A Crochet Hookers Special Hooks ... What's your favorite?

I've done crochet now for nearly 10 years "full time" and as with any crocheter you will find that whatever type of projects you are on you will have one special size or hook that you will prefer more than others.

For amigurumi I tend to prefer G Hooks (4.0 mm).  Tighter stitches for smaller dolls or animals done in the round. G Hook is small but still rigid.  Occasionally, I will use D or F sizes but generally it's G. B Hook if I'm doing Barefoot Sandals or N Hook for my Jellyfish.

I have one favorite hook.  One hook that beats all my others. 
My I/9 Hook (5.50 mm) by Boye. 
My I Hook is more special to me than the others not because of the size, color, rigidity, etc but because it was a gift from a friend.

You see, I learned crochet when I was about 9 from my paternal grandmother.  My mom and dad had been divorced for a few years and she lived in another county so we didn't get to see her often. She was in her late 80s and early 90s, so tiny (literally her shoe size was 5) and frail. If she ever knew how to drive it was long before I knew her. She had a one bedroom apartment with a bible or two within every few feet.  Her daughter lived close by and would come over when she washed her super long hair and roll it all up into a bun with little waves on top.  She would crochet or make gingham pillows with beads and fabric and sell those at local shops for extra cash that she insisted on giving to her grandchildren, even when we'd run back inside and leave it on her table for her.  She had numerous children, grands, great grands and great-great grands when she passed at 99 years old. Literally, grands and greats numbered in the couple hundreds. She was our Mama King.

Mama King was very religious.  She only said one cuss word in the 18 years I knew her, she didn't watch anything that cursed or had anything hurtful or evil in it. She read her bible every day and prayed often all day long.  The most common things she'd say when she heard someone being nasty or shocking was "They Law". 

I always wanted to learn to crochet from her but many of the times we could go stay the night it was a late Saturday evening, we'd play with cousins on the front lawn and then go to church Sunday with her.  She didn't "work" on Sundays so for me to learn to crochet took many weekends of convincing.  She was afraid the Lord didn't look favorably on those that worked Sundays and her craft was her work.  One Sunday she taught me to chain.  I never could pick up the rest of it and finally just gave up. 

Many moons later I was married with kids of my own. We had moved many states away from most all of my family, the kids were in school but still elementary, I was depressed and anxiety ridden. A friend suggested I learn crochet or knit.  Several tens of youtube videos later and I was up and running.  I made all sorts of things and gave them away or sold them. At that point I also started my Etsy shop.  The woman in the apartment upstairs of us made me think a lot about my grandmother and my mom.  She was a tiny woman, living on her own away from her kids but she would go get her hair done and set, dressed so nice and always looked just lovely. She had the biggest kindest heart too. She loved visiting with the kids and I. If we saw Miss Janet outside with groceries we'd run out and help her.  Every Sunday we'd hear the sound of her heals clacking on the hardwood floor above us, ready to go to church.  Even when we moved back to my home town we'd send her packages. Janet and I mailed letters like old pen pals.  She moved to another apartment building and loved it there. 

One day I got a package from her with an old set of knitting needles and a single crochet hook.  I've never tried knitting but my mother in law use to so I left those with her to try ( of course she can't see well so they're still in an envelope over at her house ) but I kept Miss Janet's crochet hook. A very old, well loved, I/9-5.50mm Boye hook.

After a month had gone by I had not heard from Janet and began to worry.  I called her line and no answer. I wrote and no reply. I checked her local news papers and found her obituary.  I wrote a final letter to her son, who was easy enough to track down, and I told him how much she had meant to me and our little family, how thankful I was to have known her.  He sent me a photo of her and thanked me for chatting with her. She really loved it. She'd gotten ill and just couldn't shake it. 

This I Hook is my favorite.  It's my Janet.  It is a symbol of my grandmother who had worked long and hard raising a family by any means necessary with love and faith, a symbol of my mother who left this world too early who raised us the same way and Janet who had raised hers and helped me be a better person while raising mine.  I think of them often when I work.  Every project I do I fill with love and positive energy, thanks to the love I have received and want to share.

