little muggles

Making my Amigurumi Fox

I’m always on the lookout for my next ami project…what animal should I create next? A little while back, I posted this question on my Facebook page and was delighted by all the responses I got! I read through all the suggestions and was inspired to make a little fox! This is the first animal in my intended upcoming “Woodland Creatures” collection. I have yet to decide exactly how many animals I will make, or what animals will actually BE in the collection, but I’ve started brainstorming! 🙂 I’ve got a raccoon, a squirrel, and a beaver running through my mind…oh who knows what I’ll decide to add to the collection! It’ll be a surprise for both you and me as to what I come up with! And speaking of Facebook, I recently asked for help in coming up with a name for this little guy! There were over a 100 suggestions and there were so many great ones to choose from but the winner is…”Chester” the fox! A big THANK YOU for all who made suggestions! The pattern for Chester is now available in my shops at ETSY and CRAFTSY!

It took me quite some time to come up with a good idea of what I wanted to do for a fox. There are already so many amigurumi foxes out there… I wanted to try and make something different. The ears were what I focused on first. I wanted to make them black tipped, and I added the light triangular patch for color contrast. I think this is something unique to my doll. Continue reading “Making my Amigurumi Fox”

Happy New Year!

Another year, another zodiac animal! As you can see, it’s going to be the Year of the Horse!! if you’re a horse, you are turning 0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, or 108! 🙂 I can’t think of anyone I know that has this sign… “Horse” people are supposedly pleasant, and easy-going. They’re extroverts and are full of good humor-he or she is usually the life of the party! They are also supposed to be very frank and direct, almost to the point of tactlessness. Does this fit the personality traits of any of your “Horse” friends?

Since returning from my holiday overseas trip, life has quickly gone back to the usual routine. Getting up, going through the chaotic morning ritual of packing the kids off to school, running errands, thinking of and preparing dinner… (WHY do people have to eat dinner every night? It would be so much easier if we just ate less often…like once a week!) I’ve been adding extra crochet time into the mix in preparation for the upcoming Zoomigurumi 3 book! Amigurumipatterns.net is once again compiling 15 new designs for the new edition and it’s set to be released in the Spring of 2014, which is just around the corner! Follow the Amigurumipatterns.net Facebook page for more updates and other links/news about super cute amigurumi patterns!

The Zoomigurumi books have been wildly popular and are currently on Amazon.com for purchase. Perhaps they will be available on the shelves here in the US one day. That would be so awesome! I feel extremely honored to be included once again!! I just recently packed off my 2 contributions, Cuddles the Sheep and Clementine Cow.

They’re off the Belgium and will be used to promote the book. I had to find the smallest box to fit Cuddles, which is a pretty huge amigurumi!! I tried warning everybody of her size but I don’t think you can really appreciate how big she really is unless you see her in relation to a person. So let me add a picture of my son holding this doll. He’s shy, so you can’t see his face. 🙂

See how cuddly and soft she looks? Too bad I don’t have any daughters. None of my boys are the least bit interested in playing with my crocheted animals. I did make a few Angry Birds, which they threw around for a short while, but that fad faded pretty fast for them.

Till next time, XOXO and happy crocheting!

-Amy

Happy Holidays 2013

PageLines- IMG_6396copy.jpg — Happy Holidays 2013!!

Well, it’s hard to believe that another year is winding down once again! Why does it seem like each year goes more quickly than the last? It must be the hourglass effect…maybe I feel this way because I’m getting older and older. My birthday is later this month and it’s a milestone birthday. I will politely neglect to share exactly which one but it’s a milestone nonetheless. 🙂 I might joke about not wanting to get older, but I am truly grateful to be here for each new year. There have been quite a number of very memorable amigurumi moments for me in 2013. I completed a bunch of new dolls this year, including some freebies for you all! I can’t believe how popular my little baby owl design has been! Thank you to everyone for all the amazing pictures of all your baby owls that you’ve sent to me! Here are just a few of the beauties from you!

