The Anti-Social Butterfly

The Slate Kindle cover. While I don't usually take on custom projects, this seemed too much fun to pass up. It took me a day to complete it. The pics are by @amritha_a who also was the requestor of the cover. The pattern is out! Check the blog! #crochet #project #custommade #crafts A photo posted by Rohini Joseph (@rohinijoseph) on Jul 31, 2015 at 11:15pm PDT While I don't accept a lot of commissions (thanks to a bad experience with an uncouth woman), I do get asked to make something or the other pretty often. If the project won't take too long and is interesting too, I usually agree.  Recently, when I was out in  South Mumbai  with a couple of colleagues I was asked to make a cover for a  Kindle , I agreed. The requester didn't want a fancy design, just something basic and utilitarian. Here is what was created. 

Nemo's Happy Pillow (right side up) Did someone say evil? A definite mood-lifter on those drab monsoon day is with a little day-dreaming. On those days, I think of myself as a super villain, with an evil kitten resting on my lap.  I almost got to further that fantasy with 1 of my crochet projects - a cat pillow. It was actually made in 2012, but was only used in 2013 that too not by the intended recipient. Don't I look pretty? It all started with a CAL/KAL proposed by my Ravelry Group . One of the things that could be made were pillows. I didn't require any for my home, so was wondering what use to put it to, when suddenly I remembered Nemo, my cat!  Still excited by the arrival of my kitten, I thought of making one for him. Cos, obviously every super-villain needs a pampered, evil kitty! :) The pattern chosen was the Pinwheel Pillow by Morgan Forrester . First 2 colours It took me a little over a month to complete the project. It ...

Striped Koala anyone? When I first started crocheting, I didn't do the regular small, easy projects. Instead, it was a headlong jump into amigurumis ! The amigurumi pattern was a Koala pattern that I happened to come across when I was first researching crochet and the things you could do with it. The pattern was featured on Woman's Day .  Something about that gorgeous grey, cuddly bear got me excited to start the project. There were so many things that were wrong about my first project - bad yarn, tough hook for a beginner, rudimentary stitching skills and so much more. However, it got me 'hooked'! Brown boy Koala hanging with his animal pals I made 2 versions of the Koala. By looking at the pictures, you can definitely figure out which was which. (Hint: The misshapen one with a crochet ring was the first). My first attempt at the Koala Amigurumi Here are my learnings from the experience 1. Amigurumis are fun! Find your perfect project on the w...

Name Pink flowers Doily Pattern Cosmos Doily  by American Thread Company Craft Crochet Made for me

Yellow Lemon Tree Pouch Craft Crochet Made for Friends Size 4" Tags Needle and yarn Hook Notes I used lemon yellow and black held together. It has a triangular base though. I couldn’t think of a suitable flap, so I made it a drawstring pouch. no lining Created in the round.

The CanCan pouch This year I've vowed to make as many gifts as I can. Not only is it more personal, it is also a gift of time and energy (at least that's what I think).  Last weekend when I'd gone shopping with her for my grandmom, I showed her my version of the Swag Bag that I'd made for my grandmom’s birthday. She loved it and tried very hard to get me to give to her, but finally she relented after I promised to make her one too. She loves the colour red and the red & black combination is her favorite for clothing items/accessories. Her choice of colours? Red and Black! No surprise there!

Complete!  This year is my grandmom's 70th birthday and I decided to make her a present rather than buying her something as firstly she is very finicky and usually wants to exchange presents and secondly I was out of ideas for new presents.  I chose the  Swag bag by Marcelle's Creative Crochet  as my bag, as it looked small and I thought I could modify it to suit my grandmom's tastes. The bag has been purposely kept free of other embellishments as my grandmother is very particular about colours and may not appreciate too many doodads on it.

