Polar Bear | Keep Calm and Crochet On U.K

So it’s been a bit of a manic month! Lots of changes in my day job has meant that I have been very busy at work this month…and then I’ve come home I’ve had lots of things to do there too! I seem to have organised things as such that I have had lots of things to complete (tests and orders), get released (lots of new patterns this month) and pass over to my wonderful testers (to help turn my scribbles into sense).

This month I released 4 new patterns (which I think is a record for me!) and a new FREE pattern into the world…

Getting ready for Easter (and adding to my ‘On the Shelf’ amigurumi’s) I released my ‘Bunny on the Shelf‘ pattern at the beginning of March. I had such a time trying to get the feet just how I’d pictured them in my head but they came together in the end! I’ve have had such positive feedback about him; mainly how people love his cheeks! This pattern has kept me busy with orders I’ve had for Easter; I’ve got three to finish up this weekend and I am excited about making two in different colours.

Next release was Nanuk the Polar Bear lovey which was my first ever lovey design; I blogged about him already so you can read all about his creation here. I was super excited when he made number 9 for a short time on the ‘Hot Right Now list’ (for purchased crochet patterns) over on Ravelry (I’m still aiming for that no.1 slot at least once!).

I also finished off an order / new pattern for my first ever baby cocoon -it’s definitely been a month of firsts! This caterpillar set was so fun to work on and is super squiggly soft and snuggly. Unfortunately for me the baby it was ordered for isn’t even born yet so I’m going to have to wait awhile for cute customer photos!

My new Afghan square pattern this month (for my self set mini challenge to create a new Afghan Square every month for 2014) was my Solomon’s Cross pattern which I blogged about here. I was really pleased with this square and I’m just waiting for someone to make a blanket out of the pattern and send me the photo (hint, hint!)

The free pattern which I shared this month was little Betty Prickles; if you’ve not got your copy of Betty yet then why not pick up one now and have someone keep your pins safe. Finally I also managed to fit in two pattern tests this month…one that I can’t share yet and the other was the fabulous Exterminator Hat I blogged about here. Busy, busy, busy month…wonder what April’s got in store for me!

What comes first, the yarn or the crochet? What an interesting question and I have to say with me it’s definitely a bit of both. Mainly I would say I have an idea and then I find my yarn but there are certainly times when the yarn picks me. I end up buying some yarn just because it ‘speaks to me’ and although I don’t have a particular project in mind at the time I will add it to my (ever-growing) stash for the future.

There are some balls lingering in ‘The Stash’ (it deserves the capital letters!) that have been there for a fair while now but I still just haven’t found out what they were meant to be (their time will come), however I did find the perfect use for a 100g ball of James Brett ‘Flutterby’ Chunky, which is a chenille type of yarn, which I had picked up some time ago due to its super softness and squishability (that is a word!). What came out of the yarn was ‘Nanuk’ the Polar Bear lovey designed with the yarn in mind to create the most snuggly lovey ever…

I love how this little guy turned out! But I’m not going to lie to you, this yarn can be tricky to work with to ‘count’ stitches. That said all my testers agree; you can’t beat how cuddlesome this lovey is made with a yarn like this.

The Nanuk pattern is currently with my lovely tester group with a release date of 21st March 2014 when the pattern will be available on Craftsy and Ravelry – as always I will also do a pattern giveaway to celebrate the release over on my Facebook page.

Now I just need to pop this Nanuk in the post for a new baby girl (welcome to the world baby Edith).

And for anyone that has never heard of James Brett Flutterby or you are in the US/Canada/Australia and have trouble getting hold of that yarn, here are some alternatives that you could try:

If you make up the pattern with a different soft and chunky yarn I would love to hear so I can add it to the list above.