Category: Crochet

Crochet amigurumi: Amigurumi balls and amigurumi monsters

Aynaria 7 Comments

Amigurumi Monster 1

Amigurumi monster

Yes, it’s another amigurumi…

I know, I know, lately, I’ve been posting a lot of amigurumi crochet items, but I’m having so much fun!

I’ve finally found my crochet groove, and it’s amigurumi. I’ve mastered the basic stitches, which has helped me tremendously with my amigurumi projects, since (from my research) many amigurumis use basic crochet stitches.

Crocheting Amigurumi, and more…

Although, I’m In love with amigurumi, that hasn’t stopped me from working on other crochet projects…

I’m still working on my Yo-yo afghan, and I’m working on crochet jewelry;  I’ll start posting some of those pieces soon. Admittedly, the bulk of my time has been spent crocheting amigurumi, whether they’re aminekos, or cute little crochet amigurumi balls, I’m having a lot of fun.

Amigurumi balls Monster

Amigurumi balls and monster; work in progress

The above photos shows what I was crocheting; The cranberry ball was actually worked in a spiral. It’s my first time doing spiral crochet, and I must say, I’m pleased with the results. I’m loving the spiral pattern. 

Saturday evening gave me an opportunity to crochet. My daughter and I were watching a Shrek Marathon; four hours, that’s a lot of hours for us, we rarely watch television, but we both like Shrek… and so I got out my yarn and hooks and crocheted amigurumi balls. And my first amigurumi monster!

These are all works in progress, I still have to add faces to the amigurimi balls; most likely they’ll be some type of amigurumi animal.

Originally, I was going to purchase eyes, for my crocheted amigurumi monster, but I’m still on that ‘all crochet kick’ for the amigurumis I’ve been creating. I crocheted the whites of the eye, and embroidered the pupils. French knots were made for the pupils, and I decided the red eye should be looking downwards.

The face was added before it was stuffed with fiberfill. The stitches are more secure since I was able to go into the inside of this amigurumi cavity, with my needle, to strengthen my embellishments.

Currently my amigurumi projects are simple, and I’m fine with that. I want to master crocheting the basic amigurumi shapes, before I tackle challenging projects.

Gaming inspired crochet amigurumi

My long term goal is to turn some of my much loved gaming characters into crochet amigurumi. What you’re seeing now is some of the shapes that I’ll be incorporating into the various characters I create.

For those of you who’ve met me through various games  (in-game, forums or blogs) like World of Warcraft, The Elder Scrolls, Halo, Diablo, and Mass Effect, eventually you’ll see some of my favorite characters here, crocheted; of course. I’ve already sketched out designs for some of them…

Crocheted Amineko with amigurumi ball animals

Aynaria 2 Comments

 

Amigurumi ball bear 1

This crochet amigurumi ball, was made last evening. It didn’t take to long to make.

Once the amigurumi ball was complete, I crocheted the ears, and embroidered the eyes, nose, and mouth.

Looking through my stash; I’ll have to purchase single ply yarn, and perhaps some more embroidery floss, felt, and perhaps some eyes too.

Amigurumi ball bear 2

I think it looks like a cute crocheted amigurumi ball bear,  what do you think?

My daughter is insisting it’s a baby amineko.

Amineko Amigurumi ball 1

And she’s already presented Marigold and Mario, their brand-new baby. Just look at the proud parents.

Although I didn’t get a chance to post anything for finished object Friday, I have plenty of finished objects to share, and so most of them will be featured in next Friday. The past few days, I haven’t had time to  crochet Angry Birds, hopefully I’ll be able to do that this weekend. The lone crocheted Red Angry Bird that I made is rather lonely.

Today my daughter and I will be volunteering at our Lutheran churches food pantry; I’ll be bringing my crochet hooks and yarn. Occasionally we have down time, and I want something to keep my hands busy, while I chat with the other volunteers

 

Work in Progress Wednesday; Crocheted Red Angry Bird and crocheted bookmark bookworms

Aynaria 25 Comments

I’m not a big Angry Bird fan; but my five-year old nephew is, and so last week you could find me looking for appropriate Red Angry Bird crochet patterns.

