N is for Narwhal

Back once AGAIN. I’m being really inconsistent with my blog but this is how life is and I’m just trying to figure things out for myself at the moment. Currently I’m again not working so I’m at least trying to keep things more regular here. First – continuing the alphabet project.

Narwhals are like real-life unicorns of the sea, aren’t they! This makes it a fairly obvious reason of making one for my alphabet. I actually made it before  the break in blogging but I think I remember most of the details in the making.

I used cotton yarn and 1.5 mm hook for making it. It’s really tiny and tight so I couldn’t even use safety eyes so I embroidered a couple of seed beads instead. (Does anyone know if there is an alternative for tinier amigurumi?) I think he looks adorable.  I took the picture today so it looks a bit sad and gloomy as is the weather here, wanted to leave it as is, sorry about that.

Pattern I  made up as I went on. It begins as my basic amigurumi head-body but then I cut it off and crocheted another circle of white in the same circumference and sewed  it to the bottom. Fins and tail are sewn on the same round. Stuffed it with wool.

Having gotten this far with the alphabet I’m thinking it would be a cool picture including all of the characters and things I have crocheted for it. I hope I still have them all as I tend to give my amigurumis away every once in a while. (:

M is for Macarons.

In this case (as for llama too) I had no difficulties picking out what to make. In no time I choose macarons as one of my favourite sweets. It was a really fun and fast making that takes very little yarn so you can use almost all the yarn ends.

I used really different yarns for this one. Some of them really were the last bits of the yarn. I used pima cotton, organic cotton and mercerized cotton, also a cotton-acrylic blend. I really love how soft pima cotton is and that organic cotton is almost as soft. The mercerized cotton is really different with a smoother look and a shinier finish and is a tad stiffer to touch. The acrylic blend yarn was one of the last bits of it as I’m looking for more natural fibres lately. Again I used my 2.25 mm hook and stuffed them with wool. The pattern is from Yarnspirations. I like making my own but I also love use others if they fit my vision – no need to invent another bicycle as they say!

Although you can’t see them from the pictures, I also attached ribbons to the macarons so one could use them as accessories on a bag or as a key chain or why not as a Christmas decoration. The ribbon can also be replaced with a chain.

As they really came up so fast I just couldn’t stop with one, they needed to be in different colours (flavours). Also pictures-wise one macaron wouldn’t have looked half as nice as this pastel rainbow here. This is also the project, that some may or may not have figured, that used the yarn selection and was on a sneak-peek picture on Instagram.

Would you like a macaron? Or a few? Which flavour would you choose? Would you use it as a key chain or some other decoration/accessory?

 

L is for Llama.

Here I go again to continue with my amigurumi alphabet. I am determined to finish however long it takes. This time I’m not so sure how clear it is, when you look at the animal, who I created this time but I still think it turned out adorable.

Once again I used my almost traditional base and crocheted a llama. I really like llamas! I even considered a different version and even did a little sketch but making characters all in one shape has become a challenge on its own.

It has the classic base with white head and brown body with white hands and brown legs. I also added a white muzzle and brown tail and two ears with one of each colour. Last but definitely not least is the fluffy mane. I had really fun making and arranging it later on. Endless possibilities with the haircut here! Of course it also includes 6 mm safety eyes and nose. Yarn is 100% organic cotton and it’s stuffed with pure wool. I used a 2.25 mm crochet hook.

In this case, as of many others, there is actually so many possibilities and variations for the colours. I googled a bit and found one fellow with white front and brown behind with a mixed-coloured head. I think it looks fun although I’m not completely settled with it. I’m thinking if it needs any changes but not sure if or what. What do you think? Does it look like a llama enough?

In the past I’ve had problems with my characters sitting properly. Sometimes they tend to fall sideways. Lately I’ve been trying to pay more attention on legs and tail placement to improve it but as you can see this one is still not really leaning on it’s tail, although it sits nicely anyways.

Next up in the amigurumi alpahbet is M. What could it stand for?

K is for Koala.

Time for the next letter in alphabet – K. For this one I attempted on making another animal based on the same form as my thesis. The body and limbs were simple and standard as I make them for anyone. Interestingly enough I found out that Koalas have no visible tail, not even a small one. The main part of the ears (grey) was also pretty basic but adding the white was much trickier than it seemed. It tended to be too much or too little and in the end they are not completely identical but in such cases I figure this is nature, it doesn’t always have to be the same.

