July Amigurumi Roundup

My favorite is the white rabbit ami. I found the 'I'm Late' clock charm at Hobby Lobby. Just perfect for the worrying rabbit.

Second favorite is Sans from Undertale. The jacket was a work in progress. Lol I just crocheted until I got something that resembled a jacket.

I used sparkly yarn for the sushi ami as I had run out of white and didn't have enough black. It's a snazzy piece of sushi :)

Off to the convention tomorrow! Can't wait to have a break from real work.

Until next time >___<

June Amigurumi Roundup

April and May Amigurumi Roundup

Hi, everyone! I had completely forgotten to post my amigurumi for the month of April so I combined it with this month's amigurumi finishes. The only finishes I made this month were the Yuri and Victor dolls while everything else was made in April.

I think my favorite is the Ewok amigurumi. The photo is a bit dark on that side so you can't see him clearly, but I think he is adorable. If I wasn't going to put him up for sale at the convention in July, I'd keep him. He's that cute :)

Almost two more months until the convention.........gotta get back to my crochet hooks :)

Until next time ^____^

March Amigurumi Roundup

I told you Link was adorable, right?! His shield makes all the difference....otherwise, you'd think he was a woodland elf!

Until next time ^___^

January and February Recap and Crochet Roundup

It seems that January went by so quickly that I forgot to do my usual monthly recap. It's just my way of keeping on track with books and projects, LOL.....sometimes you just need to organize your brain.

Read:

January:
1. Against a Brightening Sky by Jaime Lee Moyer
2. Knife Edge by Andrew Lane

February:
1. The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
2. Super Sushi Ramen Express by Michael Booth
3. Death's Mistress by Terry Goodkind
4. His Substitute Wife by Dorothy Clark
5. The Art of Beatrix Potter by Emily Zach et al

Stitching:
1. Bohemian Paisley embroidery
2. Shy Fairy embroidery

Crochet:
Lots and lots of amigurumi......see pictures below!

January Amigurumi Roundup

February Amigurumi Roundup

My favorites in books were Against a Brightening Sky by Jaime Lee Moyer and The Art of Beatrix Potter. I really hope Ms. Moyer continues with the series. I love the supernatural/mystery theme she has set in the turn of the century California.

The Beatrix Potter book was lovely. I hadn't realized that she had so many interests throughout her life in addition to her children's books. You learn something new everyday!

For the month of March, I plan on more crochet and hopefully stitching a bit on the Potions pattern with the aid of a magnifier if I can find a good one :)

Until next time ^____^

Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day package to CA!

Good morning, everyone! I didn't have a chance over the weekend to post about the Chinese New Year package that I sent to my friend Amanda to celebrate the Year of the Rooster.....with a few Valentine's Day items thrown in the mix.

Wandering the Internet for rooster amigurumi patterns, I found an adorable one.....but the website was in Spanish. At least Google translate is good for things occasionally so I was about to crochet the pattern.

So my little rooster was sent to CA along with a traditional Starbucks Year of the Rooster gift card, and some zodiac chocolate coins. For Valentine's Day items, I found some pretty sparkly (who doesn't like sparkles?!) washi tape, one of Hershey's new candy bars, and a set of flavored teas at Target.

Silly me, I had wrapped the teas up before taking a photo......I was wrapping everything at 10pm after getting home from hanging with my friends. My brain wasn't in photo mode, just wrap everything and go to sleep mode. LOL

I hope everyone has a wonderful Year of the Rooster!!!

Until next time ^____^

Handmade Christmas 2016 - Crochet and Baking

Good morning! I hope you are enjoying the holiday today. I wanted to show what I made my friends and family for Christmas.

For my friends, Constance and Jim, I made a kitty doll for their baby girl, Arwen. I hope Arwen will like it when she gets old enough to play with it.

For Amanda, I made a short watermelon scarf. I found the pattern/video on YouTube and thought it would be a great way to brighten up a dreary winter day and light enough for weather in California. I love the added embellishment of black Pony beads to use as watermelon seeds.

For my uncle, I made orange brownies as part of his presents. They are his favorites.

