Alice's Adventures in Wonderland {Banned Books Week}

Banned Books Week 

Day #4: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland By Lewis Carroll

 Is it a little hypocritical to blog about a book I haven't read? I think it would be rather selfish for me to deny everyone a classic just because I haven't read it yet. You might have noticed that pretty much every post this week has been so much more than just a banned book. The larger trend is that all these books have become so integral to our society and culture! My memories of Alice in Wonderland go way back. As a kiddo my sister and I preformed as a butterflies in an Alice in Wonderland ballet. And one year my mom even sewed me an Alice costume for Halloween. So many good memories. 

The reason for the banning: Now that we are already on Day #4 of Banned Books Week, we should be getting pretty good at this! This book has been challenged for almost every reason under the sun. Keep in mind that Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was originally published in 1865. Some of the reasons include, talking animals, use of expletives, sexual content, "derogatory characterizations" of teachers and religious ceremonies, and drug references. I never would have guessed a little kid watching the Disney version!

Now comes the part when I show you some awesome wonderland themed amigurumi or something, right? Let me start by apologizing. Today has been a bit of a flop. A simple task that was supposed to take 5 minutes ending up taking all day. Consequently my poor little wonderland tea party got neglected. And now it just  looks like a tragic accident happened and little dormouse and beheaded Alice lay among tea cup remains.

Yikes.

I did get the dormouse almost finished though. 



Nevertheless I wanted to share because I appreciate your support and encouragement especially on days like this. Days when things come crashing down and I realize I'm covered in yarn and my pattern notes have been re-written a dozen times. I know it just means that everyone will be that much more excited when I finish this tea party (next week hopefully!).

And I hope to see you tomorrow for my last themed post of the week. PLUS another guest blogger. You won't want to miss it.

Where The Wild Things Are {Banned Books Week}

Banned Books Week 

Day #4: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

This beloved children's book is also 1964's Caldecott medal winner. Nationally recognized and yet- banned!

The reason for the banning: Banning reasons for Where The Wild Things Are really run the gamut. The book includes such erroneous things as: Max throwing a tantrum, him going to bed without supper, and of course his imaginary friends promote witchcraft and supernatural events. Critics claimed the book was dark and disturbing, saying it gave children nightmares. Obviously that didn't last long because now I think it's hard to find a nursery without it this classic!

Recently I chatted with my sister Marissa about the book. She is the assistant managing editor of a children's magazine called the Friend. And she's pretty much a wizard (oops that's probably frowned upon by banned book fanatics!) at all things pertaining to children's literature and print media. She shared many cool thoughts so I asked her to guest blog today! 

Here she is:

"What’s the big deal with this book, anyway? If you’ve ever asked that question—or been afraid to because you might be gobbled up by wild thing groupies—don’t feel bad. I spent years in the child lit industry before I finally gained an appreciation for what some people call the best picture book of all time.

The story revolves around pajama-clad Max, a young boy who gets sent to his room and travels to an imaginary land where he is made king of the wild things. After quite the wild rumpus, he ends up back at home, finding a hot dinner waiting for him.

I never disliked the book, but it was never my favorite. When I started working in the world of publishing, I decided I needed to figure out just what the magic was all about. I mean, I know grown adults who continue to claim it as their favorite book! It’s inspired sequels, movies, spin-offs, clothing, and stuffed animals for decades now. Finally, I asked colleague and author Mackenzi Lee, who studied the book in grad school, to enlighten me.

“It was one of the first picture books to be neither moralistic or super-happy-sunny-childhood-yay!” she said. “It engaged with darkness and the idea that children experience darkness in their lives, same as adults. Instead of hiding children from that, we should teach them and give them the tools to deal with it.”

Hmm. The more I thought about that, the more I saw the value of Max’s adventure. I looked up Sendak’s Caldecott speech (which Lee described as “freaking lovely,” and I have to agree), and was drawn to this quote:

"Certainly we want to protect our children from new and painful experiences that are beyond their emotional comprehension. ... That is obvious. But what is just as obvious—and what is too often overlooked—is the fact that from their earliest years children live on familiar terms with disrupting emotions, fear and anxiety are an intrinsic part of their everyday lives, they continually cope with frustrations as best they can. And it is through fantasy that children achieve catharsis. It is the best means they have for taming Wild Things."

FOR TAMING WILD THINGS. Cue mental “click” moment. Like, I get it.

I thought of the ugliness in today’s world, and the many children who are undoubtedly confused and angry and scared on a daily basis. Instead of these wild emotions consuming them, unchecked and painfully raw, wouldn’t it be great if each child became king over their inner rumpus? With the power to command their internal claws and teeth to BE STILL? Acknowledging that the wild exists, but confident in their power to reconnect with those who love them “best of all” whenever they’re ready?

