Bored out of my mind....

I'm waiting for some materials to arrive so that I can finish the teacher appreciation gifts.  So at the mean time, I was just sitting around with limited materials on hand and dying of boredom!!

So the other day, I made these!

A ninja with nunchaku for my super-hero-wannabe Prince I.

And a Nyan cat for Prince C who likes anything colorful and cute.

And after these were done.... now the wait continues......

Work in progress....

I'm in the process of preparing the teachers' appreciation gifts for this year....

Testing counts and patterns....

Result is not ideal, so I made it into a fridge magnet instead!

And the testing continues.....

Crochet Hair Scrunchie

I'm so addicted to Pinterest.... repining everything and telling myself that I'm gonna try this and that one day, but that "one day" seldom comes.... : p

The tutorial can be found here http://lovestitches.blogspot.se/2012/03/tutorial-crochet-scrunchie.html for those who are interested to give it a try.

This is my version with added beads.  And the best part is that it can be done within an hour! (or less if you're a fast crocheter and you do not have dirty toddler to chase around and clean...)

I'm now gonna rummage my daughter's room for more elastic bands! 

Winding a Center-Pull Ball of Yarn by Hand!

I'm sure for those of you who knit or crochet, you must have experienced this frustration before.  After spending days on a project, you realized that you need to take it apart and re-do it, or you have lumps of left over yarns from previous projects and they're just all tangled up and lumpy together with the rest of their left over friends....

You know what? I found the great solution to these!  Thanks to the kind people at Lion Brand, organizing yarns is no longer a headache! (sorry this sounds so "commercial"! : p) Not only that, now you can wind your own center-pull yarn ball every time you get your new yarn, the ball will not roll or tumble around so much coz it's pulled from the center!

Go on now! Click on the link and learn this new trick!

http://blog.lionbrand.com/2012/07/13/keep-yarn-organized-learn-how-to-wind-a-center-pull-ball-by-hand/

After winding my first one, I realised that this could be made easier with a slight twist or two.

Make a slip knot and hook it onto a fairly good size crochet needle. (I use a 4mm one.)

Then I held the crochet needle together with another good size knitting needle (I use a 5mm.)...

And then I wrap the yarn around both needles.

Making criss cross with the yarn around both needles now and then....

Imagine you're wrapping the yarn around a ball...

Keep wrapping your yarn, put on sometime good on tv or listen to the radio... However, doing this and trying to chase your 2 year-old to stuff dinner down his throat is not such a good idea... =.="

Once your yarn is almost done, tuck the remaining tail (the one which you have been using to wrap around) secure under a few rounds of yarn.  Then I pull out the knitting needle first.  Then I pull out the crochet needle with the slip knot carefully, making sure that I don't get other yarns on my way out.  

And I don't pull the yarn (with the slip knot) all the way out, I left the beginning end still tuck inside the ball, so when I need to use it I just need to pull it out.

Alternatively, you can cut a piece of straw so it fits your crochet needle, like this.

If you use the straw then there is no need to use the knitting needle, you can start wrapping away with the crochet needle in the straw and pulling the slip knot over will be a breeze later!

There you have it! Easy isn't it? Now bring out all your left over yarns and happy wrapping!

Crochet Aviator's Hat

Saw a lot of these on the internet and wanted to try one myself.

I didn't follow any pattern (I would usually avoid following patterns if I can, too lazy! :P), just crocheted a beanie that fits my youngest prince, added the front and ear flaps, crocheted 2 big "buttons", sewed them on and finally did an edging to give it a more "finished" look.  I think it turned out alright. If I make it again I'll need to move the ear flaps a few stitches back and make them wider. And it looks so cute on Prince C!

However, trying to take a picture of a toddler who's constantly on the move with my dummy-proof digital camera turns out to be a mission which I think even James (Mr. Bond, that is) can't complete! After taking several pictures of some blurry "object" with a tail of blurri-ness trailing behind (coz he was running!) and a couple of Houdini-s (he was in the frame when I raised my camera but by the time I pressed the button, he was gone....), I decided to change my model!

On to my next project! ^.^

Dorami Keychain

Made a Dorami keychain for a good friend's birthday.  Hope she'll look pass my crude work and be able to sense all my good wishes instead!

Happy Birthday dear!

Granny Square Cushion Covers

My mum has been here since July and she'll be here for 3 months till October ('coz that's when the weather gets too unbearably cold for her).  Having mum here is great! She's helping with almost everything and we have fun doing stuff together and having small fights to spice up our otherwise super boring lives! :D

The problem is that Linköping is a small town, well, coming from Singapore, it IS small in comparison.  There is nothing much to do here and no where especially interesting to go to as well... okay, that's not so fair to say that... there are many things to do if you're into nature and the great outdoor but being typical Singaporeans, our greatest interests are finding new places to eat and window shopping.  Therefore, in order to keep my mum occupied (yeah, other then helping me with housework, preparing meals and fussing over the kids...), I got her to pick up the crochet hook again after many many years.  And thanks to internet, I'm able to teach her new ways of crocheting and some new stitches.  She almost broke into tears when she found out that I've become so domesticated! Okay, I was exaggerating, maybe she was just tearing up because of the onions I've asked her to help me chopped...

