Sunday Crochet Frenzy

Had a bit of a stall on Gol Goroth this week while I waited for some blue wire to arrive to support the feathers. So I started on a Gug (especially for Tonia).

I found some great lumpy wool on sale and am experimenting with texture in this one, I think it looks kind of like stone.

The blue wire arrived late in the week so I have spent the day trying to get the tail to work, I think it will but it is hard to tell at this stage because the excess armature keeps flopping over.

I must thank the lovely Karla over at Itsy Bitsy Spider for the inspiration for the tail feathers, the idea came after seeing pictures of her beautiful doves.

Sunday Ithaqua Frenzy

Sorry I have been missing for a bit but I have been having neck and shoulder issues and haven't been able to get much done the last couple of weeks. Things are looking up though I have finally finished Ithaqua after many hours and a lot of hand pain.

He is a little unsteady on his feet, I had to lean him against the veranda post because I was

worried he might fall the not inconsiderable distance to he muddy garden below. If I make

another on this scale (60cm from toes to tips of tentacles) I will definitely use armature as he

is a little inclined to collapse under his own weight.

The head tentacles were a little tricky as they are stitched up from the head as the head is

decreasing in diameter so you have less and less room to work in as it goes on. That being said

I still managed to complete him without sewing on a single component he is totally crocheted

together.

I have also been on a bit of a sock monster binge with Christmas coming up and three

markets due. I am trying to finish one a day on the train - here are this weeks miscreants.

Sunday Kitty Frenzy

Sorry for the gap between posts, I did make some new things last week but I couldn't post about them cos they are presents and I will ruin the surprise - maybe next week.

Things have picked a bit this week after an extremely quiet market last Saturday where for the first time I did not sell anything at all.

I have been succumbing to the whole perler thing and made a Dragon Quest IV monster sprite.

It has occurred to me that these being made of plastic will make really cool decorations for the bathroom where we have lots of blank wall.

I also received my owl from the swap part of the Great Owl Crochet along, plus an adorable frog from Karla of Itsy Bitsy Spider who organised the whole thing. I had sent her an owl for herself as a thank you for all the amazing hard work she has put into this project and she very sweetly sent me a froggy of my own.

The crochet along was a great experience and I will participate again if I can.

Also my Cthulhu amigurumi was featured on Itsy Bitsy Spider's Feature Friday (as you can tell by the badge over on the side). I don't think I have ever posted about it here because I designed it before I started this blog.

I think will try and post some more about the design process later this week, as it is not constructed in the usual amigurumi way.

The latest addition to my market stall is the sleepy sock kitty.

People often ask for things that are suitable for babies (i.e. no button eyes), but I have not been willing to compromise the monster designs - I make them as soft sculptures not toys anyway. Those who know me well (especially Scott who has to put up with it the most) will tell you how contrary I can be, especially when people want me to make things. I kept the notion of a button free creature in the back of my mind figuring that a suitable idea would come to me one day.

These were inspired by a picture I saw in "Stray Sock Sewing Too" by Daniel, his construction methods seem quite different to mine so I kind of took the basic idea but made them to my own technique.

Sunday Electricity Frenzy

Electricity is my enemy this week - no lights in the studio. When the electrician finally came round to put in the halogens we we told that apparently all our wiring is stuffed and we need to redo the whole house - very expensive. So now I have no lights at all in the studio and no idea when we will be able to afford to fix them. We still need to get a second opinion, I am hoping they will say only that room needs to be done not the whole house - everything else still works just fine for now.

Only two new monsters this week, mostly because they were a little more involved than usual.

This is the first crochet monster that I have made for ages. The Ubel Ferkel is an evil piglet, he has bat wings, black beady eyes and an adorable fat tummy.

The Sunekosuri for this week is a triffidy kind of creature, the first sock monster I have done with wired pieces. It took a lot more work than usual but I am very pleased with the way it has come out, I plan to do a series in different colours.

I have been very focussed on production for the market stall for the last 6 months and have let the Etsy store slide completely. I think I am finally getting on top of things now and will hopefully have time to start making pieces for Etsy again.

I also bit the bullet and sent off a submission for the Plush You exhibition in Seattle, I find it a bit scary taking the plunge and trying to get my stuff out there and am very good at procrastinating this sort of thing. Fingers crossed.