I’m still mulling over these ideas, reading the book anew through this lens of shifting understanding. I’ve learned a lot about the book’s history—how Sendak struggled with his own darkness from the Holocaust, and how the book was originally supposed to be about wild horses. How, when it was published in the 1960s, it received mixed reviews, but won the Caldecott and is now considered groundbreaking. The more I read, the more I’m grateful that Max and his wild things are part of our lives. He’s a mischievous, courageous, hungry little kid, and I see myself in him more often than I expected.

Who knows, this might just become my favorite book ever." 

 

A big thank you to Marissa! So many great ideas to think about. For this book I created my own version of  Max's hooded pajamas and crown.
 

You can find the listing in my Etsy shop here

 

Pattern credit:

Hat- Sarah Zimmerman of Repeat Crafter Me basic hat pattern, plus my own ideas.

Crown- "Princess Crown" by Fashion Crochet Design

The Lorax {Banned Books Week}

Banned Books Week

Day #3: The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss books are practically essential. I need everything in my life to be bright and bold, so I quite identify with the worlds Dr. Seuss creates for us. His zany and whimsical books inspire such creativity that is so important for kids (and adults!). 



The reason for the banning: The Lorax brings some freshness (irony?) to banned books. For one, it was banned in California of all places. Being raised by California tree-huggers this puzzled me for about two minutes until I saw that it was banned in northern California. It makes sense because the book was challenged for criminalizing the foresting industry. With logging being a big industry in those parts, go figure. Whether you are a tree hugger or not, I love the opportunity to have access to all kinds of books. Opinions are good things! In this ever more dividing world we need to celebrate our ability to express our ideas freely.

My favorite quote from the book, spoken many times by my parents:

"Unless someone like you
cares a whole awful lot
nothing is going to get better, it's not" 

Although I don't have any real Truffula Trees to knit a thneed, I came up with something else! No Truffula trees were harmed in the making of this scarf. I love the subtlety of this Truffula tree inspired scarf. I decided to go with the white and black trunk variety. I added all varieties of colored tufts because I wanted to convey all the vibrancy we find in The Lorax.



"and I first saw the trees
the Truffula Trees
the bright-colored tifts
of the Truffula Trees
Mile after miles 
in the fresh morning breeze"  

I love this large fluffy pom poms. I think they looks so much like Trufula tree tufts. It is a great scarf because it is bright and fun but the black and white stripes make it easy to match an outfit.





Find this scarf for sale in my Etsy shop here. 

 

The Wizard of Oz {Banned Books Week}

Banned Books Week

Day #2: The Wizard of Oz By L. Frank Baum

What I find interesting about the whole banned books thing, is that so many of the books are absolute classics. Books that we all grew up with, no matter our age, because they are timeless.

Today I am featuring The Wizard of Oz. I will be honest and say that I have never read the books, but they have always had a special place in my heart. My older sister absolutely loved the Wizard of Oz movie when we were younger, and I swear just about every time she babysat us, we watched that movie! My younger sister and I would always look at the Wizard of Oz Barbies in the store, and one year I was the Cowardly Lion for Halloween! My older brother was even in the Wizard of Oz play in junior high. So many good memories. It's hard to fathom the book being banned!



The reason for the banning: You start to see some themes in banned books. One commonality is almost always witchcraft. But I suppose they should also ban it for those ridiculous lollipop kids. ;) BUT there is more, the book is has also been banned for violence, and unwholesome and ungodly ideas. You have to keep in mind that the book was originally publish in 1900. The world was pretty different then. And in 1928 all public libraries in the US banned the book for the terrible idea that it depicted, "women in strong leadership roles." Oh no! Makes me curious to read the book because I always kinda thought Dorothy was a little bit of a whiner in the movie. :)

For this classic I wanted to do something a little out of my comfort zone, a Dorothy baby set! It was so fun to do and I think it turned out darling. I love the colors and think they are perfect for her character.



The pinafore dress looks so cute over a white onesie!



And I really love the little hair hat. Where was this when I was little? I would've loved a hair hat!



Check out my listing for it on Etsy here.

I used  a variety of different patterns:

Slippers- "Little Dot Mary Janes" by Whistle and Ivy

Dress- adapted from "Sunshine and Marmalade" by Melissa Mall

Hat- is a combination of ideas from "Princess Hat with Braids" by Corina Gray at Stitch 11 and Sarah Zimmerman of Repeat Crafter Me basic hat pattern.

Bows- "Super Simple Crochet Bows" by Things to Make and Do blog.

Charlotte's Web {Banned Books Week}

Alright! Let's get to work, day one of  Banned Books Week!

