Ivino heklanje

Limbs no.3

2010-12-04T13:20:00.000+01:00

The third pair of the gloves is finally done.

This was the pair with the most modifications:
First of all, I started the thumb hole increases in row 23, so that the top of the branches would be as close to knuckles as possible.
Next, I looked at all the things I noted as mistakes during the making of the first two pairs, and tried to avoid doing them again so as not to end up with missing branches.
Since the thumb hole is lower than on the standard pair, I had to improvise with branch placements a bit.
I also added the finger bits.
In retrospect, I should have moved the center trunk a bit more to the centre, since the thumb pulls it a bit.
The last modification: I put red sewing thread around the branches. The idea is that this way it looks more like blood vessels than branches. I will not comment on the amount of time it took me to do that, just that I managed to use up the entire spool of thread (and not the smallest one, either).

But my darling loves them and that's the most important part :-)

You'll probably notice that they are not identical as far as the colour of the thread is concerned; the white has been judged as unfavourable and is waiting to be removed. I just wish someone had decided that before I did it on all three branches...

Limbs

2010-11-26T14:08:00.001+01:00

So, as it was getting colder, I got a request for fingerless mitts. I looked through Ravelry, searching for something crocheted (because my knitting is still slow), non-lacy (because they should be warm) and interesting enough so I would want to do the second one.

I found this pattern, and it fit the criteria, so I jumped in.
First, this was my first time working with front and back post double crochets, but I got the hang of it. Then I reached the hand part. Since there are only a couple of hdc-s between each of the branches, it is a bit difficult to follow where you are in the row. I managed somehow and this was the first version:

However, the mitts turned out to be too tight, so there was need for a second, modified version. I started with the foundation chain of 65 and the decreased to the 46/7 of the pattern in rows 7 through 11. I also decided to put threads through every f/bpdc so I wouldn't get as lost in the pattern:

Turns out the pattern is full of glitches. My guess is that since the two are mirror images, that in the rewriting and copying, some of it got doubled. In any case, some rows tell you to make more f/bpdc than necessary, and if you follow the directions you get something like this:

See how the center is missing a couple of branches?

Now I do like the pattern (enough to be thinking about pair no.4; pair no.3 is done, just needs some additions before I can take the picture), but by now I regard it as more of a general recipe, and don't always follow the written number of stitches between the branches.

The bibs are back

2010-11-26T13:49:00.000+01:00

Ok, just one bib this time.
The problem with this one was that I had to copy the chart down by hand, and in doing so I made it one stitch too narrow, so I had to adjust the borders a bit. Still, I think it turned out ok.

Lariat

2010-11-26T13:46:00.000+01:00

A year or so ago I found pictures on the internet of lariats, and even some tutorials on how to do them. I made a sample one, green with red flowers in different shades, but something just didn't sit right, so I never took pictures of it, or published it. Then I. said she wanted me to make something for her friend and sent me a picture, and it was the same thing! Things coming full circle, I guess.

So here is the lariat:

Second flower:

The curly thing

There is no pattern for the string, since it's basically a chain 200 or something and then work back adding hdc-s and dc-s as you wish.
The flowers are these, but worked with two strands, one regular yarn, the other sparkly.

FO: Baktus

2010-11-26T13:37:00.000+01:00

This is done. I stopped increasing when I reached the end of the first skein since otherwise it was going to turn out huge and wouldn't fit around the neck.

I think I will have to do another one, but with a thinner yarn, so I can get the full triangle thing.

Halloween roundup

2010-11-26T13:29:00.001+01:00

Somehow Halloween always gets me back to crocheting :-)
I wanted something to decorate the workplace. The skull, apple and tombstone are old, left over from last year (and mentioned here and here), the rest was made for this year's Halloween.
Patterns: pumpkin, witch hat, candy corn.

The bigger hat is made with two strands of yarn for each colour; I was planning to wear it as a 'costume', but it turned out to be too big, so I wore the smaller one:

This is the underside:

I stuffed it so it would stand better.

The pumpkin was also made with two strands, but unfortunately the difference between the two oranges doesn't show up well.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T04:27:00.000+01:00

(hat) (pumpkin)

The cutest giraffe

2010-10-30T16:28:00.001+02:00

Check out this adorable picture:

The blog it is from is here (and a bigger version of the picture) He is looking for the caption, btw, so have a read through the comments, some are hilarious.

I love the giraffe's face, especially the wagging tongue.

Awaiting snowflakes

2010-10-27T08:35:00.002+02:00

I got this pattern (Ravelry link) during the Ravelympics. At the time I didn't think I would ever knit it, but I downloaded it anyway, because it would become a paid pattern after the Ravelympics had passed. And now that I have caught the hat bug, into the queue it went!

I am pleased with the result; it is the first stranded knitting object I did, and I didn't have (too many) issues with it.
The only thing I would change is that I wouldn't do it in XL size (I was afraid that my tension would make it extra small)

Modeling it here is the silicone bundt mold. I didn't have to stretch it to get it on.

I do have an issue about the yarn. The red is Unitas Ana, which behaved wonderfully, as usual, but the white (Unitas Lucija) was a bit of a pain; it's very non-smooth (I would say fluffy, but that has a positive connotation) so you can see that it created a slight halo around the snowflakes. Maybe I should have chosen a different yarn, but that's what I had in my stash.

My floats were somewhat bigger at the beginning, since I didn't have access to the internet at the time I got to colourwork and was wrapping them by moving the skeins one over the other. You can see that it improved after a couple of rows.

I did have a couple of problems (entirely my fault) where I moved the pattern by one stitch so I had to rip everything out.

Another thing I learned during this is that I'm knitting the wrong way, so k2tog and ssk do not look like they are supposed to. (As far as I have been able to figure out, I'm knitting continental, but combined? or something like that). So instead of the ssk, I did k2tog like I normally do, and then did the k2tog with the throwing so I would get the different slants. And I think that worked:

Since taking the pictures I have washed it so the earflaps are now flat.

Going to my darling brother as soon as I attach the pom pom on top.

Tomato update

2010-10-20T10:46:00.000+02:00

They are delicious! They smell like tomatoes and are wonderfully sweet. And that makes me a happy gardener :-)

Do not lose me

2010-10-07T19:27:00.000+02:00

A friend had a birthday recently and expressed a desire for something knitted / crocheted. Now, this is a guy that would forget his head if it weren't attached, so I decided to make him a bag to carry some essentials.
The essentials in this case are guitar picks and earplugs.

I made it with tapestry crochet technique so the fabric would be denser, and so it wouldn't be just black. There is no pattern, I just made it up as I went along.

The most important part was the clasp at the end of the rope :-) so it can be attached to the guitar bag.
Well, it's there all the time now, I just hope he remembers to put things in it :-)

WIP: Baktus

2010-10-07T12:18:00.000+02:00

I went to Unitas a few days ago and bought this pink-purple yarn, only 3 left, and I wanted something easy and problem-free, so I cast on the Baktus scarf. So far, so good. I had to go up a couple of needle sized but other than that, I'm making nice progress. See?

Hat no.2

2010-10-07T12:10:00.000+02:00

So, after the first hat turned out a bit too small, I decided to make another one, and make sure it fit me. SO I cast on 124 instead of the 112 stitches, which meant one owl more. Then I went to buy more yarn. unfortunately they didn't have the same shade any more, so I bought one that was similar, and to make it less noticeable, decided to make the owls in a turquoise stripe.

I played with this one more, so there are two rows of cables in the ribbing, and I made sure that the decreases are lined up, and then I finished with an i-cord (this was mostly in preparation for another hat I want to make).

The most important part; it fits! And it's even a bit bit, which is perfect :-)
I'm still debating whether to put buttons for eyes; it'll mostly depend on whether I manage to find any suitable buttons in the shops.

Success!

2010-09-17T15:15:00.000+02:00

The Owl hat is done! Went quicker than I thought it would :-)

I ended up switching to 5mm needles because I couldn't find one of the 4mm ones (any it was too tight anyways). Of course I found it as soon as I finished the row :-)

See? Tiny for "adult size". Now I need to find some kid that fits into it :-)

Who? (Owl hat)

2010-09-14T19:18:00.003+02:00

Argh...this was supposed to be easy, simple even...yet I realize it's mostly the problem of inadequate tools :-(
So (as usual) I was browsing Ravelry and I came upon the Who pattern. Encouraged by my dishcloth success I thought 'why not?'. I had come across the owl sweater pattern in the past and I loved it, I think the idea of making owls out of cables is brilliant :-)

As this was a practice thing, I didn't feel like going and buying yarn especially for it (and I do have more yarn in my stash than I want to admit). So I went through it and found a yellow skein. OK, not my favourite colour, but at least I would be able to see what I was doing.
I cast on, all 112 stitches....now, I've mentioned before that I was a tight knitter, right? This was so tight I couldn't even move it around the cable!