In my mother's stash of containers, I found this cute reindeer plastic tub. Perfect for 'wrapping' his brownies.

For my friends, I made those kawaii cross stitch ornaments that I posted about last week :)

I hope you had fun crafting for friends and family too!

Until next time >___<

August Amigurumi Roundup

Tall Kitty Amigurumi

Hi, everyone. I found a lovely pattern on Ravelry for this tall kitty. I have had it in my stash of patterns for a while and finally got around to stitching it this month.

I used Caron Simply Soft white and soft pink for the dress and kitty. For the bottom paws and bowtie, I used Bernat Satin sable. I find that Bernat Satin's texture matches well with the Caron Simply Soft yarns.

With this pattern I learned a new crochet stitch for the edging on the dress, the crab stitch or reverse single crochet stitch.....at least that is what I think it might be. The video attached to the pattern was in Russian. When I tried to use an online translator site, it came up with the oddest translation of the title of the video. Looking up the crab stitch/reverse single crochet stitch, the stitch in the video was similar so I think perhaps it is a variation on the stitch.

This beautiful kitty will be leaving soon to a new home in a different country. I hope my friends' baby girl will love this kitty when she gets older.

Until next time >___<

Saturday Crafting

I spent Saturday finishing up details on various amigurumis. I had ordered some nice keyring clasps from Amazon and used those to make some of my smaller amigurumis into keychains.

The top image of amigurumis are my finishes so far this month. I am especially proud of the sushi roll. It is crocheted using joined rounds.

I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but the majority of amigurumi patterns are stitched using continuous rounds and I could never seem to get the hang of crocheting with joined rounds, but YouTube is always your best friend when you need crochet tutorials. I found this great video by Hookabee. It explains how to crochet in joined rounds and the best part is the fact that you can clearly see what she is doing.

I have two more amigurumis to finish this month. The finish line is in sight!!!

Until next time >___<

May Amigurumi Roundup

My little amigurumi for the month of May. I like all of them......though my favorite has to be the sparkly bat on the lower left. I love the yarn used for the bat and glittery purple felt I used for his ears and wings!!

I had gone to Michael's on Sunday with my sister. I was in search of craft glue (which I didn't find....I really like The Ultimate glue at Hobby Lobby.....it must be their brand because I can't find it elsewhere!!) But while I was looking at Caron Simply Soft yarn, my sister found a selection of clearance yarn by Isaac Mizrahi. It reminded me of Caron's party line of yarn.

My sister was adamant that I pick up the black color to make a bat amigurumi. The color is called Barrymore.

I'm in love with this yarn.......and that's hard for me to say because I am a Caron Simply Soft fangirl. Isaac Mizrahi's brand isn't as thick as Caron despite both of them being a size 4 weight, but it works up well. I was worried that the yarn was going to work up too loosely for me to stuff the doll with Polyfil, but it wasn't a problem at all.

I have a feeling I'll have to go to Michael's again and pick up more colors in this sparkly line of yarn........which is breaking my resolution to not buy yarn unless I really need a color of yarn for a project........but at a clearance price of $2.99 a skein, it is calling my name across town like a siren!

Evil siren.......bane of the checking account!

Until next time ^___^

April Amigurumi Roundup

So many amigurumi..................I think my wrist might fall off by the time the summer gets here......

My favorite amigurumi is the little grey Totoro! You can never go wrong with a Totoro....he's so cute!

The amigurumi that gave me the most trouble was the Captain America doll (to the right of Totoro). I always have trouble with making doll hair. So my Captain America is no exception. He looks like a boy, but the hair looks like Bucky Barnes instead of Steve Rogers......lol.....

I was complaining to my friend Amanda about the horror that is making dolls hair. It is so nerve wreaking. If you cut too much, you have to pull out your stitching and start over!!! She suggested maybe I should see if I could find a hairdresser who crocheted and asked for lessons. Sounds like a good plan.......though my hair stylist doesn't crochet......darn!

Looking online you can find dozens of amigurumi hair tutorials, but they are almost always for girls hair.......does no one make boy dolls?!?!?! Ugh.....am I asking for the impossible? Knowing my luck, it's quite possible.