Day #1: Charlotte's Web

There is something that is particularly endearing about talking animals. At least I've always thought so. I remember reading Charlotte's Web in elementary school. As well as making a paper mache pig out of a soda bottle, and going to Charlotte's Web the play, and watching the movie! Lots of great memories. It is a bit crazy to me to think that this heart-warming and charming classic is frowned upon by some.



The reason for the banning: some folks believe that talking animals are blasphemous, sacrilegious, and disrespectful of God. Also, the book has been criticized for the tragic fate of poor Charlotte being "inappropriate for children." Although very sad, I think it is an important lesson as even children have family and pets die. I think it is important theme of the book!

It's been so long since I read the book. Now I feel nostalgic and eager to read it again. I do remember Charlotte and what a great friend she was. I always felt she was so creative in coming up with the scheme she did.

 To honor this book, I have create two little friends to share.

A Charlotte (and her web) bookmark




AND a little amigurumi Wilbur.



For the web I used extremely fine crochet thread. That's a 2.25mm hook!

 

I love how tiny and cute they are. I am also currently working on a Templeton rat to add to the mix as well. Never enough time for all my ideas! 

Items are listed for purchase in my Etsy shop here!

Spider pattern courtesy of  © 2008 Sandyfroglegs Designs. And Wilbur pattern courtesy of Vivian Clotilde of  Primarily Patterns.

Welcome to Banned Books Week!

Welcome to:

Banned Books Week! 

It's a thing. 

"Banned Books Week is an annual awareness campaign that celebrates the freedom to read, draws attention to banned and challenged books, and highlights persecuted individuals." As per Wikipedia.

I think it is a pretty fun excuse for bibliophiles and bookworms to nerd out. For me, it is a fun excuse to reminisce about my favorite (apparently scandalous) books. It is also a fun opportunity to challenge myself and come up with themed crochet goodies.

So... what IS a banned book? Well, combing through lists of banned books I learned that pretty much any book can be a banned if at some point in time, someone didn't want another person to read it. The books include Where's Waldo, to well, books that I shouldn't name on this family-friendly blog. And of course everything in between. But the point of Banned Books week is freedom from censorship and freedom to read.

A few weeks ago I shared this quote on social media. I wasn't sure exactly where I wanted to take this venture so I asked for favorite books in general (not necessarily banned). As it turns out, some of the favorites listed have been blacklisted at some point, who'd a thought?

"It doesn't matter what you do... So long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away." -Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 (definitely banned!) has been one of my favorite books since I first read it as a kid. I stumbled across this quote and thought about what a different meaning it has to me now. Particularly in the context of crochet and all things artistic and creative. It is one of my favorite things about crochet. With a ball of yarn and a single hook you can change strings into... THINGS! Really awesome and amazing things. And a part of me and who I am are in every single thing I make. That's what I love about creativity, each and every thing is truly unique.

Banned books week here at Kwid Creations will feature a week-long adventure of books and crochet! Every day I will feature a banned book and related crochet item. I'm keeping this broad because this isn't just limited to amigurumi.

So please join me on this journey and bring your favorite book-loving friend! 

Giraffe Themed Newborn Set

I love customer orders. It is so much fun to work the the customer and create something unique! Sometimes the customer has a very specific request, other times it starts as just the beginning of an idea and I can take it and run with it. Remember guys, I am a professional... I know what I am doing (despite the huge mess this appears to be!).

Back in February my friend approached me and requested that I make an afghan for her friend's baby due in April. Very excited at the opportunity to broaden my horizons, we threw around some ideas before she decided that she would like a giraffe themed gift set. I sent her some examples and got to work.

The first product, as posted on my social media pages, are these adorable little Ugg-style baby booties. I decided to make them larger than newborn so they were more versatile size-wise. With summer being right around the corner, I would hate to make a product that the baby could hardly wear! I used this pattern from Jinty Lyons. The pattern was a little finicky and I decided to change the hook size so I could get nice tight stitches. I measured and compared with size charts online to make sure I was on the right track. Although the booties are not specifically "giraffe" themed, I love the color combo and thought it complimented the other pieces well.

Second, this lovely little giraffe hat. I used this pattern from Repeat Crafter Me. It is one of many animal themed hats that are all adorable. I used an amazingly soft pastel yellow for the body that worked up nicely. This hat definitely required more work than I bargained! Lots of sewing and securing and weaving in ends.



But it was totally worth it because I cannot get over how cute it turned out. The back has just as much character as the front!

Lastly, this giraffe lovey is the best of both worlds! A blankie and a stuffed animal, loveys are really popular right now. I feel in some regions and cultures new families are overwhelmed with handmade blankets. So much love and time goes into making them, I think this smaller piece is a great alternative. The pattern is from LuLu's Crafts . Fantastic pattern and I just added a decorative row and scalloped border. I used the pattern for spots from the Repeat Crafter Me hat.

