This Week

I hope everyone out there in blog land is all good :) 

I’m still being quite busy this week: I had enrolled on a course a while ago (I think I might have mentioned this at the time), it’s a ‘blended learning’ course, meaning that the delivery is a mixture of home study and college attendance. Well, Monday and Tuesday this week were my first attendance days for this section of the course – I have already completed the introductory section which was attendance-based, and I’ve done a lot of the home study already too. The next big thing to focus on now is getting log book experience as I need to build up practical hours as part of the course.

You may be wondering what the course actually is of course! Well, the full course I’m doing is a Diploma of Remedial Therapy, but it begins with the level below that, which is relaxation massage. So I don’t think I’ll have any trouble finding volunteers to help me out getting my practice done :)

Easter holidays are all over now, so I’m back to my previous work hours on just a Wednesday and Thursday afternoon/evening. I don’t like working these hours as it makes it difficult for me to get to sleep at night as it takes me a while to unwind, and I miss out on not only precious time with my husband (he will be away again soon – we will be apart for most of this year…) but also on the opportunities I had hoped to take up to do ‘after work’ activities, like watersports and Red Cross volunteering. For me these are now ‘during work’ activities so I can’t take part, but of course during the day there are no activities available as most other people are at work then! So frustrating as I really miss being able to do interesting activities! If only there was something fun on a Monday or Tuesday evening instead…

My at-home activities are easy though – I’m still enjoying my current obsession with amigurumi, not only trying it out but also looking at other amazing creations online. I really am in awe of the talent of some people, there are some incredible pieces of work out there. With that in mind, I thought I would just share a couple of websites that I recently found when trawling Pinterest for inspiration:

First up, I’ve already mentioned www.amigurumitogo.com as I have made 2 patterns from there (bunny and pig). My favourite of these patterns was the pig, as it had such a beautifully shaped head and cheeky face, and it looked so cute when finished! I couldn’t believe how simple all this cuteness was to produce, with the easy-to-follow pattern. I do find Sharon’s patterns on this site easy to follow, and she provides great video tutorials too, so I really recommend her simple patterns to anyone who is a beginner at amigurumi, or who wants to learn. Or who can do it already and wants a cute pig! Pig pattern here. 

Next up, and in a different style, is Lucy Ravenscar. If you’ve searched for amigurumi on Pinterest at all and seen any really cute Star Wars figures, chances are they are Lucy’s. Her Star Wars figures are so impressive and cute, and so popular, that she’s even got a book now that comes with a kit for some of the designs. The book is released next month (May 2015), and I wish we had proper Amazon in Australia! Even though I’m not a Star Wars fan as such, I think the figures are so cute that I would be tempted to make them anyway – I could always gift the results to Star Wars fan friends?

As well as this book, Lucy has several free patterns for little teeny amigurumi on her blog, and she has other patterns for sale in her Etsy shop. The for-sale patterns vary from slightly larger makes, to small makes with brilliant details given the size. My favourites from the Etsy shop are the Halflings – they look like cute little Hobbits to me, and the Witches and Wizards. I also love that the Witches and Wizards are inspired by Terry Pratchett’s characters, as I’m a huge fan of his.

Back to her blog for the free patterns, my favourites are the cat and owl to go with the Witches and Wizards. I haven’t made these yet as I’ve been so busy on my own stuff, but just reading these tiny patterns has taught me a bit more about adding shape to small amigurumi. And the owl looks like a Hedwig to me :)

Finally for now, I want to share some amigurumi eye candy! The little dolls on Magic Dolls  are made in mixed media – amigurumi, crochet, knit, fabric, cross stitch, applique, and perhaps more. They are all photographed so beautifully, with gorgeous painted illustrations and little props and accessories. The blog is in Ukranian (I think) and doesn’t have its own translate button, but the post titles and the labels have English, so it’s easy to find the images. There’s also Instagram if that’s easier for you.

I mentioned the illustrations in the photos, well if you like those you may be interested to see that there are also these gorgeous cross stitch portraits of the dolls (I can’t find links to any charts, but if you were really keen I’m sure you could email to ask about charts).

I just love looking at the pictures here, so pretty.

With regard to my own amigurumi work, I’ve been continuing to make little creations from my own pattern, the same one that I used for these little critters:

I’ve got this one written up in note form for myself, and I’m planning to share a pattern when I’m less busy and can therefore write it properly and take photos to accompany it (so probably not this week…)

And speaking of patterns, I’ve also been trying to rework my budgie so that I can make a pattern. I made the budgie without making any notes whatsoever, which was a bit silly. I also made it in rounds rather than in a spiral, as amigurumi should be. This means that it will probably need a fair bit of working and tweaking to find a good ‘proper’ version, but if I figured it out once then I’m sure I can do it again!

My next task though is to make myself a nice cup of coffee, take some photos of my latest creations ready to share, and then settle down with some hooky before I have to head off to work :)

Have a great day whatever you’re doing!