Back to School and Back to Stitching!

This year, all three of my kids, for the first time, are in school. The littlest started kindergarten and we’re all still trying to get used to it. I miss my little friends at home! The upside, of course, is that I have more time to do things at home. Working moms and stay at home moms alike, I’m sure, welcome that “Back to School” season when they can start getting just a little more time to work on a few projects.

Some projects you could actually do while your kids are at school and finish by the time you drive to pick them up or before they hop off the bus! I kid you not. How about greeting your kids with an afterschool snack AND an afterschool plushie?

Using my Baby Monster pattern, I was able to whip up three monsters in just a couple of hours. I used the exact same pattern and look at the results I got!

Worsted, Bulky, Double Bulky!

My Baby Monster pattern was written to make little pocket-sized monsters, but I wanted to experiment with using chunky yarn and bigger hooks.

Let’s take a look at what I decided to use.

From the top: Bernat Sheep(ish) by Vickie Howell and a D hook, Bernat Softee Chunky and an N hook, double strands of Bernat Softee Chunky and a Q hook

I used my original pattern, reprinted below, adding feet to a couple of them, but keeping the rest of the pattern the same. I used felt for the biggest monster’s eyes.

Baby Monster by CraftyisCool

Head/Body: 

Starting at the top of the monster’s head, with desired yarn and an corresponding hook (see above), make an adjustable ring, chain (ch) 1, and single crochet (sc) 6 stitches into the ring. Pull the ring closed with the loose yarn tail.
R1 (Row or Round 1): 2sc into each st (12) 
R2: (2sc into next st, sc into next st)* rep around (18)
R3: (sc into next st, 2sc into next st, sc into next st)* rep around (24)
R4-12: sc into each st (24)
Fasten off OR continue on to make feet.

Optional Feet:
R13: (Hdc, 2 dc) into next st, (2 dc, hdc) into next st, sl st into next 5, (hdc, 2 dc) into next st, (2 dc, hdc) into next st, sl st into next st
Fasten off. Set aside.

Base:
Make an adjustable ring, chain (ch) 1, and single crochet (sc) 6 stitches into the ring. Pull the ring closed.
R1: 2 sc into each st (12) 
R2: (2 sc into next st, sc into next st)* rep to end of rnd (18)
R3: (sc into next st, 2sc into next st, sc into next st)* rep to end of rnd (24)
Fasten off, leaving a long tail.

Finishing:
Insert safety eyes if desired, following package directions. For a child-friendly toy, use a safe fabric glue and arrange felt shapes to create the features. Stitch a smile with black yarn and a yarn needle. 

Line up the stitches from the base with the stitches of the bottom row of the body and begin sewing them together, stitch to stitch. Stuff the body fully before closing up the last few stitches and tucking the end inside.


Using a regular D hook and worsted weight yarn gives you a cute little monster that would be adorable as a keychain (just add a loop of elastic and keyring to the top). 

Worsted weight Bernat Sheep(ish) by Vickie Howell and a D hook

Upsizing to a larger hook and chunky yarn makes a bigger monster that’s just as cute but more huggable. 

Bulky weight Bernat Softee Chunky and an N hook

Using the largest hook I had, a Q, and double stranding the chunky yarn, I got an awesomely chubby and squeezable stuffed monster! Hold two strands together while you crochet, following the same pattern, and use a really big hook. What a difference!

Double stranded Bernat Softee Chunky and a Q hook

Although it takes a little getting used to, crocheting with a large hook and thick yarn can even be used in amigurumi! Who knew? As always, it is best to keep your stitches as tight as possible, even with the huge hook and yarn, because big holes in your fabric will mean stuffing showing and coming through. 

With all of the available colors of Bernat’s Softee Chunky (which has recently gotten even more chunky, by the way) I foresee a rainbow of big chunky Baby Monsters decorating children’s playrooms, teachers’ classrooms, and Halloween mantles everywhere! Of course if you still love the little ones, Vickie Howell’s Sheep(ish) and its trendy color range is where you will definitely find some inspiration. 

Lovin’ his new chunky Baby Monster!

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… 😉

I LOVE NY!

By now I’m sure you’ve all heard about Martha Stewart’s latest venture into the yarn world, right? Lion Brand Yarn has come out with a full line of Martha Stewart Crafts yarn and a Knit and Weave Loom.
Because I’ve designed for Lion Brand in the past, when the new yarns were going to be released, I was fortunate to receive a sampling of the yarns to try out. I make dolls. It’s just what I do and what I think of first when I get a big box of yarn. When said yarn has the name “Martha Stewart” on it and the colors are reminiscent of Martha’s understated and sophisticated style, how could I not make a Martha Stewart doll? Then there was the glittery eyelash yarn, in the perfect color for making a chowchow, which just so happens to be the breed of one of Martha’s most famous pets, Genghis Khan.

