Made this little guy foe a commission. He looks almost exactly like my original Kitsune but in a smaller more pocket size. Hope Esther enjoys him.

For the last few days I have been working on lots of quick projects while trying to finish some projects up.

First I had to make a toy before I went nuts and destroyed the sweater I have been working on. Still working out the pattern but these little guys are fun to make.

And Blake, the hubbie, wanted a case for his DS. So I tried my hand at case making. Took 3 tries for me to come up with something I like, above is a too tight case that is about a half inch to short. My case is coming soon, after I get new needles for my sewing machine… I kind of broke 3.

Oh and ends… lots of ends. I am almost done weaving them all end and then all that is left is sewing the arms on, 4 more ends to weave in and the sweater is done.

Why the hurry to finish everything? I have a commission for a new Kitsune. This one will be a little different than my last one. Looking forward to revisiting my old work.

I live in Georgia and I often joke with people that I have never seen a “real” snow. Only a few times in my life have I seen snow that does not melt away with a single footprint. Because of this snow has always seemed a magical thing to me. So when I saw snow come up as a topic in the Holiday Softie Awards I was immediately draw to it. If I can’t have real snow here I thought it would be fun to make a little sprite that brings snow.

This little guy was probably my most challenging piece construction wise to date. When I was drafting the pattern for him I forgot some basic math. I had in my head that the circumference of a circle was TTr² instead of dTT. Stubbornly I cut the pieces even though I knew it is not look right and I even went so far as to sew them together. Looking at that huge head and tinny legs and body I had to admit defeat. A quick glance at wikipedia and a slap on the head later and I was fixing the pattern. See kids, math is important. It helps you make softies.

After remembering middle, possibly elementary, school math. I was ready to roll. First I made the body, legs and arms, saving the head to later. I wanted the feet to be crocheted but I had to fumble how to do it. I did not want to have a sewn line running horizontally across the arms and legs because that would destroy the bell sleeve look I was going for. So I ended up having to make the crocheted sections fit under the already sewn arms. It would have been much simpler the other way around. Then a quick running stitch along the top edges before attaching the arms and legs and it was all good.

As a final touch I painted the eyes of my little guy blue. I used Testor paints, the kind you use in models. Worked great. I like how the blue eyes are much softer than the classic black safety eyes.

Been working on and off again for almost a month on this little guy for the Holiday Softie Awards. Not happy with the photography yet so I hope to have “real” pictures soon.

A week or so ago my lovely kitten Rogetts reminded me that every once in a while kitties need a new toy. Or they might riffle through your purse, steal you headphones out and pull the insulation off while leaving a big mess in at least 3 rooms of your house. Oh well I reward the little brat with a new set of toys made that day before she could find anything else to destroy.

I had been thinking about making toys for a while now and had been doing some research on the way the cats see and interact with the world. Cats do not see colors the same as people. Contrast and pattern are more important so I picked colors that contrasted with each other. I read that acrylic yarn taste bad to cats from some website of unknown credentials. But the idea stuck in my head and I have noticed that the cats only run off with wool and cotton. So they get cotton toys because it is so durable. Oh and the cats love to move there toys around so I topped it all off some monk cords on each end. The cats seem to love them. I am sure that catnip stuffing has something to do with it too

Want to make your kitty a set of toys and save your headphones? Here is a free pattern to help out.

Materials
• Small amount of two colors of cotton sport weight yarn (the photos is show with saucy sport yarn and sinfonia)
• size c crochet hook, or the smallest size hook you can use with your yarn (you want the stitches to be very tight so the cat nip does not fall out)
• yarn needle
• cotton balls
• catnip

Ball
Rnd 1. In MC tie a split knot around your crochet hook leaving a 10-inch tail. Wrap the tail end of the yarn around 2 fingers directly below the hook to form two large loops. SC 6 times through both loops placing a marker in the last ST. Pull both loops tight. These 6 stitches are your first round. (Need a picture tutorial?)
Rnd 2. Join with cc, sc twice in each st replace maker in last stitch throughout the pattern (12 sts).
Rnd 3. Pick up mc again and *sc, sc twice in same st rep from * to end (18 sts).
Rnd 4. Pick up cc again and *sc in next 2 sts, sc twice in same st rep from * to end (24 sts).
Rnd 5. Pick up mc again and *sc in next 3 sts, sc twice in same st repeat from * to end (30 sts).
Rnd 6. Pick up cc, sc around (30 sts).
Rnd 7. Pick up mc, sc around (30 sts).
Rnd 8. Pick up cc, sc around (30 sts).
Rnd 9. Pick up mc, *sc in next 3 sts, dec 1 rep from * to end (24 sts).
Rnd 10. Pick up cc, *sc in next 2 sts, dec 1 rep from * to end (18 sts).
Rnd 11. Pick up mc, *sc in next st, dec 1 rep from * to end (12 sts). At this point stuff the toy with a 50/50 mix of cotton balls and catnip.
Rnd 12. Pick up cc, *dec 1 rep from * to end (6 sts). Break yarn leaving a 6 inch tail. With yarn needle weave in tail trough tops of the sts twice, pull tight to close ball.

