Tag: Crochet

Mother’s Day is not this Sunday…

Aynaria 4 Comments

It’s such a relief to learn that Mother’s Day is not this Sunday.

Early yesterday, I was “hooking my fingers to the bone” since I thought it was.

That all came to a halt, when I chatted with my mother…

“Mother’s Day is always the second Sunday in May!” Naturally, I felt a bit silly, rushing Mother’s Day, but also I was relieved. Since, it means that my crochet hooks aren’t top priority in my downtime.

At church this Sunday, my daughter children’s choir, is performing a few songs; for mothers. Which made me think, “Oh, Mother’s Day!”

These children have come a long way this school year, and are starting to sound like a children’s choir. The majority of that credit goes to their choir director, who just happens to be my daughter’s piano teacher, and she’s also the director of Traditional music, at our church. This amazing lady has a lot of responsibilities, but makes it look easy.

 Since, I was making it top priority to complete the gifts by this weekend, my Mother’s Day gifts are almost complete.

For my mother, I’m making jewelry. When it’s complete, perhaps I’ll post a few photos on Celebrate Life. I’ll make a card to accompany the gift.

Also on the list is my daughter’s third grade schoolteacher. She’s not your “traditional mother” since she doesn’t have children of her own, but she does an excellent job mothering her third grade class. She’s amazing with them, and so I want to make her something also. Beaded bookmarks, facial scrubbies, and perhaps a few more items are on the list for my daughter’s teacher. I know she’ll love them, she loves to read, but the bookmarks she has are bits of paper, time to upgrade her to something proper, right? 

Then, there’s a lady I used to work with, Mrs. L. She’s the other type of mother too. No… not the Neil Gamon type found in Coraline. She’s 73, which is a year younger than my dad, and she has filled the role of mother throughout her adult life. I’m working on a crocheted/beaded bracelet. It looks lovely, and in some of her favorite colors.  Crocheting amigurumi mice are also on the list. She has two cats, and I don’t want her babies to be left out.

One thing all these ladies has in common is an appreciation of handmade gifts. Of course, I’ve spent hours working on various crafts; crochet, jewelry making, and card making, to ensure the gifts I’ve made are nice.  Since I know what they like, I know these gifts will be appreciated.

Yeah! Crocheted bookworm bookmarks were a hit

Aynaria 4 Comments

Today, was “Mom’s day” at my daughter’s Lutheran school. Mothers, were invited to stop by for 45 minutes to attend their children’s class. Of course, I stopped by. I always do… but today was different, I came bearing gifts, simple to make but so cute; bookworm bookmarks.

Crocheted bookworm bookmarks

The crocheted bookworm bookmarks were featured in my works in progress from last week; it was nice to hear the excited outbursts of the children, when my daughter’s teacher showed them to the rest of the class. However due to the fact that it was near the end of the day, she told them they would be able to choose their bookmarks tomorrow.

There’s 15 children in my daughter’s third grade class, I made enough that they can choose two. I already know that several of them like to read How cool is that. I’m just happy that I am able to share some of my crafts with others.

Acts 20:35

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

35 In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

I’ve always enjoyed sharing with others, I must say I had some excellent role models, my parents did a lot of sharing when my brother and I were growing up, often to complete strangers in need.

Those acts of kindness left an impact on myself, and throughout my life it’s inspired me to share with others.

Work In Progress Wednesday: Crochet Amigurumis; Bunnies and Monsters… oh my!

Aynaria 9 Comments

When it comes to crafts, it seems that I always have some type of Work in Progress…

Judging by todays works in progress it’s obvious that I’m on an amigurumi kick, but can you blame me? These crochet amigurimis are so adorable.

Crochet Amigurumi Bunny 1 Crochet Amigurumi Bunny 2

Crocheted Amigurumi bunny

The bunny, the bunny, oh I ate the bunny…. I must get that Veggie Tales song out of my head! This amigurumi bunny is almost done. I still need to crochet another foot, and a tail, and perhaps add a prop or two? I must say, I’ve received a ton of ideas while crocheting this adorable critter. For future crochet amigurumi bunnies, I’m going to make some of them a bit bigger, and perhaps  bring some of my morbid drawings to life through my crochet amigurumis. The pattern I’m using is the free Crochet Spring Bunny pattern, which can be found at CraftZine. Since I wanted a larger rabbit, I used a larger hook, than what the pattern suggested. The next one I’ll use a smaller hook, and perhaps I’ll crochet that one in pink. Amigurumi balls Monster

