No. 13 - Crochet Ariel for 2nd Niece

I've finished this project, more or less. I'm getting much faster now, and have picked up little tricks here and there to get the finishes I want. Youtube was a great help at first, learning the very basics. After that, it's been mostly blogs and websites that are generously put up by people who share their techniques on how to do various things, like dolls' hair and head shapes and hands and so on.

I'm very happy with how this one turned out as I really wasn't sure about a few crucial parts.

Made using 100% acrylic dk yarn with a 3.75mm hook. The hair is aran weight 100% acrylic.

Here she is!

No. 12 - Crochet Princess Leia

Made this for Rachel while I was on OD seminar the week of 7 March 2016. Again, I prefer stitched eyes (convex upwards) rather than the black safety eyes that the instructions call for. Not stuffing the arms means they're a little bit malleable, so she is somewhat poseable.

No. 11 - Crochet Bullseye

Made this for my 3rd niece's birthday, which was celebrated together with my brother and Sarah. Followed a brown pony pattern from the internet.





I made Bullseye a saddle on the day of the party! Started it in the car on the way there and finished it at the party, before dinner began. Good thing it was quite simple.

No. 10 - Crochet Yoda - the 2nd

Made this for my brother's birthday. Same day as Sarah! 8 March. This Yoda has different eyes from the first Yoda. The convex faces down instead of up, so he looks more zen than cutesy.

No. 9 - Teal Crochet Cat

Made this for Sarah, one of her birthday gifts. The other was a pedicure.

No. 8 - Crochet Wicket the Ewok

Lots of fun making this little guy. It's the accessories that make them so cute. I love his cowled hood and toothpick staff.

No. 7 - Black Crochet Cat

Made this for Matthew. Started in Malacca and finished at home.

No. 6 - Crochet Doily for Mom

I made this using cotton thread and a 1 mm steel hook. Both from Daiso - SGD2 each! Gave it to mom on her birthday, 9 February.

It's part of a pattern for a mandala from the internet. I didn't use the last few rounds of the pattern, mostly because I ran out of time, and because I didn't think it needed them since they wouldn't have shown up well without using different colours.

I learned about blocking thanks to this project that wouldn't lie flat at first. Blocking simply means soaking the piece in water and then letting it dry in the shape you want. You can do that by pinning or pressing it down. I just pressed it flat between a towel to dry overnight.

This piece is about 20 cm across.

No. 5 - Crochet Table Edge Cover

This was the first thing I made after the new yarn arrived - needed it to avoid getting knocks against the table next to my side of the bed. Just simple rows of double crochet with the ends folded into catch the sides after stretching over.

 

Crochet Supplies

I've been getting my yarn and supplies from Lovecrochet. They have very reasonably priced and good quality 100% acrylic yarn which I can't seem to find in Singapore. Shipping is very decent at only USD10.55 for whatever weight your order, and quite fast too.



I brought this whole lot on the couple trip to Malacca!


For hooks I got a couple from Daiso, then decided to splash out on a set of Clover Soft Touch hooks.



[Photograph courtesy of Amazon]

They're a good price on Amazon.com. A friend brought them back from the US for me since she was going there on a work trip. Sizes C to J, so that's 2.75 mm to 6 mm.

Work-in-progress items are kept and brought around in a Kate Spade pouch that I picked up at the Las Vegas Premium Outlet Mall. It's smaller than A4 and I hadn't really known what it would be used for when I bought it, but it's proving to be a very nice size and quality to take with me and work out of wherever I go. I can even crochet while standing up in the train with this pouch clutched under one arm. Much of my projects have been made in the commute to and from work.

No. 3 & 4 - Crochet Crazy Cats

Made this on our couple trip to Malacca, with leftover, taken apart yarn from an old old event (finger knitting for little girls).

I forgot that prior to this I made a test cat also with the leftover yarn, but in only one colour.

No. 2 - Crochet Stormtrooper

Almost another month to make this chap. The instructions called for black safety eyes but I felt he needed the characteristic black triangles of the stormtrooper mask to look right (or sinister, as he should). For this photo, I pinned his hands to his side to get his arms akimbo.

ETA (14 May 2016): This guy now has a permanent home with Matt's friend Ethan, who broke his ankle and shin trampolining at Matt's birthday party at a trampoline park.

No. 1 - Crochet Yoda

Took me almost a month to make this, with quite a lot of help from youtube and crochet websites to learn the basics. Just in time for Christmas.

I guess acrylic yarn, with a 3.5mm hook. Both came with the kit.




I prefer stitched eyes, convex upwards, rather than the black plastic hemispheres called for in the instructions. I also gave him a wide smile with smile lines. You can't have a Yoda without wrinkles.

Love the juxtapositioning with a gingerbread Chewbacca of the same scale.

In The Beginning

Was Costco. A friend took us to one in San Francisco when we got there on Saturday 21 November 2015 after SES's work conference at Las Vegas.

At Costco I picked up Star Wars Crochet by Lucy Collins, a crochet kit that came with an instruction book, a 3.5mm crochet hook, two pairs of safety eyes, a tapestry needle, and enough yarn to make a Yoda and a stormtrooper.



It was USD11.99, a steal as I afterwards found out when we saw it at Kinokuniya a bookstore in Singapore for SGD43.

I thought it would be good holiday fun for the two older kids who were fourteen and twelve at the time. When I actually opened the kit and looked through the book, I realized it was going to be way too difficult for them, so I took it upon myself to use the kit.