Category: Chit and Chat

Chit and Chat

An experiment

Sonja

Hi dear crafters,

Just writing this short post to let you know I’m going to try something new. It might sound like a big thing, but not to worry, my style will never change. What I am going to do is trying a new type of body. For a long time I’ve been thinking about making more flexible crochet animals. The idea is that these dolls can lie on their bellies, but can also sit upwards. To make them more soft and flexible I’m thinking of using a different, thinner yarn, called Drops Alpaca.

I have no idea if this will work, and maybe I’m able to get the right result with Lett Lopi, but I need some time to work it out.

I also hope to create a type of body that needs less assembling in the end. Sno & Snoosle and Poochey & Fudge already are a start of that, but I want to take it a few steps further, where you create holes from where you later can crochet ahead for the arms and legs. I’m very curious myself how that will work out.

I’m very excited about this for a while now and finally decided to give it a go. I’m starting with a playful little fox. I can’t promise there will be a pattern soon, but I’ll try my best to create the fox pattern I have in mind.

Happy Easter for now!

 

Chit and Chat

My favourites from you!

Sonja

Hi there, crafty people! It is a tradition of mine to post pictures of the dolls you’ve made with my patterns at the end of the year. I have to admit I have become a bit lazy typing blogposts, when there is such a handy medium called Instagram to give little updates. And it is Instagram I can use to easily find all your creations, as most of you use #sonspopkes when showing your work, how very pleasant for lazy me.

This year I’ve seen so many lovely dolls you’ve made with my patterns, and some of you even took the time to send me pictures of them, which I really love. Seeing what you have made gives me so much pleasure. Every doll is unique and has its own character, I really love that. They all have become personal dolls that radiate a bit of the maker.

Because I’ve seen so many pictures of your beautiful creations, I always have to make a selection. These are some of my favourites, but it was really hard to choose!

Some crafters bring the dolls with them on holiday and take the most amazing pictures, and others have a closet full of Popkes by now, what a joy! My editor Sandy always is the first to make a new animal, and sometimes she has to do it with a pattern that is still missing many images. She can completely surprise me with a beautiful finished animal, and the horse you see is made by her, with about half a pattern!

To sum things up, your work really brightens up my day and I totally love seeing it. Have a wonderful new year, sweet people, and embrace your inner Popke!

Chit and Chat

Something new and excitingly different

Sonja

After finishing my otter pattern, I jumped right into my next project. All those free days are fun but they can make one, hence me, a bit, well very lazy.

Because I knew many crafters are pining for a Son’s Popkes giraffe pattern, I started designing one right away. However, designing the giraffe’s head made me wonder about that longing for this pattern you all seem to have. Why on earth would you want a pattern with so many colour changes? Even I got completely tangeld up in all the strands and had to unravel (myself) many times.

Okay I’m just joking around. It isn’t that bad. As long as you keep your three skeins of yarn untangled, the head works up just fine.

The thing that was difficult for me to decide was how to divide the colours. I want my giraffe to look realistic but also basic. Two colours made him look too simple, so I chose three colours.

But where to use which one? The brown was easy, that colour is for the spots.

I had a hard time deciding where to use the camel and beige.

When my final design for the shape of the head was finished, I made two different coloured versions to see what looked best.

I made a version with a darker, camel snout with a beige/ brown spotted skin and a version with a light, beige snout with a camel/ brown spotted skin.

Because it seemed most realistic and looked the best in my opinion, I decided to go for the camel snout option. I probably am not going to change my mind, but am curious what you think looks better.

I am looking forward to hearing from you. Cheers!

Art, Chit and Chat, Uncategorized

A phase

Sonja

When I look at all the patterns I have made so far, I am quite proud of each and every one of them. Look at them, so many (and I even forgot a few), that is about three years of designing in that picture!

amigurumi patterns

But lately I’ve been so critical about my designs that I am having a hard time finishing them. This must be something every designer goes through every once and a while. Maybe it is just the soggy weather and the grey of winter that makes me judge my work differently.