The pouch when the drawstrings are tied. During the previous year's Christmas enthusiasm, I was planning on making small pouches to give away some of our gifts, but the inexperienced crocheter I was, I underestimated the time it would take to finish the pouches. To start with, I chose the wrong crochet thread for my pouch - it takes a lot of time to crochet a decent-sized pouch with cotton crochet thread! I also got caught up with stuff and couldn't even begin it in time! So, instead, I decided to make it for myself. No hurry at all, though when it was almost over I couldn't help trying to finish faster. The gestation period was just so long! In the end, it has come out rather nice, and has interesting texture. I am including a basic pattern that can be modified as you go along.

Purple = mine! As mentioned earlier, I used to love playing with beads. I was looking for a way to marry my love for beads with my new-found love for crochet, when I came across this Easy Beaded Crochet Technique by Amy Solovay . I used that technique and created a few necklaces of my own. Materials used: Beads Nylon thread for the base Crochet thread for the accent Appropriate crochet hooks Clasps/hooks

The finished scarf The final in my series of animal inspired scarves is this beautiful Weiner Puppy Neck Warmer by Randomheartx at Craftster . After seeing this scarf, I was actually inspired to start making scarves for my nieces. (I am including my modified pattern in the post.) I love puppies and thought this was just cute! However, I can rarely do something without adding my own twist to it. And that’s just what I did. Though, my final scarf looked a little like a mouse. The intended niece even asked me if it was a rat. I managed to convince her that it was a puppy because of the collar! I’ve largely followed Randomheartx’s pattern, but just added a few more rows and changed stitches a little bit for texture.

Ready for the wearer! After making those scarves for my nieces, my husband requested that I make him one too. Considering all the running around he did with me while we bought materials and approved/rejected designs for the earlier scarves, I decided he ought to be rewarded. The fact that we were currently going through a cold wave also helped things in his favour. He ideally wanted a simple single crochet scarf (yes, he sort of knows the difference!), but I wanted to experiment. After a lot of searching I settled on the Paul's "Sweet Guy" Scarf at Wolfcrochet !

I am finally putting down the pattern for the kitten scarf. It is very similar to the piggy scarf I’d posted earlier. I’m still waiting to get better pictures of the scarves as I have already gifted them. Before ends were tucked in Feel free to point out any mistakes that you find. The pattern is listed below: Craft:  Crochet Level:  Beginner/Easy Materials: 1 skein of yellow 8-ply wool (Main colour; MC) 1 skein of orange 8-ply wool (Contrasting colour; CC) button/safety eyes for the eyes A little bit of black wool/thread for the whiskers/mouth 5 mm crochet hook Fabric glue tapestry needle Note: You can use any weight of wool/yarn as you like. Local shops here do not really know the different types and stock them mostly as 4-ply/8-ply etc.

As I'd mentioned earlier, I decided to do the piggy scarf after being unsatisfied with the final material of my earlier scarf. The piggy was so adorable that I just had to make it! When I was done I was almost tempted to keep him for myself. My completed scarf This is my first pattern. So, if something doesn't work out, please ask. Feel free to point out any mistakes that you find. The pattern is listed below: Craft: Crochet Level: Beginner/Easy Materials: 1 skein of light pink 8-ply wool A little bit of darker pink button/safety eyes for the eyes 5 mm crochet hook tapestry needle Note: You can use any weight of wool/yarn as you like. Local shops here do not really know the different types and stock them mostly as 4-ply/8-ply etc.

My version of the puppy scarf I recently met my nieces for the first time this month. They're 9 and 2 and amazingly share the same birthday! My husband and I had never met the younger one, while the elder one was a preschooler when her parents moved to the US. As a fledgling crocheter, I was looking for projects to hone my skills, while also coming up with personalised gifts for them. We decided to make scarves for the kids as they are easy and can be used even later. My pictures aren't very good as our cameras are horrible! Note to self: Buy a proper camera. For the elder one I came across this lovely  Wiener puppy scarf by randomheartsx on crafster ( Click here for her pattern). I modified the pattern a little bit as I wanted to try out different stitches and give it a little more texture.