mostly ideas

I haven't really progressed much with my zettified art doll... actually, I haven't done any further crochet at all!

but I have been having lots of ideas

I have sketched out the face, and have plans for the hat and some other additional features

so I'm excited to get some more work done on her, now that I have some direction

sure looks strange to me

sing along with me...

well I saw this thing comin' out of the sky

it had one long horn, one big eye

I commenced to shakin' and I said "oohhh-eeee"

it looks like a purple people eater to me



the vibrant purple didn't photograph as well as I'd hoped... but he was fun to make!

zettified art stuffs

you're looking at the basic building blocks of my current swap project at silly string

once again, I am entering uncharted waters with this one!

the plan is that we take our inspiration from the art work of teesha moore, and then design a 'doll' which will be personally significant to our swap partner... it must be at least 50% crocheted, and include stripes, a hat and a quotation

I've reviewed teesha moore's art, and focussed on the elements that stand out to me... the combination of bright colours and black and white stripes, the facial features have a very realistic quality to them (like a photograph from the 1920s) the eyes are wide set and large, and the mouth is very small by comparison... and there is often a quote, or a set of words on the body

I've also been stalking my swap partner, messy... so I can incorporate characteristics which will be significant to her! I will be including four elements in her doll... her love of cats, fire trucks, days of our lives, and the colour green

wish me luck, and let's see where this project takes me...

hearts galore

made to hang in my daughter's room... five stuffed felted hearts, spelling out her name

worked in reclaimed yarns, and adorned with the beads from one of her (many) broken bracelets!

not my design, but if you're interested you can find the pattern for the hearts here

silly string

if you love your crochet, and are looking to challenge yourself to create something slightly unusual... come and join us over at ravelry in the silly string group

there is an abundance of bizarre challenges, swaps and dares... check them out

one of the february challenges was to create a human ear

at first it didn't appeal to me at all... it's not that I don't like ears - in fact, they are incredibly useful appendages! but I wasn't inspired to work on one

then I started thinking about that scientific breakthrough a few years back... where they were able to grow a human ear on the back of a mouse

it led to this little guy… a mouse with two human ears!

as I was working on him, I had a bit of a giggle about him being the opposite of a ‘mouseketeer’…

instead of a human wearing mouse ears, we have a mouse wearing human ears

I’m easily amused :)

standstill

desmond the lion now has a head full of features, but I have come to a standstill with the remainder of this toy

I've tried many variations for the body... but none that I'm super pleased with!

so desmond is going into hibernation for a little while, until I can look at him with fresh eyes

leftover love

I must still be feeling the after-effects of valentines day... and have hearts on the brain!

this bag is based on my 'little miss two' pattern, with a few modifications

as always, I have worked with reclaimed yarns... this time a pink wool and a purple ribbon yarn

throughout the body of the bag, I turned my work at the end of each round... which gives the bag a slightly different texture

I also used a different type of embellishment... I cut a heart from the scraps of a felted jumper... and then worked a sc, 2ch border around the edge, and attached it to the front of the bag

my daughter loves it... pink and purple are her favourite colours... and you can never go wrong with hearts

what do you do, when you're down with the flu?

48 hours worth of head spins and cold sweats...

and yet somewhere in amongst it all, I was desperate to get my hands on some crafting!

not that I was actually capable of sitting upright without support... but these things can be done in any position...

at least I was wise enough not to 'work' on any of my current projects... because my brilliant ideas when I am sick or over-tired, are not always so genius in the cold hard light of day

so I stayed away from wips... and took my inspiration from my pyjamas

(let's face it... I've been in them for a couple of days straight now)

I started on a pyjama bag - yes, a bag knit from pyjamas and other such flannelette goodies

(just realised I have no idea how to spell flannelette... and the more times I try... the more ridiculous the word seems to be)

I suspect I am still under a bit of a flu stupor, so I will leave you with a sneak peek at this latest project... and will decide in a couple of days whether it is a 'keeper' or not



man, I hope I didn't cut up any of my good jammies!

I had a perm exactly like this...

