Here he is, finished!
(click the image to pin it)
I loved making him, and it was a great experiment without a pattern. Obviously with my critical eye there are loads of changes that I would make, so am considering making even more, and writing the pattern down. Plus I’d love to make the possessed minion too…
What do you think? Worth the investment in time?
Posted in Drops, Monday, Pinterest, Projects
Tagged amigurumi, craft, crochet, despicable me, DIY, drops, haken, hand crafted, hand made, handcrafted, handmade, minion, MissNeriss, Obsessed with Crochet, pinspiration, projects
Somewhere in January my crochet mojo just packed its bags and buggered off on holiday. No matter how hard I tried, I just could not force myself to enjoy any projects, new or old. Feelings of self-doubt plagued me for most of the month; I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to pick up a crochet hook again. Thankfully for me, January was a slow month, order wise. I only had a small backlog to work through. I suppose it was a combination of the winter blues with a bit of post Christmas burnout, I just needed some time for myself.
However, as quick as it came, it was gone! Now I’m back to feeling as enthusiastic as ever. I have a few pattern ideas swirling around and a couple of projects from my favourite designers that I can’t wait to make, including A Morning Cup if Jo’s new Giraffe pattern.
Meanwhile, even though I’d completely lost my mojo, I’ve been plugging away at the #CrochetMoodBlanket2014 project, crocheting a hexagon a day, reflecting my mood. I’ll admit to cheating a bit; I didn’t feel like crocheting a few days, so I added a “filler” colour. Here’s January’s progress:
I love the colours I chose, they reflect my own personal tastes perfectly. I’m really a pinks and blues kind of girl. Like my mum, I think turquoise is my favourite colour.
This is the mood palette; I’ve added a few interpretations since, because my moods are way more complex than “Happy,” or “Sick,” it. Turns out. Who’d have thought…?
I share pictures all the time on Instagram, so come join me. I’d love to see your photos too. It’s my favourite social media network, as let’s face it. I love looking at other peoples’ photos. I don’t care if we’re never likely to meet, it makes me feel as though we might… So add me here: Miss__Neriss
Here’s to longer days (and cooler weather for my Southern Hemisphere lovelies).
Posted in #CrochetMoodBlanket2014, Monday, Projects
Tagged afghan, amigurumi, craft, crochet, crochetmoodblanket2014, haken, hand crafted, hand made, love, mojo, morning cup of jo
I’m calling it. Minions are over and Cabbage Patch Kids are back! Well, I don’t really believe that myself, but it seems everywhere I look I see cute babies wearing Cabbage Patch Kids hats.
Did you have one as a child? I think I was the only girl at school not to have one (I didn’t have any My Little Ponies either, poor me) and now all of a sudden I’m in an age group where it’s time to be nostalgic for all things 80s!
This last week I had two orders to make these Cabbage Patch Kids hats, and I found a great free pattern from the Dearest Debi site. The pattern is for a newborn, but it is extremely easy to up-size it to whatever you need.
Here are the results of my endeavours:
What do you think about this new craze to be rocking the crochet world? I’ve never been a fan of Cabbage Patch Kids. I prefer the Garbage Gang/pail Kids instead. But everything comes back into fashion, so best to just embrace it!
January 20, 2014 in Monday, Pattern, Projects, Tutorials
Tagged 80s, baby, beanie, cabbag patch kid, cabbage, crochet, crochet hat, crochet pattern, DIY, free pattern, haken, hand made, handcrafted, handmade, hat, MissNeriss, Obsessed with Crochet, yarn
I love taking photos, but my time is so limited that I never seem to get round to taking fabulously constructed shots with great lighting. Coupled with a daughter who will not sit still to take a sharp shot and a husband I never see during daylight hours, my model opportunities are often limited to desperate selfies! Honestly, most photos are taken on my couch at 11pm with my iPad before items get wrapped and shipped. Because of that, Instagram is my absolute best friend. I can share what I like there and it’s ok that my images aren’t professionally finished. Poor lighting isn’t the end of the world. I just try not to post blurred photos…
Here’s some of my latest creations that have only really made it as far as Instagram:
The pattern for this one is coming soon!
The pattern for this one is available to buy on Craftsy and Ravelry
Meanwhile, did you know that WordPress allows you to add Instagram images to posts by merely pasting the image link into the post/page? Looks fantastic and is interactive as well! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, it’s where I spend most of my time.
How do you tackle the time vs lighting vs model issues?
December 16, 2013 in Monday, Projects
Tagged Christmas, hat, instagram, Leprechaun, pattern
I’m taking part in a fantastic giveaway over at Multicultural Kid Blogs to celebrate the first anniversary of such an outstanding, supportive community.