So this one is special.  I'm not sure I still have anyone stop by this blog but do you have any special hooks or needles that are special to you? Any yarn from your family that you've made something special with? I'd love to hear about it!

Blessed be!

Huge Octopus Crochet: Crafting Trial and Errors

**Before I begin, All patterns for reference will be at the bottom of this post.**

It is not rare for me to get a request through Facebook to crochet something for a friend.  My actual @Home Ninja page on fb garners only a handful of folks looking but not buying.  Mostly it points to here or Etsy.  I've given some thought to putting everything on Ravelry because I just like the way they do their patterns in your library.  Updates are awesome.  However, most of what I have to sell is not patterns but completed items.  Still mulling that one over.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend sent me a private message asking if I could crochet a huge octopus.  Sure I can, why not?  I asked her if she really wanted it.  "Are you serious? I'm happy to make it but you know it'll cost like $40-60 just in materials. Do you really want this?"




Now, I know that sounds like a real a-hole thing to say but seriously, I get message after message or tag after tag of people who want me to see a picture of some amazing crochet work that they wouldn't pay for and don't want.  Sometimes it's knitting and not crochet.  I think it's awesome that my friends see these things and think of me. I do. However, sometimes it's like danging a carrot in front of a starving horse or asking your Avon Rep if she can get you some Pampered Chef.  I'm a crafter ya'll.  I'm broke.  I might spend $60 on yarn to make TONS of Messy Bun Hats (that didn't all sell) and only get paid for 1/2.  The other half I either wasn't paid for or they sit here waiting for someone to love them.  I spend two and sometimes three times what I bring in every year.

I'm not complaining! I love doing what I do. I love tinkering with yarn and coming up with new things. I mean, I've done my fair share of freebies because once they are done (whether they can afford it or not) I love to see my friends be happy with something I've made for them.  I love to crochet, it calms me when my anxiety is bonkers.  I know some of my SAHM friends can't really afford to pay me for a hat for them, a hat for a kiddo, gloves for someone or a  small toy.  I'm perfectly okay with saying, "I've got this one. Love ya'll!"

If I could have afforded the yarn to do it, I'd probably have said it for this one too. In fact, I still considered not charging her for it or only charging for supply reimbursement because 1)I love the crap out of her and 2)Sometimes it's the experience of getting to do an item that's new, different and fun that means more to me than the payment. (Thus why I'm a brokeass crochetionalist. Yep, just made that up.)

Back to the point at hand!
One HUGE OCTOPUS!
The picture my friend sent was by Mama Moseley Creations.  I went to her Facebook and to her Etsy shop and neither seemed to have a pattern for sale. (I checked it today and there's a pattern for sale now for only $3. If I'd have known that a couple of weeks ago ... ) So I did some other digging.  I found "Octopus" on JoAnn.com.  Yay me.  Well, yes and no.

Going back to Mama Moseley Creations I learned hers used an L hook (information I think she has since removed from her complete item and put into the pattern page) and ended up being 19" tall by 64" wide.  She used Bernat Blanket Yarn.  I'm familiar with it but have never used it.  I found the cost online.  I think mine did end up being a tad bit less expensive than what I found online.  I wish she had the pattern then because I'd have scooped it up in a heartbeat.  I greatly appreciate the free Jo-Ann pattern but as it turns out (after having read a blog post, again below, by Gleeful Things) that their pattern only had SIX legs, not eight.  Gleeful Things told me how to fix that, so I did. 

I followed most of the Jo-Ann pattern to the letter, with the only exception being, as Gleeful Things suggested, starting with 8 sts instead of 7 and the legs.  Oh the legs.  For the most part it was dead on.  There were some soulda-woulda-coulda's along the way but I think we all have that with any project.

For the Octopus:
I crochet tightly most of the time so I knew I'd need a larger hook. Even with a fatter blanket yarn.  I considered an M but settled on a P Hook, which actually worked out very very close in measurement to what Mama Moseley Creations had.  I used my I Hook here and there in place of a needle.

