The Sitter-Still

Eira the Arctic Hare (my new pattern) is now available on Etsy! I've been wanting to make her for such a long time, but I've only just figured out how to do it. The design is quite stylised, but the silhouette gives her the windswept look I was going for. She could also be a Snowshoe Hare, as they're quite similar.

I've become a little fascinated by hares, actually. They have a mad grace, and lots of different moods. There is a poem translated by Seamus Heaney giving all the traditional names of the hare, which is full of many apparent contraditions. For example they can be both 'frisky-legs' and the 'sitter-still'. Eira is certainly the latter, sitting huddled against the cold.

Ingenious Devices: Wire Brush

Fluffy yarns can be a real pain. You have to modify your pattern (working in the back stitch only), and even then, half the time you can't see what you're doing. If you do make a mistake and want to undo something (and you probably will), it gets all caught up and becomes a complete mess. There is an alternative though; just crochet your piece in regular yarn, and brush it afterwards with a wire brush. The result is a fluffy piece, with no fuss. The brush I use was designed for pets, but any wire bush with pointy-but-flexible teeth should do the trick.

You can brush the piece more or less to give different effects, and can trim the fluff back with scissors if it ends up being too much. I'm working on an arctic hare at the minute - here are the ears before (on the left)  and after brushing (on the right):

Some yarns fluff up in this way more than others, so I would recommend doing a small swatch first to try it out. The hare pattern should be available in a few days, by the way. Watch this space.

Angwyn the Snake

It seems that the wait for cabochons to arrive was worth it, because my snake pattern is now finished! He looks very cool, I'd like to think!

I'll admit, he's partly Harry Potter inspired. I got to looking at the Dark Mark and Slytherin logo, but there is also a tradition of crochet snakes in Turkey, where prisoners of war made beaded examples. A lot of them were actually bracelets or necklaces, so I designed my amigurumi one in the same way. You can put the tail into its mouth to turn it into a necklace, which also makes it an Ouroboros - a symbol of eternity and rebirth.

Touch it with a wish in your heart

While I'm waiting for some glass cabochons to arrive for my new amigurumi snake, here is another free pattern! This time it's a felt rupee! I use mine as a pin cushion, but I'm sure you can come up with some other ideas.