Abracadabra! The pear is now a frog!

Posted on Feb 26th, 2010 in Around the Web, Crochet | 2 comments

Cristi waved her magical crochet hook on my Pear Tawashi crochet pattern and turned it into a frog! I think it’s just brilliant and doesn’t the frog look adorable? I just want to give the cute fella a squeeze and a hug!

Cristi shared her interesting and informative journey of the pear transformation with me. Here is what she has to say:

Hi Cristi! So how long have you been crocheting?
I have been crocheting steadily for about 2 years now. I started when my Gramma died. She sent me her knitting needles and a bunch of yarn. She had tried to teach me to knit, but i was only 12 and lived in another state, and to be honest, I was not really very interested. When she died, I started crocheting because I thought it was easier and it made me feel connected to her. I still want to learn to knit, but I am having a lot of fun with crochet right now. I know she just wanted me to learn the joy of making things, which I have and it’s addictive!

Why were you looking to crochet a frog? Who is the frog for?
Ok, so this is a bit convoluted. I was without a job and wanted to make Christmas presents for my family. I thought of making those microwavable heating pads for my boy relatives, but I know my brother and knew he would be much more likely to use/enjoy something unique and not plain looking, but not cutsie. So I thought of crocheting a lizard or something as a cover for a heating pad. I found a couple of patterns I liked, but nothing clicked as “right”.

So as I was browsing through my Evernote logs for inspiration I found the pattern I had saved from your website and decided to make a frog. I found a pattern I liked for the legs and started making them. Along the way, I realized this was too much work for heating pads (after I had made four or five). I just ended up making soft cotton covers for the heating pads which went over very well, except for my boyfriend’s father. He opened the present when I wasn’t looking and thought they were sand bags to use for support for his camera… LOL … He was a little embarrassed when I told him that they were just heating pads, but tried to make up for it by using one right away. I told him that I totally didn’t mind if he used it as a sand bag, as long as he liked it. He perked up after that!

Right before Christmas, I finally found a job as a nanny and wanted to make something sweet for the children. So I made the frog as a softie for the little boy and made a FreeSpirit Doll for the little girl. Both were extremely well received.

Did you look for a frog pattern by googling or searching Ravelry?
I have some links I have saved as bookmarks that link to pages that store patterns, I also Googled, and searched Craftster. Though I am a member of Ravelry, I usually forget to check them out. I also use Evernote a lot to save interesting and inspiring things I find online so that I can find them again. There is so much neat stuff on the internet!

So what made you use the Pear Tawashi pattern for the body? Have you seen this pattern before the frog one?
I don’t know what made me think of using your pattern like that. I think it was one of those strange brain alchemy things where you mix alot of things together and something new comes out. It happens to me a lot.

Did you find my pattern easy to read and understand?
I did! it was very easy to understand, to make and modify. It was indeed well written and comprehensive.

PROJECT DETAILS OF TAWASHI FROG
Patterns:
Pear Tawashi pattern from Salihan Crafts and Frog Toy pattern from Caron.com
Yarn:
Green worsted I had from a vintage yarn score from Craigslist… epic story in and of itself!
Hook:
I believe I used G, im pretty sure, but I didn’t write it down (bad bad me) and H as the pattern calls for on the legs
Modifications:
I made the pattern with worsted yarn, but otherwise followed the patterns straight up. I made the “front” side first then when I finished making the “back” side, I single crochet all around the outside through BOTH edges. I turned them inside out as I found this made the frog thicker/taller. I put the eyes in then stuffed the frog through the “tail” and finished with single crochet to where I had started to single crochet around. I attached the legs amigurumi style to the sides of the body and to the corners where the body and the tail bent.

All photos in this post are copyright of Cristi Nelson

Thank you Cristi for emailing me and sharing your project with us. I had fun reading all about it.

If you have made one of my patterns and would love to show it off here, please email me at contact@salihan.com. I would love to feature you, yes, YOU!

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Johnny Apple & Little Mac Available Now

Posted on Nov 30th, 2009 in Crochet | 2 comments

Johnny Apple and Little Mac crochet pattern and softies are now available for purchase! Thanks everyone for all your feedback on yarn choice and apple names.

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Apple Names

Posted on Nov 25th, 2009 in Crochet | 4 comments

The Apples and I had a meeting yesterday to discuss names. Missy was curious so we let her stay and listen in.

These are the names you’ve suggested and we deliberated for a looonnnggg time… There were so many good ones:
Adam
Johnny Apple & Little Mac
Newton & Isaac
Cuddly & Little Cutie
Dapper Apple
Crunchin’ & Crispin’
Pucker Up & Bobbin
Ringo & Rin-chan
Mac & Pippin
Josep & Jordi
Wapple & Dapple
Mr Seed
Batty
Mac & Jonathan
Oliver or Big Sam & Baby Appleseed
Apple Dabble & Apple Boo
Applet
Brainiap
Cider
Dr Apple

Alas, there can only be two. The names we’ve chosen are…

Johnny Apple and Little Mac!

Thanks Kristen for your name suggestions and just for that, I will give you the Apples crochet pattern when it’s ready.

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Panda Zoomy Discontinued?

Posted on Nov 23rd, 2009 in Crochet | 7 comments

There is talk that Panda Zoomy yarn might be discontinued. I buy this yarn from Kmart regularly but over the last few weeks, they were being sold at clearance prices and the shelves are being re-stocked with other yarn. A fellow blog reader and Zoomy lover emailed me when she heard from her Kmart that the yarn is being discontinued. I have just emailed the manufacturer and I’m waiting for their reply.

A tad of a problem for me as some of my crochet designs {Ravelry} recommend using Panda Zoomy. But I have worked out a yarn substitution which I am satisfied with. I used double strand of DK weight / 8ply yarn to crochet another Nameless Apple and I think both Apples are comparable (and adorable).

Observations:

The apples don’t feel the same as Panda Zoomy is softer than the regular acrylic yarn I used.
The Zoomy apple is slightly smaller overall.
Acrylic yarn holds the shape better than Zoomy yarn. Compare the crochet leaves.
Panda Zoomy has a lovely colour variation in the yarn. Using two shades of acrylic yarn might give a similar effect. However, I wasn’t able to find 2 shades of red or green at my local Kmart to test this.

I’m really hoping for some feedback on this. If you have any thoughts or suggestions about the yarn substitution, please leave a comment. I want to take all comments on board before I write up the crochet apple pattern.

I’ll also announce the Apple names I’ve picked on Wednesday. Thank you again for all the creative names you’ve suggested! You guys rock!

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