Cute & Easy Crochet :: The Babushkas

I've been meaning to chat about this book with you for months and months as I bought it way back in the Spring, but somehow I just haven't found the time to do it before now. But as I mentioned the other day, I'm on a mission to catch up with myself re my hooky endeavours and I've got some lovely bits and bobs to share with you.

So this book then....Cute and Easy Crochet written by Nicki Trench. It's always a little gamble ordering a book from Amazon when you're not quite sure if the contents are going to really twang the old creative heart strings. Sometimes the cover image can look inviting but the projects inside don't quite measure up. Not so with this book. It's quite simply GORGEOUS from cover to cover.

There are 35 projects in the book, and almost every one is guaranteed to bring forth an ooooh or aaahhhhh or wwwoooowww. 

It's incredibly inspring, makes you want to  start crocheting first thing in the morning and not stop until last thing at night.

It makes you want to crochet things just for the pure joy of it. Do I need another crochet bag? Probably not, but oooooh that one is just soooooo cute! 

There are one or two familiar projects in this book. Things that remind me of my own style of hooky.

The colours are softer than my own choices, but the style is definitely familiar.

Yes, definitely right up my street.

The styling and photography throughout the book is sublime, with each crochet project sitting in beautiful surroundings. There is a touch of shabby chic about it, with pale distressed furniture mixed up with quirky accessories. I love it. I love the whole look and feel of this book, and just flicking through the pages is enough to make one sigh with pleasure.

Many of the projects in the book are made using Laughing Hens "Rooster" yarn, and this defines the overall style and colour palette. They are kind of soft, but not pale. Think pretty vintage rather than sweet icecream or baby pastel.

This is page 97 and when I landed here my oooooohs and aaaaahhs and woooowwws definitely went up a notch. How totally, fabulously adorable are these sweet little Russian dolls? They almost took my breath away with their cute little flowers and sweet little headscarves. Awwwwwwwwww!! 

The very uselessness of them appealed to me enormously, I have a definite weakness for decorative but useless crochet items (bunting falls into this category). I couldn't wait to get started.

These sweet dolls are worked from the bottom up and they are made in traditional amigurumi style ie by working the rows round in a continuous spiral. It took me a while to get used to this idea as I hadn't ever done it before, but it's not that difficult. Two things I learnt the hard way ::

1. when the pattern instructs you to place a stitch marker at the beginning of each round, you should really take note and do as you are told.

2. Concentration and the ability to keep count are essential when making these little things, you cannot easily wing it.

There are four sizes of doll (large, medium, small and tiny) and I chose to start out with Miss Medium. As you can see, I couldn't bring myself to use white for her body so she was given a pink top instead.

You can see her white crochet face (the small white circle) sitting there on the page too, awaiting some embroidered features. Actually stitching the faces was quite a challenge, it's harder than it looks to embroider eyes and a mouth and make it look smiley rather than grimace-like. I can also tell you that when the pattern tells you to "press face" you should do it cos it makes a big difference. It's worth the trouble of getting the iron out before you try and stitch.

This is Mrs Large, all stuffed up and waiting for face and decorative details. Oh how I LOVED making the Decorative Details!! I mean, I did enjoy the challenge of working and shaping the body and creating those ingenious little headscarf ties, but really in my mind the project was ALL about The Flowery Bit.

It gave me a ridiculous amount of pleasure to prettify these little Babushkas. The combination of crochet flowers (teeeeeeeeny tiny, worked on a 2.5 mm hook) with embroidered detail (chain stitches mainly) was a complete joy to work on. 

I could have gone on and on and on covering these dolls in flowers, stems and leaves but the trick is knowing how much is enough. Deciding when to stop is often harder than it seems.

So here we have them, my three little Babushka dolls, Ta-dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mrs Large, Miss Medium and Little Miss Small........

......sitting happily on my mantel, smiling their sweet embroidered smiles.

I confess to having a soft spot for Little Miss Small. Her neatness and smallness is captivating.

But she does have a tendency to keep diving head first off the mantel and into the coal bucket. Naughty Little Miss.

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Comments

[Emma]

I help Nicki make up some of the projects in her books - I made the cushion you featured (whilst sitting at a beach hut) and the flowery curtain ties were really nice to put together.
I will let her know about your post; she will be thrilled x

[Miisa]

Beautiful!

