Moji-Moji Design

Original Amigurumi Crochet Patterns

Tag Archives: Zoomigurumi


by 2 Comments

Zoomigurumi 9

This week my parcel of Zoomigurumi 9 books arrived in the post which has acted like a timely nudge for me to write a post about it. It’s a bit late to tell you about the pre-sale event because that has been and gone but you can still buy the PDF version which can be downloaded straight away here at AmigurumiPatterns.net

So if you find yourself with a burning desire to make one, or two, or more, or all of these cute creatures there’s no need to wait for worldwide sales of the paperback in May!

In this years edition I’ve been very fortunate to have three of my amigurumi friends featured.

Let me take a moment to introduce you to them all 😊

Hilda The Highland Cow

She’s a jolly creature and an inveterate gossip. It can get very cold up in the Scottish Highlands but because of her magnificent thick coat of long ginger hair, that’s never a problem for Hilda. She’s often being asked to star in shampoo commercials but, as proud as she is of her flowing locks, she’s much too busy chewing the cud and ruminating with friends to take time out to be a supermodel.

Gerty The Gecko

Gerty is a house gecko so don’t be surprised if you find her quietly minding her own business halfway up your wall in some deliciously shady spot.

She is natuarlly quite shy but if you’re lucky she might give you a little wave and a flash of her cheeky grin to show you that she really does appreciate you sharing your home with her.

Sheena The Sheep

Sheena is much more outgoing than her other two book buddies. Unlike Hilda, she dreams of strutting her stuff on the catwalk or gazing doey eyed out of the pages of a glossy magazine.

She loves nothing better than leafing through a stack of catalogues looking at the latest fashions. Sadly, for much of the year, Sheena has no great use for woolly sweaters or fancy hats – being as blessed as she is with such a a fabulously fluffy fleece. However, she always makes sure that her scarf matches her flower hairslide – just so peole know she has an excellent eye for style. But come the shearing season, when she is in need of a few more pieces of apparel to guard against the odd summer rainstorm or an unseasonably waspish puff of wind, her diligent research into the latest clothes trends really pays off.

As soon as the books arrived they all gathered round for a ‘proud moment’ as well as to admire the cover star – Oatley the Horse, beatifully made by CrochetbyKim.

The Passing of Time

It always amazes me how really, really fast time flies by. It doesn’t seem two minutes ago that I was coming up with the ideas for these three designs but if I look back over the photos I see elements of Chritmas past lurking in the background…

…and even happy memories of working outside in the garden. I am so looking forward to proper sunshine again and getting back to some al fresco hooking as spring finally blossoms into summer. We have had way too much rain and accompanying floods this year. I shall be glad to see the back of the constantly wet and windy weather, that’s for certain.

I started making Sheena the Sheep so far back that my favorite yarn basket was still a yarn basket.

By that I mean the three kittens I subsequently adopted hadn’t even been invented yet. You see, it didn’t take them long to develop proprietorial feelings for it.

Here they are shortly after they arrived.

And this is two of them in the very same basket just last week. They’ve recently given up on all three squeezing in there as they have grown so much but there is still space for two (just about!).

If it has lately come to pass that two’s company but three’s a crowd in kittenland the same is not applying to sheep. We all know that these creatures are happiest in a flock so I made a few more Sheenas to make sure they felt comfortable.

I really enjoyed doing the little chains for their fleecy coats so it was easy to get carried away. They are a bit time consuming but it’s such a neat little stitch and the effect is so pretty. Their bodies remind me of little round dahlias! It was fun to make different colours for them too. I’d like to make a black sheep next, so that will be on my to-do list this year.

Gerty the Gecko can’t help but give herself a round of applause when she see’s the results of her photoshoot. Well, it’s more of an understated little clap really and as close as she ever gets to showing off.

Lyra the kitten is very interested in the book too.

Or maybe it’s just another feline limlight grab. The cats are very good at that!

Mischevious kitten Luna’s turn to strike a pose.

