Lions on lockdown

The weather this last couple of weeks has been nothing short of glorious up here in our little corner of East Lancashire.  I can’t quite believe it’s only April.  This has meant I’ve been finishing off my lions in the evening rather than during the afternoon, as it’s been too nice to not get out and do some gardening.

I am now pleased to say that I have finished the first toys from my work-in-progress bag.  Let me introduce to you Lenny the Lion.  He’s the second yellow lion I have made to the Steffi Hochfellner pattern and he’s a real cutey.

Unlike his best mate Rockstar!

This one has always wanted to be a rockstar and is loving the fact he can’t have a haircut during lockdown.  I think he really rocks the long mane look though and he’s not at all mean or moody.

With the weather being so lovely and not having done much exercise, we headed out to the garden for a mini adventure.  The lions quite enjoyed roving through the long grass (chives).

And then the scaled the magnolia tree for a better look at their kingdom.  They were joined by little blue lion, who isn’t quite finished yet.

After the magnolia tree, Lenny scaled the cherry, carefully avoiding knocking the blossom off.  He was desperate to get to the top and enjoy the sunny views with his friend.

Little blue was left at the bottom for a while as he struggles to climb without any back legs!  But the others helped him up for a tree top chat.

Lenny ended his adventure photoshoot with a relax by the waterhole (my wildlife pond).  I don’t think he spotted the frog or he might have gotten a bit wet!

It’s been lovely seeing the bright colours out in the garden and the lions just added a bit of fun to the day.  I shall get on with giving poor little blue some much needed back legs and an extra bit of mane as he’s still a little bald at the back (don’t tell him though).

Stay safe and Happy crafting

x

 

Works-in-Progress

I hope this finds you keeping safe and well inside during the lockdown.  We are all well here, so far.  I am doing ok at staying in, having the garden to potter about in certainly helps here.  I’m not sure my husband and daughter would say the same as they are far more used to being active and out-and-about than me.  However, the sun is shining again and when I look out of the window, it is hard to believ that there could be anything wrong at all.  The birds are singing and Spring is most definitely springing.

Well, I stopped procrastinating this weekend and finally sorted through my pile of works-in-progress.  I am completely ashamed of myself, letting the pile get so big.  But, I’m not too ashamed to say how many items are partly made – 20!  Most of them are from back issues of Let’s Knit and LGC Knitting and Crochet magazines.

I have started on the three lions as I think they will take the least time to finish.  So far I have a gold one and a pink one that look very odd without any mane!  These have been knitted using oddments from my enormous stash (most of which is currently sat in a large basket on the landing due to my craft space being used as an office).   It’s a design by Steffi Hochfellner and it is a lovely one to knit.

I have made one before which was very popular with some of the younger people I know.  As you can see, he is quite magnificent with his multi-colour mane and I will spare his embarrassment and not show the world what he looks like bald!

When I’ve finished the lion triplets I might take them for an adventure in the jungle (aka my garden).

Stay safe and happy crafting

x

 

 

 

Summer crochet

After all the baking, I’ve moved back into the realms of toy making.  This time I decided to get the crochet hooks out and found a rather cute little lion project in an old issue of Lets Get Crafting magazine.

My daughter is obsessed with all things feline at the moment, so this seemed like the ideal project for her.

It hasn’t taken me very long to make up, but the stuffing and sewing together of the limbs was a bit fiddly.  I love the mane though and I am going to try and incorporate this new stitch style into some of my other projects in the future.

I love this magazine for all the hints and tips when knitting but particularly for crochet.  I still consider myself a novice crocheter, so any help with new stitches is always welcome.  The patterns in this magazine have helped me learn and practice.

After finishing the lion, I decided to put together all the toys I’ve made using patterns from the LGC magazines.  This is my little selection that I’ve made for Alice over the last couple of years.

It’s nice to see them all together and to compare how I have improved with my amigurumi crochet animals too.  The little blue bird (chirp) was my first ever try at amigurumi and when he sits next to the lion, the difference is quite striking – well I think so.  So much so, that I have sent a copy of this picture to the magazine!.  Fingers crossed it might make it into the next issue.

Not long to go now until the end of the summer break, and I’m now working on a couple more projects to use up some of the yarn stash in the craft room!

Happy crafting
x