The Yarnival of the Animals

And now for something completely different...   So my very clever husband scratch-built a merchant navy ship from the 1600's from bits of cardboard and wooden coffee stirrers. Naturally, he also needed some sails for it. Fabric, yarn and thread are not quite his medium of choice, so he asked me to rustle up some sails. They're made of double layers of uncoloured natural linnen cut out of some old trousers I hadn't worn for years, fastened to the mast with some embroidery yarn. Because of the double layers it all looks a little chunky, but that's usually the case with scale models anyway (I've been told). Please see his blog for a complete three-part story of how he built the ship!

Strolling through John Lewis in search of some embroidery yarn to make frienship bracelets, I stumbled upon this brilliant book by Kerry Lord showing you how to crochet a mini-me. The book gives you a basic and an advanced doll pattern as well as a variety of outfits and accessories, so you can make a chef, princess, pirate, astronaut etc. Because my husband is a keen kendoka, I thought it would be nice to crochet someone in a hakama and gi holding a shinai.  I had to improvise the arms, all of the clothing and the accessories, but Kelly Lord's doll patterns are incredibly cute and a bit ragdoll-like. The way she managed to crochet the hairline into the skull so the hairs don't contrast when you sew them in later is truly inspired :-) 

A friend from work re-kindled my love of gardening some years back and although I no longer live in a house with a garden, I've been cultivating my balcony and window sills enthusiastically. We also transformed the office, with everyone exchanging seedlings and produce. It was always great, especially during the pandemic, to come into the office and find an aubergine plant or two on my desk. So I thought it would be nice to make a little vegetable garden in crochet form. I'm not sure it's good enough to give as a gift, but for a first attempt it looks quite well.  The basket is a simple bread basket that you stuff with fiber fill. The yarn used is all cotton SMC Catania with a 2-2.5mm hook.  Patterns are below. Happy crocheting and gardening <3 Soil:  For the soil, ch as many stitches as you need to fill the size of your container. It doesn't matter if its an odd or even number, just include 2 ch stitches for turning.  R1. skipping the first 2 ch, dc in every stitch.

My husband is a big Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fan (see here for his own TMNT project). This fits well with my own love of turtles and tortoises in general, and the fact that in the original film, the suits were made by Jim Henson's Creature Shop is even better. Donatello is both our favourite, because he is the shy, geeky one. And after all, he does do machines... So for Christmas, I secretly made him a crocheted doll of Donny after a brilliant pattern by a lady called Jackie who runs the blog Amidorable Crochet . I'd had my eyes on these for years when they were on sale by Amigurumi.net, but when I got an email from them that the pattern was suddenly free, I simply couldn't postpone any longer! The pattern is incredibly detailed and gives great detail to your turtle. The only weird bit was the back shell, which even upon repeated tries just wouldn't give me the result as advertised in the pictures, but this could very well be due to fact that I was using a different

The second installment in what I've decided to call my archaeorumi are these miniature prismatic bottles. These square bottles in blue glass are a staple in provincial-Roman burials, where they are often found in groups of four as part of lavish dining sets that would include plates, cooking ware, cups and cooked meals for the deceased. Although I've never excavated one myself (such rich burials are quite rare!), I've always had a strange fondness for their shape and their insistence on appearing in sets of four. I'm easily amused.   The bottle on the left was made freestyle while watching telly and I find the mouth a little bit too small. For the bottle on the right, I tried to correct that and I like the shape much better. But as ever, there is great variety in prismatic bottles in the archaeological record and both versions resemble the glass originals equally well (or not). I've used cotton SMC Catania yarn, suitable for a 2.00-2.50mm hook. Prismatic bottle 1: S

Lately, I've been obsessed with ComplicatedKnots 's YouTube channel, where she shows you how to crochet these incredibly cute and easy (but impressive looking) dinosaurs. The triceratops is always a crowd favourite, and I just love the way she's designed the horns and collar. As you can see, I'm quite rubbish at sewing on limbs and I may have overstuffed the body a little bit. But I'm quite happy with the embroidery on the nails! Go give Complicated Knots some love on YouTube, she's got some amazing patterns out there. Including a Squirtle design that's just begging to be made <3

To cosy-up my trusty coffee mug I crocheted a little cover for it, to make sure the mug stays warm and I don't burn my hands. Is it tacky? Most definitely. Is it practical? Debatable. You can make as many colour changes as you like and the project is a great way to use up little bits of left-over yarn. In this case, I've used cotton SMC Catania yarn, suitable for a 2.00-2.50mm hook. Row 1: Chain 60, plus three (counts as the first dc of the next row). Of course, the number of ch's made here depends on the size of your mug. Row 2: dc in every stitch, skipping the ch stitches. Change colour in the last dc. Ch 2, turn (60) Row 3: sc in every stitch, skipping the ch stitches. Change colour in the last sc. Ch 3, turn (60) Row 4: dc in every stitch, skipping the ch stitches. Ch 3, turn (60) Row 5: dc in every stitch, skipping the ch stitches. Change colour in the last dc. Ch 3, turn (60) Row 6: dc in every stitch, skipping the ch stitches. Change colour in the last dc. Ch 3, turn

I thought it would make for a nice change from the usual toys and amigurumi I usually post here to make a little piece of scenery. This was all triggered when I got obsessed with the chevron or wavy stitch (see earlier post here ), which I initially practiced in some scrap sand-coloured yarn. Perfect for a little desert scene... I've used cotton SMC Catania yarn, suitable for a 2.00-2.50mm hook for all elements. For the main stem of the cactus, start a magic ring in green. R1. sc 6 in the magic ring (6) R2. 2sc in every stitch (12) R3-22. sc in every stitch (12) Fasten off with a ss and leave a tail for sewing.    For the "arms", start a magic fing in green.  R1. sc 6 in the magic ring (6) R2. 2sc in every 2nd stitch (9) R3-6. sc in every stitch (9)   The next 5 steps will be crocheted in rows, not rounds.  R7. ch 1, turn, sc 5 (5) R8. ch 1, turn, sc2tog, sc 3 (4) R9. ch 1, turn, sc2tog, sc 2 (3) R10. ch 1, turn, sc2tog, sc 1 (2) R11. ch 1, turn, sc2tog (1)   The rest of

As part of my Jurassic Park obsession, I've been making some dino-amigurumi lately, and Complicated Knots on YouTube has made some terrific patterns for a variety of dinosaurs.  Her pterodactyl pattern is really amazing and requires no sewing, so that's a big plus for me! The wings curl up on their own because they are lined with sc stitches along the sides, but they're malleable enough to make different arrangements.  These would make for perfect gifts for a dino-obsessed child, but their equally cute just to make for yourself :-) Just look at its little snout!

 Another one of Complicated Knots ' brilliant dino-creations: the mighty T-rex. Although this one looks like he needs a cuddle ;-)  I had some difficulty with the puff stitch, I think this is more difficult to do neatly with cotton yarn (she uses acrylic, which is much more pliable). But they do add a lovely effect to his back. Without the dots, he would be quite plain. He's a little wonky on his feet, because i sewed those on while on a train, but you can manipulate them into different positions, which is cool. And finally, another show of his back, to show off those puff stitches that I just couldn't get right...But I would sooner throw out my hooks than switch to acrylic yarn!