UFO vs WIP

This long weekend (ANZAC Day) I am going to tackle some of my UFOs. They have been lurking in zip lock bags at the bottom of my WIP bag.

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I have been a tad bad...I have started a new project before finishing Sheepish. My poor eyes needed a break from 3 strands of black cotton!! And so begins "Udderly Mooverlous" Hopefully pics soon. As if life wasn't busy enough the "old Geiser" - the hot water variety - needs replacing, so crafting will have to take a back seat...

Frustrated

Well it has been two weeks and I still haven't had a chance to finish my sheep! It is driving me crazy!!! A combination of looking after the kids, working with black (which is very hard to see, especially with tired eyes at night, and doing two at once (to make sure pattern is correct) has meant my poor little one is taking FOREVER! So I guess less moaning, more crocheting!

Anyway, here is a preview of Sheepish Shaun. He still needs another arm and leg, and a tail. Not sure whether to put a top knot on his head. Will have to make one and see what it looks like

Sheepish

I am busily making a sheep -a part of my farmyard series (cow to follow). I have discovered 2 things: crocheting with 3 strand cotton and a 1mm hook (US size 10) gives one very sore fingers; and that black is a nightmare to work with! More fool me for wanting to work in minature. Hopefully I will soon have my very own "Shaun the Sheep" ...

Pulled in too many direction

So many ideas,  so little time!! To sleep or to crochet?? Been working on lamb for three days now! Isnt there a bubble somewhere where time ceases to exist?

Henny Penny

Hoorah, Henny Penny is finished. Now for those experienced in the craft, this project would have taken an hour or so. But for me it is quite an achievement to complete it in a day and a bit (sooner if I hadn't run out of materials). The children helped: by leaving me be for long enough to get it done! So now I want to try make a series of similar shaped critters: a frog, a sheep...? We will see. What is in my minds eye does not always translate to the 3D form.

Download pattern (pdf) here

Just a little chicken

I am so excited. I have just got two new books on amigurumi from the library! The whole concept of recently published books being available from our library is so novel, I am still buzzing! Wow!

I have started to fiddle with a hen, gaining so much inspiration from
Crochet Animals by Annie Obaachan (I feel like a big sponge at the moment).The shape of the hen is a basic egg shape. The comb is a chain of shells -inspired by Annie's Lion's Mane.And the wings are from her penguin. I love the wings...shape without bulk (tried cone but too bulky for such a small
item).

So my little hen is now awaiting feet and eyes, but sadly have run out of the yellow thread I used for her beak, so a trip to the shops is in order...

Kangaroo

After making the hatchlings, I started making a cat from a book I had recently purchased (Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts! Amigurumi). Typically, while my hands were busy, my mind was buzzing. I was thinking about ideas for Mother's day and suddenly I knew I wanted to make a kangaroo. So the cat was relegated to a bag and I began the search for a pattern.

I guess if I am known for one thing, it is saying, "oh I love that pattern, I have to make it. Except I would change..." and from there the tweaking and adaptation starts...In this case I couldn't find a complete pattern that I was happy with, so bits came from here, and there, and bits were tweaked and then I ran into a problem. I wanted a particular type of back leg, but couldn't understand the pattern. So now I have to thank a wonderful lady: June from PlanetJune. I sent an email asking her for help, thinking that she would send me a site with a tutorial. Instead she crocheted a section for me and sent me some photos. Once I knew what the section was supposed to look like, I could fiddle until mine looked the same. A BIG thank you.

And so here she is, "my little kangaroo."


She stands about 7.5cm (3 inches) from head to base (not including ears). I used 3 ply acrylic baby wool and a size 2mm needle. The pouch is corduroy. I used 4mm onyx beads for the eyes.

My little mama needed a baby. So using 3 strand embroidery cotton and size 1 mm needle, the joey was born.