melilab

human colour wheel

2010-12-22T18:47:00.007Z

Sneak preview of a crochet composition started a while ago. The concept of the artists' colour wheel is transformed into female and male figures corresponding to the primary and secondary colours. These red and green figures make up one of the couples of the complete colour wheel.

Red and green in the making:

Happy Christmas to All! See you again when our sisters and brothers join us :-)

bubbly fish mobile

2008-07-17T16:11:00.015+01:00

All the colours of the rainbow in this underwater composition/soft sculpture made of stripey fish with bubbles and a coral.

bubbles of the rainbow originally uploaded by melilab

The chunky fish measure almost 8" and can be suspended with the coral as a mobile, or even used as individual toys/objects.

blue bubbly fish originally uploaded by melilab

Entirely crocheted by hand using various acrylic, wool and cotton yarns and stuffed with polyfill.

I am on holiday... originally uploaded by melilab

An original amigurumi (crochet) creation by melilab.

the goddess artemis

2008-06-19T22:24:00.010+01:00

Artemis is the goddess of hunting and forests, the original amazon and skilled archeress.

She is the doll I made for my niece's first birthday. One-year old Artemis gave me a sweet little smile when she first held her doll, so I think she likes her :-)

An original art doll, entirely made of fibre and therefore safe for children of any age to play with.

Her ample blonde hair is held up in a ponytail with silver headband in these photos. She's also wearing proper thong sandals securely tied up.

She has all her fingers and toes and a beautiful, anatomically correct body so that she can go swimming in the nude in the forest streams with her entourage of nymphs. She's got quite the little behind on her too ;-)

Artemis has large turquoise eyes and she is wearing a removable knitted overdress in archaic style with silver shoulder clips. Her fingerless gloves are an essential accessory for an archeress.

for a little archeress...

2008-04-23T19:13:00.005+01:00

...because every Artemis should have one!

Soft toy bow and arrow with archaic curves and jewel decoration, made for a little girl's target practice :-)

Complete with target:

and very handy as a cushion too :-)

the lucky charm hat

2008-02-12T04:54:00.000Z

Pure hand dyed merino baby hat, with a square construction and little amigurumi charms attached to the corners like tassels. The original was designed for my niece and I am now making a range of them with different themes and charms. Available at my etsy shop.

This one has a key...

...and a heart

artemis' hats

2007-11-02T21:15:00.000Z

My new niece grows so fast! And I have gladly taken it upon me to keep her well supplied with new hats, amongst other things :-)

The shabby chic hat

The latest one is the shabby chic hat, in a pink gingham fairisle pattern...

...with a crocheted flower, which can be "unbuttoned" at the centre.

The shabby chic hat is my own design and it is knitted in 4ply pure cotton in pink and very pale lilac.

The flower hat

Modified from ada june to fit a baby, with added chunky flower centre. Knitted in jade and fuchsia soft cotton aran.

The very berry hat

A textured hat to imitate a (rasp?)berry

The tomato hat

That's her first hat by me. She's only a few days old in the photo :-)

miss artemis' holidays

2007-11-02T20:51:00.003Z

My baby niece has been a great source of inspiration for me, and I have designed several pieces especially for her.

Here's an ensemble I made for her first holidays. It consists of a wrap dress, a sun hat with a brim and a pair of mary jane booties. It's all made in DK cotton mix yarn in a combination of coral with 2-tone blue stripes.

the girls

2007-06-18T21:22:00.000+01:00

I thought I'll take some photos of my 3 girls together before miss O returns home to New York.

From left to right:
miss daisy, miss O, hermione

funky baby kimono

2007-06-05T04:36:00.002+01:00

A funky baby kimono, all knitted in one piece (including sleeves and borders) with 2-colour stripes and the simplest fairisle possible! Two pairs of I-cord ties keep it in place without the need for buttons.

Inspired by my niece - or nephew - who is arriving within this month of june and for whom I wanted a not-too-fussy-but-interesting knit, with minimum sewing and suitable for a baby girl or boy through their first summer months.

Please note that this is the first complete(ish) pattern I have written and I would love to hear from you with any suggestions or errors you may find.

Size
3-6 months (supposed to be a loose fit but check the measurements of the intended recipient first)
Actual kimono size: chest 50cm, length 25cm (see schematic below)

Materials
Wendy Miami DK 50%cotton, 50% acrylic (discontinued)
2 x 50gr balls in red and 2 x 50gr balls in light turquoise
4mm straight needles
pair of 4mm DPNs (for I-cord)
darning needle

Tension: 22sts x 29 rows to 10cm

Stripe pattern (13 rows)
2 rows turquoise
2 rows red
2 rows turquoise
2 rows red
3 rows alternating red and turquoise each st
2 rows red

Please read ahead before starting for an overall view of the pattern and to make sure you are aware of shaping done in parallel.

