Monday 24 November 2014

Brandy

Remember I introduced you to Brandy at the end of this post? Here he is, just to remind you.


I mentioned that some more tinsel hedgehogs had since joined Brandy. Well here they are. Meet Ginny, Jack, Maria and Whiskey.




Do those names make you think I'm some sort of old souse? You'll be relieved to hear that I'm not; I'm actually teetotal.

The hedgehogs are knitted using King Cole tinsel yarn. It is very soft and can be used for garments such as scarves and shrugs. When I bought the yarn (months ago) I got brown, gold and green, hoping to use it for crocheting Christmas decorations. Once you start trying to work into the first chain you can't see where to put the hook! The yarn is really only usable for knitting, though I did work out that it can be crocheted along with another smooth yarn. Why you'd want to do that, though, I haven't really worked out. I also managed to weave a tiny sample with it which I might use to make a Christmas brooch. Again, why you'd want to weave anything with this is beyond me. However, I am sure someone, somewhere will think up a good way to use it.

When I was making the hedgehogs I couldn't help thinking that it would be easy to turn the body up the other way and make an owl. Well, would you believe it? King Cole have introduced another pattern for owls. They're basically hedgehogs the other way up with large eyes, a beak and bigger feet. I'm going to use my green tinsel yarn to make a couple of owls and will let you see them when they're ready.

I'm off to crochet more snowflakes. I'm crocheting up a blizzard for Christmas.

29 comments:

  1. Hi Gillian, your hedgehogs are adorable, Brandy now looks takes on Grandpa role in my eyes.
    Amazing wool, can't wait to see your owl.
    Helen

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  2. Heheh, you go, Gillian!!!! A blizzard for Christmas, yay! ;)
    These are so cute, but I'm imagining that owls will be even cuter, so looking forward to seeing them!
    I never know what to make with yarn like this, so it's great to see it put to good use! :)
    What else will you be making?
    Ingrid xx
    http://myfunkycrochet.blogspot.be

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    1. I'm making lots of Christmas decorations - will have to try and do a post (or posts) about them soon.

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  3. Hello! Just popping my head round the door - thank you so much for the invite.

    Nina x

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  4. Cute little family you have there. Bet it was fun knitting them. I haven't heard of that yarn, but
    it looks like it would be fun to knit with. You must have ESP to think about the owl pattern!! lol
    Cheers, Anita.

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  5. Love the family of hedgies! I adore hedgehogs and used to collect them. I bought yarn to make hedgehog mitts about a year ago and never got round to it. I must look the balls out again and think about getting on with it. So many ideas so little time.

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  6. Gorgeous cuddly hedgehogs, love them :) you've reminded me about some cushions that I made with fuzzy wool - nightmare to crochet with! Must blig about that soon!
    Jillxo

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  7. They're so cute, Gillian. I like the tinsel yarn on them, it's kind of unexpected and makes them look a little glitzy. :)

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  8. They are so cute! Eyelash yarn can be pain in the butt to knit with, if you drop a stitch good luck finding it, but then no one will ever see it! I look forward to seeing your owls!

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  9. Very sweet. Nice job. Thank you for showing them.

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  10. I like your hedgehogs !! so cute !!

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  11. They're the cutest, what a wonderful idea you had! Can't wait to see your owl, and Xmas decorations too! : )

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  12. So cute! I wish I was better at knitting now... :) My dad build a hedhoge home for the garden. So far no little friend moved in... I might crochet him one, I reckon. :P

    Take care
    Anne
    http://crochetbetweentwoworlds.blogspot.de

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  13. They are the cutest little hedgehog family!!! I love the names too, they seem to suit them very well. I hope that you have fun with the snowflakes!! xx

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  14. Awww, they're so cute, they're like little albino hedgehogs. Looking forward to seeing the owls now.

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  15. How happy those cute creatures make me feel happy and homy!
    I can't wait to see your owls, too.

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  16. So sweet they are then hehe.
    Good day to you.

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  17. What a delightful family! I hope they have a wonderful holiday season! No need to worry about them staying warm with this wonderful wool :-)

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  18. That really is the dearest little hedgehog family I have ever seen. xx

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  19. Very cute! I love it when novelty yarns are used for more than just scarves, cuffs and collars. Why would you crochet a tinsel or fluffy yarn alongside a plain yarn? It makes it easier to navigate and find your stitches so you properly know where to insert the crochet hook. If you use a very fine yarn, you can still work your way around your stitches but it is not obvious and it will not detract from your novelty yarn.

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  20. Lovely little hedgehogs among the autumn leaves! Your description of the pattern for the hedgehog being adapted into an owl made me smile....those serendipitous design moments! Look forward to seeing what you make next :)
    Happy week.
    Helen xox

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  21. They're lovely. Thanks for sharing. x

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  22. Hello Gillian,
    What a funny shots.
    So nice to see these funny creations of hedgehogs. Great!!

    Kind regards,
    Marco

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  23. So cute, isn't it great when you make one thing and suddenly you have a design for something else. Its such a joy don't you think? I have a notebook in very room simply because these moments happen constantly. They are so adorable. Have a lovely weekend

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