Telly - My Sixth Elephant

Mr. Telly was a trying fellow.  He wasn't any more difficult than the others, I just couldn't make myself work on him non-stop.  I had to walk away and do something else every once in awhile.

Telly was commissioned by a fellow Etsy user that wanted him for her son's nursery.  She had found someone else's posting, but I don't think that shop had enough time to do a special order for her.  She contacted me from my posting for Horton.  She wanted him to be lighter than my other elephants.  I found the light grey yarn on another website and sent her a picture of a swatch of the yarn.  She said it was great!  Almost immediately I received her order and payment.  Her only request was the lighter grey yarn and try to do the eyes as close to the example as possible.  So, I told her I would get the yarn and start on him right away.  Well, who knew that a standard grey yarn from a popular company would be so hard to find!  None of my craft stores carried it and I was too scared to try another color because I had sent her a picture of the yarn and she approved.  The defeated shopper that I was, went home yarnless. (I know, it's not a word!)  I jumped online and ordered it from Amazon and it was delivered two days later.  I was so mad at myself because I felt I could be almost done with it by then.  My buyer was not upset in the least.  She knew it was going to take some time and she wasn't in a hurry.

Here is the picture that she sent me to work from:

I worked on him on and off for a week and a half and he was finally finished.  I had just put on the finishing touches and took my final picture.  I then opened her original picture to make my final comparisons to see if something needed to be changed.....I almost lost it.  The eyes were so WRONG!!!  They were huge in comparison!  I panicked and send her a picture cautiously asked what she thought and told her that the eyes would not be very hard to change out.  (It really wasn't that big of a deal to change them, I was just so irritated at myself that I could get to this point without noticing the difference.)

Here are the pictures of Telly:

As you can see, the eyes are huge.  I do know how I messed up, I just can't believe I didn't notice.

Well, her response was an amazing "I like yours better!!  I think the eyes are adorable!!"

Would you just look at those extra exclamation points!?!  I was over the moon happy!  She liked it, she really liked it.

She is my first real sale on Etsy!  I wanted her to be beyond happy with Mr. Telly!  He is going out in the mail today. Here's hoping for a great review!

My next project is....surprise!  Another elephant!  I will be working on a few smaller projects while I am working on her.  So, who knows what my next post will be.  I have a few things in the works that you are all just going to LOVE!

RR

Bright Eyes - My First Retro Owl Rug

After I finished my fourth elephant, I created a Facebook page to showcase some of my work.  My sister commented that she is looking for an owl for a baby shower.  I showed her this pattern from Ira Rott Designs and she loved it.  I had free reign on the color pattern, it just needed to be grey, white and yellow.  I initially intended on more yellow around the ruffles, but was quickly running out of that color.  So I improvised and made the ruffles a solid grey instead.  I mean, who was going to tell me it was wrong!?! LOL!

So here I am introducing you all to Bright Eyes!  She is very far from perfect.  I just didn't have the time, or yarn, to do a test run on her.  So, don't look too closely.  As I was photographing her, I also realized how hard it is to take a decent picture in my house.  There is just not enough light to give the colors any justice.  I tried to lighten it up a bit in the picture settings, but it just messes up other colors.  At some point, I may have to invest in some better lighting.  But for now, you get the idea.  It wasn't as noticeable on the elephants.  They always looked a shade or two darker than they really are, but for a solid color, it wasn't so bad.








My next project will be another elephant. I have received a request from my first paying customer that is not friend or family.  Initially, I was not going to do custom orders for the elephants, but she really wanted one in a lighter grey color.  So, after some discussion and planning, I am going to do it. The yarn had to be ordered, so I won't be able to start on it until it gets here on Thursday. (Who knew I wouldn't be able to find light grey in a store?!?)  It will be my weekend project and I will post pictures as soon as it is finished.

Lissa - My Fifth Elephant Rug

Lissa makes me so happy!  I made her as a birthday gift for my 15 year old Godchild, Melissa.  Note the name similarity.

