Doctor Who Amigurumi

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you probably know I’ve been working on a huge custom set of dolls lately. It’s a set of twelve amigurumi (eleven doctors and a Tardis!) that a lucky Doctor Who fan is getting for Christmas. Do you watch the cult favorite sci-fi show Doctor Who? It has kind of a HUGE following here in the states and across the pond. Who knew? Ha.

I started with the First Doctor, then made the Second. I was waiting for some yarn I ordered to come in to make the Third, so I skipped to the current incarnation (Eleven). That yarn still hadn’t come in so I backtracked to the ever-popular and much-beloved Fourth Doctor, and just finished the Fifth a couple of days ago.

In case you missed them:

The First Doctor — William Hartnell “Doctor Who”

The First Doctor and the First Doctor amigurumi

The Second Doctor — Patrick Troughton “Doctor Who”

The Second Doctor and the Second Doctor amigurumi

The Fourth Doctor — Tom Baker “Doctor Who”

The Fourth Doctor and the Fourth Doctor amigurumi

The Fifth Doctor — Peter Davison “Doctor Who”

The Fifth Doctor and the Fifth Doctor amigurumi

The Eleventh Doctor — Matt Smith “Doctor Who”

The Eleventh Doctor and the Eleventh Doctor amigurumi

What do you think? Are you a Whovian too? Which Doctor is your favorite? 

Patterns will be made available in the near future! Remember to follow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates about new pattern releases! Must…finish…doctors….

Doctor Who?

I love taking custom orders. Let me rephrase that. I LOVE TAKING CUSTOM ORDERS. Making something from one of my patterns is fun, and of course its easier, but making something based on someone’s photo or someone’s big idea is really rewarding.
Several months ago I got a request to make a full set of Doctor Who amigurumi, including all eleven doctors and a Tardis. They are to be a Christmas present and I have been getting to work on them lately. I never knew what a huge following Doctor Who has! My best source of information has been from cosplay instructions. That is, very specific costuming instructions for Doctor Who doctors, down to the most minute details. I love this series of articles on BBC America, starting with How To Dress Like The First Doctor | Anglophenia | BBC America. Each Doctor has specific characteristics, which of course lend themselves perfectly to the type of amigurumi I like to do!

I made one so far and the next is in progress…

Gentlemen. First Doctor “Doctor Who” amigurumi

Doctor Who?! First Doctor “Doctor Who” amigurumi

I’m thinking I’ll go chronologically, so the Second Doctor will be next. If you just can’t wait to see the 10th and 11th Doctors (I know you!) it won’t be too long. Remember, these are due by Christmas!

If you’re thinking about putting in an order for Christmas or the Holidays, please get that in as soon as possible. I won’t be able to take all the requests I get so let me know as soon as you can. Thanks!

Make sure you’re keeping up with this and other projects over on my Facebook page, where I post lots of pictures and sneak peeks. Thanks for following!

My Latest Projects

Since my last post I’ve been pretty productive, so I wanted to show you some things I’ve been working on!
This is a photo-intense post, so get ready…

I made this doll of a birthday girl and her pet cat, including a little kitty hat her mom had made her! She had a little removable tie-front cardigan with tiny flowers on one lapel. Word is, she loved it!

I got an order for two pets for someone’s birthday. The first was a bulldog, who is ADORABLE, and the second I haven’t finished yet, a Boston Terrier. I got to deliver this one in person, a rare treat, and she loved him.

Next up, a doll I made for a well-known bartender that works at the hottest bar/live music venue here in Austin, the Mohawk. He’s got a famous beard and is into Jiu-Jitsu. I made one doll for the Mohawk, and two dolls in Jiu-Jitsu outfits for his twin daughters. I sewed his little Western shirt out of an old one I had. His t-shirt has a Mohawk logo iron-on. Nice beard, right??

Someone you might recognize, Questlove, or DJ Questo, of The Roots, also known as Jimmy Fallon’s house band. I loved making him. I made him a little hair pick out of glittery black Sculpey clay, drumsticks that I carved from a long wooden dowel, and little red hoodie. I was able to go to The Roots’ show at the Mohawk during SXSW and hand-deliver the doll to Questlove himself! He loved him and told me it was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever given him! I was thrilled. 