Long story short, I made a Martha, wrote out a pattern, and shipped both off to Lion Brand. Little Martha made her way to the real Martha, who invited me to come out to New York and be on the show featuring projects and handmade gifts made from her new yarn.
Having never been to New York, I was thrilled! I visited surrounding areas when I was younger but had never ventured into the big city. My husband Paul and I booked a trip and we were on our way!
We left bright and early from Austin and the three hour flight was easy breezy. (I’m lying–it was raining a lot and really bumpy for at least an hour.)

We arrived at our hotel and got checked in, then took a walk around the corner to Times Square. It was surreal to be somewhere you’ve seen so many times on TV! It was so crowded! A little shopping and then some great Italian food at a little cafe on a side street, then more shopping!

Times Square!

Rockefeller Center!

Macy’s — and I could barely stand still for the picture!

We walked blocks and blocks just to see everything we could before it was time to head back to the hotel. I had an early morning and didn’t want bags under my eyes for Martha!
The next day we took a cab to the Martha studios. Arriving early, we grabbed a delicious hot bagel and a cup of New York’s finest coffee (that’s an exaggeration, but it wasn’t too bad) and ate our breakfast on the street. The misty morning air wasn’t kind to my ‘do, but when I got to the studio, I was sent to hair and makeup! I’ll give you a little insider secret, too. That doll didn’t talk until I got to the studio that morning! I’d made a recording on the little device but it just wasn’t clear enough for TV. When it said “It’s a good thing,” it was a little muffled sounding and had music playing in the background. Simple solution: get Martha to record it herself! So that’s just what happened! I sat in the dressing room and took little Martha’s head off, unraveled the neck and chest of the doll, inserted the new device, and crocheted it back up. It wasn’t until the VERY last minute that Martha’s head was on. Even during the rehearsals there was a headless doll on the table and little Martha’s head was at her feet.

Check out this action shot my husband took–poor little Martha’s head just waiting for a body!

The show went great! I thought Martha was so easy to talk to and so “human” in person. She’s an icon, but really in person she was friendly and personable. She complimented my AWESOME shoes (sorry but they ARE sweet shoes), asked me all about Austin, and told me she couldn’t wait to put the doll in her grand baby’s nursery. How sweet! We took some pictures together with the little Martha and Genghis. My husband and I got some cool gift bags and everyone was so accommodating and helpful backstage. I also got to meet Zontee Hou, who you probably saw co-hosting Lion Brand’s fashion show on Martha. You may have also heard her on Lion Brand’s podcast, Yarncraft! She was really cool and so great on TV.
After the show was over I could finally relax! I wasn’t so nervous about being on live TV, but more about finishing the doll in time for the broadcast and getting there in time, etc. Answering questions about what I LOVE to do? Piece of cake!

Check out this video of my appearance!

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

My next stop was the Lion Brand Yarn Studio! I was dying to see the store in person, and feel all the LB Collection yarns, and take pictures in front of the famous display windows! I also wanted to meet Jess, the twitter “face” of Lion Brand. If you follow Lion Brand on Twitter, you’ve heard from Jess before. The store was awesome! It was a quick subway ride from our hotel. (did I mention how much I LOVED the subway? I think if you live in New York or have always lived there you may take it for granted, but it was greatest thing! So cheap and fast and easy!) We were greeted by the most amazingly adorable window! Here’s me in front of the window. Could you just die??

Amazing knit and crochet window!

Color!

Martha yarn!

Inside was no less impressive: walls of beautiful, colorful, touchably soft yarny goodness. Jess was as nice as can be and even recommended a delicious cafe nearby for lunch (Cafe Medina–yum!).

More walking, more shopping, more subway riding, and we ended up in the West Village on Bleecker street for one of the city’s highest rated pizza places, another recommendation, this time from my genius agent, and my New York expert, Kate McKean. John’s Pizzeria was everything we were hoping to find in New York City Pizza. The place was what you could call a dive, with carved up tables and a HUGE menu of different pizza toppings. We chose pizza with black olives and sliced meatballs. I don’t think you could make a mistake with any order. It was amazing. The brick oven baked crust was crispy with burnt edges and hot melty cheese covered the savory sliced meatballs and sprinkling of black olives. The sauce was just right, really tomato-y and not too salty or sweet. Dang, I wish I had that pizza I couldn’t finish right now.

