Petit Giraffe

Look what I made!

This oh-so-cute Giraffe was quite fun to make and

I just love his chubby little legs and body and butt.

He will be for sale very soon in my Etsy store.

Pattern is from Marike van Loo - Gigi Giraf

Ravelry project page

Cable Knits

I knit some cables!!

I borrowed a book from the Library

to help with my knitting and this 

cabled hat pattern was inside!

I love the look of these cables and working with super chunky yarn and

10mm needles, whilst working flat was pretty easy to get used to!

It worked up fast and I've order some more luxe

yarn to make some more chunky cabled beanies

to hopefully offer for sale shortly!

Cabled Beanie

Do you remember when I found that my

local yarn (chain) store had started stocking

Lionbrand yarn?

Well I finally made something with it!

I got this pattern from All About Ami

I think it still needs a pompom but 1 ball of yarn

left me with only a few metres to try and make one.

I have also heavily modified this pattern as 

I crochet tightly and didn't want it to

be too bulky at the top where you pull it together.

Pop Culture Cross Stitch

One of my very good friends and I are

constantly quoting movie lines to each other,

and one of her favourite movies to quote is Mean Girls.

So when I saw something similar on Pinterest,

I knew I had to make this for her birthday present

and send it over to Essex, England for her.

I drafted the pattern for this myself on 14 count Aida.

There are a few mistakes here and there, but

overall I'm very happy with it, and so is the Birthday Girl!

Wilbur's Tiny Dog Coat

My future Sister-in-Law got a tiny Fox Terrier for Christmas last year

from her parents and asked me to Crochet him a little coat

to keep him cozy through the cold weather.

When I say he is tiny, I mean he is smaller than most cat's I've seen

and I had to skip 6 rows of this pattern to make it the correct length.

The above photo's are of him on my lap, and he hasn't gotten much bigger!

I used this pattern from Stitch 11, but because I crochet tightly, I used

the recommended hook size, but Wilbur's coat is only 8 & 3/4" long

In order from top to bottom - underneath, top and side views of the coat.

It's stretchy with a gap to avoid mess when Wilbur has a bathroom break!

Lacy Crochet Shorts

I was asked to make some Lacy Crochet Shorts

for a Bride and Groom, as a joke/gag gift as their wedding night négligée.

Even though it's a joke gift, I was more than happy to make these

because they work up really fast and are easily

adjustable. I also know how I could make some cute beach shorts

using the schematics from these patterns.

Blue and Tan (Female)

Front View with Tie

Back View with Extra Bottom Room/Rows

Green Shorts (Male)

Front View with Tie 

Back View

There are a few extra rows for room in the green towards the waistband

These ones do not have a centre seam down the front or back

which I thought would be more comfortable if they were to ever be worn.

Both patterns are from Bikini Sandi on Etsy,

although the Green and Tan pair are a free pattern (possibly on Ravelry)

I used Moda Vera Gelato for these shorts, which is 50% acrylic and 50% cotton, as well as a 4mm hook. The waist measurements are roughly the same for each pair, as the couple have very similar body shapes. I added the ties to improve fit if they wear them. 

I think these would look good as beach shorts in more pleasant colours, the request was for Gawdy colours and I think I delivered!

Made it For Heartfelt

Here's the heart for Heartfelt

I chose to crochet a white beanie and sew on this cotton heart

and sell this to raise funds for Heartfelt, as part of Madeit's

Made it for Heartfelt

(see post here for details)

100% of sales will be donated to Heartfelt, and there are many more sellers

offering handmade items on Made It, just search "Heartfelt Fundraiser".

Item will be live and for sale from Sunday, 22/03/2015 @ 12;00am SOLD on 24/03/2015!!

Zoidberg Cross Stitch Progress

I've finished almost

all of the outlining in black

so far, hopefully I can get this 

finished in only a week or two

Excuse the embroidery hoop creases

It is a Work In Progress after all

Chunky Stitches on Made It's Shopping Guide!

Made It is an online shopping site 

selling hand made items

(Similar to Etsy but without the "handmade" items)

for Australian sellers.

Yesterday I listed Made to Order Owls

based off the Fresh Stitches pattern

and woke up this morning to an email

saying they have made it onto the

Shopping Guide! 

You can check out the shopping guide HERE until Friday.

This is very, very exciting!!

