Some Finished Holiday Projects!

I've been doing PlanetJune's Poinsettias tutorials http://www.planetjune.com/blog/beaded-poinsettia/ and have been having a lot of fun trying some new crafts!  Just thought I'd share these!  They are all about 2" in diameter or so.   I'm adding brooch backs to all of them so they can be worn as pins.

Felt Poinsettia

Beaded Poinsettia

Polymer Clay Poinsettia

Punchneedle Poinsettia

Beaded Poinsettia in Progress!

I thought I’d share this work-in-progress photo with you! This is the beaded poinsettia I've been working on from June’s recent tutorial:http://www.planetjune.com/blog/tutorials/beaded-poinsetti...
I'm almost finished with it! June, thank you for the hours you put in to presenting this tutorial. I really appreciate it! I’m a total newbie to beading.

I’ve been taking a break from crocheting to let my poor arms/hands heal-I’ve been a crochet animal and have been over-doing it!! Rowr!! For those of you wanting to win this year’s PlanetJune Christmas CAL, this is good news for you-I won last Christmas and did all but one pattern available. If I were feeling better, I’d be kicking CAL butt!! ;-)

PlanetJune Accessory CAL NOV 2011

PlanetJune's Ravelry Group is having a crochet along featuring her accessories.  Her accessories include scarves, shawls, cowls, bags, and whimsical animal ears!  I have already made the cowl.  (See previous post)  To join the CAL or find out more about it, click on the badges to the left.

Hello neglected Blog!

My Lacy Bobbles Cowl!

I thought I'd just say, 'hi' to my blog!  I've been doing the twitter and facebook thing more lately.  I'll try to post more here too.  This month, I made this Lacy Bobbles Cowl from PlanetJune.  I used JoAnn Sensations Bamboo and Ewe superfine yarn.  I've used this yarn for socks before.  The yarn is just a little bit scratchy but it is mostly really comfy!  I had fun making this cowl.  

My First Knooked Project!

I knooked this dishcloth from the book by Melissa Bergland Burnham

My Froggy Dishcloth.  Kneedeep, kneedeep!

from Leisure Arts #3934, Garden Dishcloths to Knit.  I want to make more of these dishcloths.  I'm getting the hang of knooking, knitting with a crochet hook with a cord attached.  I asked my sister-in-law to teach me how to actually knit with needles and she gave me a lesson.  Not as easy as I thought.  I think I'll stick to knooking for awhile.  I hope more instructions for the knook come out. Info on the knook can be found here!

Free Domestic Shipping at Judy's Ami Shop!

For the rest of May, I am offering a coupon for free domestic shipping!  Use coupon code MAYSALE2011.  A link to my Etsy store is on this blog page.   Just FYI, I have crocheted all but one of the items for sale in my store using patterns from http://www.planetjune.com/.   If you are a crocheter, check out her pattern store and shop!  If you are not a crocheter and would like me to add something to Judy's Ami Shop that isn't already for sale, let me know what it is and I will crochet it! 

Planet June Easter CAL Roundup

Again, I went nuts and crocheted just about every pattern available for Planet June's Easter Crochet-Along.  The only thing I didn't do was the fuzzy chick pattern that came with the Fuzzy Bunny Pattern.   I couldn't find a fuzzy yellow yarn!  Doesn't everyone want a fuzzy yellow yarn?

                                                      

                                             

 I love the pink I found for the fuzzy bunny.  It is Jo-Ann Sensations Angel Hair in Posy.  I gave this bunny to my 10 year old niece for her birthday.  She is nuts for stuffed animals and amigurumi.  This bunny has become her new best friend!

 

Easter/ Spring Crochet -Along Projects

Fuzzy Bunny and Lamb

Here are the projects I've done so far for Planet June's Spring CAL.   I am selling the finished items in my Etsy shop.  I'd never really done  Fuzzy Amigurumi before so crocheting the Bunny and Lamb were a new experience.  I'm glad I didn't use Fun Fur!  The Patons Divine for the Lamb and Jo-Ann Sensations Angel Hair for the Bunny worked out well.  It wasn't too hard to see the stitches and both turned out nice and furry once I brushed them with a wire pet brush.  I plan to crochet the Easter Pocket Ami and make a Daffodil or two.