The combination of warm photography lamps and cat’s innate narcissistic tendencies bring the words moths and flame to mind!

From all of us in the book, to all of you reading this, we wave a warm goodbye. I hope to see your creations popping up on the web soon. Be sure to hashtag Zoomigurumi9 or any of my designs by name on Instagram or Facebook so I can see what you’ve all been making!

#hildathehighlandcow #gertythegecko #sheenathesheep #happycrocheting

200-sig


by 2 Comments

#AmiguruMay – Part One

I took part in my first Instagram challenge last month. Set up with such fabulous attention to detail by Ilaria of Airali Design fame, the idea was to post a photo every day from May 1st – 31st on the very cleverly titled hashtag of AmiguruMAY. Ilaria even made us all printable sheets to help organize our thoughts and plan a full months worth of posts, which really did come in handy for someone as scatterbrained as me!

I’m usually horribly unorganized when it comes to social media and though I love making posts and connecting with people, thanks to the everyday demands of creating new patterns, finishing deadlines, decluttering workspaces, replying to emails and answering queries to name a few of my daily distractions (as well as all the unspeakably horrid housework and other mundanities of life), remembering to post regularly sometimes falls behind. So this time I vowed to keep up, and apart from the odd slip (bank holiday excesses, Hen Weekend, tooth abscess, poorly cat to vets, among other excuses!) I think I kept up rather well.

So, especially for those of you who don’t have an Instagram account (you should get one – it’s great fun!) and for anyone who already follows me but doesn’t mind a recap of last months prompts and pretty pictures, here is Part One Days 1-15 of #amigurumay, complete with the accompanying witterings that fell out of my head as I went along. (Part 2 – Days 16-31 to follow shortly).

Day 1 – Current WIP

My current WIP is a super soft fluffy cat. Having a blast crocheting with this lovely yarn by King Cole. Four more colourways arrived in the post yesterday and more cat’s eyes are on order so there will be kitties everywhere soon – just how I like it!

Day 2 – Inspirations

One of my big inspirations is the natural world and it’s abundance of cute and quirky creatures. While I’m crocheting the amigurumi my mind starts working overtime creating little characters and stories for them and so they then become an inspiration in themselves.
This is Cyril the Squirrel who is Head Gardener at Nutsford Manor. Of all the seasons he loves autumn the best because he can put his bushy tail to work sweeping up the fallen leaves while collecting acorns and conkers for his winter pantry.

Day 3 – Tools

A comfy crochet hook is so important but my favorite Clover ones were all a muddy yellow so I painted them in rainbow colours and added a liberal sprinkling of polka dots.
Also couldn’t live without my stitch markers, and my upcycled pincushion made from an old egg cup keeps all the smaller bits and bobs to hand ❤

Day 4 – The Smallest

So far my tiniest amigurumis are a downsizing of the rabbit and mouse from my ‘Minimals – Little Pet Shop’ pattern.
As these are even smaller than the original minimals they should probably be called micromals instead 😁

I made these with 2 ply crochet cotton and a 1.5 mm hook (while wearing my strongest pair of reading glasses!)

Day 5 – Introduce Yourself & Day 6 – Designer or Maker

Running a bit behind myself after a mega busy bank holiday weekend so doing two days at once here…
My name’s Janine and I love to crochet. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to turn my hobby into my job and now I design crochet patterns under my shop name of Moji-Moji Design. I think that’s covered both topics quite well… short but sweet! 😉 🍬

Day 7 – Favorite Yarn

Tricky one this as I just love yarn of all types. I usually favor DK weight acrylics for my amigurumi but am having a bit of a love affair with these tiny 10g balls of cotton yarn by Katia at the moment. The colours are gorgeous and they’re the perfect size for mini crochet projects on the go. As you can see I’ve gone a bit crazy for mushrooms recently!

Day 8 – Animals

I’ve made a lot of animal amigurumi patterns over the years. Here’s a selection of some of my favorites.

