Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall….

Original doll from 7 years ago

One day, I had a spontaneous burst of inspiration and I created a version of Humpty Dumpty. I made it quickly without writing anything down and I was never able to share with anyone how to recreate this doll! It got shelved away with many other partially finished projects and was forgotten about. Believe it or not, that was 7 whole years ago! I guess that makes sense because my youngest son was about 2 at that time and we were immersed in plenty of fairy tales and nursery rhymes!

I recently rediscovered this little guy and I set to work recreating it again. The original doll had a more egg-shaped body which presented a challenge in that it couldn’t sit down flat. The legs which were attached from the bottom caused the doll to tilt backwards, which was something I wasn’t particularly happy with. Changing the point of attachment didn’t produce a satisfactory solution either and I think that’s why I ended up shelving this project.

This time around, I reworked the body shape so that the bottom is now flat and sits easily on a level surface. The legs are attached in a way that still allows the doll to maintain its stability. A couple of buttons and a jaunty hat completes the look! I present to you Humpty Dumpty Version 2, which I am happy to share as a FREE PATTERN! (CLICK HERE) 🙂 I hope you like it! I think this would make an adorable addition to a child’s room or maybe an Easter basket! Whatever you end up doing with this doll, please enjoy the pattern and if you have time, don’t forget to share your pictures with me at #littlemuggles!

If you like my designs, please follow my projects on Instagram @littlemuggles! XOXO

Cha Siu the Pig!

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy Lunar New Year!

Yup, it’s that time of year again – another Lunar New Year! This time it’s the Year of the Pig and you know how I like coming up with new designs to celebrate this festive holiday! I wanted to make this Pig look like it’s wearing a traditional Chinese outfit and after MUCH experimentation, I settled on this look. You have no idea how many attempts it took trying out different looks on the jacket trim, button details, and making those piggy toes! Out of all of my previous designs, I feel that I worked the longest on this pattern! Hours and hours of crocheting and frogging… I am so happy to finally(!) present this pig to you all! You can find it for sale in my Etsy shop and on Amigurumipatterns.net!

traditional top
Toy Soldier look

Doesn’t this pig look spiffy in his jacket? I was going for a traditional Chinese outfit look, so initially I looked into making some elaborate braided buttons. After a bunch of trial and error, I settled on this simple faux button closure that I think resembles the old fashioned frog fasteners that are often found in traditional Chinese outfits. More elaborate frog closures were common in old time military uniforms as well so this doll can even be customized to look like a toy soldier! Add some epaulettes and a hat and this pig will look like an extra in a Nutcracker production! 🙂 Hmmm, that’s not a bad idea! I’ll have to remember it!

Faux frog closures

I worked really hard to finish this doll before my self imposed deadline of February 5, which was the first day of the Lunar New Year in 2019. I was proud to complete it about a week before my deadline but writing up the pattern itself took so long that I didn’t release it until the 2nd day of the year! With all the typing and formatting involved, the pattern took nearly as long as the crocheting! For those who get the pattern, I hope that you guys can tell how much work and effort went into the 12 page PDF file! 🙂

2019 Year of the Pig!

So I wish everyone an auspicious New Year full of wonderful moments and good health! Did you know that the Pig rounds out the animals of the Zodiac? It is considered the last of the 12 animals and in 2020, the Rat will begin the cycle anew!

I also wanted to let you all know that I have been more active on my social media accounts now and will be adding many photos of my works in progress and updates…if you’re interested in following my projects, please follow my Instagram (@littlemuggles) and Facebook accounts (littlemugglesworld)! Don’t laugh, I haven’t gotten the hang of twitter yet but plan to work on that too! 🙂 🙂

I’m already hard at work on my next doll! Pop over to see what it is! XOXO!

Star Wars Crochet review

 

A couple of years ago, I was given this adorable Star Wars crochet kit from my brother in law.  I had a few projects that I was working on at the time, so I put the kit in the hall closet and there it sat until recently when I randomly remembered it and pulled it out of hibernation!  With the holiday season coming up, I figured that a few crochet characters would make cute bonus gifts for my little nephews, who are big Star Wars fans. The dolls can be used as toys, ornaments, or just cute decor!