This fellow was also one that I took into a shop for sale among some other older ones that you have already seen (i.e. donut, two monkeys etc). We’ll see and hear in some while how it went and if anyone had interest in them. I really like the grey, black and white combo here and the fact that the grey is also somewhat speckled, gives it a more natural feel.

Black yarn I used for the nose is organic cotton, grey is recycled cotton and the white fluff is made of organic cotton and silk blend. The last one I also brushed a little to give some extra fluffiness. Crochet hook I used was 2.25 mm, safety eyes 6mm and safety nose 7 mm. It’s stuffed with pure wool.

How do you like him? I’m looking forward to making other animals and creatures on my amigurumi base, I love experimenting like that. What kind of characters would you like to see? What else would you like me to make in addition to amigurumi? Let me know in the comments! (:

J is for Jalapeno.

This is the thing, kind of edible jalapeno. Not my favourite kind of food but interesting looking enough to try and make it into amigurumi. I googeled a little bit t find the closest colour of yarn from my stash and found out I really have only a few greens. So this is as close as I could get, perhaps a bit too dark and cold shade but recognisable, I figure.

It’s a simple little figure. I worked it from the wider end toward the thinner and then added the stem part later. I didn’t use a pattern but made it up on the go instead. The yarn I used didn’t have the label anymore but I’m pretty sure it was HP Garn Love Garn, it’s a nice 100% cotton. The hook was an old soviet time hook that didn’t have a size marked on but my guess is it was somewhere between the 1-1.5 mm range. I stuffed it with some spare wool I had left from my thesis.

Once again I got some reassurance that old hooks and amigurumi don’t match. At least not in my hands. They are simply too thin and long. Perhaps for some lace etc they would work better. So far my favourites are Japanese-made that are shorter and have a nice soft grip (Clover Amour and Soft Touch).

Next in the alphabet is K and this time it would be a live organism. Any guesses who would come up? Hit follow and don’t miss out! Maybe there will be some non-crochet crafts meanwhile.

Lined bag(s)

This next post is about stuff I made in school. I try and post them chronologically so whatever I made first comes first (or as similar as I can remember). I realise I have already shared some about my studies but mostly only exercises and no real projects. So this is about sewing.

At first we made a small bag in school similar to the one that we later had to do at home in full size.

It was a small lined pouch that I later used for pens and pencils and other stuff I needed in school. I lined it with a vintage polka-dot fabric. I choose them from what I had brought with me. In some schools you get the supplies from there but then you also have to leave the products. I’m glad we got to keep everything.

In the instructions the larger bag was very similar to this one, also including a flap and a long handle. It kind of looked like a laptop bag and some really did make themselves one. I decided to flip it portrait instead of landscape and didn’t use the flap or the long handle either. I made a backpack instead. Here is a rough draft of this one where you can also see the lining print which is not visible anywhere else including other details.

The main fabric is a thicker sort of cotton and the lining (again vintage) much thinner. I also added floral welts to the seams inside, some cotton lace and cotton straps. Metal buckles I got from an old bag. They fit perfectly for both the straps and the bag, I was surprised really.

I love neutral and gray colours and I also like the pop of colour. Yellow and gray go together really nice and altough I have now had the bag for more than a year I still love it. It’s the perfect size for everyday use and cycling around but also just fits A4 sized papers if necessary.

Not the best picture but gives some sense of the size. It has no pockets but I don’t really miss them either. It’s this kind of perfect size bag that nothing gets lost in it because you can’t fit too much in there, just the necessities.

I’m planning on making more of them. I want to try pockets whether on the outside, the sides or inside. Also I want to see if I still remember how to make one. But this one is not bad for the first try, eh? Let me know in the comments what you think!

Next post will be crochet related again to continue the amigurumi alphabet.

H is for Hot Dog.

Organic (the bread), recycled (the hot dog) and a bit of regular (ketchup) cotton yarns.

Some stuffing.

1.75 mm crochet hook.

Made up the pattern.

The sausage colour might be a little off but as I have mentioned, it’s knid of a stash-buster project so I’m only allowed to use the yarns I already have.

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H nagu hot dog.

G is for Gecko.

 

Hand-dyed organic cotton yarn.

6 mm safety eyes.

Small amount of stuffing.

1.75 mm crochet hook.

Made up the pattern on the go.

PS! Not stuffing the head made the back sides of the safety eyes shape the head really nice.

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G nagu geko. ^_^

E is for (Easter) Egg.

• 1.75 mm hook.
• Cotton yarn.
• Embroidery floss for decorations.
• Stuffing.
• I think I used this pattern.

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E nagu (lihavõtte)muna.