Edward's Menagerie

Hello all, 

I don't know about you but I love it when a new great crochet or knitting book is released. Not so long ago Toft Alpaca released their amigurumi book full of adorable animals. If you are unfamiliar with the term it basically means a crocheted toy. They are great as you can get patterns of anything from zebras to Minions.........I know as I have made many. Some of my original amigurumi patterns can be seen in my Ravelry shop. 

I love the story behind the creation of 'Edward's Menagerie' and all of the patterns in the book itself. The designs originated from when Kerry Lord was pregnant with her son (Edward) and this is when she first picked up a crochet hook. From this point she made up the patterns of the lovely animals and they have finally been published in this adorable book. I have been really looking forward to this and was fortunate enough to attend the magnificent book launch....which included a piñata full of knitting goodies :) 

I love this book as it provides clear instructions for all the techniques needed to make the animals from the book. The patterns are also divided into varying levels of difficulty which is great for beginners and more advance crocheters. I love the shapes of the animals and they are sooo hug-able. Another special touch is that all of the animals have their own names and a back story. If you have never picked up a hook before or have been crocheting for years I would recommend this book! 

The one animal I had to make from this book was an alpaca called Seamus. The pattern was easy to follow and I loved that the book also includes sewing up instructions as these are often left out or extremely vague. I quickly made him up and I am chuffed with the results. If you love Seamus as much as I do and you would like a copy of the book, check out Toft's website. 

If you need additional guidance on how to crochet or would like some tuition onto how to make the animals, Toft runs many workshops to provide brilliant hints and tips. These are well worth attending.

I have a few more animals that I would like to make from this book and I will post the results when I have completed them.

I am back from my holidays and I happy to say that I was in much need of my holiday socks as in the evenings it was freezing!!!!!! However, I have a seen a lot of knitspiration and I will hopefully be working on more of my own original patterns soon. 

Until next time

Happy crafting. 

www.facebook.com/knitsnotperfect

@knitsnotperfect

http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed

Craft stalls and the Knitting Thief

Hello all,

I did my 2 craft stalls and it seemed to go OK. The first was in the town of Nuneaton. Here I found people seemed to like smaller items such as key rings. I was nervous when I first arrived as this was my first actual craft fair.  I managed to forget my table cloth (despair) As I looked sadly at my naked table all was not lost as I lucky had a friend there to help me out. I have learnt that Rule 1 of a craft stall never forget your table cloth or you will have a naked table of shame! Rule number 2, make sure your items clearly show what they are. I had some headbands but people seemed unsure what they were....I even had one person tell me that the necklaces I had made were lovely. I have since decided to order some mannequin heads to display them clearly on :). Rule 3 take your knitting. This was great as people came over to chat to me about my craft and also laugh as I managed to tangle myself in the wool again and again. 

The second craft fair I did was in Rugby. I came more prepared as I had my table cloth! However, to my surprise the tables were already beautifully dressed. Rule 4 do  not assume you will need to use the table cloth you bring. In this area I found that my mobile phone covers did well :) So I have come to realise that location can affect what you sell. I guess this means that rule 5 is that location is key. 

I tried to make my tension square for my Christmas jumper but alas it was an epic fail. I realised that I knit extremely tightly. So tight I have to use needles that are 1/2mm bigger than intended for the wool. This means if I continued with the current yarn...It would be holey and look odd. I have since consoled myself by yarn shopping on www.woolwarehouse.co.uk Of course I did not buy anything extra....that I will need to hide from the husband....:s 

I am up to date with my knitting orders :) I have made 2 minions, 2 cowls, 1 West Brom scarf and a Super Mario. I found a great pattern on http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mario-plushie by Linda Potts. The pattern is free and it is a great pattern. It is easy to follow and the end products look like what they are meant to.  I have since become a massive fan of Linda and follow her blog :) Please respect that the pattern or end product is not to be sold. 

I have realised that my knitting is no longer safe in my house. There is a creature that lives in my home that steals yarn and needles. I thought I was misplacing things until I caught the villain red handed, or pawed rather! To my horror, the criminal was none other than my pet rabbit Caramel. I was there, casually sewing my project together and she jumps on my table, steals my knitting needle, runs away with and and then gnawed it. I am in need of a new place to stash my work.....and a new 3.5mm bamboo needle.

