Melanie Toye's Hobbies

So I have been crocheting for a year but mainly objects and animals and then I moved onto blankets and now while working on a blanket and because it’s half way made, it’s heavy and huge, I prefer to keep that project at home.  But when I am going somewhere, where I have to wait a bit or even travelling on the train, crocheting a scarf is the way to go. Plus, I even have my crochet projects (and many crochet hooks) placed in key rooms in my house. So if I find myself sitting in a seat and instead of having to get up and get a project, one is there waiting for me.  So it’s February here in Australia, which means we are in summer. So it’s the perfect time to crochet as many scarves as I want before winter begins.  So far I have made two scarves and I am in the middle of a third. One for me and my children. But I also want to make more scarves for myself, about four to six more. So I have one for each day. And a couple more for my children. Plus, it would be nice to make some...

  If you are a subscriber to my hobbies YouTube channel @littlemissmel23, last week I posted a video on how to crochet a scarf. I couldn’t show the end result because it was already a long video, so I decided to show you on my blog. I have added the video to this blog post if you are interested in watching it for the pattern.  The final result: The final result is quite good I feel. I did a thin scarf and I ran out of pink yarn so I decided to add white. I’m quite proud of this scarf. I am going to play with the sizing and in particular the width of the scarf.  Now my kids have seen the first scarf, they are wanting me to make them one as well. They even chose the coloured yarn they want. One wants black and then white like my pink and white one pictured. And my other son wants a combination of blue white yarn.  As per the video, I plan to crochet 5-7 scarves for myself so I can wear one each day and change the scarf colour pending the outfit.  Scarf crocheting ...

So I have seen the velvet yarn and normally I use acrylic yarn, not just sometimes but all the time for crocheting. So velvet yarn looks pretty and it feels soft so I thought crocheting with a velvet yarn might be a good idea. Also my Nan when I was younger kitted me a royal blue thick scarf and I feel she used velvet yarn, simply by the texture.  So what’s the difference between velvet yarn and acrylic yarn?  Well, the reason I have put off crocheting with velvet yarn is it is thicker so it feels like it would be more difficult to use. And it sort of is and what I mean by that is it can be harder to see the stitches. So I have to concentrate harder when crocheting a single crochet stitch on the scarf.  Also, it appears to break a bit more. I had it in my bag to crochet while travelling and two times, I have had to wait till I got home to cut off broken bits. And what I mean by that is, the velvet comes off in a row. Not after I have crocheted but before I have. So I coul...

Image by MissKarin from Pixabay As a beginner to crocheting, small projects that are less than 30 minutes to complete are ideal to start with. This way, you literally don’t have to be counting stitches for too long and you can reap the results pretty quickly.  I would suggest, crocheting as many of the same pattern as you like to, to really feel confident with the stitches and the pattern.  So let’s work talk about 8 ideas you can crochet as a beginner:  1. Crocheting a scarf A scarf is quite sizeable but only requires two stitches if you don’t mind it being curly on the ends. It can take 2-3 weeks completing a scarf which is good practice of your stitches, if you are casually crocheting on it. It may take several hours. But I do recommend, taking crocheting slow at the beginning. It’s a lot of focusing and counting of stitches.  2. Crocheting a sun A sun only take 30 minutes to crochet but you do have to sew on the edging at the end, otherwise it’s just a yellow c...

Image by Hans from Pixabay For an intermediate crocheter, how much can you get done in 30 minutes of crocheting? Well, I am an intermediate crocheter and it takes me all the same speed to create anything, so let's look into what I can do and you can do, in 30 minutes. For an adult sized blanket, doing one stitch. Check out my two stitches adult blanket pattern here.  I can do one complete row, doing one stitch, in 30 minutes. An adult sized blanket, is fun and also if you don't count stitches like me, it's actually relaxing. Plus, if you gift them, people love them and want more. So it's a great project to have on the side, when you relax at night and watch TV you can also be crocheting your blanket. It can take me months to complete a crochet blanket.   For an adult scarf , I can complete two rows, using two stitches in 30 minutes. It's a similar pattern to the blanket, here is a blog post on how to make a scarf, with a video. Scarves just don't seem as fun f...