It started when I was working on my tortoise pattern. I made this gorgeous looking shell, that would be a bit difficult to assemble. And because I couldn’t write it down perfectly scientifically, I had to re-think it so I fooled around with it for a while and did not enjoy it. Then I saw this picture of a gorgeous looking American red squirrel and decided I was going to set aside the tortoise and make a new squirrel that made me all excited. I started all enthusiastic but soon afterwards doubted every part I made. I guess designing the realistic animals got me into this phase. Because now, when I’m designing a doll, I’m not sure anymore how realistic it should look. These crochet animals must look like the real animal for sure, but they also should be a bit more whimsical and playful looking, well you’ve just seen my Popkes. When I look at my sweet little squirrel face, I’m thinking ‘isn’t this looking too complicated?’ or ‘isn’t this head too small, should I make a more round and basic head?’. It’s annoying, I’m doubting my every move, while I can clearly see what I came up with isn’t looking bad at all.

The best thing to do is to just keep working on it. Today I made a very smart looking tail, which doesn’t need pipe cleaners in it to make it look bended. And the body I made has a very formidable looking light belly, so I suppose I am just being a bit too hard on myself. I will just continue working on this sweetie and assemble a prototype. When that is finished I can decide if I find this squirrel whimsical and characteristic enough and if anything needs to be changed.

Yes, that is a good plan. See you when it is finished dear crafters!

Chit and Chat

Realistic animals

Sonja

For a long time I have been fantasising about making realistic animals. Even now, most of my patterns are more realistic looking than many crochet animal doll patterns around, but they are dolls. The idea of making a real looking animal is extremely tempting. It makes me feel excited and I think I’m able to do it.

This Summer I was so incredibly lucky, I saw a badger in broad daylight, in the middle of the afternoon and very closeby. It was amazing, I was completely flabbergasted. The badger was foraging in bushes very close to where we walked, then saw us and disappeared till it decided to cross the path a bit further away from us anyway and passed us again. We had enough time to be amazed first and then got a proper look! It felt like the badger was there just for me to see it.

Now you can guess the realistic animal I am going to make, yes, a badger! I’m looking so forward to start working on it. And no worries, I will never stop making ‘Popkes’ (little dolls), that’s just too much fun. And because I never made a realistic animal before, I have now idea if I will succeed. Let’s hope it will work out and there will be a pattern in the nearby future.

Back to little dolls for now, there is one that is almost ready to get published, the sloth. And oh, what a joy I had making the sloth.

At first, I didn’t even felt like making a sloth. Ashamed as I am, I must admit I found them quite hideous. Many people seemed to like them a lot and I often got requests if I could make a pattern for one. Then I decided to ask in my Ravelry group which animal pattern people were looking forward to and the sloth won.

By change, I had just bought the cutest ever sloth calendar and started to look better at them. I got enchanted by their utterly sweet and loving face. They might have the strangest body proportions, but they have the most kind face you can imagine. I soon started to love them and couldn’t wait to get the pattern ready. Here’s a little preview of my sloth’s sweet and mischievous face.

We’ll meet here soon when I publish the pattern!

 

Chit and Chat

New pattern to arrive soon

Sonja

What will it be? I’ve been a bit lazy with my updates here. Since I use Instagram I regularly post pictures there of the things I am working on and it kinda slips my mind to also write about it at my blog. Nowadays I use this place to publish the patterns. Hope you don’t mind. If you like to see the WIP’s, just check my Instagram account.

But now I am here, I can tell you all about what I am making at the moment. A big, slender spotted cat, yes a cheetah pattern. It’s almost finished and my dear editor is testing the pattern as we speak.

I never made a cheetah because of its spottiness, but they are one of my favourite big cats. Especially juvenile cheetahs with their silly wild fur are too ridiculously cute to be real. I love the expressive face of cheetahs too and was a little bit worried if I could manage to get that right. But I think I did. What do you think?

You just have to wait till the end of the week to find the pattern here. Enjoy it in all its Autumnal fury!

Chit and Chat

Working on Ida monkeys

Sonja

Hi peeps, it seemed appropriate to give you an update about what I’m up to. I am doing something I normally would not do. I am making two Ida monkeys as assignments. When I started Adi’s pattern, I planned on making an extra monkey for my friend and illustrator Esther van Hulsen. But I didn’t plan on making another one. When Esther showed Adi to the professor that bought the Ida fossil, he was so delighted with the result he wanted to have one too. Well, I could not reject that, it felt fair to make him one too.

img_4346So, now I am working on the monkeys. I have to change their appearance a bit to make these look exactly like Esther’s version, but that makes it more fun.

