Showing posts with label custom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label custom. Show all posts

Friday, 19 June 2015

Brian the Sheep!

Brian the sheep, (named by Dave because he thought he looked like Brian from the "Go Compare" adverts) is the biggest amigurumi I've ever made. I know that usually amigurumi are small but I've found that people seem to like to order things that are more standard cuddly toy size.



Brian was a (very belated by the time I finished) Mother's Day present for my lovely mum. She has always been very encouraging of my crocheting. More so since I've moved into my own house and no longer leave bits of yarn all over her carpet!

I had a go at making Stephanie at All About Ami's Lambert pattern, The only fluffy yarn I had was purple (didn't like working with it at all) and my sheep ended up looking like a lion/monkey hybrid.


Slightly disheartened I decided to use the Stephanie's pattern as a basis to make a larger sheep and so Brian was made.

I wrote out a basic pattern which was altered several times while I was making it. I didn't actually intend for him to end up so big (he is about 14 inches tall now he's finished!) but by the time I realised I was too far in.



My mum loved him and he has pride of place on top of a unit in their living room.

I've mentioned before that I crochet at work, and many people saw parts of Brian in the making so once he was actually finished he was taken on a tour round the office for people to see.

I will admit I did have another reason to make Brian, he was a trial run. I have several work friends who have relatives who are having children this year (the year of the sheep) and have ordered sheep off me as gifts. One the same size of Brian and one is smaller with a pink face because they know the baby is a little girl (not sure what the feminine version of Brian is? Brianita?).


Lots of happy sheep crocheting to come!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend
xxx





Sunday, 5 April 2015

Cupcake Giveaway

I hope you’re all having a lovely Easter! I can’t believe a quarter of the year has gone already. This post is about the crochet cupcake giveaway currently taking place on my Instagram. Below are just the technical bits to cover the outline of the giveaway.

Cake Details
·         The cupcakes are crocheted with double knitting yarn, in a smoke and pet free environment. They are filled with standard toy stuffing.
·         The eyes on the cupcakes are safety eyes but these are not recommended for children. If requested, felt eyes can be sewn on instead.
·         Cupcakes are just under 3 inches tall and just under 1.5 inches wide.
·         Cupcakes are made up of a cake base (usually light brown but you can request a different colour) and then 2 colours for the top (one for the main base and one for the icing “swirl”) and these are up to you.
·         If you would like a zombie/bunny cake you can request one (if you do not state a colour for the bunny ears they will be white).

Competition Details
·         The giveaway is limited to residents of the UK only (due to postage)
·         The giveaway will run from the time the photo was posted on Instagram ( 12:00 05/04/2015) until 12noon on Sunday 11th April 2015. Any entries after this will not be included.
·         Entry is limited to one per Instagram account.
·         There will be 3 cupcakes to win, so 3 winners will be picked using a random number generator.
·         Winners will be contacted via Instagram on Sunday 11th April 2015, if one of the winners fails to provide the details needed to send the cupcake within 1 week (18/04/2015) another winner will be chosen at random.
·         Cupcakes will be posted to the address provided as soon as possible by second class royal mail post (this also depends on how quick a response I receive following the winners announcement).

·         To enter the giveaway you need to follow me on Instagram (handle @craftycharlotte) and share the giveaway photo (ensure to include the hashtag #ccgiveaway so I can find the photos), if only one of these is done your entry will be disregarded.

Any questions please contact me, either on here or on Instagram.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend
xx

Sunday, 1 March 2015

Hot Dog Costume!

This post is about the hot dog costume I made for the crochet Dachshund that I made for my sister, he is now referred to as Lord Buttons. The pattern for Lord Buttons himself is from Voodoo Maggie's Amigurumi book so all the credit for him goes to her. Once I had made him I then made the costume design up as I went along.



The costume was made in 3 pieces, 2 "bun" pieces and the central piece which I made using the same yarn I made Lord Buttons in. The distance between his front and back legs was 4 inches, which equated to 25 stitches, so I chained 26, and then single crocheted along for 10 rows until it measured 1.5 inches in length. I then crocheted tabs on the edges so it could be buttoned up underneath. I did 9 slip stitches and then 11sc and then crocheted 3 rows of 11 stitches. Obviously I made 2 one for either side. The "sausage" was made by chaining 26 and then repeating 15 rows of 25 stitches.

I used surface crochet to add the ketchup and mustard and sewed the button on one tab and some loops to attach to the button on the other.






He's so cute!

P.s. Apologies for the overuse of "Lord Buttons" my sister would be mad if I referred to him as anything else.

Monday, 20 October 2014

Amigurumi vs "mindless crochet"

Anyone who has had a little nosey on my blog will know how much I love amigurumi. Its quick, uses simple stitches and they're adorable.


Although I love it amigurumi can sometimes be quite stressful, because its not constantly the same pattern each row it requires a fair amount of attention. Sometimes after a long day at work I like to do what I call "mindless crochet", things like blankets and clothing.

This is not to say that this type of crochet doesn't require skill or concentration. I often find these projects more difficult, especially when it comes to putting them together. However they tend to have big chunks in the middle where the same pattern row is repeated over and over again. I think its quite therapeutic really.



