Crocheted snowflakes

I think I'm kind of addicted to making these! I've spent quite a lot of time trolling Ravelry and Pinterest for various patterns, and I know I've only skimmed the surface! I really need to get one of those '1001 Snowflakes to Crochet' kind of books, but of course they're all out of the library at this time of the year.

I've been experimenting with different hook sizes and with two different yarns - both 8-ply but one is slightly felted and I think it shows off the patterns slightly better, but they're both fine.

The most common one up there is from Attic24's wonderful tutorial - if you haven't made snowflakes before I highly recommend starting with that one and it gives you all the skills you need to move on to other variations. They're really quite simple once you get going. I've stiffened them with a mixture of PVA glue and water, directions are here. My solution was probably more like 70/30 water and PVA than 50/50 though, I didn't want them to be too stiff.

Other patterns I've used are:
My favorite snowflake
Snowflake ornament at Redheart
Drops Snow Stars
Quick Picot Snowflake (also available as a free class from Craftsy)
Not pictured is Meet Met At Mike's stars which I tried last night - quite a different technique and look than these ones (not surprisingly considering they're stars!), but still fun.

The agony and ecstasy of crochet

I have conquered the wallpaper in the kitchen! Unfortunately no rest for the wicked, it's now on to giving the hallway a freshen-up. Sigh. But it's not all endless work on the house and deep (deep) cleaning before it goes on the market, there has been a bit of crafting - mostly crochet as my sewing machine is in being serviced.

I've been working on secret Christmas stuff but I'm going to post intriguing glimpses because I know personally I LOVE it when bloggers get all mysterious and won't show projects and just give hints and write coy little posts. Not. But this isn't a book deal in the offing, this is Christmas, so I hope you understand.

I made this



It's in Utiku possum/merino by The Wool Company and it's the kind of yarn you just want to bury your face in and rub it around only that looks really creepy except in the privacy of your own home.

So that was good but this wasn't



Something else had to be ripped out before the mistake went any further. Amazingly I got it crocheted back up again before the cat noticed it.

I'm missing my Instagram widget in the sidebar, where these images would normally have shown up, but it was causing some people to get a rather unpleasant notification that my site contained malware. Hopefully that's all cleared up now!

Clothed Tomtes

Phew, I've got the two Christmas present Tomtes clothed and decent! They've turned out better than I'd hoped, though they do tend towards the pin-headed. I used the pattern in Scandinavian Stitches as a starter and then made some changes so they were more similar to the Maileg Pixies I love so much. I'm not one for promoting the "knock-off", which is a term and a business that I really have no time for, but I'm going to be a total hypocrite here and say that I was more than a little influenced by the lovely outfits you see on the Maileg pixies (as well as their ears, though mine are a work in progress I think!) and the proportions of the bodies. I would absolutely buy some of those though, if I had the chance to see them in person, the more I look at the pictures of them the more you can see the effort and class that went into them, I don't mind paying for that!

I figured out the patterns for their tops but the pants came from a pair in the Wee Wonderfuls book. The girl is in French General and the boy is in cotton jersey and pants are a Lecien fabric (I think). My mum knitted the scarf and was also a huge help putting the bodies together - stuffing, attaching arms etc. Their pear shapes made dressing them a little difficult but it's kind of adorable, especially in the boy. 

If I were to do them again I think I'd make them a little less pear-shaped, the heads a bit wider, and integrate the ears rather than sewing them on as an after-thought. I'd make the arms a little less long and the mittens rounder. I wouldn't change the clothes though, they're perfect and I'm really chuffed with myself for figuring out how to make the tops like that, and the fabrics are perfect. My two will be wearing the same outfits for sure; but imagine, I could do them a new set of clothes for each Christmas!

A mousie pouch

The other night at the AMQG challenge unveiling Helen asked me if I had any other Christmas sewing on and I said no, just a couple little zippy pouches. I suppose that wasn't quite honest because this is a bit more than a plain old zippy pouch in the end - and I'm very pleased with it even if zipper was a bit of a disaster because I tried to get all fancy with it.

 

It's for Hazel's bestie Brooke and I'll put in a chocolate Santa and a couple chocolate coins to round it off. The pattern is from Scandinavian Stitches.

Half-way there!

The tomtes are done but not clothed - still, they're rather appealing sitting in a row like that all nudie-nudie. Hazel has appropriated two already and is lugging them around the house.