Angry Birds

Initially, I was going to purchase eyes, but I couldn’t locate them in the local craft store I’d visited. Perhaps that was for the best? I do know how to embroider, although admittedly it’s been years since I’ve attempted to do some of the intricate embroidery I used to create, but I figured I should be able to handle the simple angry bird eyes, and so I gave it a shot…

Crocheted Red Angry Bird

Crocheted red angry bird 2Crocheted red angry bird 1

The only thing left is to create a thin line around the beak; currently the beak looks like it’s in one piece; we can’t have that! Additionally, I need to crochet some of his partners in crime; Black Angry Bird bomb, and perhaps one of those poor little piggies? Oink, oink, please don’t hurt me Angry Birds!

My crocheted Red Angry Bird was featured in last weeks, Work in Progress Wednesday; but I didn’t complete this Red Angry Bird as quickly as originally planned. I’ve been distracted with other crochet projects,  I should have it finished today. Perfect, since I’ll be able to feature it in Finished Object Friday.

 

h3Crocheted bookmark bookworm

Crocheted bookworm bookmarks

This is my first batch of bookmark bookworms. I’m making them for my daughter’s third-grade class; fifteen students are in her class. As you can see, these Crocheted bookworm bookmarks are almost complete. The only thing left is to add the eyes. The next batch I’ll make differently, they won’t be bookworms, but some other tiny critter that I can create; I already have a few ideas.

But back to those bookworms…

As a child, I remember receiving similar bookmark bookworms. One of my Sunday schoolteachers doted on her students, and was regularly making something for us. She died about three years ago.

Next week, there’s a Mom’s day at my daughter’s school, and so I’ll be bringing in the completed bookmarks, and passing them out to the children. I hope her classmates like them.

I heard about them via the lovely Kathleen,  she’s a talented fiber artist, I recently awarded her site with The Versatile Blogger award too.


Edited to add… I’m participating in Pay it Forward handmade! Stop by to see what the fuss is about!

Sites I’m linking too

  1. Tami Amis WIP
  2. Yarn Along
  3. Frontier Dreams
  4. Crochet Addicts CFS
  5. The Crochet Way

Finished Object Friday: Two Aminekos are better than one and Swirly Twirly Scarf

Aynaria 18 Comments

I’m finding crochet to be quite addicting, although I’m still new to crochet I usually have something on my hooks.

Recently my finished objects all have one thing in common, they’ve been made for my daughter.

Daughter amineko swirly twirly scarf

But, how can I complain look how adorable she is? The above photo was taken this morning…

I was getting ready to drop her off at her Lutheran school. What’s her expression saying? “Mom, please hurry!”

She’s modeling the swirly twirly scarf, and holding onto the two amineko’s that I crocheted for her. The scarf came off right after this picture was taken. They wear uniforms at her Lutheran school; swirly twirly scarves aren’t part of the dress code.

Amineko love 1 04 20 12

Two aminekos are better than one

I think these two need to get a room, don’t you? The white Amineko is my Finished object for this Friday. The mustard colored amineko was featured last week.

Amineko’s are so much fun to crochet, and my daughter is having a blast placing them in various poses.

She’s named the white amineko Mario. Marigold, is the mustard colored amineko.

Amineko 1 04 20 12

Crochet amineko number two was completed last weekend, but I have to admit my lovely eight-year old daughter helped. She embroidered the face; eyes, nose, and mouth. I must say, for her first time, she did an excellent job.

Amineko love 2 04 20 12

Swirly twirly scarf

Since I adore scarves, I thought it would be smart to start attempting to create them on my own, and that’s why I made the swirly twirly scarf. Marigold is modeling my daughter’s scarf. While Mario is, a bit peeved that their snuggle time was interrupted. Humph!

Red Angry BIrd; still a work in progress

The crocheted Red Angry Bird I’m making for my five-year old nephew still needs eyes. Once I purchase them from a local craft store, I’ll finish the Angry Bird. I’ll crochet the Black Angry Bird bomb, and wrap them up and ship them to Texas.

