Moji-Moji Design

Original Amigurumi Crochet Patterns


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Keeping Warm

I’ve been really enjoying the turn of the seasons from summer to autumn. It’s always such a fun time with all the promise of warming festivals made to cheer up our transition from bright sunshine and lovely long days to the cosy drawing in of autumn evenings. Crispy leaves, bonfires, fireworks, candles, pumpkin soup, boots, jumpers and woolly mittens. With a bit of preparation it’s quite easy to enjoy the novelty of a cold snap and all the atmosphere it brings.

My bat garland has graced the fireplace for several weeks now and a whole heap of candles are on daily standby, ready to banish the gloom of a 5pm blackout.

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They certainly cheer the place up and help to keep the chill out.

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Oswald the Owl adds a touch of forest charm, nestled cosily in the corner and the Pumpkin Patch People came out to play too.

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Real pumpkins were carved in honour of this year’s family obsession with Pokemon Go.

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A Golbat and a Duskull.

We’ve walked an awful lot more than usual over the last few months in the pursuit of these virtual creatures. My son has even mastered the art of catching pokemon for two. Now his girlfriend doesn’t miss out while she’s at work. How sweet!

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As a result of all the pumpkin carving, along with the fact the local supermarket had grossly overstocked and were giving away pumpkins by the trolleyful to anyone who wanted them, several cauldrons full of hearty pumpkin soup have been made to help us glow on the inside too.

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Soup through a straw is a new revelation for me and means its even easier to eat and type/crochet/browse the internet at the same time with minimal spillage onto yarn or keyboards. Hallelujah!

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A Halloween ghost walk at Hanbury Hall got us in the mood for Tricks and Treats.

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There were plenty of tricks involved here, and some treats too, but I won’t spoil any surprises for people who may go along next year.

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I’ll just tell you that they certainly put on a good show for us and we weren’t short of apparitions accompanied by blood curdling screams and things going BUMP! in the night.

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Blankets were crocheted to keep out the drafts…

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…while watching fireworks from the comfort of my home.

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But sometimes it’s good to get a worm’s eye view from right underneath so it was lovely to be invited to a Bonfire/Birthday Party at my sister-in-laws gorgeously quaint Cotswolds cottage where a huge fire crackled and popped all night long.

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Sparklers were lit…

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…food was scoffed, drink was drunk and the loudest fireworks I’ve ever heard were set soaring into the night sky.

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With all that Autumn fun to enjoy it’s no surprise that it’s still high on my list of favorite seasons (along with winter, spring and summer – depends which season I’m in to be honest, but they’re all definitely up there in my top four!).

I’ve been wrapping up and getting out and about whenever I get the chance. It’s almost as if nature sets all those leave on fire to help make up for the nip the air.

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Though some of summer’s colour still remains here and there.

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Now I couldn’t get too close for the last photo as this poor squirrel was in a total panic as to where to run to with his prized rice cake.

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I’ve no idea where he got it from but he’s certainly not up for sharing. That ought to help him pack on a few calories for the winter (something I’m actively trying not to do myself!).

As well as enjoying all the autumn festivities I’ve also been making a huge effort to finish off a few WIPS. If you remember, there was the Autumn Berries Poncho, the hare’s trophy head, and the Spring Dots Blanket. And also a skull shawl (which I refrained from blogging about as it was a birthday present so didn’t want to spoil the surprise). I’ve also been working on a number of amigurumi projects for my ‘day job’ that I’m intending to share soon. So for all of you who have missed the usual cramming in of crochet into my blog posts, never fear – the next few posts should more than make up for this ones lack!


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Halloween Sporks

In this instance the term spork doesn’t relate to that genius spoon/fork hybrid so familiar to those of us who can’t resist a take-away salad bowl or pasta pot, but is actually a truncation of spooky forks. Now let me explain why… We’ve had a fair few trips to the seaside this year and with a trip to the seaside comes the inevitable Great British tradition of a fish in batter and stodgy, lard heavy chips on the beach – eaten as fast as possible to minimise the potential for a gust of wind to blow sand in your lunch or for a cheeky seagull to snatch it from your lap as you gaze winsomely out to sea. Ah the pleasures of al fresco eating!

