More Roxas Blanket Progress

To View All Progress On The Blanket

I finished the head in time to give it to Bevan for Valentine's day.  It's huge!  I was hoping to have the entire thing done, but it is taking longer to connect all the squares than I thought it would.  Still, I'm excited to see it coming together!

"Be careful. He messes with your head..." - Cloud [Kingdom Hearts II]

Roxas Blanket Progress

1/18/2012


Here are some progress shots.  I even arranged the squares for the head to take a picture.  Progress is being made.

Can you see the hair and face?  So excited!

The box holds squares with tucked tails.  The popcorn tin is full of squares I still need to tuck in.

The squares draped over the edge are already connected.

Kaylee, my cute little craft inspector, at work.

Roxas head.

 "Only you could have made it this far in one piece, Roxas." - Saix {He's not in one piece yet, but he is getting there.}

"That's really getting old." - Sora

SpoCon 2011

There is so much that I could say about SpoCon this year. It was a total blast. So this will be a weekend recap of sorts and I know I will still forget something.

Friday morning, I had the honor of attending the Guest/Pro Breakfast where I was privileged to sit with several of the other League of Extraordinary Writers 2011 Writing Contest finalists (Kaye, Greg, Scott, and Esther), a member of the ConCom, and several members of the Dead Gentlemen (Brian Lewis, Scott Brown, Christian Doyle, and a gal whose name momentarily escapes me). The breakfast was highly entertaining. All of the Dead Gentlemen are a lively group and rather outgoing.

After breakfast finished, I joined Kaye, her mother, Kathy, and Kaye's friend, Jordan. I chatted with them as I did some hand stitching on my costume. About 2.5 hours later, registration opened and I stood in line for an hour to get my badge. I got my badge just in time to rush off and meet with C. J. Cherryh, who spent a half-hour critiquing my writing contest submission and gave me many helpful tips and encouraged me in my writing. This was the perfect way to start a con!

I ended up going to several other writing panels over the course of the weekend and received tips from authors: Patricia Briggs, John Dalmas, C. J. Cherryh, Jane Fancher, Tanglwyst de Holloway, Alma Alexander, Mark Ferrari, Deby Fredericks, and owner of Blue Falcon Editing, Andrea Howe. There are so many things I am very excited to work on in my writing thanks to these wonderful people. I also met several wonderful aspiring authors at these panels and look forward to some day reading their work.

Friday night couldn't arrive soon enough for me. I've been looking forward to Opening Ceremonies for months, because that is when the L.E.W. contest winners would be announced.

Photo by Cheeser.

I waited on pins and needles. Eager to hear my name when the announcements finally arrived.

"Second place winner for Flash Fiction is..." My brain went into shock as I realized that they had not read my name. There were only two finalists in each category. They didn't say my name! That means... Shock gripped my brain and I found that I couldn't voice the conclusion my brain had arrived at. Then I heard my name read as the General Writing Contest Flash Fiction winner. I don't even think the announcer had finished reading my name when my husband's cheers deafened me. He was just as excited as I was - only his vocal cords were functioning.

Photo by Cheeser.

So this is me, with my medal. It has the awesome SpoCon logo on the front and the back is engraved. The other half of my prize is a gift certificate to Blue Falcon Editing for the editing of my flash fiction entry. Words cannot even express my excitement.

Photo by Cheeser.

My husband and I celebrated by going out to eat with a friend and then rushing home to sew more on our costumes. We finished them around 12:30 p.m. and headed for the con.

We signed up for the Masquerade. It was so much fun performing my flag routine (even if I dropped one of my flags). There were several really awesome costumes present. One of my favorites was a gal dressed up as a white wolf. The costume had beautiful detail.

Photo by the Spokantina member I handed my camera to...

Masquerade results:
Firebender [Avatar - The Last Airbender] {Me} - Best Performance - Journeyman Class
Roxas [Kingdom Hearts II] {My Hubby} - Best Workmanship - Journeyman Class
Brother Silence, Cass [Gamers II - Dorkness Rising] {Our friend, Cheeser} - Best of Show

Photo by the Spokantina member I handed my camera to...

And a shot with Cheeser in his Snowtrooper armor and me with flags to show you how they looked moving.

Other con highlights:

Filking (click here for what filking is) - this was so much fun! I only regret that I wasn't able to stay the whole time and missed the first night of it. The filking circle was so friendly! I really need to figure out how to get my hands on a song book.