Pill
Rnd 1. In MC tie a split knot around your crochet hook leaving a 10-inch tail. Wrap the tail end of the yarn around 2 fingers directly below the hook to form two large loops. SC 6 times through both loops placing a marker in the last ST. Pull both loops tight. These 6 stitches are your first round. (Need a picture tutorial?)
Rnd 2. Join with cc, sc twice in each st replace maker in last stitch throughout the pattern (12 sts).
Rnd 3. Pick up mc again and *sc, sc twice in same st rep from * to end (18 sts).
Rnd 4-13. Alternating cc and mc, sc around (18 sts).
Rnd 14. Pick up mc, *sc in next st, dec 1 rep from * to end (12 sts). At this point stuff the toy with a 50/50 mix of cotton balls and catnip.
Rnd 15. Pick up cc, *dec 1 rep from * to end (6 sts). Break yarn leaving a 6 inch tail. With yarn needle weave in tail trough tops of the sts twice, pull tight to close ball.

Monk’s Cord Ends
Cut off 2 8” pieces of yarn in mc and cc for each toy. Take 1 piece of each color, hold them together and fold in half to form loop. With crochet hook pull loop trough a stitch on ending row of toy. Hold one end of the yarn loop and twist the other end until it begins to fold in on itself. Not letting go of the twist, fold yarn so the ends touch. You yarn should wrap around itself and make a pretty cord, if not try again this time twist more. Tie the ends together so the twist stays then cut so the ends are even. If necessary move the body of the toy around on the cord so it is at the end. Repeat the process for the other side of the cat toy.

Marshal would like you to know he endorses this toy. Oh and that he is much cutter than Rogetts. And that is why it is ok for him to jump in front of the camera while I am taking pictures of Rogetts.

On Monday I finally finished my Plush You stuff. 2 remakes of pieces I had done before and one new original.

I will start with the new guy. I have not come up with a real name for him yet (a reoccurring problem I have) but I referred to him on the inventory sheet as just “Cyan” for obvious reasons. He is made from Brown Sheep Company’s Cotton Fleece Yarn in Robin Egg Blue. He took almost a whole skein to make and was by far the largest amigurumi I have ever made at about 9 inches tall. The foot pads are made from fabric from a local quilting shop that I think might be an Amy Butler print.

Now lets have a group shot…

I made some stickers for promos…

And cute paper tags.

I have so much finishing work left to do before these guys are ready for Plush You. It is kind of fun to see all the blobs heaped together though.

I have been holding out on you. I have been busy the last few months but have not posted much on my blog. Why? Well part of it is shyness over showing many blobs that I have made while learning to sew. Rest assured that I have many projects in the works that are not quite ready to be seen. But enough excuses, I would like to introduce you to someone…

Meet Marci. Or that is what I am calling her right now. She is my first complete sewn toy. And I designed her myself because using someone else’s pattern to learn from just made too much sense at the time for me to do.

I really cannot explain to you how happy she makes me. Most of the time when I make a toy I just put it on a shelf and look at it every once in a while. Not this gal. When I am talking on the phone or wondering around the house I often find that I am holding her as I walk around. I must look silly but who cares?

The Long ear were inspired by a stuffed toy bunny I had as a kid. When my grandmother had sewn him I think she made his ears about and inch too short for my taste. I was constantly trying to wrap his ears around my wrist finding that they were just a little to short. I still managed to carry that bunny around where I went even without the convince of easy ear transport.

No Kid would have that issue with Marci though. Her ears are a whopping 18 inches long even though she only stands about 6 inches high. She is made from brown cotton with accents of green wool from a recycled sweater. Her eyes are made from vintage buttons and the ears are sewn on with new button reinforcements.

Guess I better make him some clothes. Finally got the base of this toy done after weeks of redesigns and frustration from moving and changing jobs. Now all he needs is a pair of pants. I am thinking blue jeans or a pair of blue slacks. Good news is that I now have a brand new sewing machine to make the little guy a pair. Yippee! How do you tailor pants to go on a toy anyway?

Woke up Monday morning and did not want to get out of bed for anything. Then I had this idea for a softie and needless to say I was out of bed and crocheting. Completed in less then a day this little guy is only about 2 inches tall.