Minion

What’s cuter than an Oompa Loompa (you know from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)?  The Minions in Despicable Me.  We borrowed it from Netflix and boy have I seen it about a dozen times, but those minions really make the movie.  How awesome would it be to have some crafting minions? and it looks like they’re great with kids!

Using this free pattern from WolfDreamer I made my own.  It is a great pattern and the results are fabulous.  I really like how she has captured the details.  The most difficult part is the gloves/hands, the black yarn makes it hard to see your stitches and it’s so small, but I managed.He doesn’t have his insignia yet, I’m trying to decide if I want to add it at all.  I am also trying to decide if his mouth needs some teeth.  I used wiggly eyes instead of crocheting my own, but otherwise I followed the pattern exactly.  Little Sir and Little Miss have both been asking to play with him. 

I have to confess that I have already started another one who is shorter, fatter, and is only going to have one eye, these little guys are addicting.

There is a link to make official minions from the official movie site, it’s great for researching all the different looks they have.  Little Miss thinks it’s a game and keeps asking to play it and really, it’s the perfect game for her, she always wins.

Sew What’s New?

Once again I have bought a new pattern that I have been working on obsessively for the last week and a half.  It’s an amigurumi sewing machine and it’s pink!  I bought the pattern from Skymagenta on etsy.  It seemed like it took forever, but I think that it’s because it used four ply yarn (baby or sock yarn) and a tiny hook.  There were also a lot of pieces that needed to be sew together (I hate that part).  I made it for the craft room, but Little Miss has been eying it, it may be a special toy that only get to be played with when mommy really needs to get something done.I really think it came out cute, but boy are my hands sore, I don’t know if I’ll be making anything else on this pattern, she does have a really cute pattern for sushi that I might have to try.

Have a super crafty weekend!

Piggies

My daughter is going through a phase where she loves little animals, she has a guinea pig and bunny that go everywhere in her pockets.  I thought I would try to crochet up a few new amigurumi friends for her.  I found a pattern for a pass the pigs game set and thought they were just adorable.  I was able to crochet them really quickly, however my finishing skills are a little lacking.  Sewing the pig butt to the body has left an ugly seam, I think that if I made them again I would just make it in one piece and stuff as did my decreasing on the butt.

He’s still pretty cute.  I would also get different eyes, these were called eyes, but really they are just black beads, I think a flat backed safety eye would be more to my liking.

I made two, you know so each child could have one, but I’m stalling about sewing the other one up.That’s a lot of pieces for a little pig.  I think I’m going to have to practice my finishing techniques.  There are a lot of other cute patterns on Roman Sock and I would really like to make the toad next, I love toads.

BTW if you have any tips for finishing amigurumi or sites that you recommend leave me a comment, I’m really enjoying trying out some of the little patterns and it’s a great way to use up all of my acrylic yarn stash. 

Owlies, Now With Bigger Eyes

I went back and made the eyes a bit larger, I had missed an entire row of the pattern somehow, I also switched from white to pink, which I like much better. While I was at it I made a couple more, just to see what different colors would look like.I am going to either have to stop making everything orange or pick a new beak color, the beaks just aren’t showing up as well on the two on the left. I also can’t decide if I prefer sleeping eyes or the winking one, which one do you guys like?

I’m thinking that it would be interesting to make one out of wool and felt it, but I’m not sure I’m ready to torture myself like that again (I’m sooooo allergic) and some sort of owl purse would be cool too! I also want to get some finer yarn and make some smaller ones. These are about 4” tall and 5” wide and we all know that tinier - cuter, I need to check my stash in the basement and see what I can come up with. I really enjoy this pattern and I think I will be making more, maybe I’ll even have some for sale in my new etsy store.

Have a super crafty weekend, I’ll see you next week!

Rupert the Amigurumi Owl

I have been working on this little guy for a couple of evenings, it was just too cute of a pattern to pass up!  However, I have decided that the only time that anyone in my family wants to really talk to me is when I’m counting stitches or reading pattern directions.  What that means is that some parts of this pattern have been read about 1000 times, while other parts seemed to have been skipped altogether.  I have re-crocheted this little owl about five times and still there are problems, but don’t worry I’m going to master this pattern even if I have to lock myself in the bathroom to finish it.

Here’s where I’m at, I think I may have overstuffed Rupert a bit, what can I say, I like a chubby owl.  The eyes aren’t quite big enough, I think I may have missed an increase round.  I’m not really liking the white eye anyway it’s just to stark, I may need to make it cream or yellow.

I really need to get my craft room in order, then I can hide in there and count stitches and read patterns.  Although I doubt that would work, when I shut the door now even the cat is at the door scratching to get in (they’re French doors and it’s like I’m in an aquarium and everyone wants in).  Looks like I need some more curtains…and a lock…does anyone else have this problem when you’re crafting, how do you get quiet, crafty time?

Ninjas

Yesterday I followed a twitter link from craftster and found this super easy tutorial for making little cork ninjas on LucyRavenscar (check the other pages for other cork creations and other creatures).

They are just too fun and they are quick to make. I also really like the aliens, they remind me of brain slugs (from Futurama). I may have to give one of those a try so I can wear it on a clip in my hair.

Vintage Sewing Notions

I love vintage sewing notions, the packages are so interesting and colorful and the display prices are so cheap.  I also really like wooden spools of thread.   I have a small collection of vintage supplies and I plan on displaying them in a shadow box of some sort in the craft room.  Here is a sample of my collection, the needle book on the bottom is one of my favorites and I also like the snaps and hooks and eyes cards, especially since they are missing some and not in perfect condition.It is surprisingly easy to find vintage supplies (not in mint condition)and most of mine have been found at yard sales or in “grab bags” from thrift stores.  I also got a nice selection out of the sewing cabinet that I purchased this fall.  The only thing I haven’t had much luck finding is decorative buttons on their original cards, but I do have several nice loose vintage buttons.

I got this box at a yard sale, some of the vintage quilt fabrics/squares inside will become part of the background for my collection, I might even try to incorporate the box, it’s really interesting.I also finished my amigurumi dolls from yesterdays post, aren’t they cute!  I definitely need an army of these with a few ninjas thrown in.

I ended up making all new hair for both of them and adding weight to their bottoms so they could stand on their own.  I think I may need to embellish the hair on the right one a little more with some bows or French knots or something.

BTW, If you have any super ideas how to display my vintage notions be sure to share by leaving a comment.  My collection has been hidden in a box for to long and I’m ready to get it out and on display.

My First Amigurumi

I am still cleaning away and I have been finding yarn, boxes and boxes of yarn (really these aren’t all of the boxes, but I had to stop). Now you know I’m not going to throw perfectly good yarn away, so I need to start using more of it.

A lot of it is acrylic yarn, vintage acrylic, which is rough and scratchy. Really the only thing this stuff is good for is pot scrubbers and amigurumi.

I checked my ravelry favorites and found this free pattern for Kokeshi dolls and just went for it.I really like how they are looking. Now I just need to embellishing them and stuff them, which I think will make them look even better. My first hair attempt was a little to big, so I did have to make a smaller one, I’m still not sure about it (right side doll). I’m really liking the tall bouffant hair on the left side doll.

Now I have a strong desire to make a giant one, I don’t know why, maybe I’m just trying to use up more yarn. This is a nice and easy pattern with minimal seaming. The embellishment possibilities are almost endless and the yarn color options are varied. I think I will make a whole army of kokeshi dolls and if I want I can even sell the dolls I make! You know, I think that a giant felted kokeshi doll would be awesome and I know I have a bag of felting yarn around here somewhere! Does anyone know if amigurumi has to be crochet or can it be knit too?