Being someone who is bored out of her mind all the time a crafter, I have a loooong list of projects I want to try, and crocheting cushion covers is one of them.  So I bought some yarns, showed my mum how to start a magic ring, told her the pattern, type of stitches to use and how many and told her "Now, crochet!" left her to finish the project. Except for some problem with changing of colours, I think she has done a great job!

Front

Back

And when she's done with one, she's eager to do another one....

And when she's done with the second one, she felt that she has had enough.... "...but mum, I have 3 cushions....", so she ploughed forward to finish the third one! :P

And I couldn't wait to try them on my cushions (which are kinda old and lumpy...) and to my horror, my 1-year old hooked his tiny fingers through the gaps in between the granny square and started lifting the cushions like weights!  >.<"

Hmmm... looks like this pattern is not so toddler-friendly, need to come up with a better pattern! =.="

Bean Bag for Baby

I promised a dear friend that I'll make her a bean bag for her new born little girl. All four of my kids have had bean bags when they were newly borned. The two smaller ones still have them, even though they are now 1 and 3! ^.^ The bean bag acts as a added weight on the baby's tummy, so they will not jump (ok, not literally since they're so small... but you know when I mean!) so much from sudden loud noise or when they're changing position while sleeping. I find that when I wrap my new born with the small hands bound tightly at the sides and a bean bag on the tummy, the baby sleeps better and longer. Hopefully my friend will find this tip useful so that she can gain a little bit more time to do other stuff.



So here it is! A bean bag filled with green beans and lots of love! ^.^





And since it's for a little princess, I can go crazy with girly decorations! Ok, I did control myself...



For a sweet heart...





And since it's for a princess, I HAVE to add in some lace!





I hope this bean bag will bring comfort and security to the little princess, so that she can sleep better. It's a tough job having to grow so fast in her first year, she needs all the beauty sleep she can get!

Gift From The Heart

The hot topic that crocheters in Sweden have been talking about lately must be "Hjärtekatten". This meaningful project is started by Therese and Susanne and the crochet cats will be delivered to the children who are hospitalized at the cardiac department at Queen Silivia’s children and youth hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden, read more about their creative and heart warming project here.

I'm privileged to be able to contribute my small part. Introducing "Sötis", which means "Sweetie" in Swedish. We have to give our cat a name and trust me, that was the most difficult part and after thinking for about half a day, all I can come up with is "Sötis"... pathetic I know... :P


The heart with a few (ugly...sorry! I tried my best!) stitches symbolised the heart condition that each child has and reminds the child that the heart condition doesn't make him/her less perfect, it makes him/her special in his/her own way.

Sötis will be on a long journey today. It's a cat on a mission - To bring love and comfort to a child in need.


I'm confident that Sötis will do its best and I'm sending my warmest wishes and thoughts out to all the children who are suffering from heart conditions and the families, it's a difficult journey but believe that miracle happens and love comes in many different shapes and forms.

Welcoming Gifts For A Little Prince!

Finally my dear friend's little prince has arrived and I can post this! I made this for little Prince G in December last year and they were all packed and were just waiting to be mailed out, which I did yesterday! Just in time to welcome mommy and baby home from the hospital today! ^.^

A cool hat to keep his little head warm!

I had to use a small ball as a guide and just pray that it's big enough for a new born baby! :P

Small basketball shoes for a cool baby!

They're really small and cute!

Hope these small gifts will bring smile to my dear friend's face. And I wish she'll embrace motherhood with joy and continue to keep her cool in times of frustration and many forthcoming sleepless nights! Welcome to the world Little G! *hug*

Hubby's Christmas Present!

I always find it tough to buy presents for my hubby. The stuff that he wants, I can't afford them. The stuff that I can afford, he already has loads of them... Last year I thought I did a good job getting him an electronic photo frame, one which you can put in a memory card and it'll just flashes pictures randomly from the memory card. He was surprised and was very happy with that. This year I've really been cracking my head on what to buy for him... Since budget is an issue here, I decided to crochet him something!

And this is what I came up with!

Mythbusters - Jamie and Adam!

Hubby is a great fan of "Mythbusters" and has always been saying how fun it will be to be working in the same team together with those guys. Well, it's beyond my contacts to get him a job on the show, but I brought the main characters to him! (well, at least I tried...)

Adam's shirt says "Mythbusters"! (sorry for my poor embroidery skills! :P)

And Jamie's says "Rotosub", which is my hubby's company! ^.^

I thought they are quite cute! ^.^ And I really hope that hubby will like them!

Happy Birthday Little Brother!

Was cracking my brain on what to get for my little brother's birthday. Since we're trying to budget our expenditure nowadays, I decided to make him something. And he has been a true Doraemon fan since young, so I decided to brave the uncertainties and make him a Doraemon keychain.

