lalylala’s Whimsical Winter Amigurumi Pattern Set

When I saw this set of 4 Seasons Winter amigurumi patterns on Ravelry, I squeed with joy! lalylala designs very whimsical, unique amigurumi patterns that I adore and these are no exception. My favorite amigurumi of the set is Heinz the stag, but the pine cone and snowman are equally adorable.

As lalylala states in the description, these three winter-inspired toys would make delightful Christmas ornaments! I know there are many (many many many) haters out there who think those of us who start celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving should be locked in a closet. I am one of those people that has been listening to Christmas music for the past few weeks and I think spending the holiday weekend crocheting up some of these little guys as ornaments would be the perfect after-Thanksgiving dinner treat. (Less calories, too!)

Something that draws my eye to these amigurumis beyond their cute little faces is the shine on cotton yarn. They are crocheted with Catania from Schachenmayr. I’ve never used this yarn but I’m definitely tempted to add it to my ridiculous stash now.

Check out lalylala’s blog for more patterns, whimsical illustrations, and other inspirations!

Oh-my-gurumi Pierogi!

And by “oh my gurumi”, I mean amigurumi. I came across this cute little amigurumi pierogi on the front page of Ravelry and had to stop what I was doing to share it with you all.

Tiffany (tcakes4u) used Deena White’s Little Empanada pattern to make a cute little pierogi!

My mom is from Pittsburgh, where they eat an excessive amount of pierogies and I’ve been eating an excessive amount of them since I was a kid. They’re definitely a comfort food for me and I have a bit of an obsession. Actually, I have an obsession with any dumplings (like these squee polymer clay dumplings). I should probably crochet a few pierogies instead of eating the actual thing!

 

Cozy Knits & Crochet

Here I sit, in my home in central Florida with the A/C blasting. It’s 88°F outside but I’m pretending there is a slight chill to the air. Drinking a pumpkin spice latte and scrolling through my Instagram feed, I see photo after photo celebrating the beginning of a new season—my favorite season—Autumn.

Autumn doesn’t seem to show up here until mid-November most years, so it is with much jealousy I have put together this set of cozy knitting and (one, sorry hookers) crochet patterns. They remind me of fireplaces, warm cups of hot cocoa, and colorful fallen leaves.

To those of you living a bit farther away from the equator than me, enjoy your chunky, cowled, and cabled sweaters! Put on those bulky, scrunchy socks and a matching pair of wrist  warmers, curl up in your coziest chair and get knitting (or hooking)!

A Blanket for Seriously Cold People by Sylvia Bo Bilvia

Not sure you could get any cozier, wrapped in this chunky, ribbed blanket designed by Sylvia Bo Bilvia.

Perfect Autumn Sweaters

Lanvad Cowled Sweater by Justyna Lorkowska

Eddy by Amy Herzog

Cardiff Coat by Jennifer Wood

Coffee Tunic by Mira Saarentaus

Lila Sweater

Frontiersman by Martin Storey

Top Left: Lanvad by Justyna Lorkowska Top Middle: Eddy by Amy Herzog Top Right: Cardiff Coat by Jennifer Wood Bottom Left: Coffee tunic by Mira Saarentaus Bottom Middle: Lila by Carrie Bostick Hoge Bottom Right: Frontiersman by Martin Storey

Cozy Accessories

Hooded Cowl with Buttons (Crochet)

Woodland Hoodlet by Tiny Owl Knits

Cosy Gloves by Anna Nikipirowicz

Cup of Cocoa Slouch Socks

Cosy Scarf by Marie Wallin

Slouchy Socks by Gwen Bortner

Top Left: Hooded Cowl with Buttons by Melissa Grice (Crochet) Top Left Middle: Woodland Hoodlet by Tiny Owl Knits Top Left Bottom: Cosy gloves by Anna NikipirowiczTop Right: Cup of Cocoa Slouch Socks by Heather Walpole Bottom Left: Cosy Scarf by Marie Wallin Bottom Right: Slouchy Socks by Gwen Bortner

If you want to get even cozier, I have created the Get Cozy! bundle on Ravelry and will continue to add cozy, comfy knits and crochet projects to it.

Favorite the Get Cozy! bundle on Ravelry and maybe new patterns will pop up in your Pattern Highlights (is that how Ravelry works?).

Knits for Needs: Use your stash for charity

As soon as I decided to learn to crochet, I began collecting yarn like a maniac. A ball of this, a skein of that. I have tons of mismatching yarn and scraps leftover from projects sitting in my closet.

I started following @KnitsforNeeds to help myself find some new projects and inspiration because I haven’t been knitting or crocheting much lately. Knits for Needs is a charity that you can donate knitted and crocheted items to throughout the year to help those in need.

Most recently, Knits for Needs has posted about Prayer Squares, four-inch knitted or crocheted squares used while praying. Prayer Squares sent to Knits for Needs will be sent to Knit Wits who attach charms and prayers to the squares before donating them to chemo patients in cancer centers. These Prayer Squares are great for using up leftover yarns and yarn you just don’t know what to do with. Soft yarns will work best as they’ll be more comfortable to hold (- don’t use wool). For more information, read Knits for Needs Prayer Square blog post and/or join in the discussion on Ravelry.

I’ve started my Prayer Square and will post pictures when I’m finished. Is anyone else working on Prayer Squares? They’re a quick and easy project that will help give someone a little comfort, so I urge those of you that knit or crochet to start a Prayer Square and send it to Knits for Needs.

