Bunny Baby Blanket

Sorry, it's been almost half a year since I last posted. But during that time, I was slowly working on a new crochet project. I found this adorable bunny baby blanket pattern that I wanted to make and I just finished it! It's a combination blanket and stuffed animal with a little bunny head and arms sewn into the middle of a soft mint green, pink, and white blanket. It's pretty simple to make using a granny square pattern. The blog where I got it from shows you how to make the bunny and provides a link to a granny square pattern. To get the alternating colors in my blanket, I did two rows of each color and then switched to the new color. I did 20 rows in total, making the blanket to measure about 21x21 inches. It's a little on the small side so it would be great for newborns and infants.

The Stitchin Mommy: Bunny Lovey Pattern

You can find this adorable blanket for sale on my Etsy shop: Hello Mon Ami.

And I recently created a new shop on ecrater: http://hellomonami.ecrater.com/p/21649409/bunny-baby-blanket

Baby Beanies

I've added a new item to my Etsy shop. Cute and soft baby beanies with your choice of a pom pom top. Currently the beanies are available in mint green and strawberry pink. The beanies measure to be 16 inches in circumference so it should be able to fit most babies from 3 to 6 months old. And can possibly stretch to fit up to 12 months old.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/197632712/crochet-baby-beanies-mint-green-and-pink

My Etsy Shop

I've added an easy way to get to my Etsy shop through my blog. On the left, you will see thumbnails that display some of the products in my shop. Clicking on a thumbnail will take you directly to it in Etsy. :)

Oriental Dragon

Just finished a dragon I made for a friend!  He requested a traditional Chinese dragon which was a little difficult trying to find a good pattern. I could only find the amigurumi style dragons which are cute but weren't what he was looking for. Finally found one on Ravelry from Nhewyt's Designs. It was time consuming but wasn't too difficult of a pattern. The pattern makes for a snake-like body that turns and winds. And the teal blue and purple colors that my friend requested make it a little different from the typical red and yellow colored dragons. I love how it turned out, especially the gold eyes.

Nhewyt's Designs: Oriental Dragon Pattern

Donkey!

It's only been a few days since I opened my Etsy shop and I've already gotten a few orders. I need to make some more items for my shop! Along with my shop items, I still take custom/special orders. Recently, I was asked to make a donkey. There aren't many donkey patterns out there that aren't Eeyore. But I found a cute one and added a mane to it. I won't be able to put this up on my shop though since the pattern's creator has asked not to commercially sell the finished products. But I might be able to make an original pattern when I have the time.

Little Donkey Amigurumi by ClaireSibley

Hello Mon Ami!

I launched my Etsy shop! Finally! This shop has been something I've been wanting to do for some time now but I had been putting it off for so long. During my spring break, I used that time to start building up inventory for the shop. I made several items from crochet patterns I've found online and some that I've created myself. I posted the items that are currently in my shop.

Here is the link to my shop: HelloMonAmi

I hope you love it!

Spring Bunny #...I lost count

I can't remember how many times I've made this bunny. I think it may be my sixth time now. Although this time I made it using a different accent color which is a nice change from the usual pink and tan colors I've done. This bunny has a nice, fresh feeling with its minty green accents. The flower is a cool mint green. The lining of the ears has a pretty green floral pattern. And for the feet, I used soft green fabric since I couldn't find any mint green felt.

All About Ami: Spring Bunny

I have no more orders to complete so I finally have the time to start on my Etsy shop. But after all this crocheting, I think I want to take a short break. I've been drawing some doodles of dolls I might make for the shop. I want to try to keep the patterns simple.

Newborn Bunny Hat

I made another hat! This time it was a bunny hat for a newborn. The request was to make a white beanie cap with blue lined bunny ears and the baby's initial. I used Repeat Crafter Me's bunny hat pattern and omitted the bunny face and crocheted a small E near the bottom as requested. The bunny ears have pipe cleaners in them so it helps to keep them up and allows you to bend and twist them as you wish. I used a fuzzy blue yarn for the ear. This type of yarn is hard to crochet with because it is so fuzzy and it's hard to see the stitches you make. I felt like I was going at it blind, feeling for the stitches. 

I'm hoping the size is right. I don't have a newborn to test it on but I measured the circumference of the hat. Then, I Googled "average head circumference of a newborn" and it seems like the size should be right. (Fingers crossed!)

Repeat Crafter Me: Bunny Hat pattern

Cow Amigurumi

Right after I finished the hats for my paternal grandmother, my mom thought it would be a good idea for me to make one for her mom since her birthday is coming up soon. My grandma is a talented knitter. I originally wanted to learn how to knit and she tried to teach me when she came to visit us one time. But knitting wasn't for me. Having to work with two needles was awkward for me. Crocheting requires the use of only one hook and was easier for me to learn and quickly pick up on. My grandma has knitted a lot of hats, scarves, slippers, and gloves for our family. She's also knitted a shawl with fringing for my mom and rooster dolls for my sister and me. She knits a lot nowadays, sometimes selling what she makes. She's knitted so much for us so of course I should make something for her.

