Crochet from a galaxy far, far away

June 18, 2020June 18, 2020 | heyheygav

Hey hey nerf herders! It’s been a while since I last updated this blog, but if you don’t have time to make a few blog posts in a pandemic lockdown, when will you?

So the last few months have been strange and unsettling for just about everyone. For me it has mean grabbing as much as I could muster and decamping to my other half’s. I’ve been able to do a little more crochet then normal – at least until we both came down with Covid-19. It was a bit more challenging after then!

With only a small selection of yarn and tools at my disposal, I took the opportunity to crack out one of my Christmas presents – the Lucy Collins’s Star Wars: Even More Crochet kit. The kit includes a small book of 12 patterns plus enough yarn, stuffing and safety eyes to create a Jawa and BB-8.

I kicked things off with the Jawa pattern, as who doesn’t love these pesky scavengers – especially after their starring role in The Mandalorian? Lucy’s pattern was easy to follow and these tiny critters don’t take long to crochet at all. The special safety eyes included in the kit are a nice touch, and I’m a happy droid with how this turned out.

Lucy’s BB8 pattern is a little more challenging with the colour changes but it’s also deeply satisfying to see a round droid come together from what are essentially little granny squares. This little fella took a touch longer than the Jawa to create but both were easily managed within the space of a few episodes of Tiger King!

There’s a host of additional patterns in the book accompanying the kit but with only a small selection of yarn with me to play with, Lando Calrissian was the only other pattern I could manage. Lando was hooked up using some scraps of Stylecraft Special DK and with no more safety eyes to hand, the rogue-made-good had to make do with some roughly stitched features.

You can pick up the Star Wars: Even More Crochet kit from Lucy Collins at Amazon

Playing catch-up – the rest of 2018

December 23, 2018June 18, 2020 | heyheygav

Hey hey festive funsters. Like so many bloggers, I started the year with the best of intentions to document my every creative endeavour – partly to spur myself to create but also as a reminder of just how much I have done. As is so often the way, the gap between intention and reality is a verdant and wide valley. So in the post I’ll be picking out a few of the other creations I’ve made this year that haven’t been posted up yet.

In addition to all the crochet I’ve done in 2019, my sewing machine hasn’t been lying idle. In the summer I sewed up a second Kwik Sew shirt, which I’m super happy with. For this one I slimmed down the sleeves, so the fit is that bit closer to my ideal. I might have it sorted for shirt three.

I also did a spot of refashioning for Eurovision this year, hacking two Primark shirts into my Austrian flag shirt. It’s been so successful it’s become a staple of my party wardrobe. I also added Swedish flag stripes to a T-shirt, which has shown me that sewing with jersey is a skill I have yet to master.

I switched geekdoms in November to create this cute little Enterprise for my new boyfriend. I tried so hard to get the details as accurate as possible then gooped up the registration. Doh! Rest assured, it’s been corrected now but not after the embarrassment of having my error pointed out to me.

I’ve been doing a good job of keeping up crocheting a shiny trophy for each Pokemon Go Community Day – I skipped Beldum though as I couldn’t find a decent pattern. This Eevee is possibly my favourite though. It’s such a good pattern and super cute.

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For the Chikorita Community Day, I couldn’t find the perfect yarn colours in the Scheepjes Twinkle yarn I generally turn to for my shiny makes. Instead, I found some sequin yarn instead that did the trick. Note to self though, pulling sequins through a magic ring is far from straightforward.

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I’ve had the kit for this Cookie the Cat pattern for a good few years, since it came with Crochet Made Simple magazine. I finally made it up as a present for a friend’s birthday. I’m not a big fan of toy eyes but they look cute here.

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My final dash of crafting before Christmas was helping a Ken doll achieve his festive transformation. This fantastic plastic chap has been living his best life on the top of a Christmas tree for many a year but with only a sequinned dress and a feather boa to bring the party. With a spot of needle felting and a liberal smothering of Pritt Stick, he now has a Patsy Stone wig, worthy of his fabulousness. Hey hey queen!

From a galaxy far, far away… it’s a Porg

December 29, 2017 | heyheygav

Hey hey young padawans. I resisted the urge to crochet any Christmas presents this year until the absolute last minute, when I finally surrendered to the power of the Force. The Porgs are a fluffy breed of birds that infest the planet of Ahch-To in The Last Jedi – the latest instalment in the Star Wars franchise. While completely redundant to the plot, they add a cuteness and levity that’s hard to resist.

I made this first Porg the day before Christmas as a gift for my brother and sister-in-law. It’s one of the quickest makes I’ve done, as it’s so tiny, which made it a perfect last-minute gift. I’ve since made another one for us too as they’re just too adorable.