Bernat Blanket Yarn (108 yards per skein/150 g, Super Bulky) in Dark Grey (00044) -- Main color
Bernat Blanket Yarn (108 yards per skein/150 g, Super Bulky) in Light Teal (00734) -- Secondary color
Bernat Blanket Yarn (108 yards per skein/150 g, Super Bulky) in Vintage White (00006) -- Outline color
Bernat Blanket Yarn (108 yards per skein/150 g, Super Bulky) in Coal (00746) -- Iris color

We found our colors at the local Walmart (hate shopping there for yarn but the next nearest place is 24 miles and I don't currently have a car) and they turned out to be $3.94 each (plus tax).  I also needed almost 1 1/2 lb of fiber fill.  I wasn't sure what I'd need so I got the 3.1 lb bag which was $8.97.
What I needed was exactly 3 Dark Grey, 2 Light Teal, 1 Vintage White, 1 Coal and the fluff, so total came to $36.55 for all supplies.  I kept time for everything I did and for me to finish it, it came to appx 22 hours to complete.  For what I charged a friend, I made only a tad less than I spent and it did come to about $1.50 an hour. It was indeed rather low BUT did I mention she's awesome and I love her to bits?  :)

The project ended up taking me two weeks.  Well, two weeks tomorrow.

Done before underside of legs complete.

The Head:
The head of the octopus was fairly easy.  The first night I had the yarn I worked 4 solid hours and only needed 2 more hours to finish the head (one and a quarter skein grey). I did have to frog it when I was two hours in and had to redo it.  I didn't make a note of what hair-brained thing I'd done but it was something that bugged me enough I pulled it all out and began again.

I told the 11 year old I needed him to do this...for scale.
NO REGRETS!!

The Legs:
It was roughly one hour per leg. A little less once I had not distractions and got working on it.  Don't forget though, you're doing 16 legs.  Yeah 16.  You do 8 grey and once that's complete you do the underside (teal).  I was about on the 3rd leg when I completed that second skein and started the third.  I had two balls of grey when I finished the legs and used that for the eyelids.

The Eyes: 
The eyes were super simple.  You start with black, work out and then work back in again.  Before I did the last round, I turned the eye inside out, worked my yarn back up the back/inside to the iris and pulled the yarn through around the edges of the iris.  I did not have a needle on me large enough to use with blanket yarn so I used my handy I Hook.  I think now I should have done that a second time for smoother edges and less of a starburst effect.  In the center photo, you see, the eye on the left is finished, the one on the right is before.  Subtle, but noticeable difference.

The eye lids are just doing the eyeball halfway in grey.  With mine, however, once we stopped increasing and just went around for 3 rows I did two of those rows HDC instead of SC.  The last row I did SC, as instructed.  I like that it gave me more of a droopy eyelid.  It cracks me up.  I tinkered with where I wanted the eyelid to be, low or high on the eyeball.  I wasn't going to stitch them on but they were snug and would have been constantly pulling back so I did stitch them to the eye.  Stitch them in place when you are ready to do the belly/legs.


The Belly:
I completed the belly in teal and only did 8 rounds instead of 9...worked perfectly.  I didn't stitch it on until right before I did stitched the legs together/outlined them.

Legs becoming Tentacles:
I took one last picture before I began to stuff and stitch the legs.  I put the eyes where I wanted them and took a picture.  I could hardly stop laughing.  They were like googly eyes rolling around.  My only actual regret is that I should have done the outline stitching on the legs BEFORE I stuffed and put the belly on.  I'll tell you why.  When I did the legs, I did them so that some curled one direction while some curled the other way.  It's all in which side you are facing when you add the legs, top up or bottom up.  I didn't want them to all look identical.  Next time I might make the edging grey instead of teal but I would have needed a 4th skein of yarn.  As I said, I only had two small balls left before the eyelids and had a teeny bit left after.  I went down the wide side of the tentacles with white, at the end doing two at the top and one more for a more spiral effect.  I picked up the teal there, tied them in a knot, tucked it in and finished the inner/tighter part of the tentacle.  Once back at the octopus body, however, I had no where to hide the ends I'd tied off other than to tuck them into the fiberfill with my trusty I Hook.  I would do the belly the absolute last next time.

