Tardis keyring

A while ago my neighbour gave me a lot off cross stitch stuff that she wasn't gonna use anymore. I like doing cross stitch and usually have a few big projects on the go that I pick up every now and then when I want a break from crochet but now I have lots of bits of aida and embroidery threads I wanted to have a go at doing some uncharted cross stitch.

 This little tardis keyring is my first creation. I printed a pic of the tardis off onto graph paper so I had a good idea of how many stitches I would be using. It ended up being a bit big for the keyring holder I had so I had to put it in on the diagonal but I really like it. I did the stars freehand cause the background looked a bit boring and I didn't have room to put any writing on. I think I'm gonna have to find some bigger keyring findings as I now have loads of ideas to make more things like this.

Ripple blanket

I've been having a bit of a break from amigurumi this weekend. The weather has been lovely so I've been able to get out into the garden and get cracking with my ripple blanket. It really is nice to sit in the sunshine and crochet.
 I've wanted to make a crcheted blanket for a while after I found this blog post I love the colours in them. Mine it turning out to be a bit bigger than I thought it would be but I'm about half way there with it now. Its does take time to grow and it uses a lot of yarn but its a very relaxing thing to make. The cats seem to like it too.

etsy treasury

Tony the evil bunny has been featured on an etsy treasury you can see him here

odd day

Today has been an odd day. I have not been able to settle to one task and have flitted around doing bits and bobs and not really accomplished anything.
 I've a lot on my mind which isn't helping. Its coming up to what would have been my wedding week and I can't help but compare how rubbish I'm feeling now to how I would of been feeling if Andy was still here. I've big money problems so the project I had planned for the garden to keep me occupied now can't go ahead and I'm worried about how I'm gonna cope. If that wasn't enough I'm pretty sure my little cat is pregnant so I'm worried about her too.
So instead of doing any amigurumi tonight I'm just gonna settle with a glass of wine and do some more of my ripple blanket. I'm quite pleased at how its coming along. Its a good way of using up yarn from my stash that has been hanging around for ages and its such an easy pattern I don't have to think about anything, which at the moment is fine by me.

St Patrick days omnipom

Its been a while since I made an omnipom so with St Patricks day coming up I thought it was a good excuse to make one with a bit f an Irish theme.
 I knew that I wanted one of his eye patches to be a shamrock so that I had to use emerald green felt but I was a bit stuck thinking up the main colour for him I was thinking maybe lime green but then I'm a bit mad for lime green and have used it a lot recently so I decided to ask on facebook. Thanks to the suggestions of my facebook fans who helped out with this and I deiced to go with Evi's suggestion and go for a black body.

 

So here he is. It wasn't planned but I love the way he looks slightly drunk, maybe I need to crochet him a pint of Guinness? 

 

I'm happy with the shamrock eye and I couldn't resist a little green top hat.

Only problem with black yarn is the stuffing showing through, I tried keeping my tension even tighter than normal but the stuffing is still visible in places. I guess its just one of those things and I'll have to learn to live with it.
 Instead of buttons I've used sequins and beads for his face decoration as I didn't want buttons to distract from his eye patch. Now all I have to do is make a shamrock for his bum and I can't decide if he needs a waistcoat?
 He'll need a name too if anyones got any suggestions?

I've actually made something on a monday so I feel I can post it on handmade monday

Crochet commandment no. 2

commandment no. 2 - Just because you can crochet something doesn't mean you should.

Yesterday I stumbled upon this blog What not to crochet. Its a very funny blog and there are some truely awful things on it. Think before you click some things once seen can never be unseen. I was shocked at some of the things being made but aslo I was impressed by some of the skill on show. What not to crochet blog is one persons view and I don't agree with everything she says, I happen to quite like some of the things on there, crochet beards are quite popular now and I love the Viking masks but I don't think there will ever come a day I feel the need to crochet myself a thong. On the other hand the weird part of my brain really wanted me to have a bash at making some boob slippers.

