Flying Monkey!

The story behind this creation is about a supervisor of mine. She's moving out of state, so she can manage her own store. I thought it would be a nice thank-you to crochet her something. One of her favorite movies is The Wizard of Oz, so I thought a flying monkey would be great!

The head, body, and ears were made using patterns from the Creepy Cute Crochet book. I attempted to crochet the vest, but it just wouldn't turn out the right way. I improvised a bit of the pattern, and sewed on the red embellishment later. I used puff-paint for his smile, nose, and the white lining on his jacket. I crocheted the wings using this pattern from Crochet Cricket. I modified it slightly so the wings wouldn't be as large.

The only thing he's missing is the hat, I haven't sewn it on quite yet. I was being lazy about it because I thought I still had this week to give it to her. Apparently though, she's been scheduled at her new store since yesterday! That's what happens when you procrastinate, I guess.

My Journey with Mr. Skellington

So, I've put a few projects on hibernate since the last time I wrote. The MLP purse being one of them; I just ran out of steam on it. It looks pretty good for being half done. My goal is to finish it, but for now, it's on the back burner. 

I've been a little down in the dumps lately. I don't want to get into details, but I'm glad that Pinterest, DeviantART, and my family exist. I was challenged to crochet a Jack Skellington doll for my second-cousin. Immediately I thought, "Why haven't I done this already? Let's get to it!"

I've loved The Nightmare Before Christmas movie since it came out in 1996. I was the generation who didn't know if they enjoyed it or was going to have nightmares because of it.

It took me two days to get the bust of Jack done, and then another day to figure out the legs. I had to wait a bit longer to do details (like his pinstripes) because I didn't have felt or white puff paint. I had originally planned on using white embroidery thread for the pinstripes in his suit. Once I had assembled him though, I thought puff paint would be easier to work with. As for the hands, I thought I would try and fanagle some out of yarn. That idea quickly went out the window once I thought about felt.

I was trying to test how I wanted the hands to look with puff paint. I chose the third from the left styled one.

I don't know why, but this is my favorite shot.

First side done on the Popsicle-looking arms :)

Here is the last shot before I flipped Jack over and pinstriped his back. I know I say this all the time, but I'm in love with this project. I'm grateful that it's fired me up about crocheting again and I can't wait to finish him! I wrote down the pattern, so maybe I'll be making him again in the future.

Oh, and about giving this guy to my cousin, I think she's going to have to pay me instead! I can't just give him up, but I will make her one if she at least pays for shipping and handling :D

Well wishes everyone!

MLP Update

Here's a picture of some progress that I've made with the MLP purse. It's been nuts seeing this thing come to life! I am having some trouble keeping my edges straight, but once I add the felt and officially turn it into a purse, I don't think it will be as noticeable.

This is taking me way too long to finish, but I only have so many hours of alone time. Plus, I've been project hopping so I don't get burnt out. I just can't believe that I still need to make a second one! My imagination was bigger than my yarn collection.

I also am close to finishing the Star Wars box for my brother. I need to make a Galactic Empire square, and then I'm pretty much done. It might not end up becoming a box though because the squares don't line up as much as I'd like them to. I could turn it into a banner, but with my brother, if it's not useful, then it wasn't a super good gift. That's why I thought a change box would be perfect! I just need to stay on top of these projects, Christmas is around the corner you know.

Work In Progress

First off, I must say that I'm tremendously excited about crocheting this MLP purse for one of my two younger cousins. Thanks to this website, microrevolt.org, I was able to turn my original MLP drawing into an easy to follow crochet chart. I'm not going to put this photo on DeviantART so thank you for checking it out here!

To see the whole drawing, follow this link to my gallery! Ms. Celestia Template

I had a bit of trouble with the end of that tail, but I was able to make a few adjustments. So far, the length is approx. 9 1/2", so I'm hoping it will also be 9 1/2" tall as well. This is a project that has been challenging, but in a fun way. So much fun, that I haven't noticed the three hours that passed by while I was crocheting this!

I still need to buy some felt for the inner layer, and possibly zippers to close them up. I'm not sure yet, we'll see what happens once I'm finally finished.