Beer and NY Pizza!

So more shopping, more subway riding, more walking, and we are back to the hotel.

Early morning up and at it again, looking for another great bagel! We went to Times Square Hot Bagel, where I was afraid to order a bagel toasted, so I got a cold bagel with the best cream cheese (strawberry) ever. I’d heard that some bagel places in NY just didn’t toast their bagels and you shouldn’t ask! Maybe that doesn’t apply everywhere. Oh well. It was good anyway, and we accompanied that with a hot cup of Starbucks coffee. It was raining, cold, and what else could have made this last morning in New York more perfect? Andrea Bocelli singing Christmas songs just inside the Good Morning America studio. We stood and listened, sipping our coffee and eating our bagels. Perfection.

Our own private Andrea Bocelli Christmas concert

Being our last day in New York, we scheduled a walking tour so we could make sure not to miss anything. This was the BEST THING. If you are going to New York, I would HIGHLY recommend Real New York Tours. Our tour guide was Trey, and we followed him all over Times Square, the Village, downtown and the Financial District, Soho, Chinatown (and its infamous tunnels!), Little Italy, and Central Park!

Central Park

We got to see and learn about things we wouldn’t have had a clue about if we hadn’t been on the tour. He told stories about different events that had happened in certain buildings, told us the history of the different neighborhoods we visited, and explained so much about New York culture. We stopped for lunch during the tour and had the best cannoli EVER at Pasticceria Rocco in the West Village. The tour was so much fun!

Shortly after the tour, it was time to head to the airport. It was rush hour and took a while to get to JFK, but we finally made it. By that time, Paul and I were exhausted! The flight back was going to be much longer, over four hours, because of a strong headwind, and the plane was delayed about an hour. It was nothing a couple of drinks at the airport bar couldn’t handle, so the wait wasn’t bad. Our flight was smooth and easy (another lie, but I digress…) and we finally got back to Texas.

I want to thank all the great people at the Martha Stewart show, Jess from Lion Brand, Kate, the people who made the cheesecake at Juniors, Trey from the tour, and my wonderful husband, Paul, for making this dream come true! I was on the Martha Stewart Show! Woohoo!

Conan in NYC!

Today is the opening of the NYC MOCA (Museum of Conan Art)! Two of my pieces are in the show, the Conan Blimp and my little Conan doll! Anyone in New York should get over there. Besides the artwork there is an audio tour starring Conan and Andy, and a Conan “loveseat” that sounds amazing. Who’s going??

Here are the details:

WHEN: October 24 — November 3, 2011, 9am — 9pm
WHERE: The Shops at Columbus Circle in the Time Warner Center, 2nd floor, New York
The NY COCO MoCA exhibit will feature:
•    More than 50 pieces of CONAN fan art in a wide variety of media;
•    An audio tour of select pieces, voiced by Conan O’Brien and Andy Richter;
•    An original, commissioned sculpture of Conan by artist Federico Uribe, represented by Miami’s Now Contemporary Art Gallery;
•    The CONAN Loveseat, Team Coco’s interactive robotic couch sculpture that talks to fans, hugs them and takes a picture for them to share through social media;
•    Numerous chances each day for gallery visitors to win special prizes, including autographed CONAN posters, museum buttons, limited-edition t-shirts and more (while supplies last).

The Conan Blimp and lil’ Coco

>I love that story.

>School’s out, kids are home, and mommy plans lots of day trips. At our house if we stay in one place too long, someone is going to get into a fight. So instead of waiting for the inevitable, we are out the door, visiting a bounce house, swimming, checking out library books, heck, even Ikea counts as something to do. Every day when we drive into the neighborhood its a contest to see who will get the mail. Usually before I can get the words out, “Who wants to get–“, I’m cut off by three little shouts of “ME!” Its the ultimate reward when one of them gets the mail and there’s a key inside the mailbox. That means there’s…..a PACKAGE.
So today when we got the mail there was that extra little key to the extra big mailbox. And what was in that package?

It was the Interweave Crochet Amigurumi Calendar! Look right there in the middle. See that stripey pink monster? That’s Lovey and she’s mine! I wasn’t expecting it yet so when it came I was so surprised! All the stuff in the calendar is really adorable. I’m not sure when it will be available to order but my guess would be before 2012. Ha.

See all those other cute toys in there? Pretty neat, huh?

