The Sweetest Little Owl Visting My Yard

I participated in my first amigurumi swap on Ravelry this month.  What is an amigurumi swap, you ask?  Basically, it is a way to trade handmade amis with other crocheters.  You receive the name and address of another participant and make an ami for that person, i.e. your ’swappy’.   Someone else gets your name and makes one for you.  The catch is that you don’t know who has your name until you receive your gift in the mail.  Since this was in international swap, the participants also included little gifts from their home country.  Very cute!   I was thrilled when I received this adorable owl, as well as a whole bunch of other goodies, from Mia (a fellow swappy!).  Isn’t he sweet?  I tried to photograph him in his ‘natural environment’.

On a sadder note, the little puppy that I sent to my swappy in Turkey has gotten hopelessly lost in the mail.  But, I’m working hard on another cutie to send her way.  This time — FedEx!

Puppy In A Basket

If you are interested in a swap, you should check out the communities on Ravelry.  They have all kinds of swaps, and not just limited to amis.  Happy crocheting!

Kirby and Prince Fluff

For Christmas this year, I bought Kirby’s Epic Yarn for my husband. For those who are not familiar with the game, Kirby is transformed into cute little yarn guy, and he and his friend Prince Fluff go on a quest through a land made of yarn and fabric.  The entire game looks as if it were quilted and knit together.  Anyway, it became an instant hit at our house.  Since I try to limit game time, I thought I would make a couple amigurumi toys so that they kids could play with their favorite little yarn guys, even when the Wii is turned off.

They came out so cute, I wanted to share the pattern I created with anyone else who’d like to make their own Kirby and Fluff dolls.

Here you go!

Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Prince Fluff Amigurumi

Materials:

• Size G crochet hook
• Large needle for sewing and working in ends
• Worsted weight yarn (I used leftover yarn from various projects, so Kirby and Fluff are a mix of wool, acrylic, and bamboo)

Kirby & Fluff Directions: (notes:  I use the “magic loop” method to start each piece.  Also, I find this is the best method to crochet 2 together)

Eyes – Make 2 (black for Kirby, white for Fluff)

• Chain 3
• Row 1:  SC into 2^nd stitch from the hook,  3 SC into next stitch
• Row 2:  SC into back of next 2 stitches
• Tie off (basically, you are crocheting a circle around the chain)
• Embroider center of eye

Body (Pink for Kirby, Blue for Fluff)

• Make a “magic loop”
• Row 1:  6 SC into loop
• Row 2:  2 SC into each stitch (12 stitches)
• Row 3:  (1 SC, 2 SC into next stitch) 6 times (18 stitches)
• Row 4:  (2 SC, 2 SC into next stitch) 6 times (24 stitches)
• Row 5:  (3 SC, 2 SC into next stitch) 6 times (30 stitches)
• Rows 6-13: SC into every stitch
• Row 14:  (3 SC, SC 2Tog) 6 times (24 stitches)
• Row 15:  (2 SC, SC 2Tog) 6 times (18 stitches)
• Stitch on eyes and embroider face.  Don’t forget little pink cheeks for both guys, and eyebrows for Fluff!
• Row 16:  (1 SC, SC 2Tog) 6 times (12 stitches)  Add stuffing
• Row 17:  (SC 2Tog) 6 times (6 stitches); tie off and pull yarn through stitches to close the body.

Arms – Make 2 (Pink for Kirby, Blue for Fluff)

• Make a “magic loop”
• Row 1:  4 SC into loop
• Row 2:  (1 SC, 2 SC into next stitch) 4 times (8 stitches)
• Row 3:  (2 SC, 2 SC into next stitch) 4 times (12 stitches)
• Rows 4 & 5:  SC into each stitch
• Tie off and stuff arms

Feet – Make 2 (Red for Kirby, Orange for Fluff)

• Make a “magic loop”
• Row 1: 6 SC into loop
• Row 2:  2 SC into each stitch (12 stitches)
• Row 3:  (1 SC, 2 SC into next stitch) repeat 6 times (18 stitches)
• Row 4:  (2 SC, 2 SC into next stitch) repeat 6 times (24 times)
• Tie off; fold circle in half to form a semi-circle.  Stitch shut around the edges

Prince Fluff’s Crown (Yellow)

• Chain 14, SL to form ring
• Row 1:  SC into each stitch
• Row 2:  (SC, picot) times
• Tie off

Once all pieces have been made, stitch Kirby and Fluff together as shown in pictures.  Make sure you position the feet under the body evenly, and far enough back, so that your little guys can stand up.

Kirby Amigurumi

Kirby and Prince Fluff - Best Friends!

Prince Fluff

I’ve been a fan of Debbie Stoller’s Stitch and Bitch books for years.  Stitch and Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker was the very first crochet book that I bought when I first started crocheting about 8 years ago.

Felted Pansy and Fingerless Mitten

The patterns were fun & funky and the instructions were straightforward.  When I started knitting last year, I ran out and bought Stitch and Bitch: A Knitters Handbook.  So, of course, when I heard Debbie Stoller was coming out with a line of yarn, I couldn’t wait to test drive some myself.  Earlier this week, I grabbed a few of my Joann’s coupons and bought 4 skeins of the new Debbie Stoller Stitch Nation Yarn.   The new line features 3 kinds of yarn — Full o’Sheep, which is 100% wool, Bamboo Ewe which is a bamboo/wool blend, and Alpaca Love which is a wool/alpaca blend.  I started off with Full o’Sheep in Passionfruit, Plummy, Honeycomb and Thyme.

My take on the new yarn?  At $4.99 for 159 yards, it is a pretty good buy, especially if you use the ever forthcoming Joann’s coupons.   The colors are wonderful!  They are vibrant and super-saturated without coming off as brassy or ‘fakey’.  I love the colors!  The yarn is single-ply, which I’m not used to, but it has a nice feel to it, so I think I’ll like using it.  For my first quick project, I made a felted pansy, which you can see in the photo.  I only ran the flower through the wash once for felting.  The colors look great, but I think if I were making a bag or something bigger, I would run it through the wash once more for tighter felting.  I also used some of Honeycomb and Thyme to embroider details and trim on the fingerless mitten that’s in the picture.  (The base of the mitten is actually a recycled sweater).

Bottom line – this yarn is a big hit, and I can’t wait to try the alpaca and bamboo blends.  Now, if I can just find where I put the rest of those coupons that I printed out…

For months, I had been coveting a wonderful crochet book of my sister-in-law called Crochet  Inspiration by Sasha Kagan.   Lucky for me, my mother-in-law gave me my very own copy for Christmas.

Trio of Crocheted Roses

The book has great photos showing different fibers and weights of yarns.  In particular, it has a chapter on making gorgeous and unique crochet flowers.   This motivated me to start a new line of flower-inspired items for iceblueberries, such as big, funky, floral hair clips.   Next, I’m planning on adding some felted flowers with genuine gemstone finishing touches.

In line with the flower theme, I’ve started some spring cleaning at my shop.  I’ve updated my avatar, and I’m working on a new banner.  For those of you who follow, you may have noticed I’ve taken most of my jewelry and sewn items.  I did this to create a more consistent shop identify focused on crochet and knit items.

If things go well, I might open up a second shop this summer for the jewelry.

In the meantime, stop and smell the roses!

Crocheted Garden