Cupcakes, Candy and Crafts

I got more done this weekend than I thought I would. Because of those many games I bought, I figured I probably wouldn’t be knitting or crocheting at all when I had free time (except at lunch). Alas, I could not stay away from my hooks and needles. Something about just laying in bed with my yarn and tool of choice helps me slowly forget about the rest of the world. Concentrating so hard on one task, I sometimes get way too deep into my thoughts and what I’m doing. I’m sure if I concentrated hard enough, I could get close to a meditative state. 😛

I read somewhere that Friday was International Crochet Day, so I decided that even though I hadn’t picked up my crochet hook in quite a while, I was going to do something that involved crocheting this weekend. I started crocheting because I fell in love with amigurumi. I got out my copy of Amigurumi World, picked out some yarn and started creating a little cupcake of doom!

Unfortunately, I got to the part of amigurumi that I almost can’t stand—sewing all the parts together. This one isn’t even that bad, it’s just two parts connected to each other. I got almost all the way around when I realized that somewhere along the way, I’d started sewing into a different row than I’d started on. Frustrated, I undid all of the yarn and quit. Someday little cupcake will be whole but today is not the day!

During lunch today, I finished the I-cord on my most recent baby hat made from delicious “Candy Baby” Bernat Softee Baby yarn. When I got home, I sewed in the ends and ta-dah!

I really like the shorter I-cord on this one. It’s cute as a button!

Crafty Monday: How do you start to design your own patterns?

I’m still fairly new to the world of crochet and knitting. I’d really like to be able to start designing my own amigurumi patterns so that I can sell my finished projects without getting in trouble with anyone for copyright infringement.

Does anyone have any advice as to how to get used to designing from scratch? How did you learn to design your own patterns if you do?

I’m sure other people around the web who are just starting out have the same types of questions, so any feedback would be appreciated!

Stitch Markers!

I received some cute tea-inspired stitch markers from tinkistwinkling.etsy.com! Very well-made and haven’t snagged a thing!

Crochet Monday: Not much to report.

I’m almost done with my friend’s scarf but I haven’t picked it up for almost a week now. Same with the purse. 😦

I’ve also restarted my knitted hat, there were some holes in it near the bottom that I didn’t notice until much later. I had cast on 44 stitches the first time I started the hat and I realized once I restarted the pattern that I had needed to cast on 64 stitches. Glad I didn’t bother continuing!

In other news, I just fell upon this site: What Not To Crochet. Now, I feel a little bad for the designers of these patterns who took many many hours of their time to create these patterns, but wow. These are the things that make people who don’t crochet think that crocheting is for old ladies or crazy cat ladies!

Crochet Monday: Yep, another scarf!

I have a few projects in the works right now. Two are gifts, one for a friend who’s moving away and a birthday present for my sister which will probably be late. I’m about 90% done with my friend’s project but only 10% done with my sister’s gift. I’m making a purse for my sister-my first attempt at a purse. I hope it doesn’t turn out too bad and that she won’t be embarrassed to use it. 😛 I bought some dark navy suede to crochet it out of. I really like how the suede looks! Maybe I’ll have pictures next week.

My aforementioned friend, Rachel, is moving to Denver. I’m a bit jealous but not of the cold! She grew up in Ohio so I’m sure she’s used to it but I don’t think I’d be able to handle it. I heard it’s actually kind of hot during the summer, just like here, so I don’t think she’ll need a scarf just yet. Hopefully she likes it ’cause I’ll be sending it along pretty soon! I followed this very beautiful pattern using JoAnn Sensations Licorice yarn. I love the colors in the yarn and hopefully Rachel will too, but it’s not the softest stuff I’ve ever felt. Maybe she’ll be able to wear it over a turtleneck or something. I’m not too wise in the ways of the scarf.

As for the baby accessory project, I started a new knitted hat this weekend and have gotten farther on it than I have on any other knitted project. I’m definitely getting the hang of the knit stitch and finally figured out how to work in the round. It looks tiny on the needles but I’m hoping once it’s all done, it’ll stretch a bit and fit a little head. 🙂 We’ll see! Doesn’t look like it’ll take too much longer. I’ll probably finish this hat just using the pink Country yarn, then start another hat and try to switch out some colors to make a few horizontal stripes. Wish me luck!

Also, I’ve put the little squarish hat up for sale on Etsy! I’ve opened a shop but it’s looking a little bare right now. Hopefully I’ll have some more to sell soon!

Crochet Monday: Cancelled.

Due to a bad migraine, I’m going to be skipping this week’s crochet post. Sorry, guys.

In the meantime, here’s a post on some really cute little crochet projects: My Little Mochi: Babies in the shop!.

Crochet Monday: My first hat!

I finished my first attempt at a hat! It’s baby-sized and square. It’s all single crochet stitches in Sensations Angel Hair yarn—which is a dream to work with! I finished it last weekend and added a cute little star button to it. I’m hoping that Amanda will be able to use it for a photo shoot at some point for a little boy.

I’m hoping the button isn’t a problem as the hat would only be used for photo shoots. I could see that an unattended baby might get a hold of it.

That’s about all the crochet news that I have. I’ve started my next hat. 🙂 I’m not following a pattern, so I hope it’ll turn out well! Wish me luck!