Moji-Moji Design

Original Amigurumi Crochet Patterns


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Keeping Warm

I’ve been really enjoying the turn of the seasons from summer to autumn. It’s always such a fun time with all the promise of warming festivals made to cheer up our transition from bright sunshine and lovely long days to the cosy drawing in of autumn evenings. Crispy leaves, bonfires, fireworks, candles, pumpkin soup, boots, jumpers and woolly mittens. With a bit of preparation it’s quite easy to enjoy the novelty of a cold snap and all the atmosphere it brings.

My bat garland has graced the fireplace for several weeks now and a whole heap of candles are on daily standby, ready to banish the gloom of a 5pm blackout.

autumn-display

They certainly cheer the place up and help to keep the chill out.

autumn-glowing

Oswald the Owl adds a touch of forest charm, nestled cosily in the corner and the Pumpkin Patch People came out to play too.

pumpkin-people

Real pumpkins were carved in honour of this year’s family obsession with Pokemon Go.

pumpkins

A Golbat and a Duskull.

We’ve walked an awful lot more than usual over the last few months in the pursuit of these virtual creatures. My son has even mastered the art of catching pokemon for two. Now his girlfriend doesn’t miss out while she’s at work. How sweet!

duo-pokemonning

As a result of all the pumpkin carving, along with the fact the local supermarket had grossly overstocked and were giving away pumpkins by the trolleyful to anyone who wanted them, several cauldrons full of hearty pumpkin soup have been made to help us glow on the inside too.

pumpkin-soup

Soup through a straw is a new revelation for me and means its even easier to eat and type/crochet/browse the internet at the same time with minimal spillage onto yarn or keyboards. Hallelujah!

soups

A Halloween ghost walk at Hanbury Hall got us in the mood for Tricks and Treats.

hanbury-hall

There were plenty of tricks involved here, and some treats too, but I won’t spoil any surprises for people who may go along next year.

hanbury-banquet

I’ll just tell you that they certainly put on a good show for us and we weren’t short of apparitions accompanied by blood curdling screams and things going BUMP! in the night.

hanbury-qc

Blankets were crocheted to keep out the drafts…

cosy-evenings

…while watching fireworks from the comfort of my home.

worcester-fireworks

But sometimes it’s good to get a worm’s eye view from right underneath so it was lovely to be invited to a Bonfire/Birthday Party at my sister-in-laws gorgeously quaint Cotswolds cottage where a huge fire crackled and popped all night long.

bonfire-2

Sparklers were lit…

sparkler

…food was scoffed, drink was drunk and the loudest fireworks I’ve ever heard were set soaring into the night sky.

firework-montage

With all that Autumn fun to enjoy it’s no surprise that it’s still high on my list of favorite seasons (along with winter, spring and summer – depends which season I’m in to be honest, but they’re all definitely up there in my top four!).

I’ve been wrapping up and getting out and about whenever I get the chance. It’s almost as if nature sets all those leave on fire to help make up for the nip the air.

orb

Though some of summer’s colour still remains here and there.

cosmia

Now I couldn’t get too close for the last photo as this poor squirrel was in a total panic as to where to run to with his prized rice cake.

squirrel

I’ve no idea where he got it from but he’s certainly not up for sharing. That ought to help him pack on a few calories for the winter (something I’m actively trying not to do myself!).

As well as enjoying all the autumn festivities I’ve also been making a huge effort to finish off a few WIPS. If you remember, there was the Autumn Berries Poncho, the hare’s trophy head, and the Spring Dots Blanket. And also a skull shawl (which I refrained from blogging about as it was a birthday present so didn’t want to spoil the surprise). I’ve also been working on a number of amigurumi projects for my ‘day job’ that I’m intending to share soon. So for all of you who have missed the usual cramming in of crochet into my blog posts, never fear – the next few posts should more than make up for this ones lack!


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An Autumn walk

We’re well on our way into September now and all the boys are back to their various educational establishments, including the eldest, whose left home again after a three month visit to continue his studies at Cardiff Uni. The house is quiet for the first time in a long time. Just me and the four cats today. It feels a bit weird but I think I’ll get used to it.