Meeting Dragon Dronet - this man is a masterful prop builder and armorer. He does beautiful work. He brought several pieces to pass around.

Photo by the Spokantina member I handed my camera to...

He even let me put on the Samurai helmet used in the t.v. series Heroes.

Photo by the Spokantina member I handed my camera to...

Teaching others how to twirl flags - during the dance I taught several other con goers how to flag. It was highly entertaining, especially when Alfredo decided to give one a whirl.

Getting asked for my autograph six times since they put all the contest entries in an anthology (if you granted permission). I love my copy of the book and was super excited when I discovered that my flash fiction story, Fate, was the first one. I tracked down two of the other writers in the book to have them sign it as well {I wanted to get everyone, but was unable to locate them all}.

And my overall favorite con memories are every one of them spent with friends (new and old alike). I had a blast hanging out with all my geeky buddies and can't wait to do it all again next year.

EDIT: I will be adding more pictures (and hopefully video) when I find them.

Photo by Lady Mischief


Video by Nathan Smith

I fire bend at 13:26, but you should watch the whole thing. Brother Silence (Cheeser) does a fabulous job! And my hubby dons the completed Org. XIII cloak and the key that he has spent much time on. Plus, there were many other wonderful costumes!

Not So Top Secret Roxas Blanket Project

Project Name: Roxas Blanket
Status: In Progress
Source: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Video game
Project Type: Blanket - Crochet
Supplies [to be filled in as I make it]:
Crochet Hook Size I U.S.A.
Red Heart Yarn

• Color: 0319 Cherry Red - Worsted - Super Saver - Medium 4 - 100% Acrylic - less than one 7 oz/364 yds skein
• Color: 0312 Black - Worsted - Super Saver - Medium 4 - 100% Acrylic - approx. three and a half 7 oz/364 yds skein
• Color: 0324 Brt. Yellow - Worsted - Super Saver - Medium 4 - 100% Acrylic - approx. one and a half 7 oz/364 yds skein
• Color: 0230 Dye Lot: 5302 & 6819 Yellow (I call it gold) - Sport - Light 3 - 100% Acrylic - two 2.5 oz/165 yds skeins
• Color: 0365 Coffee - Worsted - Super Saver - Medium 4 - 100% Acrylic - approx. three 7 oz/364 yds skein
• Color: 0360 Cafe - Worsted - Super Saver -Medium 4 - 100% Acrylic - approx. one-third 7 oz/364 yds skein
• Color: 0400 Dye Lot: 4593 Grey Heather - Worsted - Super Saver - Medium 4 - 100% Acrylic - approx. two 7 oz/364 yds skein
• Color: 4601 Off White -Worsted - Soft - Medium 4 - 100% Acrylic - less than one 5 oz/256 yds skein
• Color: 0385 Royal - Worsted - Super Saver - Medium 4 - 100% Acrylic - way less than one 7 oz/364 yds skein

Caron One Pound

• Color: 501 White - Worsted - 4 ply - 16 oz skein
• Color: 503 Black (I call it dark grey) - Worsted - 4 ply - 16 oz skein
• Color: 0589 Cream- Worsted - 4 ply - 16 oz skein

Unknown

• Color: Light Blue - Yarn my Mother let me use that was missing it's label (probably Red Heart) - 1 granny square worth of yarn

So ever since seeing this: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=314101.0
I have been searching for the perfect piece of pixel art to turn into a blanket. Today I found it! I'm not going to say what it is until it's finished, but I will post updates as the project comes along and you are free to take your guesses.

3/8/2011 Update:

I have the pattern complete in excel and have calculated the number of pixels/squares that I need to make. This project is going to take 922 squares! Yipes! That's at least twice the number of squares that were used to make the Raccoon Mario rug.

My next step is to decide on the square size. 3 inch squares will make the blanket 12.75 by 9.25 feet. 2 inch squares will make the blanket 8.5 by 6.1667 feet. Hopefully I'll be able to do a mock up of both square sizes tonight. If not, it will need to wait until after this weeks move. I'm off to pack some more boxes.

*Another update for today. So I was super excited about my pattern and mentioned to hubby that I had figured out what I was making for his blanket. He then asked me if he could see it and because I really, really wanted to show someone, it didn't take any convincing. So this is no longer a top secret project. So the subject of the blanket is Roxas from Kingdom Hearts. My pattern is an alteration of bead art done by Exodecai101 on deviantart.com.

