For a knitter (or any sort of fiber artist) there is nothing quite like an appreciative recipient, and I think Tosh might have been the most appreciative recipient yet.
On Christmas morning she opened up her three little stuffed animals and she has been playing with them ever since. The inspiration to make toys came from a Craftsy class with the amigurumi designer Stacey Trock of Fresh Stitches. I don't have any small children in my life, and Toshie really needed some cute toys.
I'm really enjoying make the toys, I prefer the look of knitted toys, but honestly I am having tons and tons of fun crocheting these little critters and I'm developing a whole stash of Brava worsted to make a variety of creatures and monsters. This is a change for me, I'm really not a fan of acrylic yarn, but it was the right thing for this project and at such an affordable price and great hand it is a great change of pace from super-pricey, but worth it, fancy blended hand-dyed yarns.
And it's not only me who has been inspired by these little toys, my mom has even picked back up a crochet hook. She wants to start crocheting again to help strengthen her hands, she is an extremely talented gardener (check out her Tower Hill Heritage Garden page to see just a small portion of the work she does in our little town) but she wants to make sure her hands stay as nimble as can be as she works them very hard. Crochet is her preferred craft (over knitting) and by switching her over to a knife hold (from a pencil) hold she has been able to get restarted. She crocheted a bit before I was born (which is longer ago that either of us is willing to admit) but it's not something she had kept up with. However, there is nothing like a cute toy and a cute puppy to inspire a crocheter to get back to her hooks.
- Details -
Project Names: Toshie Birdie, Toshie Bear, and Reindeer for Toshie
Pattern: Amigurumi Blue Bird, Amigurumi Teddy Bear and Amigurumi Deer all by Stacey Trock for the Amigurumi: Woodland Animals Craftsy Class
Recipient: Toshie, the cute white puppy
Yarn: KnitPicks Brava in a variety of colors
Modifications:
- No major mods, just color changes based on the yarns I had
- Embroidered eyes - I figured with a puppy chewing on them, I was better off embroidering on eyes with black yarn, than installing non-child-safe eyes.
New Skills:
- Making amigurumi
- Crocheting spirals
- Attaching pieces
- Embroidering eyes
Feedback:
- Yarn: I was surprised and delighted by the KnitPicks Brava. While I had heard good things about it, it has been perfect for this type of project, and has already stood up to much wear and tear without any sign.
- Pattern: Craftsy is an interesting platform, and the patterns are well written, so it is a great way to learn more about the technique and get patterns I'm likely to use again.
Re-Crochet?: Very likely, I've already had requests for more birds, as they are perfect for little dogs, they are like soft balls that don't roll away under couches.