Author: Alexa

The Least-Spooky Fruit

In hindsight, I should probably have started on a pumpkin or something to post on Halloween, but at the same time these last few weeks have been hectic. So, a pear. Once again the pattern is courtesy of Veronica Kay Crochet, and the yarns are all cotton – Patons Grace Ginger for the main body, Lily Sugar ‘n’ Cream Warm Brown for the stem, and the same in Sage for the leaf.

I’ve been working with dk weight yarn so much recently the larger ones feel awkward to work with. I also had to modify the pattern a bit to keep the stem and leaf proportional, though not dramatically. Now onward to more crochet food.

Imposter food

My uncle’s having a baby in February, and blankets were already covered so I wanted to make something else. Such as toy food, suitable for all toy food needs. Fortunately, Veronica Kay Crochet provides, to what is probably slightly overkill levels. On the other hand, I can now make pretty much any food item I want.

All the yarn here is cotton – Red and white are Patons Grace, green is Lily Sugar ‘n Cream in Sage Green. Might try for a different green if I can find it later, but it’s a good strawberry leaf green.

Imposter food

My uncle’s having a baby in February, and blankets were already covered so I wanted to make something else. Such as toy food, suitable for all toy food needs. Fortunately, Veronica Kay Crochet provides, to what is probably slightly overkill levels. On the other hand, I can now make pretty much any food item I want.

All the yarn here is cotton – Red and white are Patons Grace, green is Lily Sugar ‘n Cream in Sage Green. Might try for a different green if I can find it later, but it’s a good strawberry leaf green.

Jellyfish Stew

Continuing the food theme, I suppose – had that old poetry episode of Arthur running in my head already while I was thinking of titles. Another toy for a baby at our friendly local yarn store. As you can see from this lighting it’s a paler yellow than that previous post – the same yellow cotton from the giraffe – and the smaller tentacles are the same yellow green of Kermit’s collar. Not a whole lot to talk about – the pattern is from Edafedd’s Darling But Deadly pattern set, and the whole thing is done in single crochet and chaining with clever use of increases for shaping. There’s a LOT of tentacles – eight green, three curly yellow – and so much sewing. Like, probably an hour at least, all told was spent on the sewing, since the tentacles are meant to be attached to the bottom before attaching it to the main body and I wanted to have them all done to figure out placement. And obviously the pieces had to be extra secure for a small child’s use. Only thing I had to change was since I was using lace weight for the green tentacles I did a row of single crochet rather than fastening off after the chain. Good pattern, if a bit long in the endless tentacles part. If I get a chance I totally want to do the blue ringed octopus from that set later.

Never Enough Giraffes

Got behind on posting this one, and my latest project has been going a bit slower, but here we are. At the Friendly Neighborhood Yarn Store Sunday Craft Group, one of the regulars just had a baby! This was a present for said baby.

Stuff designed for an infant obviously presents certain challenges compared to my previous projects – a lot of my other pieces have both safety eyes (which, while designed to be REALLY HARD to remove, are still not infallible in the face of Determined Small Children) and a lot of sewing things together. Not great for the tiny, especially because of my limited sewing skills. So I sought out a pattern that minimized that risk and found this one by ElenasTimes, which fit the bill. It’s worked from the bottom up – make all four legs, join them together and sew the underside, and continue working the rest of the main body as a single piece. The muzzle was completed by leaving an opening and joining it to said opening, so the only pieces sewn on were the tail, ears, and horns, which were all double- or triple-secured.

The spots and eyes were embroidered – I clearly need to work on that skill, but rounded surfaces like this are not the best time to attempt your first French knot. Even with my limitations, it turned out super-cute, and I love the sleepy eyes.

The yarns and embroidery floss used were all chosen to be soft and washable – the main yellow is cotton, as is the black embroidery floss. The orange is a Merino blend (at least, pretty sure it’s Merino) we got at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival back in May. The sellers didn’t have a card, and if I had been planning on blogging about my projects then I would have gotten their name… but sadly, not so much. Either way, it’s soft and grabbable and can be hand-washed, which is what crocheted baby toys should be.