I love the way everything came together. Working on so many different pieces of varying sizes and colors and yarn types provided a fun challenge. I hope you enjoyed my post and let me know what you think in the comments below!

No Tears! Caking (without a swift!) {Free Tutorial}

Many months ago, tucked away on an end cap in the corner of Michaels, I found a great deal on yarn. It was Loops and Threads brand, which I love working with. This yarn looked even shinier and softer than the stuff I usually buy. Yes, I have yarn spidey sense!

One 40% off coupon later I was a proud owner of two large hanks of yarn, which I promptly threw into my stash and ignored for fear of winding.

Recently these bags of yarn went on clearance! Even with the limited colors, how could I resist? You're right, I can't, so I didn't... resist that is. There is plenty of buzz- good and bad- about this yarn on the multiple crochet Facebook pages. Everyone is coming to the consensus that they are a huge HUGE disaster to wind into a ball. Being the person I am...

Challenge ACCEPTED! 

I haven't yet invested in a yarn swift, and I'm too much of a wimp to sit there and hold it out, strung along my arms (what is this?! "arm day" at the gym?!). So I had to come up with another idea. I'm not a naturally patient person. But when it is something I am passionate about (like yarn and good deals), I find patience.

The first hank winding went just fine until- it didn't:

[Source]

Cue: patience. *deep breath* *dives back in*

[Source]

I ended up winding the other end into a ball til I got to the knot/ tangle. Then I continued to cake from there. Like so:



Semi-success is maybe more invigorating than complete success. Semi-success means you simply must try again. So I did... try again that is.

Here is a picture tutorial of my best method yet for successfully winding a hank without a yarn swift!

Step 1: Carefully untwist the hank

Step 2: Loop the hank over an ironing board. You want to make sure the ironing board is tall or wide enough so the yarn has space to hang without bunching on the floor. 

Step 3: Cut loose yarn that holds the hank together. In this instance the thread that holds the hank together IS NOT part of the hank itself. Just a few snips and unthread the piece. 

You can see in the picture below the difference between the hank yarn and the thread that holds it all together. The piece that holds it all together isn't wound tightly together but more like a few threads. 

Now you should have two distinct and clean ends of your hank with nothing holding it together, just a long yarn loop (pictured 3 photos back).

Step 4: Take one end and thread it through your yarn winder (or you can ball it if you would like). Read more about my yarn winder here.

PLEASE!: Make sure your set up is going to work for you! This is key to things running smoothly. My ironing board and table with yarn winder are just a few feet from each other.

Step 5: Start winding! -which is easier said than done. I made it a two-person job and it still took incredible patience, but overall less time than speeding through and running into problems.

Watch my video first, it is less than 20 seconds. 

You will be pulling the hank towards you to unravel it while someone cranks the yarn winder. 

This takes practice. And is a good moment to test relationships because you and your buddy over at the yarn winder have to get a good pace going to be successful. Marriage counseling may or may not be required before or after this process.

Tip #1: Make sure that you pull the hank/ yarn loop straight and even (photo left side). It will have a tendency to move towards your yarn winder. DO NOT let it separate and pull off the end of the ironing board (photo right side): 

Tip #2: When you pull make sure you grab the whole entire hank/ yarn loop. My nice long salad fingers came in handy! You will notice that even the "Yes" photo looks like a mess. Repeat after me: "It will all go fine if I take my time."

Again, you are pulling the hank toward you, making sure that the psycho at the yarn winder doesn't get too carried away. I made sure that the piece joining to the winder stayed under hand/ arm so it wasn't going too fast and getting ahead. 

Before too long you will have a beautiful, easy to use cake of yarn. You'll feel like:

It is easy to do while watching TV, listening to music, talking. So invite a friend over and put them to work! 

I have only done two hanks using this method but I am open to new suggestions and methods if you have them. Please comment below and let me know. Happy winding! 

A Little Lucky Clover

Bored at recess in those hot late summer days, when it was too hot to play, I remember looking for 4-leaf clovers. I remember asking my mom and dad (separately of course, so I could compare answers) if 4-leaf clovers really existed. It was a matter of existence, not a question of finding one or if it would be lucky. Of the latter I was sure.



Now as a big kid, I make my own fortune, in yarn. This morning as I was scrolling through Instagram I saw Lion Brand feature this simple tutorial for a tiny {lucky, of course} 4-leaf clover.

They work up quick and I can already think of some uses for them:

Brooch (when you need green to avoid pinches!)
Headband
Bunting
Table decorations

Holidays like St. Patrick's Day always seem to sneak up on me, so I love little projects like this. What are your ideas? How can you see them being used?

Thanks again The Edible Complex for the fun pattern! Also A Creative Being for the heart pattern. I chose orange and white from Ireland's flag, of course. Knowledge of this compliments of elementary school and Flogging Molly merch.