 

  1. Tami’s Ami’s Finished Object Fridays
  2. Fibers on Friday
  3. Natural Suburbia
  4. Wisdom Begins in Wonder

 

Work in Progress Wednesday; Amineko, Red Angry Bird, and Swirly Twirly scarf

Aynaria 17 Comments

As I sit here writing about my works in progress, It occurred to me that at times I take what I’m doing for granted.

I’m truly thankful that I’m healthy enough to do make the crafts that I enjoy, and share my love of crafts with others. I rarely keep the things I create.

Crochet Amineko MarigoldnMario 1

Crochet Amineko

Marigold (gold amineko) seems upset. She has her back turned away from Mario. My daughter named the crochet amineko’s.

The gold Amineko was featured in last weeks Work In Progress Wednesday. The Amineko in white, is my work in progress. I made the white Amineko different from the first, since I crocheted a sweater onto the Ameniko. I really love how it turned out, and am pleased with my crochet progress.

At the time the above picture was taken, I still needed to make the legs, tail, ears, and mouth.The white crochet amineko is now complete (for the most part).

Crochet Angry Bird 1 04 18 12

Crochet Red Angry Bird

My five-year old nephew adores Angry Birds, and so I’m making his favorite Red Angry Bird.  My progress came to a halt, because I realized I needed to purchase eyes. Whoops, once I visit the local craft store, I’ll finish crocheting this Red Angry Bird.

Yesterday, I wrote a post linking to the free Angry Bird crochet patterns I’ll be using. Stop by, and snap up those free Angry Bird Crochet patterns, that crochet users have offered for free.

Crochet Curly Scarf 2

Crochet Swirly Twirly Scarf

I’m making this scarf for my daughter….

Yesterday, I started working on crocheting a swirly twirly scarf. My inspiration came from this swirly twirly scarf.

I changed the stitches used, and used an N crochet hook. I already have ideas for the additional scarves I’ll make, but I’m pleased with this. I’m still new to crochet, perhaps been doing it for about five months, but I’m having a lot of fun.

This scarf is almost complete. Yeah!

I combined two different types of yarn for this project. The cream colored yarn glimmers, and the pink yarn has pink metallic thread woven into it. This gives the scarf a sparkly effect; it’s a shame I couldn’t capture that look with the pictures I took.

This scarf was made for my daughter; she’s loving what I’ve done thus far. I had weaved a light pink ribbon into it, but I do believe I’ll take that out and use another ribbon?

This is the first scarf that I’ve crocheted, and it’s given me ideas for Christmas gifts, and so I’ll be playing around with different types of yarn, and adding beads to some of my creations.

Since I don’t have much left to do with these projects, they should all be featured in Finished Object Friday.

 

Sites I’m linking too

  1. Tami Amis WIP
  2. Yarn Along
  3. Frontier Dreams
  4. Crochet Addicts CFS
  5. The Crochet Way

 

Angry Birds; What’s on my crochet hooks?

Aynaria 11 Comments

I’m so thrilled with how the amineko’s turned out. Because of that, I’m crocheting more amigurumis (crocheted toys).

Angry Birds

Since I have the beginner amigurumi kinks worked out; I’ve started making a Red Angry Bird, for my five-year old nephew. I’ve completed the red, and most of the white section.

I would have finished the Red Angry Bird yesterday, but I need to pick up the eyes before I can continue.

Most of the Angry Bird patterns that I’ve seen assume you know how to make a magic circle, single crochet, and how to decrease crochet stitches. Those requirements, seem to be common with amigurumi patterns.

Searching the term, Crochet Angry Birds, will bring a lot of search results…

Which can be overwhelming, when they only thing you want is a simple crochet pattern. It shows just how popular these little critters are. I was one of those folks, who was out of the loop for a while. Anyway, It was hard to weed through all those patterns, but I was finally able to do it yesterday, while my daughter was resting.

