My First Official Class!

I will be teaching a beginner amigurumi crochet class at the Studio at Rush Creek in Maple Grove, MN on Sunday, January 4th from 1-4 pm.

There are three creatures to choose from: an owl, an octopus and a bunny. You can sign up for the class at the studio website and if you are unable to come to the class patterns will be available in my etsy shop shortly. I'll be posting pictures of the creatures this week, too.

And since I don't like posts without pictures, I added this cute little sheep. Enjoy!

Lots of critters

This little guy was super fun to make. I really didn't know where I was going and in fact I set out to make a teeny robot. He didn't have the right feel for a bot, so he became a gremlin and then a gremlin with a scarf. And what does a gremlin with a scarf need more than anything else? A plane, of course! So here you have it. Shatner (I had to name him that thanks to my wonderful hubby's naming skills) is living and flying somewhere near Maple Grove, MN.

Stormy and Ralph came about when I had the need to make something with long, skinny arms and legs. I made Ralph the unicorn first and keep going with Stormy the dog. They are the perfect handful and make a great tag along pal.


Twinkle lights are great and abundant at this time of year. But how many of you have seen crocheted ones? I'd guess that there aren't too many of you...yet. This one might become a year round favorite. I confess that we have Christmas lights up in our living room all year round. They make for great even lighting. The great thing about crocheted ones is that they won't die on you and you don't have to worry about those tiny little fuses.


The narguin is back! And this one's for Chelsey. You may remember the narwhal penguin I made last year for the Etsy Minnesota Street Team winter challenge. His name is Manuel and he looks a lot like this guy. He was adopted in the Spring at the Crafstravaganza event. Chelsey requested one for herself and I made her one. He's over a foot tall and super hugable. Doesn't everyone need a Narguin?

Ribbon yarn makes a great octopus. The tentacles spiral in such a magical way and the texture is a little rougher than normal yarn. The neat thing is that she's just a squeezable and loveable. Harriet only has one eye, which makes her a cycloptopus. You can adopt another one of these great cycloptopuses at the Plush Team Etsy shop. The entire adoption fee for Jane will go toward the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.

A dog and a contest

A dog and his bone. This is a custom dog I made for Abby's daughter Kalli. He's a Patterdale Terrier with a removable collar and bone. He's a foot long and 10 inches high. He even sits, stands and lays down.

Feel free to go check out the Plush Team site and vote for the Halloween plush there. Check out my ghost kitty, Jesmin, in her ghost costume.

Handmaiden Show

The Handmaiden Show went well this weekend. There were quite a few people funneling through during the day. And my table was quite a bit emptier as the day went on. I am thinking about making a new banner, but I'm still kind of attached to my hand sewn one. I confess that the black fabric on the table has sequins on it and initially served as a cape for the Harry Potter book 7 release Party. Now I've used it on the table at 3 shows. :)
I made these cute little heart gremlin key chains for the show this weekend and they went quickly. I'll definitely by making more.

These guys are in the picture from the last post because I brought them to Chicago. I sold the Octopus in Chicago and the rest went to their new homes this weekend. The rocks in costumes are a big hit and they are fun to design. Speaking of which, I need to make Dave a Penguin :)

better late than never

So, I realize that it's been over a month since the Renegade Chicago show, but here are some pics of the booth and all the great plush that I got to spend the weekend with. To find out more about the creatures here check out the Plushteam blog.


And the last picture here is what I brought with me on the bus to Chicago.

Renegade Chicago

If you're in Chicago this weekend come check us out! We'll be at booth 70 with tons of plush!!

Here is my entry for the Plush Team Halloween contest. Jesmin the ghost kitty in a ghost costume. She fits in the plush costume category of the contest. She thinks it's funny that she's a ghost pretending to be a ghost, so she giggles a lot. She also thinks the word "boo" is a little overused and prefers to tell knock knock jokes instead of frightening people.

Squids and a Pattern

The first pattern available is Frances the Heart Gremlin. He's at my etsy shop right now. I'm offering him for only $2. He's sort of a test pattern to make sure my language and technique are solid. I plan on making the pattern in the form of a comic book, but I want to get the kinks out. Frances is about an intermediate/advanced level of crochet. If you get a pattern now I'll send along the completed pattern design and name a creature after you!
This squid went to Sarah of Creative Sundries.

And this one went to Megan of Moogan Creations.