I had a perm exactly like this... back in the early eighties! what a flashback :)

I've been working on designing a knitted lion, but I'm struggling to get 'in the zone' with it

so yesterday I put down the needles, and picked up my crochet hook instead...

meet desmond the lion (or part thereof)

he has an unfortunate eighties perm, but who am I to judge? been there, done that!

his mane is so soft and cuddly... and I'm loving the almost heart-shaped wooden bead, which I am contemplating for the nose

he's actually much larger than I anticipated... so he will be huge by the time I add a body

oh well... he is the king of the jungle!

embellishments

when it comes to my crafting, I am really focussed on using reclaimed and recycled materials... and this extends to include the embellishments as well

I love embellishments... they are that extra touch that you add to a project to really make it stand out from the rest... your embellishment can make even the simplest item seem super-fancy, and will give real character and personality to your work

but choosing the embellishment can be hard...

sometimes I will let a project hibernate for a while after it is finished, because I feel that it needs something more... but I just can't figure out what to add, that will really enhance the appeal... it's worth the wait

I've decided to try looking at designing from a different angle... change it all around and start with the embellishment, and let that dictate the project

so I'm letting myself make some impulse purchases... to allow myself to buy an item just because I love it... but with no real plan in mind...

let the inspiration come later!

we're not talking big bucks here... not even close

and nothing new either... it's op-shopping all the way

so this is my first purchase: a pair of small wooden clogs - paid $1

who knows what they will become a part of? perhaps they will adorn a handbag, I don't know yet

I'm open to suggestions if you have any!

I think I'm in lurve...

this has been so much fun!

I wasn't sure about it all when I first signed up. I haven't worked at anything remotely like this before, but I wanted to challenge myself... and push myself out of my comfort zone. I was really nervous in the beginning, especially when some of the sketches were being submitted... I really thought I had gotten in way out of my depth. But I stuck with it... and I am so pleased that I did.

which just goes to prove... you don't truly know what you are capable of until you try



so here he is... chi-kore

made entirely from reclaimed yarns, even his button eyes were once adorning a knitted garment

the wings were made from a felted aran jumper, and I highlighted the cabling pattern by using marker pens... to give that extra dimension

he's cute and cuddly... and I am not the only one around here who loves him!

not far to go...

I'm seriously loving this challenge!

we now have a head and a body and feet... all that's left to do is add some wings and attach the head

I ended up doing the bendy straw thing for the ears... so they can be moved into a number of different positions, which actually give him a variety of emotions... and almost make him seem real!

gotta start somewhere...

When it comes to creating characters, it's all about the face and head for me... that's the most interesting and fun part to work on, and it's where the creature really comes to life.

So with a project like this... I have to start with the face... otherwise I am lost!



I only 'do' cute. It's what I love, and anything else feels wrong. I also love odd, unusual and eccentric... but there has to be a good dose of cuteness thrown into the mix too.

I'm happy with chi-kore so far. Just having a think about how to attach his ears. I'd like them to be on a flexible stem of some kind, so they can move around a bit. Crochet covered pipe cleaners would do the job, but I'd rather avoid using wire in him. I might use the top of a bendy drinking straw, and crochet around that instead... but I'm open to other ideas if you have any.

Loving the colours so far... except the pink might have been an unfortunate choice for the nostrils. Am I the only one who thinks they look more like nipples????

teddies

I love Jean Greenhowe's toy designs... the attention to detail in them is magnificent! The only down side, is that there are so many tiny little knitted pieces - so the seaming and assembly take forever.

I'm working at designing my own range of knitted and crochet toys, just as adorable as hers... but minus the nightmare seaming process.

Because the problem is... you knit all the pieces, and then bail when the time comes for sewing. You end up with a bag full of appendages, which you know will look magnificent when completed - but it's all too hard.

I have a bag of teddy bits that has been lying around for years. They were worked from Jean's Traditional Favourites pattern book. I'm committed to bringing them to life this week. Well, five of them anyway!

Number One is done, and I will send it with Megan's Hat to cheer her up.

hats off

I almost forgot to make this hat!

Honestly... I really need to start writing things down...

I heard an online friend talking about a 'hat drive' she was organising for a six year old girl named Megan. Megan is suffering from leukemia and soon to commence chemotherapy. My heart went out to her, and I offered to make a hat for the gift basket which is being assembled.

So here is my contribution for Megan...



I plied together the reclaimed cotton from four different garments, to create this aran weight multi-coloured yarn. Being cotton, it shouldn't irritate her sensitive scalp. It is worked on 5.5mm circular needles... so there are no seams, which is also a bonus for sensitive skin.

It's made from a very simple hat pattern formula.

I cast on 60 stitches, worked in stockingette for seven inches and then began my shaping...

k8, k2tog to end... 54 stitches remain
k7, k2tog to end... 48 stitches remain
k6, k2tog to end... 42 stitches remain
k5, k2tog to end... 36 stitches remain
k4, k2tog to end... 30 stitches remain
k3, k2tog to end... 24 stitches remain
k2, k2tog to end... 18 stitches remain
k1, k2tog to end... 12 stitches remain
k2tog to end... 6 stitches remain

fasten off

I still don't particularly like working on circular needles... but the no seaming is fabulous!