Both these are actually for Baby Harvey, I make a lot more amigurumi than I do anything else. However I am looking forward to starting my first project using a pattern chart. One of Dave's colleagues wants a butterfly pillow, I'll keep you updated on my progress

Take Care xx


Sunday, 29 June 2014

Weekend Roundup

Thought I'd do a little post to sum up my weekend, I've seen a few other blogs with similar posts on so thought I would give it a go. The post I put up yesterday was actually finished Friday evening but finished very late and I decided I wanted another proof read before I posted it on Saturday morning. This was following my first day back at work! I was on an 11am-8pm shift which most people agree is the worst shift to work but I was just so happy to get out of the house and see other people! We got home and Dave had his friend round playing computer games so I jumped into blogging and re-doing my template and before I knew it, it was technically Saturday!

My weekends are usually split into 2 types. The ones I work and the ones I get to have a life haha. When I work I don't tend to do much except come home afterwards and chill but on our weekends off (me and Dave have the same after much effort) we follow pretty much the same routine. On a Saturday morning, Dave gets up early (leaving me in bed) and goes for his horse riding lesson with his sister. I normally get up when he gets home around 10 and we spend the day doing things around the house and having a bit of a relax. What this actually means is that Dave relaxes and usually at some point naps while I have a whole list of things to do including making sure all the work clothes are washed and sorting out meals and shopping lists for the following week. Since being off sick my organisation has gone to pot and it really frustrates me. Dave was very confused the other day when I threw a stop and stomped round the house because something in the fridge that could have been frozen had gone past its "use by" date (crazy I know!). So to stop any future strops and as I am back at work I am jumping back on the food organising horse.


What I cook each week depends a lot on what shifts we're working. If I'm not getting home until 8:30 at night I don't want something that's going to take 40 minutes to prepare. The weekly planner that's in the photo I absolutely love! Its like a big notepad where each page is a week so you can plan in everything you need to do. Once I've filled it in it gets blu tacked to my kitchen door for easy viewing.

I always tend to put things like this and the calenders where Dave can see them but I really don't think he pays any attention at all.

I also did some more work on the dinosaur pattern. The pattern I made form enlarging someone else's pattern really wasn't working, it just didn't look right so I have gone back to the drawing board and started my own pattern from scratch. I'll keep you guys posted on how it turns out.

Yesterday evening was spent how we spend a lot of our Saturday nights - round my parents. We all get along really well so its not a chore to go round and see them haha. We only live about a 5 minute drive away from my parents because we live in the same town so we see quite a lot of them. We had fish and chips for tea which was really good as mum and dad have an amazing chippy near their house (its won awards and everything!). My dad spent part of his evening in the garden putting up the outdoor wall clock we got him for his birthday on Monday. He loves his garden and he loves clocks so seemed like the perfect present. 
We then fired up Netflix and watched "Jackie Brown" me and Dave watched it not too long ago but its a good film so we didn't mind it being on again. Dad and Dave tried to keep a tally on how often Samuel L Jackson said "mother f*cker" but I think they lost count because its a lot. Dave loves Samuel L Jackson and there are 2 canvases of him up in our house!

I was bored yesterday afternoon so decided to put my hair up into a beehive (as you do). When I asked Dave what I thought about it, he said he preferred it down. Dave actually likes my hair its natural colour (really dark brown), long and straight. I think its really boring! I personally liked the beehive and it may be making an appearance at work, I tend to wear my hair up because I wear a headset and have a problems with hair being pressed over my ears.


My mum gave me a lipstick while I was there saying that she liked it when she had bought it but now thought it was dark. When she first gave it to me I thought she was crazy. My mum has much darker skin than me because she is Greek (I guess this makes me 1/2 Greek but you wouldn't know by how pale I am) and my initial thought was that if it was too dark for her then there was no way it would suit me. I tried it on and it actually looks quite nice. Its No.7 Moisture Drench in Plum Beautiful. I normally stick to red and pick lipstick, so may have to branch out into more purple tones.


I also returned with this little guy, some of you might remember him from a previous blog.


I've got him back to add some custom touches including a button and the initial of the person he belongs to, just to make him extra special.


On Sundays that we don't work Dave has 2 band practises. One very early in the morning with his Dad and then one in the evening with some friends he went to school with. He again leaves before I'm properly awake and then I potter round the house doing bits and pieces, today this meant re-organising my medicine box, because I have so many tablets (I've mentioned before that I'm not very well) and if they aren't all put in properly I can't get the lid on.


As I had a bit more time, I decided to do the cutting out for my next sewing project. The sewing machine I have borrowed has been sat doing nothing for far too long. I really want to make clothes but I'm not feeling brave enough yet so have decided to make a mole teddy. I bought a Minicraft kit ages ago and hand sewed the original teddy. Before I did it I made a template of the pieces so I could make another one. I'm using an old pair of trousers just to get some practise in with the machine. 



Sunday Afternoons of weekends off are spent at the in-laws house in Sandbach, a small village about 6 miles away where Dave grew up and where we met. I refer to them as my in-laws even though me and Dave aren't married because they mean a lot to me and if I refer to them as "Dave's parents" it feels like I'm trying to emphasise the point that they are his a not mine.

We have Sunday tea with them and then I stay while Dave goes off to his other band practise in Sandbach. I'm lucky that I get on really well with my mother and sister in law so just sit and chat with them for a few hours before Dave comes back and we go home. Sometimes I help Leanne out with her homework, she's 14 and I have technically done it all before but sometimes I have to really sit and think about it! On days when she has done her homework we crochet, its nice to have someone else that I see who can do it too, although she's far to judgemental of her own work (I feel I may be being a bit hypocritical here!).

This afternoon I got to play with this lovely little kitten. She's getting so big and mischievous! 


Now I'm home and to round off my weekend a lovely soak in the bath with my favourite bubblebath


Have a lovely week xx