Here is a little something for those of you waiting for the lion pattern. Lopi hanging out in his natural environment.
If anyone now is wondering if I am in Africa somewhere, the answer is no. This picture is taken in ‘Nationaal park de hoge Veluwe’ in the Netherlands.
Happy New Year to all of you!
Howdy how! I wish you all a Christmas full of cheer and a very creative new year. To start the joy, I painted a Christmas card to amuse you all. It is titled ‘Popkes making a Snowpopke’.
My Holiday has just started and I’m going to do what I love doing. Hiking, watching movies and knitting a cardigan, a new hobby I have just discovered. Have fun too dear crafters!
See you in a few weeks.
These two photos I received from enthusiastic crocheters really made me smile. The dolls all are very beautiful made and the pictures are so amusing.
Christine has made many of my patterns, maybe even all of them and she’s incredibly good at it. I especially love how she gives her dolls their own character and uniqueness. For some of them she embroidered the eyes and with a gorgeous result. And this picture is just brilliant.
Heather also made me laugh. I opened her email and tahdah, there were all these amazing looking Lumis! Look at them, aren’t they gorgeous? These also all have a different personality, just look at how she placed all the eyes a bit different. Some close together, others far apart. These arctic foxes make fantastic Christmas presents.
I always enjoy getting pictures from finished dolls, but these two really stood out and I wanted to share them with you. Thanks so much Chris and Heather!
And here he is. Meet Odi, a crochet little owl.
Never have I been so insecure during the process of designing a crochet pattern. Thankfully, now I am very happy with my little Odi. Why was this so difficult?
Well, I wanted to create a crochet owl that resembled a real owl species. There are loads of crochet owl patterns to find online, and you can see they are owls, but they don’t look like real owls, you probably know what I mean. And I wanted to make a little owl.
Giving it a sweet face, was the first obstacle I stumbled upon. I made several heads and they all looked quite unpleasant. When I finally had succeeded in making a sweet little face, I had trouble getting the size of the body right. At some point after taking things apart who knows how many times, I just continued working because of the amount of time I’d already spend on this project. And then there came a turning point. I had this lovely idea for the legs and feet and it did look so adorable, that the love for my crochet owl came back. I finished the feet and attached them to prototype Odi. It looked marvelous. Now I only had to make some wings and the little owl was finished.
But then, when I looked at the promotional and pattern pictures I had taken, I realized there still was something wrong with this doll. He did not look owly enough. His beak was much too big. After all this work I could not just let that be. So, I made a new tiny beak and took new photos. Now I can finally show you the result. I know Odi is not completely realistic looking. I did exaggerate the colours of the beak and feet to make him a more fun and expressive crochet owl. Just look at him!
How to get this whimsical crochet owl pattern?
The pattern for this adorable and rather realistic looking owl, you can find in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here. Odi is 14,7 inch / 12 cm tall when sitting. He is made with Istex lett lopi, 100% wool. The pattern contains a clear description of how to crochet and attach the bird with example pictures at the bottom to help you get everything right. In the pattern you can also find what materials you need, the Lopi colour numbers, in short, everything you need to know to make this lovely creature.
And heads up, the pattern has a one dollar release discount for the first week.
Ok, this one is just for fun.
My owl pattern is almost finished and just in time, here is a sketch of Odi to give you an idea of how he is going to look. I am not going to tell too much in this post about how the process went, that is for when I publish the pattern, but I can say this was a very difficult animal for me to make. Luckily, after all the work, I am satisfied now and can publish the pattern next week.
And the real Odi does resemble the sketch quite a lot actually. His face is a little different and he doesn’t have the surprised expression as the sketched Odi has, but yeah, this really is him.
Most of you probably know by now Autumn is my most favourite season by far. I enjoy strolling through the forest beneath those magnificent threatening skies, while listening to the rustling of the beautiful coloured leaves that soon will fall and breathing in the scent of moist and mushrooms. It is the season I engage in with every sense of my body.
Last year, to celebrate, I made a Son’s Popkes artwork set in Autumn and this year I fantasized about a special picture like the one I made for Summer.
Yesterday I finally had the change to go to a park nearby and collect leaves in all my favourite colours. While gathering some chestnuts, I felt if someone was watching me, but I didn’t see anybody. But later, when I looked up into the trees to see if there were fresh chestnuts still there, I saw this gorgeous big crow sitting right above me on a branch, curiously looking at me. ‘Ah’, I said to him, ‘I thought I felt somebody watching me, it was you!’
Back home I arranged the leaves I collected and took the picture. Enjoy Autumn everybody, it is over before you know it.
The pattern I am currently working on is of an owl. It took me a while to create a sweet looking face (the first heads I came up with looked rather unpleasant and mean) and that is why I wasn’t able to post a sketch already. To be continued….
Proud and happy, I present my new pattern, Boason the crochet rhinoceros.
