thepointysister

Frilly gorilla knickers

Phew. It's been a long time between posts. I have been crafting, honest, just apathetic when it comes to recording it.

Here are the much feted frilly knickers that I knitted for Mr Gorilla. They are colour co-ordinated to match his dress.

I adapted a pattern from an old Family Circle knitting magazine and, for those interested, it goes like this:

With 2.75mm needles, cast on 28 sts. Work 4 rows in rib (K1, P1). Change to 3.00mm needles and st st 12 rows. Cast off 4 sts at the beginning of the next 6 rows until you are left with only 4 sts on your needle. St st 12 rows. cast on 4 sts at the beginning of the next 6 rows until you are back to 28 sts on your needle. St st 12 rows. Change to 2.75mm needles and rib 4 rows (K1, P1). Cast off in rib.

To make up:

Sew side seams. For shell edges use a 3.00mm crochet hook and work * 2dc, 3ch, sl st in 1st ch * Repeat from * to * around the legs using a contrast colour.

Marissa Cooper - pink mouse

I made this delicious pink mouse while watching the season finale of The OC so of course I had no choice but to name her Marissa.

She fits my crafting mo perfectly - made of felt, undeniably teeny tiny and exceptionally cute. You can make your own Marissa by downloading the free pattern in the 'mouse' issue of kids craft weekly – a free weekly kiddie craft newsletter that also happens to be my latest personal project!

Please check it out and if you like the idea it'd be fantastic if you'd subscribe.

Gorilla dress

It's a miserable day for the park. Not even gorilla's fancy new dress can cheer him up.

I have been crafting, honest. Just not finishing very much. I have been most taken with an old family circle book of soft toys to make. The toys themselves are not terribly appealing to me but the clothes, the clothes I tell you are something else. As Ella's favourite thing in the entire world is dressing up her soft toys it gives me a great excuse to make some. Next on the needles is a pair of frilly knickers and a postman's satchel. Stay tuned.

It's all in the packaging

What could possibly be in these cute little packages?

Why, two little Aranzi Aronzo kitty cats of course! These two lovely ladies will be in the mail tomorrow headed for two deserving cat lovers.

The packaging comes from one of my new Japanese craft books - a real treasure called 'Fold! Fold! Fold! Present Box!' (ISBN427775337X).

It's inspiring enough to make you want to start fold! fold! folding! Or maybe click! click! clicking! your way to yesasia where they have a FREE worldwide shipping promotion.

The 'my poor cold bald head' beanie

It's cold up here at the moment and Richard has been suffering as a result. The last beanie I knitted him was two years ago and it's been out of service for some time now. I based this one on the same pattern (Hot Head from Stitch'n'Bitch) but made a few modifications based on my experience from last time (basically longer and wider). As a mark of solidarity against my mean sister, Richard specifically requested that I make a pom pom for the top. Of course I was happy to oblige, but in the end I only trimmed and attached the delightful pom as my daughter Ella finally caught the crafting bug and sat happily at the kitchen table making the pom pom. It was a very proud moment for me of course, and an important one for this pom pom loving side of the family.

Fashionable panda hybrid settles in to European lifestyle

I recently received word that Pandior arrived safe and well in The Netherlands. Apparently she has embraced her new homeland with much enthusiasm and has been seen barracking for the Dutch team at the world cup!

Pic courtesy of Kisskus. You can see more pics here.

An assurance

I had such a great time putting together a back-tack parcel for Kisskus, my swap recipient. I suspect that the parcel has yet to arrive in The Netherlands despite having been posted two weeks ago. When I think about the possibility of having a lost in the mail panda  my stomach starts to turn... it's a bit early to start a panic so for now I will sit tight. For now, here's a phone camera sneak peek of the contents of the parcel before it was put in the mail.

Back-tack III goodies

When I returned home from visiting my sister last weekend I found a lovely large parcel waiting for me. It was my back-tack III parcel from the delightful Jhoanna. I saved the pleasure of opening the package until after the kids had gone to bed and it proved to be well worth the wait.

A gorgeous Aranzi Aronzo turtle (I LOVE turtles), a fantastic crafting apron (much needed) and some delicious treats. Thanks so much Jhoanna! Sorry for taking so long to post about it's arrival. This slackness has been due, in part, to the fact that I have been unable to take any pictures so for now I have borrowed an image from Craft Itch. I hope you don't mind Jhoanna!

More eeny weeny goodness

Japanese craft book ISBN4569622798

I have been coveting this book for ages and was so pleased to finally get my hands on a copy. It has patterns for making 25 teeny tiny (and we're talking seriously weeny) creatures so naturally I am completely obsessed with it. The photos are just a treat as you can see. My fave is the teeny tiny dung beetle pushing a huge ball of poo. You'll be pleased to know that patterns for both beetle and poo ball are included in the book.

The world's most photographed softie

Allow me to introduce Pandior - my back-tack III creation. Pandior is a panda-teddy bear hybrid made from white flannel and black acrylic fleece.  As far as I am aware the back-tack rules have been obeyed - she's made from black and white materials with only one extra colour, she has five buttons (one on each or her arms and legs and one on her necklace). She stands 16cms tall and the initial B is embroidered on her pretty white dress as B is for Berber, the name of my back-tack swap recipient.

Pandior had so much personality from the very beginning that I never had to wonder what to do next, but rather where to stop! I considered knitting her a scarf made from silk ribbon, instead I crocheted her a handbag from embroidery cotton. I wanted to make her a string of pearls but I thought the hot pink ribbon and button necklace was probably enough. Should I have made her a companion poodle instead of a sleeping handbag bunny? A pair of frilly undies? A spare dress to keep in her handbag? Oh the choices! The dilemmas! You have no idea! And then there was the drama of photographing her. I now have hundreds of photographs of her that are all ever so slightly different and I'm the only one who can tell (or who cares about) the difference. A conversation that took place earlier in the day went something like this.

Me: So which picture do you think I should use?
Richard: How about that one.
Me: Are you kidding?  The bunny's little ear is all curled up in that shot!
Richard: Oh okay, how about that?
Me: No, she looks a bit snobby in that one.
Mum: Why don't you take some pictures of her cooking  in the little toy kitchen?
Me:  [Throws arms in the air]  But she's clearly dressed for best - not for cooking!

Needless to say I had terrific fun making her and loved the challenge that the back-tack rules added to the project. My next task is to put together a little package for her foster family and send her on her way to her new home in the Netherlands. Now that I think of it I should have used orange as my extra colour! Oh and I could  have made her some little panda clogs? or a tiny panda spliff - after all, settling in to a new country can be a very stressful affair! Cultural stereotypes aside, I'm sure that Berber and her family will make Pandior feel very welcome. Well, I'd better go. I have some teeny weeny panda bags to pack!