Lariath- Live a Little.

It's been while I know, life is busy and my crochet has suffered for it. However,  I got my crojo back after my colleague complemented the Mini Triceratops  badge I made for a friend, without knowing it was me that made it! He then asked if I could make mushrooms. I jumped right on it and created this little thing.  There is no pattern for this lil mush I made it up as I went along. I may make a pattern in the future. For this one I used handspun yarn, that I  spun myself a few years ago , for the stalk. I'm surprised that the yarn looks alright in this pattern as its a bit thick and thin (it is the first yarn that I tried spinning!).   Hook off! Enjoy this post?

My Grandma sadly passed away recently, after being ill for a while. The nurses who were looking after her gave my Grandad two knitted end of life hearts. I have always thought these are a brilliant idea, However, I have never seen anyone receive one before. It definitely drove home how much they can mean to those that receive them.  My Grandad kept one of the hearts and the other was given, by my Mum, to my Uncle (he has had a really heard time recently and it was agreed that he needed it more).  So that my Mum had something too I decided to crochet her a little heart, it wouldn't look the same or have been near my Grandma but I hoped that it would mean something. I also crocheted one for my brother and one for myself so that we all had one and maybe they would be little family momentos with Grandma being at the centre.  I gave them to my Mum and Brother the night before the funeral (whilst we were having a very small, close family service).  The pattern can be found...

I crocheted a mini dog as a gift for a work colleague/friend. I looked at multiple photos of her dog, in secret, that she had posted on social media and tried to get the markings and colour as close as possible. I think its super cute and, thankfully, she loves it. I have never made an amigurumi where I haven't had to sew on the legs before, but with this pattern the legs are crocheted adjoined to the body. I love learning new ways of doing things and hate sewing, so anything to get out of sewing on appendages is an absolute win for me!  The free pattern can be found  Here . I am not going to post pictures of the dog this was based on as I have not asked for permission to do so. The finished dog measured  2.5 x 3 x 1 inches:  Hook off. Enjoy this post?

This is the first miniature crochet I have tried using thread/lace yarn. I was expecting to get extremely frustrated with how fiddly I had imagined it to be. Now, don't get me wrong, it was fiddly, but not horrendous. I will say that it can be quite harsh on the joints though, I had regular breaks whilst crocheting this.  I made this as a gift but it would be a nice addition to the mini crochet badges that I have made (see links at the end of this blog ). This tiny octopus was made following this, very well written, free pattern that can be found  here. Yes I know, the eyes are not the best- I was struggling to find eyes small enough. Even the smallest beads I have looked massive on it. I may need to purchase some smaller beads.  Hook off.  Other badges:  Triceratops ,  Stocking ,  Acorn Enjoy this post?

A friend of mine went to a crochet class by Toft to make a little dragon amigurumi. I don't think the dragon pattern is the easiest of patterns, particularly for a complete beginner like my friend, so she did a brilliant job! See if you can spot the part that she made in the pictures below. In the end she decided crochet wasn't for her and asked me to finish the project for her, of course I said yes.  The crochet pack is very good, it came in a lovely draw string bag with the Toft logo, the yarn included is of very good quality and lovely and soft, the crochet hook provided at the class has a very comfortable handle and the instructions were well written and easy to follow. If you aren't a complete beginner and have some experience with crocheting I highly recommend Toft. I cannot comment on the class as I did not attend myself.  Here is a link to the website .  Just a quick note- I do not have an affiliations with the link posted I am ...

A work friend randomly sent a link to a tiny crochet Triceratops exclaiming how cute it was. Now I don't know about you but to me this is one very (un)subtle hint! Which of course I started working on ASAP, who wouldn't want to crochet a tiny little Triceratops? It is a very well written pattern with pictures along the way. There is also a video to follow along if that is preferable. Both of which are free. I find this extremely generous knowing, through experience, how long it takes to create a pattern and write it up. Yet they have gone a whole huge step further and made a video too - they have all my appreciation. I give all of the love to those who have crafts available for free!  The finished result measured 5 x 2.5 x 2.5cm. I did not use the recommended yarn and I crochet very tightly so my makes are normally smaller than expected. This dino is so cute, I am very tempted to make another one, or a herd of them...  The writte...

