Teeny Totoros

Yesterday I went to Yarndale and met up with a friend who pointed out I have been neglecting my blog recently (thanks for the kick up the butt Gwen!). There are good reasons for this (more about that in a later post) but I thought I would show off a little project of mine.

I love making teeny tiny toys. Quick to make and always cute, they sit around my craft room watching me as I work. I became a fan of Anna Hrachovec of Mochi Mochi Land for her wonderfully playful designs and first knitted her MochiMochi Snowmen that now hang on my christmas tree each year.

Mochi Mochi Snowmen

Mochi Snowman on tree

The sparkly white yarn was a Regia christmas special yarn that I purchased and use frequently for christmas projects such as snowflakes. These snowmen were so easy to make and fun to knit. They make great presents too.

I have also knitted a teeny armadillo who sits on the top of my computer and tuts occasionally at some of my maths when I am trying to figure out stitch numbers or spreadsheet formulas. He is also partial to a few stray biscuit crumbs.

Tiny Armadillo

He was knitted from King Cole Baby Alpaca and I love how the garter stitch forms his ridged shell and his little eyes peep out and nose. For a while my sister nicknamed me Armadillo because I love Dime (Daim as they are now known) bars and used to eat one daily. At the time there was a silly advert on tv for dime bars that featured an armadillo.

Recently I was at the Knitting and Crochet Guild annual meeting when I ran out of things to knit (!). So, I purchased some crochet thread (DMC Cebelia Cotton size 30) and some tiny (1mm and 0.6mm) hooks, downloaded a toy pattern and began trying to make a toy that was meant to be worked in DK weight yarn with a 3.5mm hook with a much thinner yarn and a tiny hook. The pattern is a free one on Ravelry by Lucy Ravenscar - White and blue small Totoro amigurumi.

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I made the white Totoro first with the 0.6mm hook. He came out at 4cm high and very cute. Working on such a small scale was quite tricky, particularly for the ears and joining them together. Good light is definitely needed!

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I then tried the blue Totoro using the 1mm hook.  He came out slightly bigger at 4.5cm and I love the extra details in his pattern. In the My Neighbour Totoro film the white Totoro is much smaller than the blue one so I really wanted a REALLY tiny white Totoro to match him. Using a smaller hook was not an option as I had no smaller thread to use so I made up my own pattern to create a very tiny 1cm white Totoro to be his friend.

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I started at the bottom (rather than with the ears in the pattern) and he is only 10 double crochet stitches round in his widest point! His ears I made by using a few stitches each and quickly decreasing. The sewing of his eyes was tricky because they were just so tiny. Blue Totoro now has his little friend :)

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I think I might keep these two forest friends in my car for good luck. The white one might be a present for my sister, also a Totoro fan.

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Working on these tiny projects taught me a few things about teeny crochet.

1. Choose a pattern carefully. Small things are harder to crochet than larger ones so think about the detail needed and pieces involved. Toys are perfect because the size does not matter as they do not need to 'fit'.
2. Toys with multiple small parts are harder than those with just a few pieces. Be careful to not choose something that has too many small parts already - they will be even smaller on a tiny project!
3. Good light is essential. These were made in summer when the light tends to be better but daylight bulbs will help in winter.
4. Crochet cotton is much easier than wool to work with as the threads are wound tight and do not 'split' as much when working with them and it does not shed as much making stitches easier to see.
5. Good quality crochet hooks are a must too. It is hard work on your hands when doing something this tiny. I used Clover Amour hooks that have a soft grip which helped.
6. Small things can take longer to make than larger ones. Whilst there was the same number of stitches in my projects as the pattern they were inspired by, the small size was harder to work and they took me longer to do than they would have done in DK weight yarn.
7. It is hard to mark beginnings of rounds. Totoro was crocheted in the round but I could not find a stitch marker small enough to mark the beginning of a round so some guesswork was needed.
8. Despite all of the above, teeny crochet is even cuter than its big brother and worth the effort!

