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San Mateo, CA County Fair 2013

Due to the encouragement and urging of my husband, I decided to enter a couple of my dolls in the County Fair this year! I was limited to only 2 entries, so it took me a while to decide which of my dolls to choose. The easier decision was my cow doll – he seemed a fitting choice considering all the animals that can be found at a fair! Ultimately I chose my Fuji Bear to accompany him, since they are both part of the same collection. I figured they’d look nice together in the display case. I drove over the fairground on the indicated date to drop them off and drove away thinking how cool it would be to win a ribbon of any kind!

It’s really fun because no one tells you that you won anything…no emails, letters, phone calls! You just go to the fair and find your stuff and keep your fingers crossed that there will be a ribbon hanging somewhere on your entry! To my surprise and complete delight, both of my creations ended up taking 1st and 2nd place in the Crochet (non apparel) Category! My Clarence Cow doll even took home a special award ribbon with an extra $25 bonus! I am so honored and thrilled to have received these awards!

Here is the third place winner, a fantastic basket of “Noah’s Ark” animals! I can see all the work and love that was put into this project!

I will be sure to enter again next year, and will probably set the bar higher for myself by entering into the State Fair too! I hear the ribbons in that fair are a lot fancier! 🙂 My husband wants me to start thinking of what I’m going to enter but I have plenty of time and PLENTY of other projects to think about first! There are many, many ideas all lined up in my head.. So many projects, so little time! haha I’m just happy that I can now claim I’ve made prize winning dolls! 🙂 Have a great day, everyone! Talk to you soon!

Spike the Dragon

Hi everyone! Wowie, it’s been quite a while since I’ve updated, hasn’t it? Well, it’s a busy time of year… the end of the school year brings with it lots of last minute projects and activities. I’ve been working on yearbooks and art projects and May is just one of the busiest months EVER what with Mother’s Day, and multiple birthdays falling in this month! Through it all, I’ve been slowly working on my latest ami project, which is this little dragon. It’s one of my more ambitious creations because of the color changes on the belly. I have yet to perfect the transition of the colors as you view it vertically. It still comes out choppier than I’d like and I’m not sure how to go about fixing this! If anyone has any tips and suggestions on how to change colors in rounds (that are continually getting smaller), please CONTACT ME!

My husband named this little guy Spike, for obvious reasons. I fear he looks more like a dinosaur than anything else. Maybe because of the lack of wings, but that’s ok with me. 🙂 Hope you like him and I will get to writing up the pattern sometime. All the color changes and decreases make the writing quite tricky.

I’ll preview my next project for you soon! Check my Facebook page for updates! Have a good one!

Freebie time!

In celebration of reaching 1000 likes on my Facebook page, I think is time to add to my collection of freebie patterns for you! Here is another Amigurumi Gem, a mini bear to inspire you. This little guy is barely 5 inches high and makes a cute little decoration anywhere! Consider making one to use with a gift tag, a party favor, place card holders for a party, a Christmas ornament… You can make just the head and turn it into a keychain! There are numerous possibilities! I hope you enjoy making this little bear and don’t forget to share your images because I can’t wait to see pictures of all your unique creations! CLICK HERE for the pattern!

In other news, I have been working on proofreading and crocheting a doll from one of the designers of the next ZOOMIGURUMI book! I just finished crocheting this doll yesterday and I have to tell you guys, it’s super cute and fun to make! You will definitely not be disappointed in this design! Unfortunately, I will have to hold you in suspense a little longer because I will wait for AmigurumiPatterns.net to release the images as part of her promotional campaign. Be sure to follow along on her Facebook page to get all the latest updates on the book!

For anyone who’s been waiting around for my newest Elephant pattern to be released, it’s finally here! Peanut the Elephant is now available at Craftsy and Etsy! Make your own baby elephant today!! I found it so fun when I polled everyone on Facebook about their opinion on the spots. My own husband was not in favor of them, as were quite a number of you! But I had to follow my own gut and I decided to leave them on. But the beauty of making your own elephant is making it unique to your own personality! That’s why I love seeing everyone’s pictures so much..each and every creation truly reflects the creativity of the individual who made it! Keep up the great work, everyone! Happy crocheting!!

Crochet Along Results!

