I'm doing it an Anglo-Saxon way!

J.R. just finished his first pair of socks. I'm so proud of him. He learned so quickly and his socks are really good considering that he's a knitter novice. I'm so happy that I gave him Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook. It seems that it was a good Christmas present after all. Hannes was a bit doubtful when I was getting it for J.R. ("How gay you want him to be??!") but I had a really good feeling in my guts. And I guess right now J.R. likes knitting better than crocheting. He likes to make practical things, such as socks, and he likes to play with all the equipments (you need five knitting needles if you want to make basic socks). And he likes challenges and difficult patterns.


It's OK to keep your feet on the table if you're photographing your new socks.

I have started to knit too. I got inspired by Une Cabled Legwarmers by Vicky of Vickilicious Knits and I wanted to create something similar. According the original pattern you're supposed to knit the whole thing flat on straights. I don't have straight knitting needles, so I'm improvising and knitting my legwarmers closed like socks. I think that at least my first legwarmer is looking pretty nice:


If I ever finish these, I'm going to give them to Elina. I don't wear legwarmers but she does.

I have to admit that I like the simplicity of knitting. Knit and purl. Knit. And purl. But on the other hand, I find it boring. If you start knitting a sock, you probably end up with a sock. If you start to crochet an amigurumi pig, you might end up with... purple alien piglet, like this:



I like to crochet amigurumis because I can never tell beforehand how they are going to turn out. The end result is always a surprise. And I really like to create something unique, with a personality. That's what amigurumis are to me; unique items with lot's of personality.

Less blogging, some new amigurumis

I have not been into blogging lately and I'm sorry for this week of quietness. I know that there are some who have been waiting me to update (Hannes and Elina). I have been enjoying my last days of holiday, that means crocheting amigurumis.

J.R. got an Amigurumi! Super Happy Cute Crochet book for Christmas, and I have already finished few smaller projects from it. I really like the book. The amigurumis are cute, the patterns are clear and I have even learned a few new tricks from it.

So here is my "Mighty L'il Mouse", though I call him "Fatty Mouse" instead. It was really quick and fun to crochet. It wasn't just single crochet after single crochet, but there was double crochets too.


J.R. is knitting socks for me!

I also made "Skellie Fish" from the book. It's a skeleton fish. I think it looks rather nice, but I know it's not OK. My stitches are all over the place. According to pattern I was supposed to join the rounds, but I suck at joining. I did it wrong, so the head is a bit misshaped. I'm going to crochet a new fish when I have nothing else to crochet. And I'm going to make it properly, with correctly joined rounds.


I love the tail. It makes me want to crochet mermaid amigurumis.

The little friend in the picture is a Tamagotchi charm. They sell them in a set of three, and you're supposed to attach them to your Tamagotchi (it's like a virtual pet), but they're perfect as stitch markers too. (If you're interested, I bought them from Anttila.)

I gave Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitting Handbook for J.R. as a Christmas present (among other things) and he's now learning to knit too. In theory I know how to knit, but I have never knitted anything beside legwarmers with circular needles. I have no idea how to knit socks, for example. And I don't like knitting because my stitches are always too loose. It doesn't look pretty. But I'm willing to give it second chance if J.R. teaches me how to knit something cool. Like amigurumis.

Little Jellyfish amigurumi

I have had too many serious amigurumi failures lately. I should not neglect the yarn weight or pick patterns that are not well-made. Anyway. I finally crocheted something worth showing! Here's my new friend, Jellyfish:


I look cute... but don't touch my marbles.

The pattern was a bit different than what we're used to, but J.R. had no problems translating it to me. And I had no problems crocheting the Jellyfish according to his directions. By the way, when I say that J.R. translates the patterns for me, I don't mean that he translates them from English to Finnish. I don't understand patterns at all, not in any language, so J.R. "codes" them open for me. Here is a sample of the "Little Jellyfish" code:


The jellyfish is drawn by me. I obviously have a hidden talent.