I'm now planning other teeny knitting and crochet projects. I want to make one of my Cthulhu amigurumi's in a teeny size next as this pattern is very simple and should come out even smaller!

One last photo to show that they really are tiny - they are all smaller than an AA sized battery:

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Tunisian Crochet

Tunisian Crochet Samples

Tunisian crochet techniques was the theme of the February meeting of the local Knit and Crochet guild meeting. We had a short talk on the history of Tunisian crochet before learning how to do different stitches with the help of Fiona Mannifield. For those who have not seen it before, Tunisian crochet uses a crochet hook that has a very long handle and no hand grip. The stitches were all formed by picking up a row of stitches onto the hook and then casting them off. The different stitches are made by changing the way the stitches are picked up. It creates a very dense fabric that would be warm but use much more yarn than normal crochet.

My Tunisian crochet hook collection

I have 3 hooks in my collection, all of which I inherited. All the samples I made with the smallest hook (it appears to be a size 4mm - there is no marking on any of them to let me know) and Shilasdair organic cotton (100% cotton). For each sample I cast on 10 stitches so I could see the change in gauge with the different stitches. I also had an idea that  I could use these little squares as eco-friendly cleaner pads. I've made cotton pads before but I go through them so quickly that having a larger supply will be useful.

This first sample is the simple tunisian stitch. This creates a square stitch with a vertical loop. The stitches are apparently square so we saw examples from the guild collection of cushion covers in simple stitch with a cross stitch pattern embroidered onto it. It was the easiest of stitches and probably my favourite.

Simple Tunisian Stitch

Then we tried the knit stitch. This gives the appearance of knitting but feels much denser.

Knitting Tunisian Stitch

The next pattern was the crossed stitch. This was a little more tricky as the hook has to twist round to do the second stitch in each pair but gives a pretty pattern with little crosses between rows.

Crossed tunisian stitch

We then tried a variation on the crossed stitch - the biased crossed stitch. This alternates rows of crossed stitch with a row of 1 simple stitch, crossed stitch to 1 stitch before end and then 1 simple stitch. This gives a diagonal line across the fabric.

Biased Tunisian Stitch

Finally I was shown the purl stitch which was a little tricky to get the hang of to begin with as the hook goes into the vertical bar back to front but it does create a purl 'bump' on the fabric and repeating this gives the look of reverse stocking stitch.

Purl Tunisian stitch

Feeling 'hooked' on Tunisian crochet (pun intended) and now rather confident with my new Tunisian crochet skills I then tackled a couple of stitch patterns in a stitch dictionary I own. The first was a Tunisian stitch double which involved making a simple stitch and then doing a double crochet (single if in US) after each stitch was made. This made a slightly less thick fabric that has almost a woven appearance.

Tunisian stitch double

Finally I tried the plain Tunisian stitch. This was a very easy stitch and felt more like crochet but it gives lots of vertical bars.

Plain Tunisian stitch

I'm now looking at easy patterns on Ravelry that I might give a try. I've found this Generic Tunisian Crocheted Computer Sleeve that looks quite cool, but does mean I now need to learn to use multiple colours and manage it in the round. Perhaps a bit more practice is needed.

First Ravellenics Project

Last friday saw the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. I'm a big fan of the winter olympics and always get caught up in the excitement of the events and wish I could be there cheering on Team GB.  This years olympics has many serious human rights issues that deserve just as much attention as the event itself and I have joined in with Ravellenics (a Ravelry event that takes place at the same time as the olympics) in support of those who are affected by these issues. The LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community in Russia are currently subject to terrifying levels of persecution, discrimination and abuse. It needs to stop. Now.

My first Ravellenics project is Slalom Slipstream socks. This pattern has intrigued me for a while and been sitting in my queue, just waiting for a time where I can knit for myself.