A cautionary tale for Tomtes

The caption for this image on Instagram was "Christmas Elf [Tomte] legs - particularly nice dipped in chocolate and served with seasonal berries" Ellie over at Petalplum asked, most reasonably given the time of year, how they were going to run around and help Santa? I replied that they'd do fine in their little wheelchairs.  Then I posted this photo of arms:



If Santa fails to make it to your house this year I do apologise...

What's next?

Mat told me I should take a break from sewing after the pillow marathon but all I can say is "Tomtes ahoy!"



Red wool felt for the caps, with a range of fabrics from French General and (I think) Lecien. Can't wait to get started, but I need to make a few pattern alterations first. I hadn't realised how pretty the French General fabics were, they're much more appealing in real life than they are in pictures.

We had our local Santa Parade yesterday, and our tree is up, so I'm starting to get into the mood; although the fact that Hazel has decided that 'Feliz Navidad' and 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus' by the Jackson Five are her favourite Xmas songs tempers that a little!

I'm back!

The good times in the snow are all over and we're back to green and luscious Auckland in the middle of a hot summer. It's taking some getting used to! I'd have more photos to show you but they're on a DVD and my laptop's disk reader has finally died after hinting at it for a couple years so I'm now pondering a new computer or fixing this old one! Either option is expensive.

Hazel and I came back with 4 pieces of luggage, most of which were her Christmas presents, but they did contain quite a lot of fabric and lots of books - some of which were craft-related! "Oh how surprising" you say.

I thought I'd show you a few bits and pieces from them all, especially the Japanese books and the delightful "All You Can Sew For Children" books I and II which date from 1972 and 1973. I stole them from mum and had a great time going through having flashbacks to clothes she'd made for me from them. Some of the photos of clothes are wonderful (in an unintentionally hilarious way sometimes) and I'm hoping to make a few of them up and see how they translate to modern sensibilities.

I bought the Japanese books from Yes Asia and they were meant to take a month to arrive but they actually beat me home (and no I suppose they weren't in my luggage then were they...) in less than 2 weeks! On the left: Innocent and lovely girls' wear by Mano Akiko, ISBN 457911194X, and on the right: Dressy Little Girl -From one piece dress to coat (Onnanoko no oshare fuku) by Araki Yuki, ISBN 4529045269 / 9784529045261.



These are the Yes Asia translations, I think I've seen them called different names elsewhere, so if you were looking for them I'd go on the ISBN. Dressy Little Girl is probably the most accessible of the two and I discovered I already have an earlier book by the same author.

The buttons down the back of this are gorgeous.

Oh my goodness I love this navy knit dress but Hazel hates high necks so I'd have to adapt it and the buttons wouldn't be as lovely. She'd like the skirt though.

The top is from the same pattern as above. The skirt has these cute little kick pleats at the back.


This is such a cute jacket, but I was just thinking it would make a great dressing gown too.


I'll take a few photos from the other book tomorrow!

Duncan!

If people thought that embroidered Duncan was cute I thought I should show you how gorgeous he is in real life. He's a Norfolk Terrier and a total sweetie. And look at the fur he grew just for winter in Edmonton!

He came as cabin luggage from New York, which I still find an amusing concept.

We miss him (and Uncle Mike and Auntie Kate) a lot.

Mike, Kate and Duncan

Mike, Kate and Duncan, originally uploaded by Hazelnutgirl.

My brother Mike asked if I could do an embroidery for him like the one in my header and I finally got it done the night before they headed back to NY - hence the inelegant photo. I would have liked to have spent a bit more time on Duncan's chin but I got his ears perfectly so they kind of balance each other out.

Wildlife

Well the kind that lives in our yard that is.

This hare (though we call him our bunny) hangs out in the front yard most days, secure in the knowledge that he's so well camouflaged no-one can see him.  Bunnies aren't very smart.


There is also the squirrel who tears around at a mad pace up and down trees, along his little paths and down tunnels in the snow, popping back up in other places and then doing it all again with a great deal of manic energy. I miss squirrels so much in New Zealand and sometimes I entertain the notion of smuggling a few back in my underpants.


I made these ornaments for my friend Jess whose tree fell over last year (the great Christmas Tree Disaster of '09) and who lost a lot of precious decorations. The pattern is from Fa La La La Felt and they're very cute, this totally awful photo doesn't do them justice. The instructions say to cut the circles out freehand after doing the embroidery and so I did but oh boy it's hard to abandon perfect symmetry and embrace the wonk. Mum did one of them and had the same problem so I think it's probably an inherited thing ;)

Merry Snow Mermaiden!

