Amigurumi Goes Blogging

This story starts in the summer when I went to the Lincoln Antiques Fair and bought a sewing box, and contents for the princely sum of £5. A treasure trove of needles, cottons, rug making tools and crochet hooks. I vaguely remember having a go at crochet at school and quite liking it but failing miserably to make anything that didn't resemble an accident with a ball of wool and an over enthusiastic kitten.

Then at a craft evening at a friends house, I found in a pile of 'must have a go at that' craft books, "Amigurumi Friends". I found myself strangely drawn to these little knitted and crocheted creatures that obviously require years of formal training before you could even attempt to turn a ball of yarn with the help of some needles into anything recognisable.


Then came along My Love Bumps who set a challenge to set up a Pinterest board, pin crafty type things to it and then make something from your board.

Then I found this post on RedTedArt for a SIMPLE  (note how I have stressed the word simple) amigurumi teddy bear.

So what could be more natural than I pin that cute bear onto my board, dust off the crochet needle, get me some yarn and make like a Granny?

Here he is. The SIMPLE teddy bear, as posted by RedTedArt from Amieggs

Cute isn't he?

Well I had a go using some online 'how to' videos. You know, 'how to' tie a slip knot, how to make one crochet stitch, that kind of thing.

Casting on stitches, I have found, is the trickiest thing to do. Fiddly doesn't even cover it. I am not the most patient of people and I thought *cough* I could knock this little bear out in one evening. Yeah right. Five evenings later and I was finally stuffing the little f..ella.

So here is my crochet journey (edited) (heavily).

Casting on, and on, and on...

Crochet innit.

Ta da! A doily! Bugger, it's supposed to be a bear's head!

I was actually amazed that it became a pleasant way to pass the time. I have ordered a slanket and matching tartan slippers now, you know, to complete the 'not quite old enough to be doing this but secretly enjoying it' look.

So it seems I may need a bit more practise, and patience. And I need to actually count stitches, learn to read a pattern, or at worst, look at the picture of what you are aiming to achieve and make adjustments accordingly, addressing anything that differs wildly.

But enough of this waffle. You are desperate to see the finished bear I know. So here he is.

Bugger the Bear.

Named Bugger, early on in his creation, as it was the first word he heard and learnt due to its frequent repetition. He may have been sewn together slightly oddly, in that his head found limbs attached to it so was therefore promoted to the position of body and his body/head may be missing a snout as is traditional for bears but on the whole, overlooking these minor adjustments, I think you will agree that Bugger is a lovely little fella and will be henceforth the FiveGoBlogging mascot :)

It's like looking in a mirror!

Now I'm sure that when you pop over to LoveBumps blog there will be more craftiness occurring.

365 Project Week 5

Five weeks in. Thirty five days of photos.

The challenge to take a photo everyday has stretched me a little.

Some days I don't go anywhere except for a trip to and from school with The Big One. But when I look around I see light and patterns and images and I am subconsciously taking a photo and looking to see if it worthy of a place on my 365project.

So far, I have not struggled and this week had several opportunities. A coffee in town, a walk with the dog, the sun, flowers from the Mr, the way sunlight catches a face, the playground and a window. By looking I see, and although the execution may not be great on many of them, they are a record of my days which otherwise may pass by as inconsequential.

The Boy and Me is capturing our photographic days as they pass.

Silent Sunday

One photo, no words.
#silentsunday

Saturday is Caption Day

The Wee One went to Costa Coffee yesterday.
Yes, he had a marshmallow.
Yes, he had a baby hot chocolate.
Yes, he stole a Loacker wafer or two off me.
Yes, he 'shared' his big sisters fruit panetini.
Sugar rush? Possibly!

Think up a caption and be a poppet and pop it on a comment.
Then check out Mammasaurus for more photos just begging for a caption.

Well Shuffle Me Sideways And Press Play!

I have been tagged by JBMumOfOne to tell you the first 5 tunes that are played on my iPod after hitting shuffle.

Stand by for the first disclaimer. I do not have an iPod but the Mr does so any tunes will be his taste, his collection, his music.
Stand by for the second disclaimer. I may or may not know how to shuffle my songs. All I ever do is press play. But the Big One is here and apparently knows what he is doing so here goes:

First up SWV and "Right Here". Actually a nice tune and one I will play again. But left me wondering what SWV stands for. Probably nothing interesting but if you do know, be a poppet and pop it in the comments :)

Next up: Disclaimer number 3: The Mr denies all knowledge of EVER downloading this. Busted and "Psycho Girl". Quite a cute song as it goes. And thank you Charlie for the cheque having reversed into our car (about 10 years ago).

Number 3 on 'my' iPod shuffle is Jack Johnson and "Bubble Toes". Lovely and mellow innit and such a cute title for a track. Must concentrate and listen to the lyrics to understand the reference.

Fourth up and we have Wyclef Jean and "911" ft Mary J Blige (which is important to mention I feel).

And finally, a classic that we can all appreciate, as long as you like The Beatles, "I want to hold your hand". Regrettably I am not a fan.

On the whole a respectable collection. I'm just glad that it stops there because I would not have been able to admit to the 6th song that came on!

How embarrassing are your songs when you hit shuffle?

So now I should nominate some more bloggers to go and shuffle. How about BibseyMama, Kate from the Five F's Blog, and Stressy Mummy.

Cadbury Creme Egg Bonanza

OK, I should be on diet but who could resist?

In Waitrose today a single creme egg cost 55p.

In Waitrose today a 3 pack of creme eggs cost £1.55. No great saving but convenient and stops them rolling around in your handbag.

In Waitrose today a 6 pack of creme eggs cost £1.52. *pauses to do the mental arithmetic* Yes, folks, 6 creme eggs are cheaper than 3. Now I'm no economist but surely someone in Waitrose will eventually spot the mistake. Funnily enough the stock of 6 packs seems to be more depleted than the stock of 3 packs.

Buy 16 boxes, my brain said. Buy none, my waistline said.
I bought one box. You see I am weak when it comes to anything chocolate related.

But there is more.

After tea, we open the box and.......

HA!

I love it when I win x

Me Right Now - The Gallery

It's a rare day that you will see a picture of me on my blog.
I am normally the other side of the camera, but Tara at Sticky Fingers laid down a challenge to take a photo of myself right now.
If I were to take a photo of myself RIGHT NOW you would see me hunched over a keyboard, squinting because I forgot my glasses and hugging a cup of tea.
However, only a matter of minutes ago I was like this:

almost dancing with delight at my thrifty purchase.
The Joseph (JOSEPH!) cardigan I am modelling was found in my Age UK charity shop this morning. Whoo Hoo!
Happy!