Monkey Business

Hello again!

It's been a couple weeks since I've talked to you! Last week was Spring Break here, so I was spending some time with my Mister. He introduced me to Minecraft, so I have to admit I've been a bit distracted. Maybe I'll turn that into something constructive and come up with a few Minecrafty projects in the future. Hmmmm....we'll see. 

I didn't spend all my time playing though! This past weekend I buckled down and finished my latest project, and here he is!

You can find the pattern here!

I've made a couple other monkeys in the past few years, but I like this one best. I tweaked how I attach the arms and legs a bit, and I really like how it came out. It's crazy how much you can learn about crochet just by keeping a variety of projects on your to-do list. And I have to say, making things up as I go along is the most fun. I love the challenge of figuring out what shapes and sizes I need to use to get it exactly how I want, as well as the freedom to do it! 

If you like the Mischievous Monkey, you can buy the pattern on Ravelry, and don't forget to check out my other patterns too!

If you want to know what I'm up to between blog posts, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram. 

Are there any amigurumi animals you'd like me to write a pattern for? I've got a couple ideas, but I'd love to hear from you! Just let me know in the comments or on Twitter.

Creepy Cute

I'm going to level with you. Creative as I may be, I can't draw.
Okay....if I really try I can come up with something better than a stick figure, but I've been surrounded by artists for most of my life, and I know it isn't a strength of mine.

But being a band geek/creative type has its perks, and I know my fair share of artists. One such artist is someone I went to high school with whom I've been a fan of for years. Her name is Anna Lisa, and she's got her own artsy blog here. (Most recently Anna Lisa started writing a webcomic called Minus the Laugh Track. It's pretty sweet if I do say so myself.)

Anna Lisa has this character she's been drawing forever called Emilin, and she's got purple hair, and is overall just super creepy cute. (She even has an older version of Emilin as a wicked tattoo)
So sometime after I started crocheting, I decided I wanted to crochet her. So I did. It's a project I've been working on here and there for a while, but she's finally done. Ta da!! I absolutely love how it turned out. How bout you?

(I know the colors are a bit  off, but I was trying to make her hair show up on camera the same color as it really is and the pics weren't really behaving.) 

I worked mainly from these two pictures of Anna Lisa's (the second picture is a doll she made. An illustration printed onto fabric I believe).

Have I Gone Mad?

"Have I gone mad?" -The Mad Hatter

 "You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are." - Alice

If you've been paying any attention, this is the first post that is more than a week after the last. Technically only 8 days, but lets face it, I thrive on technicalities. Since my goal was one or more posts per week, and Thursday is still part of this week (technically), I don't really have to fret. 

What I really need to do is nail down what day of the week I will always post by, but I really like flexibility, so I'm not sure that's ever going to happen. My last few were on Wednesdays, so I'm going to say that that's my goal, but not 100% all the time (I'll probably shoot for Tuesday next week to make up for this week being "late").

ANYway. The reason I didn't post anything yesterday is because I spent a lot of time this past week finishing up the plans, and actually starting my secret project -which of course is secret so I cant give you any details :( -and don't have anything finished to show you.

So instead, I'm going to tell you a little story. About how I went crochet crazy. 

I learned how to crochet my first semester in college when my roommate found an easy pattern for a hat made from 5 granny squares stitched together like an open box. I didn't like all the fuss of 5 pieces, so I tweaked the pattern for my own purposes, and proceeded to make (at least 6 more). 

To the left is just one example. (yes, my hair is in about a zillion little braids under the hat. but hey, it's college. also, i'm a natural blonde. who woulda thunk?)

So after I went mad from hatting, I went looking for something a bit more challenging. I was rushing Kappa Kappa Psi (National Honorary Band Fraternity) and thought it would be the coolest thing ever to give my Big Brother a plush Psyduck (the pokemon) with greek letters on his chest.
Kappa Kappa Psi-duck. Get it? 

Anyway, a quick Google search brought me to the fabulous blog by Wolfdreamer who had written a pattern for Psyduck!! So that definitely happened. 

I also used Wolfdreamer's pattern for a Raichu, and a Mario Mushroom, though I don't have pictures for those. But the point is I was hooked. I started to make up my own patterns (toys and clothing alike) and I haven't looked back. I absolutely love giving people gifts, and it's just so much more fun when they're handmade. Don't you think?

A Curious Christmas Present

My cousin's son Brennen  asked for books for Christmas, and when my mom decided that we were going to give him Curious George books, volunteering to make him a Curious George plushie only seemed natural. 

I wrote a monkey pattern this summer for fun, so just adapted it a bit to look specifically like the iconic George. It was definitely the most involved project this season, but I love projects that make me  think and get creative. Fun fact: his arms & tail are poseable. :)

A couple close ups:

Brennen was trying to take a silly picture. He loves his George.