FO: Shermy the Sheep

I finally managed to get pictures of my latest creation and my submission to the Ami-Along. It's a candy covered sheep!

I've had the Sherman the Sheep pattern from Monster's Toy Box ever since it was released, but I just never got around to making it up. A few weeks ago, I hit a thrifting treasure trove - about 30 skeins of brand new - with the labels - manufactured in the last few years - yarns ... and they were only 25¢ each! Some of the yarns were even ones I had always wanted to try out for animal making, so add those two aspects together and I couldn't load them into my cart fast enough. Take My Money! Anyway I've always wanted to get Bernat Dippity Dots, but I just couldn't justify buying yet another skein of yarn that I don't need at Joann's when I was trying to save money. Make the price 25¢ though, and I'm all there - I got 6 skeins of this yarn! Woot woot!

So, my awesome cutesy yarn to try PLUS the Ami-Along caused me to search through my patterns and I came out with the perfect combination - a very colorful sheep! I call him Shermy :)

Now, I had to make a few adjustments to be able to use this yarn on this pattern. The yarn is technically classified as Worsted weight, but in fact the white yarn strand is more like a sport weight - it's the fluffy dots that are worsted weight thickness. Since I wanted to make sure that my sheepy didn't leak his stuffing, I went down to a size F hook (the pattern calls for an H). I tried to use the thinnest yarn I had for the contrast that was still the right color, so all the beige is Red Heart Soft Solids in off white. The other issue (and one that I've read is common with others who crocheted with this yarn) is that the dots like to end up mostly on the  back of the stitches - so I actually crocheted this guy completely inside out.  I did my usual back stitch only, but instead of working around the outside of the circle I was creating, I inverted it and worked from the inside. This might not make sense unless you give it a try, but it worked really well for this project. Since the feet and head change yarn midway through, I crocheted his beige parts inside out as well. So if you're looking close at his stitches and wondering why he looks different, that's why.

There were still a decent number of fluffy balls that ended up inside his body, but the majority was on the side you see. I figure one day I can try to pick them out towards the front ... if I feel like it, lol.

The feet joining was s bit difficult to figure out with working them inside out, but we got there in the end and it was pretty smooth sailing after that. One thing to note if you use this pattern - you probably should weigh the feet down with poly pellets or something as the head tends to want to tip forward. This isn't a huge issue with the way he is shaped because his head is so low to the ground, but it is noticeable if your head doesn't end up perfectly level with the feet.

I used 12 mm eyes since I sized down in the hook, and while the pattern gives instructions for his nostrils, I felt he needed a cute little smile as well :)

And there you have it: Shermy the Candy Sheep :) I love how he turned out, but I will warn others wanting to use this yarn - it is a bit of a pain to crochet with. I'm hoping it works better for knitting.

It's been so long since I made a cute animal, and I'm so glad the Ami-Along gave me an excuse to get back in the game!

Crochet Update: Meet Louise!

So, my planned "productive Labor Day weekend" went pretty much nothing like I planned. I got a lot done cleaning-wise around the house on Saturday, plus I got to thrift at a few of my favorite stores I never get to go to. I planned to paint my living room Sunday, but ended up having a wave of unexplained illness. What to do instead? Crochet an elephant of course! Meet Louise!

I was so excited to finally make this little lady up. I used the Petrie the Dragon pattern from Monster's Toy Box. Yes you read that right, it's a dragon pattern. The same pattern I used to make Henrietta. I had the body made of my dragon and showed it to my husband and said, "Guess what it is!" and he said, "An Elephant!" After my initial disappointment that he didn't see it as a dragon, I realized he was totally right! If you flipped the body over and added a face, it would really look like an elephant. And the idea has stuck with me ever since.

When I imagined this guy, I knew I wanted to use a light purple yarn. This is SMC Worsted Weight with Wool yarn in Lilac. I used the same yarn in Taupe for the toe nails. I put 12mm safety eyes at round 23 and embroidered a black mouth between rows 25 and 26.

I free handed this tail. I started with a chain and ended up chaining 6. I left the last chain pulled out loose and added a few scraps of the yarn, then pulled it tight. To secure the yarn pieces, I wrapped the yarn around them all and then pulled the tail through like a knot. Those babies are there to stay.

For the nose, I stopped using the pattern when I had decreased down to 9 stitches. Then I sc3tog 3 times and pulled the knot through the center to secure it. This made for a nice flat spot to look more like a trunk.