Excited Update

So, we're half-way through the year, and that means it's time to make Christmas gifts! Here's a quick run-down of what I have planned (in no particular order):

• Granny square purses for two of my cousins.
• Star Wars themed change box for one of my brothers.
• Football team beer cozies for my parents (Steelers and 49ers).
• Cowl/Infinite scarf for my grandmother.
• Red Riding Hood doll for my great-grandmother.

I have quite a few more family members that I still need to brainstorm for, but I'm happy with the ideas I have so far.

This is a w.i.p. shot of the Star Wars change box I'm crocheting for one of my brothers. I don't want to show the front of each square until each one is done. I am really proud of how they're turning out so far. I have to make two more squares with themes on them, and I already know what I'm going for.

Well, I better go get started!

What You've Been Missing

I crocheted this dice bag for a close friend who was coming in to visit. I always enjoy making things for him because he has the best reactions to gifts! I also learned how to crochet straight lines while I was making this. Basically, the black line that goes around the bag looks like one continuous line instead of having a small break in it.

A blank dice bag pattern can be found on Ravelry.com

This is a guild charm I made inspired by Magic: The Gathering trading card game. Once I made my deck, I knew it had to be done! It's come in handy a few times, but not in any real tournaments yet. We'll see :D

I run a blue/white control deck. This is my lucky charm!

This is a Gamecube Change box that I crocheted for my youngest brother. He has mounds of loose change on his desk, so I think this will help him stay more or less organized when it comes to his change. The Gamecube is the system that he really grew up with, always playing Super Smash Bros. Melee to unlock all the extras. 

I'm going to give this to him for Christmas :)

I am currently working on a few projects, one being a little red riding hood doll for my great-grandmother. That one should be done in a few hours. I know I'm going to have some trouble with the hood though, since I've never made one before. I'm also going to try a new technique for attaching doll hair. I didn't really like the one I used on my Quantum Leap doll.

Medusa, Dahling

A Squeaker's Creatures Original

Follow this link for more photos DeviantArt Gallery

I had just finished crocheting Vu Doo Jack when the idea popped into my head; why not crochet Medusa? I was on Google before the idea had really taken form. I thought it would also be a great way to try out the curl technique for her hair and arms. I also had a fun time crocheting her tail. Instead of sewing a separate piece on, I just picked up stitches as I went along. 

It gives it a cleaner look in my opinion. Although, next time I'll have to make her tail a bit wider. I have to flatten her bottom a bit before she'll stand on her own. The balance isn't too bad once you get her standing. The best part was getting to embroider her face. I've always wanted to do that doll look, and for a first attempt I didn't do half-bad. 

In the World of Tomorrow

So, I started attempting to create inventory for the farmer's market, but I keep getting side-tracked. So far, I've made four things, but only one or two of them I'm willing to give up. I'm trying to think of small things that I can just mass produce, but to be honest that idea is boring. I'd rather make one or two unique items over a case of singular ones.

Unfortunately, that attitude isn't going to get me the inventory I need. I have been looking around on Ravely.com recently though. There are plenty of free patterns available, I just need to find one that I can properly change to make my own. Plus, I need to figure out what exactly I want to crochet. I've been seeing a lot of sea creatures, and I know chickens are popular. I'll just need to figure it out on my day off. It's the best time for me to just sit and relax, and let things settle down in my head. I also need some new yarn! That'll get the juices flowin' again.

My current project is a Wario amigurumi! I wanted to continue crocheting villain-esque characters after Medusa. My boyfriend and I were looking through the colors of yarn I have when he mentioned Wario. At first, I didn't think the shades I had would work, but so far it looks pretty awesome. He's going to be a pillow pal of sorts, but I haven't really gotten that far yet. I don't really plan, just do and undo and then redo. 

Guess I'll need to get back to that whole thing.

Here's the Happenings ..

Splotches the Monster!

Here's a link to the original pattern Mini Pillow Pals

My Latest Creature and Love

Originally, I had planned on only making the one little guy, for a friend on Ravelry.com. Since he turned out so well though, I'm going to make more! Don't know if I'll be sticking with the "splotches" theme since it took a bit of work, but it does look good on him.

