Elmo (tickle at your own risk)

A couple Wednesdays ago I flashed a pair of red legs at my blogger readers wondering if they could guess who I was going to attach them to. I got one reader (thanks, Mom) to respond to me in person with a correct guess: ELMO!

Our adorable neighbor girl is turning 2 and needed an Elmo, so she shall have an Elmo!

Elmo is ready to be tickled and squeezed and loved (and hopefully dragged all around the house).

My favorite part of Elmo is his big orange nose and his slightly cross-eyed gaze. It just makes me smile. And isn't that precisely Elmo's sole purpose: to make you smile ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺
Either that or completely annoy you with his laugh, I suppose. Heheh.

Elmo did a quick bit of online research and did find this very scientific correlation chart he'd like to share with you:

........☑    ☐     ☐      ☐      ☐     ☐      ☐     ☐
........☑    ☑     ☐      ☐      ☐     ☐      ☐     ☐
........☑    ☑     ☐      ☑      ☐     ☐      ☐     ☐
........☑    ☑     ☐      ☑      ☑     ☐      ☐     ☐
........☑    ☑     ☐      ☑      ☑     ☑      ☐     ☐
........☑    ☑     ☐      ☑      ☑     ☑      ☑     ☐          
Age: 1     5      10     15     20     25     30     35+

Each ☑ is equal to one "I love Elmo" unit.

Note that at the tender ages of 1 - 5 the love for Elmo is high. As age increases, there seems to be a direct correlation to the decline of Elmo love. This makes sense because as you get older, you have heard Elmo laugh so many times you think that you'll go bonkers if you hear it one more time. The only reason you have any "I love Elmo" units at all for Sesame Street's most famous character is that you have little ones, or know little ones, who are crazy about him. During this time you endure that manical laugh on their behalf. But by the time your kids are outside of the 1-5 range, adults over 35 find that they have no love lost for the furry red monster.

The only exception is the 6-14 range who think they are altogether too cool for "baby shows."

The resurgance of Elmo love units at 15 matches up with the inexplicible desire to wear pig tails,  string a binkie around the neck, and carry a bottle full of kool-aid.  Again, this is a mystery. But what about the ages 14 and 15 isn't a mystery? Look that one up, Mr. Elmo.

Elmo, doing some online research

This Elmo pattern was created by A Crochet Ninja and can be found here. I thought it was a really great pattern, clear and well written. I only reduced the rows for the black mouth to match the number of stitches I had at my mouth gap. You can find Cookie Monster there, too (which I may have to make for my husband one day...)

Goomba: A Lesson in wrong side/right side amigurumi

Early in my amigurumi pursuit, I was unclear as to what side of the worked up yarn was correct for the outside of my projects. I would start my circle and notice that the yarn would naturally curl into a bowl. Figuring this was the correct way, I continued around, working on top of my stitches in a counterclockwise manner. It was awkward since you are taught to work rows right to left. Things got a lot easier when I realized I had not only been working my projects the hard way, but also finishing them off inside out!

It was only after already crocheting several projects that I finally decided to see what would happen if I pushed my little "bowl" inside out so that I could crochet in a clockwise manner. This project was Goomba from wolfdreamer. I had already made his head the way I had made all my previous amigurumi. The result is a stitch that I perceive as looking "flat":

The wrong side has a  blocky look and there is less of a sheen to it.

The proper way to work your amigurumi is to push the bowl "inside out" after a few rounds so that you are working around the circumference in a clockwise manner. The result definitely has a different look:

Working the right side up gives a more supple and uniform material.

This is the body and feet section of my Goomba and I realize it is harder to compare the two sides this way. I encourage you to do what I did and check out nerdigurumi's tutorial on youtube here. Not only does she thoroughly explain wrong vs right side but her side-by-side visuals will clearly illustrate the differences between them.

I finished up Mr. Goomba and gave him more secure felt features by sewing them on rather than using sticky backed felt. Now his teeth and eyebrows won't go missing again :)

Here's my 1/2 wrong side 1/2 right side Goomba :)

Baby Beanies and Working in the Round

I have recently found reason to crochet a couple of beanies for baby-sized heads. There are over a hundred free beanie patterns out there and I spent a great deal of time sorting through them. I found two patterns that I thought I'd share here for those who are looking for cute, classic styles.