Another great 2013 moment was when my Humphrey the Elephant pattern was published in “Zoomigurumi 2!” Both the first and second books are doing well on Amazon.com and both have been translated into Dutch and is currently being sold in stores in the Netherlands! Isn’t that fabulous?? AND there definitely is a Zoomigurumi 3 in the works! Expect it to be available sometime in the spring of 2014! Keep an eye out for some more Little Muggles contributions! 🙂

This was also the first year that I entered a couple of my dolls into the County Fair! What a fun experience that was! I’ll be sure to enter again next year. I’ll have to start thinking of what to make starting in January.

For now, I’m actually getting ready to embark on a transPacific trip with my family of 5, along with my husband’s extended family as well! We’ll be traveling to Asia and won’t return until 2014! This will be quite an adventure, especially since there will be 5 kids under the age of 9 to handle! Wish me luck! I might be returning without my sanity. This will be the first time that I bring along my crochet supplies on a trip. I’m going to try to make some things on the plane ride itself (if my hooks don’t get confiscated). Maybe I’m being over ambitious. I’ll most likely be sitting between 2 young children. I’ll be lucky if my yarn doesn’t get thrown up on. Hmmm not a pleasant image, is it? Maybe I’ll pack my stuff in my suitcase and crochet at my destination instead…haha!

Well, thank you to everyone who has been following me this year!! I do plan to make some new and exciting freebies for you all in the new year! I’ll try to keep coming up with new characters for all of you to enjoy! Happy, Happy Holidays to you all and I wish everyone a fantastic New Year!!!

XOXOXOXO!

-Amy

2013 LITTLE MUGGLES CREATIONS

Making Spike the Dragon

Phew!! Finally, finally I have finished up Spike! I started him back in May (!!) of this year and never got around to writing his pattern because the color changes were so tricky for me. Remember, I like to make everything up as I go and I really don’t have any good idea of how color changes should formally be written up. Chalk it up to laziness, I guess. I just want to go! go! go! when I’m crocheting and I don’t have the patience to try to sit down and see how others have written up their patterns! For a while now, I’ve been getting many inquiries from interested crocheters about when the dragon pattern was coming out so I am so happy to say “Here it is!!” I will be uploading it to my usual shops by tomorrow at the latest! Thank you all for being so darn patient and as always, I am so grateful for your interest and kind words of support!

And as you may know from my previous post, I am also doing this because my friend had requested a custom order of a dragon doll for his nephew who happens to be born in the Year of the Dragon. So here is my contribution towards my Little Muggles “Zodiac Collection”. I hope you like him!

In my pattern, I’ve also included a little tutorial about how to make color changes with smooth transitions. This is a MUST when making the belly of Spike. A lot of you probably already know the technique, but I made my own picture tutorial. I do intend to add a Tutorial section for my website sometime soon so please check back for it! Until then, have a fantastic day and as usual, Happy Crocheting!!

Cubby the Tiger

A good friend came to me earlier in the year and requested I make a few amis for him to give as Christmas presents to his nieces and nephews. He was hoping to give them each an animal that represented the Asian Zodiac year in which they were born. A Tiger, a Dragon, and an Ox/Cow. It’s been my plan all along to one day crochet all the animals of the Zodiac, so what better way to get started, right? Well, I already had a Cow pattern I could use (Clarence), but I had yet to make a tiger and a dragon. Well, after many months, I have finally completed the second animal, the tiger! I am quite proud of my little Cubby. There are already many tiger patterns out there, but I really wanted to make my own Little Muggle-style version of one. (Someone once used the term “muggle-fy”, which I love!) It took me almost as long to write up the pattern as it took for me to crochet the doll!! This past summer has been quite hectic, so my apologies for the lull in new doll production. I hope to be more productive this fall! Anyhow, here are a few shots of my tiger. He’s a shy little guy who enjoys quiet afternoons in the sunshine. Enjoy!!

