Gotta Catch 'Em All - Oshawott

My brother Andy has been a fan of Pokemon since it's earliest versions for the Game Boy came out in the 90's. Later, when the cards and cartoons were trendy, I got into it as well. Furthermore, as soon as his son was born, Andy introduced his wife and little boy to the cartoons. So, we're a family of Pokemon Trainers! For his first birthday, I made my nephew this Oshawott plushie.

Shown here with a toy for reference.

I worked from Linda Potts' Oshawott pattern published on her blog WolfDreamer Off the Hook. I used I Love This Yarn! from Hobby Lobby in Turquoise for the body, White for the head and arms, Navy for the ears, feet, and tail, and Black for the eyes. The shell and nose were made from scraps.

This project was SO MUCH FUN! I really want to make some more plushies and Pokemon in particular. I especially want to make a Pikachu for my nephew. I also want to make a soft doll with changeable outfits for my friend's daughter, and a Batman for my spouse, and a... I just need more time to crochet.

Turquoise Woman Power

I made this set for a friend who's always liked delicate jewelry. The pendant, which is about 1.5 inches long, and the roundel beads are both made of turquoise.

As usual, I used sterling silver wire and findings to assemble the jewelry. Unlike the other piece I made in the same time frame, with this one, the non-working end of the wire goes all the way through to the wire wrap on this one.

Curly Scarf Part Two

My friend Sonya is one of the biggest fans of my crafts. When I showed her my first crocheted scarf, she said, "Cool! When are you going to make me one?" So, I made this one for her. (That's basically how she's ended up with several things I've made in the past as well.)

Like the one I made for myself, the pattern is the pattern is the Ruffled Skinny Scarf by Kim Biddix from the book I Taught Myself Crochet. I used Red Heart Shimmer in Hot Pink for the yarn. You can't see the shimmer very well in the picture above, but it's just the right amount to add a little sparkle without being too flashy.

You can see just a touch of it here.

Smoky Quartz Pendant

I made this as a Christmas gift as a friend. It was quite a while ago, and I think that the wire wrap did not hold up well. I'd like to find a way to achieve a similar look in a sturdier way.

The both stones are faceted smoky quartz, and I used 24 gauge sterling silver wire to create the wire wrap. I made the wire wrap with the stone in the middle by starting out as a normal wire wrap then inserting the smaller bead on top of the "stem." The non-working end wouldn't go all the way back up through the smaller bead, but it seemed securely held so I wrapped the top tightly hoping the pressure would keep it that way. Apparently it popped back out later :( . I guess I should have just made the smaller bead a separate link with it's own wrap.

Hat for Nephew It Is

Since I started crocheting, I've actually had to restrain myself from making a zillion nerd and/or cute animal themed baby hats for my nephew who just turned one. I did have to make one though. I mean really, I only have so much self-control.

I made this hat using Caron Simply Soft in Pistachio and a size H (5.0 mm) hook. The pattern is the Yoda Baby Hat from the Happy Hooker blog. I did make one small alteration to the pattern in that I did a whip stitch around the outside edges of the ears, then pulled it tight to give them a little curl.

Overall, I'm really pleased with my very first crocheted hat, though I haven't quite mastered the trick of fastening off things worked in the round and leaving a perfectly smooth edge.

Walnut Jasper Earrings

Today's post is just a quick pair of earrings. I made these by request to coordinate with a necklace I'd made some time before these. You can see the necklace on my old jewelry blog.

The larger beads in these are walnut jasper, and the accent beads are shell. Everything's put together with sterling silver.

Mentor Mittens

I made these fingerless gloves as a thank you for a friend who's been teaching me the ropes, or the yarns at least, since I started crocheting. He took me to the local yarn store and gave me a little walking tour introduction to different fibers and weights and has been extremely encouraging about my new craft.

I wanted to make something with some texture to add visual interest, while still looking masculine, so I used this extremely easy ribbed pattern from Suzies Stuff. The yarns Caron Simply Soft solids in Chocolate. I was a little intimidated by adding the thumb, but it turned out not to be that hard. I plan on experimenting with this and a few other fingerless glove patterns for Christmas gifts next year.