Until next time ^____^

March Amigurumi Roundup

Good evening! Here's my amigurumis for the month. My favorites are the Star Wars themed ones, BB8 and Yoda.

The Yoda doll is from the crochet kit I received for Christmas. I didn't realize it was going to be so tiny until I had finished stitching the head, looked at the instructions and saw that he would be 2 1/2 inches tall.

My only complaint about the kit is that is comes with quite thin yarn. I think it might be sport weight yarn though I am not entirely sure.  I do know it wasn't the best yarn to work with as the thickness of the yarn varied as you stitched.

The kit came with an E size hook. I didn't use the hook provided, but used one of my Clover Amour hooks that Amanda had gotten me :)

I think I will make another Yoda in the future with my usual yarn and a H hook and see how big he becomes :)

Until next time >___<

February Amigurumi Roundup

A lot of gaming amigurumi last month. My favorite are the Final Fantasy cactuars (the green ones on either end).

The one that gave me the most trouble was the Twin Star Kiki. His dress required surface crochet. When I read that in the pattern I was confused and with no instructions, I did the next sensible thing and Googled.

He turned out alright though I think when I make his sister Lala, I will shorten the dress so it doesn't bunch up around the feet.

Until next time >___<

January Amigurumi Roundup

Here is my little amigurumi collection this month and late last month. I think my favorite is the Pikachu ami, he's so cute with his red cheeks.

Until next time >___<

Dreary New Year Crocheting

It's been a dreary and cold New Year today, which is good in a way because we haven't had wintery weather in quite awhile.

This morning and afternoon I stitched up these tiny Pokemon ball amigurumis. I hope to make them into keychains for our Etsy shop.

I hope all my readers have a wonderful New Year!!

Until next time >___<

Super Mario Boo Amigurumi

Pattern: Boo by WolfDreamer
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft White
Notions: black, red, and white felt
Start/Finish: 12/12-13/2015

For one of my coworkers for Christmas this year, I made a Super Mario Boo ghost amigurumi as his gift.

The pattern is quite easy. I noticed in the comments on the post for this pattern that people complained of the shape they got after stitching. So if you do stitch this pattern, remember to stuff it firmly and shape the amigurumi with your hands to get the round shape that you need for the ghost.

Until next time ^____^

Gingerbread Amigurumi

Pattern: Gingerbread amigurumi by Frosty Sheep
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft limelight, maize, red, and white
Hook: size C
Notions: 6mm safety eyes and white yarn
Start/Finish: 11/26-27/2015

I made this little gingerbread man amigurumi for my friend Amanda as part of her Christmas package this year

I took strands of yarn and glued them to the arms and legs as white frosting. Green yarn for gum drop buttons and red for a tiny candy bow.

Until next time ^___^

Yokai Watch Whisper Amigurumi

Whisper Amigurumi
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft White
Hook: size H
Notions: black, dark pink, purple, and white felt
Start/Finish: 12/5-6/2015

I had a customer on Etsy who bought the Yokai Watch Jibunyan amigurumi from my shop and asked if I had any other amigurumi characters from the anime/game. I didn't have any made, but she said she would love to purchase a Yokai Watch Whisper amigurumi for her daughter.

So after fiddling a bit, I was able to stitch up a Whisper amigurumi. I think he came out great for a first try.

I really hope my customer loved the amigurumis for her daughter :)

Until next time ^____^

Bunny Sundae Amigurumi

My start and finish this weekend, a cute bunny Neapolitan amigurumi sundae.

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft chocolate, dark chocolate, off white, red, soft pink, and white
Hook: size H 
Notions: 6mm safety eyes, dark pink felt, and pink beagle beads
Start/Finish: 6/27-28/2015

I finally got around to starting another sundae amigurumi. I was thinking either kitties or bunnies and obviously my love of bunnies overruled the kitties.

My project this week is to finish the Kiki doll amigurumi that I had made earlier this month. She is lacking hair so I will have to make some, which is always a daunting task because it takes a while.

After that, I think my last amigurumi before Mechacon will be another kitsune. The one I had in my shop sold this month so I need to make a new one.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th Of July weekend!!

Until next time > ____<