Bringing amigurumi’s to life.

So with the Easter holiday  I have pretty much been exclusively making my  ‘Bunny on the Shelf‘ for lovely customers who want the ‘Easter’ version (bunny with a little Easter basket) to grace their shelves.  

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bunny-on-the-shelf---easter-bunny

I always find it funny that each bunny I’ve made, although ‘constructed’ in exactly the same way to the same pattern, all seem to be individuals with there own personalities.  I think that’s one of the joy’s for me of crocheting something yourself – everything is unique!

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bunny-on-the-shelf---easter-bunny

To give your amigurumi character it can be as  simple as to how you’ve positioned the eyes, nose or mouth on the face.  Wide-set or big eyes are found on most baby animals and have become associated with innocence and cuteness (note my bunnies all have wide set eyes!).  

Eyebrows are also intimately involved in facial expression so can have a huge impact on the character of your amigurumi. High-arching brows can add to a look of surprise or interest where as a slight slant might lean towards a more mischievous or bad-tempered nature.  

A small nose again can also be associated with babies and cuteness, where as a large nose might be more comical and a big smiley mouth speaks for itself where as a lopsided mouth could suggest a more wry character.

A new character appeared for me when I moved my bunny’s ears from pointing upwards to downwards for a ‘lop-eared’ look as requested by another customer – it just changed everything again!  I think this little guy could get an “awww” (and possibly a quick cuddle) from even the grumpiest of people.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bunny-on-the-shelf---easter-bunny

I think if you are making your own amigurumi my top tip would be you should definitely experiment with the features.  There are so many amigurumi’s out there that you can make and some fantastic patterns but for me it’s how you position the features onto the face that breathes life into what you have made; transforming your ‘crocheted object’ into a little character to love!

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bunny-on-the-shelf---easter-bunny

Pattern Release: Easter Bag Buddies

Sometimes as a designer I think you get an idea in your head that just won’t go away. The only alternative is to just crochet it out of your system and that’s what happened in this case!  

Introducing my Easter Buddy Bags; perfect for little hands for those Easter Egg hunts or for storing yummy treats inside.

And from now until Easter Sunday (20 April 2014) you can save 60% on the pattern and get your copy for just £1 / $1.67 from my Ravelry store after that it will revert back to it’s regular price of £2.50 / $4.19 so make sure you pick up your copy!  

Easter Bag Buddies: A Keep Calm and Crochet On UK Pattern

These little bags are roughly 11 inches / 28 cm from handle top to bottom and are super fast to make up; I made both of these in a day.  The pattern contains instructions to make both the bunny and the chick versions and, as with all my patterns, features both UK and US crochet stitch terminology.

The pattern is available on either Ravelry or Craftsy:

Easter Bag Buddies: A Keep Calm and Crochet On UK pattern

This year now that Little G is old enough we are planning a ‘home’ type Easter hunt and these little bags are just perfect for her to collect eggs and treats into – I can’t wait!

Easter Bag Buddies: A Keep Calm and Crochet On UK pattern

 

March in a Nutshell aka Super Busy!!!

So it’s been a bit of a manic month!  Lots of changes in my day job has meant that I have been very busy at work this month…and then I’ve come home I’ve had lots of things to do there too!  I seem to have organised things as such that I have had lots of things to complete (tests and orders), get released (lots of new patterns this month) and pass over to my wonderful testers (to help turn my scribbles into sense).

This month  I released 4 new patterns (which I think is a record for me!) and a new FREE pattern into the world…

Getting ready for Easter (and adding to my ‘On the Shelf’ amigurumi’s) I released my ‘Bunny on the Shelf‘ pattern at the beginning of March.  I had such a time trying to get the feet just how I’d pictured them in my head but they came together in the end!  I’ve have had such positive feedback about him; mainly how people love his cheeks! This pattern has kept me busy with orders I’ve had for Easter; I’ve got three to finish up this weekend and I am excited about making two in different colours.

Bunny-Master

Next release was Nanuk the Polar Bear lovey which was my first ever lovey design; I blogged about him already so you can read all about his creation here.  I was super excited when he made number 9 for a short time  on the ‘Hot Right Now list’  (for purchased crochet patterns) over on Ravelry (I’m still aiming for that no.1 slot at least once!).

HRN

I also finished off an order / new pattern for my first ever baby cocoon -it’s definitely been a month of firsts!  This caterpillar set was so fun to work on and is super squiggly soft and snuggly.  Unfortunately for me the baby it was ordered for isn’t even born yet so I’m going to have to wait awhile for cute customer photos!

Chunky Newborn Caterpillar Cocoon Set / Sleep-Sack / Photo Prop Set

My new Afghan square pattern this month (for my self set mini challenge to create a new Afghan Square every month for 2014) was my Solomon’s Cross pattern which I blogged about here.  I was really pleased with this square and I’m just waiting for someone to make a blanket out of the pattern and send me the photo (hint, hint!)

Solomon's Knot Afghan Square

The free pattern which I shared this month was little Betty Prickles; if you’ve not got your copy of Betty yet then why not pick up one now and have someone keep your pins safe.  Finally I also managed to fit in two pattern tests this month…one that I can’t share yet and the other was the fabulous Exterminator Hat I blogged about here.  Busy, busy, busy month…wonder what April’s got in store for me!