Friday List: Crocheters of Instagram

Well, it has been ages since I’ve crocheted, and now that we’re headed toward summer, it’s probably going to stay that way for a while. Crocheting in the winter? Cozy and pleasant and warm. Crocheting in the heat? Sticky and sweaty and disgusting. But I can still appreciate it on instagram, so that’s something.

For today’s Friday List, I want to share a few of my favorite crocheters on instagram—lots of beautiful crochet inspiration to be found here!

1. EBLittleCreations: Oh, just the cutest dang amigurumi you’ve ever seen. From bears to turtles to mermaids to cacti, she crochets it all, and does it so very well. I’ve only been following this account for a few weeks but I love her versatility and the charm of her little creations. You can also find Erika at her Etsy shop here.

2. CypressTextiles: I’m a little on the boring side when it comes to color choices in crochet, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate amazing color when it’s done well. Rachele’s color choices are always inspiring, and she designs such creative and unique blankets. See more of her work (including patterns) at her site here.

3. DarlingBeBrave: Right off the bat, you’ll love Megan’s bright and minimalistic photography, but of course her crochet is fantastic as well. I love her chunky and cozy designs. Visit her blog here and Etsy shop here.

4. RebekahLaw: I think Rebekah’s cute patchy monkey pictures prompted me to follow her account, but she also does the cutest range of animals and dolls (those dinosaurs?! #cutest). You can find her on facebook here.

5. HeyBanjoPants: I’m not sure how Lauren packs so much personality into her animals. She consistently picks out color combos I would never choose in a million years, yet her work always turns out beautifully and makes me wonder why I’m so nervous around color? Plus she is hilarious and wonderful and quite possibly my soul mate. Find her Etsy shop here.

6. LinaMarieDolls: Michelle’s dolls are always gorgeous, with the prettiest little details from their hairstyles to their accessories. Although her dolls sell in the blink of an eye, you can visit her Etsy shop here.

I’d love to hear some of your favorite instagram accounts, too!

My favorite crochet projects in the history of ever.

I started crocheting shortly after Forrest was born, which makes this roughly a 4 1/2-year old hobby for me. I’ve often thought that it would have been cool to keep track of everything I’ve made—for myself, for my kids, for friends’ kids, for my etsy shop customers. Those are some numbers I would be super interested in seeing.

But of course, I didn’t keep track, and have absolutely no idea what the tally on all the various items I’ve made might be.

I do, however, have photos of many of my crochet projects, and thought I’d spotlight a handful of favorites today.

In no particular order, here are some of my very favorite crochet projects from the past 4 years of crocheting:

Forrest’s All Star Baby Blanket: You can find the original post about this blanket HERE, but to summarize it for you, I not-so-secretly hoped that this blanket would replace his precious blankie—the one made by someone other than me that he loves dearly and snuggles nearly 24 hours a day—but he could not care less about it. Nonetheless, it is still one of my favorite projects ever. I love the classic Americana style as well as the colors, and it was a fun project to make. Find this pattern as part of a crochet pattern book here.

Sidewalk Shawl: Visit my original post on this project HERE. This shawl was challenging but so enjoyable to make, and I think it came out beautifully. Sadly, it’s spent its entire life folded up on a closet shelf. I just don’t know how to use/wear something like this in real life, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of my coolest projects yet. Find the pattern here.

Stripey Giraffe: Visit my original post about this gal HERE. I can’t say I love the process of crocheting amigurumi much—the tight crochet is torture on the hands, and they are boring as he!! to work on—but the finished products are just so sweet. I made this giraffe for Darcy before she was born, and am not at all surprised to tell you she doesn’t give a hoot about it and has never paid it any attention. My children are so unappreciative. Find the free pattern here.

Baby tank top: Visit the original post HERE. This darling little tank top quickly became a favorite. Sadly, she outgrew it rather quickly, but I love the unique design and simple construction, and look forward to making another one for Darcy this spring. Find the pattern here.

Granny Flower Garden Baby Blanket: Visit the original post for this project HERE. When I first began crocheting, I remember swearing up and down that I’d never make a multi-colored granny-style afghan, which I could only picture as the outdated, uncomfortable, scratchy blankets that no one wants to cuddle up under at grandparents’ houses. But after seeing some examples of how fresh and modern they can be when made with bright colors, I was converted. Find the pattern for these sunburst granny squares here.