As of March 1st, 2013, my very first Crochet Along has officially ended! What a fun experience!! Here are 15 beautiful pictures that were shared with me! It’s so amazing to see everyone’s take on the same pattern! I love the creativity and uniqueness of each doll! Congrats to Jessica W for winning the random drawing. She got a free pattern from my shop! I’ll definitely be holding another Crochet Along in the future. Suggestions have already been made as to what kind of animal/doll you would like to make! Owl, cat, giraffe, human… you will have to wait and see what I come up with!! In the meantime, please enjoy these amazing creations! A huge THANK YOU for all who participated! Have a great day!!

Happy Early Easter!

I am proud to present my latest pattern, a sweet little springtime bunny! Ok, I am thinking ahead, but this gives anyone who is interested in making this doll for Easter plenty of time to crochet! I spent a while choosing the colors for this rabbit. I wanted something soft and spring-like.. but I also wanted something a little different. I was happy to use this slightly unusual shade of green for her pants. In case you’re wondering, it is from Lion Brand yarns, my go-to yarn for all my amigurumi creations. I always use yarn from my local craft store, nothing fancy. And I had my doubts about the shoe color, wondering if it clashes with the other colors, but I think it came out alright.

The baskets in the back have some of my previous amis that I feel work with the whole springtime theme. You’ll see my Mochi bunny(Free pattern!) in there, along with a couple of Lil Quacks and my Humpty Dumpty (since he’s an egg…) Does this give you any ideas on making your Easter basket(s) this year? Making a hand-made gift for someone is truly special!

This bunny pattern will be listed very shortly in both of my shops! Here are the links – please stop by and browse! Have a great day, everyone!

In my CRAFTSY shop, you can download the pattern immediately upon payment. And if you prefer, it is also available at ETSY!

2013 Year of the Snake!

Happy Lunar New Year, everyone! Gong Xi Fa Cai, Gung Hay Fat Choy!

As a kid, I really looked forward to this time of year. Because it is customary for all married relatives and friends to give children red envelopes stuffed with money, this was a very profitable time of year for me! My mother would clean the house from top to bottom and set up a little New Year’s table, decorated with beautiful flowers, oranges, pomelos, “good luck” candies and cakes… She would even put on her old records (remember those?) of festive holiday music. Everyone would just be a really happy mood, getting ready to celebrate the start of a fresh new year!

In honor of the coming year’s zodiac sign, I present my little snake to you! I never considered making a gurumi snake, (thinking that I could never make a cute one) but I was suddenly struck with inspiration earlier this week and here is what I came up with! I wanted something with a pop of color, since a plain, single color snake didn’t seem so interesting to me. I felt the color red would have made the snake too “Christmasy”, so I settled for a nice festive orange instead! Perfect, since oranges and tangerines are ubiquitous during this festive time of year! I think this snake adds a cute and unique touch to all the New Year’s decorations in the house.

The tricky part of making this little guy was coiling his body just right so that his head pops up in just the right place. After I coiled it, I did pin it in a couple of discreet places for it to hold it’s position. Just sew those spots together with some yarn and your snake should stay upright and coiled indefinitely! The free pattern can be found HERE!

TURTLE Amigurumi Crochet-Along!!

Welcome to the first Little Muggles Amigurumi Crochet Along!! This little turtle is fun, cute and simple to create! This design is simple enough for beginners to make, but also has a lot of potential for the more seasoned amigurumist! (Think embellishments, shell patterns, etc…) For those who are not familiar with a Crochet Along, it is very simple. Basically, any number of interested people can use this FREE pattern to “crochet along” with each other! That is, you can share your progress with your fellow crocheters, ask questions, post pictures, basically just share your thoughts and your amigurumi making experience with everyone! The most fun part is seeing everyone’s finished works! Everyone is free to use whatever yarn colors, gauges, decorations, etc.. that he/she prefers! Doesn’t this sound incredibly fun? I encourage everyone to Crochet Along with me!

I have named my turtle Sheldon! He is approximately 4.5 inches(12 cm) high and 6 inches (15cm) long. He makes a cute little decoration for any room or a super unique and adorable gift for anyone of any age!!

There’s more!

As an added bonus to the fun, I have decided to enter everyone who submits a picture of their turtle into a random drawing at the close of this Crochet Along! One winner will receive a FREE pattern of their choice from my Etsy shop! Who can resist another cool amigurumi project, right? The winner will be announced on my Facebook page!

