Pear Boy brooch

Just to make sure that anything can become kawaii with a few details.. Sometimes, a pear is the best thing one can make at 5 a.m.

geometrical clutch

Work is hectic these weeks. My lunchtime (read, happy hour) usually shortens to 15 minutes, evenings are filled with cooking, summer reading and all, so, I feel like an addict who cannot satisfy their needs.

However, after the fingerless gloves I managed to finish another project in 2 versions, the full-size one and a small one. The bigger clutch needs lining and zipping, the smaller one got a snap button and functions well. The WWRP made me refocus and, even though, I still prefer my little babies, I started considering a collection of bags. The early bird is out, the two others are on their way. The afghans are put on hold because it's too hot for them. And I've finally chosen the pattern for the upcoming dress. Well, taking into account the speed of my writing and editing, it's going to take a couple of months or more (yep, Bunny McCarrots is still unpatterned). So, I'll just share the projects for now.

 

 The true colour of the big clutch is in the W.I.P. picture. And it can almost hold an A4 folder :)

The small one can hold my phone, keys, cards and a bit of cash. And it can function as a purse if you remove the handle.

By the way, I got a mini lightroom! The small clutch was photographed inside it and looks decent with the natural colours.

Then I took the strawberry pattern from the Stripey pack, a couple of safety eyes, some embroidery floss and a spring hook and - voila! - a kawaii keychain is ready. It's really amazing how a couple of tiny details can make anything kawaii.

He lacks the spring hook in the first pic and has his leaves unblocked (it's clearly a boy, duh), and is "polished" for the second one. And here he models with my purse.

My top is ready, too, but, as usual, I don't like the way it fits and all. But there will be photos later anyway.

Bunny McCarrots: tests and mistakes

I usually make 2 or 3 prototypes for a pattern: it starts with the inspiration and a rough hand-written sketch, then a model plus the yardage, and the third one is worked for the pattern photos. So, it was time for the second Bunny to check the pattern, make corrections and measure the amount of yarn. The thing is, the yarn I use in most of my projects is a wool blend in DK weight, but the factory has recently changed the manufacturing process and the acrylic they have used since 2015 makes the thread thicker. And I have both the old and new yarn. I took the skein in pearl-grey and a hook and started making the head and body parts. Hmm.. The head turned out to be a bit, no, not a bit, just bigger. I blamed it on yarn, as it contained the high-volume acrylic. But when I turned to the outfit details, which used the earlier manufactured yarn, the parts looked really loose. I stuffed the legs and body and - yep - the stuffing was peeking through. Hmm.. never happened before.. unless.. And here I checked the hook. Holy cow.. It was 3 mm instead of 2.5 mm. Most of my hooks look the same, differing in the plates with the size numbers, and I had the same models for these 2 sizes. So, I just didn't check the digits. A real facepalm. His face is less sweet and less kawaii, because his head is bigger.. And it's a disaster..

sneak peek: Bunny McCarrots

On Monday I decided to make a bunny. Actually, Harry (technically, he's a hare). But in the process I found out that there was not enough of yarn in the shade I wanted. What was I to do? Make a new pattern, of course. That's how Bunny McCarrots was born. Unfortunately, all pictures were taken at 1:30 a.m., and the next morning he left for Illinois. So, we currently have what we have.

Front and back with a big fluffy tail (not really fluffy, though). The pattern for the carrot he holds in his paws can be found on this blog.

His shirt is my tribute to Dr Sheldon Cooper. I even attempted to make a superhero carrot embroidery, but the carrot looks like a rocket :)

He got a compliment from my mother who said that he's my first really CUTE amigurumi (she considers all others goofy and weird).

The pattern is on its way with, I hope, embroidered and crocheted options for the nose and eyes (sounds as if someone else is going to do it, huh).

Woodland Friends: Harry and Mr Beaver

Long time no see! My life has recently started returning to the normal, and so have I. So, here's a sneak peek of my latest guys. Woodland friends are back. The natural light is just as bad as my photo skills these days, but I plan to take better pictures of them in a couple of days. Photos are the only thing that slows down the release of the patterns :(

Meet Harry!

And Mr Beaver has also joined in. Say hello :)

sneak peek

A tiny sneak peek into my recently finished work.. I have plenty of patterns scribbled on pieces of paper, copybooks and other suitable stuff, none of them printed or translated. But lately I have decided to keep them in some proper form and share them with people around the world. The Elf Sheep was the pilot sample. And now, let me introduce my most loved and most often crocheted Stripey. Ta-dam!

I first made him 4 or 5 years ago. Once looking through a sock dolls site I saw a strange sock creature with stripes and a nonchalant air and lost my mind. The test pattern was created in two-evenings time (actually, I stayed up till 3 a.m. adjusting the details). He didn't have any food-provision facilities then, but he had pockets and the nonchalant air that made me stay awake all weekend. Today he has a backpack (or a lunch bag, or a messenger bag) and something delicious in it. The basic pattern includes a pear, but I will post patterns for a carrot and an apple in this blog a little later. After the pattern is tested and checked, it will bу released via ravelry.

One of my New Year resolutions is crossed out from the list.

to ravelry users

Oh gosh!!! Guys, your attention to my elf sheep today is very inspirational! Thank you very much!

And now a little request... As I am a non-native speaker of English, I would very much appreciate any help with patterns. So, I need 5 testers to check and test the pattern announced in the previous post. Anyone willing to make Lettuce? In my turn, I can offer the volunteers the Lettuce pattern free of charge with the permission to sell finished items.