So I cut it off and cast again.
Turns out, the yarn is a bit too thin. Plus, it's kind of fuzzy so you can't get nice stitch definition. And the cable is a bit too long. Plus, the needle tips are extra dull.
Yet I still managed to connect the beginning to the end and work a couple of rows in the round. But the yarn was not making me happy and the needles were driving me crazy. So I left it in the bag and decided to look for something else.

And I found a black wool-type yarn. A bit too much plastic in it to make it really soft, but it's thicker than the yellow one, and I do like black (although I'm aware that I'll be blind by the end of this project). So I cast on again, this time on straight needles, following my mother's advice that it could always be stitched together in the end.
And it started of much better. By the time I ended the ribbing I was even feeling good about this.

Now, the pattern is written in the round. And I had brains enough to realize that I have to reverse it for the wrong side.
However, it took me a good 10 rows to realize my next mistake: the owl cable part is worked in blocks; purl for the background, knit for the cable. And the row starts with the background part, and ends with the cable part. If it were done in the round, those two pieces would meet in the back. But I'm not doing this in the round. And while I did manage to remember to purl where I knitted and vice versa, I did NOT manage to figure out (in time) that, when doing the wrong side, I should do the cable part first, then the background. I wanted to scream.....
So I ripped it back to the ribbing and started all over again. This time I wrote it out on a piece of paper, hoping that it would decrease the number of mistakes.

I did manage to make it to the end of the owl pattern, but then I realized that I messed up somewhere, because my owls did not look like owls. And then I realized that I ran out of yarn. So I just finished the row I was on and left it as such.

See? The first two cables are ok-ish but then something got messed up.

Attempt no. 4? 5? I finally gave up and went to buy yarn. Unitas Ana is listed as worsted, which is what the pattern asks for. I wanted to get a nice warm purple but they didn't have any, so I got a more bluish purple instead. I even did a swatch of sorts, and decided that I needed size 3.5 needles. (European sizes, so number=millimeters) Of course I only had two short straight size 3.5 needles. Found some circulars size 3, thought I would try the magic loop method. Managed to twist the first row. And concluded that the cable was too long to knit in the round and too short for the magic loop method. So I found some dpns.
And that finally worked out! I had to switch to size 4 because I was squeezing it too tight, but it is progressing nicely.
Here are some in-progress shots:

I am just past the owl part, and will now start to decrease.
Although this should be in adult size, I don't know if I'll manage to find anyone but a kid who will fit in it :-) But it's important to finish it, and next try will be better :-)

Oh, speaking of learning, I also managed to do my first tinking (I think that's what it's called? You know, when you get to a part that is supposed to be knit, but it is purled and then you have to go 4 rows down and turn everything the other way round?) Luckily I had the crochet hook with me :-)

Hmm...this turned out long...hope I didn't bore you too much :-D

Crochet hook case

2010-09-14T19:17:00.001+02:00

This is a little something I did to keep my hooks in one place. It is loosely based on this pattern, since the site was down on the day I decided to do it :-)

On the left side are the no 2.5, 3, 3.5 and 4 hooks, and a little mesh pocket for a post-it block and a paper meter from Bauhaus. And on the right is a pen, and the hooks no 5 and 1.5. The wooden thing is a crochet hook so tiny you can barely see it. I use it for getting the first stitch when doing the magic loop, and for getting beads on the yarn. Above it is a crochet flower left over from something, which I use to keep the sewing needles in one place.

From what I remember of the original pattern (since this was done in February, I just forgot to post it :-)) is that you do the front and the back side, so I guess it makes it more stiff. But I was running out of yarn as it is (that's why it's in two colours) so I decided that this will do. And so far I can't complain, it's very practical.

Bibs, bibs, and more bibs

2010-09-14T19:01:00.001+02:00

You know, when I did the first of these, I somehow got the feeling they would be popular (I work with a serious football loving crowd). But I didn't think I would end up doing three at a time!

I took a different approach, and did the 4-colour part vertically, since that reduces the 'change colour, sc1, change colour' aspect. And then I just added the top and bottom parts.

This was the first attempt:

I thought it was a bit too wide, so I reduced the nine rows to three (before and after the amblem), and it turned out better:

And since I'm in the mood for writing today, a few of the things I figured out in the process:

First, a progress shot:

I'll divide it into a couple of elements:

bag; my father got this with some books he ordered, it's supposed to be a bag for carrying wine bottles, so it is divided into six sections. Perfect for keeping the four colours separated, with extra space for hooks, scissors, pattern etc.
colour separation; I put the blue as the main colour a bit further away from the others and at the end of each row I untangled just the blue from the others. It greatly reduced the number of times I had to stop and untangle the whole mess.
pattern; it's not too visible from the picture, but what I did was:

printed out the picture
numbered the rows from the side I would be doing them
coloured the ambiguous parts in the colour I wanted them in (that especially applied to yellow, and some smaller parts that were unclear)
went row by row, counting the blocks of identical colour and marked each 5th with an x. That way I had less counting to do while crocheting.
I took another piece of blank paper and held it with paper-clips so that it would cover everything above the row I was working on. And then used the same paper-clips to hold up the paper by attaching them to the bag handle.

I also had a pen close by, in case I wanted to change the colour of some of the blocks (usually to even it out on both sides.

Another thing I did was check that there was no yarn peeking through the row on the back side, and gently stretched the fabric at the end of each row, since it would get a bit tight and I didn't want it to become a trapeziod.

I'm sure if you have some tricks of your own, so feel free to share them in the comments.

Dishcloth no.2

2010-08-30T15:37:00.002+02:00

So, I started working this weekend and wanted to take something easy with me, so I decided to make another penguin dishcloth, so I could practice my knitting a bit before moving on to something else. My Mom did the cast on again, but at least this time I managed to figure out which one she is using, so I consulted YouTube, found the appropriate video (here) and can now practice :-D.
Anyway, I was finishing it up today, and I glanced down and really looked at it and look what happened:

I must have missed a row at one point, I didn't use a post-it on the pattern notes, just a piece of paper so it might have moved, and I WAS watching a movie on the computer at the same time. And I only noticed it once I got to the last row! Didn't want to rip it up only to have to do it again so it stayed as it is. Glad that it happened with something relatively unimportant :-)

Tomatoes

2010-08-30T15:21:00.000+02:00

So, for some reason I got it into my head that I wanted to plant tomatoes this year. However, because of the crappy weather we had for the first half of the year, I didn't think to plant them until May, so they are only know starting to flower. And three of them are already becoming tiny tomatoes! Look:

And here is the whole thing:

In retrospect, I think I should have planted fewer plants per box, but that was my first time planting anything...I'm still surprised they haven't died! Must be some really resilient plants :-)
Next year I'm going to a. start earlier, b. plant only 3 per box, that should be perfect.
And I'm thinking of getting strawberries as well :-)

My first knit!

2010-08-27T18:23:00.000+02:00

So I was browsing through Ravelry, looking at other people's projects, and I came across this adorable dishcloth. I favorite-ed it, thinking 'maybe I could crochet it in black and white' when the thought occurred to me: I can knit that!
I say I don't really know how to knit since I can't cast on, and alltogether made exactly one scarf that wasn't even consistently garter or stockinette stitch since I would forget to purl from time to time :-) But I was determined to do this.
I went to YouTube, searched for cast-on techniques, found an easy one and tried to replicate it. However, the yarn I had wasn't very thick, and I couldn't find needles thin enough, and I tried, but it didn't look good. So I did what every sensible human does...and went to Mom for help :-)
She cast on using some complicated-to-me technique, and did the first five rows (the seed stitch). And then when I continued working on it, she told me to switch to bigger needles since it turns out I'm a tight knitter.
Anyway, here it is:

You can see that the first few rows (the ones on the bottom) are somewhat bigger than the rest - those are the ones my mother did.