Grandma’s Lacy Ripple blanket: Visit the original post HERE. I am hoping against hope that I never—never, for the rest of my life—get tired of seeing this blanket on my bed, because far too much work went into it to ever replace it. I can’t say much for its warmth (while wrapped up in my sofa blanket made with this same pattern, my brother-in-law Alan asked recently if here was a way to crochet blankets without giant gaping holes that might actually provide some warmth?) but I do love how it looks. Find the pattern here.

Ruffles and Dots baby blanket: Visit the original post HERE. I can hardly believe that smiling chubster up there is Forrest. Some years have passed, but this is still one of my favorite baby blankets to make (and I’ve made many blankets using this pattern, in all sorts of fun colors, although the green has always been a favorite). Simple and cuddly and sweet, I think this is a timeless style that has such a fun, modern feel when made in a bright color. Find the pattern here.

A Sheep Named Ashley—No, Charlie—Wait, Yes, Ashley.

My kids’ interest in the little animals I crochet for them is close to zero. They honestly could not care less. And yet I persist.

It may be time to admit that at this point, I’m not making these for the kids anymore—I’m making them for me. I’m only a step away from getting a little glass-front curio cabinet, putting all my amigurumis in it, and forbidding the children from getting too close.

Predictably, Darcy has never cared about any of her crochet stuffed animals (she has quite a few), but she does love store-bought stuffed animals—the softer and fluffier, the better. So I thought if I crocheted an animal that was fluffy and loopy and more cuddly than the average amigurumi, maybe I could win her over.

For the record, I was wrong. When I proudly presented this sweet loopy little sheep to her after my hours of labor, she turned it around a few times to give it a good inspection, then immediately tossed it on the floor and went scooting off to get her favorite NON-HOMEMADE animal. Very insulting.

Unexpectedly, though, Forrest has been playing with it for quite a few days now, which beats his previous record of playing with a homemade toy for 2 1/2 minutes. He told me it’s a girl and her name is Ashley. Then 10 minutes later he very frantically said, “No!! Wait!! Her name is not Ashley!! Her name is Charlie,” and seemed very relieved to have gotten that sorted out for about 30 seconds until he forgot about the name change and has gone back to calling her Ashley.

The other night, when I was tucking him into bed, he requested that I also tuck Ashley (not Charlie!!) into bed next to him. I asked him why he liked her so much (thinking maybe it would give me a clue as to what sort of features he likes in a toy that I can be sure to use in the future), and he responded, “Because she is better than all my friends.”

Okay.

Whatever her name is, I think she’s awfully cute. I used the Sheldon the Sheep pattern (not Ashley or Charlie the Sheep?!?!) from Curly Girl Coop.

The loop stitch definitely takes a little getting used to (it feels very awkward to me, and even though I’ve done it quite a few times, I always have to watch a youtube how-to video to remind myself of how it’s done), but the results are worth it.

My only changes to the pattern were to use a single color for the arms and legs (the pattern calls for black feet and gray legs), and I shortened the limbs quite a bit.

You had me at ‘teeny giraffe.’

At some point, I’m sure we’ll collectively move on from our current favorite animal to something different (it’s been birds, owls, giraffes, foxes . . . I’m casting my vote for hippos next), but for now, giraffes are doing me just fine, thanks.

“Always with the amazing photography! How DO you keep this greatness coming?” you ask? Casual fake-humble shrug. God’s gift to the interwebs, armed with a mostly-dead iphone camera, right here.

I recently found (and then stalked and pestered into friendship) Sthefanie from Pastel Barn (you can find her on etsy HERE and instagram HERE). She is just the sweetest little ray of sunshine, and crochets darling little animals and dolls. She posted an itty bitty giraffe recently that she whipped up for her daughter’s first birthday, and was so kind to share her pattern notes with me when I begged for them. This little cutie is the result. I like.

If anyone’s interested, she’s listed in my etsy shop. And speaking of amigurumi, does anyone have a type of stuffing they are particularly loyal to? I always just choose something mostly at random, but I’m wondering if there is a stuffing that is particularly well-suited to amigurumi?

