Moji-Moji Design

Original Amigurumi Crochet Patterns


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Pushing On With The Daisies

Hip, Hip Hooray! All my Daisy Blanket squares are finally crocheted together, and the blanket is just in need of a finished border. The end is in sight and the whole project has provided me with a very welcome burst of colour therapy to get me through these wet, grey and generally pretty dreary late autumn days we’ve been experiencing around here lately. We have had some sunshine today though, so I took advantage of the light to take a few pictures.DaisyLinesIt’s difficult not to smile quietly inside when you are tucked up on the sofa, hooking a methodic row of little shells, lap all warm and toasty underneath the blanket, along with the the odd cat too. It’s a bit tricky turning the corners with a furry lump hunkered down in the middle of your yarny endeavor, but if you could hear how loudly Mojo was purring you wouldn’t want to move him either!DSCN5835Then it’s Pogo’s turn. Well, we can’t give the cats any cause for jealousy issues, so they’re all welcome for a cuddle and a snuggle. I just do what I can, when I can and the cats rule the roost, as usual.PogoThough I really love the yellow centres of the daisies I just couldn’t get used to the white/yellow/white stripe I originally made for the edge in this next photo. I decided that I wanted the border to be made of richer colours, so the work you see here has now been unpicked! There’s no point spending all that time on something just to have it niggle at you because it’s not exactly right.DSCN5845So I stripped it back to the first round of white edging and began again. I’ve got this far… and already I like the purple better.DSCN5963Some orange, pinks and greens should set it all off a treat. I hope so anyway, as unraveling hours of work is always a bit of a drag. Here’s the blanket basking in today’s bit of sun as it glances through the french windows in the kitchen.DSCN5953I’m always keen to get as much free warmth as possible at this time of year and it’s been lovely spending some time hooking at the kitchen table, soaking up the rays and watching the colours sing.KitchenCrochetGet it while you can, that’s what I say 🙂FlowersThe blanket is a bit puffy and doesn’t quite lie flat in places but that’s really the result of using a random collection of mis-matched yarns, even if they are all labelled as Double Knit. This is a ‘thrifty’ blanket though, and as such I have only used the yarns I’ve had to hand, so I think it’s wobbly, bobbly nature should be embraced in celebration of all that is cheap and cheerful!DSCN5977Mojo doesn’t seem to mind it’s lumpy qualities. He knows cosy when he sees it. Much better than the bare wood for sitting on and I suppose the more it’s squashed by a cat’s backside the flatter it’s likely to end up!MojoSittingIs that a mouse? Quick, pounce!MojoPounceDSCN5969Oh, no, it’s just a ball of wool with a crochet hook in it.DSCN5970Much better than playing with the real thing Mojo. Just try not to snag up the blanket while you’re at it!

So there we have it. Just a few more rounds to do, and a few more ends to darn in over the course of this weeks evenings. Then I can start on the next one. Oooh, how exciting. I might try my hand at some stripes next. I’d better be off then, I’ve got several hundred Pinterest images to scroll through in search of my next inspiration. It’s a tough life 😉


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Pressing Projects

I took myself off for a little stroll around the river to do a bit of leaf collecting last weekend, with a view to pressing some and keeping them for posterity. Well for a few weeks anyway. I thought a nice autumn leaf bunting/garland would be pretty hanging on my wall. So, with the help of my ancient flower press that I’ve had since the 1980’s…820flowerpress…and a  hard backed craft book for the larger specimens, some paper towels and a heap of pretty leaves, my youngest son and I got to work.820leavesAnd what a pleasant way to spend the afternoon.

We figured that patterns like these deserved to be preserved. (Yes, I’m a poet too!)

