Susan's Super Slippers

 This is a simple pattern for my super slippers. These make up quickly and are terrific for fund raisers, gifts or to indulge your self. They travel well and are good for when you are staying away from home and want some foot cover to duck into the bathroom.  Do take care on polished boards, as they can be quite slippery. I have provided these in three sizes however there is quite a bit of stretch in these and depending on your yarn they will fit a range of foot shapes. Once you have the hang of these you can experiment with buttons and bows, pom poms and embellishments however then they wouldn't be so simple!

Have fun, and do donate as many as you can to charity.

THE PATTERN IS IN BOTH UK/USA TERMS

Susan's Super Slippers

Australian UK Terms are first/ USA term second = tr/dc

 

Materials: 8ply/double knit/worsted weight yarn;   3.75 /4mm/ J6 hook

Sizes (foot length)

• A = 13cm / 5 ½ in (little kids)
• B = 18cm / 7 in  (ladies)
•  C = 22cm/ 8 ½ in (big foot)

Begin at the sole; the heel is at the start of the round

1. Loosely ch 16 / 20 / 24, starting 4^th from hook 1tr/dc next 12 / 16 / 20;  4tr/dc next st,  working on other side of ch, 1tr/dc next 11 / 15 / 19; 2 tr/dc next st, slst join to 3^rd ch of start = 30 / 38 / 46

2. 3ch start, 1tr/dc same st, 2tr/dc next st, 1tr/dc next 11 / 15 / 19st, 2tr/dc next st 4 times, 1tr/dc next 11 / 15 /19, 2tr/dc next st twice, slst join = 38 / 46 / 54

3. 3ch start, 1tr/dc same st, 2tr/dc next st 3 times, 1tr/dc next 11 / 15 / 19st, 2tr/dc next st 8 times, 1tr/dc next 11 / 15 / 19st, 2 tr/dc next st 4 times, slst join = 54 / 62 / 70

4. 3ch start, 1tr/dc each st around, slst join = 54 / 62 /70 (Omit for size A)

Pigeon toed, under toed.....

  

Shaping

5. 3ch start, 1tr/dc next 16 / 20 / 24 st, (miss 1st, 1tr/dc next st) 10 times, 1tr/dc next 17 / 21 / 25 slst join = 44 / 52 / 60

6. 3ch start, 1tr/dc next 16 / 20 / 24st, (miss 1st, 1tr/dc next st) 5 times, 1tr/dc next 17 / 21 / 25 slst join = 39 / 47 /55

7. 3ch start, (1ch miss 1^st 1tr/dc next st) 6 / 8 /10 times; (miss 1 st 1tr/dc next st) 5 / 6 / 7 times (1ch miss 1^st 1tr/dc next st) 8 / 9 / 10 times, 1ch, slst join = 20 / 24 / 28 tr/dc posts

8. 3ch start, (1ch miss 1ch 1tr/dc next tr/dc) 7 / 8 / 9 times 5ch, miss 4 / 6 / 8tr/dc, (1tr/dc next tr/dc, 1ch) 7 / 9 /10 times around, slst join = 16 / 18 / 20 tr/dc posts

9. 3ch start, (1tr/dc into ch sp, 1 back post tr/dc next tr/dc) 7 / 8 / 9 times till you reach the 5ch of row 8, 1dc/sc into 3^rd ch, continue on other side with (1 back post tr/dc next tr/dc, 1tr/dc into ch sp) 8 / 9 / 10 times, 1 bp tr/dc last st then slst join at back to finish off.

use up those annoying bits of faux fur from the scrap basket

Contrast Edge: Join at back of heel in space between tr/dc. Work (1dc/sc, 1tr/dc) miss 1 tr around. Slip st join and weave in ends.

Cant wait to see your finished slippers!  Have fun,

cheers Susan.

(c) crochetroo. copyright please do not sell or copy this pattern .  Links are welcome.

Bargain Bag Baby Blankets

It has been a miserable wet long weekend. That is the down side, but the up side is that this is perfect crochet weather. I have been working on a number of things and have a backlog of unfinished projects. Numerous afghans that seemed such a great idea at the time, until I got bored or summer arrived. One of my goals is to try and reduce the number of half finished afghans lurking in the cupboard as well as use up some of that yarn that was such a bargain at the end of last season.

