Ripple Baby Blanket

Really close friends of ours are expecting. They have decided to be surprised on the day so we don't know if we are planning for a boy or a girl.
I decided I really wanted to make something that would/could be around for a long time and would suit whatever nursery colours they ended up having.
I have included the pattern I used at the bottom of this post.

I used bamboo cotton so it can be washed often.

I've always liked ripple blankets and thought they were much harder than this, but I would recommend them to anyone!

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PATTERN
With white, chain about 1.5 times as wide as you want your blanket to be. Don't worry if it is too long- you can always cut off the excess of your chain once you've started you valleys and peaks and can see how much you like.

I like three single crochet up the side of the hill, 3 crochet into the next single crochet, then three single crochet don the other side of the hill. Then, to make the valley, skip two single crochet and start the three going up the hill again.

At the last "side" of a peak you'll need to skip a single crochet and then turn as normal and skip another as you up the side again- otherwise your piece gradually increases- something I missed the first time I tried this.

Here is the pattern, properly laid out:

Row 1: With white , single crochet (sc) in 2nd chain (ch) from hook, sc in next 2 ch, *3 sc in next ch, sc in next 3 ch, skip (sk) next 2 ch, sc in next 3 ch; repeat from * to last 4 ch, 3 sc in next ch, sc in next 3 ch - 13 ripples.
Row 2: Ch 1, turn, skip (sk) first st, sc in next 3 sts, *3 sc in next st, sc in next 3 sts, sk next 2 sts, sc in next 3 sts; rep from * to last 5 sts, 3 sc in next st, sc in next 2 sts, sk next st, sc in last st.


Then I did 6 rows of white and two of the colours.
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Happy crocheting!

Sleepy Lamb Mobile

Here it is, after months of silence. My little lamby mobile:

It turned out cuter than I expected although tying the lambs to the rig is a pain. I have yet to find the right kind of string/thread to hang them by and so they inevitably break or tangle or end up higher/lower than I wanted. Please please leave a comment and give me suggestions for this as I LOVE making mobiles but this is driving me insane.

Tiny sleepy crochet lamb

This little guy is a prototype for a mobile I have in mind.

Fluffy crochet boy monkey

I had a commission to make another fluffy monkey but for a boy. Hmmm. tough. How do I make a small fluffy thing for a boy?
I'll tell you:   a scarf.
and possibly a some funky hair. clearly.

Wanna see the first fluffy monkeys I made? they're here: little fluffy crochet monkies

Horace the Crochet Giraffe

It's been a hectic couple of months, between a new job and a new home I now have a new craft space that is slightly larger- woohoo! Up until this point most of my crafting using my sewing machine has been done in slightly less than a meter square, perched on the edge of my futon, crouched in front of my sewing machine table which has one leg considerably shorter than the other two. I have moved to an actual desk and a real cupboard for my supplies instead- oh the luxury! I give you this nugget of my life to help you know that it can be done- not all of us get fully equipped craft rooms with shiny cutting tables and ribbon organisers and peg boards. but you can still create and give freedom to your ideas.

So! one of the ideas that was recently born is Horace:

 Horace was supposed to be a crochet giraffe. But Horace grew to be his own thing- I'm not sure he is a giraffe, but that's OK, I like him.

 Some things just insist on being the way they are, no matter how far away from my original vision they are!

Little Crochet Delights

I taught myself how to crochet using Youtube videos about a year ago and I have found that I am happiest crocheting amigurumi (little animals). The word is Japanese and means small creature or anthropomorphic object.
The first is this robot that I made for my cousins son (his name is Tim). I got to try crochet spirals! I love em!

The next is a little bunny pattern I found online

These are my favourite! For some reason I always have white wool. But its also the nasty acrylic stuff. To make this fluffy look I took a stiff hairbrush that had lost the ends of its bristles and attacked the monkey. I think it is much better this way!

Their faces are felt and they are super soft!

I sent them as a set to my parents in law. I think they should always stay together, they'd be sad apart!

Hope these are a source of inspiration for your projects :)

Another day, another Owl

This is what too many craft boards gets you. A craving to make something that you never would have considered before. An unbearable desire to craft a theme that would not have crossed my tiny brain without the constant highlighting of their charms by the numerous swappers, crafters and bloggers that I visit for inspiration and just plain masochism as I writhe with the knowledge that I shall not be able to live up to their crafty standards.

For you delection my small collection of Owly flavoured stuffs:

First- some golf ball sized Christmas ornaments for my mother that could fit into someones hand luggage to lug all the way back home to SA. The bodies are spheres of double yarn crochet and the rest is felt. Quick and cute.
Second- these were inspired by the Toy Society Drop idea (link to right) to leave toys scattered about to be found by a child and bring them a moment of joy. I'm still working up the courage to go through with this but am besotted with the idea. What if the child hates it, what if the toy gets tortured (I never really got over my brother punching my dolls to make me wanna kill him!), what if it is just abandoned? One day I'll grow up, i know. One day I'll stop falling in love with toys and weird plastic trinkets and be an adult who realises they aren't real. One day.
For now, the pics

You know, because owls hang from branches, they don't sit on them. Don't be ridiculous.

Lets all hope that owls are out my system now. The world simply does not need more crafted owls.