What I learned is that for me purls are easier than knits (even though everybody else claims otherwise), and I see other dishcloths in my future :-) I'm even considering making a connect-dishcloths blanket. Maybe.

Summer bits and pieces

2010-08-27T18:08:00.000+02:00

Some of the things we saw and did this summer:

mmmmmmmmmm :-)

Our piece of 'wilderness'

Our barbeque visitor

Soča in Tolmin

Metalcamp, Tolmin

Dubovac (near Karlovac)

Kameni most, Novigrad na Dobri

Castle overlooking the bridge from the previous picture

Mrežnica river, Mrežnički brig

Same river, seen from the bridge

One of the river's inhabitants

Blanket

2010-08-27T17:53:00.000+02:00

This was a wedding present for my L. It is in her favourite colours, brown and turquoise (and complimentary shades), and some of the yarn is shiny. It's big, fluffy and warm. It was washed with lavender soap and came wrapped around a little bag filled with lavender.
Do I need to mention she loved it? :-D
What is not in the pictures (since it was attached later) is a turquoise and beige dragonfly for good luck in the center. I called it my 'pond blanket' while I was working on it.

Pattern is from here (warning: the background is really pink).

It was really hard to take a good picture of the entire blanket because of the size.

Muffin!

2010-08-27T17:39:00.001+02:00

Another muffin, they seem to be popular :-) This one is in forest green, since the recipient likes green.

It was made as an empty box:

Baby's here!

2010-08-27T17:36:00.002+02:00

You might have noticed that most of the baby-stuff posts contained 'For S&A and their baby'. Well the baby arrived on May 6th, a bit early but nice, big and healthy. We went to see the parents a bit before the baby arrived, and all the bibs were delivered, together with booties in coordinating colours (which I have of course forgotten to photograph), and this thing:

As you can see from the background, it's almost the width of a single-person blanket (at the widest part at least). Pattern is from here.
The little red spot on the right side:

a botched crochet heart, additionally sewn on (don't worry, what I sow on, does not come off :-D)

Another thing for the little one, additionally sent:

It was made from the yarn left over from the blanket, and some others. It's a bit big for now, but that just mean he'll be able to wear it longer, right?

Pattern from here.

More baby booties

2010-08-27T17:20:00.002+02:00

This is the first (and only) thing so far requested by one of the readers; a pair of pink baby booties:

As much trouble they caused me on the first go, they are now something I could almost do in my sleep :-) The pattern is from here.

Giraffe bookmark

2010-08-27T17:13:00.002+02:00

As I have mentioned already, there is this site called OneMillionGiraffes, and I have contributed to it in the past (as a sidenote, Ola has won the bet! There are currently 1 002 497 giraffes submitted to the site, but I have a feeling there will be even more)

This was made to be submitted to the site; the patterns is from Ravelry and can be found here (Ravelry only), and was made by the lovely Sheila Nelson, who also wrote the pattern for the giraffe coasters, and the giraffe doily, which I have yet to make (pattern here; Ravelry only).

Link to the giraffe on the OMG site here.

More bibs

2010-08-27T16:52:00.001+02:00

I'm rather proud of this one since I did it from scratch. A friend, R. asked me if I could make him a bib with the football club's emblem. (I'm deliberately not naming it since I don't want the search engines to pick it up and throw together with all the sports results). So I found an acceptable picture on the Internet and put it into KnitPro, corrected some of the multicoloured fields and there you have it! I did base the shape of the bib on this one, but that's about it.

What I discovered in the process was that four colours get really really tangled!
Some things that I decided to correct on subsequent bibs:
a. check that all three yarns that you are carrying through are taut and not peeking out somewhere in the middle
b. red really shows through a lot; put it in as late as possible
c. sometimes it's better to rotate the picture 90 degrees, makes for fewer colour changes in the same line; 'change colour, sc1, change colour' was the most common thing I did there

All in all, the recipient was happy, which is what matters most. Not to say that I'm not happy with it, just that I can see making it again in the future, and that kind of takes the fun out of it.

Another picture:

And I managed to find a really appropriate button:

Snoods

2010-08-27T16:36:00.001+02:00

A fellow librarian asked me to make her a snood...which basically boils down to a hair-net.
I showed her the patterns available and she chose two;
this was the first one, pattern from here:

This was the second one, pattern from here; and I made three of those, in different sizes.

They are somewhat hard to photograph since they are black, and I don't have a doll's head to put them on.

February & March swaps

2010-08-27T16:28:00.001+02:00

February theme was something that you love. Mine was a variation on the theme...things that make me happy (which boils down to the same thing if you think about it). So these are the knick-knacks I sent...because I'm basically a big child at heart and little things like these really cheer me up.

I don't have a picture of my March package, I forgot to take it before I sent it.
The theme was a country/place you would like to visit.

This is what I got; it was a combination package; the book was for March, and the yarn, thread and cross-stitch pillow were for February. The yarn is ultra very soft&fluffy, and I love it so much that I don't know what to make of it :-)

...and...we're back!

2010-08-27T16:19:00.000+02:00

Uff, I've been away for a while. It's just that I had finally decided to finish uni, and writing on the blog seemed like slacking and was therefore avoided.
Well now I have passed all the exams, and all that's left is writing the final paper, so before I start on that, I decided to fill in on the missing posts.

I am still undecided on the language I want to use...I find English easier to express myself, but I know there are some people reading this who might find it easier to read it in Croatian. For now I think it will be in English, and then I'll gradually translate it when I find the will to do it.

So, on to the pictures :-)

Fiber pen pals swap: january - what I made

2010-03-01T16:31:00.000+01:00

Obzirom da je moj swap sigurno stigao na svoje odrediste, mogu pokazati sto sam napravila. Ukoliko ne prepoznajete, rijec je o vidri.

Htjela sam da izgleda bar djelomicno realisticno, druge vidre koje sam vidjela u heklanom obliku nisu me se bas pretjerano dojmile. Inspiracija vecinom s ove slike.

*** Since my swap package has safely reached its destination, I can show you what I sent. For those that do not recognize it, it's an otter. I wanted it to look at least remotely realistic, other crocheted otters didn't really impress me. Inspiration mostly from this picture.

Ravelympics 2010

2010-02-25T08:39:00.003+01:00

Ravelry je tijekom olimpijskih igara odrzavao svoju verziju natjecanja - Ravelympics. Ja sam se prijavila unutar tima OMG (OneMillionGiraffes) racunajuci da ce mi element natjecanja dati motivaciju za zavrsavanje projekta, obzirom da se sastoji od poprilicnog broja ponavljanja, pa je eto recimo pomalo dosadan.

Unutar kategorije PlatterLift (predmeti za kucu i slicno), projekt je:

Pet podlozaka, svaki s 12 zirafa na obrubu, u olimpijskim bojama da bude u stilu. Pattern se moze naci ovdje (postoji samo link unutar Ravelry-ja). Slika je poslana na OneMillionGiraffes, i moze se vidjeti ovdje.

*** Ravelry held its own Olympic games equivalent - the Ravelympics. I enteres as a member of Team OMG (One Million Giraffes), figuring the element of competition will be the incentive to finish this project since it consists of a lot of repetitons, so it is somewhat boring.

Under the category PlatterLift (home décor), the project was five coasters, each with 12 giraffes along the border, made in the colours of the Olympic flag. Pattern can be found here (there is only a link within Ravelry). The picture has been submitted to OneMillionGiraffes, and can be found here.

Unutar kategorije Skelegurumi (amigurumi igracke) projekt je zirafa Marvin:

Ime je zato jer mi djeluje pomalo depresivno (vrat mu visi jer sam stavila premekano punjenje). Pattern ne postoji, ja sam ga nekako napamet kombinirala. Posebno sam ponosna na pjegice, bilo ih je puno lakse raditi nego na prosloj zirafi, ovaj put sam to tehnikom tapestry crochet, tj. drugu boju sam stalno provlacila ispod ove koja je vidljiva. I punjenje se puno manje nazire :-)

Usi i rogovi jesu razlicite boje od ostatka, kombinirala sam vise nijansi konca; zapravo je i glava razlicite nijanse u odnosu na tijelo, ali se to toliko ne vidi.

Kada sam dosla do faze izrade nogu, zakljucila sam da to nece dobro funkcionirati, i da mi se zapravo vise svida ovako bez nogu. Pa sam ga tako i ostavila.

Slika je poslana na OneMillionGiraffes, i moze se vidjeti ovdje.

