Labour of Love

My brother is getting married soon, and me being ever-so-thoughtful was just going to give him money as a wedding present.  However, I thought it might be nice that he and his wife-to-be could have something tangible and personalised...a memento that they could pass on to future generations.

I decided to make them a blanket in their wedding colours.  I wanted to make them something modern, yet timeless.  Something that wouldn't go out of fashion or look twee or was overly feminine and ruffly.  I've always liked geometric shapes so decided to go with the "tumbling blocks" look.

Tumbling blocks is the quilting term for this pattern.  It's just diamonds sewn together to make squares, which are then sewn together to form a blanket.  The colours used give the appearance of cubes stacked upon one another...it has quite a mesmerising effect when looking down upon it.

So by the time I'd decided upon the pattern and bought the wool, it was almost mid-June, and the wedding is early August.  Here is my progress so far.  I'm on the home stretch with two weeks to go.  Will post another pic once it's finished.  

And a Lion!

Latest animal I've been asked to make...a lion for a 1-yr old girl named Halliday.  Made in bright yellows/oranges.  I looked around the net for images of crocheted lions, but didn't find one that I liked so thought I'd go freehand.  Oh dear...how am I going to make the mane?  Well, I started out by fur-stitch crocheting a cap to cover the head, but it was still looking strange....cute, but strange (showed a pic to a friend and was told it looked like a weird Simpsons character).

Ahh, I've got it...the mane needs to extend down around and under the chin!  Problem solved.  Very happy with how this turned out!

Love running my fingers through that luxurious mane!  Loved making this so much I've since made another 3!

Expanding My Repertoire With Amikirin

After a few orders for different character cats and monkeys, I was asked to make a giraffe in anticipation of a friend's newborn baby.  We didn't know what sex the baby would be but decided on a yellow giraffe with a green feature.  A lot of crocheting and frogging (unravelling your crochet stitches when you make a mistake) later, I finished! I made short chunky arms, legs and tail and green spots for something a bit different and am so pleased with the final result.  Who knew that Giraffe = Kirin in Japanese?  Say hello to Amikirin!

The Adventures of PooPoo the Giant Amisaru

I came across some thick acrylic yarn on sale and couldn't help myself...ended up buying it along with a huge 10mm crochet hook.  The result?  PooPoo the giant crochet monkey!!  He's HUGE!  I started off making the head first...once I saw the size of it, I couldn't stop until he was finished!

PooPoo loves motorbikes and keeping fit and active :)

Here he is:

Size comparison with a normal Amisaru

Oh PooPoo, where's your helmet, you daredevil you!

Ahh that's better...safety first!

Oh no, a straw hat is not a good substitute for a helmet!

Keeping fit on the rowing machine

PooPoo visited me at work, but didn't help me much :\

Picking figs!  PooPoo loves figs!

Oh no PooPoo, don't jump!

Crossfit Cat

One of my hobbies before I got back in to crocheting was Crossfit.  Crossfit is a functional fitness movement that originated in America a few years ago and has taken the world by storm.  It's practical and utilises a whole range of different exercises for a great all-round fitness program.  Barbells, kettlebells, box jumps, rowing, gymnastics, running just to name a few.  I made a lot of friends within the Crossfit community and here is my first Crossfit cat complete with her own kettlebell.

This is her kettlebell next to a real one, the red one weighs 28kg and is generally used in a "kettlebell swing"

This is Annie Sakamoto a Crossfit trainer, demonstrating kettlebell swings (yes, 28kg is HEAVY!)

Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet, a well known Canadian Crossfit athlete showing good form on the gymnastics rings, wearing the common female uniform of small shorts and small top.

I was asked to make this Crossfit Amineko by a guy up in sunny Queensland as a present for his girlfriend, a Crossfit trainer, so I put her in typical workout uniform of short shorts and bright shoes, and also customised the green t-shirt to represent the gym she works at. She was lucky enough to compete in the Crossfit Games in 2011 and the number 121 is her team number.  It's these small personal touches that really make these Amineko mean something to their new owners.  I hope she likes it!

Supercat and Batcat

Here are a pair of Amineko made for a pair of young brothers for Christmas.  Having made a Supercat before, I knew it could be done again, though this time I had the challenge of trying to make a Batcat.  I made these for the grandsons of a friend of my mother's, so the brief was for any well-known superheroes, they just had to be different ones.

I thought about Ironman, the Incredible Hulk, Flash Gordon, Spiderman but chose what I thought would be the easiest to recognise.  I was really happy with how Supercat had turned out the first time I'd made him, and this time around I was even more impressed with Batcat!  He's adorable if I may say so myself!