Happy New Year!

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Happy Lunar New Year!

Happy Lunar New Year!

Another year, another zodiac animal! As you can see, it’s going to be the Year of the Horse!! if you’re a horse, you are turning 0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, or 108!  :)  I can’t think of anyone I know that has this sign… “Horse” people are supposedly pleasant, and easy-going.  They’re extroverts and are full of good humor-he or she is usually the life of the party!  They are also supposed to be very frank and direct, almost to the point of tactlessness.  Does this fit the personality traits of any of your “Horse” friends?

Since returning from my holiday overseas trip,   life has quickly gone back to the usual routine.  Getting up, going through the chaotic  morning ritual of packing the kids off to school, running errands, thinking of and preparing dinner… (WHY do people have to eat dinner every night? It would be so much easier if we just ate less often…like once a week!)  I’ve been adding extra crochet time into the mix in preparation for the upcoming Zoomigurumi 3 book!  Amigurumipatterns.net is once again compiling 15 new designs for the new edition and it’s set to be released in the Spring of 2014, which is just around the corner!  Follow  the Amigurumipatterns.net  Facebook page for more updates and other links/news about super cute amigurumi patterns!

The Zoomigurumi books have been wildly popular and are currently on Amazon.com for purchase.   Perhaps they will be available on the shelves here in the US one day.  That would be so awesome!  I feel extremely honored to be included once again!!  I just recently packed off my 2 contributions, Cuddles the Sheep and Clementine Cow.

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Bye bye, animals!

They’re off the Belgium and will be used to promote the book.  I had to find the smallest box to fit Cuddles, which is a pretty huge amigurumi!! I tried warning everybody of her size but I don’t think you can really appreciate how big she really is unless you see her in relation to a person.  So let me add a picture of my son holding this doll.  He’s shy, so you can’t see his face. :)

So huggable!

So huggable!

See how cuddly and soft she looks?  Too bad I don’t have any daughters.  None of my boys are the least bit interested in playing with my crocheted animals.  I did make a few Angry Birds, which they threw around for a short while, but that fad faded pretty fast for them.

Till next time, XOXO and happy crocheting!

-Amy

 

Happy Holidays 2013

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Happy Holidays 2013!!

 Well, it’s hard to believe that another year is winding down once again! Why does it seem like each year goes more quickly than the last?  It must be the hourglass effect…maybe I feel this way because I’m getting older and older.  My birthday is later this month and it’s a milestone birthday. I will politely neglect to share exactly which one but it’s a milestone nonetheless. :)   I might joke about not wanting to get older, but I am truly grateful to be here for each new year.  There have been quite a number of very memorable amigurumi moments for me in 2013.   I completed a bunch of new dolls this year, including some freebies for you all!  I can’t believe how popular my little baby owl design has been!  Thank you to everyone for all the amazing pictures of all your baby owls that you’ve sent to me! Here are just a few of the beauties from you!

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Another great 2013 moment was when my Humphrey the Elephant pattern was published in “Zoomigurumi 2!”  Both the first and second books are doing well on Amazon.com and both have been translated into Dutch and is currently being sold in stores in the Netherlands!  Isn’t that fabulous??  AND there definitely is a Zoomigurumi 3 in the works! Expect it to be available sometime in the spring of 2014!  Keep an eye out for some more Little Muggles contributions!  :)

This was also the first year that I entered a couple of my dolls into the County Fair!  What a fun experience that was!  I’ll be sure to enter again next year.  I’ll have to start thinking of what to make starting in January.

Winning Friends!

Winning Friends!

For now, I’m actually getting ready to embark on a transPacific trip with my family of 5, along with my husband’s extended family as well!  We’ll be traveling to Asia and won’t return until 2014!  This will be quite an adventure, especially since there will be 5 kids under the age of 9 to handle!  Wish me luck! I might be returning without my sanity.  This will be the first time that I bring along my crochet supplies on a trip.  I’m going to try to make some things on the plane ride itself (if my hooks don’t get confiscated).  Maybe I’m being over ambitious.  I’ll most likely be sitting between 2 young children.  I’ll be lucky if my yarn doesn’t get thrown up on.  Hmmm not a pleasant image, is it? Maybe I’ll pack my stuff in my suitcase and crochet at my destination instead…haha!