3/14/2011
I was really excited to have finished the baby blanket I've been working on for quite some time. As a reward, I decided on the square size for this blanket. I'm going with 2.5" squares and completed 2 red ones today. My husband pointed out that it is now 2/10 of 1% complete [what a confidence boost :p].

I ended up doing one more square after hubby went to bed. This is the granny square pattern I am using:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDEoLWcEEvQ <-Video of how to make it http://crochet-mania-grannysquare.blogspot.com/ <- Written pattern It is a really easy pattern to follow and I only have to worry about counting on the inner part of the square. It only takes me two rows to get to the square size I want - so finishing a square is pretty quick.

3/15/2011 I managed to make 11 more red squares today while babysitting. Steven and Kandra were fascinated by the project. Kandra wanted to help. So I introduced her to finger crocheting and chain stitches. She did pretty well with the finger crochet, but had a really hard time holding the hook and yarn for the chain stitch. She finished off a line long enough to make a bracelet (with much assistance) and then asked if she could start making squares for Bevan's blanket. I don't think she realized that she needs to get the basics down before I can teach her things like a double crochet. She is one determined 5 year old.

3/16/2011
I finished my 20th red square today. Putting me at approx. 2.2% completion on this project and only 4 more red squares to go. I was pretty excited, and since I was already taking pictures of the blanket I finished Monday - I figured I could take a progress picture of this project as well. As you can see, I just couldn't take a normal picture.

"Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff. So let's go." - Riku [Kingdom Hearts]

3/28/2011
I completed 18 black squares today. A great tiny dent in the project. I also had finished the four remaining red squares a while back, but forgot to post about it. So I've more than doubled my completion percent, bringing it to 4.55%. Still a tiny percentage, but it's growing! Plus, I had a knitting/crochet night with Linda and we got to chat (about many things, but also about her little one (my first niece) due to arrive in June). We also enjoyed watching Ever After. It is so nice to have someone to watch 'chick flicks' with [with a few exceptions like: Princess Bride and a few chick flicks that also contain a ton of comedy - my husband won't go near them and trying to convince him otherwise is like trying to pull a tooth from a crocodile]. Now I have less than 200 black squares to go! Yay! Also, I'm really curious to see how many squares I can get from a skein.

"One who knows nothing can understand nothing." - Ansem [Kingdom Hearts]

4/1/2011
Yay! I finished my black skein! I've found that I can get 60 squares out of a skein. I was able to crochet 17 squares while role playing tonight. Tonight's game was a lot of fun - especially when the pilot's husband tried to sabotage her race.

"He's strong, he's kind. He's always there for you, and he's handsome to boot. He's perfect. Perfect. Perfectly infuriating! He makes me crazy." - Hades [Kingdom Hearts]

4/3/2011
Started in on my yellow skein today during a project meeting for the Spokantina. I managed to finish 22 squares - so I am making great progress. Now I'm at 11.5% completion!

"This girl is the culprit. There's no doubt about it. And the reason is... because I say so, that's why!" - The Queen of Hearts [Kingdom Hearts]

4/4/2011
I was able to finish 3 more yellow squares while babysitting today.

"Giving up already? C'mon, Sora, I thought you were stronger than that." - Riku [Kingdom Hearts]

4/11/2011
4 more yellow squares complete while hanging out with my sis-in-law. She is doing well and they have decided on the name of my niece-to-be. She worked on getting her slipper pattern organized and we had a wonderful chat. Hooray for girl nights!

"Don't worry. There will always be a door to the light." - King Mickey [Kingdom Hearts]

4/14/2011
Finished 16 yellow squares today. Making progress! :)

"Maybe... waiting isn't good enough." - Kairi [Kingdom Hearts II]

4/15/2011
Finished another 13 yellow squares today.

"My thoughts exactly! If you have a dream, don't wait. Act. " - Axel [Kingdom Hearts II]

4/16/2011
7 yellow squares today. Almost done with the first skein of yellow.

"Belle, I'd like you to stay... With me... Please?" - Beast [Kingdom Hearts II]

4/17/2011
6 yellow squares which finished of the skein. Then I did 4 blue squares.