Consequently we have ended up with a collection of chip forks going spare. I was just about to clear the extras out of the camping bag and put them onto the chimenea for a bit of added fuel when I was sure I heard one of them shouting “I’m a cat waiting to happen!” in a tiny little chip fork sized voice. So I set to with a few basic art materials and sure enough – a cat emerged.

As it’s Halloween soon I thought I’d decorate it a bit more so it would look cute in the candy bowl. As most things in life are made much nicer with a bit of crochet I hooked it up a sweater in orange and purple stripes and immediately started wondering what else I could make. I’m always pleased to have an excuse to do a bit of doodling and colouring in so I scribbled up a few other ideas inspired by the classic chip fork shape.

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I think these would be great little treasure hunt gifts for Halloween parties or, even better, a fun DIY kid’s project for the half term – providing you have indulged in a sufficiently large amount of fish and chips this summer and have a habit of picking up a few spares forks every time like us. The only other things you will need are marker pens and a white pencil crayon, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, small buttons, glue, yarn and a crochet hook.

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My boys are too old to want to spend their time doing this sort of crafty thing anymore but I’m not!  These are the ones I’ve finished so far:

A Frankenstein’s Monster, a ghost and a cat,

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A devil, an alien and a vampire bat.

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Now they’re made they won’t be wasted. I shall offload these, along with the usual candy, onto any trick or treaters who happen to stop my way. Thank goodness I still have a valid reason for colouring in chip forks and crocheting them sweaters! (Which are made with oddments of Double Knit yarn and a size C (2.75mm) hook and are simply Ch 7, join with a slip stitch to make a ring then single crochet (UK double crochet) 7 rounds, in case you wanted to know the details).

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You might have noticed the lovely new creamy white background on my latest photos. You see, I got around to painting my desk this weekend. It went from this…

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…to this…

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(Mojo is confused to find no clutter on it as I bundle everything into boxes ready for the re-vamp)

…to this…

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..and finally, to this…

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It really didn’t take long for all the clutter to come back. It is a slightly different set of clutter though, with a more rationalised pile of only my essential everyday necessities to hand – more or less, and for the time being, at least!

I recently took the time to sort out (some of) my yarn stash too. Now it’s on show, instead of it all being hidden away in an assortment of baskets and boxes and I’m hoping this will make designing new amigurumi easier, as I can see the colours all together. It will certainly save me time rooting about randomly, trying to find a colour that I’m not even sure I’ve got!

Wonderwall

And anyway, it looks so pretty. It’s a crying shame to hide all that beautiful yarn. Now I smile everytime I look at it. ‘Tis a glorious thing to behold, my own personal wonderwall! It feels good to be a few steps nearer to having the studio of my dreams. Plenty more to do yet but I’m feeling very happy in here in the meantime, crafting away at every available opportunity.

I’ve a little Halloween project in mind for this yarn bundle next.

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Wishing you all a Happy Halloween Week!

Spooky-Lineup

Have fun!


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It’s Getting Chillier!

I know it’s sad to say it, but even though it’s only August, I can feel the weather starting to get colder. Though anything can still happen this chillier weather is making me think of the autumn. It will soon be back to school/college/uni for my boys and then Harvest Festivals and Halloween. In light of that I have started to think of some new patterns for this years holiday season and thought a good way to see what I’m missing from my Autumn/Fall collection would be to showcase the ones I already have.

So here’s a little round up of my current creations.

Frankie and Draco just love Halloween. It’s the only time of the year where they feel like they really fit in and they don’t even have to worry about a fancy dress outfit!DSCN0515

Morgana  and her faithful familiar Soots will be quite happy to bring along a specially concocted witches brew to spice up your Halloween party. But don’t forget to invite Merlin and Hoots as well. He doesn’t like to be left out and a grumpy wizard is not to be trifled with!

Then of course there is the sweet little Pumpkin Patch People. They’re very busy at the moment nurturing all the pumpkins in their garden ready for carving and decorating. They love pumpkins so much that they’ve even grown to resemble their favorite vegetable.pump2They make a wicked pumpkin soup and they even tell you how if you want to check it out here.DSCN1417So, even though there’s still a good chance of the Summer re-emerging yet, if it doesn’t I will console myself with looking forward to all the cosy loveliness and autumn/winter holiday season celebrations to come. I’m going to start by beginning some new Halloween inspired patterns to add to the collection. I’m thinking that the spiders are a good start.DSCN4330 They’re going to be having a new photo shoot when I can get my hands on a big pumpkin.