Well, thank you to everyone who has been following me this year!! I do plan to make some new and exciting freebies for you all in the new year!  I’ll try to keep coming up with new characters for all of you to enjoy!  Happy, Happy Holidays to you all and I wish everyone a fantastic New Year!!!

XOXOXOXO!

-Amy

 

2013 LITTLE MUGGLES CREATIONS

 

Asian Zodiac Animals

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Dragon, Tiger, Cow

Dragon, Tiger, Cow

 

I finally finished the 3 dolls that my friend commissioned me to make!  Each will be gifted this Christmas to a niece or nephew, and each represents the Asian Zodiac animal for his/her birth year.  What a neat idea, right?  I hope the kiddos like them!  I’ve always wanted to make all the Zodiac animals so this was a good motivator to get me going on this project.  I don’t foresee myself finishing all 12 animals anytime in the near future, but I think I’ve got a pretty good start already.  Let’s see, the 12 animals are the Rat, Cow, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.

Chinese_Zodiac

 

My plan is to eventually make new Zodiac versions of each animal.   In the meantime, I can use existing dolls to represent the animals…  ie. Mochi or Wasabi for Year of the Rabbit would work nicely!    I’ve got a long way to go to make all the signs.   No worries though!  As long as I’ve got the animal done for the current year, I’m happy.  Which animal sign are you?  I’m a Cow (ok, that doesn’t sound so nice) and my husband is a Tiger.  According to the horoscope, I am supposedly hard working and persistent.  Hmmm I’m not sure if that’s completely accurate!  My tiger husband is supposedly confidant, courageous, and dynamic. That’s probably true.  But I’m not really one to be superstitious!! :)

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2013 Year of the Snake

 

Year of the Cow (Ox)

Year of the Cow (Ox)

 

Year of the Pig

 

Year of the Horse

Year of the Horse

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Year of the Tiger

Year of the Dragon

Year of the Dragon

Year of the Rabbit

Year of the Rabbit

Year of the Monkey

Year of the Monkey

Lucky the Horse

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Now that I have some experience with doing color changes within a round, I decided to use my new knowledge in making my new horse ami!   “Lucky” the horse is made in a soft, neutral shade of beige and has a lovely patch of white on his head between his eyes.  I’ve been wanting to make a horse for a very long time now and what better time than now, a few months before the new Lunar New Year of the Horse?  For all of you who are interested in making a fresh crocheted horse for 2014, here is a great pattern for you!   I just finished it up and there are lots of pictures to guide you in making your own “Lucky” horse!  There is even a tutorial on how to neatly make color changes.  Dazzle your loved ones with your crochet skills and pick up a pattern today!

I try to challenge myself with each new creation I make.  For Lucky, the challenge was his mane. I have never worked a mane before and to tell you the truth, I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t be able to make it to my satisfaction.   There was plenty of frustration on my part, with lots of tying and untying knots.  There were also plenty of great suggestions from Facebook friends so thank you everyone for trying to help me out! I ultimately decided on using the popular latch hook technique…at least that’s what I think it’s called.  At one point I thought the name was a “lark’s knot”, but I think that is technically a little bit different.  If someone out there knows what I should be calling this, please let me know!  I was just confused because it seemed like to latch hook, one needed a latch hook needle.  I just used my regular crochet needle and was able to do it just fine.

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Lucky

The windblown look :)

The windblown look :)

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Braided tail

I’m pretty happy with how the mane and tail turned out.  What do you think?

For the limbs, I used the back post single crochet once in each hoof.  The only other time I’ve ever used that particular stitch was in my Peanut the Elephant pattern.  I think it adds a nice bit of detail, don’t you?  I can’t wait to see all the horses that will be made with this pattern!  I’ve really enjoyed the photos of the Spike dolls that you have been sending me!  I’m thrilled that Spike is getting such a positive reception!

Now on to my next project.  I have two lined up and I’m not sure which to start first.  Both have late November deadlines so I guess it doesn’t really matter which one I start, as long as I start now!  :)  Til next time, happy crocheting!!

Making Spike the Dragon

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Phew!!  Finally, finally I have finished up Spike! I started him back in May (!!) of this year and never got around to writing his pattern because the color changes were so tricky for me.   Remember, I like to make everything up as I go and I really don’t have any good idea of how color changes should formally be written up.  Chalk it up to laziness, I guess. I just want to go! go! go! when I’m crocheting and I don’t have the patience to try to sit down and see how others have written up their patterns!  For a while now, I’ve been getting many inquiries from interested crocheters about when the dragon pattern was coming out so I am so happy to say “Here it is!!”  I will be uploading it to my usual shops by tomorrow at the latest!  Thank you all for being so darn patient and as always, I am so grateful for your interest and kind words of support!

