Amigurumi sheep - popcorns

In the previous post you could read how to make a magic ring, which is the basis for the sheep's body, head, legs and tail. And when done right it should look like this:

The next thing you need to do is chain one and grab the thread without pulling it through your chain. Take a look at the picture below:

Next, you drive your crochet through your magic ring and grab the thread. You should end with three loops on your crochet:

Now gran your thread once again and pull it through all your three loops...

...and you should end up with the following:

 Again: grab your thread above your magic ring, grab your thread through the magic ring and pull the thread through all three loops. 
You need to make it 5 times and when you're done you should end up with something like this:

Now remove your crochet from the last loop and drive it through the first chain. It's best to look at it:

Grab the last loop:

and pull it through the first chain. Your threads should form a bubble. 

The last thing you do is chain one. And that completes your first popcorn:

 To be continued...

Amigurumi sheep - sneaky peek

Here's the almost finished amigurumi sheep. I still have a tail to make. ;) 

It is very satisfying to see the finished result :)

Amigurumi sheep - first steps

I hope this step-by-step for making magic ring works for you. I noticed that some youtube clips show it too fast and that makes you want to pause them every couple seconds, which is quite a task when one of your hands is entangled in tread and the other is holding your hook.

So, let's get started.

To start your popcorn ball (aka the body of sheep) you have to make a magic ring. I hope that the pictures below will explain how the magic ring is done better than an elaborate description.

The very first step is to make a loop around your fingers as shown on the picture above. The threads must cross each other.
Next, you slide your hook over the first tread and over the second one...

 
...and you pull the second thread under the first one.

 You should end up with a loop on your hook

The last thing to do now is to chain one through the loop on your hook...

  ...and you have your magic ring ready :)

With magic ring ready we can start making our popcorns.



To be continued...

Amigurumi sheep

This is my first ever attempt to crochet an amigurumi anything. And I've decided to make a sheep after going through several tutorials on youtube and finding that the sheep is the best looking so far. As always, you will find the links to the videos below.
I have also found the site where it is explained step by step how to crochet the sheep. Unfortunately, it is in Spanish. And the trouble is that you may not get it right when translating the instruction through google - it translates word for word and makes no sense as a result. Sigh...

Yup, it took me a while to sort out the instruction and a bit of ripping (takes a lot of courage to pull that thread) but looking at what I have made so far I think I go it right.

Step 1: the body.

The body is a ball made using popcorn stitch. The rule is that every next round has four popcorns more than the previous one. And the additional popcorn stitches must be placed in between the popcorns from the earlier round. If you look at the picture you probably notice straight away that it's not exactly round. Obviously, your popcorns have to be evenly stitched to create an even ball and it takes a bit of experience to avoid stitches being too tight or too loose. Don't worry though, after filling the ball it will become much more shapely :)

To be continued...

Snowflakes

It's this time of the year again. 
Half of the humanity is waiting anxiously for snow, the other half dreads the very thought of the white flakes.

No matter which group you find yourselves in I hope you will agree that these little crochet snowflakes are adorable.

I think crochet ornaments are both timeless and universal, meaning they look good anytime and anywhere. 

It really took just a couple of minutes to complete one snowflake so even if you are pressed on time there's a really good chance that you could have a finished garland like the one above in time for Holidays. And even if you are late for Christmas you could have a lovely ornament for winter time. ;)

I myself got back to crochet after a long time so my first snowflakes are based on tutorials from the web (you can find the links below). 
You will quickly notice that such small ornaments are based on three rounds of stitches. ONLY 3!!!
I haven't come up with my own pattern for a snowflake yet so my season ornaments for this year happened thanks to these lovely ladies and their fab tutorials.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSefNeFfuTI&t=331s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qjnNp3p3Lk&t=216s

I hope you enjoy the tiny crochet snowflakes and you will be inspired for a bigger stitching project in the coming year.
I know I am. 

Happy stitching!

Season's Greetings

Since I intend this blog to be about handmade things, 

here we go! 

A very personal and very much handmade 

season's greetings!

Merry Christmas to you Dear Reader 

and 

best of luck with your projects!

Quilt

Ever since I saw a patchwork in one of the fashion magazines (or perhaps it was more of a diy sewing magazine) when I was a kid I wanted to make a quilt. Only recently I have learned the ins and outs of this hugely practical craft. 
I find it fabulous that it has survived so many trends and fashions throughout years (centuries even) and remains so popular. It's a greatly rewarding hobby and I love how a quilt or a table runner becomes a fantastic family heirloom.
So here are a couple of pics of my newest quilt:

The pattern - Summer in the Park - is really simple and quick to complete. Although I have to admit using a quilting ruler and a rotary cutter with this pattern makes it much easier  to piece the blocks without becoming frustrated about angles. 
And I have to mention that this quilt would not have happened if it wasn't for the great tutorials from the Missouri Star Quilt Company and lovely Jenny Doan. 

Here's the link for the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5WgTyqB8Pc