"Medalje" su s lijeve strane, i vode do stranice projekta na Ravelry-ju.

***Within the category Skelegurumi (amigurumi toys), my project is Marvin the giraffe. The name is because I think he looks a bit depressed (his neck hangs a bit, the stuffing was too soft for his head). There is no pattern, I thought of this one myself. I am especially proud of the spots, they were much easier to make than the last time, this time I used the technique of tapestry crochet, carrying the other thread underneath the stitches. And the stuffing doesn't show as much :-)

The ears and horns are not the same colour as the rest of the giraffe, as I was combining different shades of yellow; in fact, the colour of the body is different than that of the head, but it is less noticable.

When I came to the point of making legs, I came to the conclusion that they would not look good, and that I like him this way. So he remained legless.

The picture has been submitted to OneMillionGiraffes, and can be found here.

The "medals" are on the left sidebar, and they are linked to the project page on Ravelry.

Fiber pen pals swap; january

2010-02-12T18:27:00.004+01:00

I just received my package from the January challenge. woohoo :-D It's a beautiful knitted hat, I guess we have the same taste when it comes to colours :-) I'm just a bit worried since my package has not yet reached its destination, and I sent it before Pam did....damn post office...I hope it gets there within the next couple of days.

As you can see, the postcards are already up on the wall.

ETA: this is how I wore it (of course I had to immediately incorporate it into the outfit :-D)

Considering I took the picture myself, I think it turned out reasonably well :-)

Igranje / Playing around

2010-01-29T19:34:00.005+01:00

Inspirirala me honeysuckle svojim cvjeticima, pa sam danas odlucila isprobati nekoliko cvjetica koji mi vec odavno stoje oznaceni na kompjuteru.

***
I was inspired by honeysuckle's post to try out a couple of flowers that have been bookmarked in my browser for a long time.

Od vrha, u smjeru kazaljke na satu: ***Clockwise from the top:
Super simple tawashi flower, Heart pin, Summer fl owers, honeysuckle's flower, Attic24's flower

Ova dva su mi dosta dobro ispala...nisam jos uvela konce jer nisam odlucila sto cu s njima.

***
I think these two turned out ok...I haven't woven in the threads since I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with them.

Djecja oprema / Baby equipment

2010-01-29T17:21:00.013+01:00

Prije svega, krenimo od naziva. Verzije koje sam do sada cula su: baberin / baberinček, balavac, susravac, ja najcesce koristim partlih, a vecina ljudi teoretski prepoznaje slinček. Vecinom kad ljudi pitaju sto radim kazem 'ono sto stavis djetetu oko vrata da se ne uprlja dok jede', jer na sve ostalo reagiraju vrlo tupim pogledom :-)
Svi su slinceki radeni po istom patternu (ovdje). E sad, u patternu pise da treba sirina biti 30 ocica, i tada sirina ispada 22 cm ili tu negdje. Medutim moji konci su pretanki da postignu tu sirinu, pa je broj ocica proizvoljan (negdje izmedu 40 i 60, ovisno o slinceku). Ionako je bolje da budu razlicitih velicina, djeca ipak rastu :-)
Svi slinceki su napravljeni za S & A i njihovog bebaca.

*** First of all, Croatian language has many names for the very simple English bib. In the end I resorted to giving a description rather than a name since everybody has its own expression for it. All of the bibs were made using the same pattern (here). However, the pattern lists 'chain 30' and mentions that the width should be around 22 cm. Since my yarn could not produce that with 30 stitches, I chose different number of stitches (they vary between 40 and 60, depending on the bib). In the end, it is better to have a great range in sizes, since babies do grow :-) All of the bibs were made for S & A and their baby.

Slincek 1: Lav / Bib 1: Lion

Obzirom da su ovo zapravo relativno veliki komadi ravnog heklanja, iskoristila sam priliku isprobati neke stvari. Tako sam ovdje isprobavala foundation single crochet (YouTube link) kao prvi red.

*** Since these are basically large pieces of flat crochet, I used the opportunity to try out a couple of things. Here I tried out foundation single crochet (YouTube link) as the first row.

Lice je napravljeno naknadno; mislim da je bio krug od 90 ocica, i onda 5 duplih stapica u svaku drugu ocicu.

***The face was added later; I think it was a circle of 90 chains, with 5 double crochets in every second stitch.

Nadam se da je gumb dovoljno netipican da ne smeta previse ;-)

*** I hope the button is atypical enough not to bother anyone too much ;-)

Slincek 2: Zaba / Bib 2: Frog

Ideja za dekoraciju je s LionBrand-ove stranice (ovdje)

*** Decoration idea is from LionBrand's site (here)

Slincek 3: Kostur / Bib 3: Skull

Ovaj slincek ce trebati malo duzi uvod: gledajuci po Ravelryju, naisla sam na ovaj pattern. I bila sam sva 'wooow, ovo moram probati'.

***This bib will require a somewhat longer introduction: while browsing through Ravelry, I came across this pattern and I was all 'wooow, I need to try that'.

Problem prvi: radi se s dvije boje, tehnika tapestry crochet. OK, to nije bio preveliki problem, malo sam to pogledala da vidim sta se trazi (ionako inace koristim tu tehniku za sakrivanje onog pocetnog repica konca, a promjenu boja sam savladala na zirafi :-) )

Problem drugi: htjela sam da rubovi budu zaobljeni kao kod drugih slinceka. Sto je znacilo da ne krecem s danih 49 ocica nego nesto manje (tocnije 42). Pa, negdje u svom tom silnom brojanju sam uspjela fulati , no to sam vidjela tek kad sam dosla do zuba. Medutim na kraju sam to rijesila, ne vidi se previse (tj ne upada u oci) pa cu si oprostiti, sljedeci put se nece dogoditi.

***
Problem no.1: it is done with two colours, technique is called tapestry crochet. OK, so that wasn't too big of a problem, I took a look to see what they mean by it, and I already use the technique to hide the little piece of yarn you get from the first chain, and I mastered the colour changes when doing the giraffe :-)

Problem no.2: I wanted the ends to be rounded as they are with other bibs. Which meant starting with chaining not 49, but 42. Somewhere in all the counting I managed to make a mistake, but I only saw that when I reached the teeth. In the end I 'creatively' resolved the problem so it's not an eyesore, so I will forgive myself, and it won't happen next time.

Problem treci: nisam htjela provlaciti bijeli konac kroz pocetne redove jer sam mislila da se nece primijetiti. Krivo! Obzirom da konac ide zapravo ravno ispod ocica, on diktira sirinu zavrsnog proizvoda, a ja sam ga malo jako stegnula. Ali kao sto sam ranije rekla, ionako sam koristila slinceke za isprobavanje tehnika tako da si oprastam, necu drugi put.

***
Problem no. 3: I didn't want to run the white yarn all the way through the first couple of rows because I thought it wouldn't matter. Wrong! Since the yarn goes straight under the stitches, it dictates the final width, and I made it a bit tight. But as I said earlier, I was using the bibs to try out things, so I forgive myself, won't happen again.

I na kraju, problem tj. pogreska cetvrta: kod izrade zuba radi se sve s prednje strane, znaci na kraju reda se konci rezu i pocinje opet s desne strane. Vrlo sam slampavo rijesila taj visak konaca. To si ne oprastam bas tako lako, ali sta se moze, uspjela sam to bar djelomicno sakrit, i definitivno cu sljedeci put biti pametnija.

Za one koji ce reci da to nije materijal za slinceke: odjeca za malu djecu je ionako zapravo odjeca za roditelje, tj. glavno je da se roditeljima svidi. A ovim ce se roditeljima svidjet. Plus, vec je nekoliko ljudi komentiralo da im je to super ideja.

***
And finally problem, i.e. mistake no.4: when making the teeth you do everything from the same side - when you reach the end of the row you cut the yarn and start from the right side again without turning. I was very clumsy when hiding the remaining pieces of yarn. That is not something I forgive myself lightly, but what is done is done, I managed to at least partially hide it, and I will definitely be smarter next time.

For those who will say that such images are not appropriate to be on bibs: little children's clothes is really clothes for the parents, i.e. it is important that the parents like it. And these parents will like it. Plus, I have already gotten comments from other people who think it's a great idea.

Slincek 4: Vrazic / Bib 4: Little devil

Zadnji u ovoj rundi, u skladu s politikom 'glavno da se roditeljima svida'.