Besides admiring my monster in the glossy new calendar I got today, I’m working on more iam8bit stuff. This is totally NOT giving anything away if I show you these sneak peeks of what I’m doing for a new project for the show. Really. You will probably think its one thing but it will be something totally different. So here….

Pac-man ghosts and a little Kirby! I jotted down some patterns as I went but I’ll get to that another day. They are small parts of a bigger picture. Hopefully I’ll finish in time and you’ll get to see them! Otherwise they will probably make cute Christmas ornaments.
Hope you are all having a great summer! What are you working on? I’d love to hear in the comments below!

>Feeling Sheep(ish) GIVEAWAY!

>A couple of years ago I was asked to do a demonstration of creating amigurumi at the Alamo Drafthouse screening of Handmade Nation. I loaded up a ton of free patterns and yarn, some toys I had already made, and set up shop. It was so fun. The first person to sit down for help was a man that was left-handed. Challenging, but we muddled through! Sometime during the day, here came Vickie Howell with her little boy. I didn’t even notice, but started to hand her a free pattern and looked up. “Oh, you know how to crochet!” I said, a little starstruck. (I’d seen her forever on Knitty Gritty!) So she got a little mushroom pattern and kit for her son and was super sweet. 

So when Vickie was looking for designers for her new yarn, Sheep(ish), imagine how happy I was when she asked me to design an amigurumi pattern for the launch! I obliged, and got to work. I can’t show you the finished toy yet, but here’s a sneak peek…

The yarn is soft and shiny, so unlike a lot of the yarn I started out crocheting with. I think sometimes people are drawn mainly to color (and ignore the feel of the yarn) when they’re making amigurumi because so many of the wool or wool blend yarns come in mostly muted colors. This is why I think Sheep(ish) works so great for amigurumi. Its a 30/70 wool and acrylic blend that is worsted weight and washable. The worsted weight is what we want as amigurumi-ists because the crocheted fabric shows fewer holes and it holds its shape better. Sheep(ish) has all the bright colors and they all coordinate beautifully. I made a lot of Baby Monsters for Renegade Craft Fair and by far the softest and shiniest ones were the Sheep(ish). Usually a soft yarn has a gauge that I just can’t work with. I either have to use a tiny hook to get a really tight gauge or I have even had to use two strands together. With Sheep(ish) I have the softness and gauge I need.

I’m sure you’ll love Sheep(ish) as much as me! I’m so sure, in fact, that I’m going to give one of you a skein of this awesome yarn along with a kit to make your own Baby Monster! Not only will you get the tools and materials to make your own, but you’ll also get a Baby Monster keychain I made out of Sheep(ish) in one of my favorite colors, Red(ish). All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below, telling me your favorite Sheep(ish) color. Check them all out here! Monday morning I’ll pick a random number and that lucky person will get everything pictured below!

Can’t wait for a giveaway? Sheep(ish) is available to order now on  Buy.Caron.com and Joann’s superstores all over. If you’re not sure if Joann’s near you carries it, Vickie has provided a Sheep(ish) Finder App on her website.

Make sure you follow the rest of the Sheep(ish) blog tour. I’ve put the whole list below so you can read everyone’s take on this. Interesting how knitters and crocheters and amigurumi-makers all find things they like in this yarn, albeit very different qualities.

May 25th:  BlogHer.com (Kathy Cano-Murillo)

May 26th: LindaMade.com (Linda Permann)

May 27th: Kitschy Digitals (Danielle Thompson)

May 28th: DOUBLE POST DAY:  CraftyChica.com  (Kathy Cano-Murillo) + JustCastingOn.net (Deb Steenhagen)

May 29th: Susan B. Anderson

May 30th: CrochetbyFaye.com (Robyn Chachula)

May 31st: CathieFilian.com (Yarn Wreath Project by Cathie)

June 1st: Craftzine.com (Review by Sister Diane)

June 2nd: Knitgrrl.com (1 Skein Project by Shannon Okey)

June 3rd: CraftyisCool.com (Allison Hoffman)

June 4th: Coquette Blog (Natalie Zee-Drieu)

June 5th About.com (Sarah White)

June 6th: Manhattan Craft Room (Brett Bara)

June 7th: BetzWhite.com

June 8th: TheCrochetDude.com (Drew Emborsky)

June 9th: Naughtysecretaryclub.com & Ilovetocreate.com (Dual post on the same day.
Yarn-wrapped mobil by Jennifer Perkins)

June 10th: Craftzine.com (Ladybug Outfit Pattern by Vickie)

June 11th: StephanieJapel.com

>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!