In other news:

- After picking Forrest up from preschool yesterday, the first thing out of his mouth was a very excited, “I had a gweat time at pweschool today! Some boys hurted my feelings weally bad because they were being way too cwazy and I shouted at them and then I cwied and then my teacher snuggled me all better!” Never have I desired more strongly to be a fly on the wall than since he started preschool. I would love to know what the heck goes on in there, because his reports about his day are pretty baffling.

- We have a trip to Pennsylvania coming up fast and I’m excited for the visit but sort of having anxiety attacks about our flight. Remember how awful my only other time flying with Darcy was? Based on that experience and her generally pleasant attitude the rest of the time, I can only assume that she bottles up all her anger and rage to release when we’ve reached 500 feet. So we’re looking at roughly 6 months’ worth of pent-up baby psychosis being unleashed on a cross-country flight in a few days. Financial tip: now might be a good time to buy stock in earplugs.

- Thank you all so much for your sweet comments about my little TV thingy! I felt silly doing it, and I also felt silly posting about it (but it seemed so weird not to post about it that I sort of had to), but as always, you guys are the nicest. Very encouraging and supportive and I love you all and check your doorstep tonight for a plate of thank-you cookies from me.

Frog / Zebra Amis (or, Toys My Children Won’t Appreciate)

Not sure if you can hear it from your side of the computer screen, but if you picked up on a long, glorious, beautiful sigh of deep relief just now, that was courtesy of yours truly being so glad it’s Friday, and so glad the week is over, and so so so glad my week of marathon sponsored posts has come to an ignominious end (I cannot tell you how glad I am to once again be hitting the ‘publish’ button without cringing in embarrassment). It was such a forceful sigh of relief, I wouldn’t be surprised if your hair actually blew back from your screen a little, hair commercial style. Thanks for hanging in there with me this week. It was awkward and embarrassing to put up one sponsored post after another, but no one left me any nasty comments about it, and for that I thank you.

I am a bit of a stress crocheter, and I have definitely been feeling the stress this past week or two, so I got a good amount of crocheting done (for shop orders and also just for kicks). I found a darling little amigurumi pattern that I can’t wait to make Darcy for her first birthday, which meant that I had to crochet something for Forrest for his birthday, too, and he seems to be into zebras lately, so there you have it. A stress-induced birthday zebra.

Honestly, I’ll be completely shocked if he plays with it more than maybe 4 or 5 times. He’s never really been into stuffed animals, but he’s going to be 4 in 2 days. At 4 years old, I might have a prayer of him enjoying something I’ve crocheted. Will I even have the slightest chance of him loving a crocheted animal at 5 or beyond? Probably not. So I’ll just keep crocheting him things he (probably) won’t care about while I still have even the slimmest chance that he’ll like them.

I used this free pattern from Kristen’s Crochet to make the little guy, and it worked up very nicely. For some reason, the limbs (which looked perfectly proportioned on Kristen’s version!) looked goofily large on my zebra, so I went back and scaled them down a bit, plus shortened the mane significantly and went with a braided tail. I think he came out awfully cute. I’m really excited to give him to my little Goob-Meister, and am also preparing myself for the impending heartbreak when he shows zero interest in it whatsoever. Yay parenting!!!

After finishing the zebra, it would have made sense to start working on the toy I have planned for Darcy’s 1st birthday (only 2 months away?!?!?!?!?!), and yet I started a completely unrelated project instead. Because when do I ever do things that make sense? I made a frog, which I hope to not keep much longer (you can find her in my etsy shop, and would you do me a solid and go buy her? thanksverymuch). For unexplainable reasons, I stayed up until 1 AM finishing the little darling, and paid for it dearly the next day when Forrest delivered a friendly wake-up call bright and early by knocking on my forehead to tell me he needed toast. (Once again: yay parenting!!!)

I don’t feel like the pictures quite do this frog justice—she is so darling, so plump and squeezable, so dang cute in real life. I just love how she came out, and would love to make more of her in the future. 

I based her on this pattern from lilleliis (and am now obsessed with all of her patterns—girlfriend has talent, no doubt about it). Fantastic pattern, if you’re in the market for a crocheted frog (and why wouldn’t you be?).

I am tempted to stress-begin another amigurumi as soon as I finish typing this, but I’m not sure I can survive another 1AM bedtime. Happy weekend to one and all!

