BRAINSSSSSS!!!

Meet my jellyfish.

I am aware that I have an almost disturbing love for tentacled things (ok...not THAT kind of love...sickos). I have been making these little guys for a couple of years now. They were the first amigurumi pattern I developed on my own, simple and cute, and yet I am amazed at all the different ways I have been able to make them. Most of my ideas come from my customers...I have a standing listing for a large custom jelly in my Etsy shop and in the CraftAnon Charity Shop. Their trademark little heart was one such idea. Here are some pictures I have collected of my jellyfish army. Some have found homes, others are waiting for theirs!

I've been calling this guy The Dreaded Black Tentacle. I even named one of my other jellies his nemesis. This guy was sold through the CraftAnon Charity Shop.

And here is Red Jelly The Horrible...said nemesis. Look at his horrible little face!!! LOOK AT IT!!!
He has been shipped off to be part of a giveaway over at Life Happens During Naptime.

Next up was another charity jellyfish. He went in a giant giveaway my friend Cass did to help out with the brush fires in Australia.

I've featured this dude before. He's my "random make people smile" jelly. He's just so colorful it's spastic. Look at him long enough and you might just have a seizure...that's for sure to make you forget about anything that's wrong with you. Well, except the seizure.

These next two guys are the newest addition to The Army.

I love this yarn. It's so disgustingly hot pink that I just want to puke happiness. This little guy will be given away for Free Shit Tuesday on my friend Karla's blog. I will have links for you as soon as I can find them, so if you want him...check back!

Last but not least, is Brainnnnsssss. My zombie. I've had him in my head for ages...and I finally got five minutes to put him together (not that it takes five minutes to make these guys...more like a few hours). He's for sale in The Concertina Shop so if you want to hug him, you can! I just won't be held responsible for the loss or digestion of any brains belonging to my customers.

So let me know what you think. Feel free to send me new jellyfish ideas! If I use yours, I might get generous and send you your very own!

The end!

Plunder and Pillage!!! Or...holy crap I'm actually updating!!! (And some hats.)

I know it's been a long time...but I have good excuses. Ok, not really.

I have been working my little booty off though. I had quite a few custom crochet pieces to get through...(still not nearly finished) and a craft fair to do...and it's coming up on Christmas time...and we all know what that means. My poor little butt is going to be more concerned with how to manage my regular job without punching people in the face while secretly enjoying ruining as many small children's holidays that I can. Evil, who me?

Anyhow...just because we all know what a little picture whore I am...and because I want to be a bit of a show off...this blog post is going to be all about the hat patterns I've been working on. One is a recreations of something somebody showed me on this great interweb of ours. Another is a modified free pattern I found somewhere. The third is a completely random creation by me myself. I had some yarn...a hook...and time to kill. I'm a doodler by nature. If there is paper around, and a writing implement...I'm on it like white on rice. The margins of all my notes at work are filled with tentacles...and fish...and eyes...and whatever else. The same goes for yarn. Sometimes I don't have any ideas...and I just start messing around to see what I can come up with. Most of the time it ends up getting pulled out because it resembles a freshly hacked up hairball. Other times...unfortunately the rarer of these two scenarios, it comes out useable. This was one of those times.

Onward!

This was a custom request by a friend of mine. The hat is for her husband which is why it's just a bit big on me. Please pardon my complete lack of makeup...and my "I just woke up...only the killing will make me feel better" look.

There are little medallions up the middle and on the sides of the hat. I tried to stuff them to make them stand out but the hat itself is sort of loosely crochet (so as not to make the wearer swelter) and the stuffing kept coming out the back.

Ps...I'm really digging this new way Blogger is dealing with photo posting. It makes me happy in my heart. 

Hat number 2 is basically the same pattern as the viking hat. It's just teal...for me. Last year, I made myself a scarf for every snowflake that came down from the sky...this year it's hats. I'm also planning to make some thrummed mittens to go along with it. (That's where you put little balls of roving on the inside of the mitten so when you put your hand inside...it feels like awesome!) I got some beautiful teal and gold roving when I went to the Sheep and Wool festival in Rhinebeck (NY) this year.

As you can see, it's a bit slouchy. I don't think I look very good in hats. Previously I only wore a crazy black wool beret I snapped up somewhere in my childhood. I think that's why all the hats I make for myself sort of follow that general shape...

The pattern uses a front post triple crochet to make the ribbing. It's nice and stretchy and such a warm hat. I was looking about and I can't find the original pattern but I did modify it quite a bit at the bottom there. I also had to do a tiny bit of correcting at the top...unless it's just that I can't read crochet patterns, which is entirely possible. That's why I make up my own most of the time. 

Hat number 3 came out of boredom and the aforementioned yarn doodling. Whilst I was manning my craft fair booth last weekend...I had a lot of time to kill. It was rainy...and slow. Although I did manage to make a few bucks, there were large bunches of time where we were just sitting there. This pattern is what came out of my complete inability to sit still for more than five minutes.

