My Crochet Library

Whether you're an aspiring crochet artist, an experienced crocheter or even a beginner, you most probably have your own growing collection of books and printed materials on crochet. As for me, I thought at the start it would take very long and costly to fill up a bookshelf with crochet books. But thanks to the Book Depository - I now have a good enough collection.
I usually find there the book I like on any topic, just by searching on their website. Ordering online is so convenient, that's why its so tempting for me to buy books! Best of all, there's no shipping fee! FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE - for those of us here in the Philippines, we are terrified of shipping fees from abroad, because it often doubles up the cost of the item for us.
Here are just some of the crochet books I have ordered from The Book Depository

And here's one I just ordered and on the way to me: The latest and hottest crochet book by London Kaye,

wait....there's more!

For orders from the Philippines, get a 10% discount using code PH10, up to Sept. 22. Browse now at the Book Depository

Flounder the fish - free crochet pattern

I'm sharing the pattern for the flounder amigurumi I made as companion for the Ariel mermaid doll  for my granddaughter. This one have the stripes worked in tapestry crochet. But you may also add in the stripes later, like in this first model I made.

Flounder Amigurumi
copyright Mimi Alelis, 2019
This pattern can only be found on this link:
https://mycrochetstuff.blogspot.com/2019/04/flounder-fish-free-crochet-pattern.html


Materials
Worsted weight yarn - yellow and blue
Crochet hook size 4mm
Polyester fiberfill
Small amounts of crochet thread for facial features - black, white and green (for eyes, eyebrows), red for lips
Yarn needle to weave in ends
Crochet Gauge: 9 sts = 2 inches

Notes: Do not join rnds, work in a continuous spiral, marking the beginning of rnds as you go. 

Head and Body
With yellow, start with a magic ring, 
Rnd 1: 6 sc in ring (6 sc).
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each sc around (12 sc).
Rnd 3: (sc in sc, 2 sc in next) 6 times (18sc).
Rnd 4: work in back loops only for this rnd, (sc in next 2 sc , 2 sc in next) 6 times (24sc)
Rnd 5: ch 4, sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next 2 ch, sl st in next sc, sc in each sc around, sc on each st on the opposite side of ch 4 in the beginning of this rnd, sc again on the last st (31 sc)
Rnd 6: sc in each sc around (31 sc)
Rnd 7: sc in next 24 sc, sc and hdc in next, sc, hdc and sc in next sc, sc in next 5 sc (33 sts) 
Rnd 8:, Sc in 3 sc, sc and hdc in next, hdc and sc in next. sc in next 20 sc, sc2tog twice, sc in last 4 sc (33 sc)
Rnd 9:, Sc in 2 sc, sc2tog twice, sc in 27 sc (31 sc)

Rnd 10: sc in each sc around (31sc)

Rnds 11-13: sc in 23 sc, change to blue (for the stripe), sc in 15 sc (move marker up the rnd as you go; carry unused yarn at the back of work), change to yellow, sc in 16 sc, change to blue, sc in 15 sc, change to yellow, sc in 35 sc (31 sc)

Rnd 14: sc in each sc around (31 sc)
Rnds 15-17: sc in 23 sc, change to blue, sc in 15 sc, change to yellow, sc in 7 sc, sc2tog. sc in 7 sc, change to blue, sc in 15 sc, change to yellow, sc in 22 sc 

Rnd 18: (sc in 8 sc, sc2tog) 3 times (27sc)
Rnds 19-21: sc in 20 sc, change to blue, sc in 15 sc, change to yellow, sc in 12sc, change to blue, sc in 7 sc sc2tog, sc in 6 sc, change to yellow, sc in next sc, sc2tog, (sc in 7 sc, sc2tog) twice, sc in 7 sc ( 24 sc at the of rnd 21) 
Rnd 22: (sc in 6 sc, sc2tog) three times (21sc)
Rnd 23-25: (sc in 6 sc, sc2tog) twice, change to blue, sc in 5 sc, sc2tog, sc in 5 sc, change to yellow, sc in 3 sc, sc2tog, sc in 2 sc, change to blue, sc in 5 sc, sc2tog, sc in 4 sc, change to yellow, sc in 2 sc, sc2tog, sc in 7 sc (15 sc at the end of rnd 25)
Begin stuffing.

Rnd 26: (sc in 3 sc, sc2tog) 3 times (12sc) Sc in 6 sc, change to blue,

Sl st in next st, cut-off yellow yarn, continue on with blue yarn.

Tail

Rnd 1: ch 1, sc in each sc around, sl st in 1st sc to join (12 sc)

Rnd 2: ch 1, (sc in sc, 2 sc in next) repeat around, sl st to join (18 sc)

Rnd 3: ch 1, 2 sc in sc, sc in next 7 sc, 2 sc in each of the next 2 sc, sc in 7 sc, 2 sc in last sc, join ( 22 sc)

Rnd 4: ch 1, sc in 5 sc, sl st in next sc, sc in 10 sc, sl st in next, sc in 5 sc, join (22 sts)

Rnd 5: ch 2, dc in same st, hdc in next 2 sc, sc in next 2 sc, sl st in sl st, sc in next 2 sc, hdc in next 2, (2 dc in next sc) twice, hdc in next 2 sc, sc in next 2 sc, sl st in sl st, sc in next 2 sc, hdc in next 2, 2 dc in last sc, join (26 sts)

Cut off yarn, leaving enough length for sewing. Sew the tail end to close.