Free Angry Bird Crochet patterns

Currently I’m working on this free Red Angry Bird pattern on Queenie Chan’s website. She also has a White Angry Bird crochet pattern, I’ll be crocheting that one too, but big red is up first since that’s my nephews favorite. I did find the Black Bomb Angry Bird pattern on Ravelry. It’s also free, but you have to be a Ravelry user; My Ravelry user name, is Opalt. I will make the Black Angry Bird next, since he likes it almost as much as the Red Angry Bird.

I still don’t know too much about the Angry Birds. I know it’s a game, and my daughter recently started playing it, and although I’ve looked over her shoulder as she plays, it hasn’t interested me enough to participate. 😉 I thought I’d read something about an Angry Bird movie or was that a TV series… anyway it looks like these birds will be here for a while.

Potential copyright issues..

When I first started seeing the patterns, I became concerned since Angry Birds, are indeed copyrighted. However, the official twitter page of Angry Birds/Rovio regularly tweets the picture of fan created Angry Birds. I’ve seen numerous types of materials used. Which seems to be a smart move on their part, since Angry Bird fans, are indirectly promoting the game through the art they’ve created. It’s how I found out about Angry Birds. I didn’t know what the crafter was talking about, so I did a Google search.

However, if you try to profit from your Angry Birds, if they find out, don’t be surprised if you run into some legal issue. I’ve already heard instances where this has happened.

Already thinking about Christmas

I’m going to start making hand-crafted Christmas items. I’d mentioned it, a few months ago, and yesterday Nicky another crafty lady, wrote down her Crafty handmade Christmas list, and so I’ll be doing the same.  Last evening, after my daughter went to bed, I was able to complete one Christmas present; a scarf, so now I have something else to add to my Finished Object Friday. Since my daughter reads this site, her name will most likely be left off the list. 😉

Question: Is anyone else getting a jump-start on their Christmas list?

Crochet: Amineko; slave to my hooks?

Aynaria 11 Comments

Boye Crochet Hooks

Amineko (crocheted cat) number two should be complete sometime today. Yeah!

This being my second Amineko that I’ve crocheted, it’s going along at a much faster pace. In fact, I’m already thinking of number three, or perhaps I’ll make an Angry Bird for my five-year old nephew. He’s a big fan of those critters. I have to admit, crocheting an amigurumi can be addicting.

During the entire time, my daughter has been eagerly watching the process. She’s already placed an additional request…

“After you’re finished that mommy, would you please make some accessories for Marigold?”

Me: What do you think I am, your slave?

Daughter: Yep, my crochet slave!

I feign shock. She laughs at my expression.

Marigold is the first Amineko that I crocheted, and she was featured in my Finished Object Friday post, which also featured a crocheted necklace.

Hello My Name is Amineko

I love crochet

Truth is, I’m really enjoying crocheting, and have been really enjoying making the aminekos, the crochet pattern is easy to follow. Even as a new crochet user, I didn’t find it to be difficult. I took my time. If interested you can find the pattern in the book Hello my name is Aminkeo: The Story of a Crafty Crochet Cat.

My daughter loves this book (as do I) since there are numerous stories to chronicle the adventures of amineko. The crochet amineko pattern, along with accessories for the amienko, are located  towards the back of the book.

I learned to knit when I was eight-years old, and it’s something I’ve done (off and on) throughout my life. Knitting isn’t going anywhere, I enjoy it, but for now, outside of my quilting group, most of my fiber love has been focused on crochet.

Of course there’s a wide range of items you can crochet; crochet isn’t just for doilies, afghans, or squares. There are plenty of gorgeous clothing that can be made, and eventually I will….

I’ve already sketched out a few designs that I’m itching to crochet, and most likely (when Fall comes around again) I’ll start crocheting them after Christmas presents have been made.

What’s on my crochet hooks

Currently I’m working on a Sophie Digard inspired scarf. During my down time, when I don’t have a project on my hooks, I crochet a few (tiny) beautiful flowers. I’m in no rush to complete the scarf, but when it’s finished it’ll be gorgeous.

Edited to add:

Today, I finished my second crochet amineko. My daughter has named this one, Mario. About thirty minutes ago, My daughter ‘married’ Marigold and Mario. Mario, the amineko, will be featured (along with other creations) in this coming Finished Object Friday.