Hello Yarn Lovers ! It's been over a year since the last Log Book and since the last post in general. I've been pretty busy with work because, yes, I've been a Web Designer teacher for the past 9 months !
I hope you are doing well and are happy despite this sad time.
Any links in this article are not affiliated.
Gallery
During this absence on the blog I created a few things. The pictures are not yet in the gallery because I will rework it as a stand-alone page like for the little French guide on crochet techniques.
On this page, I would like to set up a system of "modal windows". So, when you click on a photo in the gallery, a kind of "pop-up" will open over it with other photos and more explanatory texts. It will be a mix of my Ravelry notes and my project notebooks, all in one place !
MilliGurumis
Enough talk about the pages... Let's focus on the heart of this blog, creative hobbies !
Recently, I had revealed to you, through blurred photos, my last prototype of MilliGurumis. I based it on a video tutorial from Mrs Owl and I was very happy and convinced by this model ! I let some time pass and, looking back, guess what ? I wasn't so happy with it anymore... 😆
Indeed, with the darling we thought that it was too small (it is only 17cm high) and that it would complicate the realization of the clothes and the details but also the movements of the character.
So I tried to make it bigger by increasing the number of stitches and rows with a calculation system but... I must have made a mistake somewhere because it didn't look like the original pattern (it even looked like I was making Slender Man...).
Note that I did not want to increase the size of the yarn and therefore the crochet hook to not lose the thinness of the stitches !
So, desperate and tired of starting over and over again for all these years, I searched after a nice realistic (and not vulgar...) amigurumi pattern and I ended up buying this one from PaprikaCrochetDolls on Etsy.
I plan to change the feet, so she can stand normally and not as a "dancer", as well as the hands, so I can place wire in the fingers.
Then I made two body starts, one with the right side out and one with the wrong side out. I had a hard time deciding because I really like the look of the stitches with the wrong side out, but with it, the increases and decreases to make the curves are more visible and it's less pretty... So I chose to crochet "normally", with the right side out.
Currently, I'm working on the arms. After reading Ahooka's post, I crocheted the arms in x shaped single crochet and I like the result ! Especially since there are many advantages to use this technique for amigurumis ! When I will make the "real" characters, I will make them only with this stitch, as well as future amigurumis of all kinds.
I'll tell you about the other details (like the feet, the hands and possible other modifications) in a future post, when I've finished the prototype !
Totoro fox
A quick note here to let you know that the Totoro Fox pattern is no longer available on Ravelry. I received a copyright infringement e-mail a few months ago and I was forced to remove it. I'm a bit sad because there was a lot of work on it but whatever.
Sewing classes
I will also be taking sewing classes soon as a gift from my grandmother for my birthday !
I may have managed to learn crochet, tunisian crochet, embroidery, tatting... in self-taught with online tutorials, but I don't know why but, with sewing, I have a lot of trouble. Is it because of the big preparation phase before getting on the machine ? The number of terms and techniques to know from the beginning ? I've had a sewing machine for a few years now, so it's not for lack of trying...
It is still quite functional but I want to learn how to do better !
In any case, these courses will allow me to (finally !) start on a good basis with sewing and, why not, to give me the desire to create my whole wardrobe ! Especially since I'll need this knowledge for the new hobby I'm talking about below !
Discovery and love of weaving
And here's the highlight of the post that was teased in the title : the new hobby !
For Christmas 2020, my sweetie had offered me 4 different craft kits to try new things. Among them was this weaving kit :
I had seen wall hanging weavings on Instagram and Pinterest before, but I wasn't all that excited about it. Then, finally, as soon as I started weaving... it was love at first sight ! I loved shuttling under, then over, then under the threads, it was very soothing and relaxing !
As soon as the weaving was finished, I looked on the Internet to see what else could be done. Well yes, wall hanging weavings are nice and decorative but what did people weave before, centuries ago ?
And there I discovered a multitude of possibilities ! In addition to weaving a piece of work at the right size for a wrap for example, you can cut and sew your work to make a pouch, a bag or even a garment ! You see the parallel with sewing classes... 😉
However, for these projects, you need to have a relatively fine fabric. So I bought the "professional" loom from the Buttinette website, which is a mix between the frame looms that are used for wall hanging weavings and the ones called Rigid Heddle. The Rigid Heddle looms are quite expensive but if I'm really fan of handweaving, I will invest in one in the future !
Afterwards, I'd like to make a pocket for my hard drive (project in progress), a colored, patterned and textured test dishtowel, a solid dishtowel, a cushion cover and a nice big wrap !
In a few days, I'll post an inspiration post with some cool weaving patterns and add some tips I've gleaned from around the Internet to answer my many questions !
Have you ever tried weaving ? Or would you like to ? Tell me about your projects and inspire me ! 😃
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