Gazing out a window…I wonder what he’s thinking?

By the way, my WIP for now is the Dragon. I’d say he’s about 40% complete. I am re-working my Spike doll, which I never formally wrote up a pattern for. Keep your eyes out for dragon updates on my Facebook page! I know there are people eager for his pattern so I’ll try to work quickly for you all!

My Ami Beanbag Buddies!

IMG_4637 - Version 2 — My 6 year old bag of polyester pellets

A number of years ago, I bought a big bag of poly-pellets, which are basically little plastic beads used for stuffing dolls. I found it at my local craft store and thought it’d be fun to incorporate them into my amigurumis. I used them in the bodies of a few of my dolls, but the whole bag just ended up sitting in a box untouched since then. Well, a few weeks ago I came across that bag and started brainstorming some design ideas that would make use of those poly-pellets! Thus my beanbag buddy idea was born. I wanted to make something small and unique, something that could sit on a desktop or shelf and just add a pop of cuteness. A little beanbag doll seemed ideal – they are all nice and stable from the heaviness of the pellets.

Violet the Kitty is my first beanbag creation. She’s made a very soft worsted weight yarn I am very pleased with the color combination here. I like to choose colors that you might not think to put together, just to make things interesting. I toyed with the idea of making these “buddies” with no limbs, which I think would look good too. But the little arms and feet look so cute that I had to include them.

After Violet, I just had to add some colorful friends for her, so I came up with these:

My final beanbag buddy turned out to this baby owl. I’ve always wanted to make an owl, but there are already so many out there, I wasn’t sure if I could come up with a fresh version of one. I was amazed at all the positive feedback I got for this simple little design! It’s such cute little character and such a fun little project that I’ve decided to release this pattern for FREE! There are endless color combinations and designs that can be incorporated into this pattern! I hope you all remember to post pictures of your owl creations on my Facebook page because I can’t wait to see all the creativity out there!!

As always, thank you so much for your interest, love, and support! I am constantly amazed by all the fantastic creations I see from you all and I am honored and thrilled that so many people seem to like my work! Happy crocheting!

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE BABY OWL PATTERN!!

Simi the Monkey Pattern now available!

When I was a kid, I spent far too much time watching TV. I loved all kinds of cartoons and I sure watched a lot of them! (Hello Smurfs! Jetsons! Flintstones! Woody Woodpecker! Tom and Jerry! Should I go on? And yes, I realize I am showing my age here) But one of my all time faves has got to be Looney Tunes. Recently, I was randomly thinking about good ol’ Bugs Bunny and his crazy antics and for whatever reason, I was remembering a specific episode with a hurdy gurdy monkey. If you are unfamiliar with what this is, imagine an old fashioned organ grinder who stands on a sidewalk and cranks out tunes while his pet monkey dances around and collects money from passersby. I actually went hunting online and was thrilled to find the actual Looney Tunes episode so here it is in case anyone is interested in watching it! It’s called HURDY GURDY HARE. Funny this is, I even remembered the music from this episode! It’s so strange, the things one recalls from childhood…What do you remember from your own days as a kiddo that you find totally random?

Anyways, the reason I am even bringing all this up is because I wanted to share the inspiration for my newest monkey pattern! I thought it would be really cute to make an amigurumi styled after the old time hurdy gurdy monkeys. My ambition was to make a monkey wearing a hat and a cute little suit, not unlike something you might see on a monkey at the circus. Well, as you can see, I managed a hat. One day, when I develop superior clothes-making crochet skills, I will definitely release amis with fancy outfits. 🙂 Until then, I’ll have to keep it sweet and simple!

Simi is the name of this little guy ..it’s a short for “Simian”. I think he looks really cute sitting on my son’s bookshelf, along with other stuffed animal friends. I hope you all like him! His pattern is now available in my usual shops! Please take a look at Craftsy or Etsy! Have a great day, everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

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!