handmade – Something by Vera

Bunny Round Up!

With Easter coming up, I’ve been inspired to make bunnies! Although, I didn’t realize how many different ones I’ve already made. So let’s see what we have so far!

The latest addition is these Chubby Bunnies. The crochet pattern in from Lauren over at A Menagerie of Stitches. It’s a free pattern, so they’re great if you want to try your hand at amigurumi.

I’ve also made this huge, long-eared bunny! So squishy! This one was harder on the wrists, but so worth it. Just take some stretch breaks. The pattern was a paid pattern from Etsy. But due to recent events, the shop is unavailable. Not to worry, Etsy still has many other crochet patterns for bunnies!!

This one is probably my favorite! I just love the embroidery and its egg shape! These Spring Bunnies were made using a crochet pattern by Lilleliis.

Lastly, one of the first bunnies I’ve made! Also using a crochet pattern by Lilleliis, this one just made more adorable with the felt details.

For more information on all of the above bunnies, check out their shop page here! And if you’re interested in taking home your own, please contact me soon as each one is made to order. If you need to fill a basket sooner, check out my Shop Handmade Hawaii storefront for ready-to-ship cuties!

Bonus Bunny!

Another favorite of mine! (Oh, I just can’t pick one!) This is Clover the Bunny, made using a crochet pattern from the book “Snuggle and Play Crochet” by Carolina Guzman.

And that’s all…for now. I’m sure more bunny styles and patterns will cross my path in the future!

Don’t forget to follow me on socials to see what else I’ve been up to!

FO Friday: Sepp the Seahorse

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It was another beautiful day in Hawaii! So why not take Sepp (kind of close) to his natural environment.

(I just can’t get over how fast my model is growing!)

The little baby is so adorable! Maybe I should make more baby seahorse?

Sepp’s head was another part of a Lalylala I altered. This pattern is another that is crocheted bottom-up, in the round, all the way to the top of the head. I personally have a hard time getting the neck how I like if I crochet that way. But the way I altered the head last time made the hood not fit as well as I’d like. So what I did was make the head separately. I made a foundation chain to make a fake last row of the body, and continued to work the head upwards. And behold! It worked. This may be my go to alteration.

It was a windy day, so the quality of Sepp was tested. He had to be dusted oh so many times! As you can see in this last photo, the stitches are perfect for catching sand from the wind.

I’m still working my way through all the Lalylala patterns, so I’m sure there will be another doll coming soon!

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Eggshell and Light Blue
Hook: 4.0 mm Odyssey crochet hook from Furls
Other materials: polyester fiber filling
Location: Ala Moana Beach Park, Honolulu, HI
Order yours here

FO Friday: Oleg the Octopus

FO Friday

This week’s finished project is one that has been in progress since maybe September of last year! It is Oleg the Octopus! The pattern is from Lalylala and can be found here.

Crocheting the body can take some getting used to because you’d be working with the tentacles already attached. The other parts are pretty typical for a Lalylala pattern; the arms, the hood, and the face.

One thing I changed is how I made the head. The pattern calls for the head to be worked in the round continuously from the body. I personally found that this method made it difficult to stuff the neck firmly enough to not be floppy. Instead, I used a head pattern from a different Lalylala doll. One that makes the head a separate piece you sew on later. A problem I found with this change is the hood seems to be too big.

For my next Lalylala, I’m planning on trying another modification.

The little one wanted to go the big mall, so off we went into town. Luckily, the weather was really nice, so we went across the street to Ala Moana Beach Park for a photo shoot.

Pattern from Lalylala
Yarn used: Red Heart Super Saver in Spa Blue Fleck and Eggshell, Loops and Threads Impeccable in Royal
Other materials: 12 mm plastic safety eyes from Glass Eyes Online, polyester fiber filling, pearlized beads
Order yours here.

FO Friday: Color Pooling!

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I may be a bit late posting about this, but I finally have this ready! Color pooling infinity scarf using moss stitch.

Making this is way simpler than it looks! You’d think you need the perfect tension, hook size, yarn type, and so on and so on……but my favorite technique is just making sure the color you are currently stitching is the same color as the stitch diagonal from it. Another technique that works for me is for beginning your project. Make your slip knot right where the color changes, and try to end your chain at a color change.