The pattern is Slipstream by Stephanie McIntosh. It features slip stitch cables and mock cables that wind around the ankle and foot in a very pleasing way.

I cast these on at the start of the opening ceremony and I finished them on friday evening - so just over a week which is probably a record for me. I rarely get so much tv time to just sit and knit and I have enjoyed being able to concentrate on just one project for me.

I'm so pleased with how they have turned out. I had a couple of issues with the charts (partly because I was not observant enough to notice that the charts are listed in the opposite order to the pattern instructions) and because there are a few mistakes, but overall these are great socks and look fabulous.

The yarn is Bouncy Extra by Laal Bear in colourway Virginia Stocks. I chose it for its rainbow colours (as support for LGBT issues) and because this pattern just lends itself to multicoloured yarn. The slip stitch cables show off the colours really well. It has been in my stash for a while and I'm pleased I found such a good project for it.

My ravelry project page can be found here: Slalom Slipstream.

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My next project, cast on already is going to be a super chunky sweater so hopefully I can get it done, I have just over a week to complete it. It's a good excuse to stay in out of the terrible weather we are having at the moment, watch the olympics and knit!

Handmade Home

I like to think I am a little bit green. Well, not personally, although I do occasionally have hulk-like tantrums, but green as in environmentally friendly. I also think my house is much prettier with lots of handmade things in every room, such as the bed throw I finished recently. In the aim of creating less waste and making life prettier, I have been crafting a few things for the house. It has also been a great way to use up some scraps of cotton that have been sitting in my craft room for far too long.

First I crocheted this scrubby:

Spiral Scrubbie

This was a great little pattern by Judith Prindle called Spiral Scrubbie and it is free to download. I used some Debbie Bliss eco aran cotton which is probably a little bit expensive for this type of project, but it looks lovely and works well.

Next I crocheted some make-up remover pads in the shapes of flowers:

Flower Power Make up remover pads

There is no pattern page for this one so I shall give my instructions here. The instructions are in British crochet terms with the US equivalents given in brackets:

Row 1 - Magic loop, chain 2, tbl (US dc) x 12 into loop, sl st to close & pull tight. (12 st) Row 2 - chain 3, tbl (US dc) in first stitch, 2 tbl (US dc) in all st, sl st to close (24 st) Row 3 - *dc, 2 tbl (US sc, 2dc) in next st, 2tbl, dc (US 2dc, sc) in next st, sl st into next st, repeat from * to end, sl st to close

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Very quick and easy, I made all 10 in less than an hour. I used Twilleys of Stamford Freedom Sincere Organic Cotton DK which I really love. The pattern idea came from friends on Ravelry which I then modified to make the petals more pleasing.

So there we go, some pretty and useful new handmade home things in my bathroom.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this apple though..... a decoration for my underused fruit bowl?

An Apple a Day.....

Rocky and the Crochet Throw

Nearly 2 and a half years ago my Dad and his wife got a greyhound (called Rocky, the poor thing) from a greyhound rescue centre. Greyhounds seem to have a design flaw for living in the UK in that they struggle to keep warm in the winter. So, I decided to crochet a blanket for the poor little thing (he actually is very spoilt).

Baa Ram Ewe, my great local yarn store, had not long opened so I treated myself to a few hours browsing yarn and choosing something for the dog. I found some Wendy Mode Chunky in some bright colours and set about crocheting the blanket.

The blanket was taken to knit night and everyone commented on how lovely it was and were very surprised when they found out it was for a dog - it was far too nice!

Blanket in progress

When it reached about 15" it became apparent that this was not going to work for Rocky. It was very large and very heavy and would likely drown him as he is a rather fragile dog.

So I went out and purchased some Sirdar Supersoft Aran to make the dog blanket in which worked much better. The blanket was much lighter and the colours were far more manly for a dog that is really rather fussy.

Rocky with his blanket

Doesn't he look handsome?