Monsters Inc. Amigurumi

If you read my last  post, you saw that my little monster decided after a ridiculously long inner struggle between roughly 40,000 tempting options (running the gamut from food items to animals to people he knows) that he and his dad should be Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc. for Halloween. I thought that sounded about as cute as it could possibly get, so I wanted to keep him excited about it somehow . . . and I remembered a little project I had seen a while ago and wanted to try myself. Adorable little Mike and Sully amigurumi!

Do you know A Morning Cup of Jo? She creates the cutest little amigurumi patterns (some have been featured in books, some are for sale online, and many she shares for free!), and she came up with the sweetest little Monsters Inc. pattern to celebrate the release of Monsters University a few months ago. I had seen cute little monsters made using her pattern (which you can find HERE) on Instagram and various blogs, and thought they might be fun to try, so I was glad Forrest’s excitement over his costume idea gave me the perfect excuse to try them out.

You can get a sense of scale here for these little buddies . . . they are pretty darn small, which makes them even cuter. They really were fun to make, and came together SO quickly (which is awesome—seems like amigurumi take longer to come together than I feel like they should, so it was such a treat to make some tiny stuffies that truly worked up FAST). I made Sully first, and when he was completed, Forrest was desperate for me to finish Mike up, too, so they could play. And he’s finally figured out that his naptime = my prime crochet time, because he spent his whole morning asking, “Mama cwochet Mike duwing nap? Fowwest sweep and Mama make Mike?” Needless to say, he was thrilled to see the two of them together post naptime.

 

Can’t see much of the smile there, but trust me, it’s there. To be totally honest, he doesn’t play with them a ton (definitely not a stuffed animal lover, this one) . . . but every now and then he’ll get them out and make them dance, or roar, or take naps . . . whatever it is he thinks monsters do, I guess. And they’ve helped keep him excited about Halloween and his fun daddy-son costume combo, so that’s a win in my book.

(Because I can’t resist posting one of these again . . . )

Crocheted Superman

A few weeks ago, I opened my door to find a big, huge box on my step stuffed tight with oodles of baby girl clothes, mailed to me by my sweet friend Haley. I wanted to send something back as a thank you, so I got busy making a Superman doll (doll? stuffie? real tough stuffed dude?) for her little boy. And before it was even close to being finished, Forrest was trying to play with it (in pieces—like, he was just holding the head on top of the body so he could make it jump and fly around), and just imagine for a moment the utter devastation he experienced when he saw me pack Superman up in a box to send away to Haley. Total heartbreak.

So I made a second one, this time for him to keep. I mean, he’s rarely/never shown any interest whatsoever in anything I’ve crocheted, and he loved that silly Superman. I didn’t even realize that he knew who Superman was until I made the first one. And oh, the drama when Superman #1 went in the box.  The drama on the drive to the post office. More drama as he watched me drop it into the mail chute. And apparently, ‘round these parts, drama gets rewarded with crocheted goodies.

squeeeeee! Isn’t he cute? This was my first (well, my second, I guess—Haley’s Superman was the first) time making a doll (doll?) and I really had fun putting it together. I’ve made plenty of amigurumi before, but never a person, and I really enjoyed it. I keep thinking of ideas for more dolls—a girl doll with striped leggings! long braidable hair! outfit options! I’ve generally found amigurumi a bit tedious to make in the past (so many little pieces to work on and assemble—I’d rather just make something big and get it over with), but for some reason, working on a person was a little more fun.

I bought the pattern from Bot Shop on Etsy (although it looks like maybe she hasn’t relisted it yet since I bought it? I’m not seeing it in her shop at the moment, but I promise, that’s where it’s from), and was pleased with it. I still consider myself a bit of a beginner when it comes to amigurumi since I don’t always know what the best techniques are, and I probably would have benefitted from a little more detail when it came to assembly and various details (like the hair, specifically—I ended up using this tutorial to make/attach his hair, which I found very helpful). I also made up my own arms and legs for him . . . I’m not sure if I misread something in the pattern, but the one arm I made using the written instructions came out huuuuuge! Maybe I just flubbed it, but it was super simple to just wing a quick set of arms and legs that looked a little more proportional to me. Overall, a cute helpful pattern, but it did require a bit of extra knowledge/research to perfect. I still need to work on crocheting more tightly, and the hair could use a little more work, but I think it came out awfully cute anyway.