Crocheted Amigurumi monsters

A few days ago, I posted this little guy. He’s my my first amigurumi monster. Since the original post, I haven’t had a chance to do anything with him.  I decided to make his eyes in two different colors. To add to the wierdness, I made his red eye point downwards. His companions still need faces added; I’m still unsure if I want them to be monsters or crocheted animals. Personally, I think this crochet amigurumi monster is too adorable to be scary, but don’t tell him that! He truly believes that he strikes fear in all the crochet amigurumis, yes even the aminekos! This little critter, which my eight-year old daughter has called ‘ole slewfoot’ , has been demanding a prop, once I crochet that, he’ll be complete. I’ve really am enjoying creating these tiny crochet amigurumis, although small, some of them have taken some time to create. If you notice, they all have crochet amigurumi eyes and their features are embroidered. It’s not that I don’t like using other things, I do, but I’m having fun playing with crochet and embroidery… As a child, and well into my twenties, I did a lot of elaborate embroidery work, some of the pieces were from a pattern, but many were my own designs. In fact, I still have my first serious embroidery piece; it’s the first afghan I embroidered, and it took over a year to make. I spent time on that project weekly. While the embroidery on these amigurumis is simple, it still feels great getting back into a craft I adored. It feels like I’m reuniting with an old friend. I’m looking to incorporate embroidery into some of my crochet projects. I’m not sure if I’ll get these projects completed this week. I still have a few clients projects that need to be finished, then there’s the garden, and of course hanging out with my eight-year old, but I’ll try. Planting season is in full swing, which means my “free time” is now spent gardening. Hopefully I’ll be able to complete my aminekos in time for 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

It’s official, I’m a pattern tester

Aynaria 3 Comments

 

Kitty and yarn

Yesterday, I received the opportunity to test a crochet pattern.

I’m thrilled since it’s a great way to keep my fingers active, and keep my crochet hooks busy; when I have time.

But…

It’s not the first time I’ve offered to test a pattern.

My first attempt was a few months ago, but the crochet designer didn’t choose me. While I realize that not everyone will be chosen to test a pattern. I also realize that I wasn’t doing a great job of promoting my crochet skills.

Although I hadn’t been crocheting that long, I’d accomplished a lot. Mainly because I’m stubborn, and when I’m giving something new. I tend to put a lot of energy into it, until I’ve mastered it. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing with crochet.

So yes…I had the required skills needed to complete that project; I mean, I could crochet those stitches with my eyes closed! But, I readily admit, that I wasn’t doing a good job of marketing my crochet skills. Also, I hadn’t completed anything remotely related to amigurumi. Sure, I’d started on a crochet amineko back then, but it was far from being completed. I was too distracted by other crochet projects. I wasn’t doing a good job of selling my crochet skills.

Self Promotion

When you think about it… becoming a pattern tester, in some ways is similar to applying for a position. The employer wants  proof that you can do what you claim, and I wasn’t showing that. Initially, most of my designs showed on my Ravelry page, and here, were ones I created. I believe that’s great to come pull a project from your head,  but is it really showing a designer you can actually follow someone’s pattern, is it?

Fast forward to the present, if that same designer was to visit my ravelry projects profile, although the amount I have is small, they’re able to see that I can follow someone else’s pattern.

In addition, changing my approach, has also landed me a commissioned crochet project (which pays quite nicely I might add) and that has everything to do with changing how I’m presenting myself.

Pattern Testing: What’s my first project?

So what’s my first pattern test? It’s an adorable Cuttersaur toy; For some reason, it reminds me of Barney.

If you’re a Revelry user, you can follow my progress by checking out my Cuttersaur project page. I’ll also be posting updates here. Earlier today, I purchased the super bulky yarn needed, and hopefully I’ll be able to create a few rows during my daughter’s piano practice, which means it will be featured in my Work In Progress Wednesday.

Judging by the pattern, it should only take a few hours to complete.

A survey accompanied the pattern, and so I’ll be sure to write down my suggestions, if needed. Constructive feedback can be helpful for the pattern designer, since it enables them to make improvements (if needed) before they release the pattern to the general public.

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

 

Celebrate Life is Paying it Forward; Handmade

Aynaria 7 Comments

Handmade logo

A few weeks ago, I started thinking about rewarding  a few readers here at Celebrate Life with some of the handmade items I create.

In my down time my hands stay busy creating; handmade soaps, jewelry, perfumes, body butters, lotions, and cards. It’s not the complete list of things I hand craft, but you get the idea. I love making things!

Recently, I’ve been keeping my hands occupied. It’s so much fun, and dare I say I enjoy it more than knitting; although I like that too. Admittedly, it could be the newness that’s appealing to me. Even with the flurry of crochet objects, I’m still making other handmade crafts.

Pay it forward Handmade

Many thanks to the talented Kathleen, for moving me into action to Pay it Forward handmade.

I’m really thrilled to be part of this, since I enjoy creating things with my hands, as can be witnessed on my site. Thus far, most of the handmade items I’ve made have been for others, such as the numerous crocheted aminekos I’ve created, or even the machine sewn quilts I’ve helped create; so this is perfect.

Pay it Forward handmade 2012 requirements

  1. I will send a gift to the first three commenters on this post. The gift will be handmade by me.  It will be sent sometime in the next 365 days. It will be a surprise. Live outside the USA, no problem! I’ll send items international too. 
  2. To sign up and receive a gift, you have to play along, too. Pay it Forward on your blog by promising to make a surprise for the first three people who comment on the post.
  3. You must have a personal blog. If you’re new, I’ll be following you so I can get an idea of what you might like, deal?  
  4. After commenting here, please post within 48 hours, on your site that you’re participating on your site, and link back to here.  If not, I’ll choose the next person who comments. 

If you’d like to participate leave a comment, and don’t forget the requirements.