Tag: craftblog

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, Stories

Last post this year featuring your work!

Sonja

What better way to end this blogging year by, than with your fabulous work. Just look at all these gorgeous, funny, mischievous and whimsical looking creatures and how they all seem to have their own personalities.

This was a good year full of Popkejoy!

Have a wonderful new year dear crafters, may the crafty force be with us all in 2018!

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

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!