I know that I should probably learn to read the patterns by myself too... but I think they're easier to follow in J.R's way. He tells me when to increase, when to decrease and how many stitches I should end up with. I get confused with words, but there's nothing confusing in numbers. They're so universal.

OMGOSHSHEUPDATED

I have been writing an essay for school. I guess I should have submitted it already, but I just don't know when to stop. I love writing so much. There is always something to add, something to edit, something to delete. I feel that I'm never finished. But I'm going to submit it today. Not because I want to, but because I have to.

My aunt dropped by today. Last weekend she visited my parents at Viiala and my mother sent me some stuff via her. My mom does that often. She had bought us some on-sale yarn. I've been longing for blue yarn as long as we've been crocheting, but we have always bought other colors. Now we have two different shades of blue! I'm so going to crochet sea creatures! The yarn is a little bit thinner than the yarn we usually use so I have to switch to smaller hook. It wont be a problem though.


I wonder if he likes the colors.

The beetle bug in the picture is crocheted by J.R. I tried to crochet a beetle too, but I wasn't so successful. I tried to turn my beetle to a ladybug... but that didn't work either. It ended up in crochet X-files. Anyway. The pattern was charted and written in Japanese. And we suck at both. But if you want to give it a try, go ahead.

And talking about crocheting... J.R. crocheted a scarf for me. I have a thing for scarves and this one is very lovely for the winter. It's really thick and warm. I love it, actually, I love it even more because it's made by J.R. The pattern is from Drop Design Studio and J.R. said the scarf was very easy to crochet.


It's J.R. modeling the scarf. Another prove that he exists.

I got a new teapot too, and a bowl for sugar. I think they're lovely. We have six teapots now, but we hardly ever use them. We do drink a lot of tea, several cups in a day, but we always use our tea maker instead of teapot. It makes better tea.



We also got this thingy to keep the teapot warm. You insert a small candle in it, close the lid and put the teapot on it. And it's not just practical, it's pretty too:



I think we're officially collecting teapots. And it's not good because they take a lot of storage pace. It was better when I was a kid and I collected serviettes. They didn't took much pace and years later my mom used them all for her decoupage flower pots. That's a good collection.

Aapeli, the Curious Creature - free amigurumi pattern

We designed our first amigurumi! I saw a knitted Loch Ness Monster on Etsy and I told J.R. that I want to crochet something similar. And together we created Aapeli. It's not exactly Nessie but darn cute anyway. J.R wrote down the pattern so I could share it on my blog. Thanks, J.R!



Materials
Aran weight yarn
G hook (4mm)
Stuffing
Pipe cleaner (about 7cm)
Safety eyes

Size
Height: 14cm (5.5 inches)

Abbreviations
sc = single crochet
inc = increase, 2 single crochets in 1 stitch
dec = decrease, crochet 2 stitches together
ch = chain

You can find a good tutorial of magic ring from here:
http://www.hookandneedles.com/2008/03/22/amigurumi-tutorial-1/

Notes
You can make different facial expressions to Aapeli by shaping its mouth and ears/antlers, though this may depend on the yarn.

Head & Body:

Starting from the head
6 sc with magic ring
R1: sc around -> 6 stiches
R2: inc around -> 12
R3-R9: sc around x7 ->12
R10: dec three times, sc in the rest of the stitches -> 9

Push the mouth in by using your finger (see the picture below). Sew one or two stitches to secure.
Insert eyes and stuff. (The decreases in rows 10 and 11 form the back of the neck.)

(I wanted to make sure the eyes are nicely positioned, so I crocheted the next two rows, placed the eyes and unraveled the rows to have enough space to attach the washers. You can do the same if you are unsure about the position of the eyes.)



R11: dec twice, sc in the rest of the stitches -> 7
R12: sc 4, inc, inc, sc -> 9
R13-22: sc around x10 -> 9
R23: sc 6, inc 3 -> 12
R24: sc 7, inc 4, sc 1 -> 16
R25: *inc,sc, repeat from * around -> 24
R26: sc around
R27: *inc,sc,sc, repeat from * around -> 32
R28-R32: sc around x5
R33: *dec,sc,sc, repeat from * around -> 24
R34: *dec,sc, repeat from * around -> 18
R35: *dec,sc, repeat from * around -> 12
Stuff
R36: dec around -> 6

Finish off. Cut the yarn and pull through the loop.

