Anniversary?!

It’s a what?

I didn’t realise that I have missed this blog’s second year anniversary! I just found out that my first post was on the 7 July five minutes ago, and thought… Oh bugger…. I should have done something to congratulate myself. It’s something worth celebrating! Maybe one or two skeins of nice fluffy wool…

One of the very first amigurumi I made

But I have to restrain myself now, really. Although it was totally and utterly worth every single poundsterling, the last holiday almost cleared me out completely. I need to go back to Indonesia to sort this out, and luckily I have already got the ticket and a departure date.

What do you do to celebrate your blog anniversary, though? Some people don’t take their blog as personally as I do, but I know that for some people their blog is very important. It is kind of a lifeline, the only thing that connects them to the world outside their own. Like me…

How about a walk in the fine city of Norwich?

I’ve been living in Norwich for years now, but staying at home and being a little bit more than slightly introvert makes me no friends. I do have friends I made when I was studying in UEA, but they’re not in Norwich anymore, and it is not the same… really. I have my wonderful sister in law, but of course not only that she works, she also has her own life and social circle to go to, so an occasional visit is probably a stretch for her too.

Oh, anyway… anniversary is not the time for whinging. I might find something nice to do at the end of the day to spoil myself cheaply. Maybe a new pattern from ravelry… considering my current WIP is in the finishing step. Who knows?

x ❤ x

This Little Piggy Has Got An Eyeful

Just few days before my departure to Indonesia, a package arrived through my front door. Obviously, since my husband has got no online shopping addiction, it was a package for me. It was they dolls eyes I ordered some times ago. Just the right time to complete the gifts for little ones in Indonesia.

I still don’t like kids, but who appreciates cute dolls more than kids? Apparently adults like them as well as kids. How surprising. I went to Indonesia with 8 dolls, I came back to Norwich with none. Nobody paid me nothing 😦

Big and little piggy went to one of my nieces and her (other) aunt…

the bride got this posh bear

my youngest sister got the polar bear, while the mousy looking bear went to one of my cousins who was only 3yo

Oh look at them. Their eyes obviously has changed their appearance a lot. I have made some special bears I tried to design myself, and quite proud of how it finished. Happy that they’ve got their new homes now. I suppose I could go on and start a new little amigurumi family.

This Little Piggy Has Something On The Side

I am not known for being patient. So when I am doing big projects I like to have some small projects on the side. Something to give a sense of achievement, I should say. 

  
My WIP, for example is going very slowly and I just could not wait to see some FO (finished object).

So there goes the Amigurumis…

   
   
Notice anything wrong with them?

Yea, some of them don’t have eyes. I have ordered some from eBay and hopefully will be here soon. I think they would be a nice gift for Christmas. Don’t you think?

This Little Piggy Is Feeling Sluggish…

ba dum tss…

  Actually it’s a snail. But I was trying to make a theme there. 
While waiting for the day hubby will take me to hobby craft to get me a skein of wool to finish my elephant, I decided to stop sulking and doing other thing instead. 

Found the pattern at ravelry, and it’s refreshingly different from most patterns I have seen before. No bloody magic ring!! 

   
    
   
The pattern has two alternatives: short rows or double treble, i chose the easier one. Although I love the end result, i think double treble doesn’t hold the shape as tight as short dc rows. 

Now though… I want to decorate the shell and put face on my snail:) 

This Little Piggy Is Having A Big Dilemma

Not so long time ago, my knit and crochet group on facebook posted a link to a free elephant amigurumi pattern. They called it Olivier. 

It looked cute, and I decided that if some of the members there could make one, I should do too…

trunk looked promising…

 
I have to say that compared to amigurumitogo.com pattern, this one is more difficult to follow. I am not crazy about the over simplified method. And although they never asked for magic ring, I did magic ring anyway. Because I can.

Other than magic ring and eyes, I don’t do any other changes to original pattern.

it’s always nice when your amigurumi starts to take shape

I was a bit anxious when I finished the body part. Thing is, I was using leftover yarn, and I wasn’t sure it would be enough to finish four legs, two ears and a tail.

And I was right. Once I crocheted all legs there’s no yarn left. I do have other type of yarn but you know what I was talking about…

 

in the end of the day, I ended up with an eyeless, earless, and tailless elephant…

 
So I am now in a big dilemma. I kind of like this elephant now, and I definitely like this paton fab yarn. My options are: redo the elephant with new yarn or run to the closest hobby craft to get a ball of that particularly pretty yarn. 

I am broke and I am unemployed. But I like crochet. I think by that definition: I am doomed.

