Let’s get into the tropical mood with a Hawaiian monkey amigurumi!

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Are we in a tropical mood yet?  Let’s just drop everything and go to Hawaii!!!  A little late with the monthly posting but here we go!

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Exactly one year ago, we took a family trip to Hawaii for a week, so to remember the fun times I decided to make a Hawaiian monkey amigurumi.  When I got to thinking of what to do for the month of August, nothing came to mind but summery things and warm beachy places….like Hawaii!

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And our 360 degree view looks like this:

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Weee!

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Ah, now I’m dizzy.

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Like the coconut + plumeria + leafy headdress?  The coconut was crocheted with a thinner yarn and took a very long time to make.  Lots of work just for one tiny little coconut halve.  Even though it’s small, it doesn’t mean that it’ll be less work.  The plumerias next to the coconut are actually earrings.  The last time we went to Hawaii, we bought them from ABCmart (very cheap and nice by the way).

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The plumerias on the grass skirt also came from that store and are actually one bracelet.  I just crocheted the grass skirt and slid the bracelet on afterwards.  Looks nice and festively Hawaiian right?  Mm…a luau sounds really good right now. 

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And of course my Hawaiian monkey amigurumi needs some friends!  Say hello to coconut amigurumi!  It’s so smiley and happy in the background.  Now I could really use a pina colada.

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Ah yes and before I forget, I also crocheted a small coconut palm to go with the Hawaiian monkey.  Such a happy little tropical family~

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For this particular monkey, I tried to make it look tanned.  Did you catch on to that?  Well anyway, I used a darker felt for the face, chest, and ears, instead of the usual light colored one.  I figured that if it’s going to be a Hawaiian monkey, why not make it look like it came straight from Hawaii?  Exposed to all the sunlight and warm weather!  It’d be weird if it were a pale monkey right?  It just wouldn’t be genuinely Hawaiian.

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Happy summer!  Hope you all enjoyed my take on a Hawaiian monkey amigurumi!

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Yes, we can do other things besides monkey amigurumis…like a tiger amigurumi!

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This tiger amigurumi is supposed to go along with the Chinese zodiac theme, but it seems like we’ll be doing the animals out of order and depending on our mood.  I mean who can resist a tiger in the middle of the rabbit year?  If we seriously decided to post the animal of the year in order and in a timely fashion then you’d have to stay tuned for another eleven years!!  Yep, crazy indeed.  But if you’d like to stick around for that long then you are more than welcome to! 

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So here is the side view of our tiger amigurumi…nice and round from all the rabbits he ate.  Ha ha, no tigers eat better things… like human food!

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Mmm…junk food.  I just realized, the only thing here that has meat in it is the piddly little meat patty in the hamburger.  Apparently our tiger amigurumi has been feasting on other things…like rabbits!  Such a ravenous appetite!

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The stripes were cut out of felt and glued onto the body.  It was a painstaking process but it turned out looking like a tiger right?  The tiger’s facial hair is also cut out from felt.  Its weird enough that a tiger would need facial hair to look like one, but without it it just doesn’t look right.  Without the hair, I’m pretty sure a lot of people would start thinking it was a Garfield cat of some sort.  Either that or people would probably think it was some kind of striped dog-cat-bear.  Yeah…we don’t want you to think that.  Do you see the importance of facial hair?!  Somehow I think it makes it look wiser…if not, old and seasoned.  :]

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Thanks for looking at our little hairy, unshaven, but wise-looking tiger amigurumi!

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I know it’s very late, but Happy Chinese New Year nonetheless, and to celebrate it I made a rabbit amigurumi for the year of the rabbit!

Here I made the rabbit amigurumi celebrate against a Chinese New Year-inspired backdrop.  The fancy decorations in the background are actually red envelopes, and to top it off I added a little Chinese chocolate gold nugget too.  May the new year bring much luck, happiness, and prosperity to us all!!