On the commandment list I mentioned here our rule was *Nothing is sacred you can crochet anything* but after seeing this site I've changed it. No one wants to see some of that. I'm not saying crochet should be all fluffy bunnies and cuteness, just think before you get your hooks out.

happy crocheting x

Easter egg free pattern

Yeah blogger is now hopefully working and I can get the first of the free patterns up. This is for these really sweet Easter eggs. Get making these now cause you'll need 4 for a I've got pattern I've got coming up of a basket for them to go in with an Easter bunny to look after them.

Easter egg pattern

You will need

DK weight yarn mixed colour or self patterning work best

3.5mm crochet hook

Wool needle

Toy stuffing

St Stitches (this is shown at the end of every row so you know how many stitches you should have at the end of the round)

CH chain

SC single crochet

INC single crochet increase (2 single crochet into the stitch)

DEC single crochet decrease (single crochet the next 2 stitches together by inserting yarn into the next stitch, draw through a loop, insert hook into the next stitch, draw through a loop, yarn over and draw through all 3 loops on hook) *I like to give the yarn a little tug after doing this stitch to make sure the decrease is nice and tight which is important cause these guys are so little*

() around Brackets show an action that is to be repeated .

* A note on starting out. You can use magic ring or if you can do what I do which is make sure the ball of yarn is to your right and the cut end in you left hand, make a loop, chain up 2 then work your starting round in the second chain from hook. It’s up to you there is no one right or wrong way to do it *

Row 1 – Start with 6SC into ring                6St

Row 2 – (INC) around                                  12St

Row 3 – (SC) around                                    12St

Row 4 – (1SC, INC) around                         18St

Row 5 – (SC) around                                    18St

Row 6 – 1SC (INC, 2SC) around, 1SC         24St

Row 7 – (SC) around                                     24St

Row 8 – (INC, 3SC) around                           30St

Row 9 – (SC) around                                      30St

Row 10 – (SC) around                                     30St

Row 11 – (SC) around                                     30St

Row 12 – (DEC, 3SC) around                         24St

Row 13 – 1SC (DEC, 2SC) around, 1SC         18St

Row 14 – (1SC, DEC) around                         12St *Stuff your egg now*

Row 15 – (DEC) around                                  6St

Happy crocheting x

Craft clearout

 I am very lucky to work in a lovely craft shop the only downside is that I get tempted by so many pretty things and so I buy far too much stuff, so I'm having a massive clear out.
 So here's the deal the photos below are for bundles I've put together and I'm selling them cheep to clear room and get room for more craft stuff :) If you want a bundle email me at amigurumibarmy@hotmail.co.uk
 I'll let the pic do most of the talking as writing massive descriptions will take me all day. postage to the UK will be £3 for most bundles but a couple are a bit heavier and the postage for them will be £5. If you want something and you don't live in the UK let me know and I'll find out the postage cost for you. Now feast your eyes on the pretty crafty yumminess.

Lot 1 - Glass beads, glass pearls, seed beads and sequins. £5 plus £2.50 postage

 Lot 2 - Jar of yellow buttons, ribbon and bias binding £5 plus £3 postage

 Lot 3 - I love knitting book, 2 balls noro DK and 2 ball eyelash yarn £5 plus £3 postage

 Lot 4 - Cross stitch kit, aida, embroidery threads and hoop. £10 plus £3 postage

 Lot 5 - Jar of buttons, ribbon and bias binding £5 plus £3 postage

 Lot 6 - Great book crochet stitched, buttons, bamboo crochet hooks, hand made crochet hook roll in pirate fabric and little panda amigurumi £15 plus £5 postage

 Lot 7 - loads of flower fairy decoupage sheets, 2 stamps and metallic stamp pads £5 plus £3 postage

 Lot 8 - book knitted flowers, brand new set of bamboo knitting needles and roll, 2 hanks of Sari silk yarn £10 plus £5 postage

 Lot 9 - Knitting socks book (I learnt to knit socks with this book its really good) 3 balls of sock yarn and 2 sets of double pointed needles £10 plus £5 postage

 Lot 10 - 2 sets of bag handles, wide burgundy lace, trimmings, ribbons, handmade tweed flower and a load of wooden buttons £5 plus £3 postage

 Lot 11 - Christmas cross stitch, 3 kits, ribbons, embroidery hoops, press on gems and Christmas buttons £10 plus £3 postage

 Lot 12 - Lots of bright pretty ribbons, full reel of blue hearts ribbon, balloon buttons, sequins and heart gems £5 plus £2.50 postage

 Lot 13 - Massive amount of embroidery silks all sorted and numbered, 3 cross stitch kits, freehand embroidery kit, embroidery hoops and evenweave fabric. £15 plus £5 postage

Lot 14 - sewing bits and bobs, bag handles, knitting bee, patterned bias binding, buttons and very pretty scissors on a chain to wear round your neck. £10 plus £3 postage

Right there you go see anything you like you can email me or comment on my facebook page.

