An Unexpected Assistant

Hi there,
I came across a "female tailors dummy" which was discarded by the waste bin at the common area. It looked in good condition and I couldn't believe it (!) as I had been thinking of getting one to 'model' crochet clothing.
So here is a crochet tunic in cotton thread based on a pattern by Bernat. (pattern here). Don't you agree crochet clothing look way much better on the dummy than on a hanger?

Have a great week!

Serena

Brina the Crochet Ballerina

Hi there!

The lovely thing about amigurumi dolls is that you can customise it. I came across a lovely pattern by Mia of Owlishly Crochet (link to pattern) and couldn't resist!
Can you guess which was the most tedious part to make? Yup...the hair! Woven in strand by strand...
We named her Brina. Hope you like her as much as my daughter does!

Have a great week!
Serena

Study Buddies

Hi there!
It's been a long time since my last post an am grateful for a breather in my manic work schedule.
Can't believe 2 years have passed so quickly and I will now be saying goodbye to another batch of students.
As a farewell gift, they will each receive a 'study buddy'. Hope that this little buddy will be good company for them as they spend the next few weeks slogging for their upcoming finals.
(Many thanks to Karissa who has generously shared her pattern for the little fella here.)

I'm sure the students will like them, don't you think?

Serena

There's Always Time for Gifts

Hi there,
It's been almost 6 months since I've touched a crochet hook! I'm so pleased that I've finally managed to tear myself away from all that's been keeping me away to make some gifts for a few special friends of my son.
It was a request I couldn't resist -- make an amirugumi version from the drawing of a cat. This cat had a unique feature, a tuft of blue fringe. The timeline was also tight -- 2 days! Yep, there was definitely plenty of rumaging through 'my secret stash'. Using whatever I had on hand, this amigurumi of "Jayz" was made in time to be presented to the young artist. I'm so glad she liked it!
(Can you guess what I spent the most time on? The hair! I definitely felt like a hair stylist, trying to tease and shape the yarn to make it as soft and tousled looking as I could.)

For more works by this young artist, check out her DeviantArt page here: http://jayeve.deviantart.com/

'Jayz' was made based on a pattern by DDs Crochet which can be found here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/colorful-kitty-cat-doll-toy

Once started, can't just stop at one. So I made some others for her friends. 

Link to pattern for the whale is found in an earlier post here.

Glad to be back!

Serena

And the Bells are Ringing!

Hello,
Here's a post to 'ring in' the festive season -- sharing some crochet bells...can you guess what they are?

Well, it's a my take on a key pouch! Saw some versions of these on sale at the weekend market in Bangkok 2 years ago. I thought it was a good idea except that the cord was made very long ...which made me wonder "Wouldn't such a long cord get tangled up in ladies' handbags? (knowing most ladies have tons of 'stuff' in our bags)....
While mulling over what small gifts I could make for some dear colleagues, the key pouches came to mind. I made the cord shorter, but now it fits snugly on the button for storage so it wouldn't tangle around that lipstick, tissue pack etc in their bags!
For myself, I'm using it to store several thumb drives which I use for work.....
What might you use it for?

Till the next time, have a great year end of rest and spending meaningful time with your loved ones!

Serena

Spikes and a Phone Pouch

Hello there,
We just upgraded our daughter's handphone and so her handphone pouch wouldn't fit the new phone which is much larger. Coupled with the casing that the phone is in, it was difficult finding a pouch which would fit the phone snugly. Crochet comes to the rescue and thanks to the generous sharing of a free crochet pattern by Tamara Kelly of mooglyblog.com (pattern link is here), my daughter now has a new phone pouch! (The pouch then promptly accompanied us on our family vacation.)

Close-up of the Stitches

Small snap button to secure

 Have a great week ahead!
Serena

Cozying Up with the Kindle

Hello there!
We just purchased the Kindle but found that the leather cover that we had bought for it made the whole thing rather heavy and defeats the purpose of it being easily held in one hand for easy reading!
That sparked off the search for a crochet pattern for a cozy or pouch for the Kindle. 
This free pattern by Tamara at Mooglyblog (here) is beautiful and here's my take on it!
Have a great week ahead!

Seriously Cute Crochet

Hello there!

I'm thankful for a brief lull at the workplace which gave me time to make this cute little fella for a dear friend of my daughter. She loves it and I hope you do too!

 

You can find this pattern in the book titled 'Seriously Cute Crochet' by Ana Rimoli. Do check it out!