I think the most important part of this rabbit amigurumi is the shape of its ears.  I basically crocheted a test tube shape (please excuse the crude image comparison, lab geek talking here), pinched the bottom open end of it to create a concave shape, and sewed it in place onto the head.  I wanted to achieve a 3-D effect, rather than just a flat shape for the ears.  To finish off this rabbit amigurumi’s ears, I cut out a smaller test tube shape from pink felt, lined the inner ears with it and glued it in place.  Sounds pretty simple, but actually sewing the ears in place with that concave shape is kind of difficult, so if you’re ever going to do something similar, it may take a few tries but it’s so worth it!

Which reminds me, someone once asked me what kind of glue I use for my amigurumis.  The answer is Aleene’s tacky glue, which I buy from either Michaels or Joann’s, whichever store is having a sale or gives me a coupon.  The only reason I use it is that’s what was lying around the house at the time I started crafting.  It is definitely much better than using regular school glue, a mistake I once made when I used school glue to stick felt polka dots onto a mushroom amigurumi I made for a friend’s birthday, only to find that all the dots fell off within 2 hours (that, and my friend wasn’t exactly “gentle” with my handiwork either…)!  Just a little bit of tacky glue goes a long way too, because when you slather on a bunch onto a small piece of felt it soaks through to the other side of the felt and doesn’t stick very well because it’s so wet.  The felt piece also hardens as it dries with too much glue, and maintaining the softness of the felt is important for both visual and tactile purposes.  I’ve always wanted to try hot glue, but never got around to it.  If anyone has better suggestions, please share!

Ok, I’ll stop talking about glue now.  You’re probably thinking, “Gosh how much can someone talk to me about glue?!”  I know I can be pretty wordy, but I just wanted to share my experiences with glue with you. 

Back to the rabbit amigurumi…of course with Easter coming up and all, I couldn’t resist making this rabbit amigurumi an Easter rabbit too!

The eggs were cut from felt, stuffed and sewn together, and then decorated with some glittery glue.  My sister’s handiwork – she’s so good with small details.

Oh, and the tail was crocheted from Joann Sensations Beautiful Yarn.  It’s super soft, and so fuzzy – perfect for creating contrast with the worsted weight yarn I used for the body.  I know it sounds wrong, but I find myself pinching the tail a lot because it’s so soft!  Don’t worry, the rabbit hasn’t turned around to bite me yet so it’s all good.

Here’s a side view.  Notice how the ears are sewn on in a concave shape.

After I made this rabbit amigurumi, I liked it so much I decided to make another type of rabbit – a floppy-ear rabbit amigurumi!

The body and everything else is exactly the same as the other bunny.  The only difference is the ears.  The ears on the floppy ear rabbit amigurumi are huge!  If I were to ever make it again, I would definitely use a sport weight yarn instead of worsted weight yarn just for the ears.  But it’s ok, the floppy ear rabbit amigurumi still has a special place in my heart, even if other people think it looks like a dog!

And here the rabbits are very happy together.  All of a sudden, I can’t wait for spring to come!  If you’re interested, you can purchase a plush rabbit amigurumi of any color you’d like at my Etsy.

As always, thank you for looking!  Please stay tuned as I attempt to make all the animals of the Chinese zodiac!  So far, I have more than half done and will be posting them as time permits.  Oh, and one last bit of info – my monkey amigurumis were chosen for the 2012 Crochet Me Amigurumi Calendar!  The patterns for the monkeys, and also a pattern for a polar bear (fondly named Polar Lucibear) will be included in the calendar!  Thank you very much to all who have expressed interest in a pattern for the monkeys.  Please wait patiently with me for publication of the calendar to get your copy of the pattern!  I’ll be sure to update you on the calendar’s status.

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Since it’s Halloween today, I thought it’d be very appropriate for me to post one of our older creations…the mangy cat!  First, I drew up this…

janama crocheted the parts and I sewed them into this!

Don’t you think the hanging eyeball is the cutest thing you’ve ever seen in the world?!  If you hold it and shake it around a certain way, the eyeball spins around its epicenter like a helicopter blade!  Isn’t that cute?!  ;D

I saw roadkill on my way home one time, so that’s what inspired me to make this.  Happy Halloween!!