Legs (x4):

5 sc with magic ring
R1: inc around -> 10
R2-R5: sc around x4
Cut the yarn leaving long tail for sewing and pull it through the loop.

Big Wings (x2):

ch7
R1: sc in second ch from hook, sc around the starting chain. -> 14
R2-R4: sc around x3
R5: *dec,sc,sc, repeat from * around -> 10
R6: *dec,sc, repeat from * around -> 5
R7: sc around
Cut the yarn leaving long tail for sewing and pull it through the loop.

Small Wings (x2):

ch4
R1: sc in second ch from hook, sc around the starting chain. -> 8
R2-R4: sc around x3
R5: *dec,sc,sc, repeat from * around -> 6
Cut the yarn leaving long tail for sewing and pull it through the loop.

Ears/Antlers (x2):

ch6
Row 1: sc in second ch from hook, sc to the beginning of the chain, ch1, turn
Row 2: sc from the first sc to the end, ch1, turn.
Row 3: sc from the first sc to the end.
Cut the yarn leaving long tail for sewing and pull it through the loop.
Stick a piece of pipe cleaner through the head so that it forms two ears (or antlers) and sew the pieces on it.
Remember to sew them into the head too.



Tail:

ch7 =)

Assembly:

Stuff the legs and sew them under the body.
Sew the big wings to the sides of the body.
Sew the small wings above and over the big wings (see the picture below).
Sew the tail in the back of the body.


Ravelry Download (Registration needed)

Toad Princess amigurumi + Crown pattern

Today I crocheted a Toad Princess. It was just a toad first, but I thought it was too boring. I gave her lips and then I decided she needs a crown too. It was a bit difficult to crochet (because I suck at improvising) so I asked J.R. to crochet it for me. I think he did a great job. And I'm really pleased with my Toad Princess too. She has a little bow and everything. And I learned how to crochet cluster stitches!



So... Kiss me?

The Toad pattern is from Roman Sock, but I crocheted single crochets instead of double crochets. J.R. said that the double crochets made no sense to him and I don't question his directions. And here is the first original pattern by J.R:

Crown Pattern

ch13, turn
Row 1: 1 sc in each of the 12 stitches, ch1, turn
Row 2: * 1 sc in the next 3 stitches, ch1, turn
Row 3: sc2tog, sc, ch1, turn
Row 4: sc2tog, slip stitch in to the third stitch of second row, repeat from * three times
Finish, but don't cut the yarn too short. Use that yarn to sew the ends together and to sew the crown to the head.

Introducing some new amigurumis

Say "hello" to my new amigurumi friend! His name is Bärtil the Bear and I just got him finished. The inspiration came from Imaginary Wardrobe; Riikkael mixed two patterns and I did the same. The body pattern is from Crochetville forum and the head is from Animeko pattern. Riikkael crocheted a cute red hoodie for his bear, but since I'm not that talented, I decided to crochet some autumn accessories instead.

Hmm... I think I did well with the body, but the face could be better. It sucks that I don't have any big plastic doll eyes. I only have small ones and they were way too small for this bear. Plastic eyes would have made the difference. I'm quite happy with the beret too since I crocheted it without a pattern. And I'm not good at improvising, especially when it comes to crocheting.


He looks a bit stiff. Maybe he could relax a bit.


The tail is my own creation. I wanted my bear to have one.


My bear is like me, always wearing a scarf.


I could wear this beret too. Maybe I should crochet one for myself?

J.R. crocheted a hippo. It looks quite small in the picture, but don't get fooled. He's climbing on a very big book. The pattern is from BitterSweet.


This hippo is doing some heavy reading.

