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I have a small collection of wooden and plastic puzzles that gets added to periodically. The most recent additions came from my sister, and one of them was just sealed in plastic: ten wooden pieces and a paper that challenged you to make them into a circle. While cleaning house recently I decided they needed a container, and since that was far more interesting than cleaning I set about crocheting one.

I started with embroidery floss and a 2.75mm steel hook. I used up the ends of two skeins of floss and made progress on a third, but I don’t know how I thought this was going to be big enough:

So I switched to worsted weight cotton and an F (3.75mm) hook. This was excessive.

Finally I went to fine yarn (weight class 2) with a D (3.25mm) hook. It was just right!

I’d done a skill self-assessment just the day prior and put “estimation” into the “I’m not so great at this” category. Here’s a good example!

Here is the shelf as a whole. The other new addition is second from the left.

Oh, and as for solving the puzzle, here’s my best attempt so far.

The June 2011 Amigurumi Army mission was mythical creatures. Having already made a dragon, and thinking anything horse-based would be too difficult, I looked at Wikipedia’s list of legendary creatures and was reminded of the spider Anansi. I grew up with a book about Anansi by Gerald McDermott, very bold and colorful, and had already decided to include it in my children’s book quilt, probably as an applique. I decided to crochet an applique Anansi. Unfortunately Anansi was too thick for the quilt, and started looking a little Sloth-ish, and ultimately I decided it would be a waste of embroidery floss to finish him, especially when I have other things to finish by the end of the month. Here he is anyway, original and legless copy.

For the first time, I noticed the Anansi book is based on an animated show. I did some searching, not having known Gerald McDermott was an animator, but did not find Anansi. However, you can watch a different two of his animations online.

The July CAL on Ravelry was flower themed. I had, of course, just recently made flowers for an Amigurumi Army mission, so I worried about ideas. However, I had also just been in Colorado for a wedding and become enamored of wild lupine, so I thought I would make something purple. My thought was penstemon, or beard-tongue, but my efforts turned into more of a bellflower, so I embraced that. The pattern is simple (as always, abbreviations here): sc 6 in a magic ring. *sc 3, 2sc* four times so there are 10 sc in the round. *sc, ch 2, sc in back bump of second ch from hk, sc in next st of rnd* five times. Sl st, sl st, ch 1 [do not sk any sts], sl st, sl st, FO. (The ch 1 helps with the point of the first petal, which seems to need it.)

Since it turned into the kind of flower it did, I made a calyx for it. If you’re making a calyx you probably want to leave the loose ends of the flower yarn hanging out the back center of the flower. Each sepal is a chain with stitches down it, and this works best (stays flattest) if you stitch into only the top loop of the chain. Make a slip knot. *ch 7, and starting in second ch from hk, sl st, sl st, sc, hdc, hdc* five times (each time you’ll have a ch left over). Sl st to join and then sc around the inside opening, one sc per sepal (5 total). Put the loose ends of the flower yarn through the center of the calyx, stitch them through a loop and tie them together. Braid them with the initial end of the calyx and sc onto that braid with the working end of the calyx yarn. You’ll need to tighten it down on the braid and have the top of the stitches spiral around the braid to make it stable and straight.

[Alternatively, of course, you can make a stem however you like, or just finish off the yarn and have a brooch-style flower.]

The Amigurumi Army mission for July was nerdy crochet. I thought about something from a fandom, but couldn’t come up with anything I wanted to make. However, as we know, I am mathematically minded, so I looked in that world and found this:

A binary tree.

I made it from the top down, sewing as little as possible: when the second piece of each pair was made I just continued into the next segment down, stitching around the first piece without a gap. This required just a little thought about the order of operations. The only significant sewing was the leaves, though that was pretty significant. The smallest bits are 5sc in a magic ring, continued without increase. Then I just put pieces together and stitched around without counting, trying to keep things fairly compact, which is why nothing is exactly symmetric after that. The whole shebang is held up by eight pipe cleaners, one inside each of the smallest branches.

I finished it while visiting a friend with a jewelry tree, so I asked them to pose together.