Day 9 – How and When I Started

I first got into toy making when my three boys were small. I was also childminding around that time and I loved making toys for all the kiddies in my life – and there were lots of them! I could only knit back then and these aliens were a favorite with us all.

I remember thinking how great it would be to create my own characters but found designing flat pieces for seaming up, or juggling four needles to create a 3D piece, really difficult so I put my ambitions on hold for a while and enjoyed following other people’s patterns instead.

My joy at discovering the almost seamless amigurumi crochet method and the ability to self publish on Etsy about six years ago was immense! Those two things were real game changers for me and I never looked back! 👌😁👍

Day 10 – My First Ami

I’ve done a double take on this one and included my very, very first ever ami (in the Instax photo) which was a fox from a free pattern I found on Nimoe’s Blog and also the first ami I designed myself – twin lambs called Lulu and Lollo. I was thrilled when they were chosen to be in #Zoomigurumi2about 6 years ago. This was my first experience of being published and definitely helped push my amigurumi ambitions to the next level!

Day 11- The Biggest

My biggest amigurumi so far is an up-sizing of my Bobbin the Bear pattern using chunky chenille yarn and a 4.5 mm hook. Loved working with this Flutterby yarn. It’s so soft and I really like the effect of the puffy looking stitches. I’ll definitely be using it again in future projects.

Day 12 – Safety Eyes

I use safety eyes in most of my amigurumi. Good quality eyes really makes a face come to life as this little dragon face proves rather well 👀

Day 13 – Top Tip

My top tip is to take your time when sewing your amigurumi together. Like many of us crocheters the sewing element comes lower down on my list of enjoyable tasks but it’s often the neatness of the assembled pieces that will take your amigurumi to a whole new level of professionalism.
I generally use mattress stich for sewing on appendages and back stitch for flat patches. A knitting needle is a great tool for skewering parts together. It avoids the use of fiddly pins and is easy to adjust until you get the placement perfect.

Day 14 – Favorite Pattern

As I am usually busy designing my own patterns I rarely get to try out other people’s. So I thought I’d do a quick check of my Etsy stats and see which pattern is the favorite with my customers at the moment. Turns out it’s Dante the Donkey and Carlos the Cactus. Seems that people like the heartwarming friendship between a quadruped and a succulent! 🌵❤ 🐎

Day 15 Hands at Work

Technically speaking this is paws at work, not hands, but Tilly Mouse wanted to tell you how much she loves helping me with my crochet. Sewing on buttons is her speciality.

There are a few loose ends for some new designs I need to tidy up over the next few days but I’ll be back soon to post the second part of my AmiguruMay adventure!


by 20 Comments

My First Moji-Moji Craft Stall

Its been a funny old week, having had a total break from my normal routine. I found that time was flying even faster than usual and the craft fair I had signed myself up for, many months ago, was suddenly very nearly upon us. Now I don’t know about you but I always work much better under a tight deadline and so leaving the vast bulk of the preparation and organisation to be crammed into just over a week was probably the best way of tackling it for me personally.

As you can see, I managed to fill my 10 foot long table quite nicely in the end!

The stall sign was both a labour of love and a feat of engineering. But it should last me for a while as it is made out of very sturdy laser cut plywood. Each piece was individually painted by myself and a very patient friend (it took about six hours of paintbrush wielding between us) and was then pieced back together, jigsaw style, and glued onto a backing board.

A lot of work, I know, but well worth the effort. Weirdly there were still three pieces left over that we just couldn’t figure out where to fit. Very odd, but the sign didn’t look any the worse for it so we got straight on with the job of sticking it down. This involved turning it over while sandwhiched between two boards, taping it together along the back, brushing with generous amounts of PVA glue and then weighting it down overnight with anything I could find. Mainly my vast collection of cookbooks, the ever overflowing laundry basket and anything else heavy enough to help but light enough to lift.

And tadah! Here it is after it’s final coat of varnish.