I used this tutorial by Moogly to learn how to do the Moss stitch.

What are your favorite projects for color pooling?

FO Friday: Chained Wreath Ornament

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Here’s a quick FO. I’m also posting it earlier than originally planned because they are almost gone! It took longer to attach the ribbons and magnet than it was to make the actual wreath.

I used a 5.0 mm hook, but any size will do. There’s no gauge. Just keep making a chain until you get about 5 feet. Mine came out to about 3×3 inches.

I made a bunch of these, so they are my shop’s “free gift with purchase” until December 20 or until they are gone! Just want the ornament? You can also order them!

Pattern/Idea from: Tangled Happy
Hook: 5.0 mm Soft Touch crochet hook from Clover USA
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Green Tones.
Order yours here.

FO Friday: Doctor Who Throw

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This time I tried my hand at C2C!

I started this project November of last year! It took me nearly a year to make because of all the ends to weave in and all the color changes!

The plan was originally to make 12 squares, or at least enough to cover one adult. But all the ends made it quite a task if you don’t work them in right away.

This was definitely fun to work. But next time, I’ll need to do my best to not put the project down.

Hook: 4.5 mm Soft Touch crochet hook from Clover USA
Yarn: various worsted weight yarns by Red Heart Yarn and Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice
Pattern: Two Hearts Crochet
Order yours here.

FO Friday: Shoreline Afghan

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Here’s another gift! I love finding these cool blanket patterns, but I have more blankets than I could use in a lifetime.

For this project, I decided to use yarn I already had in my stash. It’s a mix of brands, but they seem to have come together very nicely!

This gift is not meant to be given until Christmas, but I thought I’d get a good start since my favorites I’ve made can take as long as 2-3 months. A day or two into the project, I realized I’m nearly halfway done! This is also when I found how to do a join-as-you-go technique for hexagons, and I just had to go into overdrive out of excitement!

I used less yarn than I thought I would per hexie, so I think this would make a good scrap yarn project! But let’s save that for another time!

Hook: 5.5 mm Furls Odyssey crochet hook from Furls Crochet.
Known yarn used:
- Red Heart Super Saver in Aran, Medium Thyme, Charcoal
- Red Heart With Love in Black
- Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice in Seaspray Mist, Beige
Personalize and order yours here.

FO Friday: Reusable Water Balloons

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This week’s FO are reusable water balloons from Left in Knots! I tried them first as is with a 9.0 mm hook but came out too big for a child, so I omitted a row and switched to an 8.0 mm hook. But after trying them in action, I decided to put that row back with the 8.00 hook. And they came out great!

Once they’re made, all you really need for your fight is a bucket of water! They absorb about half a cup of water each, so you can cause the same amount of damage as traditional water balloons.

The best thing about this is the clean up! They are machine washable and dryable, and leave no trash on the battlefield.

Yarn: Bernat Blanket
Hook: 8.0 mm crochet hook from Clover USA
Pattern: Left in Knots
Order yours here

FO Friday: Summer Mosaic Afghan

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This afghan has been completed for a while. But since this was given as a gift, I did not want to risk ruining the surprise by posting too early!

This project had some ups and downs, and some learning experiences. First lesson was when using multiple colors for squares (in this case, hexagons), work by color sections and not one square at a time. Doing so helps break the monotony and makes you feel it is a quick project.

Another lesson is to not put projects down to hibernate for too long. For me, this gives me an excuse to postpone and get lazier and lazier to finish the project. My inner procrastinator comes out too much.

But overall, this turned out to be a great throw!

Pattern by: Julie Yeager
Yarn: Red Heart With Love in Aran; Red Heart Super Saver in Cherry Red, Hot Red; Vanna’s Choice in Scarlet, Brick
Hook: 5.5 mm and 6.00 mm Soft Touch crochet hook from Clover USA

Shop Update

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The ending of summer was quite busy for me. Family reunion, birthdays, larger waves of orders.

One thing that came out of this chaos was a few new colors! So check out my most popular item made with 100% cotton, this water bottle holder.

These materials are also great for market bags!