***
Last one in this round, made folowing the 'as long as the parents like it' policy.

Ovaj je slincek bio prilika isprobati kako izgleda front / back post single crochet (YouTube link), zato je tako malo zakrivljen na par mjesta.

***
This bib was the opportunity to see what front / back post single crochet (YouTube link) looks like, that's why the bib is a bit curved in a couple of places.

Htjela sam zapravo da rogovi budu simetricno postavljeni, ali jedan je pobjegao tijekom prisivanja :-).

***
I actually wanted the horns to be symmetrical, but one of them escaped during sewing :-)

(some) WIPs are no longer :-)

2010-01-29T16:54:00.001+01:00

Uspjela sam zavrsiti neke od projekata. Slike slijede.

*** I managed to finish some of the WIPs. Pictures soon to follow.

Mystery box

2010-01-21T11:39:00.007+01:00

Nije zapravo pretjerano tajanstveno, ali mi se ime svida :-)
*** Not particularly mysterious, but I like the name :-)

Moze stajati uspravno.....
*** It can stand upright.....

....ali je vecinom polozena na stranu.
***....but mostly it lays on its side.

Unutrasnjost je na prugice (recikliranje nezeljenih (cistih!) carapa).
*** Inside it's stripey (recycling unwanted (clean!) socks)

Detalj poklopca.
*** Detail from the lid.

Ta-da! Kutija za naocale.
Ovaj projektic cak i ne spada u onu kategoriju WIP-ova na koju se zalim, vec je brzinski osmisljen i napravljen didi za rodendan. Izmedu heklanog dijela i podstave je plasticni sloj prilagoden od jedne polulitarske plasticne case, tako da zadrzi oblik, naocale se ne mogu previse zgnjeciti u torbi, i cak je djelomicno otporno na vodu, iako ne znam koliko je to bitno za naocale :-)
Znam da mi prisivanje podstave ne pripada u naujredniju kategoriju, ali taj dio mi nikad nije isao...tj. kad izgleda uredno meni izgleda prekrhrko.

***Ta-da! A glasses case.
This little project does not even fall into the category of the dreaded WIPs, since it was thought of and created within two days for my grandpa's birthday. Between the crocheted part and the lining there is an adjusted-in-size half liter plastic cup, so it retains shape, prevents glasses from getting too squashed in the bag, and it is even relatively wateproof, although I don't know how important that is for glasses.
I know the sewing done on attaching the lining is not all that neat, but I was never good at it - when it looks neat I think it's too fragile.

Knee deep in WIPs....

2010-01-15T19:58:00.003+01:00

....iliti zatrpana nedovrsenim projektima :-)

Sretna Nova godina! / Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T14:43:00.003+01:00

Zelim vam sve najbolje u 2010;
da vam svi projekti ispadnu onako kako ste planirali;
da vam nikad ne ponestane vune na predzadnjem redu;
da te iste vune uvijek bude u ducanu;
da vam omiljenu vunu u omiljenoj boji nikad ne prestanu proizvodit;
da vam ne ispadaju ocice i da vas nitko ne ometa dok brojite;
da vam se ruke ne koce;
da vam oci uvijek savrseno rade :-D

i naravno puno srece, zdravlja i ostalih pozitivnih stvari :-)

*** I wish you all the best in 2010;
may all your projects turn out just the way you planned;
may your yarn never run out in the row before last;
may that yarn be available in the shop;
may your favourite yarn in your favourite colour never be discontinued;
may your stitches always stay on the needles, and may no one disturb you while counting;
may your hands not get cramps;
may your eyes always work as they should :-D

and of course lots of happiness, health and other positive things :-)

Gingerbread guys

2009-12-28T18:21:00.007+01:00

Jos dva kolacica za bozicna drvca :-)
Za L.:

*** Two more cookies for the Christmas trees :-)
For L.:

Pattern ovdje, pod Ornament patterns.
Kapica je napravljena po ovom patternu, samo s tanjim koncem i svega prvih par redova.
Gumbi su iz mamine zalihe.

***Pattern here, under Ornament patterns.
The hat was made from this pattern, only with thinner yarn and only the first couple of rows. Buttons from my mother's collection.

Za O. (onog istog koji je i rudolfovu glavu dobio):
*** For O. (the same one who got Rudolph's head):

Nestalo mi je smedeg konca, pa je O. odabrao ovakav izbor boja.
Zaboravila sam mu napravit usta :-( (kao ispriku koristim cinjenicu da sam ga heklala s petka na subotu negdje izmedju spavanja i spremanja za posao....plus, iz nekog razloga sam bila uvjerena da on zapravo ne treba imati usta...)

*** I ran out of brown, so O. made the colour choice.
I forgot to make his mouth :-( My excuse is that I crocheted it somewhere between Friday and Saturday, between sleeping and getting ready for work...plus, for some unknown reason I was convinced that he doesn't really need a mouth...

Ukrasi u radnom okruzenju / Decorations in the work environment

2009-12-22T13:17:00.003+01:00

Slike s posla. Svi ukrasi vise na jednom lancu. S lijeva nadesno:
*** Pictures from work. All the decorations are on the same garland. From left to right:

Za sada su dobili pozitivne komentare :-)
*** So far the comments have been positive :-)

Rudolf, the jelen / Rudolph, the reindeer

2009-12-22T13:08:00.004+01:00

Rudolf je zadnji od bozicnih ukrasa, i onaj na kojeg sam potrosila najvise vremena obzirom da se sastoji od najvise dijelova. Pokusaj prvi visi na poslu.

*** Rudolph is the last of the Christmas decorations, and the one that took up most of my time considering it consists of most parts. Attempt number one is at work.

Pokusaj drugi je za O., i vjerujem da ga planira iskoristiti kao ukras na boru.
*** Attempts number two is for O. I believe he plans to use it as a Christmas tree decoration.

Moram priznati da mi je u drugom pokusaju puno bolje uspio. Nos sam radila s iglom 1.5 i tanjim koncem tako da puno ljepse izgleda, i napravila sam usta i oci prije nego sam zasila sve dijelove (obzirom da sam sad znala gdje trebaju ici), tako da izgleda puno urednije. Zuti konac u stvarnosti nije toliko bljestav, ali nedostajalo mi je prirodne rasvjete za slikanje.
Pattern sam nasla ovdje.

*** I have to admit that the second attempt turned out much better. The nose was made with a 1.5 hook and a thinner yarn so it looks much nicer. I also made the mouth and eyes before sewing everything together (since now I knew where I should put them), so everything looks much neater. The yellow yarn is not as bright as it looks on the photos, but there was no natural light.
Patter was found here.

Bozicni ukrasi / Christmas decorations

2009-12-18T12:15:00.008+01:00

Moram priznati da s bozicnim ukrasima imam manjih problema; naime u teoriji ih volim, ali ide mi na zivce sto je grad okicen vec od kraja 11. mjeseca. I onda mi vise nije do ukrasavanja. Obzirom da znam da cemo ovaj vikend ukrasavati na poslu, htjela sam napraviti ukrase koji ce me uvesti u bozicno raspolozenje.

Prvo, snjezne pahulje, u skladu s vremenskim uvjetima:

*** I have to admit that I have some problems when it comes to Christmas decoration; in theory I like them, but it annoys me when I see the town decorated at the end of November. And then I don't feel like decorating any more. Since I know that we will be decorating this weekend at work, I wanted to make decorations that will get me into the Christmas spirit.

First, a couple of snowflakes, to go with the weather:

Pattern pronaden ovdje. Predvideno je da se pahulje spajaju u lanac, ali meni je prakticnije ovako.

Sljedeci je gingerbread guy. Iako ne pada pod tradicionalne ukrase u nasim krajevima, svida mi se mogucnost dodatnog ukrasavanja gumbima i perlicama. Pattern se moze naci ovdje (na desnoj strani, link se zove Ornaments, otvara se u pdf-u).

*** Pattern found here. In the pattern the snowflakes are connected into a garland but I find this more practical.

Next, the gingerbread guy. Although not a traditional decoration in these parts, I like the possibility of additional decorating with buttons and beads. Pattern can be found here (right side, under Ornaments, it opens in pdf).