A belated Merry Christmas to you all! I had great intentions of having a lovely winter image to mark the occasion but things got busy and then there was a tummy bug fiasco on Xmas Day and so here we are a couple days after the fact.

I'm still coming to grips with taking photos in the snow, which is proving more challenging than I'd expected! Not helped by me always being taken by surprise when it starts getting dark at 3:30pm, I really need to take photos in the AM! Naturally this has meant that I've spent more time than is rational trying to get rid of the horrible grey cast that a badly exposed snow photo has. Look out for more Photoshopped madness.

These were the Mermaiden I made for (from left) Hazel, Nicole, Danielle and Amy, the pattern is from the Wee Wonderfuls book.



I love the final product but boy they're a lot more work than I thought they'd be! Of course I realised this after I'd mentally committed to the project, but just be warned if you are going to take one on - read the instructions first! Also, I'd recommend popping a bit of stuffing into the highest bit of the hair before inserting the head, it gives a much nicer finish. I did it for the pale pink hair but not Hazel's on the far left and you can see how it hollows out beyond the head. You could also put some stuffing into the tail, although I've been told by those in the know the floppiness adds to the swimminess.

The Bunny-hug Jacket and beret

I made this jacket for Hazel to wear when we get to Canada but it's so hot and humid right now that there is no way I'd get a photo of her wearing it, she'd expire of heat stroke by the time I took it (see the jacket in action here).  It's adapted from the faux-fur jacket in Ottobre 4/2005 which is designed for a fake fur that has a nice fabric on the back of it, which means you have only the one layer and just bind the edges with bias. Naturally getting something like that here is a non-starter, so I used a sort of stiff velveteen with a fluffy knit lining and a layer of polar fleece in the middle. It wasn't too hard to sew up, although it's a fairly bulky coat! I also made the beret that goes with it

The jacket has snap fasteners and is also meant to have two ribbon ties along the edge, although I'm undecided about those at the moment as Hazel doesn't know how to tie bows and they'll probably end up dangling around being annoying and looking silly unless I tie them myself. Naturally she's keen for them!

The hat has a lovely little rose decoration, the first time I've ever done a fabric flower and it was surprisingly easy. It's made from minky and velour.

The jacket is so soft that we've been joking it's like being hugged by a bunny. And of course the hat is a bunny on your head. Awhile ago I remember reading a blog that asked the question whether readers named the projects they were working on and generally I don't, but this one was definitely 'The Bunny-hug Jacket'.

All matchy matchy

Nightie for Hazel and her doll, originally uploaded by Hazelnutgirl.

About 6 months ago I bought some vintage flannelette (or flannel, what's the difference exactly?) from a shop called Selvedge. Sadly they closed down not long after that, although in some ways it may have been good for my pocketbook! Anyways, I had all this scrummy soft fabric and it really just screamed out pyjamas, specifically the Oliver + S ones I love so much. Sadly, Hazel was hearing "nightie!" instead so that's what she got. As luck would have it, I had the book "All Dolled Up" out from the library and it had a 'Classic nightgown' pattern for girls AND their dolls. It really is an old-fashioned nightgown that's for sure, ruffles and all. I made the ruffles from plain pink flannelette - the selection of those kinds of fabrics are somewhat limited in the middle of summer here!

It's funny seeing Hazel and the doll together as they really do rather resemble each other, except for the doll's skin (referred to as "fair" on the American Doll website) - a tan that dark is something Hazel's never going to have!

The pattern went together well, all pretty straightforward except I must have hit a pin or something with my overlocker and it suddenly started chewing on the fabric instead of cutting it. For some reason I persisted for longer than I should have, nearly ruining the sleeves but managed to rescue them with lots of unpicking and using the regular machine. It would be up to 10 days to wait for the blade to be sharpened so that's a whole lot of clothes for me off my 'to-do' list because they really do need the overlocker. At first I was rather upset because I wanted a few nice merino tops to wear, but now as the deadline for leaving looms closer I'm kind of glad!

Ben's quilt

Ben's quilt, originally uploaded by Hazelnutgirl.

