Tattooed

At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements ;)

Since last week's what if went over like a lead balloon (I forgot to mention the androids. That might have helped), I'm cheating this week and finding something from Twitter...

What if tattoos just randomly appeared on our skin at key points in our lives and we had to figure out what they meant for ourselves.

— Relatable (@ReIatableThings) August 18, 2017

Key-per

I finally sat down and wrote out the pattern for the keychains. It takes me a while as I want to make sure I get it down as accurately as I can. So, I take my time, go back and reread, and go back and edit. (And hope that I caught all the errors.)

I'm doing something slightly different this time, though. The basic pattern is right here on the blog, and it will stay right here on the blog. But, I've also created a PDF for this that contains a few more pictures (illustrations of adding the beads and such), and that is available for sale on Etsy and Ravelry. (Click on the links to purchase from your preferred site.)

(This is something that One Dog Woof does with all her patterns, so I thought I'd give it a try.) If you'd like to support my designing efforts, or if you'd prefer a clean copy of the pattern that you can print out, I'd appreciate you purchasing the PDF download. (The PDF is eight pages long.)

Materials

• Yarn used: Patons Metallic [63% nylon, 28% acrylic, 9% wool; 197 yds/180 m skein]; Colors shown: Metallic Orange, Burnished Rose Gold, Purple Rain, Black Marble (not a lot required—about 10 yds total)
• 1 set of 2 US #8/5mm double-point needles (dpn)
• 0.39-inch eyelets/grommets
• Split ring key ring 
• Tapestry needle
• Crochet hook size G/4mm (optional)
• Beads (optional)
• Short length of 20 gauge wire bent in half (only if doing the beading) 
• Split ring marker (optional)

Pattern Notes

I-cord: To make an I-cord, cast on a small number of stitches (for this project, it’s 4) on a dpn

Do not turn. With right side facing, slide stitches to other side of dpn. Knit them.

Repeat for desired length.

I-cord video tutorial or written tutorial

Crab Stitch: The edging shown is done using this crochet stitch. It is optional. (It can just as easily be sewn shut.)

A video tutorial or a written tutorial

Placing grommet: The recommended size grommet is used in the pictures, but a smaller or larger grommet can be used.

Take the two pieces of the grommet. Line up the holes in the key fob. (They may not entirely line up. It’s okay to fudge this part a bit.) Slip the grommet through. Then press down. (There is no need to buy the press just to make one of these. They also sell grommets with a small piece that you can use to hammer this together.)

Beading: Beads can be placed anywhere you wish on this project, or can be left off entirely. Select beads that will easily slip over the yarn. If you wish the beads to be on the outside of the piece, keep them on the 2nd and/or 3rd stitches of the I-cord.

To place beads:

Knit to 1 stitch before the stitch you want to place the bead on. Slip those stitches to the split stitch marker. (This is optional. However, the recommended yarn is a bit slippery, and holding two needles with so few stitches on them is a bit awkward.) Then slip the next stitch onto the wire. Slip the bead over the wire and pull down over the stitch.

Return this stitch to the needle. Return the held stitch(es) to the needle. Slip the stitch with the bead, and continue in knit to the end of the round.

Pattern

Cast on 4 stitches. Turn.

Row 1: Purl 4, turn
Row 2: Knit 2, yarn over, knit 2, turn

Note: At this point, you may wish to slip the first stitch of every row. This will make it slightly easier at the finish to attach the beginning of the loop to the end.

Row 3: Purl 5, turn
Row 4: Knit 2, knit 2 together, knit 1, turn
Row 5: Purl 4, turn
Row 6: Knit 4. Do not turn.

Now, slide the stitches back to the right side of the needle and continue as an I-cord.

Work the I-cord for the desired length. The shown piece was worked for about 10 inches from the beginning. If desired, add beads now.

Once the desired length is reached, on the next row, turn and purl back. (If you were slipping the first stitch of every row, return to doing this as well.) Then:

Row 2*: Knit 2, yarn over, knit 2, turn
Row 3*: Purl 5, turn
Row 4*: Knit 2, knit 2 together, knit 1, turn
Row 5*: Bind off purl-wise

Finishing

If using crab stitch (reverse single crochet), wind in ends.

Smooth out piece so it doesn’t twist, and put beginning and end together. If sewing together, have right sides facing and use ends to sew together using tapestry needle. If using crab stitch, have wrong sides facing, and starting at one end, crab stitch around piece.

Wind in remaining ends.

Insert grommet into the hole left by the yarn over.

Slide keyring through the grommet. (This can be a bit fiddly, but once the key ring is attached, it’s not going anywhere.)

Lead Singers of the 1980s

Since the last music-themed quiz I did was a hit, why not another? This one is all about lead singers. I'll let you try it out first...



I only missed three, but as someone who grew up in the '80s, that kind of tells you how much attention I was paying to some of these bands.

How'd you do?

Odd Egg

I had just gotten back from the grocery store. I wasn't feeling great (this cold is mild, but it lingers), and working roofers snarled traffic, so parking my car became more of an issue than it usually is.

Oh well. I was home. 

As I walked into the house, I managed to just miss the door, but cushioned by the bag of groceries held in front of me. The bag of groceries that housed the dozen eggs... 

Naturally. 

Yup, I had smashed the egg carton, but luckily, I only managed to break one egg. A minor miracle. 

I managed to put the groceries away with no other incident, and I went on with my day. But one thought lingered. I now had an odd number of eggs. 

Silly, I know. But I never use just one egg. It seems like everything requires two. Which meant that unless I found some use for it, I would forever have that extra egg out there. Lingering. I'd never be able to get to even.

Ah well.

The next day at breakfast, I scrambled two eggs. After, I went to rearrange my eggs. I lost the carton they came in, so there was a bit of a juggle to house them in some way. And as I went to put that last egg somewhere... Splat.

It slipped out of my and and ended up on the floor in a big yellow mess.

This is what I get for complaining about one odd egg. Here is where I roll my eyes.

(Yes, it was a slow week. This is the sort of thing that would make an excellent stick figure comic, if I could do that sort of thing.)

Turned

At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements ;)

For today's question, I'm positing a scenario. You've been rescued from certain death by a group that's at war (literally or figuratively) with your "family". (That family can be the one you were born into or the one that you've gathered around you.)

What if the group that saved you now expects you to do their bidding? Do you? Or do you find a way to become a double agent?

Jellyfish No. 23

Last week was a low and slow week for me. I had hoped to finish writing up the pattern for the keychains I've been working on. I've got most of it done, but not enough to be able to post it this week.

So, instead I'm posting a picture of the latest jellyfish. I finished this guy about two (three?) weeks ago. And I just spent the better part of 20 minutes verifying that he is #23. Sigh.

(Link to the pattern.)

Note to self: perhaps one should number the jellyfish inventory to help with this count in the future.

The colors on this one are for a very specific purpose. I had a request for one for the newly born granddaughter of the lady from the farmers market. She wanted it to match the colors of the baby's bedroom. But we had a pink/coral problem. I posited this color combo. She didn't think it sounded like a good idea. So, I made the color combination she requested. But then I had to make this one just to prove it would also work. And here it is.

I had the colors in yarn already. Why not?

I wish you a good week.

All Out Podcast Episode

I'm changing things up today. My SIL did a podcast...

I've mentioned her struggles before (here, here, and here). If you've got about 43 minutes, go ahead and take a listen. The episode is here.