One such bargain was a huge bag of chunky baby yarn in yellow, lavender and blue. Seems that the number of baby girls out numbered the boys as there was no pink remaining. At 50cents a ball for top quality yarn I couldn't resist and sneakily brought into the house a bag of  15 balls - 2 aqua, 9 lemon and 4 lavender. My primal instincts of hunter gatherer had been stirred. Was never sure what I was going to do with the stuff  but reasoned with myself that the reason I had so many half finished rugs in the cupboard was that my intentions were too big!  That is, if they had been planned to be half the size then they would have been finished ages ago. (And the yarn was so deliciously soft and snugly).

Having always wanted to try a few of the more challenging styles of crochet, I figured I would give it a go. This included entrelac, tunisian and the waffle reversible patterns. So here are my creations which have now been passed to a few young mums with bubs on the way. The trick is that the colours are gender neutral and did turn out quite pretty.

Baby blanket Number 1 
 This was my first serious attempt at tunisian and I worked it on one of those bamboo hooks with the nylon extensions that was also on the bargain table. As I had an uneven aqua/ lavender/ lemon ratio in my bargain bag I worked this to use up the aqua.

This one turned out really pretty, and the texture of the blanket scrumptious. Lovely furrows of snugly colourful goodness!



Baby Blanket number 2- checkerboard.

My confidence with tunisian was improving so I embarked on some entrelac. I must say, this nearly did my head in. Logically to build up blocks from the corners messed with my mind and the habit of crocheting in rows. Once I had the knack of it, I really enjoyed the pattern.

 



This was an adaption of an entrelac pattern. Because the yarn was so chunky I worked it in trebles (USA dc) with a size 8 tunisian hook. I really like the simplicity of the design and it gives a nice firm fabric that little fingers wont get caught up in. Now lavender and lemon checker board may not be every ones cup of tea, but I can honestly say that I do like this colour mix.

The entralac does need to be finished with a boarder edge as some of my checkers were a bit wonky.




Baby Blanket number 3- reversible waffle


This was constructed using a simple V stitch on a base of 60 ch. The reverse occurs as you use one colour for all the even rows, and the second for all the odd rows, This is quite a thick fabric with a nice drape as I used a large hook

Row 1, using Colour A : 2ch, * miss one st, into next st (1tr 1ch 1tr) miss 1 st, 1dc next st* across

Row 2, using colour B: 2ch * 1dc into ch sp, insert hook horizontally under dc of prev row and work (1tr 1ch 1tr)* across. At the end of the row insert your hook under the 1st st at the beginning of the row.


If I did this one again I would use a lighter yarn and choose colours with a stronger contrast. This is quite a heavy blanket and would be suitable for a baby planning an antarctic expedition! I haven't given this one away yet as it is not really suitable for the Queensland born babies I know.

So 14+ balls were used and I have about half a ball of lemon left. I also feel much more proficient at tunison, and ended up with a nice stock of baby blankets for a mere $7.50 AUS!
Thanks for looking.

Afghans that boomerang

I'm Back!!

Hello! After a blog break I am back. Not sure where I went, but with floods, house renos, travel, kids and a full time job things have been busy. The good news is I have a huge back log of things to share with you all. I have decided that a number of my afghans have become "boomerangs". That being, they have come back to me! Some under sad cirmunstances and others under happy ones. When my Mum in Law passed on one of the things I realised when cleaning out her treasures was how many things I had crocheted her over the years. I have posted about this previoususly but I dont recall sharing the afghans with you that I had gifted her.

The circle one above I remember doing in the late 80s when the kids were tiny. Quite a simple pattern and on reflection I do like how the colours work. Grandma was always a cheery lady and she proudly displayed this on her couch. It is a wagon whell motif out of a very old book and I remember paying particular attention to the placement of the colours. I had forgotten how simple but effective this pattern is.