Last up is a project I actually did almost a year ago, but just got this picture! My husband wrote to the people at Rancho Obi-wan, Steve Sansweet’s mecca of Star Wars collectibles. He has the largest Star Wars collection in the world and has worked for Lucasfilm and written several books about Star Wars. He was kind enough to pose with my Salacious Crumb, which I sold in the Stitch Wars Strikes Back show last summer. Awesome, right?

I’ll post some more finished projects soon. I’m working on a really large order this week and then continuing work on my book. This summer I should be more able to take custom orders, my FAVORITE thing to do! Thanks for reading!

Matthew wants you to win!

Matthew McConaughey came over again.

Little amigurumi Matthew McConaughey is back with some interesting news.

He already talked with Austin Eavesdropper about the Top 10 Things to do in Austin. Now he has the scoop on a contest that is running here in Austin for SXSW. It’s pretty serious too, since the grand prize is $5,000 and all you have to do is stroll around downtown scanning QR codes to get the cash!

Citysearch recently appointed me a local Austin scout, which means I’ll be writing reviews and suggestions on my favorite (and not favorite) things here in Austin over on the Citysearch site, starting with SXSW, of course. I’ll be on hand, along with lots of the other Citysearch scouts (a real who’s who of Austin bloggers and who I feel lucky to hang out with!), to help run this pretty sweet scavenger hunt this weekend. Matthew will be with us, just helping out and serenading us with the heavenly intonations of his bongo.

Stores around the downtown Austin area will have cute little signs like this in the window.

When you see little Sid E. Serch, just scan the QR code on the sign and follow the instructions. There will even be instant win prizes when you scan these codes, like $300 on the spot! You don’t have to aimlessly wonder, looking for codes. There will be a list of hints so you can expertly navigate your way around and win that money!

Want some more details? Follow this link for all the details from Citysearch and Sid E. Serch.

Remember! The codes won’t go live until Friday, March 9th at 7:00 pm central. You’ll have until Sunday to find all the codes you can to get the most points.

I’ll leave you all with a candid shot I took while Matthew was practicing his yoga this morning. He’s so uninhibited, isn’t he?

Why I crocheted a naked Matthew McConaughey doll…

This hilarious interview is brought to you by Citysearch and Austin Eavesdropper, with the help of my hook, yarn, and lots and LOTS of research on Matthew McConaughey via Google image search. Tough work. 😉 Enjoy!

Top Ten Things to Do in Austin from Austin Eavesdropper on Vimeo.

I hope you all know Austin’s favorite shirtless resident, Matthew McConaughey and his notorious bongo skills. Turns out he has a lot of questions about fun things to do in Austin for SXSW too. Check out that cute little crocheted bootie!

Say, man. You got another bongo? It’d be a lot cooler if you did.

All right, all right, all right!

Just keep livin. L-I-V-I-N.

Almost as cute as the crocheted one… 😉

Leslie Hall is a Midwest Diva

Please send a representative. I’ve just made the world’s smallest gem sweater in the world. Seriously, it is small. And it has gems on it. And I made it. That’s why it says “Crafty is Cool”!

Leslie Hall in her Crafty is Cool gem sweater. It needs a name.

The real Leslie Hall (photo from LeslieHall.com)

Leslie Hall in her signature gold lycra (photo from LeslieHall.com)

I mean, have you even seen her amazingly fantastically hilarious “Craft Talk” video??

I can watch it over and over and over (as well as Tight Pants/Body Rolls) and it does not get old. Speaking of “Tight Pants/Body Rolls”, my kids also adore Leslie Hall. We’ve downloaded several of her songs onto their iPods and they know more of the words than I do.

Leslie Hall and DJ Lance Rock backstage at the Yo Gabba Gabba Live

When we went to see Yo Gabba Gabba and I brought all the amigurumi characters to DJ Lance, Leslie Hall asked when she was getting a Leslie Hall doll. Well, what a great idea! So, Ms. Leslie Hall, here she is!

The amazing Leslie Hall, amigurumi form.

Keeper of the gems.