In this space would usually appear my entries for the monthly crochet challenges I’m part of on Ravelry. However, I didn’t make it this month. Between travel and finishing my wedding gift potholders, I didn’t succeed in finishing either the Amigurumi Army’s June mission or the June CAL from Ravelry. Actually, I can’t entirely blame that; I also crocheted a dustrag and a third Swiffer sock. However, I wanted to finish the projects anyway, so I used the grace period between month’s end and this post to work on them. One was finished, on one I declared bankruptcy because I have higher-priority items. It will appear later.

The one I finished was for the CAL, with the theme of animals. I had been wanting to make Kristie’s Kids’ little mouse (the designer of the pig I indentured earlier) and these monthly challenges are providing me impetus to get through my TBC list (to be crocheted, analogous to my sister’s TBR(ead) pile). I worked, as usual, with my 2.75mm steel hook and six-strand embroidery floss.

While visiting friends, I made a couple of small things – or at least started them. The one I completed had the highest honor of making it into their middle daughter’s Cinderella purse. I don’t know what he is, but the bird wings were the suggestion of their oldest daughter, and I think he at least turned out cute.

With him, I had some inspiration for a better way to do small ears. Say you have 12 stitches around (as I did) and the ears are roughly halfway. To make the ears, sc 4, (sc, ch 1, dc, ch 1, sc) all in FL of next st, sl st in FL of next st, and repeat () in FL of next st. Sc 5 to get back to the beginning. For the next round, sc 3, sc in BL only of next 5 sts (this is the BL of the previous round’s st for the first and last, and the remaining loop of the ear stitches in between), and sc in both loops for the last 4 sts. I found the ears stood up more easily with the addition of the BL stitches on each end.

I then started on a teddy bear, using dc bobbles for the ears. My first attempt was a bit microcephalic, so I made a new head and produced the following. Both this and the winged thing were made with worsted weight yarn and an E hook (3.5 mm).

Finally, sitting in from of my parents’ television one day I made a bunny, from a pattern I believe I may have downloaded before I even knew how to crochet. Although it is very soft and squishy, the 22% wool of the yarn is too much for me, and it makes me itch even through my shirt. Someone else will have to love it. This one was made with bulky yarn (Sensations Angel Hair) and an I hook (5.5 mm). I made a 4dc bobble for the tail but you can’t see it in either picture.

A bunny tail is called a scut or a fud, according to my mother’s crossword dictionary.

The Amigurumi Army theme for June was mythical creatures, and I am halfway through a project, but I have some other projects with deadlines and travel upcoming this month, so it will appear in a later post.

May’s Amigurumi Army mission was flowers. Actually, the week from Apr 28 to May 4 in Iron Craft was also flowers, but I did not complete anything in time. I had a sad half-done daylily on my end table for half the month.

Finally I decided to go for it, finished the daylily, and made a flower that I intended to be a carnation but which may have ended up more like a small rose.

Patterns! Note that both flowers involve stopping or turning in the middle of a row. Abbreviations are explained here.

Rose or Carnation:
In any plausible color. (which with dyed carnations is pretty much any color)
- ch 37
- sc in second ch from hk, (ch 2, sc) five times, sc 30, ch 2, turn
- hdc 18, sc 12, ch 3, turn
- sc, (ch 3, sc) eleven times, sc, (ch 4, hdc) seventeen times
- ch 1, sc down side edge, FO.
- Roll up starting with narrow end.

Daylily:
make 5 in orange, yellow, or desired color.
- ch 10, sl st in second ch from hk, sc, hdc, sc 5, sl st
- ch 1; on opp side of starting ch: sl st, sc 3, sl st
- FO. Sew together overlapping each petal on the previous. To match real daylilies, the first petal should be completely on the top and the last one completely on the bottom.

After sewing the flowers together I wrapped the loose floss ends around pipe cleaners and wound them with florist’s tape.

Meanwhile, I joined another monthly crochet challenge group on Ravelry, and their May theme was food. I had previously made a lemon and an apple, but my food crochet was pretty limited. I couldn’t think of what to do, until I realized I’d never made a cupcake, which seems to be the canonical crochet foodstuff. I freehanded one over the course of two days. Afterward I discovered I couldn’t find any pins with plastic ball ends (nor the tomato pincushion I think they were in…) to be sprinkles. I did, however, know where my leaf-ended pins were, so I made another rose to top the cupcake. The one I made sure to sew so the bottom was a flat disc, not too tight, and then fluffed out the petals a bit more.