But what next? Is there anything in particular that you would like to be crocheting this Fall? Let me know and I’ll see what I can do 🙂 In the meantime, and just because I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to the memory of our quite uncharacteristic summer of sunshine and blistering heat, I’ve asked Merlin to make me a spell to  hold the rainy weather off a bit longer.WizzLooking out of my studio window today it seems like it could do either at the moment or maybe a bit of both. I have one more Summer festival by the sea to go to in a few weekends time. I’d love for it not to rain on our parade then! … I’m sure Merlin’s got it covered!


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Spencer the Spider

I’m not usually a fan of spiders at all, but I was out cleaning the shed today and bumped into this little fella. I’ve got to admit, he doesn’t look as scary as some spiders that I’ve seen (well, maybe those fangs….)820SpiderHe’s been very busy building some rather carefully constructed webs ready for his house warming party later. The guests have started to arrive already.

First there were two.820Spider3Then there were three.820Spider1 Next thing you know, four of these little monsters are tucked up together getting ready for a big night in. The Bluebottle kebabs and aphid salad are ready to serve and everyone is buzzing with anticipation. (Or is that just the kebabs I can hear?)820Spider4 With eight legs apiece to shake their (rather generously sized) booties with, they really are quite the party animals. Spencer can even play the fiddle and still have six legs left to dance a jig! It’s going to be one helluva party in my shed tonight.

I was invited and I thought I might try to be brave and go along – but then this big Black Widow arrived and suddenly I’m thinking… I’ll take a rain check on that. I know her tricks. BlackSpider She’s got a habit of playing dead and then biting your ankle when you’re not looking! Not my idea of fun!!820DSCN4302I think I’ll just leave them to it. I know the famous saying ‘If you want to live and thrive, let a spider run alive’ but I think it’s going to be me doing all the running every time I bump into this lot together.SpiderParty There’s just way too many eyes and legs gathered together in one space. I’d love to try to get over my arachnaphobia but I think I’ll have to take it one spider at a time.


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Hippopotamus Pyjama Party.

At last I’ve managed to finish a new pattern. It’s been a while this time due to book commitments, family life, a granny blanket obsession and getting out and about a bit more at weekends thanks to all the lovely spring weather we’ve been having. So I’m very pleased to finally introduce you to Harriet and Harvey, the baby Hippos who love bedtime, snuggly blankets, soft pillows and fancy pyjamas!

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Sleepover parties are one of their most favorite things, snuggled up in their blankets, chatting with friends into the small hours. There’s usually a secret midnight feast too, with cheese and crackers and chocolate biscuits, but only after they’ve crept around the house to make sure all the grown-ups have gone to sleep!  Harvey and Harriet also like a quiet night in. When it’s just the two of them they happily toddle off to bed for an early night with hot chocolate (marshmallows on top of course) and a good book. After all, little hippos don’t get to be this good looking without getting lots of beauty sleep!

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 The pattern has all the instructions you’ll need for Harvey and Harriet Hippo as well as their pretty matching bedding.

 Good night little hippopotami. Sweet dreams!


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Rainbow Love

I’m not sure what the weather is up to where you are but here in Worcester we’re getting well and truly tired of grey skies throwing down bucketloads of soggy misery onto our poor heads. As an antidote to all the rain and distinct lack of sunshine I fancied doing something fun with oodles of bright cheery yarns. A little bit of color therapy can go a long way on a day like today! So for a bit of  rest and relaxation I decided to have a look through my stash and find the very cheeriest of colors. If nature won’t provide the odd rainbow or two to get us through the winter months then I’m just going to go ahead and make my own.

Winding the big balls of yarn into these palm sized yarn cakes makes the project much more portable and is a lovely brain coaster of a job too. Already feeling happier when I see these little nuggets of bright wooliness stacking up.