Leslie Hall and the LY’s are coming to Austin in March and I can’t wait! Will there be a photo of Leslie and little Leslie soon? I HOPE!

*If you’re wondering about a pattern for Leslie, I used several of my patterns together to create her, including Talk Show Host, Wonder Woman, and Pee-wee.

One off my (Charlie) Bucket List!

You all know by now that I’m obsessed with making dolls of famous people and then giving them to said famous people, right? That is the biggest thrill to me! Well, when I made characters from Willy Wonka I never really thought about giving those dolls to the real people from the movie, until this weekend!

There are some movies that I’ve watched since I was really little that I can pretty much recite line by line. The old Rankin-Bass “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer“, “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure“, and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” are three that come to mind. Willy Wonka is just one of my favorite things. I’ve made amigurumi Oompa Loompas, a blueberry Violet Beauregarde, and most recently Willy Wonka for Inside Crochet magazine. The others are sketched out in my notebook but have yet to be realized in yarn (all of which I’ve already purchased)!

I heard about the Austin Comic-Con last Friday. When I googled it, the first thing I read was that the Wonka kids were going to be there, along with the guy that played Chewbacca, Peter Mayhew, and Jake Lloyd, who played little Anakin in Star Wars. I knew the whole family had to go!

On my way out the door, I grabbed a handful of business cards and the Oompa Loompa and Violet Beauregarde I had made. I was so sad I didn’t have a Charlie Bucket, Mike Teevee, and Veruca Salt!

As soon as we entered the Convention center, the first tables we walked past were the Wonka kids! We walked right up (why wasn’t there a line?!) and I told Paris Themmen (Mike) that I had brought gifts. I handed the dolls to him and he laughed out loud and thought they were really cute. In turn, he signed a picture for me and he and Peter Ostrum (Charlie) took a picture with my Oompa Loompa.

Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca) was at the next table. She was really interested in the dolls and told me she was a “ferocious knitter.” I told her she needed to learn to crochet too! She posed for photos and took a little video with the dolls. Ignore all my nervous giddy laughter and excitement!

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

Denise Nickerson (Violet) wasn’t there when we first got to the show so I went by later. She told me she just loved the dolls and had gotten so many compliments on them. I blabbed on and on about how we all love the movies so much and how I loved her in the Brady Bunch (she had a part as Pamela, the daughter of one of Mike’s work associates–I’ll get into my Brady Bunch obsession another time).

These were some of the sweetest people! All of them were so nice and answered all of my dumb questions, posed for pictures, and were so genuine. Hooray for spreading the Amigurumi Love!

Back to crocheting!

Before I get started on some major writing time, I am finishing up some new projects!

A while back I had a contest on my Facebook page to come up with a new design. I chose ten “finalists” and the winner, ultimately, was Sue Sylvester. I made Sue and sent her away to the winner, Jennifer. After that I had a list of dolls I had sketched and planned out that I still really wanted to make! Dwight Shrute, from the Office and played brilliantly by Rainn Wilson, was one that I just couldn’t leave as a drawing.

The pattern is available here and the doll is now up for sale too!

A custom order that I really LOVED doing recently was that of Bob Ross. Everyone knows Bob Ross, right? The Joy of Painting on PBS is one of those shows that suck you in. Before you know it, you’re yearning to get out a canvas and decorate it with happy trees and fluffy fluffy clouds. Bob’s soothing voice and amazing talent have cemented his status as a modern-day pop culture icon. I was thrilled to recreate him in yarn.

I don’t have a pattern for Bob out yet, but I’m working on it today (and I’ll announce when its ready on Facebook and twitter). Until then, you may see Bob on stage with the musical group We Are. Yay Bob! And here’s a ton more photos of him! Do you notice anything different from the photos below and the one above? Eyebrows! Yes, I forgot his eyebrows until after I took most of the photos. Bob Ross has expressive eyebrows and I couldn’t leave them off.

Thanks for dropping by my blog!

My Salacious and Flaming Creations

Have you heard of the Bear and Bird Gallery’s Stitch Wars Strikes Back? I was honored to be invited to contribute to this year’s show, opening August 12th in Lauderhill, Florida. 

See what I made? Jabba’s annoying maniacally laughing little court jester, Salacious Crumb!

