Australia Bound

I just popped these fellas in the mail today. These are our donations to this year's Softies for Mirabel campaign. Come December these amigurumis and dozens of others will be given away to children who come from families that have been affected by substance abuse.

On the far left is my newest creation. We're calling this one the Eggplant Baby and it was designed by the boyfriend, who is both wise and witty. His original intention was a Medusa-like creation, but you can see I didn't quite get the hair long enough for the head size. Next time!

Also included here is one my Tiny Cthulhus and the frog that I made when I was testing out Tamie Snow's Tiny Yarn Animals. For those that are interested, there's still time if you want to send out one of your own creations. Donations that are received by December 10, 2009 will also be part of a window display at Meet Me At Mike's. Visit the Meet Me At Mike's blog for more details on how you can contribute.

Crafting of a Different Sort

The boyfriend, who is both wise and witty, and I spent a day at V-Con 34 a couple weekends ago . Since most of the goodies I picked up there were by original artists and science fiction themed I thought I'd share a few pics here. Some of these were one-of-a-kind pieces so I've photoshopped "copy" text over them to prevent people from making their own versions from my pics. Hope no one minds, but the artist's are only getting the revenue from my payment and I'd feel bad about copies getting out.

Up first is this amazingly detailed picture of the Firefly ship Serenity. Most of you already knew that, right? This comes from Chilam and I picked it up from the convention's Art Auction. I chose to pay the direct buy price, since I never seem to have any luck when I try to get something by bidding. Now I just have to pick up a frame for it sometime.


There were lots of really talented independent comic artists at V-Con this year. These next two pieces were printed on 4 X 6 inch photo paper and represent two of our favorite video games. These were drawn by comicker Angela Melick. You can check out her other work in her online comic Wasted Talent. No frames for these ones, I think they're going to become part of our growing collection of refrigerator art.

Sushi Dragon artist Lindsay Broadway's table is one of my favorite stops in the Dealer's Room at V-Con. This year all I picked up was the free sticker that's at the top of this picture. Below that are two magnets from Sushi Dragon that I purchased at a past V-con. I also have a necklace charm with one of her dragons, but it was too small to photograph well. I know the web page in the link isn't completed, but you can click on the DeviantArt, samanayrs and glassgryphs buttons at the bottom of the page to see more of her work. Personally I just love all the bright colours and the original look of her critters.





This picture comes from a t-shirt that I picked up in the Artist's Alley courtesy of Vigilant Comics. Some of my friends and I have an in-joke about ducs so the drawing of a monster gobbling up the ducklings at the end of the line tickled my funny bone. Sorry, to the uninitiated, I won't be explaining the joke. Hopefully you'll see the picture's charm anyway.

This last picture is "Chance Meeting" by James F. Beveridge. Something about this really appealed to me. It reminds me a bit of Wall-E. I was considering picking up a print of it from the Art Auction, but I had to forgo it due to a shortage of cash. It wasn't until I got home that I realized a full-colour version had been printed onto the backs of the V-Con 34 Program book. The paper quality obviously isn't as good as a real print, but it is approx. 8 X 11 inches and will probably look quite nice if I pick up a mat board and frame for it.

So that's my shopping experience at V-Con 34. We also went to quite a few panels and heard some great guest speakers this year including Tanya Huff (author of the Blood Ties novels which were later turned into a TV Series of the same name) and Christine Willes (who played the memorable and hilarious Dolores Herbig on the TV series Dead Like Me).

It's Kif! And Lord Nibbler!

In honour of this project I thought about opening with a favourite quote from Kif, but honestly the best part about Kif is the way he sighs in defeat every time Zapp Brannigan makes some ridiculous request of him.

Zapp: Kif, get down there and unjam the missle, would you? Be a dear.
Kif: (sighs)
Zapp: And stop sighing so much.

(from Futurama , The Beast With A Billion Backs)

Kif here is the latest Futurama-related project from Craftster user LuckyNumber7 who is hoping to create crochet versions of the entire cast. I think she captured his likeness quite well and I can't wait to see more Futurama characters from her.

My own Nibbler pattern is always going to be my favourite, but I really like this version designed by Alicia of Hooks & Needles. I particularly like the eyeballs which are much more realistic looking than the flat felt eyes that I used on my design. I also like that Alicia went the extra mile and added the diaper. I just keep telling myself that my own little Nibblonian is house trained! You can get a free copy of Alicia's Nibbler pattern by clicking the link to her blog.

Fiona: The brains suppress intelligence by attacking the Delta brain wave. Every animal and robot generates this wave, as well as certain trees.
Nibbler: Fry, however, does not.
Fiona: Somehow he has cobbled together a random assortment of other brain waves into a working mind.
Leela: Like a prom dress made of carpet remnants!
Nibbler: Yes, like your prom dress.

(from Futurama, The Day The Earth Stood Stupid)

Snowman Family and Fat Flakes! Cute Thing of the Week!

Is it too early to start talking about Christmas? I figure it's never too early if you're a crafter since you need to get all the gifts and decorations made before the Christmas season arrives. I'm a huge fan of snowman-based projects when it comes to Christmas gifts and decor. I like that they evoke a sense of celebrating winter without making reference to any specific religious focus.

This adorable little Snowman Family is a free pattern available from the Bernat website. They look quick and easy to make. Ideal if you're new to crochet or if you want to make some snowy friends to give your home that festive winter feel. My only quibble is that these folks are made with Handicrafter Cotton. With its shimmery look, I personally think that Bernat's Satin line would be a nicer choice for creating a snowy look.

