First of all, many thanks to everyone who contacted us about our coral reef. We’re still busy working on it, plus we’ve already had two shrimps arrive from Canada… thank you Quimper Hitty.

Anyway, never being one to only have one scrappy project on the go at a time, I have also been testing out some patterns with a view to using them for a course. There has been lots of interest in the amigurumi classes that we run and I have been on the lookout for suitable patterns. With this in mind, I bought a copy of Megan Lapp‘s book Crochet Impkins. This is a mix and match pattern, with variations for bodies, arms, ears, tails, horns, tummies, facial features and accessories. They are great for using up left over bits of yarn and would make a really fun subject for a class, as everybody could make their own individual impkin. As a yarn shop, we can pay to use the pattern in classes via Ravelry, which is very handy. As to the actual crochet, I’ve been experimenting with scraps of different yarns… the original pattern suggests aran weight yarn, but I’ve also tried dk and 4-ply to end up with different sizes. I stuffed mine with wool mill waste stuffing, which we sell in the shop.

The little impkin with the red top hat is sitting in front of a sign that reads “Gwnewch y pethau bychain”, which is a quote from St David, the patron saint of Wales meaning “Do the small things”. We particularly like this at The Snail of Happiness, especially because “gwnewch” means both “do” and “make”.

If you are thinking of buying the impkin book or pdf pattern, it’s worth knowing that they aren’t true amigurumi and are, mostly, not worked in a spiral. I mention this because it took me a couple of attempts to get comfortable with the way the pattern works. Having said this, once I got the hang of it, they turned out to be a fun make.

-oOo-

I’ve been inspired to write this (and future) ScrapHappy posts by Kate,  Tall Tales from Chiconia. On the fifteenth of every month lots of folk often publish a ScrapHappy post, do check them out:

Kate,  Gun, Eva,  Sue, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Edi, Susan, Cathy, Tracy, Jan (me), Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys, Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen, Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti, Nóilin, Viv, Lynn and Tierney

If you fancy joining, contact Kate and she’ll add you to the list. It would be lovely to see more non-sewing posts, but any use of scraps is welcome.