Little critter baskets for Easter

Crochet baskets in the shape of little critters 

Knitting in miniature made easier

 The question that I am asked all the time about my mini knitting is : how do you handle those tiny knitting needles ?

 Over the years I have tried many type of needles and found that the ones that are most readily available do not work for me. Often they look like this :

They are not made out of steel or aluminum like normal knitting needles but out of something that is called piano wire. There are lots of people who can knit with them but I am not too happy with them

The good thing is that they are cheap. The less good things are ( but this is just my experience so you do not have to agree !) :
1. They are very hard to hold.
2. They bend like crazy so your needles will not be straight after a few rows.
3. The points are very sharp and will damage your yarn or hurt your fingers.

For many years I have used needles that looked like this :

A friend made them for me . They are made out of steel and the handles are wood. For me they work very well. The handles make it easier to hold on to the needles and to balace them. The needle part is steel so hardly any bending and they do not have the sharp points.


I have found out how I can make them myself now and  I have two sizes of them 1 mm and 0,75 mm . They work perfectly well for most of my patterns . I like to use DMC tatting thread no .80 with the 1 mm needles and  and silk Gutterman with the thinner ones.


If you would like to have some of these needles I would be happy to make some of them for you to buy. They will cost more than the piano wire ones but I think you will love them. Do contact me if you are interested.

New in my Etsy shop Chenille bears

I have made some new bears for the shop.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/499098780/vintage-bear-in-shabby-box?ref=shop_home_active_1

Egg shaped critters for Easter ( crochet)

The basic shape of these little critters is an egg. With some little details added they make lovely decorations for Easter .  Without the decorations they could be little toys as well.

Same chick pattern, different yarn .

Same bunnies made with very thin thread.

Colourful crochet Easter eggs

My Etsy shop is now open.

I am very happy to Announce that my etsyshop : Miniatures by Marianne is now open !

Here is the link :


https://www.etsy.com/shop/MiniaturesbyMarianne?ref=hdr_shop_menu

Showing off some new creations

I have been making some new no clay foods.  People often ask me why I do not use clay. It is very simple :  I am totally unable to make anything out of clay. The kneading and softening the clay is very hard for me for starters .  Another thing is that the baking of polymer clay produces fumes that make me feel sick,  so no clay for me.

I often get asked if my creations will keep as well as the polymer clay ones. I have to admit I do not know exactly how long they will last.  But I have done a lot of tests and  I found they still look very good after quite a few years.  I have bought clay creations that started to fall apart after a few years and I also have some that look very well after like 10 years.  But  because all the materials we use now like modern clays, glues etc are not old enough to tell exactly how they will stand the test of time we have to hope for the best really.  But so far I think mine are doing pretty well.

For me a lot of the fun is trying to find easy to find every day items that I can translate into  yummie looking food. Hope they will inspire  you