Vivika Vaina (Paraskevi Vainopoulou) is an amigurumi designer, known online as The Wandering Deer, she designs easy-to-make tiny amigurumi. Vivika taught herself to crochet 10 years ago with the help of online videos and since then she hasn't stopped creating little crochet dolls, she also loves drawing and sewing. Vivika lives in Greece with her husband and daughter. Instagram: @wanderingdeer (40.5k followers).
It features six adorable scenes to crochet, and many more projects. Each one of its 62 amigurumi patterns can be whipped up in just a hour or two, and you can use any yarn you have to hand, though Hello cotton is featured in the book. You’ll find patterns for a gardener and an explorer, along with tiny plants and animals (even a watering can), together with step-by-step images and crochet and material basics. * Simply Crochet * A lovely book to dip into, the 62 mini amigurumi animals and accessories in this collection can be made individually, or displayed together in themed scenes. There’s a lakeside cast of characters including a frog and duck, a birthday scene with party-hatted woodland animals and a celebration cake, and even a cute little chicken coop. These charming amigurumis make perfect gifts too. * Inside Crochet magazine * This imaginative book from Vivika Vaina, aka The Wandering Deer, includes nine scenes made up of 62 tiny items to crochet. The small scale of the elements means they can be hooked up quickly – perfect for a crafty afternoon when you want a break from larger, more time consuming makes. The tiny projects are great for using up odds and ends of yarn, too. The book begins with a guide to amigurumi tools and techniques, with useful advice on making the items safe for children, who are sure to love playing with them. Each project is also accompanied by useful step-by-step making photos. The scenes are inspired by nature and include patterns for animals, plants and flowers, while human figures are represented by a Gardener and Explorer. Creating these scenes would be a wonderful way to mark passing seasons, special occasions like birthdays and holidays – the Coop scene with the chickens and eggs could be used as an Easter decoration, for example. Favourite makes include the varied wildlife in the Bugs scene; the partying animals in Birthday; and the leaves, mushrooms and fruit in Miniatures. This book is a fantastic introduction to crochet for beginners and is sure to be a hit with imaginative children! * Knitting magazine *