This set is by Thunderbay Press, a company that creates a lot of different activity/craft kits.  They offer crochet sets with Marvel characters, Disney princesses, Zootopia, Rudolph the Reindeer, and more!   I’ve seen these adorable kits being sold at places like Michael’s and Costco.   Inside the cute box, there’s an instruction booklet that contains patterns to make 12 different characters as well as all the materials needed to make one Yoda and one Stormtrooper. The patterns are made by the British designer Lucy Collin.  The beginning of the book includes a “techniques and terminology” section which explains the different required stitches and how to make them. (along with colored photos)  This booklet definitely has enough information so that someone who has limited experience with crochet can attempt these dolls!  But the thing that might make these difficult for crochet newbies is the actual size of these dolls. They are only a few inches tall and have relatively small parts to crochet.

 

 

Looking at the different Star Wars designs,  I knew that I definitely wanted to make Boba Fett and an Ewok.  I had to hunt around for the right color yarns in my stash since the kit doesn’t come with materials to make these two. I wanted to use Lion Brand’s Wool-Ease yarn in Mushroom for the Ewok but I sadly discovered that I didn’t have any more skeins. But I did come across a random discarded doll head where I had used that particular yarn – perfect! I love being able to unravel something I don’t need anymore to repurpose it into something new! Yarn recycling is awesome! I always feel so bad when I toss some unwanted doll parts because it’s too much trouble to unravel it and keep it for future use.

I don’t usually work with such small dolls and I found it a little bit difficult with the assembly of such small pieces.  Assembly is my least favorite part of the process but overall, I am very pleased with how the Ewok came out! Look at his cute little face with those little ears sticking out of his hood! 🙂  I went outside to the front yard to find something suitable to be used for his staff instead of the recommended toothpick.

 

Here is my Boba Fett figure. I made him here without his cape.   I think a little jetpack would be so cool…

 

 

The kit came with 2 sets of eyes and I had already used a pair for the Ewok.  I figured why not make another figure and use up the eyes so I hesitantly decided to make a stormtrooper.  It didn’t initially appeal to me because it seemed very plain and simple, but it was actually fun to make. I’m getting good practice making bobble stitches with these Star Wars characters; they have been in every pattern so far! 🙂 The hardest part was positioning the eyes on this guy… Initially, I placed them in the recommended position, with the eyes just under and touching the black stripe, but I wasn’t happy with how it looked.  The bad part was that I didn’t figure it all out until I was almost done with the doll and I had to pull all the stuffing out to undo the backings just so  I could reposition the eyes to my liking! It was not fun and I was kicking myself for not figuring it out sooner!     What do you think of the eyes in this position?  The stormtrooper doesn’t look particularly menacing this way but that wasn’t what I was going for. I guess I like things to be a little cuter.:) I was even tempted to make his mouth into a smile instead of the frown but that would have been too weird. And that would probably make him unrecognizable. haha!

Since I ran out of small safety eyes,  I had to stop for now.   Overall, I enjoyed making these characters and I think my nephews will love them,  but I will stick with designing bigger dolls for myself.  I don’t prefer to crochet and assemble such small pieces.  I do love how cute and little they turn out in the end though. Perfect for ornaments and gift decor, in my opinion!  I don’t think I will venture to continue the set at this time. Perhaps I’ll pull this out again at the end of the year during the next holiday season to add on to my nephews’ collection! 🙂 I think I’ll attempt Chewbacca, Princess Leia, and maybe Han Solo…I just have to make sure to remember to stock up on small safety eyes!

My New Dogs!

I am happy to introduce you to LILA and FINN, a pair of sweet dogs who love hanging out and doing most everything together!  Here they are, cozy and warm in their new winter sweaters!

I have exciting news!!  My little dogs are going to be featured in an Ami-Along starting on February 14!! Amigurumipatterns.net holds a monthly “AMI-ALONG” event where a large group of crocheters work on the same project for a limited time.  If you join, there is a private group forum where you can share your work in progress, ask/answer questions, and in general have fun communing with fellow amigurumi enthusiasts!  Another neat thing is that the designer for that month will participate actively as well, answering any questions, providing help, and chatting!  It’s a lot of fun and as an extra added BONUS, there are also really awesome PRIZES to be won! Think e-books, paperbacks, and YARN!!  Click HERE for more information on how to join!

Here are a few examples of designs that have been featured in the past —

“Billie the Pig” by DIY Fluffies

“Babies in Pajamas” by Airali Design

“Sleepy Owl” by Lilleliis

“Christmoose” by Sabrina Somers

Aren’t they awesome??  What an honor for Lila and Finn will be joining this group!!