All the colours that spring to mind when thinking of the autumn are in those leaves. I also scattered some in front of the fire to dry naturally so they’d have a much more crinkly look, (rather like me these days!)820grateFast forward a little bit and here they are, all rustic and glorious in one of my favorite old chippy china bowls…820chippybowl…and I’m loving how they echo some of the colours in my almost-very-nearly-finished poncho. I may have started it last season but I think the colours are just right for this season.820ponchoI’ve only got to put the rest of the tassels on and darn in a few more ends. One last heave-ho push and it will be ready to wear just in time for the cold snap, especially useful when we’ve just been told to expect a month of storms ahead! My house is old and draughty so it will be nice to have a woolly buffer zone made by my own fair hands to swan around in this winter. So far as the usual British climate goes, we’ve had more than our fair share of sunshine and tropical temperatures this year. It couldn’t have been any hotter when I started making this poncho during a trip to Weymouth.DSCN4115The squares have actually turned out to be a crazy mix of the rich reds and browns of autumn thrown in with this gorgeous azure blue of the sea at Chesil Beach, which all seems very fitting – like I’ve crocheted the memory of that glorious day into a winter comfort. The bright reds in my poncho will remind me of the accidental sunburn too. Oops!DSCN4108Wow, it’s good to look back and remember all that fabulous weather, I’m very glad of this years copious sunshine and feel I can more cheerfully face the winter months with a little more vitamin D and a lot more happy sunny memories stored away!820ponI’ve been around the poncho once and put tassels in every chain space, but I think the fringe needs to be more dense. It will hang better too with the extra weight. I cut a few more 12″ lengths to finish the fringing, counting out the right amount of threads, so as not to waste any precious yarn. That’s stage one of the final push done and dusted.DSCN5781Stage 2 is to get distracted piddling around with the colours for no obvious reason, other than it’s fun! Look, I made a still life in the style of Van Gogh. This ones called ‘Sunset Over the Malvern Hills’ 820tassOr how about ‘Starry Night with Fish’?820fishReally, it’s no wonder it’s taking me so long to get it finished! And then, the inevitable Minnie Interlude. Aww bless.820allmineOn with the Daisy Blanket instead then. The end is in sight for this project too.DSCN5744Which begs the question, how long until another of my cats turns up and decides they just have to have a nap in this pile of woolly heaven? I’ll let you know… but I already suspect it won’t be too long. Perhaps we’ll all curl up in it this chilly autumn night and be glad of the warmth and the company!SlippersOr I might go work on my new Elephant pattern. This is Elijah and he’s looking kind of cute so far.820ellyIt appears he enjoys snuggling up in blankets too. In fact he’s refusing to come out until I crochet him a girlfriend. He says he’s too shy to go on Etsy on his own. He’s made me promise to start making Eleanor tomorrow at the latest. So that’s my plan, unless I get distracted again by random things, like housework, though I’ll try my very best not to let that happen 🙂


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Awesome Autumn

It seems we’re well on our way to a proper Autumn at last. Slow to get going this year because of all the unseasonably warm weather, a big storm a few days ago has blown the leaves down and those left on the trees are turning deeper shades of red and orange every day. Time to cosy up! And now I remember all the things I love about this time of year. And lots of them involve yarn or food! Here are a random selection of ten of them.
1) A cosy combination of, skinny jeans, sturdy boots and fake fur.
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Just right forexploring the autumn countryside on one of my favorite Malvern walks. It’s a long hard slog to get to the top but it’s always worth it for the views.

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Even if it’s about to pour down with rain!
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2) Re-discovering my collection of hand knitted socks. Yes I know I can buy a pair of socks for a fraction of the cost and save time too, but where’s the fun in that!
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I found some great free patterns over at Dyed Jems Yarn Company. I might try these sweet pumpkin coloured Waffle Socks next, or maybe the Rippled Lace or the Lattice pattern.


All my socks have been plain stocking stitch so far. It might be time to ramp things up a notch! Although Minnie seems to have taken a proprietorial stance with the sock yarn now. Perhaps I can persuade her to let go of it if I promise to knit some for her!
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4) Shiny new Horse Chestnuts fresh out of their armour. Whose up for a conker fight?
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5) Freshly collected Sweet Chestnuts, roasted and eaten while they’re hot with a glass of cold milk. Oh so yummy! (Don’t forget to split the skins first or they’ll explode!)
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The milk and the chestnuts do wonders for each other. If you’ve never tried them together before, I highly recommend it.
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6) Colourful fingerless gloves that keep my hands warm while I work. I want to knit another pair of these soon with some of my sock yarn stash… but not until I finish these chunky crocheted boot cuffs. I’ve got way too many part finished projects as it is!
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7) Making red wine with this year’s bumper crop of small, but beautifully formed grapes. It took longer than I expected to squeeze all the grapes by hand, but it was so satisfying and possibly even more fun than popping bubble wrap!


Now to rack it a few times until it’s crystal clear, bottle it up and wait a year. Five gallons ought to be enough to get us through next winter!
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And just look at those gorgeous leaves from the grapevine. It would be enough to grow it for those patterns alone, the grape crop is just an added bonus! Had to get a closeup. Just wow!
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8) Pumpkins, of course. I love having these scattered around the house adding a splash of autumn colour.
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9) Carving pumpkins and eating Pumpkins is all good too! Here’s my Halloween lantern…
820lanternDSCN5715…and the soup from the excavated pulp, complete with roasted, spiced pumpkin seeds for scattering on top.
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10) And my final autumn joy in this list, my nearly completed set of blanket squares, I’ve been making a couple, or sometimes more, every evening, spurred on by the recent drop in temperatures. It’s getting quite chilly around here at last, so I’m going to need it sooner rather than later.
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Hopefully I’ll be showing you the finished daisy blanket in the not too distant future!
So all in all, autumn’s pretty awesome really.
Wishing you all a good share of blessings too!