You probably wonder why I never take assignments to make animals. Well, the main reason is that I get attached to them. When working on them I start to love them and have trouble giving them away. Also, if I would take more assignments like these, it would mean I would be constantly making the same animals and have less time designing new patterns, and that is what I love doing most. Every time it’s a challenge to create a new and fabulous looking doll and it keeps me fresh!

Now about a new design. I haven’t decided yet what animal I am going to make after I have these monkeys finished and I am open to suggestions. If you come up with something I really like, it might be the animal I am making next. So don’t be shy and let me know what you would like to see!

Chit and Chat

Just a little update

Sonja

Hi Crafters! I just wanted to let you know I am working on a new pattern. An armadillo that is and I must say, it is very challenging! Making the mostly seen on four legs creature sitting on its bottom for one thing is a bit tricky,  but let’s not forget about that very cool but difficult to crochet armour.

img_3987I have the head finished and decided to go for one piece. Originally I thought of giving the head an armoured patch, but I couldn’t manage myself to get it into the right place so that was a no go. Now, the armoured part of the head is crocheted differently than the rest of the head and to let it stand out more I used a neat looking and simple sewing trick. You’ll find out more about that when I publish the pattern.

Yesterday I spend most of the day by googling crochet stitches that give a smooth texture. The body armour is worked flat in rows. Working in rows and therefor turning your work, results in a sort of striped texture because every row you work in the opposite direction of the previous row. I needed to find an existing crochet stitch with a very different texture. Luckily for me, that isn’t very hard these days. Just type the right search terms and a whole new world of crochet stitches opens up for you. I found the perfect stitch for the body armour, called the linen stitch (or moss, or granite stitch) and it is very easy to do, it isn’t even a stitch really but more a skip and chain thingy but it gives a gorgeous knit looking texture.

Well, I am off now, have to actually make the armour and the rest of the armadillo. I wish you all a lovely weekend!

Chit and Chat

Summer Popkes II

Sonja

Summer-blog

Hello everybody, it has been a while! I had a lovely and active summer holiday but the activity did not include any Popke designing. (It did include too much running away from deer flies who hunted us down in groups while hiking, but still we had a lot of fun.)

I am back now and as a last goodbye to my holiday, I happily present a new summer Popkes picture. Just look at those lazy animals, they don’t seem to be pining for Autumn as I am…

As many of you know, I started a Popke joy photography contest on Instagram. I received a lot of messages from crafters who don’t have Instagram but really want to join the contest. Amongst them are some dear friends and I decided to expand the contest. If you are a member of my Ravelry group, you can now find a thread there with everything you need to know about the contest and, do join, it is fun! I’ve already seen many Popke joy pictures there in the past. Actually, the crafters there came up with Popke joy in the first place, so it would be more then fair to have the contest there too.

You can now join the contest there or use the #popkejoy on instagram.

This holiday I did design the upcoming crocodile on paper, so be ready for a first glimpse of his sweet and kind looks this week.

It is good to be back!

Chit and Chat

Win a pattern with Instagram

Sonja

Hi everybody! This weekend I started on Instagram and discovered how easy hashtags work. I thought it would be fun to start a ‘Popke joy’ Instagram contest. The winner can choose one of my patterns!

Now how does the contest work?

It’s very simple. Just go out, or stay in, whatever you like and take a picture of a Popke or Popkes in an interesting surrounding. I made a fun example picture of Popkes inspecting my new boots. Follow me on Instagram and use hashtag #popkejoy when you share your photo on Instagram. When I search for #popkejoy, I can see all the pictures you made using the hashtag. September the 10th I will choose my favourite picture and will publish it here at Son’s Popkes. Of course I will also write the winner and ask which pattern he or she would like to receive.

In short:

Starts August the 10th and ends september the 10th

There must be a Son’s Popkes pattern crocheted animal in the picture

Follow me and use hashtag #popkejoy

Good luck!

Boot-Popkes