So, what to do with these glorious pocket sized pops of color?  I’ve already made Rainbow Owls, and Rainbow Snowmen. As it’s Valentine’s day soon I thought it only right that I make a set of Rainbow Hearts to cheer up this dullest and wettest of days! So that’s what I did and here they are ready to be stuffed. Now I have a collection of rainbow heart balloons floating in a drizzly sky under a Fiberfill cloud 🙂

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Stuffing small pieces like these is made so much easier if you use tweezers (disguised above as a cute Kokeshi girl). They’re an essential part of my kit now and if you don’t already use a pair for stuffing your dinky bits of crochet I highly recommend you give it a go! … So, 20 minutes later… Here are the finished hearts all plumptious and squidgy and arranged in the harmonious order that nature intended!

🙂 Now that puts a smile on my face 🙂

And my cat Minnie liked the rainbow hearts so much she had to brave the somewhat uncomfortable and spiky looking wire basket to hunker down on them and take a nap!

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Not so much ‘rain stops play’ as ‘cat stops play’, but then that’s nothing new in our house! That’s the end of today’s photo shoot then. Goodnight!


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Hearts and Bees and Honey Teas

Having been laid low with another bout of tonsillitis I thought I’d use my recuperation time to whip up a quick free pattern to share with you all. I made this while snuggling in bed drinking honeyed tea to soothe my throat. It’s a little homage to the bee for it’s lovely, medicinal honey and a nod to love in general, which kind of makes everything more bearable, even tonsillitis! I know it’s not long until Valentines day now, so if you’re stuck for a last minute present that has all the hallmarks of someone who cares enough to go that extra stitch or two then you could hook up this Honey Bee, Bumble bee and Love Heart in no time at all!

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Click on the button below for the free pattern.

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I’ve also included some labels to print out and decorate plus tips on making up the stick decorations to cheer up the odd plant pot or two. I’m planning on putting some bees on sticks in my herb pots on the kitchen windowsill to give my basil and parsley a fun pop of color before nature does the honors and furnishes me with the first daffodils of the year!

I made 14 hearts in shades of pink, red and grey yesterday, a fitting number, as Valentine’s Day is on the 14th. Although that’s just co-incidence – I ran out of time and energy or there would have been a lot more.  They’re very addictive and now, of course, I want to make them in rainbow colors too. It would be an appropriate project for a convalescing weekend, as once the pattern is memorized they just fly off the hook with out having to concentrate too much or for too long.

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I’m already thinking of other uses for the little hearts, a garland or a wreath would be fun. Or they could be stuffed with pot pourri for a pretty sweet smelling addition to a clothes drawer. Or how about a heart and bee mobile? Key fobs, bag charms… I could go on, but I’m sure you’ve got plenty of ideas of your own. Whatever you make with the pattern I hope you have fun with it!


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Snow Party and Family Fun

It’s that time of year for trailing around the country visiting relatives and friends, delivering presents, drinking sherry and eggnog, and really just catching up with each other. The Snowpeople obviously have the same idea too. The Snowladies have finally arrived in town for the festive season. Flurry, Florrie and Flora have come to eat, drink and be merry and, of course, to get their Christmas shopping done.

Love is in the air too, along with a few snowflakes. The Snowmen and Snowladies will have the coziest and most companionable Christmas ever. There have been whirlwind romances and white weddings already, and even the pitter-patter of tiny snowballs as they built their own Snowbabies from a fresh fall of snow! Here’s one of the happy families posing for their first portrait.

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🙂 When they all get together there are very merry times to be had indeed 🙂

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Check out my free pattern for the Teeny Tiny snowmen if you want to make a few of the babies for yourself. You can also find the patterns for the grown-ups in my Etsy or Ravelry stores.

I’m definitely looking forward to a few weekends of car journeys. Hubby does all the driving and I do all the crocheting, which seems a fair division of labour to me! And since I have taken up this all absorbing hobby, car journeys have been much more relaxing for everyone as I now prefer to keep my eyes on my hook instead of the road and my terrible habit of ‘back seat driving’ has finally been curbed. Now everyone, especially the driver, can enjoy the journey in relative peace!

Whatever you have planned for these last few weeks before Christmas, I hope your holidays are filled with family, friends, fun and frolics, just like the snow-peoples!