Na redu su male crvene napasti, naime kapa i carapa:
*** Now the little red buggers, the hat and the sock:

Pattern za kapu je ovdje. Inace je originalna namjena pattern-a kapa za novorodence ili nekog slicne velicine glave (uz mogucnost prosirenja). Medutim ja sam ju napravila do pola, uvela bijeli konac i zavrsila nakon 3 ili 4 reda, tako da je kapa prava mini varijanta.

*** Pattern for the hat is here. The original pattern is for a newborn hat, with the possibility of enlarging it. I followed the pattern up until the middle, then put in white yarn and finished after 3 or 4 rows, so it wouldn't get too big.

Carapa za poklone, mini varijanta. Pattern je ovdje, jedina promjena koju sam ja napravila je kombinacija boja. Originalno ima vise zelene, meni se vise svida ovako.

Nadalje, bozikovina. Vec sam pisala o njoj jedno dva posta prije, ali obzirom da pada pod bozicnu tematiku.... Dakle pattern je ovdje, ali kad sam napravila list po njemu ispao je dosta tanak i krzljav, pa sam ga malo produljila i prosirila, te dodala bobice.

*** Christmas stocking, the mini version. Pattern is here, the only change I made is the colour combination. Originally there is more green, I prefer it this way.

On to holly. I already wrote about it about two posts down, but considering it is Christmassy...So, the pattern can be found here, but my leaves turned out thin, so I lengthened it and added some width, and then I added some berries.

Dalje imamo....muffin! Ovaj put u mini varijanti. Casica u kojoj stoji je ona u koju obicno idu rum/orah/kakve god kuglice, znaci otprilike pola velicine regularnog muffina.

*** Next we have....a muffin! This time a mini muffin. The paper cup is usually for rum balls, meaning about half the size of a regular muffin.

Htjela sam isprobati kombinirati dvije boje za gornji dio. Nije bas ispalo onako kako sam ja to zamisljala, ali boje dobro pasu zajedno, pa je lijepo sareno. Iako nije bilo namjerno, boje konca se koordiniraju s bojom casice. Koji sam ja pacijent :-D

*** I wanted to try out a combination of two colours for the top part. It didn't turn out the way I thought it would, but the colours go well together, so it's nice and colourful. Although unintentional, the yarn colours do match the cup colours. Shame on me :-)

I za kraj....kako potrositi ostatke konca i ostale viskove. Kada sam kupovala zvecke u pet shopu (za ovaj projekt), kupila sam one tri plasticne kuglice koje na dnu imaju zvonce i sluze da se papige imaju cime zabavljat. Mislila sam, posto su u dvije boje, da ce se dati otvoriti i da cu moci staviti nesto u njih da postanu kao zvecke. Nista od toga, plastika je zalijepljena. Ali dobro su posluzile za sljedeci projekt:

*** Finally....a method for getting rid of scraps. When I was buying rattles in the pet shop (for this project), I bought three plastic balls connected with a string, with a bell on the bottom, usually used as a toy for parrots. I was hoping that, since the balls were in two colours, they would open up and I could modify them into rattles. No such luck, the plastic is glued together. But they were good for the following project:

Osnovna kuglica, samo u vise boja, a plasticna kuglica je umjesto punjenja.
*** Basic crochet in the round ball, only in multiple colours, with the plastic ball as filling.

U ovom slucaju, plasticna kuglica je posluzila za zadrzavanje oblika zvona. Pocetak kao za osnovnu kuglicu, samo se siri prema dnu. Crvene kuglice na dnu su ostaci glinamola od proslih projekata, obojani u crveno.

*** In this case, the plastic ball serves to retain shape of the bell. The beginnig is for the basic ball, and then it widens towards the bottom. The red balls are from leftover clay, coloured red.

Slikala sam ovako da se vidi kuglica, obzirom da znam da mi objasnjavanje nije jaca strana :-)

Sve vise i vise mi se svida kombinacija tirkizno-narancasto-zuto, bas je zivahna.
*** I am really starting to like the colour combination of turquise-orange-yellow, it is really vibrant.

Novi dodaci, stari likovi / New additions to familiar old faces

2009-12-18T12:03:00.004+01:00

Nista novo u ovom postu, mala reciklaza starih ideja :-)
Prvo, sovica, dodatak ovima:

*** Nothing new here, just a bit of recycling new ideas :-)
First, an owl do be added to these:

Svida mi se ovaj tirkizni konac, vrlo je mekan pod prstima, a i boja je bas po mom ukusu. Mislim da vrlo dobro pase uz ostatak sova-obitelji :-)

*** I like this turquoise yarn, it is very soft, and the colour is so me. I think it fits very well with the rest of the owl family :-)

I. je rekla da hoce zarko crveni muffin, obzirom da je "crvena njena boja". Ista procedura kao i prosli muffini (ovdje)
*** I. said she wanted a bright red muffin, since "red is her colour". The procedure was the same as for the previous muffins (here).

Stavila sam zicu u dno da bolje zadrzi oblik, ali je muffin za cisto dekorativne svrhe (ne moze se otvoriti).
*** I put wire in the bottom to retain shape better, but the muffin is purely decorative (it cannot be opened).

Perlice variraju obzirom na moje raspolozenje, i moje zalihe.
*** The beads vary depending on my mood and my supplies.

Djecje slapice / Baby booties

2009-12-18T11:52:00.006+01:00

Moram priznati da su me ove slapice posteno namucile :-) Tko bi rekao da tako male stvari mogu stvarati toliko problema.....Najveca greska je bila sto sam se doslovno drzala pattern-a :-D
Naime mislim da autorica i ja imamo drugaciju percepciju o tome koja je zadnja ocica u odredenom redu, tako da su mi stalno iskakale neke ocice viska, ili bi pak imala jednu manjka. Problem sam rijesila tako sto sam drugi par jednostavno radila napamet. I dalje sam nanizala trazeni broj ocica, samo nisam brojala ocice u pojedinom redu, obzirom da sam znala gdje trebam povecati broj ocica i za koliko. I mislim da su mi tako puno bolje ispale.

*** I have to admit these booties gave me a pretty hard time :-) Who would have thought that such small objects could be so much trouble...My biggest mistake was following the pattern to the letter :-D I think the author and I have a different perception of what constitutes the last stitch in a particular row, so I kept getting extra stitches, or missing one. I solved the problem by the second pair of booties by not counting. I still started with the right number, and I knew where to put the increases and the decreases. I think the other pair turned out much better.

Slikala sam s ravnalom obzirom da je velicina ovdje relativno bitna :-) Roze slapice su 7 cm dugacke, a plave 8 cm.

*** I put the ruler in the picture because here, size does matter :-) THe pink booties are 7 cm, and the blue ones are 8 cm long.

Boja plavih slapica je blize boji na drugoj slici.
*** The colour for the blue booties is closer to the colour on the second picture.

Za B. / For B.

Bozikovina / Holly pattern

2009-12-17T17:31:00.007+01:00

Radim na bozicnim ukrasima (slike uskoro). Nasla sam relativno jednostavan pattern za bozikovinu ovdje (ima i link za youtube clip), ali mi listovi ispadaju relativno mali, pa sam si prilagodila pattern za svoje potrebe. Kako bi znala gdje ga pronaci ubuduce, ispisujem ga ovdje.

*** I am working on some Christmas decorations (pictures will be up soon). I found a relatively simple holly pattern here (there is also a link to a YouTube clip), but the leaves turn out rather small, so I adjusted it to suit my needs. I'm putting it here so I would know where to find it in the future.

Na kraju sam (vecinski za potrebe slikanja) provukla kukicu od jedne bozikovine kroz bobicu na drugoj. I moram reci da mi se svida ovako, tako da ce vjerojatno i ostati.
Jedino mi je zao sto se ova specificna zelena ne prikazuje onako kako stvarno izgleda. U stvarnosti je nesto tamnija, i ne izgleda ovako isprano.

*** For the purpose of taking pictures, I hung one of the holly leaves onto the berry from the other one, but I really like the way that turned out, so I will keep it that way.
I'm only sorry that this particular green just does not turn out well in the pictures. In reality is a bit darker, and not so washed out.