A massive thank you To Kat at With you in mind for awarding me the Liebster Blog award. I'm so pleased I just sit here and write my ramblings to keep me busy and I feel blessed that so many of you actually read what I'm writing and like what I'm making. Well this award comes with rules so here they are
The rules for this award are:
1. You must link back to the person who gave it to you
2. Put the award on your blog
3. Pass it on to 5 other blogs who inspire you and have less than 200 followers
4. Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know

Right 1. Done and if you missed it its here again. Go see Kat's blog is a great read and she makes lovely stuff. I'd be biting her hand off for those toast earrings if I wore earrings. Maybe I can tempt her to make a full English breakfast charm bracelet. 


2. Done


3. OK blogs that inspire me


The toy society this is a give away blog, a bit like book trekking but for handmade toys. I really love the idea of making something and then setting it free for someone to find. You may never know what happened to your toy but it gives you a warm fuzzy feeling to think so someone finding it and smiling.


A gamers wife reminds us that its OK to be a bit geeky sometime this is a great blog full of crafts, recipes and lovely geekiness. I look forward to her posts every Monday and Thursday.


Crochet shaz a fellow crocheter and she has made some of the cutes amigurumis I have ever seen. I love that she works with different yarns and she has inspired me to do the same.


Cute kids clocks another lovely blog, she makes lovely clocks but has recently been using her blog to showcase the work of other crafters.


Coco and heart a craft/ lifestyle blog lots of lovely things I can't wait to try that banana and butterscotch cake yumm


4. I'll totter off and do that now if you'd like to look at this picture of my cats having a smooch for a couple of mins I'll be right back

Right thats done thanks again to Kat. It'll be a busy day here at amigurumi barmy lots of patterns and sale crafty stuff on the way but I'm off to have a cup of tea first.

Treats

I've a bit of a treat for you all tomorrow. First I will be posting two new free patterns, an early Easter treat and a lovely very easy to make neck cowl.

Secondly I've been having a massive craft room clear out and I've put together some really great bundles of craft goodies that I'm selling at up to 90% of there retail value. Bundles will be a flat rate of £5, £10 or £15 plus postage, there is gonna be a big mix of crafts, kitting, crochet (of course), beads, buttons, cross stitch, paper craft, stamps, sewing, embroidery plus all sorts of ribbons and sparkly things. I'm gonna be selling these though here and my facebook page, so stop by tomorrow and grab yourself a bargain.

Morning in the graden

 Well I was going to spend the morning finishing off some of my UFOs but the garden was calling and I couldn't stop myself from heading out there to give it its first proper spruce up of the year.
 I am lucky that I have such a large garden and I'm lucky that I had a wonderful man who would happily sit reading and laughing at me while I pottered about in the garden talking to plants and having a merry old time. I put a lot of hard work into the garden last year and I was glad to see while clearing and weeding today that I should be rewarded for it this year. All in all I think I've put in over 2000 bulbs, most of the snowdrops are out and today I saw mt first 2 bright yellow crocus (not my photo above as I didn't take my camera into the garden), hiding away they were under some fallen leaves and when I found them I had that first real squee of spring.
 It won't be long before the daffodils, tulips and alliums are out and my garden will be full of colour again.

UFOs

UFO = unfinished object

A few days ago me and a friend were having a giggle and discussing crochet and amigurumi and we came up with a list of crochet commandments. I was gonna post this whole list as one blog post but as I've looked over it now I've realised that each rule can be a blog post in itself so here's the first.

UFOs are a part of life, but if your hearts not in it bin it.

