Making: Apple Tawashi

I stumbled upon a wonderful knit and crochet blog - it's now on my links list on the right of this page - Salihan Crafts.  On it there are some adorable amigurumi toys that I would love to try my hand at sometime in the future.

For the moment, since I am without immediate access to toy stuffing and the like, I decided to make the apple tawashi (dishcloth) instead.  It is a free pattern and you can find it here.  It really was an easy pattern, but clever and cute!  I'm not usually a crocheter, but I just looked up stitches and instructions at Lion Brand Yarn (great tutorial videos) and off I went.

The leaf I "designed" myself - that is to say, fooled around with the crochet hook until I was satisfied.  It went something like this:

ch12
sc2 dc3 tc2 dc3 sc2 on one side of the chain (the chain is the middle vein running through the leaf)
turn work
sc2 dc3 tc2 dc3 sc2 on the other side of the chain, so you have a symmetrical shape.  Ta-da!

Sew with tails onto both stem and apple body to make secure.

In the end, the tawashi was too big for a tawashi - I used an H hook and cotton yarn that was a bit thick.  I think it will exist instead as a pot holder for my sister.  Now to put it in the post to California...

新年快樂! Happy Valentine's!

I wish I could celebrate the new year with my family, but I'll have to make do with eating at a Chinese restaurant here in Heidelberg!

It's the year of the tiger, my sister's zodiac animal.
This is from a frieze at Long Shan Temple in Taipei. He looks crafty, eh?

And here's some crafty lovin'. Crocheted hearts, tutorial to be found here.