I was asked by a work colleague if I could crochet Ponyo for her children. Of course I said yes!   I was dreading creating Ponyo's hair as I have never made hair like this before. It took a LONG time to insert all the yarn for the hair and I was super nervous about cutting it into shape, however, I found cutting the hair very therapeutic in the end; maybe I'm in the wrong profession...  Before the haircut: Post haircut: End result: Here  is the pattern that I based my Ponyo on. I found it very easy to follow and quite fun to make. The only changes I made were to the 'tail', I think I prefer the wavy look.  For other Ghibli posts click  Here . Hook off.  Enjoy this post?

I went to see Stephen Fry in London on his 'Mythos a Trilogy' tour. The show was everything I had hoped for, as he hasn't been on tour in about 40 years this was something I couldn't miss. I find Stephen Fry very relaxing to listen to on audiobooks so when his show was mostly of him sitting in a chair reading different parts of his book 'Heroes' I was very pleased. Obviously there were a few quips intermingled with the discussions of his book which rounded off the show really well. I'd love to see him on tour again. Anyway back to crafting. The drive to the show was quite long so for entertainment I took a small pattern with me to crochet in the car. I struggle finding time to craft from September through to May as I'm studying for university alongside my full time job so I have to make the most of every spare second I get (which is not a lot). Therefore crocheting whilst travelling is perfect. The pattern is quite easy to follow and relatively quick...

'May all your bacon burn' I made Calcifer a while ago find the post  here . I have since been asked to make more on request so whilst making the most recent one I decided to write down the pattern. Now I have it to hand if any more requests come through. So I am sharing my pattern here. If you do use this pattern please link any photos/blog posts ect back to my pattern so that others can enjoy it too! Things I used: DK yarn (yellow, orange and red) Scissors Stitch marker 3mm crochet hook yarn needle Two 4mm black beads  Clear thread (or white thread to sew on the beads)  White felt  Toy Stuffing Pet brush Pattern:  sc = single crochet dc = double crochet  tc = triple crochet ch = chain  Begin with yellow yarn - chain 6 and create a magic ring: Round 1: 2 sc in each stitch around (12 stitches). Round 2: *sc in next stitch, 2 sc in next stitch* repeat around (18 stitches). Round 3: *sc in next two stitches, 2 sc in nex...

I was given a crochet craft as a gift; 'Get Crafty Crochet Cheeky Monkey Kit' by Hobbycraft. I have never made a crochet item from a kit before. Everything was included; the yarn (perhaps enough to make two monkeys), a crochet hook, a stitch marker and stuffing (only enough for one monkey). There was a nice little instruction booklet with pictures and good, easy to understand instructions however, I'm not sure an absolute beginner would be able to follow the instructions, some knowledge of stitches and reading patterns would be required. My favourite part of the pattern were the hands/feet. I have never crochet hands before and I love them they are really well thought out, I may steal the idea for future patterns if ever I need to make hands. My only issue with the pattern, which is a personal preference rather than a problem with the pattern, was that the head of the monkey ended up rather heavy for the body. The head's attached to the body with a very thin 'neck...

I made this weeping angel some time ago as a gift, however the gift didn't get given until recently. The angel has been getting comfy on my fireplace for a long time. I think I'm actually going to miss it. I love Dr Who and I think the first episode involving weeping angels is my favourite Dr Who episode...so making this was quite exciting for me (I don't care how sad that sounds). The angel was quite easy and quick for me to make until it got the the hair. I absolutely hated making the hair of this angel. It involved a lot of precise and neat sewing that, as a perfectionist, took me ages. Enough said. However the detail of the end product does look really good so it is worth the pain.  The pattern can be found  Here Hook off.  Enjoy this post?

Totoro seems very popular among my friends at the moment, I have now made a total of 4 of them. It's a good job I love Totoro! A friend at work asked for a smaller version of my 23cm tall  Totoro , but not quite as tiny as Chibi Totoro . This Totoro is 12cm tall and very adorable: Bum!  The pattern I used was really made for Chu Totoro (the medium blue one) but I think it works well. Find the pattern here click click . Hopefully my friend will like him.  For other Ghibli posts select  Here . Hook off!  Enjoy this post?

