Olive-ia

So this is a story all about how my life got flipped turned upside down...

Or not.

The thing about being a craft sort of person and having the nerve to tell people about it is that they then want you to, you know, CRAFT something for them. Watching me knit the soldier scarf, my best male friend requested a granny square blanket. WTH? What 30 year old man wants a granny square blanket? Anyway- I told him no but secretly started making one anyway. Seeing me start that blanket one of my best girl friends requested one, too. Arg. She has been told she is on a waiting list and can, at best, expect one Christmas 2011.

Then came Olivia. I posted a photo album on Facebook called "Stuff I made out of yarn" and put all my recent creations there. I got lots of positive feedback and a possible crochet date with a friend of a friend... so that was nice. I also got a comment from a high school classmate who not so subtly hinted that her newborn would LOVE something made for her.

I have this thing about babies and handmade things. My maternal grandmother was an avid crocheter. She is, in fact, the one who taught me to hook at the ripe old age of 7. I have multiple blankets in many sizes as well as a few dresses and sweaters made by her hands. Although knitting (and on a smaller scale, crocheting) is making a come-back, I still don't see many handmade things at baby showers and it makes me sad. So I've become the "auntie" who fills this role. I'm still on a quest to find a quick & easy amigurumi pattern I can churn out multiples of for Project Night Night.

So... there's Olivia. Daughter of a 30 year old rocker chick. I'm guessing she probably isn't swimming in hand-knitwear. So how can I, an easily guilt-ridden Catholic, deny her the opportunity to have something handmade for her. But... I'm also a crocheter swimming in works-in-progress. So I took the semi-easy way out.

I took RoxyCraft's Bunny Boo pattern and altered it, making a cute little olive. I flattened the top and then angled it up a bit to mimic the hole in a green olive. Obviously I omitted the ears and tail. Instead, I added a small circle of red for the pimento. I added a face (remembering to keep the eyes set low and wide this time) and, to make her more feminine I stitched a little bow to the side of her head.



Oh amigurumi, how I adore thee.

Olive-ia will me mailed off to Miss Olivia today, and hopefully make it to Vegas in time for Easter. Because nothing says "Jesus is Risen" like an anthropomorphic cocktail garnish.

Chocolate Bunny

I bought this set of patterns on etsy several weeks ago. You've already seen my main reason for the purchase: Miss Kiana's Hello Kitty Easter Bunny.I've been on an amigurumi trip all weekend, so I decided to try out the teddy bear pattern (not pictured).

As I worked along (in Red Heart "Classic" majorly cheap acrylic in Mid Brown) I thought it might make a cute bunny instead. I used the ears from Roxy Craft's Bunny Boo, added a loopy tail at the back and I'm pretty happy about it.




I made the eyes yellow to mimic the classic chocolate chocolate easter bunnies you get from the grocery store.

Ok.. so you may be wondering why the bunny is laying on a pile of granny squares. The photoshoot took place in my Work In Progress / Waiting To Be Gifted basket. My yarn stash is raging out of control, but I keep the yarn for projects separate. This little basket gets cleaned every-other-day or so and helps me stay organized. It currently looks like this:



I love all the little Easter friends hanging out waiting for homes. :) Ooo... and what's that little green thing? She's going to have her own blog post this week!

Easter!

I'm a horrible blogger.

I've been busy... but have few photos to prove it. I do, however, have photos of my Easter creations. There are three little girls (and no little boys) on my mom's side of the family. They are basically related to me the same way: daughters of cousins. Technically they are as such: Soli- second cousin; Kiana- step second cousin once removed; Maya- second cousin once removed.

Yeah.

So, I refer to Soli as my cousin's daughter (or my "little cousin") and Kiana and Maya as my sort-of nieces. Don't question my logic.

All three of these girls are getting Easter gifts made my own soon-to-be-arthritic hands.

Soli:

Easter Bunny Egg
Pattern by RoxyCraft ("Bunny Boo")



RoxyCraft's is so much cuter than mine. It's the eye placement mostly. I need to remember squished-up faces make for cuter little creatures. Oh well. Next time.


Maya:

Purple Bunny
Pattern (also by Roxy!) found on Lion Brand ("Best Bunny")



I'm much happier with this... although I should probably have gone with a more Eastery color.


Kiana:

Hello Kitty dressed as Easter Bunny
Pattern by CrochetPatterns on etsy. ("Hello Kitty")



Again... eye placement issues. Her eyes should have been further apart. I'm also have trouble with connection points. You can see a few of the connecting stitches on the front of the head. Booo. Other than that, I'm pleased. This etsy shop has lots of cute patterns- I bought the entire collection, in fact. However, it'd definitely for an advanced crochter. You're left to figure LOTS of things out yourself. It took a lot of trial and error, but the finished product came out pretty well I think.

So... Happy Easter everyone. I have lots of big projects that are coming along slowly. Promise promise promise I'll get those up soon.