US crochet terms (jer hrvatske ne znam / because I don't know Croatian terms)

chain 20
sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 17, 3sc in last ch, now working on the opposite side, sc 18

ch10, sl st into next sc(1st on opp side) - this will be the "stem" which acts as a hook

sc, hdc, 2dc, 4tc, 4dc, 2hdc, 4sc, 2sc in the next stitch

working on the opposite side: 4sc, 2hdc, 4dc, 4tc, 2dc, sc, sl st

sl st along the chain and into the first sc on the other side
(or fasten off, and then sl st into the first sc on the other side)

*sc,chain 2, sl st into top of sc, sc in same stitch, 2sl st* two times

*hdc, chain 2, sl st into top of hdc, hdc in same stitch, 2 sl st* two times

*sc, chain 2, sl st into top of sc, sc in same stitch, 2 sl st* two times

sl st, sc, chain 2, sl st into same sc, sc into same stitch, 2sl

along the other side:

*sc,chain 2, sl st into top of sc, sc in same stitch, 2sl st* two times

*hdc, chain 2, sl st into top of hdc, hdc in same stitch, 2 sl st* two times

*sc,chain 2, sl st into top of sc, sc in same stitch, 2sl st* two times
fasten off, weave in ends

For the berries:
chain 2, 10sc in 2nd chain from hook, sl st to first sc, fasten off

Gljiva i jabuka / Mushroom and apple

2009-12-11T18:26:00.005+01:00

Htjela sam napraviti nesto malo i slatko, bez potrebe prisivanja velikog broja dijelova. Ovdje sam nasla pattern za jabuku, samo sam ja koristila puno tanji konac, pa je i jabuka manja.

*** I wanted to make something small and cute, without having to sew on many parts. I found the apple pattern here, only I used thinner thread so the apple is smaller.

Zbog lose rasvjete (mea culpa) jabuka je ispala malo nerealne boje; ustvari je iste boje kao i gljiva.
***Due to bad lighting the apple's colour is somewhat unreal; in reality is the same colour as the mushroom.

Ana Paola Rimoli je jedan od autora koji se stalno pojavljuju vezano uz najslade patterne. Jedan od njih je i ova gljiva:

***Ana Paola Rimoli is one of the authors whose name is attached to the cutest patterns. One of those is this mushroom:

Moram priznati da je ispala slade nego sto sam ocekivala :-)

***I have to admit it turned out cuter than I expected :-)

Zvecke / Rattles

2009-12-11T18:19:00.004+01:00

Trazeci patterne po internetu, naisla sam na ovu stranicu. Svidjela mi se ideja zvecke, ali je "dizajn" moj. Unutar ove dvije igracke je plasticna kugla unutar koje se nalazi zvonce. Iz pet shop-a, odjel za macke. Dodala sam vezicu za lakse drzanje.

*** While looking for patterns on the internet, I came across this. I like the idea of a rattle, but the "design" is mine. Inside these two is a plastic ball that contains a small bell. From the pet shop, the cat department. I added the string for easier handling.

Zivotinje morske tematike / Sea animals

2009-12-11T18:10:00.005+01:00

Ove dvije zivotinje padaju pod kategoriju brzinskih projekata, cisto za ubit vrijeme.
Pattern za meduzu sam nasla ovdje, ali sam ju povecala (dodala sam jos nekoliko redova u klobuk kako bi bio siri i dublji). Najveci problem su bili lovci (ovo dugacko visece) jer se svaki mora pojedinacno uvlacit u klobuk.

*** These two animals fall under the category of very fast projects, made simply to kill some time. The pattern for the jellyfish is from here, but I made it a bit bigger (I added a couple more rounds in the body to make it wider and deeper). The biggest problem were the tentacles since each one had to be individually secured.

Sto se kornjace tice, mislim da sam ju na kraju ipak napravila mrvicu premalu.
*** As far as the turtle is concerned, I think it ended up being a bit too small in the end.

Sove / Owls

2009-12-11T18:01:00.005+01:00

Bila sam kod moje L. u knjiznici, i tamo imaju stari karticni katalog, i jednostavno nisam mogla odoljeti uslikati ih, obzirom da se sove uvijek nekako povezuju s knjigama. My inner geek :-D

*** I went to visit my L. at the library, and they still have an old card catalog there, so I simply couldn't resist taking their pictures there, considering owls are always connected to books. My inner geek :-D

Pattern je iz ove knjige, ja sam sovice napravila po slikama s Ravelry-a (link). Crvena je napravljena cekajuci u redu za produljenje vozacke dozvole (zivjela birokracija :-) ).

*** The pattern is from this book, but I made the owls looking at the pictures on Ravelry (link). The red one was made while waiting in line to get my driving license renewed (long live bureaucracy :-)).

Materijal za nesto stariju publiku / For a somewhat older audience

2009-12-11T17:24:00.008+01:00

Prijatelj iz Rijeke ima bend, Zombie Strippers, i super su mi, pogotovo kad idem doma s posla, uvijek mi podignu raspolozenje. Oni su bili inspiracija za ovo:

***A friend from Rijeka has a band, Zombie Strippers, and I love them, especially when I'm on my way home from work, because they always manage to improve my mood. They were the inspiration for this:

Pattern za lutku ovdje, pattern za lubanju ovdje.

Na desnom nadgrobnom spomeniku pise Zombie Strippers, bas se ne vidi na slici.
Jos uvijek me malo muci kako joj sloziti frizuru pa je trenutno ovako rascupana.

*** Pattern for the doll here, patter for the skull here.
The right gravestone says Zombie Strippers, it doesn't show really well on the picture. I am still having a bit of trouble with her hairstyle, so for now I'm leaving it like this.

Ovaj crveni rub oko ociju je onaj obican konac, za sivanje odjece. Cisto mucenje :-)

U rukama i nogama je zica za nakit omotana koncem, tako da se mogu pomicati i savijati. Vrat joj je malo deblji jer sadrzi komad neidentificiranog spuzvastog materijala kroz koji prolazi slamka koja stabilizira glavu. Kosa je vunica Ana (45%vuna, 10% kasmir, 35% PA, 10% viskoza).

*** The red part around the eyes is the regular sewing thread, the kind you use for sewing clothes. Pure torture to work with :-)

The arms and legs have jewelery wire wrapped with yarn in them, so you can move and bend them. The neck is a bit thicker than it's supposed to be because I put a piece of unidentified spongy material in it, to hold the straw that hold her head up. Hair is made out of a wool blend (45% Wool, 35% Polyacrylic, 10% Cashmere, 10% Viscose)

Za perverznjake u publici, odjeca je zasivena, i ima donje rublje. *** For the pervs in the audience, the clothes are sewn on, and she does have underwear.

Medo / Teddybear

2009-12-11T17:15:00.006+01:00

Ovaj mali medo pliso mi je poseban. Raden je za meni vrlo dragu osobu, tako da ima i poseban dodatak: medo ima srce!

*** This little teddy is very special to me. It was made for a person who is very dear to me, so it has a special addition: teddy has a heart!

Originalno su mu oci bile izvezeni krugovi, no prema zeljama sam promijenila u ikseve:
*** Originally the eyes were embroidered circles, but later I changed them to x's to suit the recipient's wishes.

Zeko / Bunny

2009-12-11T17:00:00.007+01:00

M. me zamolio da mu isheklam neku sitnu zivotinju, za dijete njegovih prijatelja. Obzirom da sam bas dan prije naisla na ovaj pattern, dobio je zeca:

*** M. asked me to crochet him an animal for his friends' baby. Considering I found this pattern a couple of days prior, he got a rabbit:

Ja sam dodala jos i pletenu alkicu na ledima:

*** I added the hoop on the back:

Superbunny!

Zirafa i zaba / Giraffe and frog

2009-12-11T16:34:00.010+01:00

Nakon svih ovih sitnih zivotinja, pozeljela sam isprobati nesto vece, a namijenjeno onim sasvim malima:

*** After all these tiny animals, I wanted to try something bigger, and yet meant for the youngest part of the population:

Ova zirafa visoka je 30ak centimetara, a jedan je jastuk morao zrtvovati pola svojeg punjenja za nju :-)
Najveci 'problem' su mi bile zirafine pjegice. Iako znam da je prava zirafa zapravo vecinski smeda, htjela sam da moja bude zuta, a da opet ima barem mjestimicno pjegice. Kako bi to izvela, za svaku sam pjegicu posebno stavljala drugi konac. Posebno zabavno kada pokusavas brojati ocice u isto vrijeme :-)

*** This giraffe is about 30cm tall, and a pillow had to sacrifice half its stuffing for her :-)
The biggest 'problem' were the stops. Although I know that a real giraffe is actually mostly brown, I wanted mine to be yellow, but still have spots. To achieve that, I had to change colours for every individual spot. It was especially fun while trying to count the decreases right :-)

Rep je obicna pletenica od konca.
*** The tail is just a thread braid.

