Gammy Legged Ducklings

I have made a lot of amigurumi creations but they're always gifts for someone's children.  So under the guise of Valentines day, I made us two little love birds.   

I didn't have a pattern.  Creating something without a pattern is always a bit tricky so they took me longer than I intended.  I decided to put rice in their bodies so they actually stand up, causing me no end of pride.  Somewhere along the way, they became ducklings. The webbed toes were really hard to design, I had to remake them a bunch of times.  No matter how hard I tried, the fourth foot would not turn out like the other three.  Somehow the boy one is taller than the girl one.  We also know she's a girl because of a pink star button on her front and her pretty blue/green button-eyes.  The boy is wearing a little tie. 

On presentation to Jbird, he wondered "and what will I do with these?"  Well, Mr. Bird, they will sit on the piano and reside over our house.  When we fight, they may just learn to fly.

Tying up loose ends

I ensconced myself in the corner of our lounge last night with the Mary Tyler Moore show, a bowl of chips and a bottle of water.  I had decided to force myself to finish off the three months worth of knitted/crocheted items I had overflowing from my craft box.  My friend, MK, tells me – with all the wisdom of a life-long artist and as a much more experienced crochet-hook worker – that I should enjoy this part of the job.  It’s creating the final product.  Particularly with the amigurumi toys I have been fond of making.  Your crochet skills almost don’t matter, as the sculptor, sewing them together is what gives them their character.  Do a bad job of it and you can end up with one funny looking toy.

I’m far more prone to let myself “do it later” than I would like to be because five hours later I had a cramp in my right hand and I had still not finished! 

Making something out of rags

Rag rugs are a really satisfying, quite simple gift to crochet.  Making the rags takes a bit of time and it can be quite messy - I end up with a layer of rag fluff all over my clothes and the floor.  I prefer to make circle rugs, although I have found the hardest part at the start when I'm counting the first few stitch increase increments.  It's hard to see the definition between stitches with all the jaggedy edges getting in the way.  Doing this step properly makes a big difference for a really tidy looking rug, unless you’re going for the lopsided effect. 

They are one of the few items I make that I always like at the end.  They seem plush, and it's satisfying to see how the width of the rags I've made and the imagined design turns out in the finished product.  I've made a couple with some sheets my parents have had since they were newly-weds.  Those sheets are really familiar to my family but they had become thin and were tearing easily from over-use.  It's nice to have found a new purpose for them.