Crochet X-Files

I crocheted a chihuahua. Or a hideous monster. I'm not sure yet. I guess it was a mistake to use pink yarn. A big mistake. And I wasn't so patient when assembling it. I just wanted to get it done because I wasn't pleased with the color. That explains the eyes too. I didn't wanted to waste our good doll eyes for this ugly puppy so I used old buttons instead. Anyway. This thingy was really easy to crochet and I can even see myself crocheting another one if I get better colored yarn some day. The pattern is from Katrina's Crochet Creations.


Please, turn your eyes away. I'm u-g-l-y and I admit it.

Amibunnies!

Today we finished our amigurumi bunnies. I can't remember when we started to crochet them. It was over a week ago, before we visited my parents at Viiala. Anyway. The pattern is from Lion Brand. You have to register to see it. I made the white one. I have no idea what I'm going to crochet next. I think I'm going to try something more challenging.

I Love You But I've Chosen ... Amigurumis

On Friday I visited my old school, the school where I used to study dentistry. I thought it was about the time to empty my lockers and give back the keys. It's been almost a year since I quit studying there. But all my stuff was still in place. Now I have my nurse suit here, though I'm not sure what I should do with it. Elina suggested that I should use it for some kinky costume plays but clearly she has not seen the suit. It's definitely not that kind of a nurse suit. I guess I should just sell it.

I also met Julia. She's still studying there even though she used to be more eager to quit than I was. I saw her on the clinic. She was wearing her nurse suit and filling out some papers. And I was sitting there, on the corner of the unit, chatting to her. It felt exactly like in the old days.

And the board was still there! When I started my dental hygienist studies, I noticed that there was a white board in a corner of one elevator. I expected it to disappear but it didn't. After two years it was still there. And then once I talked with some older students and they said that the board had been there like forever. And on Friday I used the same elevator again, and the board was still there.


After fours years the board is still there.

On Friday we crocheted again. I crocheted a turtle. I think it's the cutest thing I've crocheted so far, and it's like amigurumi cute. The pattern is from here but I modified it a bit with J.R.






And J.R. crocheted an elephant. He said that the pattern was very hard to follow so I wouldn't recommend it for the beginners. In my opinion it turned out pretty cute anyway.




Our crocheting playlist was a bit different this time. Usually we have just sampled some random singer-songwriters on Last.fm and downloaded whatever suited the mood. But this time we went to library and borrowed actual CD's. And all of our choices were based entirely on title names or cover arts. So we had no clue how the bands and artist would actually sound like.

Here is the full soundtrack:

Comfort of strangers / Beth Orton
Shocking Pinks / Shocking Pinks
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness / I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
Fusion / Eilera
Smoke / White Williams
Soft commands / Ken Stringfellow
From the corner to the block / Galactic
You're under arrest / Miles Davis
New boots and panties!! / Ian Dury
Music for elevators / Anthony Stewart Head & George Sarah

Not exactly Mickey Mouse but pretty cute anyway

I know you're probably all fed up with my crochet posts. But you know what? I won't let that bother me. This is a blog about me and I'm into crocheting right now. So I will post as many crochet related post as I want to. I may even turn this to a craft blog! Nobody reads my blog anyway!

So... Anyway. Today I used plastic doll eyes for the first time. I bought them from Hobby Point and they cost like 0,50€ per pair. They had a good selection but I only wanted to buy tiny black ones. I like simplicity. The mouse I crocheted today was also very simple. The pattern is from Crochetville.



Cheese?

Mushroom amigurumi

I have been crocheting with J.R. again. Our Friday night are so exciting nowadays. We have been drinking several cups of good tea and listened to several singer-songwriters. Here is our today's crocheting soundtrack:

Gavin Degraw - Chariot
John Mayer - Continuum
Ben Folds - Rockin' The Suburbs
The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride
Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus
Pete Yorn - musicforthemorningafter
Adam Green - Gemstones

I crocheted a mushroom amigurumi. The pattern is mostly by J.R. I'm pretty pleased with the outcome because it totally looks like a mushroom. I made his cheeks blush but my pictures are crappy that they aren't really showing. But hey, you can see J.R. crocheting again.


You should see how messy our table looks. And it's supposed to be a kitchen table.