My friend at work has been having a hard time. I recently found out she likes elephants so I had a gander online to find a tiny crochet elephant that I could whip up quickly as a cheer-me-up gift. I didn't expect the little chap to turn out so unbelievably adorable, I honesty struggled giving him up. I placed the little guy in her lab coat pocket as a cheeky little surprise. She loves him and he is now named Henry. I miss you Henry!  The amazing pattern can be found here  click click . Hook Off!  Enjoy this post?

I have been really struggling to find the time to blog since I started uni again whilst simultaniously working fulltime. It is really difficult to find time to do anything else. My crafting has taken a really big hit, which is very depressing. But here is something I made a while ago now that I have a quiet moment to blog :). After seeing my Ghibli based crafts someone requested for me to make Kaonashi (No-face). I figured it can't be that difficult. It's pretty much just a skittle shape with a face attached (ironically). The body, as I thought, was very easy and simple to make. The face, however, was difficult for me. I have never in my life done any embroidery. -Insert my repeated annoyance at sewing-. I really struggled getting the features right and I had to find something I could follow/copy. Then BAM  Here's one that someone made earlier . This pattern is amazing, it has a mouth! Shame I didn't see this before I made No-Face's body. So No-Face's...

I had an awesome idea whilst unable to sleep one night that I can crochet myself some badges to wear at work. I work in a laboratory; there are many employees in said laboratory and we all have a lab coat each which, as you can probably imagine, all look the same. Due to this we decorate our lab coats with badges so that we can identify who's coat is who's. It also gives our attire a little bit of individuality. The idea randomly came to me in the middle of the night that I can start crocheting my own badges. I have no idea why it took me so long to think of this. I immediately wanted to make a start but crocheting in the middle of the night, on a school night, is not a great idea. At the minute is seems I have a thing for tiny crochet objects and I have been thinking about what objects I like that I can crochet small enough to wear as a badge. My first badge is relevant to the current season Autumn. A little tiny acorn. I love it. Click  Here  for the pattern....

I saw a ridiculously cute pattern for a tiny cute bat when I first started crocheting. This was 6 years ago! How time flies. It was so cute (did I mention it was cute?). I really wanted to make it but at the time I wasn't very good at crocheting. Then, as always, I completely forgot about the pattern. Then the other day I came across the pattern again and HAD to make it. Quite a coincidence that it's so close to Halloween. Here it is: Unfortunately I didn't keep it. I have given it away as a thank you gift to someone who loves bats. The pattern was not as easy or as quick as I was hoping. I struggled with the wings, but maybe that was just me having a thick day. Totally worth it though! Click  Here  for the free pattern.  Hook off!  Enjoy this post?

I made Totoro  for a friend as a gift and could not resist making the Chibi Totoro too. Just too cute and small not to! I found Chibi very quick to make, yet a little fiddly due to the small size. I am going to be making myself one too because I love it so much, especially with the little leaf! (I went a bit crazy with the pesky Susuwatari.) The pattern for Chibi Totoro can be found Here  and the pattern for the leaf is at the end of  this pattern. Here Chibi is with friends:  I am hoping to make a Chi Totoro and No-Face soon so watch this space. Update: See other Ghibli projects  Here . Hook off.  Enjoy this post?

Who doesn't love a bit of Studio Ghibli? My favourite of them all being Howls Moving Castle. I decided to make Calcifer for a friend after she got a tattoo of him on her (as she calls it)'Geek leg'. If you don't know who Calcifer is then: Boo! I couldn't find a pattern for Calcifer that I liked on the Internet so I decided to give it a go myself, it seemed simple enough. I started by crocheting a tear drop shape with yellow in the centre gradually moving to orange and then red to get the fire effect. The end result was a multicoloured teardrop which didn't really look like fire. Luckily I'd seen a few days before that brushing crochet projects makes them fluffy. Perfect. I gave it a go. Brushing crochet (without a pet brush which is what your supposed to use apparently) takes a LONG time. So I sat for a while brushing this colourful tear drop, trying really hard to make it look even slightly like fire, until my hands ached and I had to give u...