Amigurumi! Super Happy Crochet Cute

I am hooked (I swear, the pun was unintentional). I love the Japanese art of amigurumi. It is pronounced ah-MEE-goo-ROO-mee. Previously, I made a Frodo amigurumi. I recently found a book at my local library with several patterns for animals an food. What I like about the book is the introduction information. It details materials needed and helpful tips for working with the smaller hooks and embellishments.

The patterns progress from easy beginner to difficult advanced. I am not fan of decorating the house with crocheted items, but some of the food patterns are so cute, I could see them in little bowls in the kitchen. These patterns introduce working with stitches you may not be accustomed to and working with some embellishments like beads. It is a good place to begin practicing with increases and decreases before you get into the involved and time consuming larger amigurumis.

I strongly advice picking up a book about amigurumi from your local library or bookstore for all the tips and practice patterns before trying those awesome patterns you can find all over the web and esty.

2009 Dear Jane Siggie Swap

I received my blocks from the 2009 Dear Jane Siggie Swap. If you don't know what a siggie swap is, it is a signature block swap. Each person sews a specified block for each person that signed up for the swap. For this one, I made 79 of the same block. I then signed the center block with my name, city, state, and country. The blocks are mailed to the swap hostess. After receiving blocks from everyone, she sorts them so everyone receives one block created by each person.

I love receiving the package in the mail and then looking and touching each one. You cannot look at a block without wondering about the person that created it.

I received blocks from as close as the next city over and as far away as Australia. The creativity in these simple blocks is astounding. My favorites where the ones the used a stamp that represented their state. Such a simple idea, but so effective.

If you have never participated in a quilt block swap, I recommend that you do. Do a little research to make sure that the organizer has done a swap with success in the past. Do not hesitate to email the organizer and ask how many swaps they have organized. Remember, organizing and participating in are very different.

Also, have patience. It always takes longer to receive the packages than what is stated in the swap instructions, but life happens. Sometimes the hostess decides to wait for a few people that are late in sending their blocks. Sometimes the turn-around is too ambitious. Sorting all of the blocks is a very time consuming process and then you have to package and mail. Don't even get me started on shipping international. The hostess deserves all the respect in the world! (Thank you giggles2. I hope you know how much your work is appreciated!)

I am working on a map that marks the location of everyone that participated in the swap. I am halfway done. When I complete it, I'll post the link. It is interesting how a swap can cross seas and bridge language barriers. (Okay, that was a bit sappy, but it is neat!)

Going Green Never Tasted so Good - Candy Wrapper Purses

While on vacation, we stopped at the M&M store which featured Candy Wrapper Purses. The purses were made from M&M wrappers. They were very nice looking, but they were a bit expensive for me. My mom then reminded me that when I was young we would make chains from our of candy wrappers, which is the base part of the purses.

I started looking around on the internet and found several sites for making these purses. First, let me mention that there is a site called Save the World Designs that sells these purses and other fashion accessories made from recycles items, but if you would like to make your own, here is where you can find out how.

• Wrapper Purses - Has step-by-step pictures for creating a purse using potato chip wrappers.
• eHow - High-level instructions but there are several links on the side to other ideas.
• Purse Project - Contains a lot of pictures for different ideas and instruction for making a purse from cigarette packs (Keep our roadsides clean!).
• Nahui Ollin demo video:

• Starburst Chain Tutorial - slower, step by step instructions for making the base chain.

You don't have to ruin your diet to make one of these purses. I plan to pick up wrappers and bags (that aren't too gross) from the roadsides and in the park during my walks.

Gardening, Baking, and Amigurumi

I finished my Square Foot Garden. It was quite easy, though a bit expensive. Since this is my first one, I had to purchase not only seeds and plants, but also the wood and soil. It was fun building and planting it. As the season goes, I'll let you know how it works out. I planted beans, peas, four kinds of peppers, leaf lettuce, spinach, carrots, radishes, and onions. You can get more information about Square Foot Gardens from the book or from the web site Square Foot Garden.

I'm not much of a baker, but I can appreciate a good cake. I came across this blog that lists 26 Cakes Perfect for Geeks. There are Yoda cakes, Mario Brother's Cakes, Kindle and cakes with glasses. There is a cake to satisfy the geek in each of us.
Lastly, the creator of the cute R2 D2 anigurumi I posted about has finally released the instructions. You can find them on Esty.

Dear Jane Additions

I have not been completely inactive these past weeks since my last post. I have completed a few more Dear Jane blocks, but I have spent most of my time reading All New Square Foot Gardening. I am learning how to plant a garden using 80% less space with perfect soil. I have finished the book and intend to start building my new garden this afternoon. I will post pictures when I am done and let you know how it went.

Here are the Dear Jane blocks that I have finished.

C-2 Streak of Lightning	C-3 Rayelle’s Fence
C-4 Tic Tac Toe	C-5 Eye of the Cyclone
C-6 Ashley’s Aura

Oh, I also expect to soon receive my signature blocks from the Dear Jane swap. I'll be sure to post pics of those. too.

Anigurumi

I have discovered a new love - anigurumi. That is, the Japanese art of creating characters out of yarn by knitting or crocheting.

Last weekend I found an amazing blog about anigurumi. It first appealed to me because the site had patterns to create Star Wars and Lord of the Rings characters. I am a huge Star Wars and LOTR geek! The patterns were easy to follow and the result - I think - was great. Here is the Frodo Baggins I made:

I even made the elven sword, Lothlorien pin, and of course the One Ring. The site where I found the patterns is Geek Central Station. The doll pattern was free, but I had to purchase the clothing and accessory patterns. The prices are very reasonable and the direction very good.

I am not working on a Legolas doll - and then maybe some Star Wars!

Fabric Easter Eggs

Happy Hop-Hop!

I hope the bunny brought you lots of yummy chocolate. Unfortunately, my daughter is under the impression that all the candy is for her. Maybe I can sneak a peanut butter egg later.

I bring you a special Easter project today. Many of you have probably already seen these. Since the pattern was posted everyone is raving about them: Fabric Easter Eggs.
You can find the pattern at Retro Mama. They are really quick and easy to make. They are also a great way to use up some of your fabric scraps that you cannot bring yourself to through away.