She is now sitting happily in Melissa's room.  You may notice that I skipped out on the eyebrows on this one.  It is a part of this pattern that I struggle with most of all.  But, I don't think she needs them. I probably won't always leave them off, but for now, they drive me crazy.  If you look close, you will see her ears are a little crooked.  I know, I know, you wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't pointed it out, but these little mishaps are what I look for to make each one better.  I know they will never be perfect, but I try to improve on each one.

My next project is not going to be an elephant, but you just wait, you will love it just as much!

I would just like to add, one more time how much I love the patterns from Ira Rott Designs.  If you like to do knit or crochet, you should really check her out.

My next project is one of her projects, I can't wait to show it to you!

Horton - My Fourth Elephant Rug

Horton hears a.....Oh, nevermind. He is just my inspiration for naming my first male elephant. Everyone meet Horton!  He is a playful looking little guy with lots of personality.  He is my favorite...so far!

I am also starting to realize just how much personality you can put into these elephants.  Just by moving their eyes around a little, you can create a completely different emotion.  Horton feels a little solemn with his gaze.  Don't worry, he is a happy little guy, he just knows how to wrap you around his tusks with a simple look.

He is currently listed as sold on Etsy, but he will soon be back.  He is just in a holding pattern until his replacement is finished.  Keep an eye out in my shop, or contact me directly if you would like to purchase him.  Click this link if you would like to browse my shop:  RitzyRicki

Ellie - My Third Elephant Rug

First, I apologize for the the frequency of posts today.  I am just trying to catch up on my work.  I am a little late on updating the blog.  I hope to be caught up by the end of the day.

Here she is!  The first elephant rug that I want to list for sale.  Miss Ellie went so much smoother than the first two elephants.  I am extremely pleased with the way she turned out.  She also has a little bit of Orchid in her, just check out that bow.

I have chosen Etsy to be my marketplace and set up my profile.  I will post the link below the pictures.

Here is the link to her Etsy listing.

Busy Bee - My Second Elephant Rug

So, here she is.  A true test of my abilities.  Can I make a perfect elephant that I feel good enough to send out in to the world?  I kept thinking about all of the mistakes that I made in Orchid (the first elephant), and hoped they would stay away from this beauty.  I brought a little of Orchid forward in to Miss Busy Bee.  You can see her color shine through in the bow on her.

My kitty doesn't usually like to show off much, but she was so photogenic sitting next to Busy Bee that I thought this would be a great opportunity to show off the size of this rug.

I still look way to closely and critique my work way too much, But, she was a huge improvement!



You can always check out more of my work on my Ritzy Ricki Facebook page!

Orchid - My First Elephant Rug

I started Miss Orchid as a test of my abilities.  Although I have crocheted my whole life, I was very uncertain about this undertaking.  A friend of mine requested this elephant for her granddaughter.  I was a little worried as the pattern was 28 pages.  Yes, 28 PAGES!  YIKES!  It was listed as an intermediate pattern, so I knew I would be able to handle it, I just didn't know what to expect.  My friend bought the pattern for me.  As I looked it over, I realized the creator of this pattern is BRILLIANT. You can check her out at Ira Rott Designs.

I had only followed written patterns all of my life.  She not only writes the patterns, but also includes the graphs for every section.  Graphs always seemed intimidating to me, but having them to refer to is a lifesaver!

Even after seeing the pattern and realizing that it was very well written, I was still a little worried to make this for someone else.  I felt I should do a dry-run and just see how well it went.  Little did I know that I would become obsessed with this pattern.  It took me about 4 days to do, but that was a marathon long weekend of crocheting.  It was extremely hot outside, so it made for a pretty good opportunity to sit inside and work on my project.

There are a lot of mishaps in this first elephant.  Some I backed up an fixed, but others I just left in for character.

After finishing her, I decided that I could be confident enough to start my little side business.  I have created 5 more elephants since Miss Orchid, and each one has gotten better.  I think I have almost memorized the pattern.  Yes, all 28 pages!

I will continue to post pictures of my work.  Hopefully, you come to enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoy creating them.

.