Image by Vicki Becker from Pixabay Left over yarn, can be very annoying. Ha! Because, you want to use it all but you also don't want to run out. So we play this balancing game, buy more than we need and then wonder what to do with the left overs. Here are 5 ideas of what to do with your left over yarn: 1. Chuck your left-over yarn Let's be real, if you are crocheting amigurumi. If you are like me, I end up with little bits of all different colours that have been cut off throughout crocheting amigurumi.  I have tried to place the left over yarn, inside the amigurumi as stuffing. The problem here is, if your outer yarn is a light colour, like white and you are stuffing with bright colours, like green and hot pink... you can actually see the yarn that's been stuffed on the inside.  Also, it is annoying to stuff. For example, I use pillow stuffing (it is cheaper than cushion stuffing) and it just sits how you want it to sit inside the amigurumi shape. I guess that's what I...

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Its been a full on year! Full of major harsh realities but also a renewal and rediscovering myself. And it was in October that I started my new strategy for growing my blog and it was in October that I doubled my views. That is success! But guess what? "Next year is going to be even bigger!"   But before we focus on the New Year. Let's review my year in review. Because you have to look back at what succeeded to know where to build in the future. Plus, I just want to say a special thank you, to you, who is reading my blog, because you bring me joy, every day that I look at my statistics of views and think, I am helping someone start a new hobby, or get more inspiration for their current craft. It's exciting that I have finally found my people, who love hobbies as much as I do. Thank you, you are awesome. Alright, let us review! The top 5 performing blog posts of this year.  5. How much craft supplies should you have  "So, if you...

Image by Foundry Co from Pixabay Well from my hobbies such as miniature DIY kits, diamond painting, scrapbooking, crocheting from animals to scarves to blankets, painting, reading and even gardening I order them as from the hardest to easiest in hobbies. Let’s start at number ten of the hardest hobbies:  10. Miniature DIY kits  Miniature DIY kits are right up there for one of the most hardest hobbies from my list above. You need so much patience, ability to work with miniatures using tweezers or your fingers to fold, shape and glue items together. Basically using a set of craft wood, paper, wire and fabric to make all the objects. A lot of extra cost goes into buying the resources you need to help such as a ruler, tweezers, scissors, glue and more as you go forth and work with what you will think will help. However, if you love miniatures it feels amazing and looks amazing, once complete.  9. Crocheting amigurumi When I started crocheting, I decided to crochet amigu...

  So, you are a beginner of crocheting and you might be finding it quite difficult. I actually find crocheting and building miniature homes to be some of the hardest craft hobbies. But once you get going with crocheting it will be easier, I assure you. The truth is as a beginner crocheter, you are learning so much at the same time. For example, you need to learn the stitches, you need to get comfortable with the tension around your fingers with the yarn and it is ideal if you learn how to read a pattern. Plus, you might need to count stitches. This all adds up to be an overwhelming experience for a beginner crocheter. That’s why I created my eBook The Journey of crocheting for beginners by Melanie Toye.  Not only to give advice for beginners but also to give the confidence to not give up. I nearly gave up numerous amounts of time and I definitely stopped doing certain projects as I was learning because it was too stressful. This is ok, to start with its important to learn ...

  Hi, I’m Mel and I’m addicted to crocheting. Are you addicted?  This is how I found out I am addicted to crocheting. I can look around my living room and I have a huge tub of yarn. I also have a huge shelf filled with six levels of yarn. I still need to buy more colours. I still feel like I don’t have enough yarn. But it’s taking me a while to use the yarn I have. The first tub of yarn I bought it for different projects but have moved on, so I don’t have a real plan of what to use this yarn for. The shelf of six layers of yarn is for actual projects I’m working on. Now let’s talk projects, I just would like to say firstly, that I do finish crocheting projects. I have another tub filled with plushies and arigumani I have made. But again, what do I do with them now I have made them? I have also made multiple adult sized blankets and adult scarves.  So back to projects in progress: 2x blankets. I was working on one for myself a pretty pink white yarn. And then my sister ask...