Hanna the Hippo wins 2nd place!

 

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Amigurumipatterns.net held a Circus amigurumi design Contest a short while back and Hanna the Hippo was my entry!  I’ve been thinking about doing a hippo for a while now and the contest was the perfect motivator to get to me to finally design one! I did a bit of research and settled on trying to make a hippo with an umbrella.

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I actually had a hard time deciding what color the hippo should be. I really wanted to make a purple one, but seeing as I did not have a soft lavender yarn that I like,   I opted for a pale blue hippo instead.  I generally gravitate toward soft pastel colors, but I think a bright, bold shade like a hot pink would be really fun too! 🙂  Once the pattern comes out, I will wait and see what you guys do with it! I love seeing my designs made in various colors – many are colors that I wouldn’t think to choose but end up looking wonderful!

I was delighted with how my hippo turned out and I had a lot of fun with the photo shoot as well.  Here is the final shot that I entered into the contest!

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After I entered my design, I took a peek at what some of the other entries looked like. I was blown away by so many detailed and amazing creations!  Honestly, I didn’t think I stood a chance after viewing everyone’s submissions!  (See all entries here!)  I am completely shocked, thrilled and honored to have placed 2nd and I thank everyone who voted for my hippo! My prize box came on Christmas Eve and it was so much fun opening it up!  The 10 yarn balls behind Hanna in the top picture were found in the box.  They are Stylecraft yarn balls of DK weight, and are made of 100% pure premium acrylic.  You can’t tell, but they are super duper soft!! I will have fun coming up with things to make with this yarn!!  I love the colors that were sent to me!

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I also received a fantastic set of Clover crochet hooks, a box of safety eyes/noses, the full set of published works by Amigurumipatterns.net, and a beautiful yarn bowl by  Barruntando, a shop that offers unique and original pieces of pottery made of honey!  Their Etsy shop is absolutely fabulous – I am tempted to order some other pieces to have around the house!  I have never seen a yarn bowl before and was delighted to try this one out!  The beautiful bowl is a soft aqua color and has cute little star cutouts on the side.

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Check out some of their products! Aren’t they too adorable???

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Wait! There’s more! I also get a super fabulous crochet hook designed by Furls Crochet! I have only ever seen these in ads – they are so beautiful!!

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I haven’t actually gotten the hook yet so I can’t tell you how amazing it really is, but I’m looking forward to holding one of these babies in my hands!!

And finally,  I got a year subscription to Inside Crochet magazine, a really cool UK publication that has plenty of projects and designs for me to try in the new year!  I just might have to try my hand at some non amigurumi related things (gasp!) to learn some new stitches and skills!

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This has been a wonderful close to a wonderful year.  I didn’t come up with as many new designs in 2015 as I would have liked, but I plan to change that for 2016.  I’ve got a number of ideas in my head of things to make, so definitely keep your eyes open for new Little Muggles creations in the future!!

Best wishes to you all for a Happy, Healthy, and Fantastic New Year!!!

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Cubby the Tiger

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!