Final Thoughts:

• As I said, I would have waited to stitch the belly until after I did the outline of the tentacles.  
• I might have used the same top color, grey, around one side and just left the white.  Or maybe a darker/lighter grey instead of teal.  However, my friend requested one in the same colors Mama Moseley Creations had done hers in.  
• I wish I'd have known about her pattern before I started.  I'd have paid the $3.  Maybe the time had lapsed and it just wasn't back up or perhaps I'd lost my mind and not seen it there. I don't know.  
• I don't regret using a free pattern.  JoAnn's pattern is excellent for what I paid for it (you know, nothing) and as I said, Gleeful Things stated there were not enough legs, do one more stitch in the beginning...quick fix.
• I know how much it costs now, how long it takes and why Mama Moseley Creations (MMC) charges $150 for her complete items.  It's hard work.  It's a heavy project, literally.  I was trying to do the legs and trying to reach for things on my desk.  It was like I was pregnant again with 10 extra pounds in the front I was like the marshmallow man.
• When getting closer to the inner V section of the legs I switched out to the I Hook to get in there more easily.  I cut the yarn with enough length to finish off two SC and tie off at the body so I wouldn't have to wrestle the octopus and scissors.
• The eyes I did have to go back and re tie down after I stitched them in place.  They move a little bit no matter where you put them. Somehow I'm not surprised that even a yarn animal rolls it's eyes at me.

Final measurements!

I'll let you check out what the final measurements were for MMC on her page below.  I don't remember and I've worked on this blog post since I started the octopus, adding over time.  I completed it today, photographed it (poorly) and went back through fixing this post.  I'm whooped.  All measurements are appx because it's hard to get a slippery octopus to stay still on a leather couch.  (When my uncle gave it to us he told us to keep it clean with leather wipes.  Sometimes it's like a slip'n'slide on that thing.)

With legs stretched loosely, the Huge Octopus is 54" in length.

Width of the head is 13" with a height of 17".  The circumference of the head being 37".  

Around the eyeball it is 13 1/2" and the legs themselves are 26" long.

Final Photos!!

Shots of the curl in the tentacles and where the colors changed at the tips.

The underside of the octopus.  Yep the underbelly of the beast.  And again, my beautiful boy.  He tried to hold it on his head because it would be hilarious but instead only managed to hold it in front of his face because it kept falling off.  Worth it. :D










Octopus - JoAnn.com
Giant Amigurumi Octopus @ Gleeful Things
The photo sent to me was labeled as done by and you can find her here. Mama Moseley Creations
Bernat Blanket Yarn For colors and cost (even cheaper than I got locally but I didn't pay shipping on mine)

I think that's all!  If you have any questions or comments, feel free to look me up.  My FB links are on here, my email, comment below or send me a request in my Etsy store (also on the right).

Crocheting some Valentine's Rose Rings

I've decided to take a bit of a break from doing the Messy Bun Hats and concentrate on something I worked on a bit a couple of years ago.  Rose rings!

I'm a big ole softie.  It doesn't have to be a dozen roses or a box of chocolates but something from the heart or just something adorable.  This is a bit of all that ... except the chocolate.  Chocolate is always appreciated. Mmmm Chocolate.  Wait.  I'm getting off course here.




Here are just 4 of the rings I've finished.  From left to right I have the small red rose, large white, small white and larger red.  I say "larger" because it's not the biggest one but it's bigger than the other pictured.  All but the red on the end have alternating rings.  If there's a red flower, the band is white and if there's a white flower the ring is red.  Only the one on the end has a yellow band, just to show another option.

I plan on doing these in other colors.  I have an Orchid purple, Teal green, Mint green, Yellow, and Somewhere I have the variegated threads you see at Walmart and craft stores.  So if there's a color you want, I'll be able to make it.  You can have your choice of matching band or the standard white/black/red.

I'm also looking into doing other flowers like daisies or orchid type flowers.  I can also add a button or bead in the center. I'll be doing some photos of those later in this weekend/week if we ever get proper lighting.  All these photos were taken yesterday when we almost had sunshine.  Almost.

This is the small white flower with white band and the larger red with yellow band on my hand.


