, Tegan and also alot heavier. I learned alot from making Tegan a year ago and put it to good work this time around, tons of mods!


As you can see he's quite large, also REALLY heavy, great for cuddling! As you can see he still needs something to stiffen his plunger arm, hopefully a zip tie will do the trick. While I was still working on the bobbles (OMG so many bobbles!) I had a thought that he'd make a great ironside from the current season episode Victory of the Daleks. Thus my next sewing project is a cargo belt pocket that will button on.


Mods:

• purl one stitch between bobble panels instead of two. I saw this mod on ravelry and it prevents the tiny head they get sometime
  
• knit two, purl two at the 'shoulders'
  
• duplicate stitches on the 'neck' so it looks more like grates
  
• eliminate three stockinette rounds on the bottom between the decrease rounds (this creates a flatter bottom so it doesn't sit funky)

As much as I love them you can see the Doctor feels a little differently :/


And of course the scene which made all the fangirls squee:

"Would you care for some TEEEAAAA?!"

♥ Freckled Crafter

Show and Tell Week: Day 1...the vest of glory!

So I've decided that I haven't posted nearly enough of my own work on this journal. Therefor I declare this week show and tell week. Each day I'll be showing something I've made recently. This week is all knitting and thanks to lovely weather and lots of sun I've got relatively good pictures to show off.
First is something I've been working on for the past month. I finished it on saturday and it's just in time for a Doctor Who photoshoot I'm attending this weekend.


I used The Doctor Who Pattern Book by Joy Gammon with heavy modifications. First off I made it sans sleeves because majority of the time I'll be wearing the jacket over it and when I'm not there will be puffed or rolled up sleeves sticking out (I like doing a modified femme!five instead of classic to the T). I added alot of shaping in hopes of creating more shape because for whatever reason white cricket sweaters are generally not too attractive on me. It looks a little wonky here but when it's on it fits quite well, although I'd love even a little more negative ease. When it came to the neckline I did some odd short rows across the front and up the sides of the neck in order to get the right width and number of rows per color without alot of bulk around my neck. You can see this especially with the burgundy which should actually be brown but I took my own creative liberties with it. The original worn by Peter Davison WAS brown but it just looks burgundy to me.

(ooo, pretty cables are pretty!)

I used Knitpicks Bare Superwash for the off white and Telemark in black, poppy, and garnet heather. I've got 3/4ths a skein of superwash left and almost all of the three telemark yarns. I'm debating between the five hat on ravelry and making up my own wristwarmers (for when I eat celery, naturally!).

Overall I'm quite happy with it, it's quite soft and pretty, and if I can find the right pairing may actually wear it outside of cosplay once or twice. Pictures of me wearing it WITH costume this weekend after the shoot along with a full costume breakdown.

See you tomorrow with something else I knit up this weekend!
♥ Freckled Crafter

(Forgive my nerdiness, this gif was necessary)

NEWWHONEWWHONEWWHONEWWHO!!!!!

Uhh excited much?! The answer of course is YES! It's a new era and a new doctor and everything is so fresh and new! I made a quick little project while watching. Something I've been wanting to mess around with for a while but never got around to till today: shrinky dinks. I was awesome though and used some old plastic packaging instead of going out and buying anything. 100% free always makes me happy! So here's my new earrings to go with my Five costume:

This is the just beginning of trying out this new technique but I'm thinking maybe I should do a little photo tute? Just for funsies?!

Holy TARDIS consol Batman! I think I'm in love!!! THIS SUNDAY! My fangirl heart is squeeing!!!

Secret Projects and Convention Lust

I was upset but ok with the fact I couldn't go to Gallifrey One, I had gotten over it because I knew I'd be in my cousin's wedding, who I had not seen in two years. I'd gotten over it and accepted it. Then I started seeing people's pictures. I'm so jealous! I miss dressing up and being a nerd with hundreds of others just as nerdy, or even moreso than I. My jealousy has lead me to start a few projects:

I'm back in full swing of working on my Doctor Who costumes. Current project is five and his sweater, which I am designing and knitting up myself. Bad Wolf is what I wrote inside my fake glasses I bought with birthday money for both my 5 and 10 cosplay. Totally got them at Claire's, haha. Back to working on my Doomsday wristwarmers! Almost done with the first actually, might try and write up a pattern with the second one. As for baby Tardis, Jayne hats, and Sonic Screwdrivers? You'll just have to wait and see, I have something really big for everyone in March!

And because today was awful and rainy:

Soooooooooooooooo scenester! It kinda makes me hate myself.

A Who-full Return

So you probably thought I was dead (although in reality no one reads this blog anyways) but I'm not. Everything got so busy and updating this blog just kept getting lower and lower on my priority list. Luckly knitting was still pretty high up there so I do have some stuff to show you. I've got more I'll share later but for now lets focus on Chicago Tardis which I attended with a friend and my brother this past saturday.

The experience was amazing! I got to meet Colin Baker and Lis Sladen which was just amazing, they're some of the nicest people, much nicer thank I would have expected when they have to deal with crazy fans and (in one certain case) scary stalkers. I also met some people from big finish but seeing as I have no idea who they are I remember them as just more nice Brits to talk to.

So I decided a few weeks before the convention that I was going to do Rose from Boomtown and knit her scarf. After alot of searching I ended up with a handful of diffrent lionbrand homespuns. I used a great pattern on ravelry and knit it up in no time (holes and all, as my boyfriend would say). I need to take some detailed pictures still but for now I give you these:

Here's my brother Alex wearing my Tom Baker scarf, me in my Boomtown outfit, and the amazing and oh so nice Colin Baker (aka the 5th Doctor). When I got his autograph before signing it he looked up at me and said you know you look just like my niece when she was about 18. I replied with REALLY?! Well I'm 22 but close. He replied with "You're kidding?! Really?!" in the most adorable british accent. Colin is prolly my third fave of the doctors after Peter Davison and David Tennant (I know I know, what about Tom Baker, I do love him, he's prolly next on the list).

Here's me with a wonderful Ten and 50s Rose which was my original plan but I'm glad I didn't attempt it because she did SUCH a beautiful job. Their outfits are what make me really want to go all out next year and start planning and crafting NOW! (I'm thinking one day a ten rendition, the next Nyssa w/my bf at Davison and the following as a female Davison, probably just borrowing the jacket and hat from my bf's, since I know I'll be making it anyways, I'll just be swimming in the jacket. I'm thinking of starting soon cause I really want to make my own 5 sweater as well as one for my bf).

Here's Taylor (did I mention she dressed Boomtown as well, we were twins!) and Alex playing a game of ten while waiting in line (there was alot of that, must remember knitting next time). This gave me an awesome idea for a Doctor Who version of the game with each of the doctors being one through ten and something like K-9 as the joker. I really want to do it, just need to figure out the best way to make good cards.

Here's me being EXTERMINATED. This was actually made by someone, crazy awesome! I think Alex is proly working on his as I speak, haha, he was so jealous.

I love love love this pic! My face is weird but I love how both the scarves are hanging down and how awesome the Tardis looks (also a homemade, my next project haha, I think I want a tardis wardrobe, it would make my mornings so much shinier!)

Here's a few random shots. A cartoon someone drew on a sign and delicious sonic water.

And now I must go spread these pics across the Whoniverse, promise to post soon!