 These two patterns are easy to follow and, as you can judge from the picture, simple, classic styles that can be easily adapted for your own style/color/ideas. The basic baby-sized beanie to the left is found on the video tutorial here and the green one with ear flaps on the right is written out here.

Working in the round is the method for both of these beanies, as well as amigurumi. Although in beanies you find more variety in stitch type, whereas in amigurumi proper it is the single crochet across the board. For both beanies and amigurumi you can achieve working in the round two different ways:
1) Continuous Rounds       or
2) Joining Rounds

To determine whether you'd rather work in continuous rounds or joining rounds it is helpful to know the pros and cons:

CONTINUOUS ROUNDS: Continuous rounds simply means you circle up on top of each round without breaking (imagine a soft serve ice cream swirl).When working continuous rounds, you need to pay closer attention to stitch count since the start of each row will look no different from the middle of the row. This "burden" can be eased by using a row marker. Whether you purchase plastic ones from the store, or simply use a piece of contrasting color yarn at the start of the row it's purpose is the same: to serve as a visible marker for each row's beginning so you don't have to count.

Plastic markers or a contrasting yarn color help "mark" each row

If you are using different colors in a single pattern a continuous round will produce a "jump" as seen in the blue and tan hat.

I consider this to be the back of the hat and it doesn't bother me

In general, continuous rows have a very fluid look to them with no ridges or gaps, which I find to be a "pro" that outweighs the "con" of the color change issue.

JOINING ROUNDS: When working with joining rounds, each round is its own concentric circle (think of stacking rings on top of each other, like the children's toy). The round ends with a slip st into the first st of the round and then 1 or more chains are made to add height to start the next round, depending on which stitch you are using. I find the biggest "con" for joining rounds is a slight gap between rounds that goes out in a diagonal from top to bottom.

The "pro" to this is that counting rows isn't necessary as the gap created makes it easy to see when to end the round.

As I shared earlier, I personally prefer working in continuous rounds in spite of what some may think is a pattern flaw. And certainly when working with one color it's not an issue at all.

I hope that helps clarify your options for working in the round. If you encounter a pattern that does continuous rows and you prefer joining, you can easily adapt it by joining the last st with a sl st into the first st and starting the next concentric circle with as many chains as matches the height of the stitch you are using (1 ch for a sc, 2 ch for a hdc, 3 ch for a dc, etc).  If you prefer continuous rounds and the pattern suggests joining, simply skip the sl st and any additional chains and continue working on top each round.

I love the braids off the ear flaps!

W.I.P.

Work in Progress Wednesday:  a day to show off what project I'm in the middle of :)

I thought I'd just let you guess at what I'm making now. Here's a hint:

Who has fuzzy red legs? Hmmmm?

☺Now that I think of it, that is sort of a trick question☺

I need to have this project done soon (in a week or two) and I'll post the completed project (and thus answer the "who") then!

Happy Crafting!

~kari

Sonic the Hedgehog

One thing that amazes me about my three children is just how different they are from each other. They may share the same squinty eyes, freckles and long piano playing fingers but their preference in food, say, just highlights my point.  For instance, my first born loves spicy meat: pepperoni, sausage and tacos. My girl has a sweet tooth and would prefer hot tea (cream & sugar, please) with graham crackers. My youngest would eat peanut butter and honey sandwiches morning, noon and night.

I love to find that their differences show up in their play as well. My eldest is fairly well-rounded: he loves riding his bike, writing stories, playing sports and video games. My girl is a bit more focused: it's all about animals with her, but any and all animals will do. My youngest, however, is even more singular. When he likes something, it is utterly and completely exclusive. He has gone through a few phases in his life. First there were cars. This phase started with chubby cars his little fingers could maneuver and grew to the smaller hot wheels and finally the Disney Pixar Cars.

