This is becoming a habit!

So skipping days of blogging is becoming my new habit. Maybe my aim should just be to blog as much as my life allows haha. I got absolutely no crocheting done yesterday but my house is lovely and clean. As much as I hate cleaning I love how nice my house looks when everything's done!

I have so many projects listed in the back of my head that I need to write down the patterns for. Of the back of the lovely little elephant that I made I have now had requests for 2 more from my mum and dad. My dad wants his to sit in his work van and my mum wants one for her desk.

The pattern is listed on the All about Ami blog, Stephanie translated the pattern and posted it for free on her blog - lucky










The pattern can be found here: http://www.allaboutami.com/post/83519406448/elephant. The legs are crocheted in a fairly unusual way. Rather than making them separately and then sewing them all you make foundation chains and the crochet them straight onto the body. It makes for some quite awkward crocheting at times  but I love the way it comes out!

I also need need need to finish my sisters peas. Over a year ago I started making my sister a pea pod with peas in.... and its still missing 2 peas. When I started this I hadn't been amigurumi-ing for very long and made a rooky mistake of using different weights of 

yarn for the pod and the peas so the peas take forever to do because the yarn is so fine!

I am also working on a secret project for Dave (boyfriend). He loves Pokemon and I found the most adorable baby Pokemon! They're on devaintart by a user called "aphid777". Definitely worth checking out for Pokemon pattens as they're some of the best I've seen. I'm itching to get started on the Charmander because I think he's adorable. Check them out here: http://aphid777.deviantart.com/art/Four-Musketeers-430909986

I also need to make some dinosaurs. My friend and her boyfriend recently bought their first house and I wanted to make them as a housewarming pattern.

This is the basis for the design, its a free online pattern that I've made before:

The picture on the website

My attempt

The pattern is here: http://greatamigurumi.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/stegosaurus-amigurumi.html

The dinosaur comes up very small as a lot of amigurumi is meant to be. I want a bigger one so I am in the process of enlarging it. If it comes out well I'll post it on here, if not I'll bury it somewhere so no one knows haha!

All this thinking about all the crocheting I need to do has made me sleepy.....think I need another coffee haha.

Twice in one day!

As promised to make up for missing yesterday here is my second blog of the day. The challenge suggests sharing my favourite blog posts for todays blog. However since I have not been blogging for very long and don't have that many to choose from I thought I would instead share my 5 favourite things I have crocheted.

Number 5:

This is the only one of my Top 5 that is not amigurumi. I made this gorgeous little cardigan for a friend of my mum who had just become a grandmother. It took me ages to make because the whole of the bottom of the yoke is entirely shell stitches and although it looks lovely its very time consuming. I also love the colour, it was nice to make something for a baby girl that wasn't in the expected pink. The pattern for this came from a Nikki Trench book that I brought which is full of baby clothes and accessories. I'd definitely recommend it for any crocheters who are expecting or know someone who is. Even if you're a beginner there are some nice basic patterns to help build your confidence.

Number 4 

I think the reason I like this little guy so much is probably partly just because I love penguins so much! I don't think anyone can deny their cuteness. When I started crocheting Christmas bits and bobs I asked my mother in law if there was anything in particular that she would like me to make her and she requested a penguin. I found a pattern in an amigurumi book and then made some slight alterations and made him a cheery scarf to finish him off. My mother in law loved him and he is actually on display in her living room all year round!

Number 3

These guys have a special place in my heart because they were the first thing that I wrote my own pattern for. These snowmen were the first lot I made the first Christmas after I started crocheting. Since then my pattern has evolved and the ones I made this year had arms with mitten, scarves and their hats had pom poms. Although the pattern itself is fairly simple they still make lovely Christmas gifts (and people who don't know how to crochet won't know how simple they were!)

Number 2

This was another of my original patterns. I put a lot of thought into the overall effect I wanted him to have. It would have been much easier to make him like the snowmen rather than crocheting all the sides as separate rectangles and sewing them all together but I wanted him to look as if he was made from sheets of metal. I added a heart to him as I made him around valentines day, but I think I'll probably make more at some point with a different motif.

Number 1

This is my overall favourite not only because of how well she turned out but also because of the sentimentality of it. She is the very first Yaya Doll I made. She is my own pattern and named after my yaya, who was my mum's mum and the person who taught me to crochet. This doll was a gift to my mum from me for mothers day, and it actually made her cry - not my intention!

That finishes off my Top 5 and my second blog of the day - and posted with 20 minutes to spare!

Already off to a bad start!

So I'm already off to a bad start with my Blog every day in May challenge by not posting yesterday! In my defense I did have to go see a consultant at the hospital and talk about how they're running out of tests but still don't know whats wrong with me. Just what every ill person wants to hear when they're in constant pain! So to make up for this I am going to put up 2 posts today

So the challenge for yesterdays blog was "What is you blog about?". My blog in essence is about my crocheting so I guess its just me rambling on about my hobby. Although to be honest if you're going to write about something it makes sense for it to be something you enjoy!

I have been able to crochet since I was about 10. I asked my Yaya (my greek nan) to teach me to knit and she said no because she didn't like knitting and taught me to crochet instead. This is something I'm super grateful for now. I watch my mother-in-law and sister-in-law crochet and it blows my mind. Having to have a needle in each hand and still be able to keep track of your yarn seems like far too much work, especially for something that in my opinion, isn't anywhere near as versatile as crocheting. It amazes me that by using the same techniques you can make pretty much anything you could possibly imagine; from chunky jumpers to delicate table cloths. Then there's also amigurumi which I must admit is my favourite type of crochet! The things you can make are adorable and so easy to do.