These cross stitch patterns aren't free like the crochet pattern, but I was pleased to see that my favourite collection of snowman cross stitch patterns is still in print. In the spirit of all things cute and snowman-based I thought I'd feature it here too. This is Fat Flakes by Ursula Michael and it's a beautiful resource for snowman gifts. If you like what you see here you may also want to check out its companion book, City Flakes, also by Ursula Michael. Apparently there is a third volume called Country Flakes, but I haven't had any luck tracking it down. Anyone else seen it online or in stores?

Wing Tutorial for Tiny Cthulhu

I've received a few comments from people who have trouble figuring out the wing instructions in the Tiny Cthulhu pattern. Since I'm making another one of these myself right now I figured I could photograph the process as I went.

Here again are the full instructions for the Tiny Cthulhu wing piece. Along with each photo, I've reprinted the instruction describing what is done in that picture. For those that are curious, I'm making my wing with a size F (3.75mm) crochet hook and the yarn is Loops & Threads Impeccable Worsted Weight in Luxury Ombre.

Wings (make two)

Ch 4. Turn and do 1 sc in each of next 3 ch sps. Ch 1, turn. 3 sc, ch 4. turn. 3 sc on chain, 3 hdc on the three sc. Ch1, turn. 3 sc, ch 5, 4 sc in chain, 3 hdc. Ch1, turn. 4 sc, ch 6, 5 sc in chain, 4 hdc. Ch 3 *Work appox. 8 dc along the top edge of the wing (opposite the pointy bits). Sl St into first Ch, or near first Ch. Fasten off.

Pic 1: Ch 4. Turn and do 1 sc in each of next 3 ch sps (skip chain closest to hook).

Pic 2: Ch 1, turn. 3 sc, ch 4. turn

Pic 3: 3 sc on chain (skip chain closest to hook), 3 hdc on the three sc. Ch1, turn.

Pic 4: 3 sc, ch 5, (skip chain closest to the hook) 4 sc in chain, 3 hdc. Ch1, turn.

Pic 5: 4 sc, ch 6, 5 sc in chain (skip chain closest to hook), 4 hdc. Ch 3

Pic 6: *Work appox. 8 dc along the top edge of the wing (opposite the pointy bits). At this point, I've only crocheted the first four double crochet stitches so you can see where they should go.

Pic 7: Sl St into first Ch, or near first Ch. Fasten off.

Now just make a second wing following these instructions and attach them both to the back of your cthulhu.

Hope this helps clear things up a bit. Post a comment if you have any more questions.

Softies for Mirabel is Seeking Handmade Toys

Are the amigurumis you've made starting to take over your house? If so, it might be time for them to take a trip abroad and find a new home. Meet Me at Mikes, an Australian craft store, has put out the call for donations in its third annual Softies for Mirabel campaign. You can click the store link to get the full details from Pip's post, so I'll just share a short version of the story with you here.

The owners of Meet Me at Mikes are collecting softies; any crocheted, knit or sewn toy that is child safe. The softies will be displayed in the Mike's shop window from December 1-10th. After that the toys will be matched up and given out to children between the ages of 3 to 17 years old as part of the Mirabel Foundation's annual toy drive. The Mirabel Foundation helps children in families that have been affected by substance abuse.

As anyone who makes amigurumis knows, it doesn't take that long to crochet a stuffed toy. Most small amigurumis can be finished within a couple of hours or days. And most take up only one skein of wool or less, so this is a perfect way to reduce that stash of leftovers a bit. Since the Softies For Mirabel aren't being sold, it's perfectly fine to used published patterns for your creation. However, you can also see this as an opportunity to experiment with making your own pattern, or take advantage of the numerous free patterns available online.

Last year I sent these two amigurumis to the Softies for Mirabel campaign. It was great to know that the kids Mirabel helps would be getting a unique handmade item in their Christmas stocking. I was also struck by how inexpensive it was to send my donation from Canada to Australia. With a shipping price of only $7 Cdn, it cost me less than I've payed in the past to send packages within Canada.

Ready to start stitching? Donations are being accepted from now until December 10, 2009. Visit Meet Me at Mikes to find out where to send your creations and how you can share photos of your softie.

New Cousins in the Family

Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins has a few new cousins to display. These were sent in by stitchers who have been trying out my Tiny Cthulhu Pattern.

At least two recent commenters mentioned that this was their first attempt at amigurumi, and you certainly wouldn't know it from their end products. First up is this cthulhu on the left created by Ilumiari. I love the extra details here like the ribbon and the expressive eyes. They make the tiny cthulhu even cuter. I'm not that good at stitching on facial features so I am definitely in awe of Ilumiari's skills. I certainly wouldn't know she was new to amigurumi if she hadn't told me.

Next up is this Baby Cthulhu that was crocheted by Buttonater. In her comment she writes, "My first ever crochet project, and I'm proud as hell." Definitely worth being proud of. I think the little x-stitch eyes making baby look a just little bit creepy, but in a good way!



Now what is it about Cthulhus, that we so often find them posing with cats? I should note that the cats never seem to look that happy about the situation either. I don't know if that's their general disdain of having their picture taken or contempt for the little crochet critter they're sharing the photo with. To the left here, along with his feline friend (?), is a cthulhu created by Ilana. She's also the creator of this second great cthulhu shown below.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their photos with me, it's great to see the pattern is appreciated and being used. As always, if any other readers out there have made something with one of my patterns feel free to post a comment and share a link to a photo of your creation.