And as you may know from my previous post, I am also doing this because my friend had requested a custom order of a dragon doll for his nephew who happens to be born in the Year of the Dragon.  So here is my contribution towards my Little Muggles “Zodiac Collection”.  I hope you like him!

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In my pattern, I’ve also included a little tutorial about how to make color changes with smooth transitions.  This is a MUST when making the belly of Spike.  A lot of you probably already know the technique, but I made my own picture tutorial.  I do intend to add a Tutorial section for my website sometime soon so please check back for it! Until then, have a fantastic day and as usual, Happy Crocheting!!

Cubby the Tiger

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A good friend came to me earlier in the year and requested I make a few amis for him to give as Christmas presents to his nieces and nephews.  He was hoping to give them each an animal that represented the Asian Zodiac year in which they were born.  A Tiger, a Dragon, and an Ox/Cow.   It’s been my plan all along to one day crochet all the animals of the Zodiac, so what better way to get started, right? Well, I already had a Cow pattern I could use (Clarence), but I had yet to make a tiger and a dragon.  Well, after many months, I have finally completed the second animal, the tiger!  I am quite proud of my little Cubby.  There are already many tiger patterns out there, but I really wanted to make my own Little Muggle-style version of one. (Someone once used the term “muggle-fy”, which I love!)   It took me almost as long to write up the pattern as it took for me to crochet the doll!! This past summer has been quite hectic, so my apologies for the lull in new doll production.  I hope to be more productive this fall!  Anyhow,  here are a few shots of my  tiger.  He’s a shy little guy who enjoys quiet afternoons in the sunshine.  Enjoy!!

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Gazing out a window…I wonder what he’s thinking?

By the way, my WIP for now is the Dragon.  I’d say he’s about 40% complete.  I am re-working my Spike doll, which I never formally wrote up a pattern for.  Keep your eyes out for dragon updates on my Facebook page! I know there are people eager for his pattern so I’ll try to work quickly for you all!

My Ami Beanbag Buddies!

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My 6 year old bag of polyester pellets

A number of years ago, I bought a big bag of poly-pellets, which are basically little plastic beads used for stuffing dolls.  I found it at my local craft store and thought it’d be fun to incorporate them into my amigurumis.  I used them in the bodies of a few of my dolls, but the whole bag just ended up sitting in a box untouched since then. Well, a few weeks ago I came across that bag and started brainstorming some design ideas that would make use of those poly-pellets!  Thus my beanbag buddy idea was born.  I wanted to make something small and unique, something that could  sit on a desktop or shelf and just add a pop of cuteness.  A little beanbag doll seemed ideal – they are all nice and stable from the heaviness of the pellets.

Violet the Kitty is my first beanbag creation.  She’s made a very soft worsted weight yarn I am very pleased with the color combination here.  I like to choose colors that you might not think to put together, just to make things interesting. I toyed with the idea of making these “buddies” with no limbs, which I think would look good too.  But the little arms and feet look so cute that I had to include them.

Violet

Side view

Bottom view

After Violet, I just had to add some colorful friends for her, so I came up with these:

Hippo

Squirrel

Owl

 

Owls

 

My final beanbag buddy turned out to this baby owl.  I’ve always wanted to make an owl, but there are already so many out there, I wasn’t sure if I could come up with a fresh version of one.  I was amazed at all the positive feedback I got for this simple little design!  It’s such cute little character and such a fun little project that I’ve decided to release this pattern for FREE!  There are endless color combinations and designs that can be incorporated into this pattern! I hope you all remember to post pictures of your owl creations on my Facebook page because I can’t wait to see all the creativity out there!!

As always, thank you so much for your interest, love, and support! I am constantly amazed by all the fantastic creations I see from you all and I am honored and thrilled that so many people seem to like my work!  Happy crocheting!

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE BABY OWL PATTERN!!

 

 

Simi the Monkey Pattern now available!