A couple of months ago, I released my free puppy beanbag buddies and I liked them so much that I was inspired to make bigger versions, but with some tweaks. Lila and Finn stand at a foot tall, making them perfect sized plushie buddies for little ones to cuddle!  I started with Finn – I considered making him with no clothes, similar to the smaller beanbag version, but considering the time of year, I decided to give him a cozy sweater to stave off those winter chills!  I do think this doll would be adorable without the sweater as well.  Maybe a ribbon or a collar around the neck with a name tag…. so many fun possibilites!! This dog design took me a while to perfect.. Even though I had the smaller version to design from, it was still very time consuming with lots of trial and error!  First I wasn’t happy with the legs and had to redesign them to be closer together.  Then I had trouble getting the proportion of the body just right for the head size.  I also toyed with including an “eye circle” under one of the eyes for added whimsy.  I ultimately left it off but I still like the idea of it.  (My pattern does includes the instructions for the eye circle!)  After many weeks, I finally finished writing up all the steps. Whew!

Next step – to proofread my pattern, I made a second doll following my instructions.  I notice that for whatever reason, most of my dolls are boy characters.  Maybe it’s because I have my 4 boys at home (including my hubby) and I’m just used to males around? 🙂 Anyways, I opted to make a girl dog this time and I chose a sweater color that is something that I’d like to wear! It’s called Oatmeal and I love the little specks that give it an organic look and feel.  Maybe I should look for a good pattern and knit myself a matching sweater!

Anyways, Lila was created and I knew that I wanted to add a heart applique for her in honor of Valentine’s Day!  I searched through a lot of crochet heart patterns (who knew there were so many out there??) and discovered a fantastic YouTube tutorial (by “Crochet Lovers”) for an amazing design.  The heart came out so neat and I love the narrator’s accent and very clear and precise instructions.  It’s a very easy to follow tutorial and I highly recommend it if you are looking to crochet a heart!  I followed her instructions using two of the three rounds she teaches.  I felt the heart was a good size for my doll after just two rounds… Click HERE for a link to the tutorial!!

For Finn’s applique, I used a star motif.  I found the pattern for it online HERE.  Kathryn Senior’s design is quick and easy and I like the pictures she includes along with tips to add some details afterwards to make it look even neater.  I used crochet thread for the appliques, forgoing the usual small gauge steel hooks and just using my 3.0mm hook! I think using regular worsted weight or thinner yarn would look great also, and alphabet letters to make names or other felt designs would be super cute too!  These dolls are easily customizable, which makes it so fun and easy for you to make them truly unique!

Til about mid-March, you can obtain my pattern ONLY through this AMI-ALONG!  After that, you’ll find it added to my usual shops.  I hope you like my newest creation! Lila and Finn are happy to meet you all!

FREE PATTERN! Puppy Beanbag Buddies!

 

Hi everyone!  I’m finally finished with my side project, my Puppy Beanbag Buddies!  The pattern is very similar to my baby Owl and Violet Kitty patterns as they all have nice round, heavy bodies and make fabulous desktop accessories!  The body contains polyester pellets to give it that extra heft and stability! They’re perfect for weighing down papers; I’ve even been known to use these little guys as impromptu pin cushions! 🙂

I think the world of amigurumi is more exciting than ever these days!  It’s amazing to see how quickly the amigurumi community has expanded since way back when I first discovered this hobby.   It’s truly inspiring to see all of the imaginative and creative techniques being used in crochet dolls these days!  I’m sure you agree!

To thank you all for continuing to follow me and for your kind words of encouragement, I’ve decided to share this as a FREE PATTERN! Please click HERE!

These little buddies make for a very simple and relatively quick project, so you have plenty of time to make a few to slip into those stockings that are hanging on the mantel!  Basic stitches are used so this would be a great project for anyone new to crocheting as well!

This pattern is also perfect for anyone who is interested in getting a head start on making something fun to celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year… did you know that it’s going to be the Year of the Dog in 2018? ?  I have a feeling there will be a ton of featured doggy designs within the amigurumi community in the next couple of months! 🙂

I wish you all a fantastic, magical holiday season! Cheers!

 

San Mateo County Fair 2017!

