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 :-) 

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...

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) ...

Right, so I appreciate that this might be a little too niche for most people, but I've been trying to design archaeologically themed amigurumi. In my day to day life, I work as an archaeologist, mostly on finds (little field work for me these days) and I specialise in Roman pottery and small finds.  Roman glass isn't something I know an awful lot about, especially because it is so rare to find, let alone in a complete state. I have always found unguentaria quite charming though, the little medicine bottles that contained oils, make-up and other items used for dressing and treating the body. There are some really fun studies out there that did chemical analysis on remaining contents found in some of these Roman bottles and I've always dreamed of recreating the make-up recipes that Ovidius wrote up in his Medicamina Faciei Femineae (the book shown in the picture). Just a shame that almost all recipes contain things we now know are terribly toxic. Like lead :-) And how on eart...

Unguentarium type 2: Start a magic ring in green. R1. Sc 6 into the magic ring (6) R2. Sc2 into every stitch (12) R3. Sc2 in every 2nd stitch (18) R4. Sc2 in every 3rd stitch (24) R5. Sc2 in every 4th stitch (30) R6-9. Sc into every stitch (30) R10. Sc2tog every 9th and 10th stitch (27) R11. Sc into every stitch (27) R12. Sc2tog every 8th and 9th stitch (24) R13-14. Sc into every stitch (24) R15. Sc2tog every 7th and 8th stitch (21) R16-17. Sc into every stitch (21) R18. Sc2tog every 6th and 7th stitch (18) R19-20. Sc into every stitch (18) R21. Sc2tog every 5th and 6th stitch (15) R22-23. Sc into every stitch (15) Finish round 23 with a slip stitch.  R24. Ch 1, 2hdc in every stitch (30) Finish round 24 with a slip stitch and fasten off. Weave in ends.  Small stopper: Start a magic ring in contrasting colour.  R1. Sc6 in magic ring (6) R2. Sc2 in every stitch (12) R3. In back loops only, sc in every stitch (12) R4. In back loops only, sc in every stitch (12)  R5. Sc2...

This project was originally conceived as a rainbow-themed handbag, but ended up as a bag that I keep my current crochet projects in. I've been crocheting a lot lately, and it helps keep the living room clean from bits of yarn, half-finished projects and needles.    The bag is made up of separately crocheted circles that are then sewn on top of each other. For each circle, start with a magic ring. All elements are made of SMC Catania cotton yarn for a 2-2.5mm hook.   R1. 10 dc in the magic ring (10) R2. 2dc in every stitch (20) R3. 2dc in every second stitch (30) Fasten off with a slip stitch and weave in ends.    Make as many circles in as many colours as you like.  Sew them onto each other with the rims of the next circle just touching the tops of the stitches in tour 1 of the previous circle. Make two of these swatches, one for each side of the bag. To turn your rectangle of circles into a proper bag, fasten on with white or any other contrasting colour a...

My go-to film for comfort watching is and will always be Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. But those shorter films are amazing too and there are few villains in cinema history more evil and intimidating than Feathers McGraw from The Wrong Trousers. He doesn't talk, but those beady little eyes are menacing enough and the way he mistreats Gromit is just downright maniacal. Some brillian mind at Patons came up with the idea of releasing Wallace and Gromit knitting patterns sometime in the late 1980's, including dolls such as this one and some very natty jumpers. They're no longer on sale, but you can find them quite cheaply on Ebay if you really want one. And how could you say no to the opportunity of knitting a red washing-up glove/chicken disguise? Seeing as the Patons yarn is no longer available here in Europe, I made Feathers from King Cole Pricewise DK yarn with regular 4 mm. needles.  Body: 048 Black and 001 White Feet: 3285 Baby Peach (and two pieces of...

This large amigurumi of Domo (the official mascot of Japan's NHK network) is the second pattern I ever attempted to design. He's basically a long cube with legs, so simple enough :-) I'm still debating whether I should give him a small crocheted guitar to play with.  Domo is made of SMC Catania cotton yarn by Schachenmayer (2.5 mm. hook) in the 157 Marone colour. His eyes are 18mm safety eyes and his mouth is made of felt scraps. He's roughly 10 inches tall, so you can scale him up or down by choosing a different type of yarn. Because Domo is so cartoony, I would suggest something smooth like mercerised cotton for a non-fuzzy effect.   Body: In brown, chain 46.   Row 1: sc in every ch (45) Row 2-12: sc in every stitch, ch 1 and turn (45)   From this point on, start crocheting in rounds.   Round 13: sc in every stitch of row 12, sc 3 in the corner, sc 11 in the short sides of the first 12 rows, sc 3 in the corner, sc in every ch, sc 3 in the corner, sc 11 in ...

Ever since we first discovered John Finnemore's radio sitcom " Cabin Pressure " on BBC Radio 4, my husband and I have been playing the Travelling Lemon at home. The advantage of using a crocheted lemon is that it doesn't go off if either of us don't find it quickly enough.   The pattern used is by Martine de Regt , although I made some small adjustments to the leaves on top and to the face. Her original pattern also had the lemon open up at the back to accommodate a shopping bag, which I left out. The yarn used is SMC Catania in bright yellow (280), light green (205) and a bit of black (110) and pink (246) with 6mm black safety eyes and a 2.0mm hook.           

Whoever decided to design and sell crocheting kits of Volkswagen T2 camper vans was a certified genius. I'm not sure what audience this is marketed at, but I bought one because it is so bonkers. A good candidate for the weirdest thing I ever crocheted, that's for sure. And I once crocheted a life-sized lobster !   I came across this kit in a discount shop somewhere and it included full instructions and some very high quality mercerised cotton yarn. As such, I don't own the pattern and won't reproduce it here, but if anyone's interested I'm happy to dig it up and send it to them. I mean, just look at it <3

A quick project in between bigger ones. Sometimes when I'm designing amigurumi and it's taking really long I like to do an easy project in between. I didn't like the yarn very much (acrylic DK), but it came from a cheap crochet kit I picked up at the pharmacy, so can't complain really! In DK yarn with a 3.00 mm hook.