Good News Everyone!

My aunt has convinced me to help her start a booth at her local farmer's market! She's retired now, so I think she is mostly looking for something to keep her busy. She used to be a salesperson at a furniture store, (working on commission even) so I think she'll make a good saleswoman. 

Originally, I thought she only wanted to try and sell a few of my creatures, but when I gave her a bag with six or seven in it, she told me it wasn't enough! I honestly didn't even think that she wanted to open up a booth, otherwise I wouldn't have given her anything until I was ready.

Thankfully, I have patterns for a few things and ideas for more. I'm currently working on making more snowmen, and toying with the idea of crocheting wine bottles. This is step one towards opening up my own Etsy store: inventory. So, I'm trying to set-up small goals for myself so I can keep calm and carry on.

It's really exciting though! I always liked working under pressure, so now it's on.

Amigurumi Photo- Dump!

As Promised, A Few of my Works

Here is the finished zebra that I crocheted for a coworker of mine. I still haven't been able to give this to her, but we do work together this week so we'll see what happens. Hopefully she likes it, even if it's a little wonky :)

Let's See Some Improvement!

This is one of the first pieces I did for my personal theme project. It was inspired by the Aztec Sun Calender. I really like this one, I just wish I had somewhere to display it! It's just a little too big to be converted into a car ornament.

I love this squid! I crocheted it for a contest on deviantart.com; the theme was giant amigurumi. He's approximately twenty-three inches long, and seven inches wide with the top fins. I'm thinking about trying to make a squid beanie too, but that's gonna be a project for sure! I've never made beanies before.

This stegosaurus was my first commissioned piece. I was originally going to do a teddy bear, but I thought, dinosaurs are much more cool! I'd say I've gotten better so far :D

My second attempt at amigurumi. I think he looks ok, but I was using stitches like double crochet when I should have only been using single crochet. I definitely learned some lessons with this one. I like how his fins turned out though; I even added some to his underside so he'd be more realistic.

I know I uploaded the big purple one, but here's the accompanying little owl with him! They're really adorable when you get to see them; this photo washes out their colors a bit.

Those are just a few photos that I have on my computer. If you'd like to see more, please visit my deviantARt account by following this link DeviantART Gallery

Simple Amigurumi Body Pattern

First, A Little Background .. 

So on deviantART.com I am in an amigurumi group and our challenge for the first half of this month is to crochet a sci-fi t.v. character. At first, I thought Futurama would be a great choice. It's one of my favorite shows, it's set in the future, and it's popular enough for me to be able to reference some patterns for characters. I slept on the idea for a few days, and then it hit me! I should do a show that I loved watching as a kid, Quantum Leap! If you haven't heard of it, that's ok, not many people have. Click the link and Wikipedia will tell you all about it :)

I wanted to make him into a doll, not just a rounded-off plushie thing. I searched the internet until I found a pattern that I liked, this one Craftiness: Basic Amigurumi Body. I started crocheting the pattern out, and I came across a few hitches. My feet looked way too big for the legs, and then my body looked way to small for everything else! I didn't even make it to the arms before I started writing out my own pattern for it all.

I wrote it out as I went, and tried to translate it later when I actually made my Quantum Leap amigurumi. 

I'm sure I have a few hitches in this pattern as well, so please leave me a comment if you find something out of place!

Here's what the finished doll should resemble :)

A few things that you'll need to be familiar with:

How to crochet in the round.

MR - Magic Ring

SC - Single crochet

Sl St - Slip Stich

Inc - Increase 

Dec - Decrease (I prefer to use the invisible decrease method. Check out this site for step-by-step instructions with photos PlanetJune.)

(stitch, stitch) x (number) - This means I want you to do a pattern within the row a certain number of times. For example: (SC, Dec) x 3 = single crochet, decrease and repeat three times, finishing up the row.

I used a size f hook myself, but depending on what kind of yarn you're using, you may want to use a size g hook instead. Be sure to keep your stitches fairly tight! You don't want your stuffing to show through.

Let's Get To It!

