Tag: spring

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In my garden

Sonja

Hi there lovely crafters! I’m writing this from my garden office. The weather is so very lovely finally, how can I sit inside while it is nice and warm outside?

Yes, I am finally working on my new otter pattern. After all the updates, I was really looking forward to a new project but forgot my hard working boyfriend had a week off. Of course I wanted to do fun things together and go out into nature. The otter had to wait a bit. Despite all our outdoor activities, I did finish a lovely head and am now working on the rest of the otter and the pattern.

Most of you know I already made an otter pattern once, but I decided to make a completely new version, a much more mischievious looking one. This otter will have a younger and more whimsical appearance. Basil is a lovey otter, but he misses a bit of the characteristic funny otter looks.

There are two other patterns I almost can’t wait to start on. I already bought yarn for a giraffe pattern and after that I want to make an alpaca pattern, yes! I saw alpacas in a field and they are such silly looking creatures, I love them and all their fuzziness. I think I’m going to use an alpaca yarn to make one, how exciting!

See you soon with new and fun patterns!

Chit and Chat

Can you blame me?

Sonja

la

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’.

FullSizeRender

Art

Spring Popkes

Sonja

crochet animal patterns

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!

Stories

London, Oxford & pandas

Sonja

PandasketchIt has been a while since my last entry, that is because I did some exciting things. For a short holiday, we visited London and Oxford and it was wonderful. I’m not that much of a people person and especially London is one of the busiest places in the world to visit, but it was such a great experience. The parks, historical buildings and musea where a delight to see.

I insisted on going to Oxford as well, because I love historical places and Oxford has these dreamy towers and the oldest university of Europe. And because it is only an hour by train and the trip also gives a small glimpse of the ever so beautiful British countryside, it was the perfect opportunity to go. Oxford was stunning.

In London we saw these very cute and cheeky park squirrels and of course much more, below are a few pics.

Now, back to panda crochet. I’ve made a rough sketch and already have finished the head. I’m working on the rest of the panda. In the Natural History Museum in London, we saw the stuffed panda Chi Chi, who was a well known giant panda in London Zoo and died in 1972. It was helpful to see a ‘real’ panda.

 

Art, Stories

Upcoming spring pattern

Sonja

And now for something completely different. Well, perhaps not completely but a bit. My next pattern will be my first bird pattern. Last year I thought of making a duckling and decided to wait till spring this year. Yes, a duckling! I love ducks and especially mallards and white ducks and do think a pattern for a crochet duckling will make a perfect crochet spring project.

If the duckling is going to meet my expectations, I will also make his father someday. I very much hope I can make my duckling as whimsical as he looks in the second sketch. Looking forward to present my first little bird.

Eendjes

A little surprise pattern will follow soon……

 

Art, Stories

Look, it’s a ……..

Sonja

I had this lovely afternoon in the forest, taking pictures of my new crochet animal, surrounded by wildlife. There were lots of birds and young chicks chatting around me, bumblebees were zooming cheerfully above the ground and, a red squirrel was laughing at me from behind a tree. 

Floro's-habitat

I finally managed to get a sharp picture of a squirrel, didn’t I!

While busy taking pictures of Floro and clacking away mosquitoes, I heard this strange sound behind me. Suddenly I realized that THAT’s a squirrel sound! So I turned around and saw a red squirrel spying on me from a tree. When he saw me turning around he quickly fled higher so I couldn’t see him anymore. I waited a few minutes, while being eaten, but saw him no more. A pitty, I hoped to get a picture of him, you know, me taking pictures of Floro and the squirrel who spied on us….Would be so perfect.

Well anyway, here’s a first glimpse of Floro, the pattern will be available in my shop on thursday!

 

Chit and Chat

And then there was green

Sonja

Mysterious-back

The mysterious back of the designer. Wink…

I’m sorry for the lack of interesting posts for the last two weeks. We are having a spring holiday in the Netherlands and we decided to go and enjoy the rising green in our environment. The autumn is my favorite season, but the spring makes a good second. This year we were really longing for green after a cold, grey and longer winter.

Next week I’m back to business. I’ve got two ideas for tips & tricks posts and I’m going to start on a crochet squirrel pattern. (We saw a cute’sy squirrel climbing a tree carrying nesting material!)

See you next week!