I’ve certainly got plenty of things to keep me busy over the next month or so. But I’m starting off slowly this week and so today I thought I’d take a leisurely walk around the river to keep my spirits up and remind myself of the pleasure in occasional solitude. But here’s a little company already! How sweet to see Pumpkin Patch Pete and Pumpkin Patch Polly out for a stroll together, holding hands and enjoying all their favorite Autumn coloursPumpkin-walkThe weather is beautiful and sunny… It’s certainly not raining on my parade!DSCN4887There was a thick spread of mist earlier on but it’s clearing up nicely now.

Shelley the Snail has been enjoying a few excursions while everything is still slightly damp and squelchy on the grassy verges…ShelleyRiver…and the River Severn is serene and swan filled in the early morning, before the canoe and narrow boat owners and the pleasure boat pleasure seekers are up and about. DSCN4890Oh dear, I think the swans think that I’ve brought some edible treats for them to nibble on, but I’m sadly empty handed apart from my camera and my house key – neither of which is of any use to a peckish swan! I’m sure there’s plenty of fish and river weeds in there to keep them going though. They all look pretty well fed to me.

So does Spencer the Spider for that matter. It appears that he’s moved out of my shed and has been busy renovating his new holiday home, situated in a highly desirable corner of the railings and boasting magnificent riverside views. Now there’s a piece of prime real estate if ever I saw it, but Spencer, you know you’re welcome to move back into my shed as soon as the winter weather gets too much for you… 820SpencerDiglis… and what a lovely web you’ve spun! It’s the perfect spot for catching a flying bug feast for your breakfast. Now I’m off over the bridge to the other side of the river and through the fields in search of a feast of my own.

It’s not long until I’ve tracked down a big bunch of blackberries. A few handfuls of those will go down a treat and give me a mini sugar rush to get me all the way back home again!DSCN4901Now my batteries are recharged after a well earned sit down on a well placed bench and a good munch supplied by the brambles. It’s time to move along, and, oh, hello! it’s the Pumpkin Patch People again. They get around faster than you would think with those tiny little legs of theirs!PumpkimsWe have a polite chat about the weather and our plans for Halloween. Then I can’t help noticing that the pickings are looking very luscious and abundant this year so I’ve made a note to myself to come back again very soon to gather some of these rose hips, and haws to make some Hedgerow Jelly with (perfect to add to the elderberries from my garden).

These sloes will be just the job for making a big batch of sloe gin, in plenty of time for Christmas, and the remaining blackberries, well, they never seem to make it home, they’re just too delicious as they are and usually get eaten on the way, but if I do find a big glut of them they’re most likely to find their way into an apple and blackberry pie.

With nature’s bounty being so generous this year I didn’t think it would be long until I bumped into Cyril the Squirrel, having a little forage around for his larder. That’s a mighty fine collection you’ve got there my lad!CyrilBenchThose shiny, fresh new conkers are a prize worth foraging for and some tasty pine nuts too. It’s Cyril’s lucky day! I’m tempted to stop and have a conker fight but I don’t have any spare shoe laces with me. Maybe next time! I’ve got another mile to go before I get back home so I wave goodbye and head off back across the river again.

So much for occasional solitude, but it’s been rather nice to bump into so many of my woolly friends instead 😉

I have to admit it’s been no great surprise to see them all down here enjoying themselves in their own particular ways, after all who would want to stay indoors on such a gorgeous day as this?


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The last of the pumpkins

As it’s now time to replace all things autumnal with all things wintry I thought it would be a good idea to get our last pumpkins from this years Halloween celebrations chopped up and put to good use.

Pumpkin-soup

After roasting the pumpkin in a tray with garlic, rosemary, thyme, a few carrots and an onion for a good half hour, the Pumpkin Patch People and I decided to make a delicious and warming soup. We just added some organic vegetable stock, ground black pepper, a great big dollop of creme fraiche, and a squeeze of lemon.

Then a quick whizz in the blender, a gentle re-heating on the stove, and it was ready to eat. Easy peasy!

Of course after all their help growing and harvesting on the allotment this autumn the Pumpkin Patch People had to have their fair share of the bounty too. Here they are, about to give thanks and tuck in to their steaming hot cups of soup. Oooh, there’s nothing like the taste of home grown veggies!

pumpkin_feast

Oh, and if you think that the Pumpkin Patch People look very relaxed with all this pumpkin chopping, roasting, and liquidizing going on, it’s because they know we are vegetarians just like they are, and would never eat a pumpkin if it also had a head, let alone such a cute smile!