Since she lives in Los Angeles, I didn't think a crocheted hat would be a good idea so I made her an amigurumi. I've saved a lot of patterns that I've wanted to use so I went through my folder and found this cow pattern that I had been wanting to make for a while. It's a cute and easy pattern. Only problem I had with it was that it didn't say which hook size to use so I had to experiment. The creator says she usually uses an H hook for her patterns but I thought that was too big so I tried a size smaller. But after a few rounds, it was getting too big so I tried an even smaller hook. It's still turned out bigger than I wanted but I stuck with that size since using a smaller hook with the kind of yarn I was using was going to be difficult. I was a little short on the white yarn but thankfully I've been trying to be frugal and kept all my leftover scraps of yarn so I had some extra white pieces to finish the pattern.

Studio Ami: Cow Pattern

Hats!

I got a request to make my grandma some hats! She wanted a newsboy style hat in periwinkle and navy blue with flower accents. I started making the periwinkle one but when I finished, the hat was enormous! It was puffier than it looked in the pictures even though I had the correct gauge measurements and used a smaller crochet hook. Not sure what went wrong. It's not bad but much more bigger than I had imagined it would be so I found a new hat pattern that actually looks a lot more like the style she wears.

Newsboy Cap pattern

(Sorry for the poor picture quality. I didn't have enough lighting!)

I made the blue hat's brim a little shorter and I think it looks a bit better that way but it's a pretty subtle difference.

I omitted the strap and button in the pattern since my grandma wanted a flower on the hats. I also omitted the plastic mesh in the brim. I thought it would be too stiff and without it, the brim still holds up fine. And it makes it more flexible to shape it the way you want it.

This was a really easy pattern and a cute style. Next time I might use a smaller crochet hook. The hats fit a little loose.

Spring bunny again...and again

This is my fourth time making the Spring bunny. I've gotten so much better at sewing the limbs and the little details. Doesn't it look cozy in the shipping material?

Looks like I have to make another one of these. This time with the ears upright and without the flower. I'm having a love-hate relationship with this bunny right now. I'm hoping I will be able to start on my Etsy shop soon! I think I'm going to have to stop taking orders after this one to finally crochet items for my shop.

Elephant #3

This is probably the best elephant I've made so far! (I've only made two before, which includes the "elephin") This elephant is much bigger and more realistic with its floppy, folding ears, and thick legs.

I found this awesome pattern for free on a UK site, www.deramores.com. Since it's from the UK, the crochet terms were different but still simple enough to follow. Although it did get confusing since "DC" means double crochet in US terms but in UK, it actually means single crochet. But other than that, it was a simple although time-consuming pattern.

I love this elephant pattern and it's not difficult to make but I do hope I won't have to make it again. At least any time soon. But unfortunately, my sisters already seen it...and now she wants one for herself...even though I've made her two elephants for her before. (sighhhhhhhh) I need to try to put that off for as long as possible. I tend to get bored easily doing the same patterns so I like to try something new and different. My next project, however, is the Spring bunny, which I've done a couple times before; both the white and tan Spring bunnies for my mom and one for a friend. Hopefully I'll get to try new patterns after I do the bunny.

Deramores: Elephant pattern

Giraffe

After taking a break from crocheting, I've decided to start again but this time I want to start selling my creations. I've been putting this off for some time, making excuses that I was too busy to crochet. A lot of my friends and family have been telling me to open up an Etsy shop but I wasn't sure if I was good enough. Last year, I set up an Etsy shop, thinking up a name and building my profile, but I never put up any products. Now I've decided to start taking orders and slowly make products for my shop. I already have my shop name, HelloMonAmi.

A couple of people of made orders already; the first one is a giraffe. I spent all day working on it and it turned out really well. I think I've gotten a lot better at sewing the limbs and the details. This pattern I got from the Vanna's Choice Easy Crochet Critters book; the same book where I got the patterns for the lion and "elephin" I made a couple years ago when I first started. The original pattern uses softer "baby-like" colors but the person who ordered it wanted it to be like an actual giraffe. And luckily, I had the perfect colors for it! I'm really pleased with the way it came out.

I'm still taking crochet orders and I'm open to any suggestions on what I should make to put in my shop. Message me on Facebook or on my blog and we can discuss what I can make you! I can do most animal amigurumi dolls, scarves, hats, and a lot of other things. Tell me what you want and I will see if it is something I can crochet for you! Or you can wait until I have my Etsy shop up, which I hope will be soon!