My First Ami Doll

 Amigurumi (編みぐるみ, lit. crocheted or knitted stuffed toy) is the Japanese art ... the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, meaning ... that retains stuffing and does not allow the stuffing to show through the fabric. 

 

The inspiration to crochet my amigrumi doll came from clicking on websites behind Pinterest pins.  The dolls that I saw were crocheted in "skin" colors of yarn and had realistic eyes, mouth, ears and hair.  I chose not to crochet my "ami" realistically but to use an acrylic yarn from Red Heart in the color "Fruit Punch."  I learned how to crochet each component of the doll and then how to crochet her hair.  The body pieces weren't a surprise but the hair was one of those "why didn't I think of that" kind of thing.  Once the round head is crocheted (the hardest part) and body and the extremities use a big-eyed needle to put together.  With strands of yarn you attach the "hair" in a circular pattern around the head one strand at a time.  Then once all of the way around with the strands (think about how to put tassels at the end of a scarf) you bring them together to make a "ponytail."  It looks nice and oh so easy.  The doll I made could be personalized by creating the skin and hair to match a child you know.  I would love to share the website I found for this pattern but I cannot find it again.  No, not in my history either.  Sorry.  

Another surprising thing that happened was my dog, Kiwi, thinks that I made the Ami doll for her.  She has been begging me to give it to her.  I will make her one for her very own out of a natural cotton yarn, something better for pups to chew on.  I guess everybody is a fan of Amigurumi.  

Amigurumi Doll - she measures 14 inches long

Detail pictures of how to create the hair. 

 

Love Stitches Hat

While visiting Memories Yarn Cafe (Henderson, Ky), I saw a beautiful hat that Carolyn, the Proprieter and talented crocheter) had crocheted.  She was very kind enough to share the website for the pattern to make my own.  This pattern is available at lovestitches.blogspot.  It was very easy to follow and while I grabbed a Bernat yarn to make my first hat, I want to snag a couple skeins of solid colored soft acrylic LionBrand yarn from Carolyn's shop to make another one or two, or three.  It's very hard to stop once you learn to crochet and hook up (now that's funny) with a great pattern - free pattern. The possibilities are truly endless and the people you meet who love it are pretty amazing.  The flower on my hat is huge and little disturbing in that I did not follow a pattern to crochet it.  It needs a flatter flower.  Can't wait to wear it...once I remove the enormous flower.  Thank you, Carolyn. 

Memories Yarn Cafe

I drove across that "money saving bridge" (a local thing people say around here; the blue bridge between Kentucky and Indiana) and discovered a super nice lady and her beautiful antique store in Henderson, Kentucky.  Mrs. Carolyn is a very talented crocheter and member of a prayer shawl group.  Inside of the Memories antique shop is the Memories Yarn Cafe, something that has recently opened and has caught on like wildfire.  You will find Memories Yarn Cafe on Facebook.  While there I purchased yarn (you knew I was going to say that) and new crochet hooks.  My new Susan Bates Quicksilver crochet hooks are a hit.  The shape is nice and like the name says they are "quick."  They are made of aluminum, designed nicely and have a smooth texture that allows for fast crochet action.  The yarn I just had to purchase is called Kaleidoscope and has a dye lot number but not a name.  It's 100% wool so feltable and is made by Elegant Yarns, Inc a USA company.  Take a look at my fingerless gloves that I crocheted using my new 100% wool yarn.  I got a whole pair from one skein and plenty of yarn to do another small project.  I had to modify the LionBrand.com pattern that I used for the fingerless gloves.  So what I ended up with was 24 rows of double stitch which I had 35 stitches on my foundation chain.  When you are ready to put the long edges together start from the top, skip about an inch and a half for the thumb hole and then continue on down the edge to put the gloves together.  I decided to top stitch around the top and bottom and I think it looks nice. 

Susan Bates Quicksilver Aluminum Crochet Hooks

100% wool yarn in a bright purple, red and yellow color scheme

Finished fingerless gloves and leftover 100% wool yarn. 

Newly Styled Scarf Closure

Sometimes when I get the crochet hook in my hand and the yarn through my fingers I don't have a plan.  That sounds crazy, right?  With a new skein of Debbie Bliss purple tweed with white specks came this what I'm calling a "row scarf."  I crocheted the scarf using the basic double-stitch until it was about 6 inches wide and then remembered a technique I had once done on another project.  I crocheted more double-crochet stitches on top of the already created stitches which created a "height" so-to-speak in the original double-stitch.  So, I continued in this manner until I had 3 rows.  In jewelry making, a bead or knot is used to create something that is placed inside of a loop for the closure.  That was my idea for this newly styled scarf closure for my project.  I made the ball by crocheting a "pocket" and then stuffed it with a bundle of the same yarn.  I had stuffed the pocket ball with some fiber fill but the white color showed through and it didn't look good at all.  So, that's where using the same yarn made it look nice. It feels girly and elegant when you wear the closure just below your collar bone against your sweater or blouse.  

32 inch scarf with ball closure and row crochet

Necklace style scarf closure

Crocheted rows are soft and delicate.