Our daughter has lived in the Southern States since she finished school and went to the Australian National University in Canberra and subsequently landed a job in Melbourne. Both are bitterly cold (when benchmarked against Gold Coast weather) which has enabled me to generously send her off with crochet woolies to keep her warm. She has now decided to take 6 months leave from her job and travel overseas. The time has never been better as the Aussie dollar is so strong I really think this is a terrific thing to do.




The sequalie to this is that she has to minimise her "stuff" and put the remainder into storage while she is away. I guess the benefit of her living a couple of thousand kilometres away is that her "stuff" wont be getting stored at our place. Lordie I have enough stuff (aka junk) of my own! Yet the afghans, she feels were bulky, and as she tactfully put it in "90s colours", so she has returned them to me.

Actually, I lugged them back from Melbourne in my suitcase when I visited her last weekend. That with an enviable collection of Myer bears, and of course
 my own Melbourne purchases, I just met the Qantas baggage limit.

The orange and brown number she requested to match her charity store bought orange and brown couch she had in her student digs. I noticed recently (on her fobidden facebook face) that this had been used as a decoration at a friends 80s parts. Truth is I made it in the 90s, and she chose the colours. It seems the perfect party discussion point and  soaks up the beer slops quite good as well! Good thing I used acrylic yarn so it washes quite well.






The photo to the right is a bit dodgy, but this square uses a front post treble to give it a bit of texture. This was quite a brainless crochet and travelled well. The two coloured effect also looks good. Not sure that I would ever do another one like this as there was a lot of dark brown to join which was pretty tough on the eyes.
There are a few more which I will post in the coming weeks. Now that winter is approaching it is perfect weather to bring them all out of the cupboard and appreciate them.

Take Care! Cheers Susan

UncinettoTraduzione dello schema Segnalibro a Ventagli, (Fan Bookmark in Italian)

A nice lady recently contacted me and asked if she could translate my fan bookmark pattern into Italian. So here it is, many thanks to Kate. I dont speak or read Italian so I hope I have inserted the breaks in the correct places. Happy crocheting!


Traduzione dello schema Segnalibro a Ventagli by MadeByKate
Schema originale Fan Bookmarks by crochetroo

Occorrente:
• cotone da uncinetto 8
• uncinetto da 1,25 mm

Schema:
Per le abbreviazioni visita http://madebykate.wordpress.com/glossario/
Lasciando 8 cm di cotone, iniziare il lavoro con 8 ct, chiudere ad anello con 1 mbb.

1° Ventaglio:
1° GIRO: 2 ct (contano come la 1° ma), nell'anello lavorare 13 ma. [14 ma]

2° GIRO: 3 ct (contano come 1 ma, 1 ct), voltare il lavoro, in ogni maglia del giro precedente lavorare 1 ma, 1 ct. [14 ma, 13 spazi da 1 ct]

3° GIRO: 1 ct, voltare il lavoro, nei primi 10 spazi formati da 1 ct lavorare 1 mb, 2 ct, 1 mb (questo formerà dei pippolini).
Nel successivo spazio di 1 ct (l'11°) lavorare 1 mb, 5 ct, puntare l'uncinetto nella 2 ct con cui avete avviato il giro precedente e lavorare 1 mb. [fine del primo ventaglio]

2° Ventaglio:

4° GIRO: 2 ct (contano come la 1° ma), voltare il lavoro, nell'anello formato da 5 ct lavorare 13 ma. [14 ma]
Saltare 1 pippolino del giro precedente, nel successivo pippolino lavorare 1 mb.

5° GIRO (uguale al 2° GIRO): 3 ct (contano come 1 ma, 1 ct), in ogni maglia del giro precedente lavorare 1 ma, 1 ct. [14 ma, 13 spazi da 1 ct]

6° GIRO (uguale al 3° GIRO): 1 ct, nei primi 10 spazi formati da 1 ct lavorare 1 mb, 2 ct, 1 mb (questo formerà dei pippolini).
Nel successivo spazio di 1 ct (l'11°) lavorare 1 mb, 5 ct, puntare l'uncinetto nella 2 ct con cui avete avviato il giro precedente e lavorare 1 mb. [fine del secondo ventaglio]

3° Ventaglio:

7° GIRO (uguale al 4° GIRO): 2 ct (contano come la 1° ma), voltare il lavoro, nell'anello formato da 5 ct lavorare 13 ma. [14 ma]
Saltare 1 pippolino del giro precedente, nel successivo pippolino lavorare 1 mb.