The older I get the more I realise that most of my memories of my Yaya involve her with a crochet hook in her hand. I sometimes wonder if she herself realised how versatile crochet was. She only used to crochet using Egyptian cotton (rather than the brightly coloured yarn that fills my house) and she used to make the most spectacular bed spreads and table cloths. This is what she taught me to do when I was 10 and unfortunately table cloths don't hold the attention of 10 year olds and despite being able to crochet I never really did anything with it.

My Yaya passed away when I was 20. It was one of the hardest things I've ever dealt with. Trying to grieve and also write your Uni dissertation is not something I would recommend. About a year later I was looking for a new hobby. After finishing Uni I suddenly had a void in my evenings that would have usually been spent sat in the library waiting for inspiration to hit. This is when I stumbled across amigurumi. I thought it looked amazing and I watched a few YouTube videos on it and thought to myself "I wonder if I can still do it". So I took myself down to HobbyCraft and bought myself a hook and some yarn (My understanding of hook size vs yarn thickness has improved significantly since). I sat at home and was thrilled when the crochet skills came back straight away.My first attempts at amigurumi were not great! I think they're actually quite disastrous but I was so proud at the time.

That was 18 months ago and I've not really stopped since. I think the progress I've made is incredible and I know that this sounds very big headed but I truly believe that anyone would be able to make this progress.
This is a picture of the first thing I crocheted 18 months ago...

I clearly had no concept of colour changes haha. This was meant to be a chick and the orange was meant to be an upside down triangle to look like a beak!

This is a picture of the most recent thing I've made and incidentally is the only thing I've ever made for myself

I think its safe to say that there has been some definite progress made, and yet I'm probably less proud of this than I was of the awful chick! I think the better I get at crocheting the more critical I get of the things I make. Everyone else though is very complimentary!

This little elephant now has pride of place in my house just in front of the last photo that was taken of me and my Yaya. I think part of the reason why I love crocheting is because it makes me feel closer to my Yaya, its nice to know that we shared a passion despite being so far 40+ years apart in age. I wish she could have seen my crocheting, I like to think she'd be proud - although she would probably ask me why I'm making elephants and not bedspreads haha!

Sick Again

I've been ill again. I feel like I'm going to and from doctors and hospitals at the minute. Unfortunately my crocheting has taken a back seat. It's difficult to crochet when you're in so much pain that you don't want to sit up. I did start the blanket I mentioned before from moogly blog and it's coming along nicely. I've also been spending a lot of time with my parents as they have had this week off. Gives me an excuse to play with their pets :) I've also signed up for the blog every day in may challenge, so hopefully you'll be hearing a lot more from me

Making Progress

Even though I'm still in a lot of pain I am making progress with my next Yaya doll. I've crocheted the whole head and neck, and I'm now working on putting the hair in.

This is the bit that I find most boring and time consuming, sewing in ends! Has to be done though to give a nice hair line on the back of the head.

Didn't actually take as long as I thought in the end, just had to find a systematic way of doing it. I actually worked through it so I did all the yellow bits and then all the pink bits (not that I have crochet OCD haha)

I've added the first row of hair, just around the base of the head. Now going to get a contrasting colour and sew in where I want the rest of the hair to fall. The plan is to have a full fringe that gets longer at the sides to blend in with the rest of the hair. Going to do a centre parting along the top of the dolls head and then add in as many rows of hair needed. I don't want to put too many in as it makes it difficult for the hair to be tied up.

I've popped some pins where I want they eyes to go so I know how long the fringe needs to be. Also debating on what colour dress to give this little dolly. She is meant to be based on me and I tend to wear a lot of black but thought a brighter colour would probably look more cheerful.

I am also looking forward to another side project I am starting (I need to start what I finish haha). A very good friend of mine is having a baby and has asked if I would make her a few bits so the baby will have something made by "Aunty Charlotte". The blanket is a free pattern I found on mooglyblog.com. It uses the bobble stitch and looks really snuggly. Going to make it in rainbow colours seen as I don't know what she's having yet. Popped the link on here in case anyone else wants to take a look. It's also on Ravelry.

http://www.mooglyblog.com/free-pattern-blackberry-salad-striped-baby-blanket

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/blackberry-salad-striped-baby-blanket

Starting a new project

Have written my pattern out so it's legible.  Time to start the next Yaya doll. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend as much as I'm going to :)

Getting the Ball Rolling

Feel like I am finally getting somewhere with the start of my Yaya Doll business! Today I have started up a Google Plus profile, a Facebook Page and a Twitter account for the Dolls (I'll pop the links on the bottom). Its nice to feel like I'm getting somewhere with it all!

I've also made some accessories for my mums doll (as the dolls are custom it was what she requested as course!) She wanted a belt and shoes in red with black daisies and I think I delivered haha

She has now requested a Labrador and a ginger kitten (I should have never mentioned that I was considering making them pets as an accessory ha). She'll have to wait though because I'm itching to get started on some new Yaya Dolls. Each off the shelf one will have a specific name and look so the next one will be modeled on myself and be a Charlotte Doll!

First though I think I may have to sit down and properly write out my patterns. I think people would be horrified to learn I work off scrawls like this:

Would also love people's input on another idea I was having, for the more technical I was thinking of making little robot pets and then I thought maybe I should adapt my Valentines Robot as some form of Yaya-Bot haha

Links

https://plus.google.com/u/1/106170149247403365410/

https://twitter.com/Yaya_Dolls

https://www.facebook.com/YayaDolls

I'll also pop on the link to the Etsy shop once its open :)