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Hello! This is polarbear!! Otherwise known as janama’s lovely, wonderful, agreeable, joyful, talented sewing machine-sister!!!

Hahaha no, I’m not any of that. I just sew and cut felt. yeah…

Anyway, it’s almost the 16th of September! Which marks the…(air-drum roll)…20th anniversary of the pillows!! For anyone who doesn’t know, the pillows are a Japanese alternative rock band, best known in the US for their “Ride on Shooting Star” single. So to celebrate their 20th anniversary, I am dedicating these to them (especially the white one because I like Manabe the best!). Yes, I am very very very biased…

Pictured above, is the band mascot, Buster-kun, in all three colors. It’s supposed to look like this..—————–>

The first one we made was the white one..

I say it turned out nicely. I would constantly tell my sister to redo the body parts and also to make sure that they were all exactly the same size, symmetrical, flawless etc.. There was even one time during the process when I yelled at my sister: “I don’t want a disproportionate Buster!” After that said, of course I couldn’t slack off on my laser-precise felt cutting and sewing, so then I shut my yap and got down to work!

This is the side view…

This is the back…

But, knowing that there’s supposed to be one Buster-kun per member in the band, I just had to have the rest.

They like beer…

In fact, I’m listening to the pillows right now. Even though I say that now, I’ll most likely be listening to them whenever you come to read this blog. Please visit again!

That’s my painting on the left!

The white Buster-kun is very special to me~ I spent the longest time on it. Therefore it is ultimate perfection!!! Haha kidding…

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It was a family friend’s birthday party last weekend and I decided to make her an amigurumi of Hobbes as a present because:

I am a poor grad student

I noticed on her wish list that she wanted Calvin and Hobbes comic books

Therefore, she MUST like Hobbes

Instead of getting a gift straight from her wish list I wanted to add an element of SURPRISE!!

Hobbes would make a cute plushie…except I don’t even know where I could buy one

So, based on those excuses – oh I mean, “very sound reasons” – I set out to create Hobbes. The only thing holding me back was I had no idea what Calvin and Hobbes was about, except that Hobbes is a really skinny and tall tiger. Plus, the occasional Calvin bumper sticker that I see of him peeing on a cross stuck on some people’s cars…

Later, my brother incredulously filled me in on the story behind Calvin and Hobbes, bewildered that I had no idea who they were. That’s when I thought, “OHH! No wonder Hobbes looks so animated and long and skinny and twisty all the time!” And then, “Uh-oh, that does NOT sound pleasant to make into an amigurumi.” In the end, I just decided to not be so ambitious and just make whatever I can. Here’s what it looks like:

At first, the nose was also made of felt. Then, my bro said his face looked too flat, so I carefully scratched off the felt, cut a hole in the face, inserted the animal nose, unstuffed the head to fasten the nose, and restuffed it. So much work just to make his face look less flat, and I’m not even sure if it looks any more contoured!

As always, the intricate felt work was done by my sis. She also helped sculpt his scruffy white beard, which I made by attaching small strings of yarn to the head, like real hair! She’s also a great hair stylist by the way – she trims my bangs all the time! We both agree that the head is the best attribute of this Hobbes. It was unfortunate I didn’t know how to make his hands have fingers, because I think it’s an important part of Hobbes that makes him “alive.” Then again, my goal was not to be so ambitious…or else this would also go into my pile of failures!!

When my friend got around to opening our present for her, I was nervous. What if she complains that it’s not from her wish list? What if she thinks it belongs in the Pile of Failures too? What if she’s totally unimpressed, after all the hard work my sister and I put into it? Our worries were put to rest when she gleefully exclaimed, “OMG!” She really looked surprised and happy. Then, when I saw her cuddle with it, I knew all that hard work was well worth it. Hobbes, you did good!!

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Ever since I started playing Animal Crossing 2 years ago, I’ve been playing that game EVERY day. Yes, I am that devoted. Actually, it’s my nighttime lullaby – puts me to sleep in an instant!

