I know I’ve been teasing you with my visit to Toft and the pug I made for Dylan for Easter. Both my kids are nosy, so I didn’t dare put anything up anywhere they might stumble across it before Easter Sunday. We’re safe now, so here goes the first of two posts about impossibly cute woolly animals.
Just after Christmas my friend, Julia, and I had a bit of a road trip to the Toft Studio in Warwickshire. We headed off on the Saturday afternoon, and after a lovely pub supper, a ridiculously early night, and a full English breakfast we didn’t have to cook ourselves, we had a crisp and sunny country drive to Toft.
The setting for the Studio is impossibly bucolic. Classic English countryside, red brick houses and a beautiful building that is home to the studio, shop, and a very warm welcome.
We did two workshops. One amigurumi and one on stripy blankets. Both were for complete beginners, and I came away confident that although I’d never crocheted anything before I could happily complete the white rat that I’d started. I didn’t….I poached the yarn for the wee mice I made for Summer! But I did also purchase the yarn and pattern for Spencer the Pug for my pug mad boy.
And I did complete him.
The hardest part of this project is remembering to count! I’m not a confident enough crocheter to try and do this and watch a film. But it’s amazing what you can accomplish with a little quiet concentration.
Dylan is so delighted with him. Spencer has joined Margaret, the knitted pug, as his favourite companions.
Although now, obviously, he’s not called Spencer. A new name has yet to be decided on. But with toy pugs already named Margaret and Phillip Reeve, who knows what we’ll end up with?!
I’m feeling decidedly accomplished and planning other projects as soon as I’ve worked through some more stash. I can, however, highly recommend Toft workshops. And the yarn is simply sublime! I want to knit All The Things in it now.
I am envious of your workshop venue – it looks wonderful. Your pug is delightful – are the facial features crocheted on? The most difficult part of my dog was the face embroidery and I’m still not satisfied and might remove it and start again.
It is a wonderful venue!
The feature are crocheted and then stitched on! The little mice that I did have embroidered faces…they are a pain! I unpicked mine more than once.
I don’t know who’s cuter – that adorable stuffie or that adorable Dylan!
It’s a toughie! Apart from the daft haircut which was necessary following his own attempts at barbering!
Cute pug and boy. I sympathise with the haircut crisis – I cut my own hair as a child too. It didn’t go down well but it didn’t stop a repeat in my teens which was more successful ?
He looked like a monk! Big bald bit on the top. I wept! He had to have a no.1 all over. This is growing back!
I’m hoping it’s a lesson learned.
Lucky you, what a fantastic place for a workshop! And all your hard work paid off judging by that amazing smile!
Toft is so very beautiful. I’d love to go again.
The pug is such a favourite too….worth the work!
What an absolutely gorgeous venue and you little pug is so sweet. That was brilliant going picking up crochet and making this as well. Dylan looks so chuffed with it. Also the llamas (??) are very cute. Xx
He is thrilled. I’m unbearably smug! And I think they were alpacas, but either way they were adorable!