My nephew loves Gir from Invader Zim and had mentioned at Christmas how he would like to have one crocheted. So for his birthday, I decided that would be the perfect gift. I was able to find a pattern through Craftster.org which was really easy to follow.

The first one I made my daughter quickly claimed it. He looked pretty nearly just like the this one. So if I ‘nailed’ the pattern on the first try, you know it was good instructions. It was fun to make although I don’t enjoy working with Caron Simply Soft for amigurumis. But for this project, the yarn worked great.

I found a cloth star that I cut down to make the crown and used netting to make the tutu. She seems to like it and wants another one with blue eyes. She is enamored with blonde hair and blues eyes right now. That gives me an idea to add some blonde curls to the next princess cthulhu.

This week I have been working on some amigurumi for my husband’s benefit Legend of the Five Rings tournament. Proceeds are going to the relief effort in Japan. He wanted me to do some Cthulhus for prizes but I thought that samurais, and ninjas would be better for the theme. My search for ideas brought me across kokeshi amigurumi. I was familiar with this but my interest is now renewed. I freehanded a small doll for my daughter. I played around with some embroidery for decoration since I’m really bad at it and need practice.

She turned out pretty cute – especially for a first try. I plan to make more for my first craft fair in November. I had planned on setting up at a craft fair in May but just don’t have enough items made. Kokeshi dolls will definitely be on the craft table. They are just too cute.

My amigurumis never turn out as well as the pictures. If I crochet the elephant again, chances are it will look better than my first attempt. Crochet patterns are definitely a ‘learn as you go’ process. I try not to get too bent out of shape figuring out a new pattern. It takes a little time and patience. Usually if I make an item again, the second one always looks better than the first attempt.

Sometime last year I bought Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet which is full of cute amigurumi creations. For Valentine’s Day, I decided to make the baby octopus in the book. I used pink yarn and made a small red bow.

I did deviate from the pattern for the tentacles. The tentacles were supposed to be made in the round. I found that with such few stitches that my round wasn’t looking too clean. I instead made small square pieces sewing up the sides to create basically the same look. Fitting eight tentacles was a job. Next time I make one, I think I will do a round of backstitches so that I have a front loop to for tentacle attachment.

Next project from the book is the girl elephant which I hope to complete within a few days.

Think it turned out pretty cute. I did the tentacles each a different color. For the wings I used a strand of each color. It was harder than expected. I really should have used a larger hook. I think next I will try another Valentine’s Cthulhu. My first one was not what I had expected. Think it was my color selection, so this year I will try mainly reds and pinks.

Not sure where the Mardi Gras Cthulhu will wind up. If my daughter likes it, then she will claim it – like she does most of my amigurumis. If not, then Daddy may take him to work for a while.

While I was piecing it together, my daughter kept saying it looked like a pig. Well without the horn, ears, and mane it really does. The pink really makes it look like a pig. I’m thinking of making another one – maybe one in a more traditional unicorn color like white.

She is happy with it, so that makes me happy. Her next request is a peacock with a horn. Should be interesting.

This past week has been a rough one. Between vehicle issues and limited funds, I just haven’t been in a good mood. But I did whip up this little guy for part of a dirty Santa gift. I call him a pocket Cthulhu. He is about two inches tall. He was super fast to make – which gives me an idea of a small project for the craft fair in May. I’ve been wanting more small projects so that I have a lot of items to sell.

I love simple small projects that take less than 30 minutes. It really gives me a sense of accomplishment and a small crochet item that is super cute.

Angry Birds is my new favorite game for the iPod Touch. Those cute little angry birds just scream ‘crochet me’ every time I play. Today I was playing around and came up with this for the red one. I have some areas to tweak and then will try the yellow and small blue bird.

The hardest part was all the small extras. They take longer to add to the body than they do to crochet! Still I think he turned out pretty cute. I will make more and maybe even a slingshot. Play a live game of Angry Birds. Now that could be fun.

I plan to redo her maybe with less rows. I might try a very lightweight yarn but not sure if I have blue in my stash. If not, then I will probably just start the mom and do the other two kids since I have plenty of green in all weights.