Legs - Make 2

Row 1: SC 8 in MR [8]

2: Inc around [16]

3-4: SC around [16]

5: SC next 2, Dec around [9]

6-16: SC around [9]

Sl St, Fasten Off

Be sure to slowly and continuously stuff the legs as you go. This will make it easier than stuffing before you close up the body.

Legs to Body

First, line up leg stitches and slip stitch two times in next two SC to connect, then continue around. See photo for example.

Row 17-20: SC around [16]

21: (SC next 2, Dec) x 4 [12]

22: SC around [12]

23: (SC, Inc) x 4 [18]

24-27: SC around [18]

29: SC next 4, Dec around [11]

30: SC next 2, Dec 4 times, SC [7]

Sl St, leave long tail to attach head.

Again, be sure to stuff every few rows; I would say every three or four.

Be sure the front of your doll is facing away from you when you do this! 

Arms - Make Two

Row 1: SC 5 in MR [5]

2: Inc around [10]

3-4: SC around [10]

5: SC next 2, Dec around [6]

6-17: SC around [6]

Sl St, fasten off leaving long tail to sew to body.

Here's what we have so far!

Head

Row 1: SC 6 in MR [6]

2: Inc next 4, SC next 2 [10]

3: (Inc, SC) x 5 [15]

4-6: SC around [15]

7: (SC, Dec) x 5 [10]

8: (SC, dec, dec) x 2 [6]

Sl St, fasten off, leaving long tail to sew onto body.

Now sew doll together and there you have it! Here's my Quantum Leap doll, still need to completely sew him together, but he's coming along nicely! I'll post the finished work another day.

May 29th, '13

First, a Zebra!

Free pattern found here :D My Crocheted World

So after finishing Twipt, I started on this little guy. He's been sitting there, half-finished, for about three days. I want to give him a fluffy mane, but I don't have a wire brush just yet. So, nyeh. I have to wait till payday to pick one up, but thankfully that's this Friday, so yay :D It will be a new technique that I'm trying out to make the fluffy mane, you can find it here on deviantART.com Brushed Yarn Hair Tutorial. I am so excited about it! I just want to get it done already, so I can take pictures and see my coworker's smiling face.

This piece was pretty good practice for spherical shapes, but not enough. It's more of a pear shape, than a circle, and I'm not sure if it's supposed to be. I also learned that if you're going to add hair to a plush with multiple parts, you should add the hair first and then assemble the piece (after sewing the head on, if need be). I say this, because now that I've left the hair for the last step, it's off-center in the back.

You can't see it too well, but that line is crooked. I mean, it's straight when you look at the guy head-on, but it's not centered compared to his body shape. Well, it's a lesson learned. I also need to buy bigger safety eyes. I had to embroider him a bit around the eyes to make them seem larger. I think it worked for the most part, but until he gets his mane, he looks like a piglet! 

And Now to Show-Off My New Book!

I found mine at Barnes and Noble BarnesandNoble.com

I am ecstatic about having this book! I bought it on a whim when a few of us went to our local Barnes and Noble store. I always like to browse the crafts section, see if there's anything that's at my skill level. Usually, I see a lot of knitter's books, and crochet books for scarves and outerwear. I've seen this book before, but I wasn't into crocheting at the time. Now though, oh man, it is ON! I can't wait to crochet something out of this book, like the zombie worker, or Dracula. As a bonus, they are all sphere shaped! So I get to practice that too. It's a win-win. 

Just Couldn't Resist

So, I shall call him Twipt

Look at the pretty yarn!

So after I decided to finish up this tiny owl instead of starting a new project, I finished it that night :) He's still lopsided though! I did a bit better this second time around, since he was so small. You can see from the photo that he doesn't have a nicely curved "u"-shape. Minor details really, but things I need to work on nonetheless. I had fun with his wings, and with the embroidery on his stomach. Here's a side view of him, to show the wings.

Here's a shot of the two owls together.

They look like an evolution set!

And now it's time for something completely different!

Is it a cupcake? Or is it ice cream? You decide.