8° GIRO: 3 ct (contano come 1 ma, 1 ct), voltare il lavoro, in ogni maglia del giro precedente lavorare 1 ma, 1 ct. [14 ma, 13 spazi da 1 ct]
Prima di iniziare il 9° GIRO unire il 3° ventaglio con il 1°: puntare l'uncinetto nel 7° pippolino contando da sinistra del 1° ventaglio e lavorare 1 mb.

9° GIRO (uguale al 3° GIRO): 1 ct, voltare il lavoro, nei primi 10 spazi formati da 1 ct lavorare 1 mb, 2 ct, 1 mb (questo formerà dei pippolini).
Nel successivo spazio di 1 ct (l'11°) lavorare 1 mb, 5 ct, puntare l'uncinetto nella 2 ct con cui avete avviato il giro precedente e lavorare 1 mb. [fine del terzo ventaglio]
Continuare così fino a formare 8 ventagli.

ULTIMO GIRO: fare un pippolino in ogni spazio formato da 1 ct. Fermare il filo con 1 mb nel 7° pippolino contando da sinistra del 6° ventaglio.
Tagliare e fermare il filo.
Stirare ed inamidare per rendere il segnalibro rigido.
Per fare la nappa tagliare 5 pezzi di filo di circa 20 cm, piegarli a metà e inserirli nell'anello iniziale del primo ventaglio,fermarli con un nodo.

Questo schema è una traduzione autorizzata di “Fan Bookmarks” by crochetroo. L'autrice è lieta di condividere questo schema, se verrà utilizzato per uso personale, per creare regali o donazioni a fondazioni benefiche, ma non oggetti che verranno venduti. Tutti i diritti sono riservati, né lo schema, né parti di esso possono essere riprodotti. La traduzione è di proprietà dell’autrice del blog madebykate.wordpress.com


Links to other Languages
Fan Bookmark in English

Fan Book Mark in French: Marque-page Eventail

UFOs and the Anniversary Road Trip

Sunset on the road to Canberra

It seems I haven’t blogged in ages. It isn’t that I don’t have anything interesting to talk about: quite the opposite. Life has been filled to the brim with our youngest celebrating his 18^th in October. we also finally put in a new kitchen as the previous one celebrated its 20^th birthday, and in much a shabbier state than our son!

This month my husband and I celebrate 30 years of marriage. To mark the occaision we decided (or rather I insisted) we go on a kid less trip. This is the first holiday we have had on our own since BC (before children). When he asked me where I wanted to go I said there were two places that I thought would be lovely for an anniversary trip. The first was Niagara Falls. I have seen so many photos of Niagara Falls, and the movies portray it as a honeymoon sort of place. The second place I have long wanted to see was to travel the Great Ocean Road, at the bottom of Australia and to see what remains of the 12 apostles. I believe a few of them have fallen into the sea due to erosion and I would love to see as many of them while they still remain. So hub, ever the imaginative one says "great – let’s do the Great Ocean Road! Furthermore, let’s drive all the way and stop at a few places along the way. "

Sculpture in the Gardens in Canberra

Now for those unaware of the distance the Great Ocean Road is approx 1900k (1,100 miles) from our home on the Gold Coast. This is a very long drive. And we will need to drive back. After 30 years what can we possibly talk about for such a long drive?

Hub has his podcasts of philosophy bites, and an iPod full of his choice of music. This includes Christmas carols, which the man listens to all year just because they make him feel good, Eva Piaf, and some ABC down loads. My only solution is to crochet the miles away. So in a moment of panic, at the thought of all those kilometres of road kill, Eva Piaf and Philosophy I decide to take as many UFOs with me to see how many I can finish. Seems like a clever plan to me.