Ami Easter Eggs

Easter/ Spring Crochet Along!

Planet June has a new Easter/ Spring Crochet-Along and Contest.  Click on the button to the left for details.  Yay!  I've already started on the eggs!  I think I'll work on the Easter Pocket-Ami next!  (And I'm so glad that this picture loaded on to the blog.  I'm using my "new" hand-me-down laptop.)

My ami-eggs!

Great Big Bag of Fiberfill!

Got this at JoAnn's.  10 lb. box of fiberfill!  When I opened the box, it started to "grow" and expand outside the box.  I think it's going to take over the whole house!  Arrrgh!

Experimenting with a light box

I haven't been satisfied with the pictures of my amis for my etsy shop so I asked June Gilbank of PlanetJune.com for advice. She sent me a link to her craft blog on the topic of taking better pictures. There were several links to different sources of light boxes. I decided to go with making my own. The instructions are here. I used a small cardboard box, water color paper, and a cut up white shirt. I bought the work lamp and daylight bulb at the hardware store. I like the results. I just need to build a bigger box! 8"X8" is way to small! And I need to get another lamp and bulb, and some big sheets of bristol paper.

The way I have been taking pictures- on a towel near a window.





Hamster in the light box!  No shadows!  He is a bit cramped in there. You can see the inside edges of the box.




Love birds (without their beaks yet!) in the light box!




Piggy is so cramped!  No room! But I like the lighting.



Hamster next to the light box.

Credits:  I used Hamster and Farmyard Pig patterns by June Gilbank.  The Lovebirds pattern is by Lisa Vanvikaas and is free! http://makelittlethings.blogspot.com/2011/02/nesting-love-birds.html

Photography Class?



Ooo!  Is that a shadow he sees?



Happy Groundhog Day!

I'm thinking of signing up for a photography class or getting some kind of help.  I need to take better pictures of my amigurumi!  Maybe it is just because I have a cheap camera, bad lighting, or both.  I'm spending way too much time on picnic (piknic?) on flickr trying to make my pictures look good!  Well, happy (almost) Groundhog Day!

Judy's Ami Shop on Etsy!

I have opened an Etsy shop!  I plan to sell finished items and patterns.  For now, I am making items for sale from patterns that the designers have given permission to sell the finished items online.  June Gilbank is one of those designers that allows people to sell their finished objects.  And of course, I will always give credit to the designer and the source where people can find the original pattern. :-)  Eventually, I'll also be selling my original patterns and finished objects from those patterns. The first item I have posted is a cute Girl Doll made using June's pattern "Girl Doll" from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amigurumi.

My user name on etsy is  jukatca1

Come and see my shop.  I'll be adding more amis soon!

My Great Big Scorpion :-) and some major Ugh.

Which one would you rather find in your sleeping bag? :/ This is the color scheme I based my scorpion on.

Deathstalker scorpion-real



Deathstalker scorpion- plush

Next project- tweak my pattern for the Naked Mole Rat and get it written up.  I really want to work on making an amigurumi blue jay too.  They are loud, obnoxious, and beautiful.  I love those qualities- in a bird!

I Won! And some Christmas Presents

I haven't posted yet that I won Planet June's Christmas Crochet-Along and Contest!  There were six patterns to choose from to do for the CAL: Christmas Baubles, Poinsettia, Christmas Pudding, Candy Canes, Christmas Pocket-Ami, and Christmas Trees.  I did the first five out of all six of the patterns-  "stuffing the ballot box" was okay with this contest- as long as each project was from a different pattern. For more info see christmas-cal-roundup-part-1.

So I won a  $10 gift certificate to Planet June's shop and everyone who participated got a discount code for 11% off!  I went nuts shopping at her store and stocked up on patterns.  I definitely went over and beyond the gift certificate and discount.  I have 11 new patterns from Planet June to do- not to mention all of the other patterns I still have from other designers.  Wondering when I will crochet something other than amigurumi?  :-)

For Christmas, my boyfriend got me Star Wars mini amigurumi by Lucy Ravenscar and Yummi'Gurumi by Christen Haden (aka NeedleNoodles) and Mariarosa Sala.  Lots of ami-fun!  I've already done a storm trooper and C-3PO!