But the best part is, for once Forrest loves something I made for him. That’s a rarity. He sleeps with Superman every night, and loves tucking him into bed, “to west.” (Apparently Superman is an awfully sleepy guy.) It’s been a few weeks since I finished him, so I think he’s starting to lose his ‘new toy’ luster, but it’s been so nice to finally finally finally see him play with and love something I made.

Striped Crochet Giraffe

So I’ve been brainstorming and collecting ideas for our soon-to-be baby girl’s bedroom, which naturally means I have a new crochet project to share. The first step in planning a new room, as any professional will tell you, is to stop planning the new room and crochet something to go inside it instead.

As I’ve been browsing nursery pictures to figure out the look I want to go for in her bedroom, I keep gravitating to the same sort of style: very simple, very clean-looking white/gray spaces that just have little bursts of color tossed in with wall art/pillows/accessories. And since that room is still packed to the gills and ready to puke forth its mess of craft supplies and discarded projects and miscellaneous crap that gets tossed in when we’re too lazy to find real homes for it, I figured I’d start small (and start far, far away from that scary messy room) with a crochet project that fits into my ‘pops of color’ bedroom plan.

How cute is that? I used this free pattern HERE for my little giraffe, and figured this was a good opportunity to use up some yarn I already have rather than go out and shop for something new. To tell you the truth, mixing colors like this scares me. I don’t mix colors. But I decided to go big for this little project, and I think she’ll make a great pop of color perched on a dresser or bookshelf in the baby’s room.

I thought there were a few confusing spots in the pattern (rows that didn’t add up to the right stitch count, or notes added in later that I wasn’t sure how to interpret), but it seems to have worked out (and sadly, if any of you have questions, I’m afraid I’m not going to remember what I did). I need to work on crocheting as tightly as humanly possible in amigurumi—there are a few spots on this giraffe that look like they’re stretched mighty thin over the stuffing, but it is murder on the hands to crochet that tightly. I need a massage, stat.

And amidst all this colorful, baby-hormone-ridden cuteness, let’s not forget the little man of the house and the reality check that his PMS mood swings always bring about. He literally jumped in front of the camera for the picture above, and when I suggested he go stand by the giraffe for more pictures, he trotted over excitedly ("Yeah! Forry pitcho!”) aaaaaaaaaand:

. . . promptly changed his mind about the whole idea. At least this gives you a sense of scale on the giraffe.

Also, this real conversation really happened when he first saw the giraffe.

Forrest: Is nice goat. Pet the goat.

Me: It’s not a goat.

F: Oh. Nice moose. Pet the moose.

Never a dull moment with this one. Let’s hope little missy is a bit more even-tempered.

More Last Minute Easter Crochet

So, at about this time in 2011, I wrote a post sharing some cute crochet patterns that would make awesome last minute Easter gifts. And for some reason, it got and continues to get a good amount of attention (weird—I’m always kind of surprised when any of the garbage I write here gets attention), so I figured I’d do another one this year with newer pattern ideas!

Now, first things first: I get at least one email a week asking for the pattern to the chick in a bunny suit I made and linked to in the previous Easter post:

The good news: it’s a super cute, super fast little project that will work up in no time, perfect for tucking into an Easter basket.

The bad news: it used to be free, and now it’s not. But it’s only $3, and you can find it right HERE in the Dawnie Dolls etsy shop. (The photo above is my version of the project, which I took some liberties with, so make sure to check out the listing pictures to see how making one exactly as written will turn out!)

Now that’s out of the way, here are my top 5 picks for quick, adorable Easter crochet patterns (all free!) that would be perfect to start and finish in one or two days and add to an Easter basket! (Note: while a few of these are on my to-do list, I haven’t made any of them yet, so I can’t comment on the patterns themselves or finished projects made using them!)

If there is a Peeps fan in your house, this Easter Peeps pattern would be so cute and funny to make for them! I have no fondness for Peeps, so the crocheted version looks much better to me than the real deal.

I love the idea of making a dozen colorful little Easter eggs to use for decorating or filling baskets. Sure beats dyeing eggs every year—not my favorite holiday activity. Get the free Easter egg crochet pattern HERE!

