Mother and Child Spirits

I made a set of Mother and Child Earth Spirits about two years ago, and they've always been one of my favourite creations. I've also had quite a few requests for me to write up their pattern, and now I've finally got it finished, and available in my shop.

One of the problems with making these is getting hold of nice mohair yarns that are the right thickness. The yarn I originally used, Patons Spirit, is no longer being produced, although I've still got a small stash of it. It is also thicker than most of the other plain mohair yarns I have, many of which I picked up from charity shops without labels. I bought some Luxury Mohair by King Cole, which has lovely colours but is comparatively thin, and when I tested my pattern using this yarn, the Water Spirits ended up quite a bit smaller than the Earth Spirits I made using the Patons yarn. In the end though, despite the size difference, I was happy with both yarns and the creatures I made with them.

I think that what I like most about these creatures is the way they seem to interact when you put them together. It feels like the mother is looking after her child, or even listening to him telling her what he's been up to!

Dusk and Hedgerow Spirits

Over the last few months, whenever I've been going somewhere I might have a bit of spare time to crochet (like visiting relatives for a few days), I've taken a bag with an interesting furry yarn, a couple of contrasting yarns and my faithful 3.5mm hook. I take my scribbled notes for a creature I've made before (it's too awkward to make up an entirely new pattern and make notes when I'm on the go) and make a different version.



Here are the two creatures that I made: a Dusk Spirit and a Hedgerow Spirit. I made them then decided what they were once they were completed.



The little Hedgerow Spirit reminds me of the colour your fingers go when you pick blackberries, and the fur around his face looks a bit like Old Man's Beard, so I felt that he belonged in the hedgerows. He lives there and looks after the all the small creatures that live there too, with his horns helping him push through the undergrowth.



The Dusk Spirit matches my Dawn spirit (appropriately enough! See a picture of her here: http://lucyravenscar.blogspot.com/2009/07/earth-spirits.html). The colour of her fur seemed right for that time of day, and her face seemed very calm. Since dusk is when many animals feel safe to feed, I think of it as a quiet safe, time, and it seemed right that she would be their guardian.