Fairy Knit-Along

I joined a Fairy Knit-along (Fairy KAL) on Ravely that has been awesome good fun!  It is being sponsored on four groups:

Fiona McDonald's Fans

How do you make dolls

Fiber Fairies

The rules are simple:  create a Fairy name and description using this online Fairy Name Generator, then make a fairy to match.  You can use any pattern you like, and combine knit, crochet, felting and sewing techniques.  The fairy needs to be completed in order to join a Fairy Meet-up on Halloween.

I am using the Grace Notes pattern, and my Fairy is described as follows:

Ember Agaricglow

She brings hallucinations. She lives where fireflies mate and breed. She can only be seen in the light of a full moon. She wears dresses that glow with fiery colours and has russet-coloured wings like a brightly coloured butterfly. 

As she has taken shape in my mind, she has pale ivory skin with hair the color of midnight.  Nightshade tatoos are embroidered on her body, and her eyes are the color of embers.

I wanted realistic looking butterfly wings for her, so I modified a couple of my crochet butterfly patterns: the Swallowtail and the Milkweed butterflies, then decided to add to this a pattern for Luna Moth wings as well.  

Grace Notes Butterfly Wings

She still needs hair, and her fairy finery.  Coming soon :-)

Lavender White complete

Lavender White, with her best friend :-)  She posing with the sweet allysum since my lavender are not blooming at present. 

I have plans for more winged Forget-Me-Knots, but I'm going to try my hand at knitting a sweater...for myself!  Hopefully it won't take me forever :-)

In the mean time, enjoy the crochet!

Lavender White

Lavender White, inspired by the fragrent lavender growing around the house that entices the cabbage white butterflies.

Next step, fairy finery :-)

Nightshade

Nightshade is my first Forget-Me-Knot with wings!  The whole idea of making butterflies was to create wings for these tiny dolls.  Nightshade has Mourning Cloak wings (appropriate, don't you think?).  They are crocheted right into her back.  For the next doll, I think I will crochet them inboard a bit closer; the clothing will fit better.

Her dress is from a lace pattern from the Leasure Arts leaflet 20 Beautiful Edgings (they are!).  I wanted one with popcorn stitches that would look like Nightshade berries when crocheted in red.  I don't enjoy crocheting with black, but the lace wasn't too hard to work up.  Putting a white sheet of paper in your lap helps to see the black stitches.

Her hair is Lionbrand Fun Fur, crocheted with a size 1 steel hook.  This is a much smaller than recommended hook for this yarn, but it made a great cap.

Nightshade among her namesake berries.  Very poisonous...Do Not Eat!

Butterflies are Free; at least, mine are :-)

Butterflies flew into my brain a couple of weeks ago, when I was thinking about adding wings to my Forget-Me-Knot kids.  I've always loved the illustrations of Cicely Mary Barker; her Flower Fairies drawings from the 1920's are delightful, and they all have very realistic butterfly and moth wings. Sooooo...

Here is my attempt at creating some realistic butterflies in crochet:

Crochet Butterflies

The patterns are done in one color, so it will be up to you to decide how to crochet your butterfly.  I used two books to come up with mine:   Butterflies of Indiana,  by Jeffery E. Belth; and Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America,  by Jim P. Brock and Kenn Kaufman.  These are both excellent field guides full of pictures.  The Indiana book is also excellent from the wealth of information regarding habitat, ecology, conservation, and everything you ever wanted to know about the life of butterflies. 

I used acrylic paint to add some details to the wings, like dots of color and wing tips.  Dual Duty button and craft thread was used to make the antennae.  The butterflies were made with worsted, sport, and size 10 crochet cotton, with a slightly smaller than normal hook for the yarn or thread.

I've become captivated and plan to try a butterfly garden next year.  Maybe you will too :-)