The photo above is a collection of some of my UFOs. I know I've lost the love for some of these items and they will probably never get finished. The 3 legged octopus, I made 3 legs, got bored put him to one side and now I can't remember how I made the legs as I didn't write down the pattern. In order to finish him I'll have to start all 8 legs again and I'm just not sure I love him enough to do that.
 There are other unfinished amigurumis in this pic, I'm still working on the thing in the middle that will become a sausage dog but I'm not sure I've got the pattern right, his body's a bit big and may end up starting again. The little multi coloured alien I do still love but I know I don't have enough of that yarn left to finish him how I want and till I figure out how to get round this he remains a UFO.
 The rest of my UFOs are larger projects, blankets, scarfs and bags. I start these projects because they are a nice break from amigurumi. There is a lot of counting in amigurumi and after a day of it, it can sometimes feel like my head is melting, so I'll have a break and do something that requires less thinking. Only making amigurumis takes up so much of my day now that when I stop for the evening I'd rather have my tea and veg in front of the telly with a glass of wine in my hand than start crocheting again, so a lot of these are slow progress. I love granny squares but my brilliant idea of making a granny square a day to make a blanket didn't get very far, I'm just hoping I can keep my new idea of doing one row of ripple blanket a night, so far I'm doing OK on that one.
 The green ripple scarf, tan bag and neck cowl only require a little finishing off, sewing up, a few more stitches, some buttons adding and these will be finished and yet they have been hanging around for ages. Why? I don't know. I know I'll get round to finishing them one day, who knows it may be today.

If you do any sort of craft I'm sure you will have some unfinished objects lying around the place but as I said at the start they are a part of a crafters life. They show we are wonderful, busy creative people and there is nothing wrong with that x

something sweet

I love cheesecake, its probably my favourite sweet but I very rarely buy or make one as I ether eat too much or end up throwing some away but then I had a brainwave. Why not make smaller cheesecakes and freeze them. So I used a similar recipe to my chocolate orange cheesecake, I made up the base mix and put a teaspoon into cupcake wrappers and pressed it down. Then I whipped the cream and in a separate bowl mixed together the cream cheese and icing sugar, then folded in the whipped cream. Now I wanted two different flavours of cheesecake one chocolate orange and one strawberry so I separated the cheesecake mix into two bowls and added melted white chocolate and orange flavouring to one half and a strawberry Muller corner to the other, then just pour the mix over the base and there you have it perfect little cheesecakes that will freeze perfectly. They will keep for a couple of months in the freezer ready for when I need a sweet treat, or they would if it wasn't for my friends and family stealing them. This recipe made 18 little cheesecakes that one in the photo is my last so it won't make it to a freezer this time. Still its a good reason to make some more, I'm thinking lemon and ginger cheesecake and a millionaire's shortbread cheesecake for the next batch. Yum

Happy valentines day?

Happy valentines day everyone.
Today we were meant to be doing a charity fundraiser for the Kidney patients associations but due to some unseen complications I've had to put it on hold for a while. I want to thank everyone who has helped and sent me hearts, they are all so beautiful. I'll keep you all posted as to when this event will happen when I know for sure.

Unfortunately now I'm not doing my charity thing I have nothing to distract me from the fact that it is valentines day and this day last year my lovely Andy proposed. In his valentines card last year he wrote "I'm so glad that I met you and I love you more and more each day. You mean the world to me and I look forward to many, many more valentines together. All my love always, Andy" Well we only got one valentines day together. Grief is so bloody horrible at times and when you lose your other half you are so completely alone in a why that only those who have gone through it can understand. So I don't care who you are and if you think valentines day is good or bad, but if you are lucky enough to have someone in your life to love then tell them you love them and give them a hug you.
 Me I'm gonna watch Up, cry myself silly, hug my cats, drink wine and crochet x

Don't Panic

One day I hope to write a book of amigurumi patterns and I've always wanted to steal the idea from Douglas Adams Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and have the words don't panic written on the fount cover.

I think we all get in a flap with our crochet sometime. How many times have you got to the end of a round and not had the amount of stitches your meant to? What do you do? Well if like I used to be you'd undo the row trying to work out where you went wrong and muttering to yourself and getting annoyed.

