Carlito is crafting

We have to start with knitting because that was my first major crafting passion!

I taught myself to knit with a VHS tape I got for Christmas when I was 12 and taught myself how to make fun stuff on my own! In high school I started taking requests from friends and started making things for people which really helped me develop my skills! I've sold things on Etsy before as well and may go back to that at some point if time allows, because I really do enjoy making things for people and I love custom requests!!

Scarves
I've made a LOT of scarves in my life. Here are a few cute ones I've done!!

From high school, custom request, I created the pattern:


Both of these were from college, I created both patterns, and they were both experiments. I've made a lot of Harry Potter related scarves, and these were variations of a traditional Gryffindor scarf.

When I was taking requests in high school, I became known for my stuffed animals and my novelty hats (just wait). I LOVE making stuffed animals!!

Stuffed animals, part 1

(all from high school so the picture quality isn't the best....)

Not my pattern:
(the person that requested this also had me make them a scarf, and their scarf matched the lamb's scarf)


Not my pattern:
(I've made several of these in different colors/sizes!)


I wrote the pattern:

Stuffed animals, part 2

still all from high school
I think I wrote all of these patterns, too.
The snake was fun because I put pipe cleaners in it so it could bend like a snake

Stuffed animals, part 3

still in high school
and I think I wrote these patterns too



don't honestly remember who wanted me to make them an ant, but here we are lol


someone wanted me to make the character from the video game Little Big Planet, only in pink

Stuffed animals, part 4

the duck was high school, and I think the other two were college (guys I brought ALLLL of my yarn and needles and everything with me to college)

not my pattern


not my pattern


I wrote the pattern

Stuffed animals, part 5

both of these were college

not my pattern


I wrote the pattern

Let's move on to hats! I also LOVE making hats, and they're probably my favorite thing to knit. After learning the basics with scarves, hats were my next big knitting adventure. I got a bit... experimental in high school with my novelty hats (worth the wait I promise). And when I was selling things on Etsy a few years ago, I focused on hats!

Normal hats, part 1

All three of these were requests in college I think, I wrote all of the patterns.
There was a period were I was doing a lot of sports team related hats!
I have also made a LOTTTTT of Harry Potter related knitted wear, and this is a variation of a typical Gryffindor hat.

featuring: Clarice the hat model

Post grad school! (all my patterns)
Examples of the types of hats I was selling on Etsy

Post grad school
Custom requests, all my patterns

Before we get into novelty hats, let's dip our toes into some of the novelty things I made. So I have a DEEP love and admiration for the singer Christina Perri. She was a gamechanger for me in 2011/2012 and I have been high-key obsessed since 2011.

In 2011, after her first album came out, she wanted to make a fan lyric video for her song "Distance". The first x number of people to respond to the call got to be part of it. I was one of those people. I was given the word "I" and had to create that word and send it back to them. Naturally, I knitted it.

This is my "I":


And you can see it in this video (and it will never not be cool to me)
Time stamps:
:18, :47, 2:06, 3:01

And then! I went to a Christina Perri concert in 2012 when she was touring her first album and met her in a meet and greet. (When I tell you I truly could not speak when I saw her and she gave me the nicest hug). Cannot emphasize enough how much I LOVE her.

Her favorite animal is the penguin. Us fans are called penguins. Penguins are a whole thing.

So I made her a penguin hat and I gave it to her at the meet and greet.
You guys she loved it. She wore it in our picture together. SHE POSTED A PICTURE OF HERSELF WEARING IT ON HER INSTAGRAM THE NEXT DAY. And it has shown up on her Instagram MANYYYYYYYYYY times since then and it makes me scream and cry every single time.

On Clarice the hat model


College Carlito before the concert in my Christina Perri shirt
(album was lovestrong and she designed these shirts with to write love on her arms)


Her Instagram the next day 😭😭

Novelty hats

As people kept requesting things in high school, the requests started to get more and more creative and I ADAPTED. I was known for my stuffed animals. I was KNOWN for my novelty hats.

We started with a series of Mario related hats. I believe my first ever novelty hat was chain chomp and there was a pattern already for this.



Then, someone wanted a bomb omb hat, and I made this (my pattern)

Novelty hats, part 2

Continuing with the Mario theme, after bomb omb, someone wanted the piranha plant, so I made this (my pattern)



And then, one of my favorite things I've ever made - the Yoshi hat
(my pattern)

Novelty hats, part 3

This was in college, but continuing the Mario theme, Mallow as a hat. This one was so challenging!!
(my pattern)



Back to high school now, boota was requested, and I made this (my pattern)