I'm a happy happy happy mushroom.

By the way, Hannes said that if I I don't introduce J.R. properly on my blog, it's like programming with unknown values. He requested a full body shot too. Sometimes he's so demanding. And nerdy. But I guess I could write something about J.R. in the future. But I won't post any pictures of him. Though I do have plenty of good pictures of him...

Our new amigurumi friends

We spent the last night crocheting again. I could easily change my blog's name to "The Odd Crocheting Couple" or something. Anyway. I crocheted a cute snail. And it's actually cute this time:



This snail is not slimy so you can cuddle it as much as you please.

J.R. translated the pattern for me from For The Love Of Yarn. I suck with the patterns, no matter the language. I'm so glad that J.R. is so patient with me and that he tells me how to crochet each round. Without him my snail would have looked like poo or something.

Or course J.R. crocheted something too. First he finished his octopus. I don't know where the pattern is from but it turned out well.


How do you make an octopus to smile? This one is so grumpy.

Then he improvised and crocheted a lizard without any pattern.


This lizard has some kind of a platypus thing going on with his mouth.

At some point of our crocheting we got hungry. So we made some baguettes with sour cream and prawns. I'm mad at myself for not taking a picture of that. It would have made you drool. And this time we had a good crocheting soundtrack too. Here is all what we listened to:

Lou Reed - Transformer
Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams
Jack Johnson - On And On
Jack Johnson - Sleep Through The Static
David Gray - White Ladder
Matt Costa - Unfamiliar Faces

So no death metal this time.

On Wednesday we crocheted like till 2 AM and listened to death metal

My boyfriend is teaching me how to crochet. How backward is that? But it's no surprise that he already got better than me. I'm just too clumsy and impatient. And Elina, no, I'm not good with my hands. Definitely not. See, this is the second amigurumi I crocheted:


Not suitable for children under 3 years. Because this freaking thing will give them nightmares.

It is supposed to be a cute bird but instead it resembles some kind of a Jumbo Jet monster. J.R. crocheted a bird too. But his bird actually looks like a bird and it's cute too.


Adopt me?

Of course I don't give up so easily. J.R. started to crochet an octopus and I started to crochet a new bird. I still haven't finished it, I just don't dare to. I'm sure that when I sew the pieces together it will go awfully wrong.



Yep. That's J.R. crocheting behind the ball. Now you can see with your own eyes that he exists. He's not my imaginary boyfriend even though he sounds a bit unbelievable sometimes. Yes, he cooks, crochets, reads books about relationships. decorates the house and keeps it clean... But I have solid evidence that he's psychically attracted to me so he's not gay.

Crocheting

Yesterday I was bored at work so I started to google amigurumi pictures. Amigurumis are small crocheted or knitted softies. According to Wikipedia they are typically animals or like inanimate objects with anthropomorphic (that means human-like, duh) features. Either way, they're supposed to be seriously cute. And usually they are.

I have never liked crocheting or knitting. But seeing all those crocheted cuties seriously made me want to learn how to crochet more than just a chain. So I could like crochet amigurumis too. Before I would have just skipped the whole idea but lately I have been inspired by J.R. He just tries out things and doesn't seem to fear failing like I do. And he was interested in crocheting too. And since we are already like the sickest couple (according to Hannes this time, not to Wikipedia) in the universe I thought why not, crocheting can't be that difficult.

So we bought some yarn and crochet hooks. I started to crochet right away, just to get used to the hook and stuff. I know the basics of the basics but naturally J.R. is not as experienced as a crocheter. He started to read some crochet handbook he borrowed from the library. I glanced it through too but I found all the instructions too complicating. I don't think I can learn crocheting from the books.

And I crocheted my first amigurumi! Even though I wasn't really trying to. I just crocheted and soon I realized I was making some kind of a hat. And when the hat was finished I thought I could crochet a worm or something that could wear it. And here's the result:


It's a cactus with a tiny sombrero! I call him... Mr. Cactus!

I told Hannes about our new hobby. And the next moment we were talking about gay sex.