Crocheted kitty amigurumi for charity

Hello my lovely dustbunnies and welcome back to my blog.

Today I have a very special friend to show you. 

Meet "hjärtekatten" (="heartcat").

The heartcat is made for children that are hospitalized due to heartconditions. The pattern is free and you can send your finished cat to the charity (pattern is in swedish):

http://hjartekatten.blogspot.se/2012/05/monster-pa-hjartekatten.html

I've implemented a new rule in my crafting life lately: 

finish a project within a year or get rid of it. If you haven't finished it chances are you never will. Do you have the same problem with half-finished things around the house?

So the parts for this cat have been done years ago. All I needed was to assemble it, but never did. I finally got around to it and stitched the pieces together. He even got a cute scarf to match.

Unfortunately since I used plastic pellets for the bottom and end of paws I couldn't donate it to children. Instead I gave him to a relative that have had serious healthissues lately. She had actually knitted a cat and gave me so I thought it fitting that she should get one back. You're never too old to get cheered up by a friend like this, am I right?

Do you have the same problem as I do with unfinished projects?

Comment down below and let me know.

Until next time: keep crafting!

Owl always love you

A quick post today to show you one of my latest amigurumis. Don't know what it is?  

Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, usually cute stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. The word is a portmanteau of the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll. Amigurumi are typically animals, but can include artistic renderings or inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features, as is typical in Japanese culture.

(source: Wikipedia) 

I followed the pattern for this owl called Mr Murasaki which can be found at amigurumei if you want to give it a try. 

The pattern is quite simple using basic crochetstitches working in a circle. If you're a newbie at crocheting amigurumis - this pattern is a good place to start. 

I didn't finish my owl as it is done in the description. Instead I added two black brads as eyes. I also used two colors of yarn (my first try and it was surprisingly easy, especially since you don't have to cut the yarn in between, just work with both skeins at the same time alternating as you finish each round.)
I worked with a 2.5mm hook and the finished owl measures about 5cm.

Originally I had plans to add some more detailing to him, but alas, I needed a quick pick-me-up gift and thought this owl was funny looking and if he makes at least one person smile then he had done his job. And I can reveal that he did bring out a giggle from the reciepient. Job well done.

Tip: I added some beanbag filling to the bottom of the owl to make him heavier and easier to stand up. The beanbag filling looks like little pellets of plastic. If you don't have some at hand you could probably use rice or raw beans to add some weight.

So what do you think? Did the little owl make you smile a little? Has he done his job of adding a smile to people's faces?

 

Crocheted doxie

Can't believe it's been so long since I blogged. So long ago that even blogger changed their posting look. I have made a couple of things in fabric and yarn, just haven't felt like blogging and showing you. Not sure if I have any readers left after ditching you, so if you're there give me a holler. My excuse is that I was on a 2 weeks vacation to Thailand for my 30:th birthday, only 2 years too late. I couldn't go on my 30:th so it has taken 2 years to get there. I came back 3 weeks ago and haven't felt like crafting since then. The experience was so amazing it kind of lingered after I got home and I've been walking in a haze since then :)

I have a few things to show you still and today I would like to show you a tiny doxie I made for my mum as a Christmasgift. We had a flatcoated one just like this when I grew up. We both loved that dog to pieces and I knew my mum would love this gift (which she did as it brought tears to her eyes). I made it following a pattern from a book I got for myself at Christmas. It's written by a woman called Mitsuki Hoshi and there are a lot of different dogbreeds. I must say that the pattern was a bit hard to follow mainly because it isn't written step by step how to increase/decrease. It can say for instance: from 24 sts increase to 30. I found it a bit tidious having to figure out where and how many increasing stitches there would be. The result of the poochie is amazing, so I'm glad I stuck with it, but it was not my favourite pattern, let's just leave it at that.

I got my eyes with washers on the back which worked perfectly, since the washers are bigger they made these arched eyebrows that dachshunds have. The washers for the nose were almost too big, but it worked ok. I guess I could have cut them down a bit. I got my supplies from a girl at etsy called Clara which I really recommend. If you need a special listing, just ask. She made a special mix for me since I didn't know what sizes I needed. Will shop there again when my supplies run out.

Bye for now from little old me.

Edited:  
Hannah, the pattern is from a book with different breeds of dogs, but I haven't tried any of the other ones. The book is by Mitsuki Hoshi.

preschool toys, thanks for the compliment. I don't remember how long it took me to finish it as I tend to take long breaks in between my projects, but a couple of hours. It's quite small so the biggest timeconsumer was attaching the little parts together.

Amigurumi dragon/alien

I have made a couple of amigurumis lately so it's time to show them to you. This one was the first one I started on. I made it by a pattern from pepika which was easy to follow even for someone like me that never had made any amigurumis before. I'm a quick learner though. The only thing that was a bit off was when I was supposed to position the eyes. I used those ones with washers on the back and didn't think it mattered where I put them. When I came to the end of the pattern it said that you need to be careful where you position them. But in the pattern she used eyes that you sewed on after crocheting the whole thing. I had to attach my eyes while working on the head. At least that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. Now I will know for next time how to position them if I don't want the drafon to look like a little alien :)

Amigurumi Smellie the ellie

Hi, how fun of you to stop by this blog today. My name is Smellie (the ellie) Yes, I know, it is a bit corny, but I like making people laugh and happy so it was perfect for me. Soon I'm going to live with a lady that needs support to quit smoking. I'm sure I will be able to smell if she has been smoking and if I do that I'm going to trumpet as loudly as I can. And if that doesn't help I'm going to complain that I smell like smoke - yuck! So in all ways I hope my name will help her out.

I was crocheted by Katarina after a pattern made by Irene. Aren't I the cutest? I measure about 10cm (4") and I'm only 5cm (2") tall. No wonder I'm afraid of mice.

Here's my super cute braided tail. Escaping from the camera is quite fun.

Oops, I've been running around so much I made myself dizzy :)