Begin at the Back
Cast on 54 sts with red cotton.
Knit 4 rows garter st with red.
Join turquoise and continue in stockinette stitch repeating stripe pattern 3 times (or as required until the piece measures 15cm from cast-on edge).

From now on stitches are added for the sleeves, and the centre stitches are cast off when half the sleeve width is completed (top of shoulders) to form the back neck and proceed with the two front sides.

Cast on for Sleeves
Continue with first 2 rows of stripe pattern (turquoise) and then cast on 36 sts at the beginning of the next 2 (red) rows to form the sleeves. (36 + 54 +36 = 126 sts total)
Continue in stripe pattern apart from 5 sts at each end that are knitted in red garter stitch to form the cuffs. The cuffs are also made narrower by using short rows on every solid turquoise row by knitting until 5 sts from the edge and turning.
Continue in stripe pattern until the front sleeve width matches the back (10 + 10 cm) and then cast off 36 sts on each side (whilst on a red stripe). In my case that was at the 3rd row of the 3rd stripe pattern repeat from the top of the shoulders. Be aware that halfway through the sleeves you will be casting off the centre stitches for back neck as described below.

Shape back of Neck
At the same time, when the piece measures 25 cm from cast on edge - i.e. you have reached the top of the shoulders (at the 2nd row of the 6th pattern repeat in mine) - knit the centre 24 sts in garter stitch with red for 3 rows keeping to the stripe pattern for the rest. In the next row cast off the (thanks lila!) 18 centre sts (back of neck) thus splitting the piece and starting on the two front sides (knit these separately or in parallel, whatever is easier for you – I prefer knitting the two sides in parallel).

Front only from now on
Right front
Continue in stripe pattern except for 3 sts at the neck edge that are knitted in red and garter stitch (to form the vertical trim). After 8 rows start increasing 1 st at the neck edge (1 stitch in from the edge) of each row always keeping the 3 sts at the neck edge in red garter sts for the vertical trim.
Continue with the increases at the neck edge until you have 48 sts (you have already cast off the 36 sleeve stitches on each side 13 rows before) and then knit straight until the front matches the back, ending with 4 rows of garter stitch in red (25 cm).
Left front
Join in yarns as required and continue the same way as right side by reversing shaping.

Ties
Using DPNs, pick up 3 sts for I-cord where the increases end and the straight part begins at the right front, the left front and both corresponding side seams – inside right and outside left (for crossing the right side in the front).
Make the two outside ties (attached at the right front edge and outside left seam) 20 cm long and the two inside ties (attached at the left front edge and inside right seam) 15 cm long.

Finishing
Weave in all ends and join the sides of the kimono from each sleeve cuff to the bottom hem in one sweep.

...and the obvious small print:
Design by

Please do not use or distribute this pattern for profit, it is only intended for personal use.

Enjoy!

miss O

2007-05-29T22:48:00.000+01:00

This is my friend miss O! I tried to capture her essence in this custom amigurumi (crochet) doll made for her and her new site on women's issues.

TheUpswing.org site will be released soon! In the meantime miss O is wearing the upswing logo on her t-shirt.

miss O is a trendy girl and she loves her jeans and trainers.
Her favourite colour is pink! She is wearing pink shades to match her t-shirt and has added rich red highlights on her hair to accentuate her features.

miss O is all hand crocheted in acrylic and wool yarns, and stuffed with polyfill. She is all textile fibres, there are no beads or plastic of any type on her so she is completely child-safe. Each strand of her hair is individually secured on her head and even her eyes are crocheted. Her shades are made from pipe cleaners so they should be removed if a child is to play with her.

Miss O is now listed at
where you can order your very own custom-made doll!

hermione

2007-04-20T19:28:00.000+01:00

hermione is a curvy angel, named after the messenger god hermes because of the little wings at the back of her shoes.

she is my latest amigurumi doll, inspired by anita klein's painting "red angel"

hermione is all curvy and dressed in a red bodice with hot pants, with a pair of red wings. She has long curly hair and large blue eyes.

hermione tied her hair in a bun for this photoshoot:

hello daisy!

2007-04-11T23:09:00.001+01:00

miss daisy is a crocheted amigurumi doll of my design. Her bodice is the centre of the daisy and her skirt is made of white petals.

her cap is a closed daisy bud with a double row of leaves and petals:

miss daisy was inspired by a costume made for me (at age 3) by my very talented grandmother. Here is the original satin costume made in similar colours which is still framed in my childhood room.

some more views of miss daisy in her natural environment :-)

chenille wrap top

2007-03-19T17:42:00.000Z

Chenille sweater based on the poinsettia wrap from knitscene magazine, knitted with two different chenille yarns that match perfectly together! I was so pleased to discover it makes a great outfit along with this skirt I already had.

