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.