Sock Yarn Stegosaurus

The boyfriend, who is both wise and witty, is obsessed with dinosaurs. I put together this little stegosaurus for him last week as part of his Valentine's Day gift and it was met with much love and appreciation.

Of course I'm not certain exactly what dinosaur skin looked like, but I'm convinced that it was not one colour, but a variety of many colours, much like a skein of Kroy Sock yarn. At least, that's what I'm going to believe until science proves me wrong.

This stegosaurus was made using some sock yarn in Cascade that I had leftover after making my pair of fingerless gloves. The pattern was my first purchase from PlanetJune. I've been a long time fan of her work, but never had the opportunity to purchase one of her patterns before. I'd give it the thumbs up for quality. The instructions were clearly written and came with lots of pictures to help me figure out the placement of the spines and legs. I definitely felt like I got my money's worth.

Some Valentine's Day Inspiration!

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, but there's still enough time to whip up a small homemade gift for that special someone in your life. Here for your amusement and inspiration are a few of the cutest Valentine's related crochet I've seen lately. First up, this adorable Amigurumi Valentine Mouse is being sold by SophieCat. I realize that if he was ordered now he might not arrive in time for Valentine's Day so I post him more as inspiration, as I'm sure any experienced amigurumi maker could make up their own pattern that's just as cute.

This next one came to my inbox courtesy of the Lily Sugar 'n Cream newsletter. These Love Bugs are a free pdf pattern that is available here.

Diana Prince designed this Pop Heart Pattern that's available as a free download via her blog, MyGurumi. Dress it up and personify it with some safety eyes, or just leave it as it. Either way, it's equally adorable.

Finally, for those with a sweet tooth. These cupcakes are super quick to stitch up and can be decorated and personalized in all sorts of ways. Check out the free pattern courtesy of Bitter Sweet.

And for that sweetheart with a more twisted sense of humour, how about the Mouldy Cupcake, a free download created by Gleeful Things.

My Little Love Bug

My boyfriend, who is both wise and witty, suggested that I put this little love bug up on the blog. It was a part of his Valentine's Day gift and came with a small card pinned to his front legs. As anyone who visits Crafster's crochet forum can probably guess, the bug was inspired by the Love Mites that pickled_peppers has been posting. I didn't have the pattern so mine came out a little differently, but it's the same concept. All sewed as one piece, with the legs worked in as I went. What a treat that was, since I dread trying to get limbs in the right places after I'm finished a project. It's probably hard to judge scale from the picture, but he's the smallest amigurumi I've made thus far; only about 1.5 inches tall and wide.

I'm not going to post my pattern for this, since he's a one-of-a-kind for the boyfriend. However, pickled_peppers does sell her Love Mite pattern through her Etsty shop Nuts About Crochet. Have a look, there's lots of cute stuff there!