Frustrated About Yarn

I have decided to revoke my rave reviews on Loopy Yarns here in Chicago.

Lately I have only been using one Peaches and Creme yarn, which I love because it's 100% cotton and they come in a multitude of pretty colors! I am also a fan of Sugar and Cream yarn, which seem identical to the Peaches and Creme, except that they are seriously lacking in the diversity of colors. So it seems the only store that sells this type of yarn is of course Loopy Yarns, which used to be great and made me all sorts of happy...that is until the past month and a half. Now the people in the store area always so nice and helpful and when their stock of Peaches and Creme started dwindling, and my Etsy sales were jumping, I kindly asked if and when they are replenishing their stocks of oh-so-pretty yarn because I was on a mission to keep my store nicely stocked. Now they've said the new shipment was coming a week later and I promptly returned only to find it still empty. I gave them another 2 weeks and came back to see it still bare and asked again whether their stock was coming in, in which they answer: it's definitely coming in the next monday. Of course I went back and there's no yarn and waited 3 more weeks and no yarn! I tell you, I don't think I can handle going back in there one more time to come out disappointed.

So here's to ordering my own yarn and never setting foot in that place again!

Booooo to you Loopy Yarns!! Boooooo!!

Weekend Project: I Just Love Christmas

I love it like crazy! It's mostly likely because it's also my birthday on the 26, but I can't get enough of all the christmas lights and decorations. I love being able to work on Michigan Ave in Chicago during the holidays and seeing all the stores lit up on my way home. And even though all those christmas songs are playing all the time on the radio now, I still love it!

Unfortunately the puny, little tree at Daley Plaza was disappointing, but we got to sample all the yummy food at Chriskindlmart this year. Although I probably should have waited to go till later and the crowds die down, it was still as tasty as ever!

Here's some more Christmas inspiration:


A cup of Christmas water up on my Etsy! All this crocheting and filling orders is definitely keeping me busy! I stuck my hand in these pictures as a homage to my old dreams of becoming a hand model. Unfortunately that never panned out, mostly because doing research is much more fulfilling, and I dont think I can get away with not cleaning or doing my dishes.

Only a few weeks left! Watch out for Valentine's Methanes!

Tis the Season

...for Christmas methanes!


They make awesome ornaments for your beautifully geek'd out tree!

So I made my lightbox, which is great...but now I need a bright, adjustable desk lamp...almost there!

Cup O Tea

Phew! I'm so glad I got to make a couple shipments of molecules today! It definitely feels good to see some of my guys get sent out to find new homes! I will try to keep up with the molecule making!

I guess a good follow-up to yesterday's excitement is to show my cup O' tea. Although I feel its a far inferior version to the water, I always thought tea would be a cute idea.


I tried my best to represent a molecule holding a tea leaf inside a smaller tea cup, but I do think I'll have to play with the proportions a bit more before its Etsy-able. Next: water holding coffee beans?

I do have to apologize for my shoddy photography in posting those methanes yesterday. Unfortunately the daylight left me before I was able to get some decent shots so I just had to bear with the yellow light. I do believe its time to build a handy light box!! I hope it's as easy as it looks online!

Etsy's Facebook!

Zomgz! So it seems like I walked into work today with a pleasant surprise to several Etsy Convo's about how my Cup O'Water is currently being featured on Etsy's Facebook page! Woot!! Now while I'm totally shocked, honored, excited, and happy that this has happened....I am also utterly embarrassed that I let my blog and Etsy shop kind of dwindle. So to all the new visitors: HAI! I'm sorry there is nothing new in the past few months, and I'll try to get my geek on!

I will be going home after work and posting my methanes that were just sitting around for a week or so right away!

And special thanks to Autumn2May for her feature and tweeting. Please visit her blog at http://autumn2may.blogspot.com/

The Mrs. Methane Version 2

Long time no blog!

It's been quite a busy month already as I have started a new job and don't have so much time for crocheting and things are getting bought up on Etsy. I really do have to keep it up!

Here's some old stuff:


I wasn't so sure about sticking with the original models of methane and tried a ball and stick form. But after making it, I realized how much easier it is to stay with with the original. It saves me about 30 min of assembly time and i think the other ones are cuter.

Since the molecules are doing quite well, I think I'll try to be sticking to it. I've been working on holiday editions! I'll try to get back to a bit of regular posting. Stay tuned!

