art – Page 3

Can you blame me?

May 17, 2016May 17, 2016 Sonja

Can you blame me for getting distracted with this view? It is so utterly delightful watching tiny mice stuffing themselves with bird food. At first, I only noticed them on the ground, very fast and agile, moving trough garden plants and rocks cashing bits of bird food picky sparrows throw away. But recently they discovered the (additives & salt free) bird peanut butter and they love it.

They climb up through the ivy and if you sit outside and look long enough, you see several mice hanging out there waiting to feed from the peanut butter. At first, I only saw ‘large’ adult mice but last week suddenly there were these tiny newcomers, baby mice. I have babies I thought! Some people I tell about my mice say, ‘oh, be careful, they quickly become a plaque’. But I’m not at all worried about that with all the cats around here. I’m very proud the mice actually survived them and were able to successfully have young. I do try keeping the cats out of my garden, we have a happy indoor cat ourselves, but I know they do visit occasionally. I hope the mice have enough places to hide in.

I made a gallery to show a bit of mouse action. I probably won’t win a wildlife photography award with these, but I do consider myself lucky getting even these pics. They are very shy. Sometimes there are three mice in the pot sitting on top of each other, but as soon as they hear a squeak, they flee away. In the pictures you see three adult mice and in the second row the youngsters. If you look closely you can see several mice in some of the pictures.

Despite my tiny friends joyful visits, I did manage to make a sweet dog head. I’m very pleased with it. He looks much better than the drawing, more a puppy version of it and I can’t wait to finish him. Here he is in my ‘cat proof box for unfinished Popke heads’.

Art

Spring Popkes

April 14, 2016 Sonja

This week I finally got the change to take a ‘Spring Popkes’ picture. Now I have a picture for every season. It was not an intended thing really, but once I had a summer and autumn picture and started to use them as my Twitter header, soon a winter one was made too. And as I was still using that one, it really seemed appropriate to update that one as soon as possible, as the snowy feel was long gone. But it rained, and was a bit cold still, so there were not so many (suitable low) flowers around yet. And popkes do not like laying outside in the rain or on a wet surface, so I had to wait.

But warmer days did arrive and I looked around for suitable flowers. Very close to where I live, I discovered daisies had made their first appearance in a grassy field and I love daisies! They are such delicate little flowers and perfectly small for Popkes to lay between. In all its silliness, this was the hardest season to capture.

Many of you also must be wondering what animal I am making next. It will be another pet animal, I am going for a dog!

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Bamse, crochet hamster pattern

March 25, 2016February 25, 2020 Sonja

A new Popke has come to life. With pleasure and proud, I present Bamse the crochet hamster pattern.

This whimsical little fellow has become my personal favourite. Maybe it is because I made him in memory of the funny little hamster I once had. Bamse has turned out to be such a characteristic looking doll, he could easily be the main character of a cartoon or children’s book. I often imagine him with a little Sherlock hat or a stick or other accessories. This crochet animal I find the perfect blend between realistic and made-up.

When designing Bamse, I had to make quite a few heads to get that cheeky hamster look. And even after I decided I had the right look, I realised the back of the head still needed to be smaller. I love the shape of the body. Bamse his body looks like a bag of potatoes, just like I wanted it too. You know, chubby little hamsters are not known for their slender build.

The legs I designed a little different than usual, as I wanted this crochet hamster to have little hips. And, the tail is not visible in the pictures, but it is there, a little pink tail.

About the pink, I used a different yarn than Lopi for the hands, feet, tail and nose. Lopi does not have a suitable light pink so I choose a different DK weight yarn. Bamse is about 5 inch / 13 cm tall, just a little bit bigger than a real hamster.

Continue reading below the picture to find out how you can get this hamster amigurumi pattern.

Info about the crochet pattern

The pattern for Bamse the hamster you can find in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here. It contains a clear description of how to crochet and assemble the little hamster with example pictures at the bottom to help you get everything right. In the pattern you can also find what materials you need, the yarn colour numbers, in short, everything you need to know to make your own squeaky little friend.

And heads up, the pattern has a one dollar release discount till the end of March.

Stories

The tiniest bears…

February 18, 2016 Sonja

Are called hamsters, at least, that is what I think. When I was at the art academie, I had this Syrian hamster who looked like a tiny little bear. Even my mum, who is not so much an animal friend as I am, thought he was the cutest little thing. It was a murky brown hamster with a beige little snout.

He wasn’t very friendly though and started screaming whenever I picked him up. One time he bit my boyfriend in his finger, right before a gig he had with the band he was in and that bite caused him trouble playing his bass guitar. I found it kind of funny.

I just treated my hamster with care and gave him a fantastic big cage with different floors and lots of little pipes he called walk trough and a little thatched cottage. And, not to forget a hamster wheel for exercise. He was a happy hamster.

Now after making an elephant, I thought lets make something completely different. I kind of postponed making a hamster, because Lopi does not have a suitable pink for hamster hands and feet, so I decided to just add another kind of yarn and go for the crochet hamster pattern.