I'll admit something now to you all, I can't crochet properly, you know like they teach it in the books or how people show you. I hold the yarn different and I wrap it round my hook like I'm knitting. When I first started crochet I was told I must crochet the right way  and my way was wrong. I was told my tension would be uneven and I'd never be able to make anything good crocheting this way. Well I got myself in a right tizz trying to learn the right way to crochet. I couldn't do it, whats more I didn't enjoy doing it so I nearly gave up on crochet all together. Then I thought sod it I'll crochet my way and if its goes wrong then so be it. Well I think its safe to say there is nothing wrong with my tension and I've made a few good things but I still get people who watch me crochet tell me I'm doing it wrong. I remember this when I teach people to crochet and I tell people it doesn't matter how you crochet, just don't panic and do it how you feel comfortable.

 Do you want another confession? I can't do magic ring. I'm sure its very easy when you get your head round it but I can't get my head round it and I find chain 2 and do however many stitches in 2nd chain from hook, works in the just same way. I've actually seen people not attempt a pattern because they cant do magic ring which is crazy. I start my patterns with 6SC into loop. You can make that loop anyway you want, It doesn't matter.

That is the thing I love about amigurumi, it is so forgiving and the patterns are not set in stone. Unlike some other forms of crochet where if you get on stitch wrong you have to pull it out and go back to where you made a mistake, in amigurumi if your meant to have 24 stitches at the end of a row and you've got 23, just put another increase into the next row and it'll be fine. There is no pattern witch looking over your shoulder who's gonna tell you off if you deviate from the pattern slightly so Don't Panic it'll all work out in the end. Right so you need proof, just try it, grab a bit of yarn and one of your favourite quick patterns and make a few mistakes and see how it goes.

By the way the idea for this blog post came to me last night. I'd just started to crochet a ripple blanket, was on the third row and I must of made a mistake so when I got to the end of the row it wasn't matching right. I had to take out over 200 stitches and start again. Needless to say I wasn't in the best of moods after that. You can't make mistakes in ripple blankets but you can in amigurumi and that's why I love it.

Fluffy koala

Little koala is finished. He came together quite nicely in the end. I love his white belly and his nose. I ummed and arred for ages about whether to make him fluffy and in the end started teasing his ears and got carried, so now he's completely fluffy.
I'm happy I decided to fluff him even though I got lots of little cuts all over my fingers from the teasel brush. I think he looks even cuter now.

Patterns

I'm on a bit of a pattern writing roll today I've been working on the koala and though while I was at it I might as well write up the patterns for the teddy, bunny and piggy heart toys.

These patterns are finished and now up in my etsy shop, as usual at half price for a limited time. The koala pattern will be finished soon and I'll be sending as a free PDF to anyone who whats it.
Happy crocheting x

Koala

Here is the koala. He's not quite finished yet but I have a bit of a dilemma. Should I make him fluffy?
If you use a yarn with natural wool content then you can use a teasel brush and change the texture of the crochet from its natural look into fluffy fluffiness.


This is what Boo has used on the body of her womble and I really like the look. I'd intended to fluff the koalas ears but now I'm very tempted to fluff the whole koala. You guys requested the pattern so I'll leave it up to you to fluff or not to fluff? Comment please

Addiction

My name is Liz and I'm addicted to pinterest

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard.

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. B

rowsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. To get started, request an invite.

It is such a great place for inspiration I'm completely hooked.
Must try and step away from the computer and crack on with some crochet :(

Guest post from fellow crocheter Boo

Hello, my name is Boo and Ms Amigurumi Barmy has kindly allowed me to guest post! So I thought I would show you my latest creation, a custom request for a womble. The Wombles was a children's programme on the BBC when I was a child, and this person is called Orinoco. He had a reputation for being lazy and eating a lot, which is why he has a sammich :) He is now happy in his new home.

Another reason for showing him is because I made him without a pattern to work from. The only reason I was confident enough to try is due to Liz's encouragement. She actually taught me how to crochet, and how to work shapes to make a finished object. When I was considering how to make Orinoco, Liz said to trust my instincts and think of the shapes that would go into making him, and I was so pleased with the result!