As with the Messy Bun Hats, I'm selling these and donating the profits toward my son and his class.  I'm not sure if I posted about it here but my son, 16, is in his high school's Advanced Choir and they are hoping to attend Festival Disney in April.  They've done a lot of fundraising and none of the appx 30 children are paid off enough to go.  It's almost February so we're making our last push before it's time to start selling furniture. LOL

SO, if anyone wants these I'll be putting them up on my Etsy page, today I hope, and they will be $6 each.  I'm paying shipping out of pocket and 100% of the sale goes to help Advanced Choir students make the trip.  (This does not include the state tax which I make Etsy add.) I'd love to see your comments or requests so hop on down there and add some. :D

OHHH! I also have a new facebook link for the shop!  So come Like it! :D

How about a little Pinkie Pie?

A couple dear friends of ours has a one year old daughter.  Well, she'll be one on the 10th.  She's adorable and so far she only really likes My Little Pony. With her birthday approaching and my pockets being filled only with lint, I decided to make the lil doll a Pinkie Pie hat!  I love Pinkie.  I love her energy and positive messages.

I searched high and low until I found a pattern I liked.  Generally, I do not purchase patterns that don't allow me to sell things I make.  I just don't.  Or, if by chance, I do like one and want to buy it, I'll not pay more than a couple of dollars.  I made an exception this time.  Things I will say before I post the link, however... The pattern is $4.25 USD.  You can not sell anything you make from this pattern. Bummer.

It is completely adorable.  I had absolutely no difficulty in reading or doing any of the pattern/stitches.  The only thing I wish she had added was the placement of the eyes, curls, etc.  I did this hat, again, for a one year old so I should have used a smaller hook than an E for the balloons, perhaps even stitched them on.  Otherwise, there was the perfect amount of curls and adorability. ;)

Pinkie Pie Crochet Hat Pattern Here


See, adorable!  

Newborn Wolf Hat Pattern

I promised this ages ago and only have a small amount of time to get it online so, here goes.

I found a photo online of wolf/fox hats that I really liked.  I wanted just a wolf pattern for boys and wasn't finding anything that was "perfect".  So I decided to pick from here and there and make it what I wanted. :)

Unravel Me has a beautiful Fox hat pattern for $4.99 on Ravelry.  It's gorgeous but I didn't care for the ears.  (Also I'm cheap and $5 for a pattern...well, not for me.  She uses wool and G hook on hers and I prefer not to use either so it just wasn't for me.)

RepeatCrafterMe has an owl hat pattern for free that I've used for years but I also tweak it a bit too.

Would You Like Yarn With That had the perfect triangle I had envisioned for the ears!

I've tested the pattern and it works for me but if you have a problem with it I can help you. :)  I only posted the photos I've taken on the hats I finished myself, not those I've seen online.  I appreciate all the work these other crafters have put into their work.  I am not attempting to steal or make money off of the pattern.  I am not using the images from another person.  Crochet is no different than any other art form.  If you see something beautiful and would like to make that yourself you learn about it and try to create something just as beautiful but in your own way.  I'm linking back to all the amazing crafters that I found inspiration from.  Again, this is not their pattern exactly but slightly modified to what I envisioned for this hat.

For this project you will need an H Hook for the hat and F Hook for the ears.  And of course, yarn.  Please read over the pattern before you begin.  You will need to know DC, HDC and Picot Stitch.  I have included a video tutorial on how to do the Picot Stitch done by Moogly, Tamara Kelly.  If you've not visited the Moogly Blog, DO IT, she's genius.  This project can be done by anyone, even beginners, if you're just willing to give it a try.  Stitching the nose with sl st on the top may be tricky but if you can't get it just chain the number of sl st and work it from there, then stitch it on. :)

Crochet Wolf Pattern

(Begin with Crochet Owl Pattern by RepeatCrafterMe)

H Hook (5.0 mm)
Caron Simply Soft in Heather Grey (color 1)
Caron Simply Soft in White (color 2)

(Depending on how tightly you crochet, to get the right newborn size you may need an I Hook for larger stitches because simply soft is such a thin yarn.  On the lighter wolf I used I Love This Yarn Greymist and White from Hobby Lobby.  Those are much thicker yarns but still very soft.)