What am I giving away? You’ll have to head over and take a look! Hurry up though, there are only three days left to enter.
These last few weeks have been busier than ever! With a big influx of orders (thank you thank you!) and holidays, coupled with starting a new job, I’m just about pooped!
Finding the time to post here has been a struggle, and my poor Facebook page is looking a little neglected too. I don’t even have time for my absolute favourite pass-time – browsing Pinterest!
So, what have I been up to, crochet-wise? Well, I’ve made a lovely dragon, based on this patter by Sidrun on Craftsy, I’ve made another Huggable bear from A Morning Cup of Jo Creations, also on Craftsy. Both were massive undertakings. They are both more than 30cm tall, and in amigurumi terms, that’s pretty huge. Most toys I make are around 10cm tall. My poor fingers hated me at the end, having to keep the tension really tight (so the stuffing wouldn’t show through), but I was so happy with the results:
Not only have I been busy with those two giants, which probably took me on average a week each to make, Spartacus is the coolest thing since sliced bread, so there have been oh, about 10 of those on the go! Not to mention a couple of Hello Kitty hats and a custom order for a mouse/bunny which will be based on another Sidrun pattern found on Craftsy. Please do stop by Kristi’s site – Sidrun – which incidentally means “Lemon” in her native language; Estonian.
Following on with the dragon theme, I’ve also made a super cute dragon hat, based purely on a screenshot a friend sent me. Here is the end result:
I hear the hat has not come off for a week. When we eventually do get it off, I’m going to take it back and tweak it a little, because as it is now, there will be cold ears come December!
In between all of that I found some absolutely gorgeous yarn in my local craft store last week and I just had to make a hat for my daughter:
The photo really does not do it justice. The colours are truly neon and amazing. The yarn is Katia Extreme, and although pricey (I think I paid 8.95 euro), lovely to work with and so, so soft! I whipped this hat up using a pattern that I bought a while back from Baca Creations and it was done within an hour-ish, so super easy!
Coming up, I have more dino hats to make, a gorgeous hooded cowl (still hunting for the perfect pattern, so any hints would be welcomed), more Spartacus, cake pops (can’t wait to make those!) and Angry Birds. Not sure when I’ll find the time to work, or sleep in there, but I’ll manage!
What has been keeping you busy? As it’s Monday, I’m linking up with the Lovely Molly from The Move to America for her regular Monday morning cup of coffee, so head over there to say hi too.
Posted in Holiday, Monday, Projects, WIP
Tagged amigurumi, baca creations, bear, crochet, dragon, haken, hello kitty, MissNeriss, monday, morning cup of jo, projects, sidrun, spartacus
This weekend I said goodbye to my brown bear. He went to his new home and I hope he’s greatly loved.
I didn’t really want to say goodbye, and neither did my daughter, so I may have to make another, just for us.
I sent some samples to a photographer friend of mine – Rudi Wells of Rudi Wells Fotografie based in Hoofddorp and he gave me a bit of a plug. Rudi’s The Man amongst the Amsterdam expat mamas and has a serious amount of influence, so his help here has already been invaluable, generating new orders and interest!
And so, because of this interest, the time has come to actually get on with adding stock to my empty Etsy store. I’ve been busy editing photos; well, editing is probably a bit extravagant a term – more like cropping and watermarking photos and getting ready to start listing. First up will be the brown bear! Wish me luck.
As usual on Mondays, pop over to visit Molly from The Move to America and link up with her for the Monday Coffee Morning.
Have a great week!
Well, not quite the world, but I did conquer Bruges!
I just had a girly weekend away which is something I haven’t done in god knows how long. Since before I moved to Holland, in any case. So that’s at least five years. We shopped, we ate, we walked, we laughed, we drank cocktails, it was fabulous. But the highlight by far was climbing the Belfry!
The famous Belfry in Bruges. A paltry 366 steps to the top. Easy peasy. ha!
What’s on this week? Well, I am almost finished the biggest amigurumi project of my life – a gorgeous brown bear that’s a special commission. Here he is without any legs, what do you think?
I finished the legs last night and now he only needs a tail. My daughter is in love and I’ll have to sneak him out the door I think.
Then it’s on to Minions. Who doesn’t love the minions, really. I made this one for a newborn, but there will be adult versions flying off my hook in the coming weeks.
Lots of other stuff on; the weather is gorgeous so we’re playing outside as much as possible on the slippery slide and in the pool and have a trip to Sprookjeswonderland planned for this Friday, can’t wait!
What do you have on this week? Join me at The Move to America for Monday Coffee Morning:
Posted in Monday, Projects, WIP
Tagged amigurumi, bruges, brugge, crochet, monday, monday coffee morning, sprookjeswonderland
MissNeriss 