Compliments

Hello there,

Have you received a compliment today?

We all LOVE compliments don't we? For a crafter or anyone who creates, one of the best compliments we can receive is if someone will actually commission us to create something special for them...
In the past month, I've had the privilege of making two custom orders and loved every bit of the process.
Thank you so much to the 2 dear ladies who have greatly encouraged me!

Upsized Bunny

Hello there!

Do you remember the little bunny that was made from the pattern by Stephanie HERE at All About Ami ? 
She's been receiving lots of attention and when I was tasked to come up with a gift for a teen girl, my daughter suggested I 'upsize' the bunny.
So here is the 'upsized version'! Had a blast making it. Do hope over to check out the pattern and perhaps make one for yourself!

Have a great weekend!
Serena

A New Project for A New Experience

Hi there,

My young lady is attending dance school for a week in Australia. Having danced all this while in our hot tropical climate, leg warmers are definitely not part of her dance wardrobe. All fellow crafters would agree with me that when faced with a choice of 'buying' versus 'making', most of us would definitely say "I could make that!". And so I did, with great help from the free crochet pattern (here) generously written up by Ashley at A Crafty House.

As Ashley's pattern was written for her 3 year old, I had to make adjustments for my dear girl who is about 1.53m tall . I have shared the modified pattern at the end of this post.

Have fun!
Serena

Pattern for Leg Warmers (written in American terms)
[modified from pattern by Ashley @ A Crafty House]

Abbreviations:

CH = Chain            DC = Double Crochet             SC = Single Crochet

SK = Skip              SS = Slip Stitch                    st = stitches

Top Ribbing: 

CH 7

Row 1: SC in second chain from hook and in each CH across (6 st)

Row 2: CH1 and turn work, SC in back loop of each SC (6 st)

Row 3 - 40: Repeat Row 2

Leg Section:

Row 1: CH1 and turn work 90 degrees in order to work across the ribbing for the leg portion. SC evenly across (39 st), join work to first SC with a SS.  (The opening in the ribbing will be seamed together later.)

Row 2: SC and 2 DCs in the first SC space, *skip the next 2 SCs, SC and 2 DCs in the next SC space, repeat from * to last 2 SCs, skip the last 2 SCs and SS into first SC from beginning of row to close the round. (39 st) 

Row 3:  CH1, turn, SC and 2 DCs (cluster) in the first DC, *Skip the next DC and SC, SC and 2 DC in the next DC, repeat from * to last 2 stitches, skip the last 2 stitches and SS into first SC from beginning of row to close the round.

Row 4 - 20: Repeat Row 3 [Increase or decrease the number of these rows depending on the length required.]

Row 21: [This row serves to begin the narrowed section of the leg warmer at the lower end.]

Repeat Row 3 except that for the first and last cluster, use 1SC and 1DC (instead of 1SC and 2DC)

Rows 22-23: Repeat row 21 [Increase or decrease the number of these rows depending on the length required.] 

Row 24: CH 1, turn and SC in each stitch across, join to first SC with a SS. Do not fasten off.

Bottom Ribbing:

The bottom ribbing is made similar to the top, except that the ribbing will have to be joined to the rest of the work at the end of every other row.

Row 1: CH 6 and SC in 2nd CH from hook and each CH across (5 st), SS in next SC of the last round from the leg section.

Row 2:  Turn, SC in back loop of each SC all of the way across (5 st)

Row 3: CH1, turn, SC in back loop of each SC all of the way across, SS in next 2 SCs.                  

Continue Rows 2 and 3 until you have worked all of the way around.  Seam ribbing using SS through both thicknesses of first and last row all of the way across. Fasten off.

Seam together the Top ribbing using SS through both thicknesses of first and last row all of the way across. Fasten off.

[Alternatively, you may seam the ribbing using a darning needle and regular 'sewing' stitches'.]

Deck Shoes are Back!

Hello there,
Just a quick update on the latest colour variation on the deck shoes which have been added to the Etsy shop. They've been our most popular design so far and I have a hard time trying to ensure that no TWO pairs are exactly alike....which means I'm running out of colours for the little guys!
If you do have any ideas or suggestions, I would love to hear them.

 

 

 

Have a great week ahead!
Serena

Reversible 'Script Totes'

Hi there!