--Newborn – 3 Months--
Start with Color 1 
Round 1 : Magic Ring, Chain 2, DC 12 inside ring, join to 1 st DC, chain 2
Round 2 : 2 DC in same stitch and in each around, join, chain 2 (24)
Round 3 : DC in the same stitch as Chain 2, DC, DC, 2 DC in next, *DC in next 3, 2 DC in next, repeat from * around, join to 1^st DC, chain 2 (30)
Round 4 : DC in the same stitch as Chain 2, DC, 2 DC in next * DC in next 2, 2 DC in next stitch, repeat from * around, join to 1^st DC, chain 2 (40)
Round 5-7 : Beginning in same stitch as Chain 2, DC around, join to 1^st DC, chain 2 (40)
Change to Color 2
Round 8-9 : In new color, DC around, join to 1^st DC, Chain 2 (40)
Round 10 : SC around, snip and finish

Turn to the front, work 8 SL across the top of the last Color 1 Row (Row 7)
DC 8, ch 1, turn
HDC Dec, HDC 4, HDC Dec, Ch 1, turn
HDC Dec, HDC 2, HDC Dec, Ch 1, turn
HDC Dec 2x

Finish and leave a long tail to stitch button on for the nose and both eyes (alternately you can use whatever color you use for the button)

Triangle Ears
WouldYouLikeYarnWithThat

• F Hook (3.75 mm)

Color 2 Yarn

Ch 3, join w/ a sl st to form a ring.
Round 1: Ch 2 (does not count as a stitch) do 15 dc in ring. Join w/ sl st to first dc.
Round 2: Ch 3 (Beginning chain counts as stitch here and for the rest of the pattern), do 1dc in same stitch, ch 1, do 2 dc in same stitch, do 1dc in each of the next 4 sts, *

2dc, ch1, 2dc

in next stitch, do 1dc in each of the next 4 sts.* Repeat from *to* until you reach the initial ch3. Join with a sl st. Finish.
Color 1 Yarn start at one corner
8 SC around, SL in ch 1, Chain 3, Picot, 9 SC
(leave the bottom open and leave a long tail to stitch to hat)

Join ears on the side from the bottom of Row 3 to the top of Row 6 , curving a bit if necessary

Well, that's it!  I hope you enjoy it and make tons!  

Helpful, Handy Crochet Hints and Tips

This morning Repeat Crafter Me (of which I'm a huge fan) posted this picture and a link to her facebook page from Free Crochet Patterns showing the different sizes of blankets.  I was so excited by the link that I saved all those images and some that I've collected on the internet and put them all into this one PDF.  I have already printed out the three pages to keep with my printed patterns. I hope you find them helpful and useful!

PDF of Helpful Crochet

Pumpkin King ... Mark III / In Pumpkin

I sure do love some Jack Skellington!  I'd been thinking about doing another Jack hat, considering it's almost Halloween.  This seemed like the perfect time. :)  This Jack hat was worked up to fit children/teen/young adult with head circ. of 20 1/2 inches. 

As Jack usually does, he had a menacing look on his face.  This one is complete and has ear flaps with black tassels. :)  You can find him on my ETSY shop for $22 + shipping.

Here's another angle of Jack with his long tassel like arms. ;)

Olivia Blanket

Oh my, they've updated blogger and I have no idea what I'm doing lol so work with me for a moment. ;)

I've been working more toward putting more time into my crochet. I have several projects going at once and I tend to overwhelm myself then put things off. In November I had told a friend of mine that I'd love to try my hand at crocheting a baby blanket for her first grandbaby and all I needed to know was the sex. I have never crocheted a blanket before. A few months later she found out they were expecting a granddaughter. I had lots going on at the time and forgot about the blanket. In May they were getting closer to the baby's due date. I had yet to start this blanket. I had lunch with my darling friend and she told me that the new mommy's colors were a light pink and brown. I believe my words were "shut-up!" I just so happened to have two small bundles of Red Heart Soft Baby Steps yarn in Cherry Cola. It's a gorgeous yarn and I'd started playing with circles ages ago but never did anything with them. Here was my chance!