A long time ago, when I was still an art student, I bought this utterly cute WWF rhino plush in a local shop. It was not the usual plush toy you expect for a rhino, but a slender, sturdy version of a rhino youngster. It had this look I loved at first sight.
Now you all understand, that my main goal for this crochet rhino pattern, was to create that same look. Of course I was not going to make a crochet copy of that particular plush, but it had to give me that same feeling. And now, when Boason is finished, I can proudly say I did achieve that goal. Boason isn’t at all the same as the plush toy, but he has that unique slender but robust, sturdy look. He’s not very rotund, like a common rhino amigurumi, but has a more muscular appearance.
Boason is sitting almost 5 inch /13 cm tall. He is made with my favourite Lett Lopi yarn, which gives him his rustic appeal. Here are some more pictures of Boason and below it you can find more info about this crochet rhino pattern.
How to get this pattern?
The pattern for this sturdy crochet rhino, you can find in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here. It contains a clear description of how to crochet and attach the beast with example pictures at the bottom to help you get everything right. In the pattern you can also find what materials you need, the Lopi colour numbers, in short, everything you need to know to make your own crochet rhino friend.
And heads up, the pattern has a one dollar release discount till the 30th of september.
Last week a dear crocheter told me about the big project she was engrossed in with my patterns. For her granddaughter, she made a complete mouse family in a lovely handmade village, with other animals to accompany them. She took the animals outside, made pictures and put them all in a book for her granddaughter. That is one lucky girl to have such a creative grandmother!
I was very curious how it all looked so I asked her if I could see some pictures. She emailed me one of the village. When I saw the picture I had to write a post about what she made. The little village looks fantastic, so beautiful made, the little tree house and picknick site and the gorgeous animals. For me it is so wonderful to see how my designs come alive in this little fantasy world for children to play with. Just look at it!
Just fabulous, you did an amazing job Lesley!
Recently I’ve started working on a new crochet animal pattern. The animal I am making this time, is a rather robust one, but sadly at the same time so very fragile too. It is the rhinoceros I am speaking of. And we all know why they are so fragile. It is abominable how people treat animals.
Before I decided to make the puffin I was going to make the rhino. So, I have already figured out how he should look. If I can manage to make him like the sketch in this post, he will be a very sturdy rhino doll.
This will be the first Son’s Popkes pattern of a not so hairy animal. But as we all like cuddly, fuzzy crochet dolls, he will be made with Lett Lopi.
Happy crocheting everyone!
With utter joy, I proudly present my crochet puffin pattern! Meet Plubby, a proud and happy fluffy crochet puffin.
When I saw a puffin while being on holiday to the UK, I immediately knew I had to make a crochet pattern of this spectacular bird. I had thought of it before, but never actually got to making one.
It was quite a journey, making this pattern. Mainly because I got ill and it took me a long time to recover from it. But now when this pattern is finished, I am ever so thrilled with the result.
The head was a joy to design. Finding the correct circled shape for the white parts was a bit tricky but very rewarding when it was finished and looking good. With the bill attached, I had a very striking puffin head. And blimey, it was even shown in BBC’s Springwatch Unsprung, what it thrill that was! But then for the rest of the puffin….
Halfway through, I got stuck a bit, because I had no idea how to make the wings. What I had in mind looked way too bulky and more realistic flat wings I considered not an option. I took a break and went on designing some other parts of the doll. The tail was such a pleasure to design. At first, I had in mind to make the tail in two pieces, but when trying it, it looked rather silly. Suddenly I had this idea of a one piece tail. I made a test version and it worked perfectly. The white bottom combined with a part of the tail sewed flat, created the perfect looking ‘feathered’ flap. What a few tiny stitches can accomplish!
When I pinned the puffin together, I realized I had to make simple, arm like wings, just like my other Popkes have, but a bit more wing like. That was the perfect finishing touch for the puffin. Plubby had come to life!
Here are some more shots of my dear Plubby. Below it you can find more info about this crochet puffin pattern.
Plubby is sitting 5,1 inch / 13 cm. He is made with Istex Lett Lopi, a 100% wool yarn. I’ve used five colours to make Plubby, from which three are basic. Black, white and orange. For the grey and yellow colours of the bill, you only need just a bit. Like all my patterns that contain colour changes, the complicated rounds in which you need to de- and increase are written in stitch colour to make changing colour as easy as it can get. I would strongly advice the use of a fuzzy yarn, as it leaves much neater colour changes.
The pattern for this cheerful puffin, you can find in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here. It contains a clear description of how to crochet and attach the puffin with example pictures at the bottom to help you get everything right. In the pattern you can also find what materials you need, the Lopi colour numbers, in short, everything you need to know to make your own crochet puffin!
And heads up, the pattern has a one dollar release discount till the 3rd of August!
sonspopkes.com 