Cactus Amigurumi....Cotton or Wool?

Cacti Amigurumi are one of my favourites....they can be sweet decorations and they do not really ask you to take care of them...ehehhe...

I made my first ones in wool last winter...and you can find the link to them HERE.


Then, after working on a few crochet projects with cotton this summer,  I thought that it could give a nice touch to cacti!


So here I am, showing you my COTTON CACTI AMIGURUMI!!!






What do you think?

Are they better in cotton or wool?

Looking forward to hearing your comments!


Wishing you all a lovely weekend
Rory
XXX

Crochet Wrist Warmers

Since last year, my husband had been asking me for a pair of cashmere wrist warmers. He had seen a pair from one of his favourite designers but they were very expensive...so we thought the handmade option could have made it!

It took me long to put myself to realize them as I was initially looking for a nice pattern, but I couldn't find much that was simple enough for him to like it! He just wanted it plain, in a soft cashmere wool and well-fitted to his arms, leaving space to wear it on some shirts eventually.

So I decided to get some cashmere black yarn and started building the pattern on him... and here is the final result!

I really like the idea of wrist warmers as a male accessory, and I think they look pretty cool on him.

I hope you like them!

Have a lovely evening
Rory
xxx

Crochet Mug Cozy

Autumn has definitely reached London and to me it's the best time of the year to enjoy crocheting.

It had been a while since I wanted to realise a mug cozy and, thinking a bit ahead, it could be a sweet present for Christmas.

I followed the free pattern from Marion Hassold, and you can find the link to it HERE

The pattern is very easy to follow and super quick to realize...it took me about half hour to make it....and your present is ready!!!

I used a 4.5mm hook with a medium thickness yarn.

Just sent a picture to my sister telling her my idea to start making more as Christmas presents and she suggested me to start making one for her to keep it in her office :)

Hope you like the idea and follow the link through this easy pattern...sure many of your friends and family will enjoy it!

Wish you a lovely Sunday

Rory
XXX

Shabby Chic Crochet Purse

All of my friends seem to be getting more and more into shabby chic style....so I thought I'd try to create something of kind in crochet...

A few months ago I made my first crochet purse out of a pattern from Inside Crochet...and in that occasion I had ordered a package of silver frames...all of which, apart from one, were still sitting in my big box waiting to be used.... 

...I got the IDEA!!! A small crochet purse made out of my own pattern! I am quite proud of the final product! Ahahah... I guess it's because it was the first time I've been using the bobble stitch and I realised I really love the effect.

To learn how to work out the bobble stitch I used a very nice tutorial, and you can find the link HERE

It is a very filling stitch, with the only downside that it does take a lot of yarn....

I would be really curious to hear your thoughts about my purse...

I am bit lazy (probably still feeling the summer mood) so I don't have the pattern written down nicely yet, but once I do, I will share it with you!

Wishing you all a lovely evening

Rory

XXX

Crochet Earrings….My Second Pair

Finally back on the blog…. sharing with you a very simple and quick crochet project!

It's my second time making crochet earrings. My first pair was realized for my best friend's birthday, and you can find pictures and link to the post here !!!

…this time I am not working in rounds but in a spiral in the round, like you would do with amigurumi.

The pattern is from Liz Ward from issue 53 of Inside Crochet and it's super easy.

It actually gets you playing with pliers and clippers, making me willing to make more jewelry some time soon….

I found it fun, and if you make them in different colors they could match all of your flashy summer dresses and shirts!

Hope you like them

Have a lovely Sunday
Rory
XXX

Tiny crochet purse

The issue 51 of Inside Crochet inspired me to a couple of new projects I am currently working on…one of them being this tiny purse, with the pattern by Sarah Coad!

I always thought it would have been very difficult to put it together, especially as I don't have a lot of experience in sawing and I was worried that when putting the crochet bit together to the frame I would have made it look a bit messy :p

Luckily, I have to say that it is way simpler than you could guess to realize, and you can work it out how make the stripes straight with respect to the frame.

What do you think of my color picks?

As for the silver frames, they can be easily found on Etsy…and, of course, I did order more than one ;) ….which means that I will soon put my mind at work and see how to personalize these tiny purses to make customized presents for my friends, with colors, maybe some beads or some appliqués…we'll see!

I hope you like it

Wishing you a lovely weekend
Rory
XXX

Crochet Hearths…..bag accessories?

Until September 2013, when I moved in with my hubby, I used to share a lovely old Georgian house in London with my adorable flatmate / best friend Amy!

She basically saw me playing with crochet since my first moments and she's always been very supporting as well as very excited and proud of my outputs!

Last month I was showing her the bunny amigurumi I had realized and she asked me "when you have some free time….you know I love small things, would you do something for me?"

So I looked around for ideas and I found several tutorials for crochet hearths…In particular I used the tutorial from the blog of amiamore to make a tiny red hearth, and the tutorial from freshstitches for a medium size green hearth!

Both tutorial were really easy to follow and quick to realize, and the fresh stitches free download has three different sizes you can play with, according to what you'd like to use your crochet hearth for!