We reached Canberra on Thursday night, and it was a mere 38 degrees Celsius (100 F) and we headed off to the National Gallery. Canberra is our Nations capital, and because I had a hook and yarn in my hand, I didn't take too many photos!I didn't realise how many famous pieces we have here in Australia and I stood in front of Monet's Water Lilies for some time in awe. The man of course, reckons he could paint that if he tried. Truth is he has been flat out trying to paint the decking.. he has been working up to it for a few years now. In the photo above he is checking out the bronzes by Rodin in the sculpture garden. I am not sure why I thought finishing the green wrap in mohair and wool was such a good idea. But I did finish it. I crocheted 8 blocks from the Gold Coast to Canberra (1, 105 klms), and did the edge from Canberra to Thredbo. I used a block called a snowflake motif which I found in one of those weekly binder jobs.

This I discovered at my Lifeline charity store. The yarn you might recognise from one of the prayer shawls I made for a friend in the last post. I did however, start my wrap over a year ago. As I enthusiastically bought a dozen balls of the yarn and I have now managed to get 2 shawls. If I had planned ahead I would have brought some charms with me to finish it off. In Cooma I discovered one of the best craft stalls I have been in for some time. I did purchase some little charms but the holes are too small to thread onto the yarn.

My crocheting was interrupted as we stopped to let an echidna cross the road just inside the Kosciuszko National Park. By the time I had put the hook and yarn down, and dug around for my camera the little guy was burying his way into the side of the road. I have never seen this before in my life and if you check out the video clip you can just seem the echidna as he digs himself into the ground.

ECHIDNA on the road to Thredbo

I did manage to get the shawl finished and here it is, draped over the balcony at Thredbo where we will stay for the weekend.

Thredbo is a Ski resort in the winter, and extremely pretty and quiet in Summer. You can see the remnants of the snow in the photo. This is one of the few places in Australia cold enough and high enough for skiing. I am sure it is nothing on Aspen, but it is a nice destination.

My plan is to use the wrap when we reach Melbourne as we have a dinner to attend. Thredbo is beautiful in Summer. We will do a few bush walks while we are here in Thredbo, and then we head further south to Melbourne. Given the heat, I am thinking I might work on some smaller projects for the next leg of the journey.

Thanks for looking!

Prayer Shawls

A dear friend of mine has recently had a pretty tough time as her 23 year old daughter died after a battle with cancer. I can not imagine any grief worse than losing a child, particularly at such a young age. Her daughter had a melanoma removed about 2 years ago, discovered secondaries early this year, and was cremated at the beginning of the month.

It is hard to know what to say or do as nothing seems adequate.

After doing some research I decided to make her a prayer shawl. I have never done one of these before, however I found it comforting for my soul as I thought of her situation, and prayed for her comfort. I am not a deeply religious person, however something about tragedy does make us consider our own mortality.

In researching prayer shawls I discovered the Prayer Shawl Ministry and this wonderful site:

http://shawlministry.com/

While I haven't been blogging I have been busy. Here is a picture of the shawl I made for my friend. It is in a soft green and cream angora and wool mix. I added little crosses and heart charms onto the fringe which were made from 9 ch, added a charm, and then did another 9 ch, slst in the base.

It took me a while as I made it about 150 cm long. The pattern is an interesting one I found in one of the old weekly crochet journals that I found in a charity store. She has a strong Anglican faith and I felt the green was a soothing colour and I like how it turned out. I plan to give it to her in the next week.



Another colleague of mine recently lost her Dad. It has been a very difficult time for her as on only child, and as a special daughter. I was originally going to get her some flowers, and then a plant for her office however as the first shawl turned out so well I decided to make another one.
This friend is in her mid 30s so I chose a summery colour called custard by moda vera. I added some little dragon fly charms to the fringe. The decorative stitch is the same as the green one, however I went for a triangle style with plain rows of granny square type pattern in between.

I found a plain card with some pansies on the front and wrote the following verse in side:

“This Shawl was made just for you

To bring comfort, to know you are loved

This Shawl is to wrap you up~~

When you're cold,

When you're hurting

When you need to snuggle,

This Shawl was crocheted with blessings, With Love, With Prayers,”

Crocheted with love by a special friend

Prayer Written By: Gena Kathka, March 16, 2006, http://www.prayershawl.com/, used by permission

On the opposite side of the card I wrote:

"Dear (friend) May this prayer shawl enfold you in warmth, comfort, healing and peace. Think of it as a big hug from your Dad, With Love .."

