A Scottish Doll

Now I have recovered my camera from its recent hiding place I can load up my recent experiementations.

This lady is approximately 11cm in height, crocheted with double knit cotton.  Her white cross is embroidered onto her jumper to give her a Scottish theme.  Perhaps she is Homecoming Scotland doll?  Her hair is unravelled tapestry wool to give her some curls.

My ever critical daughter informs me that the neck isn't right yet.

Another DS case

This one is for my niece.  It is plain so far and I am still deciding how to decorate it.  She might be happiest with a Ben Ten version, but I don't think it will go too well with the pink.

The last case was very well received by my daughter.

Nintendo DS case completed

Front

I am very pleased with how my DS case has turned out.  My daughter's Nintendo DS fits snugly inside with a purple strap and crocheted button to stop it from falling out.  The daisy on the front is for decoration.

I used tapestry wool to give the gradations of colour - pinks for the front and purples for the back.  The next time I will try a solid cotton to fine-tune the pattern, and might even be able to write it down for anyone who has a desire to try their own.  

Back

Nintendo DS case WIP

At last I have started making the DS case I have been promising to make for some time.  It is made with a 3.25mm hook and tapestry wool.  I love the texture and the colours of the wool, especially with the dense stitches from the small-ish hook.  Once the loose ends are sewn in, I think it will have some small butterflies or flowers and a little tab to stop the DS from falling out.


The problem is my little girl never puts her DS in a case.  I am hoping that the use of her favourite colours will help.

Front

Back

In use

Doctor Who, ice cream and little crocheted butterflys

It is a quiet evening.  I have watched an old Doctor Who episode, eaten a pot of vanilla ice cream and admired my new fish in the aquarium.  The fish are not dead, the ice cream was lovely and even though it was a Christopher Eccelston Doctor Who, Captain Jack was there to make things good again.

While doing each of the above I played with some tapestry wool to make experimental butterflies.  Not when I was eating the ice cream as wool and ice cream are not a good mix.

These might develop into Narabugs to go with the Pipkins, or they will go nicely on a Nintendo DS case that I plan to make at some point.  I am not sure that butterflies on a DS case will encourage my little girl to put her DS into it, but I live in hope.

Work in progress now finished

The previous WIP that I posted is now complete.  It turns out he is a cold weather janitor with a purple and white hat and flaps to keep his ears cosy.  His matching scarf will keep his neck cosy when he is out sweeping leaves.

He took a couple of evenings to complete and is approximately 20cm tall.

There are a couple of things I will change when I make another - his arms are a little on the long side and I might try toy eyes instead of felt.  He is also a perfect size to be a football mascot, so he might get a St Mirren strip next time.

The rest of the Pipkins

These are the rest of the characters of Waybuloo.

I am most pleased by the way Yojojo turned out.  He has a marvellous curly tail and a little quiff or hair that reminds me of a combover.

Lau Lau is a rabbit Pipkin made of purple cotton.  Her dress comes off.

Finally, there is Nok Tok.  I think I got his legs right, but his t-shirt is entirely the wrong colour and his smile does not work out as well with brown wool on brown wool.  These have all been noted in my scribble book of ideas.

Once they were finished, I proudly presented them to my niece.  They proceeded to dance around the room and sing.  The little purple one had a new house inside a plastic pumpkin, while the blue and pink one hid among the books on the shelves.  She has already lost the orange one.  I take this a sign of approval.

De Li

This is De Li.

The dress is removable, and can be changed with Lau Lau's and Nok Tok's shirt.  I am pleased with her ears and big eyes and she fits just nicely in a little girl's hands.  I felt that she was a little fatter than I wanted and her feet were just not right, so the pattern was changed for the other Pipkins.

Waybuloo

My five year old niece loves Waybuloo - a BBC kids' show with bright green grass and soft mood music. Think Tellytubbies with yoga. These computer generated Pipkins float around and try to encourage movement and exercise. At least I think they do as I have only watched the show a couple of times. It seems to be popular among this age group and I am sure most parents of young children will know what I am talking about.

Nock-Tock, De Li, Yojojo, Lau Lau

There are dolls and books and teddies available from toyshops, but I decided that I would go one better and make my own for her birthday. She is now the proud owners of four Pipkins - Lau Lau, Nock-Tock, Yojojo and De Li.

The design evolved as the toys were made, so there are variations in each one. De Li is a little chubbier than I would have liked and their faces are not as oval as they should have been. My perfectionist daughter also declared that Lau Lau's head was too floppy. But my niece is ever so pleased with them. They are a perfect size for little hands to hold and for babies to lick.

They are also able to fit in the doll's house to watch television.

Tomorrow I will try to post individual photos of each one.

Adding to Flickr and WIP

I now have a flickr account http://www.flickr.com/photos/kirsteencraft/ for the attention seeking crochet creatures to further showcase themselves. There are more pictures there if anyone is interested in seeing what the back of a crocheted mummy looks like.

Work in Progress

I think this one might end up being an accountant by his sensible grey trousers, white shirt and flat black shoes. It is irresistible to name him the 'armless accountant for the moment even though he is also faceless and bald.

Belated Halloween Creatures

It's late. They know. Perhaps they have been trick or treating for a few days longer than normal, or got distracted by the parties they have been invited to. Maybe they had stomach ache from eating too many sweets?

Zombie Girl

She is proud to be the eldest of the three, and loves her thick purple hair and grey pinafore. When she knocks on your door, it is hard not to notice the cross eyes and coy smile.

Personality - Zombies get a bad press, so it's not surprising she is a little shy. It's easy to hide when you can just pull your hair over your eyes. But get her playing her guitar and she is not so quiet.

Particulars - 4mm crochet hook, Blue cotton body, DK grey pinafore, DK purple hair, height 17cm. One piece body with attached arms.

The Green Witch

The Green Witch is similar to her friend, so much so that they are known to swap dresses on occasion. Her hat and hair are her pride and joy, but she is careful never to tell just how she keeps her hair so blue.

Interests - Like all witches she loves cooking and spell making. Her chicken noodle soup is better than her invisibility potion, but she doesn't mind as she is never short of guests for a dinner party. Although they were a little reluctant after the time she got the cauldron and the saucepan muddled up. She couldn't find her visitors for four days.

Particulars - 3.25mm crochet hook, green shimmer Elle yarn body, Blue nautical cotton hair and 4ply Jaegar dress and hat.

The Mummy

Finally comes the Mummy. She/he/it is mute, but we can only assume they enjoy Halloween as much as the others. Although no-one knows how one manages to eat the candy with a mouth covered in bandages.

Mysteries - So many! Where did it come from? Is it a boy or a girl? How do you know if it is happy? Why does it go to the Green Witch's dinner party if it can't eat anything?

Particulars - 3.25mm crochet hook, Rowan Roma DK white body, brown eyes.

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So if you see these three at your door next year, please treat nice.

First Post...

There. Done it. Posted something. Aren't the first words always the hardest.

This is my blog and it is where all the crocheted creatures hang out before they get tidied away in the toybox. Just try stopping them jumping in front of the camera as soon as their eyes are sewn on and their smiles put in place. They pose and posture and generally make a fuss until the right shot is done and they are satisfied that their best face is forward. I refuse to photoshop them, so it has to be right.

Their arrogance comes from knowing that they are unique (and not in a bad way, I hope). Each amigurami creation has been made by the guiding principle of good cooking; a dash of this and a couple of spoons of that. No recipes or instructions. What results is either a masterpiece or a learning experience.

I will let the reader judge which is which...