I have to get that book too :)

[Holly]

Lucy, Thanks for the post. I saw this book on Amazon but didn't buy it since I could only see the cover. Of course after this post I promptly bought it and am eagerly waiting its arrival. In the mean time I did order the Japanese crochet book you wrote about earlier. I do agree the diagrams help with the language barrier but it got me wondering if there is a discussion group (in English) using these books. It would be wonderful to work on these projects as a group and demystify the instructions together. Have you heard of anything?
Kinda a hint but also a true inquiry:-)
Holly

[alison]

Hi Lucy,

I'm planning my first BIG crochet project and I was thinking about one of your blankets (most likely the granny stripe) but now I'm read this post and seen those cushions and am wondering if I should set my sights a little lower and start off with a cushion instead.
My query is do you have to line the cushion cover or just use it directly over the cushion pad? ifswim?

Thanks!

[gert]

your little people are adorable. thanks for sharing. and are you sure we don't need another yarn basket? think i do. love your blog. gert

[Julia]

Just £3.99 at the Book People
http://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/qs_product_tbp?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=100&productId=253008

See here for how to get free delivery:
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[Julia]

Just £3.99 at The Book People (£8.93 on Amazon). http://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/qs_product_tbp?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=100&productId=253008&searchTerm=cute+crochet
See http://www.hotukdeals.com/vouchers/thebookpeople.co.uk for details of how to get free delivery.

[rencontres]

Beautiful, amazing ^^

[Hazel]

Thanks for your constant reminder of what is really important in life and taking time to acknowledge those special moments.

[Sarah Youde]

I have this book and I love it! I have made a few of the projects but funnily enough the only page that had me thinking 'well, I would never bother to make those' was the Russian doll page, yours however look lovely! I adore the crochet hook case and I have recently made that project :)

[Janette]

I have this book too, I wasn't drawn to the dolls but mow I see yours I think I'll have to make them, very cute!

[Siegi]

I definitively LOVE them!

[Christine]

Hi Lucy
I love the beautiful designs in this book so much, I ordered myself a copy right away! Lol!
I laughed out loud at the vision of Smallest Baboushka diving headfirst into the coal-bucket! I'm an Aussie girl who loves to read your blog.

[Rainy Day Crafter]

I love your Babushkas, especially all the flowery details on them - they are so sweet! I have this book too (although I can't actually find it at the moment - very annoying!) and it's just great isn't it?! There's so many things in there that I want to have a go at making. Oh, and a gal always needs more bags, don't you know?! ;)

[Sarah]

I had this book in my cart at the craft store on Friday and I thought to myself that it totally reminded me of you. I forgot my 40% off coupon at home so I put it back on the shelf, but I am definitely going back for it!

[Leah]

I like your dolls! The book is a must have,yes I must have it now.:)Leah IN,USA

[Melissa @ Re-Inventing Vintage]

I cannot even believe how stinkin' cute those Babushka dolls are!! I am madly in love with this book and your blog... :)

[Vibeke]

Golly miss Molly - you do get a lot of Comments, don't you. When I make arugurumis or whatever they are called again, I put a wee cardboard round thingie in the bottom to make the little Misses of this World stand neatly where they are put.
I want to get that book!
And now that I have you here - I want to say (again) that it is so inspirering to follow your Life and pretty Hooxies here! Thank you for bothering to share :)

[Emma]

Ive got this book too, but not yet attempted anything from it although my daughter is about 50 squares into the 432 square blanket.
Love your Babushkas...so bright and cheery looking.
Em xxxxx

[Donna]

What a gorgeous book and it looks like it is full of projects you'd want to make, rather than just a few like in some books.

I love, love, love the Russian dolls, so I may buy the book just for those - I seem to have a thing for Russian dolls at the moment. Yours are so cute, though I'm a bit worried about Miss Small leaping into the coal bucket :)

[CrochetBlogger]

Adorable! The crochet book looks terrific.

[naomi]

Oh, wow - I love these. Especially the little flower details and they look just right against your wall paper on you mantle piece. Well done!

[Helen]

They are just beautiful! Makes me wish I had the patience to learn how to crochet!

[Lucy]

I love your little Russian dolls, little Miss Naughty looks cheeky. I think there is a tiny hand that could take her on adventures to use up some of her energy :)

[Britney Norris]

I have been following you for a few months now and have made tons of Summer Garden Squares! Now I think I am ready to embark on my next hooky adventure- these Russian dolls! They will be a perfect Christmas gift for my own little lady. Thanks you for the inspiration. --Britney in Texas