"What's gonna happen to me now? Just tell me that. Nothing else really matters anymore. " - Roxas [Kingdom Hearts II]

4/20/2011
So, I've spent the last few days looking for my crochet hook with absolutely no luck. I had stuck the hook in a pocket with my earrings and then forgot about them. I checked the pocket, but they weren't there. I've retraced all my steps and still no sign of the earrings or hook. I'm sure I will find them eventually, but I finally caved and bought a new hook (thankfully, I had written the hook size on this page). (I'm still hoping I'll find the old one along with my favorite earrings!). When I came home from work I had found that Bevan had invited our good friend Joe over. So between my turn at videogames, eating, chatting, and watching TRON Legacy. I managed to get 10 gold squares done. Then I apparently fell asleep. Some hostess I make - falling asleep with company over. *sigh*

"Is that the best a User can do?" - MCP [Kingdom Hearts II]

4/21/2011
I was in a crocheting mood when I woke up. I managed to make 19 gold squares. So I am approx. 20.28% complete in square making for this project. Now I should probably get to the chores I still have left to do.

Edit: I ended up picking up the rest of my yarn after work (hooray for coupons). Then I ended up doing another 7 gold squares. I'm just over 21% complete. I've got 17 gold squares left to go.

Edit: I realized I only needed 4 more squares to hit 200 squares complete. So I did 4 more gold squares - only 13 gold ones left. 21.7% complete.

"There's no knowledge that has the power to change your fate." - DiZ [Kingdom Hearts II]

4/22/2011
Not much progress today. Just one gold square.

"Even if it doesn't, I wanna know. I have the right to know!" - Roxas [Kingdom Hearts II]

4/23/2011
Another slow day, but I doubled yesterday's progress.

"A Nobody doesn't have a right to know. Nor does it even have the right to *be*. " - DiZ [Kingdom Hearts II]

4/24/2011
I managed to get 23 squares done (the rest of my gold squares and 13 brown ones) during times when we were waiting to travel places and while Bevan drove. We had a lovely Easter. Church was nice. It was great to see family. Steven's response to his cow stuffed animal was priceless. We were in the middle of the egg hunt and I was following him around with his bag. He found his basket. Said "cow" grabbed the cow and hugged it close, cradling it while cooing. He then said "I'm done." and left everything and walked into the house with his cow. It was adorable.

"He was the only one I liked. He made me feel... like I had a heart." - Axel [Kingdom Hearts II]

7/11/2011

I have not updated my progress in ages. I HAVE PASSED THE HALF WAY MARK!!! I am sitting at 53.36% complete. I'm not sure how many squares I had done on which days. I know that I managed to do several during my sister's college graduation back in May. I've had several knitting nights with my sister-in-law in which more have gotten done and I finished another 20 or so yesterday. All in all - I am very excited to be over the half-way mark!

"Riku, you've been hanging out in the darkness too long. You gotta try to think positive." - Sora [Kingdom Hearts II]

1/15/2012

I find it fitting that I haven't updated this since passing the square halfway mark.  Somewhere in the months that have passed I have completed all my squares.  Saturday I crocheted 21 grey squares.  And yesterday, I completed my remaining 31 white squares.  All of my squares are done.  I just have several hundred that now need tails tucked.  I really wish I had tucked the tail as I went.  Oh well.  I am currently sitting on the floor in a pile of squares.  Slowly tucking tails and organizing them neatly by color in my ready to connect box.  I think I will be doing a whip stitch through the back stitch of each of them to connect them.  Today was spent doing a lot of research on granny square connecting.  I am so excited that this project is nearing completion.  As soon as I get all the tails tucked I will be putting this blanket together.  So excited!

"Maybe... waiting isn't good enough." - Kairi
"My thoughts exactly!  If you have a dream, don't wait.  Act." - Axel [Kingdom Hearts II]

1/18/2012

Here are some progress shots.  I even arranged the squares for the head to take a picture.  Progress is being made.

The box holds squares with tucked tails.  The popcorn tin is full of squares I still need to tuck in.

The squares draped over the edge are already connected.

Kaylee, my cute little craft inspector, at work.

Roxas head.

Can you see the hair and face?  So excited!

 "Only you could have made it this far in one piece, Roxas." - Saix {He's not in one piece yet, but he is getting there.}
"That's really getting old." - Sora

2/14/2012

I finished the head in time to give it to Bevan for Valentine's day.  It's huge!  I was hoping to have the entire thing done, but it is taking longer to connect all the squares than I thought it would.  Still, I'm excited to see it coming together!

"Be careful. He messes with your head..." - Cloud [Kingdom Hearts II]