Crochet A-B-Sea Book Review
Sep 18, 2018
What a lucky duck I've been this week, with not one, but two glorious new crochet books to review! Today's book is the first offering from Pony McTate - Crochet A-B-Sea: An Extraordinary Underwater Alphabet. If you follow Pony online, you'll know you're in for a treat with pages filled with cool designs, witty writing and facts you never knew you needed to know about nudibranches and blobfish.
Firstly, this is not your average baby blanket. This is a genius collection of weird and wonderful, bizarre and completely hilarious underwater critters. I've watched, over the past few months, as Pony drip fed her latest creations over on Instagram and I secretly started a favourites list. You see, the thing is, you don't just have to make these creatures into blanket squares, you CAN use them for any kind of decorative purposes. And what better way to pimp up your clothing, bag or fridge than with a Porcupine Puffer, Narwhal or Inexplicable Shrimpgoby!
When the book arrived in the post last week, I immediately began flicking through it's pages trying to decide on a perfect critter to whip up. My favourite candidates were the Blobfish, Great White Shark, Narwhal, Porcupine Puffer, Tube Worms (they truly have to be seen to be believed...) and the Axolotl. I have had a run in with a giant log of washed up tube worms here at the beach (I swear I was witnessing some kind of alien life form) and I know the representation of the creatures was pretty darn accurate, but I just couldn't go there this time... Next time, LOL!
Instead I chose to go with a creature that has haunted me since I was a new entrant at school. I vividly remember having an axolotl in a glass tank in one of my first classrooms and being terrified that it would somehow piranha my finger off if I made a wrong move when feeding it it's daily meal! But this dude is cute, and those little fliffy ear gill thingies were too sweet to pass up. Look, see! Friendly as.
He was pretty straightforward to make and I really like the way he pops out from his background with the help of a little bit of stuffing. There were clear instructions on exactly how to work his wee leggies and where to place his eyes and mouth. I have no idea where he's going to go, but the boys are already trying to claim dibs on him. I even managed to raise an interested eyebrow on the 14 year old, and that's saying something.
Meanwhile, check out the adorable whiskers on this dude...
So what else can I tell you? The book is fabulous - go get it. Each pattern is clearly described with written instructions, notes and a great photo tutorial. There are tips on creating a neat, seamless circle, joining colours, invisible joins, weaving ends, making French knots & the yarn allowance needed... everything you need for a successful project. You can find links on Pony's website to pre-order a copy in either print or electronic form. And if you fancy a daily chuckle, it's worth hitting follow on her Instagram feed too! 
I can just see new babies across the land learning their a,b,c's in a slightly quirky way thanks to this blanket. Imagine your nephew's first word being humuhumunukunukuapua'a!
Way to go, Pony - well done!
Happy hooking!
Alia xx
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