 

My local county fair took place a week ago!  I always look forward to the fair – it always falls right at the end of the kids’ school year so it pretty much marks the beginning of summer vacation!  Needless to say, the “home arts” department is my personal favorite part of the fair to visit, as it contains all yarn related exhibits and includes other divisions such as needlework, sewing, textiles, quilting and more!  I was fortunate enough to win a second place ribbon this year for my fuzzy bunny and an honorable mention ribbon for my little rooster!  Part of my excitement in going to the fair is running up to the display case to see if any my entries won anything.   This year, my family had lots to look forward to because my husband entered several fruits and vegetables in the agriculture division and 2 of my kids entered their artwork.

Here’s a shot of my bunny in the display case! I’m pretty shocked to win anything at all this year. I felt that my design might be too simple even though the fuzzy yarn was hard to work with. I’m grateful that someone appreciated the difficulty level of this project –  Thank you judges!!

My little rooster got its very own special ribbon.  I thought a chicken was a fitting entry for the fair.  We saw plenty of real ones that day! We also saw lots of turkeys, pigs, goats, and cows.  I even watched an auction where people were bidding on live turkeys. It seems the average going rate for a 30+ lb. turkey is about $250. Who knew?

 

Take a look at these other entries! I’m sure glad I’m not a judge… I wouldn’t be able to narrow down the winners! Here’s a  shot of the first place blue ribbon winner! A Star Wars themed stacking ring! Ingenious! That Chewbacca face is awesome! 🙂

 

This colorful stegosaurus took the third place white ribbon.  

Here are some other beautiful entries that I just have to share!  You can see some of the quilt entries hanging in the background!
Speaking of quilts, I had to share a couple of jaw dropping ones I saw on my visit. I can’t even begin to imagine the time it took to make one of these beauties!! Amazing, isn’t it??

In case you were wondering how the rest of my family did with their fair entries… my husband was very proud to win a first place ribbon for his zucchini and second place ribbons for his tomatoes and lemons, but sadly did not win anything for his beautiful Stella cherries.  (Ironically, he went in thinking he’d only win for the cherries…)  One son won a third place ribbon for his drawing of the Sydney Opera House and my youngest received a special ribbon for his watercolor picture of a toucan.  All in all, a pretty successful fair for my family! I should start thinking of something to enter for next year. My goal is to try to snag the Best in Show ribbon one day!!  What an honor that would be!!

Zoomigurumi 6 – Look who’s on the cover!

Look who made it as a cover model for the newest installment in the Zoomigurumi series!! I can’t believe that it’s the SIXTH Zoomigurumi book out there! It doesn’t seem so long ago when the first one was in the works!  I’m so proud that Rudy the Red Panda is included in this edition!!  Many people have asked me about this Red Panda pattern and it is only available in this new book!  The pre-sale started just a couple of days ago and if you order before February 25, you can get your copy for only $20.95 – what a fantastic price because it includes worldwide shipping!  As an added bonus, anyone who purchases the book now will receive the PDF version IMMEDIATELY! This means you can start crocheting your favorite character right away! So cool, right!?  For those of you who only want the PDF, that is an option too. BUY HERE

For anyone who’s been following me for some time, you will recall that it took me a really long time to finish this pattern. I think it literally took me over a year to complete it. It’s very different from my previous animals and the biggest challenge for me was figuring out how to make and write up the body and legs.  I can tell you there were multiple attempts and failures which often led to long non-crocheting periods where I was too discouraged to continue.  Thankfully I was able to finish it up and tweak it to my satisfaction before submitting it to be a character in the newest Zoomigurumi book.  I am so thankful to Joke Vermeiren for inviting me to be a part of her absolutely amazing series.  Just take a look at the adorable dolls that you can crochet from Zoomigurumi 6!!

2017 Lunar New Year

 

 

 

IMG_3531 copy

IMG_0709
My two little roosters! 🙂

Greetings, all! Here’s to yet another year! The Lunar New Year starts on January 28 and this year is extra special to me since my twin boys were born in the Year of the Rooster! Hard to believe they are turning 12(!) this year!!! It really doesn’t seem so long ago when they were just little babies, babbling and learning to crawl. It’s scary to see how fast time is passing by.   Since it’s become a tradition for me to come up with a new character for the Lunar New Year, I present to you my latest creation – my little New Year rooster!  He’s sitting among mandarin oranges and gold coins, all which represent good fortune for the upcoming year.  Here’s to a new year of peace and happiness to you all!!

Many of you are probably wondering if there will be a pattern released for this little guy. The answer is “yes!”, but it is at the end of a long list of other things I need to do first.  I am still planning to write up and release the individual pattern of Hanna the Hippo into my shops and I have an illustration project on the side that I need to finish up as well. I do appreciate your support and patience – I wish there were more hours in the day to juggle all my tasks!  One of my resolutions is to better organize my time so that I will be able to fit in everything I want/need to do!