I've been AFK

I must have been too busy/uninspired the past month or so, but I know I've been neglecting and been away from this blog much longer than I would like. But I have excuses: The summer here in Chicago has been too good and I'm usually out and about instead of at home crocheting; I've been busy cleaning and preparing our house for the tons of guests we had; and....my cat ate my yarn! Ok, so the last one isnt true, but falls in the category of excuses =)

Im back to crocheting and my DNA is looking pretty good. I can't wait to get it picture ready! Murlocs aren't coming out so well, we'll have to tweak it. Mr. Met head is done, but wondering about the body, and the Mets season is not at all helping to keep me inspired.

Extended Weekend Project: Happy Birthday T!

It was my friend's birthday last weekend and I was working hard to finish a project...which didn't really get done until today. Sorry T! But it's finally done and I have to say I really like it! She had asked me one day, jokingly, to make her an angel-devil type thing at which I thought, "that's probly the oddest thing I can do." But knowing it was her birthday coming up, I took a shot at it and it materialized into a really cute angel/devil:



I started her out with her body and slapped on some wings and horns and attempted to do some hair, which came out pretty cute! I thought she could look more angelic with a white dress, but then realized she looked too angelic, and made an awesome removable devil's cape, which kind of reminds me of a dracula cape (vampire amigurumi is coming!). The cape comes off and around the wings, which I thought is a super cute detail. The pictures don't really show the gold detailing of the halo and pitchfork, but it's there! I saw this yarn at Loopy Yarns and thought it would be perfect for a devilish halo!

Hope you like it!

The Mrs. Version

Pretty in pink and purple!

A Spoonful of Vinegar

Hopefully everyone had as tasty a July 4th as I did. It was packed full of wonderful friends, barbecue and oh so tasty ribs at the annual Naperville ribfest! There's no doubt about it, the Pigfoot stand always steals the show! And now for some vinegar:



This one annoyed me too much. There was no way I could show a double bond in a cute fashion so it really just looks like a normal one (omg faux pas!) and hopefully the positioning of it is enough. And the steric hindrance is bothersome, but I thought it would look like a more cohesive smile-y molecule to make it extremely non-energy efficient. *sigh* No one said crocheted chemistry was easy.

CH3CH2OH aka Ethanol

Some more molecular cuteness. This is what's floating in your alcoholic beverage:




Its quite annoying to make sure the bonding angles are at least slightly accurate and positioning atoms to make sure it can sit in a cute way. It's not quite equatorial, but I tried my best, and at least it looks like a dancing ethanol!

Weekend Project: Cup O' Water

I was fiddling around yesterday and put together some water molecules. I didn't really like the idea of them at first because they really couldn't stand up on their own and thought that they might look better in a cup. And now I have a cup of water:



The small cup could barely fit two molecules, but I wanted to have a molecule overflowing when in the cup. No mouths on these guys. I tried to slap some on, but I really just liked it without a mouth. Maybe the purple is too dark.


I'm starting to love the molecular look!

There's a Mess of Organic Molecules Floating Around

I think I may like making organic structures a little too much. I'm still trying to think of simpler things to make because while I do want to create a DNA model, that just seems too labor intensive to do atom by atom. So far there's a ton of methanes, an ethanol and acetic acid. I'll have to go bigger and do sugars since I want to make cyclohexanes in chair form...hmm does anyone know what I'm talking about or should I just leave the geekiness to myself? Any other suggestions of molecules to make?

I Want to Live in Hawaii

I was fortunate enough to visit the island of Kaua'i on my honeymoon earlier this year and have been pining to go back ever since. The beaches are so incredible there and if I could ever live there I wouldn't hesitate to leave the mainland. So I decided to make a cute little hula bear:



I decided she needed a fuzzy coconut top too! =)

Etsy anyone?

I finally finished uploading everything on etsy!!! yaaaay!! Now please buy my stuff at:

http://www.primandplush.etsy.com

or you can conveniently use the link on the side.

In other news, the camera got found and is in working condition so far, so I should be posting more regularly again.

Lack of Camera = Lack of Posting

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, but we'll get there...

I'm buying a new camera...stay tuned!

Angel Kitty

More Hello Kitty stuff!

The angel kitty is really cute and is probably one of the first ones that I made. I especially like her wings!

It's Me! Kinda

I've never been a big fan of dolls.

Ok, that's an understatement. I have what's called Pediophobia, which is the fear of dolls, and I pretty much tense up and get all freaked out when I see a doll (my husband can attest to the bone crushing hand holding when we pass by the American Girl store on Michigan Ave). I'm not crazy, but had just been afraid ever since I got a porcelain doll as a gift when I was about 6 or 7 and I swear in the middle of the night it blinked and turned its head at me. I think I must have just watched Chucky or something on TV and I haven't recovered ever since.

