Keeping on with the crafting, no matter what!

It's been a very strange week for me this week.

The ME has been really playing up, and I've been sleeping some very strange hours - to the point that I have to look at the date and time on my laptop to know what day it is, and when.

This sleeping thing always seems to come in waves, as though the Fibro and ME have an agreement to take it in turns so that, one minute I'm sleeping all the time, and the next I'm lucky to get a few hours. A real pain, whichever one it is, although I do get more crochet work done when it's the Fibro! :)

I have managed to make a couple of things though, despite the oversleeping. I managed to make a second outfit for my friend's doll, Muriel. I had already made a red riding hood outfit for her, and so I decided to make her a more summery outfit, and in the peach shades that my friend prefers.

I've mentioned before that this doll is an awkward size. At 21" she's too big for all of the crochet patterns I've been able to find, and so I decided that I'd do what my mum always does when she's given a doll to dress - and I'd make it up as I went along!

Now I've done it, I can understand my mum's enjoyment of creating an outfit in this way :)

Anyway, here's the outfit I crocheted freehand:

Muriels Peachy Summer Outfit

Muriel's Shorts

I made a vest top, a skirt, a pair of shorts, and a headband to match :)

Muriel's Right-hand side

Muriel's Left-hand side

A close-up of Muriel's necklace and bracelet

I was really pleased with the way the outfit turned out and, when my friend received the parcel with doll and outfits in it, she was over the moon with what I'd made (I hadn't told her what it would be).

After I'd sent Muriel on her way back home, I wasn't quite sure what to do next, until I went onto Facebook, and looked in on my fellow Discworld devotees, where I saw a knitted version of Terry Pratchett's Death of Rats.

As soon as I saw it, I wanted to make one myself - not for me, but for my daughter, who is just an avid a fan of the Discworld as I am :)

The trouble is, I couldn't find a decent crochet pattern anywhere for it, and so I decided to be brave, and make it up as I went along, just as I'd done for Muriel's outfit :)

After some trial and error, this is what I came up with:

Death of Rats - the Grim Squeaker!
I used white pipe cleaners to make the hands, feet and tail.

I used a black pipe cleaner, & kitchen foil to make his scythe :)

I used blue buttons to give an impression of the wink that Death and the Rat used.

DOR's cloak. I used a black pipe cleaner to edge it, to make the shape.

As I hate to be without a project, I also completed this month's Crochet Crowd challenge. This month it was a circular motif throw and, for a change, I actually managed to complete it in a few days. The pattern itself was a little complicated, especially for someone like me, who had never tackled joining motifs together as I went but, once I'd got the hang of it, it was made up quite quickly.



There were 27 large motifs, 16 middle motifs, and 16 edging motifs, and I crocheted them in different colours - Hunter Green for the large, Windsor blue for the middle, and Real Teal for the edging motifs. I think they all went very well together :)

I gave this as a present to a very good friend of mine, as she's just getting her crafting studio together, and needed something with a bit of colour to put on a plain white chair she had in there - it can also double up as shawl, in case she feels the cold while she's working :)


So, as I've finished all if this, I decided to get on with some items I'd promised my daughter I'd make for her . . . . . . . and I'll show you them once I've finished :)