Here’s what you need to do!

Spread the word! Share the news of this Crochet Along with your friends and fellow crochet pals! If you “share” my Facebook post about this Crochet Along and submit a picture of your doll, your name will be entered TWICE into the drawing!! That’s an extra chance to win!
Get your materials and start crocheting!! A list of what you need can be found in the pattern itself!
After you are done, take plenty of pictures and email me your favorite one at LittleMuggles@yahoo.com, or post your best pics on my Facebook page! Remember to include your name, your turtle’s name, and where you are from in your entry!!

For this turtle’s FREE pattern, CLICK HERE to get started!!

Little Muggles’ 1st Crochet Along officially starts Monday, January 14, 2013. Anyone with entries (photos) submitted by February 28, 2013(11:59pmPST) will be entered in a random drawing to win a FREE pattern from my shop!

Have fun and happy crocheting, everyone!!

I can’t wait to see your dolls!!

Happy New Year!!

What better way to kick off the new year than with a new gurumi! I wish you all a very happy and healthy new year! May it be filled with lots of creativity and inspiration for a fantastic craft filled year!! My crochet resolutions this year include coming up with more designs, contributing to another amigurumi book, and working on this website to make it cuter and more informative for you all! I intend to include a tutorial section and will be updating all pages in the future! Also, keep an eye out for more freebies in the near future!!

This panda doll has been in my imagination for quite a while now. I’m happy to finally finish it up and will be writing up the pattern for it shortly. Writing up patterns takes a lot more time than you might imagine! I take a lot of care in trying to make my patterns well organized and easy to follow. I am also somewhat obsessed with making them look cute! For these reasons, it can take quite a while before I come up with something that I am satisfied with putting into my shops! Currently, I am finishing up the pattern for my piggy. It should be done within a week! I will be posting the link to the pattern onto my facebook page, so make sure you “like” my Little Muggles page so you can stay up to date!

Oinky — Hamlet the pig… Pattern available soon!

Well, happy crocheting to you all! Have a wonderful day and a wonderful year!!

2012 Little Muggles’ Creations

My Holiday Collection

Jolly the Snowman, Jingles the Reindeer, Pepe the Penguin

Presenting my 2012 holiday collection! Jolly the Snowman, Jingles the Reindeer, and Pepe the Penguin! These little guys all sit at about 7″ high. Little Jolly was the first creation..I just love cute little snowmen, so he was a no-brainer for me to make. Jingles came next. Originally named “Rudy,” he was a bit more of a challenge. I wasn’t quite sure how to make his antlers, but with some experimenting, I think it came out alright. I had a bag of jingle bells that I had bought maybe 3 years ago that I have never opened! I am thrilled to finally put them to use! The ribbon around the neck is also something that I saved from a previous Christmas present. I had been holding onto for a few years now. It’s funny how things come together. I knew everything would come in handy one day! Anyways, a day before I was ready to post “Rudy,” a great amigurumi designer Josephine Wu (from a Morning Cup of Jo creations) debuted a reindeer with the same name! What a coincidence! So on the recommendation of a lovely Facebook fan, I ended up selecting “Jingles” and I think the name fits wonderfully for my little guy!

The penguin is my most recent creation. I wanted another character that reminds me of wintertime and I came up with Pepe. Other characters I considered but didn’t become reality were an elf and a gingerbread boy. Maybe next year, for the 2013 holiday collection! Pepe was a lot of fun to make. I toyed with the idea of using a different color for him, something unusual. I thought of using a light blue, or a purple.. but ultimately I decided to stick with classic black. I have never made anything using black yarn before. It makes photographing a little bit harder, because details can be lost in the darkness. I love how colors just pop against his black body and white eyes. I didn’t think I could go wrong with any color for his hat and scarf set. To keep it festive, I chose Christmasy red and green. I think purple would look great too! In general, after I make a doll, I pretty much have no interest in repeating it again…so I don’t think I’ll see how well other color combinations might work. That’s why I LOVE seeing pictures of other crocheter’s finished dolls from my patterns. It’s so much fun to see the creativity and liberties that others use to modify my patterns to create their own visions.

These three patterns are available in my Craftsy shop, Etsy shop, and on Amigurumipatterns.net! Only $3.99 each! Make your own version today!!

Happy Holidays 2012, everyone!! Peace!!