Viva La Vivi

I’ve done it! I’ve finally vindicated myself for my blanket fail! I bring you my most intense and favorite project.

Vivi.

 

This is my first attempt at Amigurumi (Wiki link) and I’m in love!

The body and jacket were created using this pattern from pixalatedmushroom. Yes, you’ll notice right away that it is a Doctor Who pattern, it’s honestly a coincidence but there is no stopping me making a Doctor some day.

The hat was created using an extremely modified version of the Pixi Hat from Art of Crochet:

Boyfriend Crochet

My boyfriend has griped that I’ve made so many things for everyone else and forgotten about him. It’s not that I forgot it’s just that he is a polar bear and any sort of warm hat or scarf would be unwanted. So I set out to find something amazing to make for him. I decided on a blanket. This blanket would star his favorite video game Character: Vivi from FF9. Unfortunately this dream of a blanket has yet to come true. I made the Vivi pictured above by using this cross stitch pattern:

Sadly I could not make the rest of the blanket. I just can’t seem to find the right stitch to do so. So for now he has an awesome tiny vivi blanket. 

To try and make up for the Vivi blanket fail I made him this Deadmau5 desk accessory. 

Incase you are confused by the dead mouse head. Deadmau5 is one of my boyfriend’s favorite DJ’s and his mouse head is iconic in the electronic music world.

The Body was made using the Crochet Ball video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgBL7jfm1rc

The Ears: I just ‘winged’ it. I made a circle and gradually increased the stitch till it was the size needed. The edging of the ears is done with a single crochet stitch. The eyes and mouth were done with the same ‘winged’ technique.

Boobies!

This lovely hat came as a request from my boyfriend’s sister. I can't seem to find a link to the pattern or another link to a free pattern. This hat was made with double crochet.

BSU GO GO Orange and Blue

I live in Boise, Idaho and if you’re a fan of college football you would know that our town bleeds orange and blue. Although I’m not a big foot ball fan I saw an opportunity to make some great hats for friends who are.  These are the BSU puff stitch hats. I created these using the puff stitch hat video from Theresa and the pom pom videos. 

Puff stitch pattern and video for adult http://crochet-mania-hats.blogspot.com/2010/12/crochet-puff-stitch-cap-with-ear-flaps.html.

For Child http://crochet-mania-hats.blogspot.com/2010/12/baby-puff-stitch-crochet-hat.html

Pom Pom Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a03BTR3_3qg. There are several techniques for pom poms, I just found this one the easiest and most customizable.

Cherry Blossom hat

This is where the amazing Teresa came into my life. 

Teresa's Blog

Teresa's Youtbue

Teresa's Videos and simple instructions inspired me to make my first hat. This hat was created using Teresa's Beret video, her small flower instruction video and her Chain Stitch Video.  Hook used was 5.5. Yarn was super saver Red Heart.

Beret 

Video Tutorial: Crochet Beret Cap - Part One
Video Tutorial Crochet Beret Cap - Part Two

Written Instructions

Flower:

Video Tutorial

Written Instructions

Stem (Chain Stitch)

Video Tutorial

The Crafting Bug

Although I said I had not picked up a hook in 20 years I have picked up a needle. I enjoy sewing and love making things that are unique and fun. During my search for these types of patterns I found on Threadbanger.com. I joined the forums and started posting some of my crafty creations.

Tool Tote

Made from cutting up an old long sleeve t-shirt and bed sheet.

Jean Flower Hat

I soon found out that sewing is a big event and takes up space that our 500qf apartment just could not hold. So I stopped sewing until I could find myself a bigger place for all my threads and fabric.

It was not long until I started to crave crafting again and started looking at patterns. I came across a pattern for a cute trendy hat. The stitches looked simple enough and I somewhat knew how to crochet so I set out with a ball of yarn given to me by my grandmother and a hook from JoAnn’s.

The Big Red Hat

You can find the pattern and video tutorial for this hat here:
http://www.threadbanger.com/threadheads/post/10902/how-to-crochet-a-hat

Puffstitch Pillow

When I was about 10 years old, a woman from down the street offered to teach my neighborhood friend and I how to crochet. For the life of me I can’t remember the woman’s name. Our families lost touch when we moved to Boise almost 20 years ago. 

Our first class with the woman was teaching us basic stitches such as the single crochet and hook position. After making about 10 pot holders our teacher asked us if we each wanted to work on a special project for a loved one. I immediately shouted “I wanna make something for my Grandmother!” My grandmother is an extremely crafty person and I wanted so bad to craft something for her. 

We went through several magazines and craft books looking for a pattern then I found a puff stitch throw pillow pattern. I scooped it up along with some pink yarn and set out to make the greatest pillow a 10 year old could make. My grandmother does not use it, I can see why. But I was surprised to see that so many years later this pillow still holds up. 

(photo coming soon)

After a few months of classes I fell out of crochet and it took me 20 something years to pick up a hook again. Why did I? What inspired me? Well you’ll have to read the next post to find out!