hippo

Hungry Hungry Hippos!

I’ve always thought hippos are so CUTE and this one has been in the works for longer than I care to admit! When the Hobbii yarn company recently came out with their #HobbiiAmigurumi campaign, I entered and knew this was the perfect opportunity to finally complete this project that I started oh so long ago. I had hastily written down the pattern a while back but I needed to properly remake this doll and finalize the details. I was finally ready to get down and finish what I started!!

So the first thing I needed to do for the campaign was to choose the yarn line and colors I wanted to work with. This sounds like an easy thing to do, but I spent SO long poring over the different choices! I had worked with the Friends Cotton line in the past so I knew I wanted to go with that, but it comes in several different gauges – 8/4, 8/6, 8/8. Since I haven’t worked with my smaller crochet hook in a long time, I decided to go with 8/4, which is considered a Category 1 – SuperFine yarn. Yes, I was hesitant at first, fearing it would be too small and difficult to work with. I used a 2.25mm crochet hook and I’m actually quite pleased with how easily the hippo worked up as well as the size of the finished doll!

The Friends Cotton 8/4 line has about 105 colors to choose from and I ultimately decided on 5 to make my doll. I wanted the color of the pants to really stand out so I went with a beautiful shade of purple, because who wouldn’t look good in an awesome pair of purple pants?

One of the best things to have come out of taking part in this campaign is that I learned how to work with the video editing app CapCut to make my first ever Instagram reel! I have a LOT to learn but it was really fun exploring the app and making my own little videos! I also became familiar with posting Instagram stories, which isn’t something I’ve done much of before. lol I know I’m late to the game but better late than never!

I hope you like my newly reworked hippo! There’s even a little opening in the back of the pants to accommodate his cute little tail! This is to be shared for FREE with this wonderful amigurumi community! I just want to spread some joy and cheer because gosh do we need more love and kindness in the world these days! XOXO see you soon!

Hanna the Hippo wins 2nd place!

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.

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!

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!

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.

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

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!!

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!

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!!!

My Ami Beanbag Buddies!

IMG_4637 - Version 2 — 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.

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

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!!