While he may not be the most BEAUTIFUL thing to look at, I think he’s kinda cute. He is fun to play with, for sure, since his limbs, tail, and ears are all poseable. Wanna know how I did that? Check out my past tutorial. This time I used 12 gauge wire because he’s HUGE! I construct everything, then feed the wire through one arm, through the body, and into the other arm; same with the legs.

Tomorrow he’s off to Florida (sniff sniff). My little boys are sad about that! But go see him if you’re able to. The show should be awesome!

Aren’t I lucky?? Salacious Crumb isn’t the only one of my creations that will be in a gallery! This week at Comic-Con, in San Diego, the amazing Team Coco and TBS are hosting a Flaming C exhibit and I was asked to add my crocheted Flaming C to the Coco MoCA (Museum of Conan Art)!

Since I had already given away my original Flaming C, I made another, and I liked this one even better! On the original, poor C didn’t have his Blackberry. This time, there it is, ready for Flaming C to answer very important calls for help. So will you be in San Diego for Comic-Con? Go see my Flaming C and the rest of the amazing artwork in the gallery!

How about that? Being crafty IS cool, and sometimes craft=art!

>Renegade Recap and What’s Next?

>Renegade Craft Fair was amazing! I am so grateful I was chosen to be a part of it. I met lots of people, saw some really awesome handmade goodness and had a lot of fun! I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my sweet sister, Jennifer Stewart, who not only helped me set up my booth and let me borrow almost everything I used, but she sat all day with me on Saturday and talked about amigurumi with people! Also, I’m so thankful for my husband Paul for sitting all day on Sunday and getting a good dose of my crafty promoting. He’s a fan. 🙂  Here’s some booth photos…

 Fun, huh? I had free stickers, a TON of business cards, a nifty Square device to take credit cards (which was awesome and made this so easy!), and lots and lots of amigurumi! My owl kits were really popular and I sold out of almost all of them! I think next time I’ll definitely do some more kits. I also had a big rack of patterns for sale (thank you Borders near me for going out of business!) with some super good deals.

So it was a busy few months leading up to Renegade, especially since I wasn’t sure what to expect (I hadn’t done Renegade before) and I didn’t know what was going to be the most in demand. Since I didn’t know, I just made a lot of everything! Now that its behind me, I am having a blast working on some new things!

I just finished designing a custom doll for a special someone’s birthday. Working from pictures, I created a doll complete with a hat, apron, glasses, and a pie! The recipient hasn’t gotten his gift yet so I can’t show you a side by side comparison yet! If you recognize him, please don’t spoil the surprise! I’ve blurred out the name on his cap so –ssshhhhhhhh! Soon I’ll post a photo of the man himself holding his mini-me.

I absolutely LOVE making these custom dolls! So fun!

Now what? I’m working on several things. First, there’s this hot new yarn you’ve heard about, Sheep(ish), by Vickie Howell for Caron. Thursday I’m a stop on her blog tour, and I’ll be doing a giveaway of an amigurumi and a skein of yarn. I designed a new pattern (amigurumi of course!) for Sheep(ish) that will be released in June on her website. Come back Thursday!

Next I’m finishing up a design for Lion Brand Yarn, which will be coming out some time this fall. It’s going to be really cute! It is being made with some fabulous, amazing, magical yarn. Really, you will LOVE it.

Last but not least, I’m going to have my work featured in two gallery shows this summer! I cannot WAIT for this.

I designed a few pieces for the iam8bit show coming up this summer in LA. So of course my husband and I will be there for the show! If you haven’t heard of it, iam8bit is a production company that has an annual art show featuring work that celebrates retro video games. I really love the stuff I made for it and I will post pictures here just as soon as I get the OK. To the left is a picture of some of the work that has been in the show in the past.

The second show will be the Bear and Bird Gallery’s “Stitch Wars Strikes Back” — that’s right! Star Wars themed! I can’t wait for this one either. Again, photos will be up as soon as possible!

Please check out my new tabs up top—there’s a Gallery, an About Me, and a Custom Order page. I’ve added a few finished amigurumi and when they’re gone, that will be it for a while! Thanks everyone for visiting!