The sign was a good start but I needed things to sell too. Obviously I have a generous supply of ready made amigurumis which were only in need of digging out and showing off.

They all looked a little startled to be seeing the light of day again!

Amigurumis aside, I really felt I wanted to offer a bit more variety to potential customers. So with that thought in mind I embarked on making up a whole batch of crochet kits. I actually really enjoyed this process once I got into the swing of it, though I’m quite happy to take a break from the endless winding and weighing of balls of yarn for a while now!

They next job was to package them up and squirrel them away into boxes along with the all the equipment and notions necessary to create the finished articles.

One week of winding, weighing, measuring, graphic designing, printing, box folding, bag filling and label sticking, and I had my first collection of finished kits to sell. Six different types in all. I would have liked to do more but there’s always next time!

My very helpful sign painting partner also dedicated a whole evening to making me some badges with the Moji-Moji logo cat on (you know who you are and you’re a star – thanks a million!).

I love these so much. Think I might have to invest in my very own badge making machine soon. Maybe one for the Christmas list if Santa is still listening, I have been very, very good this year, I promise!

I found my stash of owl purses (my free tutorial is here if you fancy making some).

And I dug out and blinged up some of my Mini Party Treats by adding a few sprinkles of seed beads and multi-coloured yarn.

I forgot how much I like playing around with toy food!

Looks good enough to eat huh?

I also had a small supply of extra books featuring some of my designs to take with me. A great way of introducing my customers to the topic of the new Amigurumi Monsters book (more on that in the next post) and as there was a recent outbreak of Jeepers and Creepers (who are featuring in the book) spawning in the studio I had plenty of examples to take along as conversation starters. I figured you couldn’t miss all those eyes staring at you as they followed you around the field!

I did have to spend a fair bit of time thoroughly picking them over for kitten hairs though. Oops!

The night before the show everything was stacked and ready to go and an early night beckoned.

My youngest son kindly came along to help set everything up and keep things running smoothly behind the scenes, tidying the table during the lulls and restocking after the rushes.

There was a lot going on at the Worcester Show but I didn’t get to take many photos as I was kept very busy all day behind my stall but for those of you who are curious about the event you can see snapshots of some of the best moments from previous years on their official site in the Gallery section. There was belly dancing, water zorbing, live music, biggest cabbage, longest runner bean, roundest dahlia, best use of recycling, competitive crafts, face painting, fantastic food and fine wine, bonsai beauties, a dog show, sport events, a fairground, and of course the market stalls…  to name just a few.

All in all it was a very successful and enjoyable day. The weather was kind to us and the hours just whizzed by. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to chat and to those who bought a little something to take away with them. It was lovely to meet you all and I hope to see you again next year, if not before!

And for those that weren’t there, thank you for reading this and sharing my day with me via my blog.

I appreciate all your support and the encouragement that helps me to indulge in my gloriously yarn surrounded lifestyle and passion for amigurumi!


by 12 Comments

Zoomigurumi 6

oswald_banner_820

Another year has rushed by and another edition of the Zoomigurumi series of amigurumi-packed books has bloomed into a reality. We’re on to number six now and this one is just as full as ever of cute crocheted characters.

z6banner_instagram-copy

I made an owl pattern back in the summer at the same time that I was designing my chameleon. That was a great riot of colour for sure and the theme seemed to be lots of stripes and big staring eyes!

owls-and-chameleons

Oswald the Owl was put forward as a potential for the new book and, happily for me, he passed the audition!

820two-owls

After being accepted, all the pattern writing and testing had to be done which involved a number of duplicate Oswalds being made.

lots-of-owls-and-a-chick

Sometimes they were crocheted at my desk or in the lounge…

ossie-owl

…and sometimes they were crocheted outdoors, enjoying the warmth of the sun – sadly missed at this time of year.

outdoor-owls

Doesn’t that look idyllic? Roll on next summer, it will soon be Pimms O’clock again!

pims-oclock

I can’t wait to be setting up the day bed in the yard again for some serious crochet al fresco.