When my niece Rebecca was born a couple years ago I made her a small cot quilt for Christmas from Heather Ross' Rabbits and Racecars fabric. Then her brother Ben came along 6 months ago so I thought I should try another one. I love this fabric hugely, it's great fun to trace along the roads, looping around and looking at all the little cars. My favourite is the car that's rolled and is lying on its roof for all the world like a beetle on its back (the yellow one in the middle bottom third). I couldn't bear to cut into the fabric and disturb the traffic flow so I decided to leave it whole and quilt along the roads. That was such a no-brainer that even Hazel suggested it quite independently! I borrowed a better sewing machine from my friend Jesse (and am now even more dissatisfied with my old one!) and embarked on free motion sewing. There are some distinctly dodgy bits and wobbles and uneven stitch length, but the design is so forgiving that it doesn't actually matter. Love that. The quilting gives the fabric a lovely dimensional quality that's even better than I'd imagined. I'm going to bind it in orange, put a label on it and that's done and dusted.

Thanks very much for all your thoughtful and interesting replies on my money and crafting post. I really enjoyed reading through them and thinking about what you all had to say. There were a lot of perspectives but I think what I came away with was a real desire amongst you not to be sucked in by the pretty blogs and into spending money and to do it the thrifty way. So it seems to me that there IS a divide in this respect, whether it's driven by income or simply attitude. I have to admit that I come down on the money side of things more than I should, I just don't have that op-shop mojo and am willing to spend money to compensate for that lack of initiative and time. But I could put more effort into using what I've got before buying new, which I find hard for some reason - probably deeply psychological and Freudian! It's great to read about all of you who DO manage that and it inspires me to try harder. It's one thing to save buttons and trims and feel all thrifty like I do, and another to actually USE them! I think it might be my New Year's resolution. Ok, so I don't actually do those anymore as a result of bitter experience and failure in the past, but it's a good thing to aim for.

The 2+2 blouse

Can you believe that she's actually voluntarily wearing this?! In the end I gave it to her for Christmas openly (along with her Little Pup toy) and didn't resort to putting it in her stocking. I'm glad I did! She really seems to like it and I'm feeling pretty happy about it in general. It's a cute pattern and I'm sure I'll make it again a few times, both short-sleeved and the long-sleeve option.



I think part of the reason she likes it is that the fabric (My Folklore by Lecien) has squirrels on it and she loves squirrels. We often sing this song, from one of our favourite cartoons, Phineas and Ferb

Little Pups

As part of the gifty meme from earlier this year I made a wee stuffed dog from the More Softies book for my friend Jennifer in England. The pattern is called 'Little Pup' by My Little Mochi. He turned out so well that I made another for Hazel for Christmas.



When I first got the body sewed up it looked pretty dodgy, not at all like the one in the book! But as I stuffed it it looked better and better and by the time I got to sewing on the arms I was in luurve. The nose is a triumph of cute.

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009, originally uploaded by Ansis68.

We're back from our two weeks away, though I'm not entirely sure how rested and relaxed I am! My main fear was getting there and back in holiday traffic, the drivers here can be a mad, bad and dangerous bunch at the best of times, Christmas seems to bring out the worst in some of them and that's saying a lot! Why such a nice bunch of people turn in to angry maniacs behind the wheel has always puzzled me.

Aaaaanyways, the weather was lovely, the family were lovely (as usual) and we got Gran home for the day from the hospital which was also lovely. Hazel now has more My Little Pony stuff than is decent and I'm drawing the line because I think if I hear that awful theme song much more I might do something drastic which would scar her for life! My handmade gifts went down pretty well, the slippers got the best reception, although I hear my mum's tea cosy went down well on the NY end of things.

Mum's tea cosy

Remember these spots?



They were from a tea cosy I made for my mum



I hope she likes it! It seemed a good pattern for a cold winter's day - perhaps the bright colours and busyness will confuse the cold molecules :) It also comes with a wool pad to sit the tea pot on (not shown because it's boring and grey).

Business card wallet

I think I'm safe putting this up... if not Hi Mat!

A couple months ago Mat suggested that a business card holder would be a good present, and then I promptly forgot all about it. I ended up getting him a disposable pre-loaded Visa card so he can buy obscure reggae music online - and then I remembered the card holder idea. I did a quick Google and came up with a great little tutorial and this is the result:



open it up and voila! some Heather Ross Mendocino fabric. I think it's fairly 'guy-looking'.



Perfect to put the Prezzy Card into and partially disguise what it is when wrapped. I'm half-hoping he doesn't like it and I can take it over, I think my "business card" looks pretty snappy tucked in there!