Fins (make 2) 

Row 1: Cn 7, turn, sl st in top loops only, from the 2nd ch from hook and next 5 chs, turn..
Row 2: Ch 1, sl st in 3 sts, sc in next 2 st, sc and hdc in last st, turn.
Row 3: Ch 1, sl st in 1 st, sc in 3 sts, sl st in 3 sts, turn.
Row 4: Ch 1, sl st in 3 sts, sc in next 3 sts, turn.
Row 5: Ch 1, sl st in 6 sts. Fasten off leaving 12 inches for sewing.
Sew about 3 sts below the first blue stripe.

Top Flap
Row 1: Ch 16 for base, *ch 5, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, sl st in next 2 ch, sc in next**, turn and sl st in the 2nd sc from hook, turn, repeat from * to **, sl st on the sc in base, hdc in the next ch, repeat * to **, dc on the same st where hdc was made, dc in next 7 chs, hdc in 3 chs, sc in 2 chs, sl st in 2 chs, turn.
Row 2: Ch 1, skip the 1st sl st, sl st in next, sl st in 2 sc, sc in 3 hdc, hdc in 4 dc, dc in 4 dc, turn.
Row 3: Ch 2, dc in same st, dc in next 2, hdc in 3 sts, sc in next, sl st in next. Fasten off leaving 12 inches for sewing.
Sew across top of head and body.

Mouth
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring
Rnd 2: (1 sc, 2 sc in next) 3 times (9sc)
Rnd 3:2 sc in each sc (18 sc)
Rnd 4: Ch 5, skip 5 sc, sc in next 13 sc, 5 sc in ch 5 space, sl st in next sc. Fasten off leaving 18 inches for sewing.

Cheeks (make 2)
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring
Rnd 2: (1 sc in next sc, 2 sc in next) 3 times (9sc)
Rnd 3: (1 sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next) 3 times, sl st in next sc (12 sc)
Fasten off leaving 12 inches for sewing.

Eyes (make 2)
With crochet thread and 1.75 (or 1.5 mm) hook,
Rnd 1: With black, 6 sc in magic ring.
Rnd 2, change to green, (2 sc in sc, sc in next) 3 times.
Rnd 3: change to white, 2 sc in sc, sc in next 2 sc) twice, change to black, sl st in remaining sts. Fasten off white, leaving 12 inches for sewing and for embroidering the dot in the pupil. Fasten off black leaving 18 inches for sewing and embroidering of eyebrow.


Update: April 13, 2020
Finished another flounder for my 6yr. old niece today...while we are on quarantine.

The Little Mermaid Crochet

My granddaughter likes Disney Movies. She loves to sing the theme songs, dress up in Princess costumes and play with character dolls. So I wanted to surprise her - I planned to make some dolls and other characters in the Disney movies...and this is the first one I finished:

Little Mermaid Crochet

Based mainly on this pattern. This is made from cotton thread using 1.75mm hook...so it took a while to finish. My granddaughter got excited when she saw it for the first time. I also finished a Flounder amigurumi and have yet to surprise her with it...

Flounder Amigurumi

Free crochet pattern for Flounder, now published here.

Summer Crochet

Here in Quezon City, summer heat is almost unbearable...as a crocheter I produce the least amount of projects at this time and only focus on necessary and enjoyable projects...such as my recently finished Ariel Mermaid Doll and Flounder Amigurumi for my granddaughter...(more on that on my next post).

Summer also makes me obsess over crochet lace garments! I have one I need to finish and luckily I have one already in my wardrobe...these kind of crochet never goes out of style - like this cover-up I made 13 years ago, and its still good as new.

crochet cover-up

So here I found reason to try out my new swimsuit, use the tripod, and take pics of myself wearing my crochet cover-up...then simply edited the pics on the Photo Lab app on my phone. It was fun!

Crochet Stuff in 2018

Happy 2019! March is almost over, but again its better late than never - here is my round-up of craftiness in the previous year...with the hopes of continued crafting this year. I know I won't crochet much, since I'd like to focus on health and fitness (activities that get us out of our comfy chair is much better), though there are so many cute crochet stuff I plan to make for my grandchildren.
Meanwhile, please take a look at what I did in 2018.

Crochet Patterns

I was able to add 2 free crochet patterns here in my blog, and one published design in 2018:

Glass Holder and Coaster Set - made from size 8 cotton thread.

Lion Head Handpuppet

And...my latest and favorite published pattern ever (since it appeared on the cover) is my lace crochet yoke top, published as Yesteryear Top in Interweave Crochet Summer 2018.

Projects

I finished only about 17 crochet projects in 2018... mostly small projects, including amigurumi toys and animal appliques.

Some of my favorite projects are these food amigurumi and animal appliques for my granddaughter and kid nephews.

Strawberry amigurumi

Carrot amigurumi

King parrot (pattern by Kerri Brown)

Teddy Bear Applique

My favorite projects from last year are the Lion and Hippo heads Handpuppets...which I made up the design as I crocheted it. I based it from the images in the cartoon movie "Lion of Madagascar"...inspired by my granddaughter's love of the characters. I have yet to make the giraffe and the zebra (or not...) This took up a lot of my time, but it was worth it to see how much my son and granddaughter loved playing with it.

Another crafty year ahead, beginning with this dreamcatcher I made in January for a friend visiting from abroad.

Thanks for looking! Hope to have you here again in my next post.