As work progressed with the book I volunteered to proofread another contributor’s pattern and was given Little Muggle’s Rudy the Red Panda.

red-panda1

All the individual pieces looked sweet enough but the cute factor just soared sky high when I sewed them together and embroidered the nose.

red-panda-zoomi6

This is my finished attempt, strutting his stuff on my desk.

Of course if you are going to be bookfellows then it’s very important that you learn to get along. Oswald is not too sure the first time that Rudy tries to climb into his nest.

red-panda-and-owl

But Oswald soon finds out that Rudy means no harm and he relaxes a little bit.

red-panda-and-owl-2

Before you know it Rudy has wriggled his way into Oswald’s nest – and into his heart.

the-owl-and-the-panda

It’s a snug fit but they’ll certainly keep each other warm that way!

Oswald also gets along fine with the Nesting Rainbow Owls. Just as well really, as that nest did belong to them first.

owly-family

(My free Rainbow Nesting Owls pattern can be downloaded from here if you worry that your Oswald might get a bit lonely, or if you feel he needs a nice snuggly nest to keep him safe!).

rainbow3

It’s not long before all the owls are one big happy family – with a friendly red panda for company.

owls-and-red-panda

Here’s another look at all the lovely characters in the book, just in case you weren’t tempted enough already!

A special presale price of £15.95, including worldwide shipping, is available until 25th February 2017 and you’ll be sent a downloadable PDF version as soon as your order is complete so you can start crocheting straight away – if you can actually choose which one to start with that is!

The website at amigurumipatterns.net has more information on Zoomigurumi 6 if you want to know more.

It’s been another fun adventure with Meteoor Books. There’s a new book dedicated entirely to cute and cuddlesome monsters coming out next which will feature my Jeepers and Creepers pattern so be sure to check back from time to time for more about that 🙂


by 4 Comments

Hola!

The Mexican blanket is growing and growing. I’m steadfastly crocheting a row or two, or a few squares most evenings and pretty much 90% of it has been made while wearing pyjamas. A very cosy and comfy project it’s turning out to be.

820BlanketPanels

Because of the time I spent accurately working out the stitch counts, the theory is that all the row elements should match up perfectly.  But the stripes made up of mini squares are ending up a fair bit longer than the granny stripes and I think that’s due to the chained row that gives the extra colour blip between the rows of shells. My chains tend to have a slightly tighter tension than the rest of my crochet. I guess I’ll have to learn to loosen up a bit with them. I’ve not found it to be a big problem though, it just needs a bit of pinning to take up the extra length nice and evenly then it’s easier to match stitch for stitch, particularly if I’m working in less than perfect light conditions. And let’s face it, the rest of the family don’t want to spend cosy Movie Nights sitting in a floodlit room, so the light is often ambient rather than practical for a lot of my winter evening projects.
DSCN6875
The need for all that matching up did give me the idea to make Carlos the Cactus though, so I could have a totally Mexican vibe going on while I worked! I love having him around to help but he’s turned out to be an obsessive perfectionist and gets pretty prickly if I try to cut corners and go crocheting along without pinning everything in place first. (I might be self projecting here a bit 😉 )

You can see him keeping his beady eyes on the proceedings here. He’s also really good at holding onto all my yarn needles with those handy little hands of his. I just wish he was equally adept at sewing in the yarn ends too! Ah well, you can’t have it all.

DSCN6862

Here you can see the discrepancy in the lengths of the granny square panels alongside all the pieces that I’ve managed to crochet together so far. It looks like it would never match up but it always does, and the blanket will stretch a little with use – so any minimal puckering will most likely even out itself out after it’s been dragged around and snuggled up in for a while. This is about a third done now, not including the border.

DSCN6867

And also not including these strips that have yet to be joined. When these are all crocheted together I think I’ll be at least half way done. Wey hey, we’re getting somewhere now!