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When I was a kid, I spent far too much time watching TV. I loved all kinds of cartoons and I sure watched a lot of them! (Hello Smurfs! Jetsons!  Flintstones!  Woody Woodpecker! Tom and Jerry! Should I go on? And yes, I realize I am showing my age here) But one of my all time faves has got to be Looney Tunes.  Recently, I was randomly thinking about good ol’ Bugs Bunny and his crazy antics and for whatever reason, I was remembering a specific episode with a hurdy gurdy monkey.  If you are unfamiliar with what this is, imagine an old fashioned organ grinder who stands on a sidewalk and cranks out tunes while his pet monkey dances around and collects money from passersby.  I actually went hunting online and was thrilled to find the actual Looney Tunes episode  so here it is in case anyone is interested in watching it! It’s called HURDY GURDY HARE.  Funny this is, I even remembered the music from this episode! It’s so strange, the things one recalls from childhood…What do you remember from your own days as a kiddo that you find totally random?

Anyways, the reason I am even bringing all this up is because I wanted to share the inspiration for my newest monkey pattern! I thought it would be really cute to make an amigurumi styled after the old time hurdy gurdy monkeys.  My ambition was to make a monkey wearing a hat and a cute little suit, not unlike something you might see on a monkey at the circus.  Well, as you can see, I managed a hat. One day, when I develop superior clothes-making crochet skills, I will definitely release amis with fancy outfits. :) Until then, I’ll have to keep it sweet and simple!

Simi the Monkey

Simi the Monkey

Hanging out on the shelf

Hanging out on the shelf

Simi is the name of this little guy ..it’s a short for “Simian”.  I think he looks really cute sitting on my son’s bookshelf, along with other stuffed animal friends.  I hope you all like him!  His pattern is now available in my usual shops!  Please take a look at Craftsy or Etsy!  Have a great day, everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

 

San Mateo, CA County Fair 2013

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Due to the encouragement and urging of my husband, I decided to enter a couple of my dolls in the County Fair this year!  I was limited to only 2 entries, so it took me a while to decide which of my dolls to choose.  The easier decision was my cow doll – he seemed a fitting choice considering all the animals that can be found at a fair!  Ultimately I chose my Fuji Bear to accompany him, since they are both part of the same collection.  I figured they’d look nice together in the display case.  I drove over the fairground on the indicated date to drop them off and drove away thinking how cool it would be to win a ribbon of any kind!

It’s really fun because no one tells you that you won anything…no emails, letters, phone calls!  You just go to the fair and find your stuff and keep your fingers crossed that there will be a ribbon hanging somewhere on your entry!  To my surprise and complete delight, both of my creations ended up taking 1st and 2nd place in the Crochet (non apparel) Category! My Clarence Cow doll even took home a special award ribbon with an extra $25 bonus! I am so honored and thrilled to have received these awards!

Winning Friends!

One of the display cases in the fair

Here is the third place winner, a fantastic basket of “Noah’s Ark” animals!   I can see all the work and love that was put into this project!

Noah’s Ark entry

I will be sure to enter again next year, and will probably set the bar higher for myself by entering into the State Fair too!  I hear the ribbons in that fair are a lot fancier! :) My husband wants me to start thinking of what I’m going to enter but I have plenty of time and PLENTY of other projects to think about first!  There are many, many ideas all lined up in my head.. So many projects, so little time! haha  I’m just happy that I can now claim I’ve made prize winning dolls! :)  Have a great day, everyone! Talk to you soon!

Spike the Dragon

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Hi everyone!  Wowie, it’s been quite a while since I’ve updated, hasn’t it?  Well, it’s a busy time of year… the end of the school year brings with it lots of last minute projects and activities.  I’ve been working on yearbooks and art projects and May is just one of the busiest months EVER what with Mother’s Day, and multiple birthdays falling in this month!  Through it all, I’ve been slowly working on my latest ami project, which is this little dragon.  It’s one of my more ambitious creations because of the color changes on the belly.  I have yet to perfect the transition of the colors as you view it vertically.  It still comes out choppier than I’d like and I’m not sure how to go about fixing this! If anyone has any tips and suggestions on how to change colors in rounds (that are continually getting smaller), please CONTACT ME!

My husband named this little guy Spike, for obvious reasons.  I fear he looks more like a dinosaur than anything else. Maybe because of the lack of wings, but that’s ok with me. :) Hope you like him and I will get to writing up the pattern sometime.  All the color changes and decreases make the writing quite tricky.

I’ll preview my next project for you soon!  Check  my Facebook page for updates! Have a good one!

Spike the Dragon

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