So I've never been a big fan of the amigurumi dolls, but figured I should try it out for practice since I've wanted to make warcraft characters. So I started with me:


And I already want to throw it away, although it doesn't scare me so much. I'm just against having dolls in my home...

Putting on hair is the most annoying thing ever, I'd have to say. But otherwise, my husband says it looks nothing like me, which is good for me, and I never wear dresses like that, but dresses are fun to make!

However, I think that will be the last doll I'll ever make. I might make my cat and stick it next to me to make it look cuter and less scary. Or maybe I'll just keep making my bears...

The Camera is Still Dead...

...which really doesn't help when you're trying to blog!

I guess I'll have to get looking into a new one, but in the mean time I still have a few pictures stored on the computer that I was saving for a rainy day.

On a whim, I wanted to make hearts so I made a bunch and had nothing to do with it. After I started making bears I slapped some on a white bear and now he's just so full of hearts:




Maybe too much?

On another note, I'm almost ready to sell on Etsy. Just waiting for a few shipments of thank you cards and boxes and I'll be ready to be posting some items!

Hello Kitty's Kitty

Wait what?

I don't know who's brilliant idea it was to make up a character to be Hello Kitty's pet cat, but it sure is extremely bizarre. But here she is:



The pattern came from that book that I posted previously. Instead of a crocheted bell I put on a real one so she becomes all jingly and happy!

Weekend Project: Tiled Outdoor Table

Ok, so I know this has absolutely nothing to do with crochet or knit or anything with yarn, but I really didn't do so much crocheting this weekend. I was pretty much working all weekend on this table project.

Our outdoor space has no tables. We have this wonderful balcony that faces the Chicago skyline, and we pretty much just have a barbecue and a bench out there and we really really really needed some kind of outdoor table just to put our stuff on. So i searched for one at all the obvious places like crate & barrel and pottery barn, but I didn't like the idea of spending over $100 on an outdoor table that's meant to get all weather worn.

At the same time I have these really ugly boring $10 Ikea laminate tables from my graduate school days that I would throw in the dumpster in a heartbeat:


But they're the perfect size for an outdoor table. However, after watching hours and hours of HGTV like I do on any given day, I know better than to just set it out there on my balcony without weatherproofing it first.

***I did spend a lot of time documenting my table transformation, but unfortunately the camera's memory card is messed up so I only have one picture***

I looked up several websites that are solely dedicated to sprucing up ikea furniture (like ikea hacker) and decided to sand, prime and paint the table. I used an exterior white paint (to protect the table from mildew) and decided to finish the table top with ceramic and glass tiles using a thinset and grout that's recommended for shower tiling since its water resistant. While I don't suggest going to Home Depot for tile, because their tile section is severely lacking in diversity, I did happen to find a green tile that I liked.

And now my ugly black table isn't so ugly anymore:



I probably only spent ~$60 on materials but have a ton of paint and tile adhesive + grout to last for awhile. I still have another ugly black table, so I'm still thinking of another way to transform it, or even adding a backsplash to my kitchen. More crochet tomorrow, I promise!

Goomba's Gonna Eat You

Who doesn't love some good old Super Mario Brothers? Unfortunately I did not come up with the concept to do some amigurumi Mario Brothers stuff, but nonetheless, it's still a great idea and very fun. It's also a good way to get some guys to appreciate some yarn work. I've already made 1-up and power mushrooms for my husband and he keeps them at work for motivation.

At the start of my amigurumi craze, I wanted something quite easy to make and the goomba seemed like a good idea:



Unfortunately it requires a ton of felt work for the face detailing, but eventually I came up with this:


He doesn't look exact, but I thought it came out really cute. Kudos to Lion Brand Yarn for having the only yarn color close enough to a Goomba!

Jiji

I'm back and had a wonderful trip back home in New York! I've been inspired to do more amigurumi since my trip, but more on that later...

One of the projects I've been working on before I left is from a really old anime movie called Kiki's Delivery Service. It's from Hayao Miyazaki so it should be pretty well known, but it's one of my favorites growing up. It's pretty much about a girl, Kiki, who's a witch-in-training and she flies around on her broomstick delivering merchandise. Her cat Jiji is usually flying around on her broomstick with her and is the comic relief of the movie. I always liked Jiji.