DSCN6870

My cactus pincushion has been useful for helping out with other projects too, so now he can usually be found on my desk with his best friend Dante the Donkey (If you’ve read my previous blog post you’ll understand why they’re inseparable!) and my other favorite pincushion – my felted sheep on a hill. One of the first sculptures I made when I was going through my needle felting phase. I should have enough pins handy for multiple projects on the go now. Which is a good thing because I still haven’t learnt to finish one job before I start another.

DSCN6820

While Carlos is busy helping out, Dante has been trying to make friends with  two of my cats. The cats are much more concerned with napping on the new blanket should I dare to leave it unattended for a nano second or two.

Mojo doesn’t appear to be very impressed with Dante’s approaches!

DSCN6834

Time for evasive tactics by way of an emergency grooming session.

DSCN6836

Ah well, maybe Minnie will be more accommodating…

DSCN6851

…Or maybe not! Different evasive tactic seen here, just close your eyes and pretend to be asleep!

DSCN6850

Then go and seek refuge in a box on a tucked away shelf in among the early prototypes for Orwell.

DSCN6856

This week I also managed to finish writing up the Orwell pattern for my own shops at long last, so you can now get his pattern in my Etsy and Ravelry stores as a single purchase for any of you who want to buy just him on his own. Today and tomorrow are the last few days of the Zoomigurumi 4 pre-sale event if you prefer to get Orwell’s pattern together with 14 other cute as button designs at a bargain price of £13.50. I’ve just got my trusty calculator out (I’m no Rachel Riley styley maths whiz, that’s for sure!) and that works out at 90 pence a pattern. Can’t wait for my copy to arrive!

You’ll find Tessa Van Riet-Ernst’s (aka Woolytoons) mop headed Leopold the Lion in this volume too. He’s currently over in Belgium helping Joke get the books packed up and shipped out over the next few days. Seems that my moggies aren’t the only cats who like to get involved in anything crochet related, particularly if it involves sitting on it!

Leopold

Here’s a teeny reminder of the lovely characters you’ll find nestled between the pages!

820Zoomi4

They’ll be sure to keep you busy and remove all your excuses for idly hanging around like this furry fella!

Not that there’s anything wrong with being idle of course, if that’s what you fancy. I keep telling myself I’m going to take a break when I’ve finished all the crochet projects lined up in my head and in my sketchbook – approximately scheduled for the 12th of Never Ever 🙂

I’m off to do some more blanket in the mean time. In fact I intend to dedicate a large proportion of this weekend to making some serious progress here. Orwell’s taken a shine to it. I think he’s looking forward to it being finished, and who am I to disappoint?!

DSCN6872

I’ll be back with more updates soon and some pictures of my lovely pink and turquoise crochet flowers that I’m trying out for my next project, perfect for a fresh looking spring blanket that I’ve set my heart on. See, I told you it’s impossible for me to finish one project before I start another! I’ll post a picture of them next time, when I’m 100% happy with the colours. Bye for now and wishing you all a happy weekend! x


by 12 Comments

Zoomigurumi 4

Yes, it’s title number 4 in the Zoomigurumi series already. I’ve been lucky enough to have some of my amigurumi designs included in both Zoomigurumi 2 and 3 in the past which were great experiences. Time has ticked inexorably on at its usual steady pace and I’m excited to tell you that the newest book in the collection is now available to order. You can meet my oh-so-friendly and really-rather-cheeky baby orangutan in this edition. His name is Orwell, and he’s my new favorite fur baby.

Orang8205

As you can see, he loves hanging about in trees.  He also likes eating fruit and causing mischief – lots of both of those! Because of his debut in Zoomigurumi 4 he’s had to move to Belgium to be with the publisher. Parting was a bit on the sad side, but he was really looking forward to his new life and I’m sure he’ll do a good job of helping to promote the book. He’s a very confident and outgoing little chap.

