Sam the Unicorn

Ahhhhhh... a finished project!

It's been such a horrendously long time since I've seen a project through to completion,

 I'd almost forgotten about this blissful sense of satisfaction.

I can't stop ADMIRING him

Isn't he glorious?

Really and truly glorious... I'm absolutely smitten by him.

(pattern here)

I had a really hard time choosing the yarn for his scarf. 

Everything I tried just looked BLEARGHHHH

But I love the way these oranges POP...

and the ever so slight FIERY sensation

As for the hair colours... they remind me a great deal

 of this hair style which my Master Seventeen had a little while back:

I found my blog!

 

Somehow I managed to lose my blog...

I could read it, but I couldn't access it to edit!

and I was wanting to show you this Little Guy...

or the beginnings of him, at least.

As you can see, I'm still obsessed with this pattern:

Twinkle Toes the Unicorn by Alison North

- Stay tuned to see how he turns out -

Three Bags Full...

I am so spoiled by my WONDERFUL friends!

Just the other day, the fabulous Leah brought me over not three but FOUR giant garbage bags of crafting supplies. She's having a huge de-clutter at her place... so it's a win-win situation. Leah clears out her clutter, and I have new toys to play with.

Three bags are full of fabric. Mostly upholstery samples. There's so much rich texture in there, that my mind can hardly keep up with all the ideas flowing in... I'm dreaming of owls and unicorns, magic carpets and scrappy cushions. And did you ever play with those bean bag frogs when you were a kid? I'm dreaming of them too... Frogs with crazy eyes!

Then there's a giant bag of ribbon and braids. And when I say a giant bag, I'm not kidding. We're talking about those great big garbage bags!! Probably more than I will ever use in a lifetime. There's lace.. and silk.. and organza... and a whole bunch of other ribbons that I don't even know how to describe. 

I'm desperate to rip into it all and sort and play to my hearts content, but for now I'm being very reserved. Life is keeping me very busy, and I know that I need uninterrupted time for this one...

But one day soon I'll empty out those bags and create a Mountain of Possibility.

Maybe next week? The kids are on holidays, and this is one of those fun things we can do together. I just know that they'll have a million suggestions for what we can make - and that's ALWAYS a good thing. I love the perspective they bring to these activities. Nothing is impossible when you see it through their eyes!

Finished Teddy!

I know that I'm biased - but how gorgeous is this little guy???

By the time I finish working on one of my toys, I have grown so attached to them... After all, I've watched them develop and come to life. I've worked every stitch of their existence. I've tweaked and turned and moulded them just right. Surely it would be strange NOT to feel some kind of attachment to them?

As you know by now, I usually I work from my own patterns... but I can't claim any credit for this one. I've raved about Jean Greenhowe many times before on this blog, but just in case you missed those earlier posts - you should know that I LOVE HER! Here is her website. I cannot recommend her patterns highly enough.

For those of you have been messaging me for more details about this project, the pattern is from this booklet here. It is not available online, nor is it free. But it is EXCELLENT! I have made every single project in the booklet - over and over again. It is my dream that one day my patterns will be as popular and as renowned as Jean's.

As for the yarn, this one was not one of my recycled gems. I've used Rainbow by Patons which is available locally at Lincraft stores. It's an 8 ply acrylic, soft and not at all splitty to knit with. This colourway is called "Rainforest" and as always, it was fun to watch the colours change with the variegated yarn.

Actually, it's inspiring me to try my hand at dyeing my own yarns...

Properly this time. Not just with the food dyes.

Not that there's anything wrong with that method. I've had lots of fun with it. I just want to step it up a level...

Now if only there were enough hours in the day for me to try my hand at EVERYTHING that takes my fancy.

And More...

There were a couple of other goodies in that parcel which arrived from Loren the other day.

Firstly this gorgeous angel card... made from her own photo... of her own creations!

The angel wings are recycled pull-tops from a can, with crochet around them.

So clever.

Then there was a surprise for my other daughter, Little Miss Katie.

This fabulous applique butterfly - which Katie is thinking about using on a necklace...

Or a wrist band...

Or pinning as a brooch...

Or embellishing a hat with...

Or a bag...

Okay - so she doesn't really know what the plan is yet - but she will get there!

The other surprise was the leftover yarn from Charlie's little top, with the suggestion that I could use it to make a matching headband with...

A brilliant idea!

And I've already started:

 

And some adorable tagua nut buttons, too...

Surprise!