Rocky posing with blanket

So what to do with the previous blanket? Well, it turned out to be just the right width for a throw for a  double bed, so I purchased more colours of the Wendy Mode Chunky and carried on crocheting. And then it got put away as my startitis casted on for new projects.

It remained in a cupboard for over a year......

Occasionally it came out, most often in winter when it was perfect for being able to snuggle under whilst crocheting along the top in my cold house. It felt like it would never end.

Snuggling under whilst crocheting

This week, I decided that I was very cold and got it out again, and I have finally finished it! It is now keeping my feet warm in bed and looks nice and bright and cheerful in my bedroom.

I might have to start another blanket now to keep me warm while I am crafting in front of the tv.....

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Finished Colours

Meeting Erika Knight

On thursday I was lucky enough to go to the Baa Ram Ewe new season launch - something I always try to attend as not only do they have yarn on sale and a discount on the new season yarns, but they also always have a famous designer come and give a presentation. I have met so many of my designer heroes at these events, I always leave feeling like a groupy! This time it was Erika Knight who has been in the knitting & crochet industry for many years and is one of the all time greats. Her knits are very textural and often easy to knit. I love the crochet bag she is showing off here, and the fun furry waistcoat!

Erika Knight Designs

Erika was fantastic to meet. Her new range of yarns are beautiful and she gave a great history of her involvement in yarn and fashion, funny and very down to earth too. I would love to eventually end up as popular as she is, something to aim for!

Erika Knight

She was very inspiring to talk to. She wants crafting to become Crafting - something that should be recognised for the amount of work and skill involved. Something I also feel passionate about. It was a great evening.

Sorry about the terrible photos - it was rather dark inside!

In other news, I have decided to join the madness that is the Beekeepers Quilt. The hexipuff madness has begun! I don't know how many I will need to knit yet as I have not decided what I want to eventually make. They are really rather addictive though. Thursday I just had one....... today I have 5! I will probably need several hundred so this is a long term project. Who knows, maybe in 2020 I will have a hexipuff blanket for the bed!

Hexipuff

Yarnstorming Yorkshire begins with Flip & Flop

Meet Flipperty (Flip to his friends - the little owl on the right) and Flopperty (Flop to his friends - the little owl on the left).

They have been taking part in my first attempt at yarnstorming at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park today. Why yarnstorm? Well it adds fun and creativity to public places and hopefully brings a smile to peoples faces.

 Yarnstorming is happening all over the place and I was inspired to join in the fun after watching DeadlyKnitShade on the BBC news, seeing friends across the pond do wonderful things with hearts and learning about Knit The City, the city being London.

Since Yorkshire is the home of yarn with its dark satanic mills and sheep covered hills, I decided to bring a little yarnstorming joy to the north as well.

Why owls? Well, I like them. Owls are cute yet full of wisdom. The YSP uses them as a symbol on their bags and products. They also look like they might know what the sculptures are really trying to tell us.

So, I made Flip and Flop to start the yarnstorm of Yorkshire. They are not from my pattern, it is a free one called Owl Puffs (available here) and is cute and quick to knit up.

It was one of those gorgeous winter days in February. The sun was shining, the leaves in the shade were covered in frost but the snowdrops were blooming in the sun and the YSP looked beautiful.

One of my favourite installations at YSP is the Barbara Hepworth The Family of Man. It is elegant and looks amazing in the natural surroundings.

Flip and Flop thought they were funny sorts of trees, a little hard and cold but great holes for building a nest in and sheltering from the weather.

It was harder to say goodbye to these little critters than I thought it would be. I was full of excitement about the yarnstorm and created them with this in mind. I spent quite a while deciding on where they would look best and wondering how long they would stay there, and what new adventures they would have if someone took them.

And then the sun started setting and it was time to go. It was hard to leave them behind. I hope they are ok. It looks very cold and dark out there. Good luck little friends, I hope you bring a smile to many people and are taken home by someone nice.