Adorable Snow Monster

Where I live we hardly ever get snow - at most one fall a year that disappears within 24 hours. So it was very exciting when we got proper snow a couple of weeks ago that lasted a whole week! With the children off school what could I do (apart from going sledging) but make a snow creature?

I present: the Adorable Snow Monster. He's related to the Abominable Snowman, but clearly he can't possibly be described as abominable - he's only seven inches tall for a start! Also, he's not a man, he's definitely a monster, though he's more likely to hug you than scare you. He has a fat little tummy, soft white fur and short, stubby legs. He loves the snow - those big, six-fingered hands are perfect for making snowballs, and he's really looking forward to the Winter Olympics.

Golden Dragonet

I made this last autumn for a 'Dragonriders of Pern' swap on Craftster. The series of books by Anne McCaffrey, which are about dragons and their riders, also feature miniature dragons, or firelizards, which make very intelligent pets. I tried to make my crochet version roughly life-size as they are described in the books, although I think she's quite young. Golden ones are the queens and consider themselves the most important!



It took quite a long time to work out the right dimensions and shape while I was crocheting her, and I remade the wings about four times! I think this will be my next project to write up as a pattern, so I'll have to start making it again soon. I will do a few variations for the details on the head - shape of the eyes, ears or horns, and so on. Hopefully it won't take me too long.

Mini Fuzzy-haired Troll - Free pattern

I made these for our school's Christmas Bazaar last year - they're quick, easy and fun to make.



Materials:
Some mohair yarn for the hair
Plain yarn for the body
Black yarn to embroider the features
3.5mm hook
Stuffing
A wire pet brush to make the hair fuzzy

Abbreviations:
ch = chain
st = stitch or stitches
sc = single crochet (US), double crochet (UK)
dc = double crochet (US), treble crochet (UK)
ss = slip stitch
tog = together
FO = fasten off

Special stitch instructions:
3 dc popcorn stitch: Work 3 dc into 1 sc, remove hook from working loop, push through both loops of first dc and pull working loop through.
3 dc bobble stitch: Work first part of dc 3 times into 1 stitch, leaving 4 loops on hook, pull through all 4.
This troll is made in rounds. Do not join rounds, use a stitch marker to mark the start of a round - a small piece of different coloured yarn placed under the stitch at the start of the round will do.

Mohair yarn:
Round 1: Ch 2, work 6 sc into 1st ch - 6 sc.Round 2: 2 sc in each sc around - 12 sc.Round 3: [2sc in next sc, sc in next sc] 6 times – 18 sc.
Plain yarn:
Round 4 – 5: (2 rounds) Sc in each sc around – 18 sc.
Round 6: To make ears: Sc in next 4 sc, 3dc popcorn stitch into next sc, sc in next 8sc, 3dc popcorn stitch into next sc, sc in next4 sc – 18 sc
Round 7: Sc in each sc around – 18 sc
Round 8: [Sc 2 tog, sc in next sc] 6 times – 12 sc.
Round 9: Sc in each sc around – 12 sc
Round 10: To make arms: Work sc in each sc around until you get to the sc under the first ear then make arm as follows: ss into sc, ch7, 3dc bobble stitch into 3rd ch from hook, ss into next 4 ch, ss back into original sc. Work sc in next 5 sc, make the other arm, sc in each sc until the end of the round - 12st.
Round 11: Sc in each sc around – 12 sc (you sc into the first ss used to make each arm).
Round 12: Sc in each sc around – 12 sc.
Round 13: [2sc in next sc, sc in next 3 sc] 3 times - 15sc.
Round 14: Sc in each sc around – 15 sc.
Round 15: [2sc in next sc, sc in next 4 sc] 3 times - 18sc.
Round 16: Sc in each sc around – 18 sc.
Round 17: To make feet: Find the stitch in the front middle of your troll. Then count back 4 stitches before that (not including the middle stitch) and mark this stitch. Work sc in each sc around until you get to the marked stitch. Make toes: [3dc popcorn stitch] 3 times, sc in next 3 sc, [3dc popcorn stitch] 3 times, sc in each sc around to the end of the round.
Now stuff your troll and embroider the eyes and mouth with black yarn.
Round 18: [Sc 2 tog, sc in next sc] 6 times – 12 sc.
Round 19: [Sc 2 tog] 6 times – 6 sc. FO.
Complete stuffing and sew up hole neatly.
Use the wire brush on the mohair to make it fuzzy, and your troll is now complete!

Flora the Elephant

I've finally finished my first pattern to go in my Etsy shop. She's a cute little elephant that I'd made a couple of times before so I knew I'd be able to recreate her. Having two little boys means I don't usually make things wearing pink dresses, but I do love elephants and it's fun to combine them together. I love the shape of her head and I think she looks very shy.

Dream Spirit

Here is my latest creature.




She is a Dream Spirit, she herds the dreams that float through the air to make sure that each dream gets to the right dreamer. Not just for humans, either. Animals and, who knows, maybe even plants dream, and she has to make sure that dreams do not go astray.

I made her using one my favourite yarns, an alpaca mix. She's a simple shape (using the same basic pattern as my Rock Spirit) that I enjoyed embellishing with various scraps of fuzzy yarns to make her 'whiskers' and then I gave her curved horns/ears. I got a kind of witchy/shaman vibe from her when she was finished and then I could see what she was.

Here's her relative, the Rock Spirit:

Yubbla

Here's my latest creature - a Yubbla. These are creatures that live in mossy areas around the roots of trees and rocks. They hop around, eating bugs and fungi, their horns giving them a good defence against any predators. They are very friendly and should be encouraged into gardens, as they are great at eating up pests such as slugs.








I got the idea for him back in the spring when I was looking at some very knobbly trees in Petworth Park.





It made me think of a creature that was faintly frog-like with bulgy eyes and big, round haunches. I drew a quick sketch and added in horns since they seemed to fit. Then I got busy making other things and didn't think any more about it.

Recently I started to make another creature using the green mohair but the shape was wrong. I looked at what I'd done and realised it would make the perfect body for my Yubbla. I found the old sketch and even though I tried out a few different ideas, it ended up looking pretty similar, although I did add a tail to make it less froggy. When it was finished I found it very endearing. There's something about the positioning of the eyes that means they seem to foloowing you around, but in a puppy way, not a creepy way.

This Yubbla is now up for sale in my Etsy shop.

Fuzzy Monkey

I love monkeys - toy ones are cute, and I could watch the real ones for hours. Whenever I go to a zoo I especially like the little guys such as spider monkeys, tamarins and marmosets. I watch their tiny little almost human faces and really want to translate that into amigurumi. The only trouble is that I've made a few amigurumi monkeys, but I don't always feel that I succeed completely, I think I try too hard with the faces and get them wrong.



So for my latest attempt, I kept it simple and didn't try to copy a real monkey. I have some neon green mohair-type yarn that I've been wanting to use, so I decided that would be perfect for the head and body. I made a very simple face, and decided that quite large eyes looked best but with no other features. I gave him long arms and short legs, which probably is more appropriate for an ape, but again it just seemed to work. He ended up with a stripy tail, because I thought a bit of blue mixed in with all the green would look nice, so that makes me think of a lemur. Anyway, I'm really happy with him, even if he is some bizarre primate mix, and he's up for sale in my Etsy shop now.