A closer look

This is a really a very simple top, all stockinette and garter stitch but it's the yarns that make it.

miss purplicious

2007-03-19T17:03:00.000Z

Presenting miss purplicious, a sexy redhead who loves purple (obviously!) and even has purple eyes to match. She is all dressed up for a night out wearing a mohair corset top and sparkly mini skirt with matching long gloves.

miss purplicious is an amigurumi doll inspired by an image in my mind and a few gorgeous purple yarns: mohair (top), sparkly merino (skirt & gloves), velvet chenille (boots).

I am still working on her, I believe she requires a bit more bling. Plus I realised that I am making a mistake crocheting the way I do which produces a not so tight fabric ( as it should be for amigurumi).

Armed with my experience from making miss love bump and miss purplicious as well as loads of new supplies (!) I am now in the process of making improved versions of both these amigurumi dolls. My amigurumi dolls will soon be listed in my etsy shop, so please keep checking if you like them.

A new one - miss daisy - is also coming up soon based on a beautiful costume made for me by my grandmother when I was very little. She was an amazing lady whose talent remained unrecognised so I will strive to bring some of her designs to light and hope it will make her happy watching from up there.

miss love bump

2007-02-20T18:45:00.000Z

She is my first amigurumi doll and her character is based on my sister-in-law who is also expecting.

Miss love bump is proudly showing off her bump with a heart pattern on it.
The skirt part of her dress as well as the polo neck are knitted, and the dress has a sparkly lurex trim. Her red lacy panties are just peeping out underneath her dress.

She is keeping warm in a red cap with heart-shaped earflaps.

Her boots are made with chenille that has a suede feel and have corset laces at the back.

Miss love bump decided to enter The Softie Awards competition at flickr in the amigurumi category. She will be delighted if you vote for her!

knitting gallery continued

2006-12-25T19:22:00.000Z

rapunzel

my lovely rapunzel from rowan, made in the softest alpaca and wool

many different textures combined to perfection

pink poncho

a super chunky poncho with huge XOX cable

ruana stole

soft boucle stole in reds, burgundy and purple

melange mohair sweater

soft mohair sweater with a cowl neck made in two strands - pink & burgundy - of mohair yarn that give a beautiful melange effect

hats!

2006-12-25T18:44:00.000Z

bright kid hat

bright kid hat in turquiose and red cotton

3-stripe hat

vertical stripes hat in pure wool

orange & blue

tiny hat in pure merino for a toddler

pink!

soft and peachy scarf and beret set for miss O

boucle beret

soft boucle beret with purple flowers

girl & boy hats

very *warm* funky ski hats

...and a pair of slippers

blue and brown felted slippers

knitting gallery

2006-12-16T19:41:00.000Z

red rose tote

my first felted project and there's a lot more to come! I really enjoyed making it as it took shape through the different stages. I think the rose will expand to a whole garden next ; leaves at the very least...

angel hair lace stole

made from the softest hand dyed kid mohair with beaded borders

mermaid mesh

that was quite a fiddly tunic to make but I feel it was worth it!

teal top

my favourite colours range between teal and dusky blue to sky blue and this sweater is just the ticket! made with hand dyed kid mohair, it's soft and snuggly to wear.

the border adds more interest and I would only wear it with brown anyway.

sunrise circle jacket

it has a bit of a kimono style to it and it is really satisfying to knit as the increases form the sun circle. Knitted with 3 strands of yarn - deep red, magenta and burgundy - that give it a beautiful colour variation.

celtic cable

knitted with cypress green wool and silk mix

bolero with a twist

soft and thick bolero with a "twisted" neckline and bell sleeves

chenille wrap

dropped stitch wrap knitted in red chenille

greens wrap

variegated green sock wool for another version of the dropped stitch wrap

the knitting train

2006-11-27T19:54:00.000Z

"Knitting is manifest in an increasingly broad range of creative practices."

For a while now, I had an inkling of how creative, original and beautiful knitting can be and I believe it to be a true art form - the borders between artists and artisans being quite blurry in this case.

As it turns out, I've been thinking along the lines of this article by Brigette Cameron but I couldn't possibly have said it as well as she does.

tranquil corner

2006-11-25T08:04:00.001Z

tranquil blue & cream, originally uploaded by melilab.

the corner where I often knit

teal

2006-11-24T18:27:00.000Z

petrol scarf&beret closeup, originally uploaded by melilab.

a beret of my own design and the loopy scarf made with silky soft teal kid mohair. This yarn is such a joy to knit and wear that I had to make two and then move on to a full sweater to match. I will be posting photos of it soon.

launching the blog

2006-11-24T18:22:00.000Z

the inspiration to start this blog came after reading What is a Scanner? which gave me the courage to ignore my perfectionist attitude.

this blog is definetely less than perfect!