I had fun making them and I can't wait to give them to Amy!!! I hope she's gonna like them and maybe use them as accessories for bags? (I think I personally like them on bags ;) )

 

 

I hope I inspired you with quick ideas for small presents for the ones you love!

Wishing you a Happy Sunday

Love

Rory

XXX

 

Baby boy crochet sneakers and football amigurumi toy

Here I am, back on completing the baby projects for the american side of my family!!

After taking care of the baby girl present with baby ballerina and a matching bunny amigurumi I had to think of a cool present idea for the baby boy from the other side of the family...

...I had some tips from my mother-in-law, who told me that the parents of the baby are big football fans and the main color of the college they both went to is maroon...

So I started looking around, until I found this lovely pattern from Cathyren on Esty, which you can find at the following link!

I simply loved it and thought it was perfect for my gift idea!

So I bought some maroon rowan cotton yarn and started following the pattern!

The pattern has an unusual way of working out the booties, but it is very easy to follow and I was quite happy with the results.

If you're thinking of a baby boy present idea, I think this could be a cute set to start from!

Hope you like them!

Love

Rory

XXX

Crochet Bunny Amigurumi

As I was telling you, my idea at the moment is to prepare two newborn sets for July. I had made crochet cotton newborn ballerina a couple of weeks ago for the baby lady to be born in July...and now I just finished a bunny amigurumi in matching colors.

For the pattern, I used the free pattern from All About Ami, which you can find here. The pattern is really amazing, as she explains step by step how to make your bunny and it's easy to follow.

As for the colors and yarns, I just used the same rowan cotton I used for the ballerina.

Here is my finished bunny!!

I really hope you like it!

And here is the full set for the baby girl including the ballerina!

Hope I gave you a nice idea for newborn sets / combinations!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!

Love
Rory
XXX

Spring Newborn Crochet Baby Ballerina

Happy Sunday!!!

This weekend I've started working on newborn projects....we are going to have 2 new members of the family from my husband side and, as we'll go to the States to visit them this July, I thought I should start working on something handmade to bring along!!

For the lady to be born in July, I have in mind to prepare a small box with a pair of crochet baby ballerina and an amigurumi in matching colors!!

I am using Rowan cotton glace' in beige and yellow (as they told me that yellow is the main decorating color of her room to be)!!

For the baby ballerina pattern...I started with my flower ballerina baby booties one and I have hopefully made some improvements, as well as enjoyed myself using a combination of 2 colors!!

They look quite summer-ish, and probably it's the yellow that helps!!!

Hope you like them!!!!

The amigurumi in matching colors is work in progress...and I will hopefully be able to share it with you soon!!

Wishing you all a lovely Sunday and looking forward to your comments!
Rory
XXX

Bike Crochet - Saddle & Bell Covers!

Last Christmas my hubby and I got bikes from Santa...and I couldn't be more in love with my bike!!

"She" is a Pashley...really gorgeous and so pleasant to ride!!!

Unfortunately, not even a week since I had it, my bike saddle got stolen... and you can imagine how pleasant the ride back home with no saddle must have been... 10pm in the evening and about 20mins ride away from home :(

In order to avoid having to ride back in the evening with no saddle again, I decided to replace it with a pretty cheap and ugly one, so that nobody would bother thinking about stealing it again...and I think I was quite successful in the picking!

Pretty good idea....but when I was looking at my Pashley I was feeling really sad that "she" wasn't as pretty as before... so I needed something to make her cute again but easy to take off when I was leaving Pashley alone outside!

Guess what? Crochet of course!!!

And I thought that this time I had to make my own pattern, in order to fit nicely with my bike saddle size!!

It took me a while but I can say that I am finally satisfied with the outcome!! What do you think?

And while I was woking on it I thought...well why just crocheting the saddle....

.....if I can make a matching set with the bell cover as well?

 .....

I also thought I should share my first attempt though... as the grey version is the second set I made... I had made my first attempt with some green and pink yarn leftovers ...to test and see if I was able to create a pattern....

....

I am really looking forward to hear your feedback, comments or suggestions!!

Wishing you all a lovely Sunday!!

Rory

XXX 

Cacti Amigurumi....for some good luck!

Finally back!!! I can't believe my last post was so long ago....but here I am sharing with you my latest project!

I've started working on cacti amigurumi... I've first ordered online some mini terracotta pots and then started working on the crochet part with a 3mm hook, two different green yarns and a few bright color leftovers for flowers or pom-pom for a final decorating touch.



I've made three so far, and I was surprised by how little time it actually takes to make them and you can decorate them the way you prefer!!!



My original plan was to make ten different cacti, and give them as presents to my closest girlfriends.... and then I heard a story that convinced me even more that that was a good idea!!!



I was at dinner with friends, sharing with them the first cactus I had made and my plan to give them as gifts, when my friend told me that according to some popular traditions, cacti are believed to bring good luck and can be considered as amulets as they keep enemies away and protect you!!



I didn't need a better excuse!!! This is gonna be the perfect gift for my girls!! I just need to work on it and make a few more ;)

Hope you like them!!

Wishing you a lovely day!

Rory
XXX