X<3x

This Little Piggy… That Little Piggy…

 

parts to be assembled…

 
Crocheting parts took a lot of patience. And I am not known for my patience. But after some times parts were made and ready to be assembled.

 

i can’t help thinking of a pig with a head wound

 
Assembling piggy parts was no less fiddly either. Even, sometimes it could look a little bit creepy. It was as if I was building a Frankenstein piggy. That doesn’t sound pretty, does it?

 

this little piggy was asleep

  

this little piggy was in a murder scene…

  

this little piggy was amused

  

and this little piggy was not…

 
But tell you what? Crocheting them was obviously worthwile. I have four more cute little piggies in the house. The more the merrier… I suppose?

Well, I have planned on giving them away to some family and friends later when I go back to Indonesia. But for now, they can sit back and enjoy their time together with their predecessor.

these little piggies were having fun…

x<3x 

This Little Piggy Is Calling Its Army

So I’ve decided to make some friends for my piggy and mouse/bear. I have plenty of recycled pink yarn, and it would be just perfect to make more piggies.

 

i wonder if all amigurumi should start with a magic ring. because I don’t like making magic ring…

 
I think it is a good way to practice amigurumi making. I have to admit that amigurumi is not quite the same with the usual crochet projects I have done in the past. It needs more attention in details, meticulous work, and patience. Considering that I don’t like sewing, I quite enjoy making dolls.

 

i learned that having a rough paper to help me remember how many rows i have done is a bloody brilliant idea.

 
Making head and body part is my favourite, because it’s probably the easiest part of amigurumi. When it’s time to make hands or feet, I will grunt in despair as they are sometimes too small for my finger to grip properly. 

 

the fun part is over 😦 now i have to do the small parts 😦

 
Finished the bodies of the piggies, will come back to show you when they’re assembled. 

X ❤ x

This Little Piggy Is An Amigurumi Noob

I haven’t crochet Amigurumi for a while, so I decided to make this oh so popular bear toy from amigurumitogo.com, a lovely amigurumi blog owned by a very creative lady called Sharon. 

 

this is what i do — sittting in front of my laptop while counting stiches

 

the fun part is done, now the harder bits to go

To be honest with you, making the head and body part is the best part of making amigurumi. I am not too keen on making the little details, and sewing it together. I don’t think I have much patience 😦 

it was done… but…

When it was done I was relieved but… Bloody hell, my bear looked like a mouse!! Oh well… 

This is what I expected my parents to say to me many years ago, and now I say it to my bear/mouse: “dear, I don’t care whether you want to be a mouse or a bear, you still have our support completely…” *soppy music in the background fading out*

X ❤ x  

And This Little Piggy…

It started with one morning.

It was a typical British Thursday morning. Slightly cloudy, slightly windy, with a hint of drizzle that stubbornly refused to fall from the sky. My husband had gone to work, and I was sitting on the sofa, staring at the telly that was turned off. We haven’t watched telly for about half a year now since our Freeview Box
went bust.

My mobile beeped. Usually it was my husband letting me know that he has arrived at work. But at that time, it was my facebook notification. Someone commented on one of my photo album. I smiled a little, knowing that it came from one my crafty pictures.

I have been doing knitting and crocheting for years now. My mother taught me the very basic of crocheting, and it stuck with me until now. That’s probably why I hold my crochet hook slightly different from many youtube tutorial videos I have seen. Knitting, in the other hand, was not really popular in Indonesia. I assume that knitwear is not really a suitable attire in my birth country. My mother does not know how to knit, so I took a knitting course, and fell in love with it right away.

I like to keep my hands busy.

But I haven’t been busy for awhile, and I was really bored in that grey Thursday morning… which was slowly crawling to a greyer Thursday afternoon. And then in popped in my facebook– a tutorial of a teddy bear amigurumi making. I did not know who the creator was, but apparently she was incredibly popular among amigurumi amateurs. So I thought… I could make one.

Although I have at least ten years of crocheting experiences with me, I have never tried amigurumi before. I have to admit that I was a little bit conventional and old style. I am still trying to update myself with my skills, but it surely will take time.

Taken from my Instagram

Anyway… I decided to make a piggy, as suddenly I had the Little Piggy nursery rhymes stuck in my head. That was the result of my boredom, and I showed it (off) to my husband when he came home that evening. He thought it looked professionally made, and that my little piggy looked so cute.

So I thought, I could beat my boredom. I could do this again. So, I decided to make a blog about my struggle fighting boredom by making things. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

***

Note: the little piggy amigurumi was taken from http://www.amigurumitogo.com/2014/06/pig-pattern.html. I obviously changed quite a lot from the original pattern, but it would not look this cute without Sharon’s basic pattern.