I piddled around with the circles and made them squares. It's easier to stitch them together into a blanket that way. I had many made up so I used them up and looked at the remainder of my yarn. Hm. After spacing things out and moving them around I decided to put squares in there also. I made several "basket weave" squares and put those in. I was worried it would be too light around the edges with the baby yarns and would cause the edges to curl. It would also fray/frizz easily with more use on the outer edges. I went to Walmart (as where I am now it's a 45 minute drive to a yarn store) to find more Cherry Cola yarn or something like it. I searched online once before for the Cherry Cola yarn but they want, in some cases, as much as $6 a skein for it and it costs nearly that much to ship it. Um. What?

Instead, I found the Red Heart Super Saver Pink Camo. It's very similar in color, though it is thicker. This should minimize any frizzies! I finished the blanket and added shell edging. It measures roughly 29" x 42". The new grandbaby was born in early June and her name is Olivia. I present to you, the Olivia Blanket. I'll be mailing that this coming week.

Oh, Spongebob

So I had all this Red Heart Bright Yellow.  Who do I think of?  Spongebob of course!  I had a general idea of what I wanted to do.  I'm still undecided on the buttons to clasp it but for now I'm using wooden beads and cotton yarn.

I had the flash on and it makes it too bright.

With no flash.  Note this is NOT the color of bright yellow.

I wasn't able to get a true picture of color.
 






I had a model for a photo or two but he decided to ditch me. :p  My 5 year old wears it comfortably, the straps are more for the smaller kids BUT an adult can wear it with only one strap at a time. *Yup tested, might make one to keep*

As I said I have loops and beads for eyes.  I will be putting a liner in and covering the thread stitches this week.  The nose is stuffed with polyfill.  Again the pic is a bit too bright but closer in color to what it actually looks like.

This is the back of the bag with it's backpack like straps and hoop for hanging.  Spongebob SquareBag is $30 and I can make larger versions upon request.

*Photo taken without flash, the bag is much brighter yellow.*

As with all my other stuff, it is fan art and should not be considered a licensed product,  know this when ordering.  Also, each bag will differ, as they are all handmade by me.

My First Creation

With a title like that I feel like Dr Frankenstein (pronounced Frahnk-en-steeen).  Now to unveil my first creation BWA  HA  HA  Haa ... oh.  Yeah.  *steps out of the lab and closes the door*

This was more like my 4th creation.  I made a handbag with black and gray yarn and put wooden beads on it (I'll have to find a picture of that one).  The thought was nice but the beads were not really lined up well and the stitches weren't what I'd hoped.  LittleBit, my model here, loves using it for his toys.  I followed up with a yellow bag but before I could attempt to put a strap on there, the kids began using it for a hat.  With the bottom corners as ears they pranced around being cats.  Finally, LittleBit asked if I could make him a hat.  I made one that was more poofy and girly than I'd hoped.  I was watching videos on youtube and threadbanger plus mixing things up trying to be original as well.  Hm.  Not so much what I'd wanted.  So that went to the side and this one was born.

I used Red Heart 324 - Bright Yellow to make the hat.  I nabbed it at Walmart for around $3.26 or so.  At this point it was nothing more than a yellow hat.  The size was good as was the stitching.  My hubby came home and said to LittleBit, "Oh look at that, you have a Pikachu hat!".  Thus the Pikachu hat was born.  I found pictures via google and a wonderful design on deviant art to go by.  I wasn't really sure about the ears she'd done but thought, why not.  I'll give it a try.  One cheek is a tad lower than the other.  On those I used something similar to this but can't remember the name.  It was fuzzy and looked pretty in the store but due to it's bulk (and my inexperience at the time) I had a hard time using it.  Trying to go under your chain is difficult when you can't see where it is.  Black was a 4 weight by Sugar'n'Cream which I got at a local AC Moore.  It's beautiful but as I've learned with amigurumi, it doesn't give much.  What I mean is it's the same weight (4) as the average Red Heart classic yarns but it's a thick cotton rather than a thinner acrylic.  Eyes were a weight 4, Red Heart Sport 0001 White.

I don't think this hat was too shabby considering I was a noob.  The nose was a bit wide and while the photo looks as if the eyes were not even / round, they really are.  I've not made a pattern for this yet but intend to do so when I'm done with some current projects.  (By pattern I mean one that's a more perfected version than this.)