And this is the result. Not perfect, I know. There are so many places I need to improve on if I'm gonna make this again. I hope he receives my best wishes and warm thoughts though...

See I even remembered to put on his tail!

Happy Birthday my little brother! *hug*

A Little Coin Purse

This is my first attempt in crocheting a coin purse, so I stick to the basic shape without any pattern. I've also crocheted a butterfly appliqué to make it look a little more interesting.

I think I'll try to sew a lining the next time so it looks more finished.

But I'm happy with this for now! And like most of my prototypes, this one has already been adopted by my princess! ^.^

Hmmm....

These are a little misleading from this angle....

and they are really cute!

Don't you think? Go spread a little love today!

Crochet Earrings

I had been thinking of making these quite some time ago but didn't really get down to doing because of one reason or the other (procrastination and laziness is a lethal combination!).

A few weeks ago, I was thinking of what to send for a friend's birthday and these earrings came into mind. So I made a prototype to help me see how I can make a good-looking pair. This is the trial version.

It doesn't look so bad. And so I proceed to make these, which I really like.

This is not any expensive gift but it's the thought that really counts, isn't it? ^.^

New Character Keychain

I have been working on my orders recently and one of them is a request for a special character keychain. So as always I was sitting on the sofa, "listening" to the tv and crocheting. Hubby, while on his way to fetch something to drink from the kitchen, stopped by to "check-in" on me.

"So what are you working on now?"
"Oh, it's a character from Korea." I replied without looking up.
"Oh... It's a small guy stuffed in a small hat?"
"What?!" I was clueless about what he was talking about until I looked up and saw what he was looking at...

"I have a head and two arms to go with that..." I was slightly amused. "Oh, ok, so it's not done yet huh?" and off he went, continue making his way to the kitchen...

After more intense crocheting, I was finally done! A Pucca keychain!

I like Pucca! ^.^

Take A Break keychains - Singaporean Style!

I have made new variations for the "Take-A-Break" keychain! These are pastries which all Singaporeans are familiar with and it is common to have some of these for breakfast, with a nice hot cup of coffee!

Curry puff with coffee.

Egg tart with coffee.

Looking at these pictures now gives me craving!!!! I'll make the edible version this weekend!

For A Little Princess

Today is the wedding day of the Swedish Crown Princess. And oh, so beautiful she was, walking down the isle with grace and elegance towards her Prince Daniel... The Swedish royal family is well-loved by the people, especially the warm-hearted and sincere Crown Princess Victoria.

We attended a birthday party for a little princess today, who turned 2. I asked her mommy several weeks ago for some "hints" as to what kind of presents we should get and she said that book is always nice to have. So we bought 2 nice storybooks, which my princess wrapped and she also made a "name" card.



The other present standing at the back is a "Miffy-inspired" doll I made for little princess, Tuva.



I've also stitched her name and a small heart to personalize it and as you can see, my stitching needs major improvement...



I hope princess Tuva likes her new friend.

Happy 2nd Birthday, little Miss Sunshine!

Summer Bliss

Nothing beats having an ice cream on a hot summer day, it's a moment of pure bliss! However, I always think (and I know it as a fact!) that I should lose some weight. It has been 6 months since I had my baby and I'm still walking around wobbling like jelly in many areas...

But check out these small cornetto ice creams! They contain absolutely NO calories and are definitely figure-friendly! Just watch out for an overdose of cuteness though!

Strawberry Cornetto (keychain) for my princess.


Chocolate with nuts (fridge magnet) for me!!


Now I'm going to dig into the chocolate and vanilla ice cream which hubby has sweetly served up to me!

Have you had your ice cream yet? ^_^

Take-a-Break Keychains!

My princess was very happy about the penguin and koala bear which I made for her as her birthday presents and she brought them to school to show her friends and teachers. Her teacher asked if I can make a panda for her (Princess's class is divided into panda and bear group, and she is in panda group) and she'll pay me. I told princess that I'll make a panda and a bear for the teacher in-charge of the other group, and the teachers do not need to pay me. They'll be a small token of our appreciation for their patience and kindness in teaching our children.

A few days later, both panda and bear were done. But before I could take a picture of them, princess was so excited to give to her teachers, she brought them to school immediately on the next day... So there's no pictures for me to post here... I'll make more to be put for sale and will post pictures when they're done.

So princess's teachers were both really happy and wrote small notes to thank me and I was glad that they like my crafts. Then my eldest prince - Prince J, wanted me to make something for his teachers too! And he has 4 of them - 2 ladies and 2 gentlemen!
So I suggested to make them the "Take-a-Break" keychains. And here they are:

For the lady teachers: A chocolate cake and a strawberry cake with chocolate ganache!



And for the male teachers: A donut and cinnamon bun and Swedish punchroll.



And they're all served with a nice cup of coffee, hmmmm....

I hope Prince J's teachers will enjoy their keychains!