Since I've noticed that I need help crocheting spheres, I'm trying to focus on crocheting the darn shapes with my next few pieces. This is the first and even though it's not originally what I was going for, I still like it. I followed this pattern for ice cream found using deviantart.com. It didn't come out like the picture, my pieces are definitely not as rounded as I'd like. I'm really happy with the bottom half though :) Looks like either a cone or cup with whipped cream. I'm glad I added the seed embroidery, because otherwise it looked pretty plain. I also added stitches to the green part, but you can't see it very well.

Man, I think I'm starting to get the hang of this again :D It's exciting, I'm actually seeing improvement with my work. My next journal will probably be a photo dump of a few of my past ami-dolls that I want to show off :D

Latest Adventure ..

A Night Owl! 

Reasoning behind the madness :D Let's See Some Improvement!

This is my latest little creature and I'm absolutely in love with him! I should have written down the pattern thinking about it, but I usually confuse myself while trying to do that. I had the most fun while doing the crest, the yarn has such pretty colors! It was a little bit of a challenge, but it was good practice. I'm most proud of how well I was able to hide the stitches from sewing him together. Usually, I don't tighten them very well, but this time they are all nice and hidden. His dimension's are four inches high and five across; stuffed with polyester fiberfill; 6mm safety eyes were used; size G6 hook with acrylic yarn.

I'm working on an accompanying piece, a smaller,vice-versa colored owl. Instead of doing a crest, I'm going to sew details onto his stomach. I've started him, but I have a few other ideas that have been scratching at my brain. I'm deciding on whether I'd like to start up a second side project, or finish the owl first. I know that seems like a pretty obvious answer, but I like to jump around projects. It gives me that new perspective feeling when I switch back and forth. 

One of the ideas I have is to make a zebra for a coworker of mine that's recovering at home. She loves  zebras, and her favorite color is pink. I have black and white yarn, and I think raspberry pink should work. This will be my first attempt at crocheting a four-legged, standing animal. I haven't looked yet, but I'm sure there are a few patterns online that I can reference. I think the hardest part will be the head and neck, I'm still learning how to crochet basic spheres without lumps! (That was actually one of the problems I had with that night owl.) 

I think I'm just going to finish what I started, and go for the little owl. It'll make for cute pictures anyways :D

Where Do I Begin?

Guess We'll start with the Early Days ...

I was first introduced to the art of crochet when I was a young girl, about ten or eleven, by my grandmother. I lived with her at the time, and I had seen her pulling out some craft gear, one item being a crochet hook (thinking back, I think it was an afghan hook because it was pretty long.) I was immediately intrigued, I wanted to do whatever it was you did with one of those things! My grandmother, "Sweetie", always encouraged us when to do what made us excited and happy. So, we went to our local craft store (probably Michael's) and she bought me some yarn and a starter crochet kit. I don't think I ever finished a single thing; well, maybe one scarf. I mostly concentrated on keeping my edges straight, with the help of a tissue box, courtesy of Sweetie.

I didn't stay with the hobby for long, I was becoming a "pre-teen" and the internet became my life to say the least. It wasn't until high school that I became interested again. I found my old crochet kit in a box, without the book of course, and was instantly excited to create again. I started a few projects, scarves and an attempted beanie, but only ever finished one. It was a scarf, made with a dark rainbow yarn with hues of purple and blue, and I even embroidered a skull on each end. I was so happy, I showed it to everyone I knew and everyone they knew. Then came the day when I lost that scarf, also losing my passion to crochet.

It's been ten years since then, and I'm happy to say I've come back around! I was moving into my new place and I came across, guess what, my crochet hooks! I don't know how I never lost them, but I'm glad they kept finding their way into my art gear. The first piece I attempted was actually an amigurumi (literally meaning crocheted or knitted stuffed doll) football for a coworker. He was moving to another state and I thought it would be a cool going-away gift.

It's embroidered with "#227 Modesto", our store number and city.

I found a pattern online and did my best to follow it. For a starter piece, I'd say it's not bad, a little lumpy and I didn't have proper filling for it, but not bad.

After that, well, I fell in love with crochet again :D My goal is to eventually start up my own side-business, but I've yet to prove to myself that my skills are up to the challenge. That's the point of this blog in fact, to keep track of my progress. I'm excited to see where this takes me, I'm committed this time around <3