I left it on her desk at work after she had gone for the day. The next morning I received the following email:
"Thank you so much for the lovely shawl and words on my card. It really meant a lot, it has been a bit hard for me of late, so it was perfect timing. And the flowers on the front of the card ( pansies )are my favourite! I appreciate your kindness in such a difficult time"

I am so pleased I discovered the prayer shawl ministry, and hope my other friend likes hers as well.
Thanks for looking, and make sure to visit the prayer shawl ministry as they do some beautiful work.

Snuggly Ugglies for Big Kids

Well it took a particularly cold winter down here to prompt me to finish of my crochet uggly patterns! These are for big kids and adults following numerous requests in realtion to my baby snuggly ugg booties.

Another thing I started well over a year ago, which have taken me forever to complete. It has been now a year since Grandma left us and I did loose interest in crochet for a while. Last winter was a long one as we sorted her things and dealt with our loss.

These Uggies though would have made her smile!

I made numerous pairs before I got the shaping and sizing right. I have tried to keep these simple. They have a crocheted sole however some non slip goop could be added to the bottom if you wanted to.

The sons' gfs modelled them for me and decided they were very comfy. I have 3 sons and the gfs have learnt that if they eat at my table, then they model my crochet! It is funny how intrigued this Generation y is with old fashioned crafts such as crochet. The lass in the photo below is keen to have me teach her how to crochet. My son wasn't too impressed when she shows more interest in what I am doing than what he is doing! Payback time for the pain I suffered in bringing him into the world, the cracked nipples and other personal sufferings to get him where he is today.

Uggs are an icon down here. It took the fashionistas to make them popular internationally.

While nothing can replace the original sheepskin Ugg, my crochet ugglies are a bit of fun. The pattern can be worked in 8 ply or 12 ply and I am going to experiment with some novelty yarn for the band. I have a pile of fluffy stuff in my stash which might do the trick.

I have listed the patterns on etsy to correspond with the chilly winter down here.

Thanks for looking.

(c) crochetroo Australia

Hairpin Crochet

One of my latest fascinations has been with hairpin crochet. I remember as a kid my Nana would make hairpin crochet and I could never quite figure it out. Nana was also a fan of the broomstick as well and made many a rug using this technique.

Hair pin crochet forks aren't that available here. In fact I cant recall having ever seen them in the craft stores until very recently. My favourite Craft joint Spotlight, has one of those discount clearance tables up the back in the wool section. I stood there for about an hour a few weeks ago, sifting through the remnants of odd balls of wool, odd goggle eyes, beads, light up knitting needles that haven't seemed to really catch on, a pile of miscellaneous patterns and a few humble hairpin prongs. These had been respectably reduced from $4.99 to 50c each. And how I love a bargain, so I bought 4 in different sizes and challenged myself to learn how to use the things.

The major challenge is starting off. It is one of those left - right spacial things that once you get the hang of, is quite relaxing. However, until you do get the hang of it, hairpin can be incredibly frustrating! The flipping the thing around totally messed my head.

This was my first major hairpin project. I used a pattern on the web and adjusted the length. The yarn is a 5 ply cotton and acrylic mix that I found in Lincraft in Brisvegas. Given this was my first attempt I chose a heavier yarn in a bright colour that was easy on my eyes.

Having now mastered the hairpin knack, it has become a major time waster. Recently I travelled to Cairns in far North Queensland and decided to do a day trip up to Kuranda in the rain forest. This was a fabulous outing as I got the train up, and the Skyrail back. Whilst waiting for the train I pulled out my hairpin, determined to make the most of any down time. As quick as you can say "double crochet" I had a swarm of English and European Tourists watching what I was doing. One of them asked "is this a local Australian Craft". It was one of those moments when I realised how little the general person knows about crochet. This group of tourists weren't gen ys either! They were the over 50, retirement tour group!