I got the most lovely surprise in the mail yesterday,

all the way from the other side of the world...

From someone I've never actually met - but feel like I know so well!

If you're a member over on my Ravelry group, then you probably know my friend and moderator Loren (aka Twisted1)

Well, she sent the most adorable little top for My Charlie...

(who was being the Queen Of Uncooperative, and refusing to pose nicely for a photo)

And now she sits still!

Mothers Day Surprise

I don't often talk about my eldest child here on the blog...

He's a Teenage Boy - what funny little creatures they can be!

But I really wanted to share the gift he made me for Mothers Day this year.

I reckon its Pretty Damn Awesome for a 13 year old...

He made it in Woodworking Class at school. 

The instructions were for a simple hinged box, with everything sitting squarely...

But "My Boy" wanted his to look a little different - so he implemented that fabulous curve.

I love that he has a burning need to do things differently than the norm.

Even if it does drive me INSANE at times...

The only 2 ply lace scarf I will ever make!

I can't imagine that I will ever crochet another 2 ply lace scarf...

The stitches are wonderfully delicate... and I love the way they look...

But they're a little bit too "fly away" if you know what I mean...

It's as though there's not enough weight in the scarf to allow it to drape...

But it does look gorgeous...

BUT it was pretty fiddly to make...

So...

NO!

Not again.

Laceweight Ziggy

Yes. 

I'm obsessed with "The Zigmeister".

It's yet another Ziggy Lace Scarf.

This time it's a LACE WEIGHT yarn... 

That's a 2 ply yarn...

And Yes. It IS a Christmas gift! Hopefully.

It's surprisingly fiddly. 

Somewhere in my naive mind, I thought that a 2 ply yarn worked on a 4.0 mm hook would actually work up quite quickly - but I couldn't have been more wrong...

This is really, really slow work!

It Blocked Beautifully...

How about that?




The Ziggy Lace Scarf blocked up beautifully - and is now the perfect length - YIPPEE!



I do need to organize some blocking wires for myself though...

Is it too late to send a letter to Santa?

I fiddled about and used a bunch of straight knitting needles - but it really wasn't ideal...

And just to refresh your memory about how the stitches looked BEFORE blocking:



And here they are AFTER:



Pretty cool, huh?

Moving On.

Working my way through the Christmas list...

Checking off item number one - the snails are done!

Item number two is the red Ziggy Lace Scarf.

Free online pattern available here.

I'd have liked to make it a few inches longer, but I ran out of yarn. 

So I'm hoping to be able to add a little to the length during the blocking process.

The scarf is off having a quick soak, then I'll pin her out for a bit of a stretch.

Really looking forward to seeing how the lace blocks up.

Here's a before shot of the stitch pattern for you:

Snail Buddies.

Finished.

And they're going to be SO hard to give away...

Honestly. I have to stop getting so attached to my creatures.

I ended up ditching the wire in the antennae which I was talking about here.

It just kept poking out in all the wrong places - so I was really unhappy with it.

So I used some glue instead.

How exactly? Well, I just wet my fingers... Put a dot of PVA glue on my fingertip... Then worked it into the stem of the antennae... Positioned it the way I wanted, then left it to dry overnight...

Oh and I added some texta. The spiral shape of the shell wasn't as pronounced as I wanted it to be, so I used a medium tip black Sharpie pen to draw it in a bit. Just go lightly if you're trying this. You can always go darker if you need to.

Just a reminder that the pattern is HERE if you are interested.

Or if you're a Ravelry member, check out all the cute and coulourful snails which have been made HERE.

One and a Half Snails.

I've been plodding away very slowly at that To Do List of mine...



The first snail is finished... and the second is nearly done. The crochet is complete, but he still needs his shell attached and stuffed, then his eyes stitched into place and a little bit of wire threaded into his antennae:



If you're interested in the pattern, you can find it here. If you're not already a member over at the Lion Brand site then you might find that you need to sign up in order to view their patterns.



I wanted to add some interest to the shells but I didn't have a variegated yarn. So I've used three strands of sewing cotton held together with the yarn when I did the crochet. There's a dark brown, medium brown and beige. I love the way they add some interest to the shell which would otherwise look pretty bland.



I've also made use of some recycled copper wire. Just threaded it into each antennae. It means you can position them as you fancy - and they stay in place. Obviously you wouldn't include the wire if you were making a child's toy. Or the little beads for that matter.



Meanwhile - I need to stop crawling along at a SNAIL'S PACE... and get these gifts finished!