Sunshine

In my last post I had said that I would explain what Teru teru bozu are. They're traditional dolls that Japanese farmers would hang out their windows because they believed Teru teru bozu brought good weather and sent the rain away. They were usually made out of paper or cloth. I crocheted a Teru teru bozu amigurumi ( from my original pattern of course). It was a lot of fun and I'm now in the middle of making a second one. They kind of resemble little white ghosts but they aren't, they're Teru teru bozu!

I have had such a busy week!

I had both interviews with my Elementary school mentor teachers for next year when I am a student teacher in the Multiple Subjects teaching credential program. I also had a language development presentation. All of which went fine and I'm happy they're now in the past and I am that much closer to graduating and being in the cred program. Tomorrow I'm volunteering with my kindergarten literacy partners at two different times in the day and then observing in my fall placement for the teaching credential program for a couple hours in between. Happy it's Thursday! 

Teru Teru Bozu

I just crocheted a Teru Teru Bozu from my original pattern...too cute... explanation and pictures soon :)

Rollie Monsters

Hi Everyone!
I'm sorry it's been so long since my last blog entry. I am going to try to be much better about updating as often as possible.
I've got a lot going on right now but I still find a little bit of time to create. I graduate from Humboldt State University in three weeks. I can't wait! I've been doing a ton of preliminary stuff to get admitted into the multiple subjects teaching credential for next year. I'm looking forward to when all of this preparation is in the past and I am finally just in the program ( although I'm really scared about the program...)!

Lately I've been focusing my crochet time solely on crocheting monsters. I'm having so much fun with it and I don't think I'm gonna stop for awhile! First I started making " Rollie" monster amigurumi and now I've added the Cyclops "Rollie" monster amigurumi. I want to make a bunch of these guys in all kinds of different colors. So far I've made cyclops in red and purple soft yarn ( purple Caron Simply soft worsted weight yarn and Red Heart Soft worsted weight red yarn).

I'm happy to say that I've figured out something that I've been wondering about for awhile. I have a bunch of yarn that I love, that has a sort of shiny look to it. I had received this yarn second hand so none of the skeins had their original labels on them and therefore I never knew what type of yarn this was. I finally went to Joann Fabrics with this question in mind and I figured it out very quickly! The shiny yarn is titled "soft" yarn and a bunch of different brands make this yarn type. I chose to try 1 skein of Caron's Simply Soft purple worsted weight yarn and 1 skein of Red Heart Soft red worsted weight yarn. So far I absolutely love working with them ( especially the Caron's Simply Soft). It's the perfect yarn for crocheting my monsters. It's super soft, pliable and comes in all kinds of beautiful colors.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to be the first featured artist in my friend Sarah's blog :) You can check out the interview here in her blog Sarah Kate Creations http://sarahkatecreations.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/special-guest-amigurumi-by-ali/

That is all for now! Happy Sunday! *wishing the weekend was longer*

Hesse

"I had forgotten that the world could be so lovely. I had grown accustomed to living within myself.I was resigned to the knowledge that I had lost all appreciation of the outside world, that the loss of its bright colors was an inseparable part of the loss of my childhood, and that, in a certain sense, one had to pay for freedom and maturity of the soul with the renunciation of this cherished aura. But now, overjoyed, I saw that all this had only been buried or clouded over and that it was still possible-even if you had become liberated and had renounced your childlike happiness- to see the world and to savor the delicious thrill of the child's vision."

Annette the Robot

My newest creation is Annette. She's an amigurumi robot thats pink and grey. I crocheted her from a pattern that I created. It was really fun writing down the pattern as I made her and being creative throughout the entire process. I really liked changing the colors of yarn from grey to pink because this is something that I haven't done very much and am still exploring. Changing colors gives me so many options and ideas!

Yarn type

It has been quite the adventure figuring out what type of yarn is best for making amigurumi and in particular what I like using best for making ami's. So far I can't decide. I really like Lana Loft 100 % wool worsted weight yarn. It's a little hard to find though so I branched out to Lamb's Pride worsted weight ( from the same Brand; Brownsheep). It is a wool mohair blend yarn. I thought I liked it for a bit so I bought a few skeins.But then things seemed to be a bit lumpy and fuzzy so... A little while ago I came upon some cheap Red Heart acrylic worsted weight yarn and it worked wonderfully. I started realizing maybe spending more money isn't necessary. But now I'm sort of wondering about the Red Heart as well... any suggestions?

I can't wait for my safety eyes to come in the mail!

By the way, if you haven't checked out my facebook page for Amigurumi By Ali :) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amigurumi-by-Ali/176235059062264?sk=wall

Sorry it's been so long

Sorry I've neglected this blog for so many months. I have been busily creating this summer. I've made many amigurumi and I've learned to sew on my sewing machine. I've started making "little softies" which are just tiny stuffed animals made out of felt, fleece etc. I've got a lot to learn...it's so exciting!
Tonight I began to learn how to make stop motion animation films using my amigurumi as the characters. It is so much fun! I made a little video for youtube. Obviously it is very poorly done but it's a good beginning to get the feel for stop motion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTeLSRVCskM&feature=player_profilepage
Goodnight all!