So whilst sitting at the train station north of Cairns here was I showing a bunch of Tourists, the craft of hairpin crochet. My kids would have been horrified as the boys have banned me from CIP ( crocheting in public) since the time I tried at the light hook at the movies! The picture below is from the skyrail over the rainforest. This has to be one of the most amazing pieces of scenery and engineering I have ever experienced.

So here is the wrap I made a strip of in Cairns. I used a pretty cotton mix that has a slither of silver sparkle through the thread. I was trying to get a lighter, dressier type of effect. I learnt doing this that stitch markers are a good idea to stick on the prong to keep count of the 50s of loops. I nearly went nutty checking the count on this.

This little pink skinny scarf is an experiment with a left over ball of cotton thread. I wanted to try the loop technique of joining. This is where you weave the loops of the strips to join them together. I made 4 strips out of the ball and am happy with the result.

You can see in the close up how the loops interweave.

I am now experimenting with what else I can make as I think I have more than enough wraps now. I am trying a bag and have a few other ideas in my noggin. My Nana would be pretty proud of me if she was still around.

Thanks for looking!

(c) crochetroo

Pesky Possums

I cant believe how long it is since I last blogged. I haven't stopped crocheting though!

Meet the possums. I called these guys Pesky, because they have taken me forever to perfect! Possums are a protected species down here but are pesky when it comes to eating the fruit off the passion fruit vine, and the paw-paws in the back yard!

I humbly declare that I think these are my cutest critters yet, and well worth the wait.

I remember my husband reaching up into a carton in his under the house blokes area in search of a hammer. He found asleep in there, what he thought was our cat, stroked and lifted it down to see it was a possum. Scared the living daylights out of him! Not to mention the stunned look on the possum as he scampered away.

These often hang about our bird feeder and you can hear them scratching around on the roof at night. They are a real pest if they get into the ceiling. Many years ago one did and my son couldn't sleep at night because of the racket. We thought it might have been a rat (UGHH) but the pest exterminator man trapped it and yep, it was a possum. Possums are protected here so he took it out to the bush and released it.

The challenge for me was to make several species as each has distinct characteristics.

Ring tail possums are a medium sized species. Fully grown they are the size of a kitten or large guinea pig. They range in colour from a beautiful russet red to brown with a tinge of grey. Tails are very long with a distinctive ring and often have a white tip. Ears are very small and close to the head. I did this one in a rusty brown. Here he is hanging about in the gum trees.

Brush tail possums are a larger species and when fully grown they will be a little smaller than an adult cat. They have a grey to grey/brown coat on top, and can be a soft cream to a beautiful ‘pumpkin’ colour underneath. Their ears are large and stand up from their heads. Tails are black and fluffy.

The brush tail is a bit of a nuisance where they have been introduced in New Zealand. While they are a native species here and we put up with them, over seas they are regarded as lowly vermin!

I think the brush tail is a lovely critter with a fluffy tail. Early settlers would kill these for their skins. Possum fur has a similar feel to mink. Possum were introduced to New Zealand from Australia approximately 150 years ago to establish a possum fur industry. They thrived in New Zealand to the point that they are now considered a pest and a threat to the native bird life and flora.

And here is the tiny Glider possum. There are several species of gliders including sugar gliders and pygmy possums. All gliders have a membrane running down each side of their body which they use as sails to glide from tree to tree. These are tiny marsupials which can fit in the palm of your hand.

The pygmy possum is now an endangered species. Urban cats and dogs have significantly reduced the numbers as has deforestation. I was interested to learn that in some countries sugar gliders are kept as pets. They are particularly cute and easy to handle.


Leadbeaters possum is the animal symbol of the state of Victoria. It was thought to be extinct, however a few have been found and it remains an endangered species. The recent Victorian bush fires would have really damaged their native habitat.

Possums are another of our fascinating marsupials who have their babies in a pouch. They are also arboreal living in the tree trunks and nocturnal, coming out at night.


I hope you like my pesky possums. I have the patterns listed on etsy. My next crochet challenge is the Tasmanian devil.

Thanks for popping in, and do leave a comment!

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