Before Orwell left for his great journey via parcel mail I made another baby orangutan called Orson to keep me company. Here’s Orwell and Orson larking around just before Orwell emigrated.

Orwellx2820

They had lots of fun together before they parted ways and are now dedicated pen-pals. We get to hear all about Orwell’s life in Belgium with his new friends. I heard lately that he was a very well behaved model when it came time to take the portrait shots to go alongside his pattern. No-one said photographing wildlife was easy, just ask David Attenborough, but when you look inside this book, I think you’ll agree it went swingingly well!

Orwell says his new home is very comfortable and he’s loving his new celebrity status. Seeing all his colourful new friends from Zoomigurumi 4 I think you’ll understand the enthusiasm he has for his new life. Just take a look here. You can tell there’s never going to be dull moment with such a diverse range of pals to play with. Don’t they all look fun?

characterszoomi4

Orson, however, is glad that he got to stay at home as he’s a lot more reserved and much shyer than his brother. He likes a quiet life, hanging from the light fittings and watching TV – mainly educational nature programmes such as Life on Earth or Blue Planet. He loves to read too. Science and crochet books are among his favorites. They help him try to answer those age old questions that we all ask from time to time, such as ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Where did I come from?’

820Orsoncontemplates

While the book was being prepared it was my task to proofread Lisa Jestes super cute Frog pattern. Time to get all the kit together (making sure everything is as color co-ordinated as possible!)

820Proofreading

It’s not long until this cheeky gangle-legged amphibian – only known as ‘Froggy’ at this  stage, but later officially named Kirk for his book appearance – is taking shape very nicely.

Frog-Pattern

Eventually he’s all done. That’s another job finished and crossed off my list, and a new member added to our ever growing amigurumi family. Turns out Kirk and Orson are getting on splendidly. They particularly loved exploring the garden together. They’re both naturally gifted tree climbers with those languid long limbs of theirs.

820TreeClimbing

Kirk is pleased to find some other frogs in the garden. Yes, there is a pond there somewhere, under all that duckweed! I agree it looks like it needs a bit of love before Kirk can fully appreciate it as his new swimming pool. Mental note to self to have a tidy-up-the-garden weekend soon.

820FrogPals

And Kirk just loves Orson to give him a ride on his shoulders so he can take in all the sights. Hmm, I need to tidy up this bit of the garden too!

FrogPiggyBack

Finally we’re back inside so Kirk can get to meet the Moji-Moji frog fraternity. As you can see, he settles right in for a group hug and a rousing round of The Frog Chorus ‘We all stand together’, or to put it more accurately ‘sit together’ in this case. Happy days!

820Frog-Chorus

So there we have a few of the jolly japes enjoyed by two of the 15 cute characters from Zoomigurumi 4.

If you want to add this book to your collection, or check out the other Zoomigurumi books be sure to visit amigurumipatterns.net/books.

I wonder what adventures your Zoomigurumi creations will get up to? 😉


by Leave a comment

Last Few Days of Pre-Sale

Just thought I’d do a quick post to spread the word! Amigurumi Animals at Work, the new book  compiled and designed by Joke Vermeiren from amigurumipatterns.net is available to order at great pre-sale prices for a few more days yet. (Pre-sale deal will end on the 31st May 2014).

It’s such a lovely, fun book, packed with original designs by amigurumi artists from all around the world. I thought you might like to take a peek at the full collection. You can see that my Cyril the Squirrel has been keeping very fine company indeed!

animalsatworkblock

You’ll be spoiled for choice as to which one to make first! I think I’m going to start with Mama Hen as I have a friend who loves to bake and who also happens to have a birthday coming up soon. Just perfect!


by 11 Comments

Amigurumi Animals at Work

Hi everyone, I’m really pleased to be able to tell you that the new book from AmigurumiPatterns.net is finally available to order in pre-sale!

From right now until May 31st 2014 you can pre-order a copy of the book and you’ll also get a PDF version which you will be able to download immediately, so no boring waiting to get started on your first Animals at Work cutie!