Then came Mario. Oh, Super Mario! With his dazzling invincibility star and awesome fire power, this character bordered on obsession with him. The games were just the first of it. Soon after he was dressing like Super Mario, overalls, mustache, gloves and all. Then it was the figurines and plushies that thankfully coincided with the retail Mario craze so many things were purchased at birthday and holiday times. But his focused fixation changed this past year.

It's not Mario anymore. It's Sonic. Move over Nintendo, Sega is taking over. But, alas, I have found that either we are ahead of the craze or the Sonic thing is just not going to make as big a splash with retail. What's a Mom to do when birthdays are coming and there is nary a Sonic to be found? Peruse the web and land on Wolfdreamer's website, of course! She is amazing. If you haven't happened upon her website, you must stop everything and go here now. The woman is a magician with amigurumi. The things she has created from scratch and put up for free almost single-handedly inspired my blog. She is a perfectionist and her capabilities seemingly have no end. Just check out her pattern list. It is nothing short of incredible. It is in her wealth of creativity I have often found solace to my restless hook hand when I need a character to crochet. It is here I found Sonic the Hedgehog.

Crocheting the pieces was simple enough with her easy to follow patterns. Putting the 24 seperate pieces together was what took the majority of my time and energy. I followed her tips and made sure to pin first. Then there was the repositioning and repining and looking at it for days at a time until I couldn't stand it any longer and finally decided to start stitching. I was quite pleased with the end result! My only tiny addition were the buckles for his shoes that are chain stitches sewed onto the shoes in a rectangular shape over the white stripe.

My baby got his Sonic on his birthday and his face let me know that I had done well. He now sleeps with his store bought Mario plushie and his mommy-made Sonic, one in each arm reminiscent of Andy with Woody and Buzz. I wonder what the two rivals do when he's off to school and they are left on his pillow?

You got it ace, let's race!

International Yarn Bombing Day Has Arrived!

1 a.m.
Director Park

I feel like a ninja, dressed all in black save my signature fingerless gloves. Five bombs in hand. And a hook. I'm ready.

trying to figure out the best way to quickly secure the bomb

Tim drives me up to the park and I jump out having spotted the 5 lamp posts that would be the lucky recipients of my flowers. No sooner do I figure out how to attach the bomb than Tim warns that I have a police coming straight for us. Confident that I can persuade the officer that all is on the up and up,  I continue my work. "What's going on here, guys?" he asks accusingly. I look up and see that it's a night security patrolman. I explain we are decorating for the Grand Floral Rose Parade and Tim clarifies: "It's called yarn bombing," he says. And to smooth it over he adds "It's just crochet, I guess it's the new thing to do." Mr. Patrolman nods and walks away, leaving us under his watchful eye from across the plaza to dress the other 4 light poles. A few drunken people walk by making a lot of noise, but no one else approaches us. 

the tag

 It's funny how I had things planned this all out in my head and how different I ended up reacting! I had made the joining strip too long on purpose, figuring if I had measured incorrectly it's easier and quicker to undo rows than to make them. In my perfect vision I would calmly undo the rows and then fasten it up, however, in the heat of the moment I just wanted to be in and out of there as fast as possible so I just left the extra in a bunch near the back. I only hope they were secure enough on the smooth lamp posts to endure the night to be seen today.

working as fast as I could

We drove away after taking a few pictures and I said a quiet goodbye to the roses I know I'll never see again. I just hope they were secure enough to endure the night and not slide down the poles.

final result

First Ever International Yarn Bombing Day: Whoo-Hoo!

Yoshi

A couple of months ago, I was commissioned to make a dark blue Yoshi. I ☺adore☺ Yoshi. Those of you who grew up playing Super Mario Bros, as I did, will likely understand. The faithful little riding buddy to our hero plumber, Mario, Yoshi was a great addition to the series. He makes the cutest noises during game play. I can't help but smile when he gulps down the Yoshi fruit. I love how on all the Yoshi levels the trees dance. His hovering power is rather useful and seeing his little legs run in the air makes me happy. He's just a great character!