Za S. i A. i njihovog bebaca.

Dodatak: moja zirafa pridruzila se 500 000 drugih na internetu koje pokusavaju pomoci jednom Norvezaninu da ih skupi milijun. Slobodno se i vi pridruzite. Vise informacija ovdje. Moja zirafa ovdje.

*** For S. and A. and their baby.
Additional: my giraffe has joined the 500 000 others on the internet trying to help a Norwegian guy collect a million. Feel free to join in. More information here. My giraffe is here.

Moram priznati da mi zabac nije ispao onako kako sam ja htjela. Naime predlozak za njega bila mi je ova zaba. Priznajem nisam se bas pretjerano drzala onog sto pise (pogotovo zato jer vecinom heklam negdje po putu, na poslu, dok cekam u redu itd.), tako da je glava ispala nesto manja, oci nesto vece, i glavni problem, noge bas ne zele stajati presavinute. Dijagnoza problema je da je vjerojatno trebalo napuniti tijelo zabe plasticnim (ili drugim) kuglicama, da bude teze. Kako me ne bi zivcirao, problem sam rijesila tako da sam u noge zasila tako da se ni ne trebaju presavijat.

*** I have to admit that this frog did not turn out the way I wanted it to. I used this frog as the starting point, and I admit that I didn't follow the instructions (especially since a lot of my crocheting is done outside the house, at work or waiting in line somewhere), so the had turned out to be smaller and the eyes bigger that the original. The main problem is that the legs wouldn't bend and stay bent. I probably should have put some kind of weight in the body to make it heavier. As a way to not get annoyed by it, I attached the legs in a way that does not require bending.

Ne znam koliko je to vidljivo sa slika, ali oci su izvezene koncem. Udomljeno.

*** I don't know how visible it is from the pictures, but the eyes were embroidered on. Adopted.

Muffini / Muffins

2009-12-11T16:07:00.012+01:00

Za ljude na dijeti - muffin bez kalorija!
Crveni muffin:

*** A perfect diet - muffins without calories :-)
Red muffin:

Prva varijanta napravljena je kao ukras. Velicine je kao prosjecni muffin, tako da stane u kosaricu. Sadrzi karton na dnu - kako bi dno bilo ravno. Po vrhu su usivene perlice. Udomljeno kod A.

*** The first version was made as a decoration. It is the size of an average muffin, so it fits the regular paper cup. There is cardboard on the bottom - so it would retain shape. Beads were sewn onto the top part. Adopted with A.

Kutija za muffin. Vise slika ovdje.
*** The box the muffin was given in. More pictures can be found here.

Druga varijanta napravljena je tako da bude suplja i sluzi kao kutija - spremiste za sitnice. Udomljeno kod L.
Rozi muffin:

*** The second version was made hollow so it could serve as a box. Adopted with L.
Pink muffin:

Kao sto se moze vidjeti na slici, u rubove je usivena zica - ona koja se inace koristi za izradu nakita.

*** As it can be seen from the picture, there is jewelery wire sewn into the edges to retain shape.

Svinjica / Piggy

2009-12-11T15:50:00.008+01:00

Izradi ovog stvorenjca prethodila je zarka zelja da se rijesim ostataka roze vune koji su mi se motali po kutiji. Tijelo od vune (nepoznat sastav), usi i noge od konca. Plasticne perlice za oci.
Pattern ovdje. Udomljeno.

*** I made this little creature hoping to use up the scraps of pink wool I had running around my box. Body made of wool, ears and legs out of cotton yarn. Plastic beads for eyes. Pattern here. Adopted.

Mobil / Mobile

2009-12-11T15:31:00.009+01:00

Ovo nije bas igracka, ali namijenjeno je za djecju sobu. Problematican za uslikat obzirom da je poprilicno dugacak. Patternje vlasnistvo Amy Gaines i moze se naci ovdje. Za S. i A. i njihovog bebaca.

*** This is not exactly a toy, but it is meant to go in the baby's room. A bit of a problem when it comes to taking pictures since it's rather long. The pattern is owned by Amy Gaines and can be found here. For S. and A. and their baby.

Sunce / the sun:

Oblak / the cloud:

Kapljice / the raindrops:

Zlatna ribica / Goldfish

2009-12-11T15:23:00.007+01:00

Koliko ja znam, ne ispunjava zelje (osim ako zelja nije nesto malo i narancasto :-) )
Jedna od prvih igracaka. Pattern je vlasnistvo Amy Gaines i moze se naci ovdje. Udomljeno

***As far as I know, this goldfish does not grand wishes (unless you wish for something small and orange :-) ). One of the first toys I made. The pattern is owned by Amy Gaines and can be found here. Adopted.

Pingvini / Penguins

2009-12-11T15:13:00.008+01:00

Moram priznati da su mi pingvini jedni od najdrazih zivotinja, a posebno su simpaticni i jednostavni za napravit.
Prva verzija nije bila najuspjesnija....trebalo je doraditi kljun i nije htio stajati sam (tu su cackalice pomogle). Plasticne perlice za oci. Udomljeno kod R.

*** I have to admit that penguins are some of my favourite animals, and they are also really easy to make. My first version was not particularly successful...the beak needed more work, and the penguin would not stand on its own (so I had to use toothpicks). Plastic beads for eyes. Adopted with R.

Druga verzija mi se puno vise svidja. Tu sam isprobala dodavanje perlica tijekom heklanja (prethodni pokusaji su bili nasiveni na gotovu glavu). Napravljeno za V.

***I like the second version much better. I tried to crochet the beads in (previously I would just sew them on later). Made for V.

Bundeve / Pumpkins

2009-12-11T14:27:00.007+01:00

Ili kako je sve pocelo :-)

*** Or how it all began :-)

One u pozadini su moji prvi pokusaji....i lice vise na mandarine ili narance nego na bundeve...ali svejedno su mi drage...a i dobro sluze za cuvanje pribadaca :-)

*** The pumkins in the background are my first attempts...and they look more like tangerines or oranges than pumpkins...but I like them all the same...and they serve well as pincushions :-)

Bundeva s licem (halloween style) je po patternu June Gilbank, i moze se naci ovdje.

*** The pumkin with the face (halloween style) is made by June GIlbank's pattern and can be found here.

Pocetak, razlozi itd. / Beginnings, reasons etc.

2009-12-11T13:39:00.007+01:00

Heklam (hrv. kukicam :-D) od malena. No tada je to bilo ograniceno na tabletice i slicne sitnice. Tamo negdje u srednjoj skoli mi je sinulo da bi si mogla napraviti torbu i tada je zapravo krenulo masovno heklanje; torba za van, torbica za mobitel i tako to.
U listopadu '09 sam, pokusavajuci napraviti heklanu bundevu za noc vjestica iliti Halloween naisla na neke youtube klipove o heklanju ukrug tzv. amigurumi stil (za one koji nisu upoznati s terminom, prema Wikipediji to je japanski stil izrade zivotinja i slicnih stvorenja). Odjednom se izbor prosirio na svu silu zivotinja i ostalih stvorenja koja bi mogla napraviti :-D. Planovi i popisi su dugacki, ovo je samo pocetak.
Za razliku od standardnog japanskog amigurumija, gdje je glava prenaglaseno velika, ja se trudim da moje igracke budu "realisticnije" (koliko je to moguce kod izrade igracaka).
Vecina je igracaka napravljena na zahtjev ili za odredenu osobu, a druge su za emergency gift packages :-D

***
I learned how to crochet when I was a little girl, but I only used it to crochet coasters and similar things. Then when I reached high school an idea came to me: I could make a bag! And that started a crocheting spree: a bag for just the basics, a bag to have when going out, a cell cosy and so on.
In October of 2009 I was trying to crochet pumpkins for Halloween and I stumbled upon YouTube clips about crocheting in the round - amigurumi style (for those that do not know the term, according to Wikipedia it is "the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures"). Suddenly I had a sea of choices in front of me. This is just the beginning, and the list is getting longer by the minute :-)
In case you are comparing my work to traditional japanese amigurumi, where the had is much larger than the rest of the doll, I try to make my dolls more "realistic" (as much as realism is possible while making toys).
Most toys were made on demand, or with a specific person in mind, while others will serve for emergency gift package fillers :-D