My contribution to Joke Vermeiren’s  beautifully put together volume is Cyril the Squirrel, whom, as you may remember,  is the head gardener at Knutsford Manor.

This is Cyril with his assistant gardener and close friend, Errol. They made a raised bed for their prize carrot crop, but, goodness, the amount of weeding it needs… That’s where four paws are better than two!

DSCN3358

And don’t believe all the bad press about grey squirrels! Errol is just as lovable as his red cousins. I think he’s just as beautiful too!

Erro1l

For more information on Amigurumi Animals at Work and to see the other thirteen gorgeous designs featured in this book take a peek here. You can order the book and the instantly downloadable PDF version here.

For those of you who just want to buy Cyril’s pattern on it’s own, I’ll be releasing it as a single pattern purchase in my Etsy/Ravelry/Craftsy shops soon.  I’ll keep you posted!


by 1 Comment

An Amigurumi Army!

I just wanted to share with you this fabulous compilation of amigurumis! This expansive animal collection is the culmination of several years collaborative work between Joke Vermeiren and the designers whose work features in the Zoomigurumi series of books. I reckon if you’re an amigurumi enthusiast or just amigurumi curious you’ll surely be inspired to pick up your hook and get making a zoo of your own with these cute critters to tempt you. Its full of beautiful quality photographs too, as you can see from Joke’s lovely montage below.

pluszoomi1-2

What’s really exciting is that all three Zoomigurumi books are available at a special price of £31.50 (52 USD) until the 22nd March 2014 (including shipping). Thats 45 original and fun designs and, if my maths is correct (reaches for idiot proof, jumbo sized calculator…) that’s a mere 70 pence (or $1.15) per pattern . Who could possibly resist? As an added bonus you get a PDF version of each book available to download as soon as payment clears. If you’re an impatient so and so, (like me!) you’ll be happy not to have to wait for the postman before you can start bringing you own amigurumi army to life.

If you’re interested you can order online here: www.amigurumipatterns.net

I’m always excited to see my designs in an actual book, on an actual bookshelf, (or on the virtual bookshelves of Amazon), so I’d like to brag about it -just a little bit- by showing you some close-ups of my pattern contributions! And here they are…

Lulu and Lollo Lamb (Zoomigurumi 2)

025

Tom the Tiger (Zoomigurumi 2)

P1020234

And Hedley the Hedgehog (Zoomigurumi 3)

Hedleyone

Ok, I’ve stopped showing off now. Thanks for indulging me! Back to more pattern designing I think. I’ve got a badger as a work in progress at the moment but I wonder what animal to do next? Has anybody got any requests? I’m always open to suggestions 🙂


by 8 Comments

Zoomigurumi 3

 A quick update on Zoomigurumi 3 to let you know it will be available for pre-sale on March 1st. You can find out more and see the previous Zoomigurumi books here: www.amigurumipatterns.net/books

Exciting news…Look who made the front cover…My very own Hedley the Hedgehog!

1970517_633122686725296_699007208_n

If you’re an amigurumi enthusiast then you’ll really love these books. There’s such a mix of different styles from a variety of experienced designers. The patterns have different skill levels so there’s  something for everyone within the covers of one of these books. I think you’ll be spoiled for choice! Here are the other contenders for the front cover to give you a tantalizing peek at two of the other designs that will be in the new book.

(Photography and graphics by Joke Vermeiren at amigurumipatterns.net )

1609842_632740576763507_935030697_n

Even if you’re a beginner, or totally uninitiated to amigurumi, these books have a great explanation guide at the beginning, telling you everything you need to know in both words and diagrams. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of Zoomigurumi 3. When I’m not designing my own amigurumi I just love following other peoples patterns instead. It’s my relaxing spare time go-to activity (along with sock knitting and granny squares). A bit of a busmans holiday I know, but I just can’t get enough of all that yarny happiness!