I'm seriously loving how this little lady came out. She's so cute and friendly looking. My nephew particularly likes the long nose because he can use it as a handle, lol. Incidentally I've already come up with yet another animal I can make using this pattern :) I can't wait to make it!

Crochet Update: Meet Henrietta the Dragon

I've been diligently working on my Giraffe's legs, but found myself yet again being a little bored. As a split second decision, I decided to make up this little lady:

I call her Henrietta and she's a super cute dragon :) I used the Petrie the Dragon pattern from Monster's Toy Box (the same that designed the Giddy-Up Horse pattern). I'm seriously in love with the head shape of these designs - they're just so cute!

Here's the side view. The orange yarn is a bit of a mistake actually. I ordered two different orange yarns online thinking that one of them would be a good foxy color for making my fox. The both turned out to be much more orange and much less red than my laptop screen made me believe. The other orange worked out fine for the fox project, but I ended up with this crazy bright, almost neon orange color. It isn't the right kind of color to make a normal animal out of. I figured the only thing it would work for would be a monster, but when I decided on this pattern I knew the orange would just fit the bill. The orange is Vanna's Choice in Radiant Orange (very appropriately named) and the yellow is Red Heart With Love in Daffodil.

One thing I will say is that this pattern has a dang lot of pieces. It took quite a while just in assembling. I wouldn't change a thing though because I love how she turned out. Incidentally, I now have a new plan to use this pattern to make a completely different animal with its pieces. I'm really excited about it - I can't wait to show Monster's Toy Box the surprise! I just have a certain yarn color in mind that I need to pick up.

During the final assembly, I went to grab my usual animal eyes from my stash only to find I was all out of 15 mm size. Lucky for me this pattern (as well as all other Monster's Toy Box patterns) included instructions to make these cute eyes using felt. These eyes are one of MTB's signature looks and I hadn't tried making them yet. To be honest, they take quite a bit of work to make - especially considering how I seem to have missed the French knot making gene. I got it eventually and I really do love the eyes. 

Another thing I love are the toe nails! Yet again, my embroidery skills were not quite up to scratch, but in the end they came out cute. One thing I did differently than the pattern states is that I embroidered the toe nails and the nostrils before stuffing the pieces so that I could hide the knots inside. Also, since my horse came out so top heavy I decided to put poly pellets in the feet of Henrietta since she has a similar body shape. It worked like a charm!

I'm really happy with how cute this little dragon turned out! It's such a cute pattern and you can really be imaginative with your color choices. I'm definitely happy I grabbed this pattern :)

Crochet Update: Meet Quincy the Giddy-Up Horse!

As you can see, when I am sick all weekend, I crochet. Not that that's very different from other weekends as I crochet a lot lol, but I do more of it when I don't feel like moving - which is how I felt most of last week. I'm finally over the worst of it, but by no means better. Anyway, I just finished this little lady up last night. Meet Quincy!

Is this seriously not the cutest stuffed horse you've ever seen?! I absolutely LOVE this pattern. This was the first pattern released by another "online friend" of mine through Ravelry - Monster's Toy Box. She is an awesome amigurumi maker who just started designing her own patterns. This was her first release - Giddy-Up the Horse. I instantly fell in love with that super cute face. This is another of the patterns that my sister bought me for my birthday and I couldn't wait to make it!

The cool thing about the pattern is that the head and body are made as two completely separate pieces and then you sew them together. Who'da thunk? For Quincy, I used all yarns from my stash - Red Heart Super Saver in Cafe Latte for the body, Everyday Soft Worsted in black for the hair and hooves and a scrap of Bernat Softie Baby in Soft Peach for the nostrils. I also used 15mm eyes for my horse - a little larger than my usual 12mm ones.

Each strand of the hair is put on individually! It took a little time, but honestly I was so excited to have it nearly finished that I didn't even care how long it took. It wasn't difficult at all just so you know.

Another cool thing is that the legs are all joined together and then the body branches off of them. Very different from the other  animals I've made where you sew on the legs.

And look at that bulbous nose! The pattern does warn not to stuff the head too much or it will be too top heavy, which I was guilty of. Luckily it's just slightly off balance so I can just spread the back legs a little more and she stands up. Next time I will put some of my new polly pellets into her feet to make them heavier and avoid the problem. Another change I made was I chopped the forelock off.  The pattern calls for it to be the same length as the rest of the hair, but I thought it obscured the cute face too much, so I made bangs :) I think she looks sweet.

I seriously have nothing but great things to say for this pattern. I've already planned at least 2 more, so you will definitely be seeing it again in the future!