I've already had 58 views today, which also brings 

attention to my other items.

I chose to sell on Made It as I'm in Australia

and feel because there are thousands and thousands

of crocheters selling their crafts around the world,

I might fare better in a local marketplace.

Check out my Made It store -> Chunky Stitches

Futurama Cross Stitch - Progress

Here is another progress post

as I've finished Amy and Leela and started Zoidberg

I'm almost half way!

I had put this down for quite some time but 

have picked it up again and do some

more in front of the TV when I'm

in the mood.

After Zoidberg, it's Bender, The Professor and Hermes

on the other side of Fry.

Another Futurama Cross Stitch WIP

So I'm still making my Futurama Cross Stitch,

the one with all the characters

but I've had a request for just Zoidberg

on a larger scale so I made up a pattern

and started this Work In Progress

This is where I am after 2 days of very little stitching

The pattern calls for over 4000 stitches

and will be roughly 11" x 12.5"

as a finished piece.

I really enjoyed the process of making the pattern

and have a strong desire to create more patterns

and even sell them to other cross stitchers

once I've tested them.

Futurama Cross Stitch

Anyone who knows me

knows that I love the TV show

Futurama

And I've always had an interest in Cross Stitching

I just never really got into it

until I stumbled upon This Etsy Store

I followed along to their blog Wee Little Stitches

and fell in love with their patterns.

And it was just my luck that they had a Futurama pattern

and even better luck that it was FREE!

I started with Fry as he was in the centre

and he is also my fave character

I'm also using a beige/cream Aida in 11 count 

and Semco thread. I chose to use 11 count Aida

as I wanted it to be a bit bigger

and easier on my wrists

Take Me Back to the Crochet Toys

I love crocheting toys!

Here are most of the toys I have made 

over the last few years.

I am really wanting to make more toys

to sell - either online or at craft markets

This lion is my own pattern

Patterns from Fresh Stitches {{bat, dog, crab, dinosaur, owls, koala's and kangaroo}}

This was my niece Isabella's First Birthday Bear,

She is now missing an ear is is quite 'yellow'

(The bear - not Isabella!)

{{Pattern from Holland Designs}}

Ribbed Beanie with Pom Pom - MINI TUTORIAL

Remember this Ribbed Beanie?

Here's a quick little how-to

on how I made mine.

((( I got the idea for this from All About Ami

who found the pattern from Lion Brand Yarn )))

First Step: Crochet a rectangle to fit around your head in single crochet ribbed stitch.
Single crochet ribbed stitch is just plain old single crochet (US terms)
stitched into back loops only on every row.

I used a 5mm crochet hook and chained 41 to get 40 stitches per row.
I crocheted 86 rows for my rectangle to measure 42cm/16.5" long.
The long part needs to fit around your head.
There is some stretch in this piece so make sure it fits comfortably.

Second Step: Once your rectangle is big enough, stitch the two shorter sides together with whip stitch.

Third Step: Sew around one of the openings and pull yarn tightly to close this end. Tie a knot under the pulled top and secure.

This makes the top of the beanie.

I found that pulling it tight while sewing it closed worked better - instead of waiting until you've sewed through the whole top and then pulling the yarn.

Fourth Step: Make a pom-pom and attach to the top of the beanie.

Everyone makes pom poms differently so make your own pom pom however you prefer.

I attached mine with yarn - but I have previously attached pom poms to alligator clips 

which gave me the option to wear the beanie/beret with pom pom or without.

Thought One: I wish I had made my beanie longer on the shorter sides so I could roll up a brim.

Thought Two: Dark purple doesn't photograph too well unless your in perfect light.

Thought Three: When will I be able to make a pom pom tight enough that the strands don't pull out?

Quick Coaster's

Here is a super quick

15 minute project.

Well . . . it takes 10-15 mins to make one.

It's a cotton crochet drink coaster.

Pattern and idea from Crafts Tuts Plus 

And I used my Samsung Galaxy Note Tablet

to take the photos (hence the not-so-great-lighting)

This cotton is quite soft and the camera really

doesn't show to brightness of the aqua green colour.

Cliff the Brontosaurus

This is Cliff the Brontosaurus

Made for nephews 2nd birthday.

Original pattern didn't include spikes

But I felt he needed a little something extra

Although,  he is cute either way