Here's one of my inspiring pictures:



And a better picture of Jiji:



And here's my crochet version:


I think he came out super cute, although I really despise cutting out felt. His eyes kind of needed some felt detailing, but since I'm super OCD about making things perfectly round I'm never satisfied with cutting out felt by hand. My mom just bought a Cricut though and I'm excited to go over one of these days to use it for some precision felt cutting. Until then, you'll have to suffer with me. He does have a tail in the back that's not so visible from the picture.

Enjoy!

My Greatest Crochet Accomplishment Ever

My beautiful afghan throw (pardon the cruddy photography skills and blanket placement):



I made this from a book that I bought a really long time ago but never really tried to put it together. Every individual square is supposed to have a different pattern although somehow I repeated one by accident, but you can't really tell. Since purple is my favorite color I picked it out first and then chose some nice accent colors. I really liked how it came out and it has a permanent resting place on my couch. I also absolutely love a warm comfortable throw and probably own over a dozen of them for my tiny 2-bedroom condo. So it was definitely nice to be able to make one of my own.

It took me about a month to complete with tons and tons of yarn. I used a more expensive yarn, the Bernat Satin collection so I'm not so sure it's very cost effective, but definitely makes you feel accomplished, which is what I needed after a stressful time in my life. Crochet is really a great kind of therapy!

I'm taking a little break from the blog to go spend time in New York with my family, I'll be back next Wednesday, hopefully with some cute amigurumi!

I'm a Bit Distracted..

I saw a cute Market Bag from my Lion Brand Yarn newsletter and I had to make it. So off to the yarn store I went. My store of choice is Loopy Yarns over on Polk and Dearborn. They have the best selection of super nice yarn (the kind that Michaels and Joann don't sell) and they're soo friendly. They also have a ton of space for their knitting and crochet classes and I would highly recommend taking a class over there. And even though I buy about 7 skeins of yarn, they will always wind it up for me!

A day later my bag is complete:




I only used a crochet hook one size smaller than suggested and it didn't seem to be long enough just following the pattern so i extended it by several rows. I initially was going to go with one color but when I got to the store and the two colors of yarn were hanging next to each other, I had to use both. There's a small strip of green on the handle just because I had a tiny bit of extra green yarn and didn't think it would be of any use for another project. I'll be off to New York on Friday and can't wait to use it as a travelling companion!

Springtime Bear

When you live in Chicago long enough to experience a winter (especially the winters for the past two years, which have been extremely cold and snowy) you start to dream about the summer and wait for that one day for the weather to change. In my daydreams I crafted some crochet'd flowers and a butterfly hoping it will bring summer closer. I'm convinced that it worked and it's the reason why it didn't snow in May! Here's my inspirational Springtime Bear:

Weekend Projects: Mr. Methane

My chemistry geekiness at its best:


I always wanted to do an organic structure, and of course the easiest to start with would be Methane, CH4. Just plain old methane looked kinda boring so I slapped on some eyes and a smirk and he became Mr. Methane. I think I must have readjusted his hydrogens a billion times to make it look right.

**not made to scale in atomic sizes, bonding length and bond angle symmetry, but optimized for maximum cuteness**

On My Way to Taiwan...

I got to visit one of my very many hometowns earlier this year in Taipei, Taiwan and came across this cute book in a Japanese bookstore in XiMenDing, a place where all the young kids hang out (and reminds me how old I am):




Hello Kitty Amigurumi apparently is all the rage, but I'm glad I bought my book from a real bookstore in Asia rather than Ebay or Etsy. The Kitties are all so cute! Although, I do think that a lot of the patterns have some kind of flaws which make the hello kitty heads kind of lopsided and slanted, but is easily fixed by modifying the pattern. And since I dont really read Japanese or even Chinese, I just manage to match up the characters to know what head or arm looks like. And here's a final product:


The Strawberry themed Hello Kitty is definitely one of my favorites.

Happy Chef

Inspired by my Top Chef addiction:



I especially like the eggs in the pan and his floppy spatula!

The Black Bear

This is my cute little Black Bear using an original pattern. He's holding a beehive and I tried to accent it with some bumblebees and honey spilling out of the hive.



He came out pretty nicely considering he's my first bear!

Its my first blog!

It's always hard to start blogging, but here it goes....

I figured I needed a form of sharing my amigurumi to friends and family and decided to branch out to everyone else. Hopefully there will be some cute pictures of my creations and knitting/crocheting adventures in the near future *crosses fingers*. I'll probably be getting into some sewing projects soon too. I'm taking an intro sewing class, which is a much needed experience since I probably haven't touched a sewing machine since Home Ec class waaaay back in middle school.

Here's to hoping I can keep it up!