So I’m off to finish some projects, and I promise to update this site more frequently this year! (resolution#2?) Happy crocheting and Happy New Year!

 

 

 

 

Knit amigurumi with Free Pattern!

 

A dear friend of mine gave me a present over the holidays which I have been enjoying tremendously ever since!  I’ve posted about it on Facebook already, but it’s the video game “Yoshi’s Woolly World” for the Nintendo Wii U.  All the characters and backgrounds are made entirely of yarn – this is seriously my kind of fantasy world!  You should visit this official WEBSITE to take a look at the mind blowing creativity of this game!  I’m not kidding – your eyes will widen and your jaw will drop from the stunning details and vibrant colors!

yoshis-woolly-world-2015-04-04-4

 

The same dear friend who gave me the game (and game system), recently gifted me with these adorable Amiibos!  They are the cutest things ever and actually interact with the game system itself!

IMG_0936

 

 

Looking at these little cuties, I was inspired to try my hand at knitting an amigurumi for the first time.  I did a bit of research to see what kind of easy patterns I could find and I was immediately drawn to all of the cute creations by the very talented Amy Gaines!!

photo_16__medium2

 

full_309_63032_KnitBabyDollPatterns_6

I found a simple little design which I figured I could manage!  After all, one of my resolutions this year is to expand my yarn skills so what better time to try something new?

IMG_1042 (1)
What do you think? My very first knit amigurumi!

 

I do have a little bit of knitting experience in that I can do some basic stitches and I do own a few knitting needles…I dug them out and dove right into this FREE PATTERN.  I was amazed at how quickly it all came back and I had a lot of fun!  I just love the stockinette stitch, which is what this pattern calls for.  The rows end up looking so nice and tidy and professional! My biggest challenge was sewing the seams. I definitely have a lot to learn there.   A huge difference between this doll and my usual creations is that the knit amigurumi is SUPER SOFT! I love squeezing it – I wish my crochet dolls could come out this plush!

Overall this bunny was a fun little project. I find it much harder to knit amigurumi vs. crocheting them so I’m not planning to hang up my crochet hook anytime soon!! I may venture to make another knit amigurumi in the future but for now, I’ll continue with crochet!

Happy Lunar New Year!

IMG_0870 copy
The Lunar New Year falls on Monday, February 8!  What better way to commemorate this occasion than to release a new Monkey Pattern?!  Miles the Monkey joins my collection this week and is now available for purchase in my usual shops! (CRAFTSY & ETSY) I had a great time making this little guy!  He’s so sturdy and cute – I can totally picture him as part of the decor in a kiddo’s room!

Now, how many of you know people who are born in the Year of the Monkey (my brother!) or people who are having babies this year? The Years of the Monkey include 19201932194419561968198019922004, and 2016.  

People born under the Year of the Monkey are supposed to be intelligent, witty, and inventive.  They are problem solvers and work well with others.  People born under this sign are supposedly playful and youthful in nature.  Yup, that pretty much sums of my big bro!

Now I’m not a superstitious person, but I always manage to look at the Zodiac during the turn of the Lunar New Year- I find it amusing to see all the predictions for the year to come. My mom, (who IS superstitious) is quick to tell me if I’m going to have bad luck in the upcoming year.  She will take any necessary steps to ward off the impending bad fortune.  Are you curious to know what it says about your sign this coming year?  According to the Chinese Almanac, its going to be an auspicious year for Rats, Oxen (me!), Dragons, Horses, Monkeys, Roosters and Dogs.  Surprisingly, it’s not always a good year for the people born under the same sign of that year!  (ie. Rats don’t always have good years when it’s the Year of the Rat.)  I have no idea why that is… seems counterintuitive doesn’t it? 🙂

This is supposedly a difficult year for Tigers (my husband-oh no!), Snakes, Dogs, and Boars.  Rabbits should be aware of their finances.  Sheep should take care of their health.

Funny thing is, I never remember to look at these predictions again at the end of the year to see how accurate they were.  Maybe I’ll have Siri remind me to reflect on this when December rolls around…

I hope to see lots of amigurumi monkeys floating around this year!

Happy Lunar New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!(mandarin) 🙂  Gong Hay Fat Choy!(cantonese) 🙂
Version 2