Poppies

“And now, my beauties, something with poison in it, I think. Something with poison in it, but attractive to the eye,  and soothing to the smell. Poppies… Poppies. Poppies will put them to sleep. Sleep. Now they’ll sleep!”
                                           -The Wicked Witch of the West
                                                     Warner Brother's The Wizard of Oz

 

Papaver somniferum or the Opium poppy. The botanical name means "the sleep-bringing poppy" referring to the sedative effects of the opiates in this flower.  

I found a lovely book with a wonderful pattern for one of my favorite flowers. Crochet Bouquet: Easy Designs for Dozens of Flowers 

 

Suzann Thompson's book has ton's of super cute flowers to crochet. The pattern instructions are straight forward and very simple to follow. If you are a new crocheter you may need a stitch reference book. I like The Crochet Stitch Bible.  

 

 For the black center of the poppy I used an alpaca tencel fiber to give it a little shine and I used a red acrylic fiber for the petals. What I thought was really cool was that you crocheted around a padding cord and then pulled to bring the petals closer together and get them in the position that you want them to be in.

The double strand of yarn is the padding cord that I crocheted around.

The center of the poppy is a separate piece that you make and then sew onto the flower. I jazzed mine up a little bit with some embroidery with red acrylic yarn .

The finished Opium Poppy!

Remember that Opium Poppies are for decorative purposes only. They are not for eating, ingesting, or consumption in any form. I do not condone, suggest, or recommend the consumption of Opium Poppies. But if you do please send me a picture. It always makes me smile to see messed up people.