More squids are made, they just need to be photographed and shipped :)

Squid, Gremlin, Bag, & Yarn

The first Free Squid to go out goes to Chelsey! She requested a Narwhal colored squid in the fashion of the Narquin you may have seen in an earlier post. The squid will be on it's way to you tomorrow, Chelsey : )
Another mini heart gremlin. His name is Ringo and he's about 5.5 inches or 14 cm tall. This is the backside, he does have a face and a smile : )


Percella! In honor of having a sewing machine that works, I had to sew something. I was in need of a bag, so this is what I made. It's a comfortable over the shoulder messenger type thing. The important thing is that I can fit a sketch book, yarn and whatever I happen to be reading in it at the same time.


I finally spun some yarn. I was over at the Textile Center in Minneapolis and picked up some fiber from Sue's Luxury Yarn. It's a wool of some sort with some really great color combos.

Now, I need is some more squids to make! Who doesn't want a free squid?

Free Squids!

Help me celebrate fuzfrenzy's third Etsy anniversary with a free squid! All you need to do is leave a comment with an email address for me to contact you to get you your free squid. You only have until the end of September to request your free squid and I'll have to limit it to one per person. I'll be making them custom so have your color choices ready!Let the squidding begin!

the world of fuz

There are fuzlingz everywhere! The first three creatures, Wynn the gremlin, Renna the ballerina mouse, and Seph the cowboy bunny are in my Etsy shop. I finally made a tiny heart gremlin ! It's about 5 inches or 12.7 cm tall and her heart still comes out : ) The mouse and bunny are a tad larger and have removable clothing.




This masked gremlin with a book went to Abigail and the monkey with a car went to Scarlett.


Rolph here is living with Amanda and some other monsters. I hear he is doing well in his new home : )

Megan's Glovelets

Megan requested a pair of biker gloves with hole for the knuckles and here they are! They are made from Lion Brand Cotton Ease charcoal yarn. They should breathe and wear well. The buttons are from my antique stash. Enjoy Megan!

Since I am getting into the habit of writing down patterns I wrote this one down, too. I would say that these ended up being about a medium size, so I'll have to venture into making large and small sizes for the pattern, too. I am giving serious thought to making a pair for myself : )

Graham the Gremlin

Graham is the second pattern that I will offer in my shop. Here you can see that he was inspired by the fabulous Froderick. I went with a smaller version. He still isn't a quick bugger to make, but Graham is more manageable to replicate.And look! His pants and belt are removable. He's got to be interactive as well as charming. I am thinking that the patterns will look more like a comic bookish style with each creature alongside to give pointers to those that venture into the patterns.

Heart Gremlins

Well, now there are two! Ezekiel has a friend named Frances. I have decided to keep Ezekiel in my own personal collection. I made Frances for the pattern which will shortly be up in my Etsy shop. I played with the form a teensy bit, so Frances is a couple of rows shorter. I made a better heart and heart hole this time around.
I got a cute shot of Italics today while I was photographing the gremlins. He's checking to see how much sun is coming in by the window so that he can stretch out in the heat as soon as it moves across the floor.

Sneek Peek...what's to come...

What in the world? I don't think it's obvious what I've got pictured here, so I'll tell you.Ezekiel is being remade for the purpose of making a pattern. Yes, I said pattern. I am filling up my sketch book with scribblings of sc and st and tons of other senseless things that add up to a heart gremlin. The pattern will be available in my Etsy shop shortly as a PDF, so keep an eye out for it. In addition to the heart gremlin I will do 4 more patterns for the summer collection of Fuzfrenzy patterns.

I am so excited to share the fuz with everyone and I hope that you are excited to get an extra dose of it!

Creatures

Some new things: Sylvia Blue is an irresistible little critter with a white panther costume. She is made with cotton yarn, which is a first for me. She feels great and is super cuddly. Just look at that smile!Another first is with Logan's Cthulhu. He is made with wool that I handspun. He took two skeins. Even though I spin I usually make creatures with acrylic yarns. I really enjoyed this venture into different materials, which I will explore some more.
Hansel and Gretel have been on the Plush Team site for a little bit now, so I thought they should be here, too. They have already been welcomed into their new home in New Jersey. These two were initially made for a plush team challenge involving favorite fairy tales and stories. My partner was Jenni from SLC Studio . She is creating a yummy pot of Stone Soup and I chose Hansel and Gretel from among her favorites. I could not create a normal duo, so I made them mutants : )

a good show : )

Ahh here is my wrinkled sign. I made it for last year's show and I have used it in 3 shows so far. The first z is backwards by accident, but it adds something to it, I think. And it's all hand stitched : )

For Craftstravaganza I brought 33 items and came home with 9. I am glad that so many things found good homes. It was cool to see so many people that I remembered from last year and a lot of people remembered me, too.
A special octopus ring : )
And a friendly face. This little bunny was a custom order that I neglected to get photographed before he found his home. So here he is for the world to see. And she's wearing the original octopus ring!