Earlier this year I decided to have a go at making a pattern for a frog.  I'd started noticing frogs popping up all around, then a friend actually suggested I make one. I remembered making one several years before without writing any notes.  I was in the midst of many other projects so I put off starting this pattern. As always though, I was thinking about how I would go about the design, what's in a frog after all?  (5 minute read) froggie frogs When I'd finally made headspace to look at this project, I was then overwhelmed by options .  I started with sketching them out because I wanted to pinpoint what makes the toy look like a frog, I looked up actually frogs, plushie frogs, toy frogs, and more. Over breakfast on a couple mornings I sketched and doodled and floundered on options some more. I was really enchanted by blobby boy to the top right of with the creepy clear eyes, but I couldn't quite wrap my head around how  I would achieve that, let alone write th...

At long last, I can announce the start of my first crochet along! Launching 16 May 2021, we will be making a Hobbes inspired tiger crochet plushie.  Dining out in style The pattern is brand new and will be releasing in line with the craft along free on Ravelry and YouTube!  I have worked incredibly hard on this project for coming up to two years, more details on that on Sunday. The pattern will be available as both written and video tutorial, for your preference.  The pattern has been split into ten parts with a PDF and video per section (plus intro), the schedule: Introduction / Trailer - 16 May 2021 8pm AEST Part One - 23 May 2021 8pm AEST New release every 2 weeks Part Ten / Final release - 26 September 2021 8pm AEST Be sure to subscribe to my channel on YouTube to be notified on releases: https://www.youtube.com/c/shinycrochet The full list will be available on this playlist as they are released:  YouTube Playlist. The PDF will be on  my Ravelry – I will tr...

 I always intend to make some cute things for Easter, then suddenly it's the week after and I realise it's far too late. Not this year! I set myself a goal and managed to sketch, draft, record and edit a PDF and video pattern in four days.  Here's some behind the scenes of this make, with the pattern linked at the end to Ravelry and YouTube.  The finished bunnies will also be available on Etsy as a one off, if you're so inclined.  I started with sketching different bunny designs, deciding "what makes a bunny?" for what to include.  It can be tricky to know where to start, but I knew I wanted it to be a small and quick make. Both to meet my goal date and because I wanted this to be in my beginner patterns section.  I have been working on larger and more complex projects lately that can be daunting. This one was to use simple stitches that aren't too fiddly or time consuming to make.  Once I had that down, I raided my stash of yarn to start playing with ...

 Many years ago I made a triceratops pattern, it started off all kinds of goofy before developing into what I had imagined.  I really wanted it to have the pointed beak and stand on four legs, as so many other patterns are more of a teddy style.  I had a lot of fun trying it in different yarns, my favourite will always be the Dancing Baby DK from Ice Yarns in rainbow, but it's unfortunately no longer available. It took a few tries to get it right, but being stubborn pays off sometimes. With such pretty colours what's not to love?  I have had the written pattern up on Etsy and Ravelry for a few years now, but have been asked many times for a video tutorial. I understand how daunting plushie patterns are to start, my heart was warmed by my testers, many of whom had never crocheted a plushie before and still jumped in! The time has come though, and the full tutorial is available free on YouTube now, with full instructions on screen to help teach reading a pattern along ...

When I first started my YouTube channel, I thought I would just focus on patterns. There’s already so many videos on how to do the stitches or starting projects. But over time I came around to the idea, because despite all those other videos existing they aren’t the way I would explain them. Thus the Beginner Series was born. It has started with four videos covering the areas I remember getting stuck on most when I was learning crochet  It was also great practice for me with editing because they’re much shorter than my other videos. I have a massive project coming up which will need to be broken into a series and being able to reference these videos to help adventurous beginners will make it much less stressful for everyone involved. I have plans for more videos into this series, do you have any suggestions or ideas? The first video is for starting in the round, using either a chain start or magic circle. My very first crochet make was a beanie and the chain method was the f...

This seems to be the year of adding crochet to my clothes and I am very okay with this. I have a tonne of shirts that aren't fitting right after putting on weight. Many of them are not replaceable so I've been mulling ideas on resizing them. I had a spark of inspiration on Friday and decided to run with it. Spoiler of the finished product, but look how great it turned out! (7 minute read) Enhance Band Shirt Let's go on the journey together! Really actually a journey, you'll notice some of the photos have varied backgrounds. I was making this while on the way to a friend's place and while visiting. So we have some train seat & Ikea rug backgrounds. Materials:  Band shirt (or any t-shirt you have) sewing pins scissors Sewing machine (or hand sew the seams) recommend rotary cutter with skip blade, else a hobby knife and ruler will work in a pinch cutting mat 4 mm hook  4 - 8ply yarn, preferably cotton or no-pill of your choice yarn needle yarn sc...

What a start to the new year, with everything in the news already the last thing I expected was to fall sick for three weeks in the middle of Summer. Don't go shopping when sick. The retail workers don't want or deserve your sickness, and neither do their loved ones.   Three weeks, two doctor visits, one round of antibiotics, I'm finally back at work. Routine is a strange thing to relearn after so long just sleeping, eating and resting. I used games to distract myself, keep out of my head and help pass the time. (4 minute read) I generally don't give myself a chance to play games, despite really enjoying them. Since I was experiencing dizziness and was uncomfortable when sitting up, I had to come up with things to do that wasn't crochet.  I've been coming back to visual novels more and more in recent years. Last year I shared my love for a game called Arcade Spirits. It's an indie game set in the near future where the main character starts working at an game...