I love the unique look of these little Easter bunnies! So colorful and cheerful, and the lack of appendages would make them SO quick to work up. Get the pattern HERE.

Doesn’t this little Easter chick look so sweet? It’s hard to tell how big he turns out, but I’m guessing he’s little enough to tuck into an Easter egg. Awwww! Get the pattern HERE.

And last but not least:

I love the Boxy Skirt Bunny! They look cute in every color combo, and look like they’d be a lot of fun to customize and play around with. Get the pattern (a Ravelry download) right HERE.

Have you crocheted anything for Easter this year?

Crochet Dog Stuffies for Valentine’s Day

I’m not all that into Valentine’s Day. I mean, it’s nice, and I always appreciate getting a card or candy or flowers or something, but my husband and I don’t typically make a big deal out of it. We went to Chili’s last weekend . . . that’ll probably count as our Valentine’s date. Chili’s! The ribs! The romance!

But now that we have this little boogerface stinking up our house, I kind of want to make it a fun day for him. So we’ll be spending today baking up Valentine’s goodies, and I can’t wait to give him his present tomorrow . . .

A little crochet puppy! He’s cute, huh? The sweater gets me. It gets me every time I look at him. Forrest is pretty into puppies (and kitties aka ‘titties’; yes, that’s right, titties) at the moment—his new favorite game is coming up to me while I’m on the couch, meowing or barking at me, then saying, “gent-oh? gent-oh?” (which is how we try to remind him to pet nicely, I think he thinks ‘gentle’ just means ‘pet’) and waiting to be petted or have his belly rubbed. It’s pretty sweet. I hope he likes his little puppy dog.

And I couldn’t resist showing him off to my sister ahead of time, and she liked him a lot, too, so guess what she is also getting tomorrow?

The girly version! I like this one even better than the one I made for my son. I like the colors better, and I did a better job with placing the facial features. I almost don’t want to give her away.

I used the Amigurumi Dog pattern from Lion Brand Yarn, and they were a cinch to work up. Relatively quick (although making all the separate pieces is kind of slow and tedious, I’ll admit), but overall a very simple pattern. I wasn’t crazy about the ears in the pattern, so I went for a more folded-over look instead. I like how they turned out.

A moody close-up. She’s pondering the state of the economy, or maybe thinking about something deep like . . . I don’t know . . . the poetry of . . . Ginsberg? (The only name that comes to mind . . . it’s early, I’m still waking up, cut me a break.)

I tossed up some listings in my shop for custom versions of these little puppies—you can find the boy puppy HERE and the lady puppy HERE, and message me for a discount if you plan to buy two or more! As always, feel free to play around the colors when you order . . . I’ve got a nice big yarn stash, just begging to be used in whatever creative color combos you come up with.

Did you make any Valentine’s gifts this year?

Bug Buddies Crochet Finger Puppets

It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve crocheted anything . . . I had my etsy shop closed for quite a few weeks while we moved and worked on our new house, and heaven knows I don’t crochet for myself often, so it was nice to get some crochet motivation in the form of an invite to try out Lion Brand Yarn’s new line, Bonbons: sets of adorable little mini-skeins of sport weight yarn. I think I literally “awwwww!”ed when I opened the box and saw the cute little skeins. (Why is everything cute when it’s mini-sized? Bonbons are freaking adorable, before you even make anything.)

I haven’t worked much with sport weight yarns before, but I loved the colors and feel of the Bonbons. I wanted to make something bright and happy and fun, so I came up with these little bug buddies for a certain little 2-year old I know who is currently obsessed with finger puppets (although his Grumplestiltskin pictures as the end of this post would lead you to believe otherwise):

Aren’t they cute?! I hadn’t originally planned on making them bugs, actually, but after embroidering their faces, it seemed pretty obvious that they needed antennae, too. So bugs they are, I guess.

If you want to make some bug buddies finger puppets, feel free to use the pattern I came up with below.

Bug Buddies Finger Puppets

(This pattern will make small, kid-sized finger puppets. For larger, adult size finger puppets, move up a hook size and/or start with 10-12 stitches and continue as follows.)

Use sport weight yarn and an E hook.

Create a magic circle, sc 8 into circle. Don’t join rounds, just work in a continuous circle.