I have brought the latest Inside Crochet magazine and again delighted with the projects. I particularly love the crochet Christmas Stocking and the Festive Wreath. This has been added to my long list of things I would love to make myself.

I have now got the festive spirit so currently working on Christmas decorations for future stall. I have finally got an original pattern that I am happy with for a mini stocking and I hope to made a mini snowman soon too (as red and white are the only colours I have :s)

I will be selling on a crafty stall again on Saturday. It is at Bedworth Methodist Church, Mill Street, CV12 8JZ. The event begins at 10 am and I will be there.......with a dressed table. 

Well I am going to return to my festive makes

Happy crafting :)

Deadlines and Christmas Jumper part 1

Hello all,

Hope you are well. I have had a busy week full of deadlines. You will hopefully see some more of my patterns soon (fingers crossed). I am also involved with a volunteer organisation in my area who are intending to yarn bomb a nursery to raise awareness of children's well being. This will be the first bit of yarn bombing that I have done. If there is a piccy, I will post it, My urgent deadlines have been achieved so I am now able to update my blog :)

I have had more orders for minions and I learnt about a new character called 'Totoro'. One of the crocheted minion has been mentioned on a blog (http://williamsandcole.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/one-in-a-minion/) How cool is that !!!!! I am also going to be working on two cowl and baby gifts. In the mists of all of this I have began work on my knitted Christmas jumper.

Phase 1 of selecting a jumper has been successful. Looking through 'Merry Christmas Jumpers to Knit' by Sue Stratford, I have decided that I would like a reindeer jumper :).I think, if I am to a make a Christmas jumper, I may as well go all out.

 The 2nd phase on this knitting adventure is to work out what size I am. I tried to use measuring tape on myself but worked out it is a two person job very quickly. This was after I tripped over it :s However, after speaking to my dad, he came up with the idea to measure a jumper I own and that fits. I have quickly realised my arms are a lot longer than the pattern was written for so i need to remember this when making the sleeves. After much confusion, I have decided to go with a large.

.Phase 3, to buy the yarn. I am a big supporter of natural fibres and like to use them where possible. I referred to a great yarn shopping website (www.woolwarehouse.co.uk) and decided to use Rico Cotton. I have ordered if (with some extra) and can't wait to get started soon :)

If you are at a loss on Friday and are near Coventry, feel free to come along to knit night. It is held in Esquires Coffee House in Coventry and you are able to enjoy free entertainment from a group called Down the Rabbit Hole (@catonthejam). The knit night runs from 7pm to 9pm and all skill levels are welcome. Please bring your own yarn and needles as it cannot be provided on the night.

That's all for now

Happy crafting :)

Sarah

www.facebook.com/knitsnotperfect
@knitsnotperfect
www.etsy.com/shop/knitsnotperfect

Flowers and Minions

I am currently undertaking two projects:

The first is I have been invited to do my first bit of yarn bombing. To do this, it will involve me crocheting/knitting loads of flowers. This is great as when I have a spare 30 minutes, I can whip up a flower or two. I have one original pattern for a flower but I would like to think of more. This is something to work on when ........I have more free time.......:s

The second project began as I had a friend who wanted me to make a minion inspired toy. I went to Raverly where I found a great free pattern. Here is a link http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/minion-inspired-softie. It is easy to follow and the end product does look like the picture. I decided to adapt the eyes as I dislike working with felt. I tend to find that I keep taking massive chunks out so I end up with no eyes. Just something a bit odd looking. I think it worked well with crocheted eyes instead. As my friend wanted two, I found I got to the point where I thought I was happy to move onto a new project.

A picture of my end result was posted on my page (www.facebook.com/knitsnotperfect) and I got a record number of likes. So I have learnt that cute and cuddly things are a hit. I will keep this in mine when I begin to design more original items.

You may wonder what I am going to do next........make three more minions as they were popular. Oh dear maybe next week I will find more free time to design again. Can't complain really as I am still doing what I love :)