That's the top view. I haven't worn it out yet...so I am unsure as to how warm it will keep your head with all those holes in it. But I thought it looked pretty...and sometimes you just need to sacrifice function for some form.

The next three pictures are different ways it can be worn. It's kind of like a convertible for your head!

Set back like a slouchy hat:

To the side a bit, more like a traditional beret:

And pushed forward, like a newsboy:

Enjoy that little snarl. It's free.

I made this one smaller also for my niece's birthday...and in typical me fashion, I forgot to take pictures. Her's was a white wool with tiny bits of pastel blue, pink and yellow variegation throughout. I also took a pale blue baby yarn and made a long chain with a little rosebud on the end and wove it into the band for a little added accent.

There you go. My first blog post in months and it's long winded as usual. As always, feel free to contact me if you like any of the things I post. This time of year I am a little backed up but I am always open to custom orders...questions...random pimpings...and whatnot. Feel free to pass me along too! I'll send you an air high-five for it!

The end.

I am titleless tonight.

It seems that I have been needing more sleep as of late...and I'm not sure why. My recent blood tests haven't had anything indicative in them...so I'm not really sure what to do about it, other than sleep. Tonight, I had just about the BEST nap ever. I got home around 5:30...and decided to nap at 6. I set my alarm for 8...and then CONKED out. (That's a technical term btw.) That two hours was seriously better than most of the full nights of sleep I get. What's better is the two snoozes (why do alarms always snooze for 9 minutes...that's so random) were just as restful as the two hours.

But anyhow, here I am, tea in hand, writing a blog I meant to write about four hours ago.

First of all, I know I said I was going to have a nice neutral look to show off with some of my new e.l.f. products. But I lied. The pictures came out crappy...because I don't think I was paying attention when I took them. So instead, here is a bright orangey-red look for ya.

I used the Mehron Tropical AQ palette (the light orange color) as a base.
Some light orange shadow from the original 88 palette in the corner.
NYX's Golden Orange in the middle.
NYX's Sunrise in the outer corner and crease area.
My tried and true Rimmel London black kohl liner in the waterline.
Rimmel London's Sexy Curves mascara (THE BEST).
And a new trick I learned from Eily on Youtube: take an angled liner brush, and dip it into your regular liquid liner (because seriously, those brushes in those things suck). Then line your eye. This prevents major tard-liner, which is my usual look.

Once again, please excuse the funky shape of my eyebrows. I can't do them any better than that. At least I've moved on from having to call my sister and make her do it...also, I had just gotten up from a nap when I took that picture...so it's all messed up.

Ok...on to my sheep! (Did that sound naughty?) It's quite a bit more done since I've taken this picture, but here is my sheep WIP. Those are all popcorn stitches...and this is the first time I've done them. They are hard...and make my hand hurt, so I really don't get much done each time I sit down to work on it. I'll have pictures of his cuteness when he's all finished.



Some other things of note:

I started reading The Count of Monte Cristo. I haven't read it since I was a kid, and had those Illustrated Classics books that my mom used to buy 5 for a dollar and I'd read in about 30 minutes. Every time I see that movie (the one with Jim Caviezel as Dantes and James Frain - Bassianus from Titus...I loooooove Titus ), I forget how much I love the story...and I thought it was about time I actually read it. A few months back I had purchased the Barnes & Noble Classics version, because they are generally less expensive and very good quality, but when I cracked it open it said "abriged" under the title. (Ten points for looking before you buy.) After a bit of creative return policy negotiation, I was able to exchange it for a better version. I was a bit dissapointed though, kind of like when you get your mouth all ready for milk and you've forgotten you've poured yourself a glass of lemonade. I have gotten many other of the B&N classics and none of them have ever been abriged before. *shrugs*

Sunday is my store move. The new store is all shiny and pretty...with new cabinets and carpets and a HUUUUGE back room. We really needed the space...I swear if I had a dollar for every time someone told me that we needed a bigger store, I wouldn't have to work retail ever again.

Also...I am quite addicted to Tweetdeck. If you Twitter and don't have this program, you should get it right now. Between that and Twitterific for my iPhone (oh yeah, I got an iPhone)...I'm a very happy nerd. They both just make things super easy...whereas the website seems to be TRYING to make you crazy. Ten points for third party software.

The end.

PS - I just found out that Jim Caviezel was Jesus in The Passion of the Christ. I must watch this now. No, of course not for Jesus...for Jim!

One Little Monkey...

Some of you may remember my post about my monkey WIP...well here he is! The newest member of The Ami Army! I finally got off my butt and finished his!

Here's a side picture to show how the tail is attached.

If you want to hug your very own little monkey...you can buy him at The Concertina Shop! I love comments so...let me know what you think!

Hey Little Guy...

So one of the girls over at DIYScene asked me to make her a little amigurumi kodama from Princess Mononoke for her friend's birthday. As I have been wanting to do this for a while...I happily agreed. Well it took me almost a month...not because it was hard, but because I was so freakin' busy with all the doctors appointments and helping my parents get ready to sell the house and junk...but here he is!



Tell me what you think! This is my first one...so...comments are totally appreciated!