Cute and easy crochet - Russian dolls

Anyone who has ever embarked upon a knitting or crochet project larger than an egg cosy will know that sometimes, when you're working on something big, you need a little light relief, also known as instant gratification knitting (or crochet!).

So, because I needed some relief from the ripple throw (lovely and ripple-y though it is), this weekend I've been making the little cute Russion dolls from Nikki Trench's Cute and Easy Crochet.

I've had this book for a while, and pull it off the shelf regularly to flick through and sigh over the lovely patterns. However, I've never actually had a go at anything in it until now!

I have to admit I was aprehensive at the thought of trying these dolls - I have little experience of amigurumi (the style of crochet used to make these) and they looked  fiddly to make! But, I was spurred on by the success of my octopus last weekend.

The result:

What do you think?!

These dolls were made using the left over scraps of Rowan Pure Wool DK from the Rainbow afghan, which is why Mrs Large Dolly has a body in 3 colours instead of 2 (I ran out of pale pink before I got to her headscarf).

Still, aren't they cute? Actually there weren't too bad at all to make - the most difficult thing about making these wasn't the crochet part, it was sewing on the details of the faces at the end, and stitching the flowers to the bodies of the already stuffed dolls.

I think I have a soft spot for this little one, which is actually the medium size doll (though she seems a lot smaller than the large one) - she just looks so happy!

If you've never tried anything like this before, and are able to get hold of a copy of Cute and Easy Crochet, I really suggest giving these a go. The pattern is very clear and well written, so if you're intimidated by amigurumi like I was, this is a good place to start.

I'm already comtemplating some amigurumi snowmen for Christmas decorations!

And, in case you were wondering I have still had some time to make some progress on the throw too!

Bye for now!