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Ollie, crochet Elephant pattern

February 11, 2016February 25, 2020 Sonja

And yes, his name was announced as Bamse, but I called him Ollie in my head, so Ollie is his name! Here he is, my crochet elephant pattern.

I am so delighted with Ollie his looks. Every time I design an animal, I am a bit insecure if I will manage to get it right. Usually, when the head is finished, I feel more secure because the face already is so dear to me. And Ollie his face was, but because I designed the head a bit tilted, I had no idea how it would look attached to a body. Would this face work? It might have been more easy if I had made the trunk and head separately, but I really wanted it to be one piece. When a prototype body was finished and the head was pinned to it, I could breath easily again. It looked splendid, the head worked!

The arms and legs really had to have four toes I decided. But when I had them finished, they just looked huge. So, I made new ones, three toed this time, but as round as possible.

Now Ollie was almost finished and needed to be sewed together. Yet a smaller body was made and everything was attached. Strangely now, I found the feet a wee bit small comparing to the rest of the elephant. But that was not such a bad thing really, now I could make the feet four toed. It is a strange thing how parts of a doll can look so much different pinned on, than sewed on.

I think Ollie has turned out to be a very sweet looking elephant. When I took his pictures, I was slightly disappointed with the result. He just did not look like himself but a more serious version. By change, I played a bit with his trunk and suddenly noticed that in the pictures where it was bended more upwards, Ollie did look how I wanted him too. It was just the position of the trunk that made him look older and wiser, and I wanted him to look young and curious. Voila, problem solved!

Here are some more pictures of Ollie and below them you can find info about the crochet pattern.

About the pattern

Ollie the crochet elephant is sitting almost 5 inch /13 cm tall. He is made with my favourite Lett Lopi yarn, which makes him look very cute and cuddly. You can find the pattern to make him in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here. It contains a clear description of how to crochet and assemble the elephant 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 magnificent little elephant.

And heads up, the pattern has a one dollar release discount till the 18th of februari.

Art

Winter Popkes

January 23, 2016 Sonja

Last night, I realised I probably had missed my change to make a winter Popkes picture. But this morning, when I looked out of the window, I was relieved to see there was still a bit of winter left, despite the rain of the night and it being a few degrees above zero.

This time I did not hesitate and took some of my crochet animals with me on a trip to the forest. Luckily for me, it was very snowy still and the light was just dazzling in the low winter sun. The winter Popkes picture was made.

Enjoy the rest of winter. I hope you crafters in the east of the US will not have it too rough. Be safe!

Patterns

Odi, little owl crochet pattern

November 9, 2015February 25, 2020 Sonja

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.

Stories

Autumn Popkes

October 15, 2015October 15, 2015 Sonja

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….

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An upcoming bird pattern

May 29, 2015 Sonja

This week I began quietly working on a new pattern. It is of a bird! When we visited the UK, we also visited the Bempton cliffs in Yorkshire, hoping to see one of my favourite birds, a puffin. We tried to see them a few years back at a little Norwegian island called Runde, but with no luck.

This time, we did have luck. I saw a fabulous little puffin sitting on a nest. I only could see her through a scope, but so amazing it was to actually see one.

What a very special bird. I think they look like a mix of duck and penguin, but with a very special shaped and coloured bill.
Actually, I was planning on designing a rhinoceros pattern. But when I saw that puffin during my vacation, a puffin needed to be made in crochet. I have drawn a few simple sketches of the shape and size and already finished a prototype head. I’m rather excited with the looks, how thrilling!

Art

Lazy Koji

April 25, 2015 Sonja

This time I did not announce I was working on a new Son’s Popkes artwork, because let’s be honest, the last time the illustration did not turn out as I hoped. Fortunately, my latest illustration featuring nothing else but Koji, has become the artwork I fancied and I am proud to present it here.

It is simply titled ‘Lazy Koji’.

Together with my autumn Popkes artwork, I posted a ‘painting process’ slideshow. I think it is fun to show you how an illustration comes about.

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I must admit to myself, I like crocheting better, find it less frustrating. That is rather curious, as I have been drawing practically since I was born. Crocheting I have only been doing for five years now. The thing is though, when working on a painting, I can come to a certain point where I absolutely do not know how to proceed. It drives me nuts, I totally think I can never make the painting as beautiful as I fantasize, so what is the point in continuing?

For this illustration, I can show you exactly when that was, as it happens, after the second pic. There still was a lot of blue in the image and I had no idea what to do next. I just did not see it and felt like stopping. I took a break, thought about what to do and decided to just fill in the blank spaces with the colours I though would be right. And that helped. The painting now had the right mood, and for me, when the mood and colours are set, I can fill in the details and so on. Just look for yourself how much difference it made.

Maybe blue as a background colour was a bit poorly chosen for this painting and I should have started with a yellow background, but in the end, I did get it right!