But anyways, what I really wanted to talk about today was Kaitlin, the mommy cat who visits your town searching for her lost daughter, Katie. You only get these characters when you visit another friend’s town, so they’re pretty special characters. Plus, I got her phone charm when I was playing with the coin machine again hehe. I just so happened to have recently bought a lot of yellow yarn too, so I was finding ways to use it up, and Kaitlin was what I came up with. Here’s her original picture in case you have no idea who I’m talking about:

Now, before you fall asleep reading my blog, here are the pictures of my finished product:

Unfortunately, she doesn’t stand on her own. This is what happens when you try to copy cartoon characters to a T. They inherit the impossibly skinny limbs that are supposed to support the fattest heads in the world. So out of proportion! But it just wouldn’t look like her anymore if I hadn’t done that. Oh well, there’s only so much you can do I guess.

I also got lazy again and didn’t make her a spatula. The hair my sis helped me out with again. I cut the hair out on my own first, then showed it to my sis, only to receive this utter look of disapproval and disgust hahaha, so she ended up taking care of it instead – thank God!! She also glued together the apron – although I did the little white fishy! See, I can cut felt too…

With 2 Animal Crossing characters done, of course I couldn’t resist taking a picture of them together!

Kind of an odd couple, but whatever, they’re both cute Animal Crossing characters!! If only I had the patience to knit a house…that would really complete the picture!

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Since I had to make up a pattern for Artoo and I didn’t write it down the first time, I had to clone him.

Twin Artoos!

And no, you are not seeing wrong.  Indeed, one Artoo is bigger than the other.  Let’s just say one is more "fit" for survival than the other in the womb.

Then, my dad asked me to make one for his co-worker’s son, so I cloned him again.  Now, for the time being, I have 3 Artoos! And for some funny reason, Artoo 003 got even BIGGER!  It’s ok, the bigger the better.

I must admit, it is kinda scary seeing so many Artoos.  It’s like having an army of Artoos, except they’re made of yarn and their main weapon is their cuteness.  Don’t worry, worse comes to worse, just throw ‘em at your enemies!  That’ll catch them off guard for sure!

Tea party with Artoo anyone?

Here’s a dramatic shot!

What have I learned after making THREE Artoos?  Just because you’ve made it “n” amount of times doesn’t guarantee you’ll get the same exact thing each time.  I would say I like the later 2 Artoos better, because my techniques got better.  Although my brother said he likes the original the best still.  To each their own, I suppose!

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Finally, the R2D2 amigurumi pattern is OUT!! You can find it at my etsy shop: janama.etsy.com

The story behind R2D2:

My brother’s birthday was coming up, and I needed to give him something. Buying presents for him was always a challenge, especially since I am still a poor grad student and he’s already working. It just so happened I started crocheting as a hobby, and decided making him something meaningful would be nicer than buying him something lame and cheap.

I knew he liked star wars a lot, so I started thinking of all the star wars characters I could make out of yarn. I surfed the web for star wars patterns, came across a lot of yodas and ewoks and other characters, and was blown away by their cuteness. I thought Artoo would definitely be cute since he’s a robot and no one would expect a robot to be made of yarn! Started searching for the pattern, and unfortunately, didn’t find any. So I was determined to make my own!

Of course, I needed some help. I had only started crocheting 2 months ago and still didn’t know how to sew limbs onto amigurumis very well. So I consulted my little sister, who is much better at sewing and cutting and being extra neat, to help me out. After much trial and error in getting the right proportions, and painstakingly cutting out laser-precise felt pieces, Artoo was finished.

But, before we actually gave it to my brother, we were adding some finishing touches, and he happened to catch a glimpse of it before I could smoothly hide it away! He immediately identified it as Artoo, and our surprise was spoiled, but he was still happy to have him finally on his birthday. He blogged about Artoo on coderetard.com, others blogged about it, and eventually Artoo made his way to the Official Star Wars Blog. It was truly an honor.

So, what started out simply as a birthday present for my star wars fan brother has become something I never would have imagined could happen. To have so many people see Artoo and enjoy him is very meaningful to me. Many thanks for everyone’s feedback and comments!

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