I set out to accomplish this challenge with eyes wide open - it was to be my first multi-pieced character (as opposed to the one-piece amigurumi style). Most of Yoshi is amigurumi, but with over a dozen pieces to connect it felt a bit like a jigsaw puzzle where the right location for each pieces kept evading me. But I preserved and after several days of looking at him at different angles with pieces pinned, adjusting and looking some more, readjusting and looking some more, I finally made the plunge and sewed him together. I was pleased with the end result. It was, indeed, a labor of love and I couldn't give him away with stealing a few hugs and quality time with Yoshi all assembled. Also a photo shoot was necessary.

Most of Yoshi came from an amazing pattern from robotrish. If you need to make a Yoshi, check out the pattern here. I made a few adjustments according to what I preferred Yoshi to look like. You are welcome to use them if you like them, but you have to hit up robotrish's website for her entire pattern.

Using the same hook size you started with...

Tummy/Lower mouth (white)

I liked the look of horizontal stripes down Yoshi's tummy, so this part is done in short rows. Be sure to ch 1 at the end of your rows (unless otherwise noted as the first few rows), turn, and start your next row in the second ch from hook

Ch 4
R1: sc across (3), ch 2
R2: sc across (4), ch2
R3: sc across (5), ch 3
R4: sc across (7), ch 3
R5: sc across (9), ch 2
R6: sc across (10), ch 2
R7: sc across (11)
R8-R17: sc across (11)
R18: sc across (11), ch 2
R19: sc across (12), ch 2
R20: sc across (13)
R21: sc across (13), ch 2
R22: sc across (14), ch 2
R23: sc across (15)
R24: sc2tog, 10 sc, sc2tog (12)
R25: sc across (12)
R26: sc2tog8 sc, sc2tog (10)

I love his big nose!

R27: sc across (10)
R28: sc2tog, 6 sc, sc2tog (8)
R29: sc across (8)
R30: sl st, 6 sc, sl st (8)
sl st all the way around
F.O. and weave ends
Assembly tip: Attach securely to body piece leaving the bottom "lip" of mouth loose like he's gonna gobble up a yoshi tree fruit. Use rose colored chalk to color in the inside of the mouth for his tongue.

Check Spots - make 2 (white)

I preferred flat cheeks that were slightly larger around. This section is done in the round.

Magic Circle (6)
Rnd 1: 2 sc in each st (12)
Rnd 2: *sc, 2 sc in next st* around (18)
Rnd 3: *2 sc, 2 sc in next st* five times only (20)
F.O. and weave ends

Assembly tip: Match up "flat side" of circle to mouth/tummy strip and sew on.

Boots - make 2 (start with light brown)

I wanted a two-toned shoe and chose a rounder shape over the fold over boot. This is done in the round.

Magic Circle (6)

Rnd 1: 2 sc in each st (12)

Rnd 2: *sc, 2 sc in next st* around (18)

Rnd 3: sc around (18)

**Change to darker brown color**

Rnd 4: sc back loops only around (18)

Rnd 5: *2 sc, 2 sc in next st* four times, 6 sc (22)

Rnd 6: *3 sc, 2 sc in  next st* four times,  6 sc (26)

Assembly tip: Insert small cardboard circle to make the bottom of shoe "flat"

Rnd 7: 26 sc (26)

Rnd 8: 3 sc, sc2tog, *sc, sc2tog* around (18)

Rnd 9: 3 sc, sc2tog, *sc, sc2tog* around (12)

F.O. and weave ends

Assembly tip: match up 12 st of boot to the 12 leg st and crochet together with dark brown

Saddle

Following robotrish's pattern up to R3 then my changes made it a slightly larger saddle...

R3: (still using red yarn) ch 1 and sc in same st as sl st, sc around adding 22 in the middle of rows and around edges. F.O. 
R4: (switch to white yarn) sc around front posts tightly (creates a bit of texture and bump in saddle. F.O.

Finish Yoshi following robotrish's assembly directions and you'll have an☺adorable☺ Yoshi of your very own!

photos courtesy of www.timdenison.com

Sitting down this Yoshi measure about 11" in height.