Having a great 2014 so far?
The end of 2013 was a good time for crafting and as I was sorting out 'My Secret Stash' of crafting materials, I came across small pieces of beautiful rich upholstery/curtain  fabric. As I had been wanting to replace my 'was white but now is yellow' canvas tote bag which was a great size for toting all those 'scripts' that a teacher had to mark, it seemed the perfect use for the fabric!
So that started a manic sewing spree of these reversible totes...Those of you who craft can surely identify with that urge to 'mass produce'... : )

The 'reversibility' also means that there are no exposed seams. Woohoo! 

Come to think of it, this is my first post on a non-crochet item!
If you're wondering what happened to all these bags, they're being fully utilised by those dear friends I have at the office. Glad they like them.

Have a great weekend!
Serena

Pretty in Pink

Hi there,

Just popping in to share what I've made this week. It's been a while since I've made something sweet and pink for a little girl and since the T-strap shoes have been well-received, I'm 're-visiting' them. As always, I never make 2 identical items (unless on request), this pair is the first T-strap shoes in this shade of pink with these particular flower wood buttons.

Don't you love these wooden buttons with an 'antique' stain effect?

As usual, the signature sole in contrast colour.

Have a great week ahead preparing for the holiday season!
Serena

Peaked Caps and a Cowl

Hi there,

My parents were planning to visit my brother and his family over in Texas. It was the perfect excuse to crochet some of those beautiful hats and caps that I'd been wanting to attempt. It wouldn't have made sense to crochet such hats or caps in our hot tropical weather over here...no one would want to wear them!
This peaked cap from Patons Yarns caught my eye as I was searching for patterns. It took quite some persuasion before my daughter agreed to model it:

I also discovered that by adjusting the contrast of the picture, the texture and detail of the stitch pattern could be made more distinct....how cool!



You can find the pattern for this peaked cap HERE.

I made another one in bright pink for my little niece, with a cute snowman button. So now both mum and daughter can have matching caps :)

 

This diamond cowl by Tamara Kelly of Mooglyblog has a beautiful texture and more importantly, the pattern is free! (click HERE!) I had a limited amount of yarn left and so made it a little shorter than suggested. Now it sits quite close to the neck, perfect for turning a round-neck T-shirt into a turtle-neck.
I do apologise that we couldn't manage to 'model' it as we were in a rush to pack all the gifts into grandpa and grandma's luggage!

Have a great weekend!
Serena

Quick Photo Frame

Hi there! Popping in to share a quick piece I made (with lots of 'help' from the stash Serena picked up in Bangkok :) in between a weekend filled with lots of family time, cosy meals, movie-going and exercise.

Have a good week ahead!

Sheon

Little Boy Blue..Really?

Hi there,

Just 'popped' in to share my latest pair of baby shoes with a pretty cheery wooden button with pinwheel design! Reminds me of a windmill spinning and don't you love the colours with the 'antique' tone?





Paired with the sweet blue yarn, don't you think these shoes will look lovely on even a baby girl too?

 


Have a happy week ahead!

Serena

Study Buddies

Hi there,

I said goodbye to my current form class yesterday... They will now be on the last leg of their ardous 2-year journey in preparing for the A-Level examination, the results of which will determine whether they continue with tertiary education.

I was thinking of a farewell gift and had been wanting to give each one of them something which might accompany them for the remaining part of the journey. One particular student had shared that she often seemed to be so nervous during exams that it seemed like her brain 'froze'. Perhaps she needed something she could bring with her during the exam which could put a smile on her face and help calm her a little?
I came across a free pattern for an amigurumi whale by Karissa on her blog here.Thank you Karissa for sharing -- I found this whale to be perfect as a study (& exam) buddy!

So I made all 23 of them a study buddy each! Every one with unique colour combination. Also had some fun while photographing them. Hope you like them too!

Have a great weekend!

Serena

A Flowery Note(book)

Helloo there!
Serena popped into Bangkok some weeks ago and, at my request, scoured the maze-like aisles of Chatuchak market to bring back these, at a fraction of the price I would have to pay here!

Finally found time to play with some... and now they happily sit atop this:

I sure was glad for the crafty break I took amidst busy days at work! 

Have you let the artist in you out lately?

sheon

Deck Shoes again

Hi there,

Just 'zipping' in to share the latest colour scheme of the deck shoes -- decided to move away from the blue theme. How do you like these?


As you can see, I'm trying out a new way to photograph them too!

Here they are in the regular 'pose'.

Found a new 'friend' to accompany the shoes!

The regular contrast colour double-layered sole.

Have a great weekend (or what's left of it!)
Serena