I love crochet and amigurumi, as well as needlepoint and cross stitch, but amigurumi really has captured my imagination. I bought 'Creepy Cute Crochet' before I even knew how to crochet, but thankfully Liz had plenty of patience and I maaged to make a little nosferatu, without enough stuffing in and a bit lopsided but I had caught the crochet bug and never looked back. I think Orinoco is the creation I'm proudest of so far. Where did you start, and what is your favourite?

Free pattern vote

I've been busy working and blogging over at duttons for buttons new blog so I've neglected my barmy amigurumiers to make up for it I'll be posting a free pattern tommorow. So what do you want a pattern for? get your votes in now.

Duttons blog

I've been given the job of setting up a blog for the shop where I work Duttons for buttons so if your a fan of buttons, all things crafty, sparkly and fun why not head on over and check it out.
Its here
Also there is the duttons facebook page here (I've something a bit special in mind for our facebook fans, so like us and you'll be the first to find out)
and Duttons for buttons website here

Spring fairy

Welcome to my mad world of omnipoms the spring fairy. She's a bit grumpy because she's worried the snow will stop the daffodils from flowering. Her dress is bright orange with a yellow t-shirt underneath and lime ribbon. she's the colours of spring. Her wings glitter and so do her pants cause every girl needs a bit of sparkle.


I've really enjoyed making the spring fairy. Her hair is made from squiggle yarn and was a right pain in the behind to make. all hope of following a pattern when out the window as I couldn't see the stitches but its worth the effort cause the hair looks so fun. Her dress is knitted in the round on 4 double pointed needles and was based on a dress I made for some older dolls but as I never wrote that pattern down it was a bit make it up as you go along . Luckily it worked out and it fit nicely. I had to add the button decoration on her dress cause it wouldn't be one of my doll if it didn't have buttons on it. She has buttons on her shoes too, I can't help myself sometimes.
Right now to stop procrastinating cause doing the legs is boring and finish of my octopus.

New project

After making this dragon for the Chinese new year I've been having a play around with the wing pattern from lucy Ravenscar its a great pattern and makes lovely wings but I found by doing through back loop only I got a nice line which looked like veins on wings, I've also added a small chain loop at the row end on the wide end of the wing and done a longer chain and worked back into it to form a curl at the top and bottom of the wings.
I wanted the wings to be sparkly so I used Wendy peter pan moon dust yarn which has a iridescent fleck in it but this wasn't sparkly enough so I blended it with 3 strands of this holographic Machine embroidery thread and you can see it gives me a really lovely sparkly effect.

Now who is gonna wear this impressive set of wings? Well I'm working on this spring fairy omnipom, She's at the ugly stage at the moment but I've had to stop at this stage cause I'm going to knit her a pretty dress and if I stuff her and do the legs I might not be able to get her dress on. I've used the same moon dust yarn for her knickers cause I think every fairy should have glittery knickers and she's got a lovely wig of lime green curls, I'm looking forward to bringing her to life. Now to get my knitting needles out and cast on the frock.

Snow, snow , snow

Well I wasn't joking when I wrote this about my cats. This little sceane of distruction was caused by Cassi. My poor sweet pea seedlings, I can't even repot them as the weather has taken a bit of a turn and my compost is frozen.


Yep we finally have some snow. I love snow and how it makes everything look so pretty. The world seems a quieter place when its snowing and everyone can act like children. It was so lovely to see everyone out on my street yesterday all wrapped up and bright scarfs and gloves, making snowmen and having snowball fighst. It reminds me that no mater how technically advanced the world is getting, a simple white flurry of precipitation will have the whole country joining together in a chorus of "Its snowing" and rushing to the nearest window. Oh yes we'll be moaning about it in a few days but at the mo I'm happy to be inside where its nice and warm with a steaming mug of tea and chocolate biscuit looking out at the frozen world and having a happy sigh.

Isn't this pretty, frost on a spiders web.


Cress pot update, a week after planting my cress is growing well. It'll be ready to cut in a few days and I'm really looking forward to a nice egg and cress salad sandwich. I'm glad the survived Cassi's attack on the sweet peas (they are on the windowsill next to them) but there is soil all over the windowsill and my desk. She is a naughty one but then all she has to do is smile and she's forgiven.