Row 1: Sc around (8)

Row 2: 2sc in 1^st st, sc 3, 2sc in next st, sc 3 (10)

Rows 3-5: Sc around (10)

Rows 6-13: (switch colors now if you want to make a striped body) Sc around, switching colors at the start of each new row. Don’t cut the previous color, just continue crocheting and pick it up again when you switch.

Continue until desired length is reached. 13 rows was plenty for my 2-year old’s fingers. 

Sl st to next st and fasten off, weave in ends.

Use black yarn/thread to embroider eyes (I made French knots for the eyes) and antennae, and red/pink for a mouth.

Hope you enjoy! I tried to get pictures of Forrest playing with his new finger puppets and he obliged with his usual level of enthusiasm:

Such a happy little ray of sunshine. Oh well.

Handmade Crochet Owl Amigurumi: Howdy, Simon

There’s a new cuddly friend in our house . . . meet Simon the Owl. (Fun fact: I love the name Simon. I really, really, really love it. I’ve fought hard to name a boy Simon, but Jeff refuses. He’s such a monster. The most he’s given me is the promise that if we have all boys--like, say, 5 of them--and try one last time for a girl, and even that one is a boy, I can name him Simon. How generous--I only get a Simon if I give birth to 6 boys first. So we named the owl Simon. This may be the closest I’ll ever come to a son named Simon. I guess I’ll take it.)

Isn’t he handsome? Simon’s interests include composing free verse poetry, gazing thoughtfully out of windows, and engaging in lively political debate with friends. I made him from the same colors that I used for Forrest’s Christmas blanket—I like that these two make a matching set.

  I’m sure you remember Fresh Stitches, one of our great crochet along sponsors? Well, when I was showing Jeff the sponsors’ shops and patterns, he insisted I buy this adorable owl plush pattern from Fresh Stitches to crochet for Forrest for Christmas. Gotta love an enabler! $5 later, the pattern was in my inbox and I was ready to go.

Then Stacey, the designer behind Fresh Stitches,  asked if I’d like to try out her Craftsy workshop . . . step by step photo tutorials and in-depth instructions to make this very owl. Heck, why not!

I would definitely give her owl workshop two—nay, three—thumbs up. It was chock full of helpful tips and tricks that I hadn’t known before, like how to make sure you get a seamless transition when switching colors, special instructions for starting and finishing individual pattern pieces, time-saving shortcuts, and a picture for just about every step of the way. If you’ve wanted to try amigurumi but haven’t been sure where to begin, I think you’d really find the workshop helpful. It costs a bit more than just the pattern alone, but would be money well spent if this is your first attempt at amigurumi and you want to make sure you end up with a great-looking piece, like my dapper Simon. My favorite feature of the Craftsy workshop was the ability to ask questions at any step throughout the pattern . . . any questions you ask are attached to the page where you ask them, and Stacey comes back and answers them there as well, so if you hit a bump in the road, you get a personalized response from the designer, plus your question stays on the page for other crocheters to learn from, too. The pattern alone is very well-written and detailed, so if you’ve already crocheted an amigurumi or two, it would probably suit your needs very nicely, but if you’d like that little extra boost and help along the way, the workshop would be well worth the extra few dollars.

Although Simon is going to be a Christmas present for Forrest, I couldn’t resist seeing what he’d think of the little guy. Forrest is generally not a huge fan of the gifts I make for him (for proof, see this post about the crochet blanket I made for him, pictured below), so I was nervous he wouldn’t be that fond of Simon. Definitely did not need to stress about that. Exhibit A:

He definitely likes his new buddy. Simon was welcomed with hugs:

And with kisses:

  I thought I could take advantage of his excitement over a new toy to get him to love that darned blanket without even realizing it. So I slipped it over his lap while he was busy smooching on Simon:

No dice. He was not fooled, nor was he happy about it. I wish you could hear the angry grunting as he tried to pull the blanket off his lap:

And his blanket-fury was taken out on poor unsuspecting Simon. Owl up:

  OWL SLAMMED:

Whatcha gonna do about it? 

Despite the abuse poor Simon had to deal with, I think there are a few victories here:

#1. I finally feel pretty confident at crocheting amigurumi. Yes!

#2. I finally made something for Forrest that he loves. YES!

#3. I finally have someone in the house named Simon. Huzzah.