April’s Amigurumi Army theme was “let’s pig out!” I had been wanting to try Kristie’s Kids’ pig pattern for a while, so that gave me the excuse to make it a priority.

At first, the pig was a little pink egg with ears:

Then I found another skein of matching embroidery floss and made the legs.

Finally, I put that pig to work.

Long ago, I began crocheting a Sesame Street yip yip alien, as explained by wikiHow. I made one false start well before the new year and according to my Ravelry records I started a second one on February 20th of this year. I altered the pattern a fair bit – I was skeptical of it when it said to chain 2.5 to 3 inches in order to make a loop an inch in diameter, an endeavor that requires over 3 inches of chain; but really I changed it so the decreases for the “head” were in the middle instead of at the edges. I was hoping that would make the mouth a better shape, though I am unsure of the quality of the results. My version is also a fair bit bigger than the pattern’s. Finally, I did long chains slip-stitched into loops around the base instead of the individual chains lark’s-head-knotted in pairs onto the base.

Instead of making the straw-piece eyes recommended by wikiHow I made – well, a bunch of eyes that are now in my “to use as stuffing” bin. I settled on: with black, start a magic ring, make one full sc and begin a second. For the final loop of that second sc change to white, and then make four more sc in the magic ring in white. Pull the ring tight. Continuing in white, still, continue around the circle making 4 more sc in back loops only. Tie the loose ends of the black and white yarn securely to the end of the black yarn still connected to the skein, and cut all three close to the knot. With the remaining white strand, make two invisible decreases, but use the back loops instead of the front loops. Slip stitch if desired, cut yarn leaving a long tail, and sew to close off back end of eyeball. Put loose end through side of eye for sewing to head.

I don’t think I can recommend that method.

Without further ado, though:

I wanted to make Lion’s “Two Peas in a Pod” amigurumi (registration required to see pattern) as soon as I saw it, but when does someone who’s not planning a wedding or bridal shower have a reason to make an explicitly wedding-themed project? Well, as it turns out, when Iron Craft takes the British royal wedding as its inspiration and sets weddings as the theme of the week. Until I remembered this pattern I wasn’t going to participate, since I have a number of wedding gifts to make but they are either already in progress or items I can’t complete in a week.

I added some silver to the mix, in the form of a hatband and trim on the bridal veil. Crocheting with metallic floss gets a big thumbs down – the strands would either prefer to have nothing to do with each other, or they catch on each other. However, I am very happy with how it came out! (except perhaps for Mr. Pea’s mouth.)

Stumpy got his one-day license for this.

Smile for the camera!

You always need a silly picture.

I made them grinning and winking because I wanted joy. Long ago I cut a 50th anniversary announcement out of the paper – they had used a wedding picture for the announcement, and happiness shines out of it.

I cut it out as a reminder that unless I feel the way they look, I shouldn’t walk down the aisle. Also, they’re just darn cute.

Before I even began crocheting, I trolled Etsy for amigurumi patterns. My sister loves Peeps, so I was delighted to find Chiwaluv’s neon chickens pattern. Her chicks have exactly the right blobbiness to be Peeps.

Kate’s current Peeps, all official plushies, are named Peep, Megapeep, Gigapeep, and Terapeep, and she mentioned she was hoping for a Picopeep. I thought I could make her at least a Micropeep out of embroidery floss. Then I realized crocheting sewing thread with a 10 hook (1.3 mm) would be terrific for a Picopeep. I have a couple dozen tiny spools of thread, bought for no good reason in a large bag at the dollar store, and their odd colors included a few plausible Peep hues.

With my bionic vision and retractable tweezer fingers, I completed Picopeep in a mere five hours, a trivial 500% increase over the length of construction of Micropeep. Let’s see the results:

Roses say “I love you.” Sewing-thread crochet peeps say “I love you more than eyesight.”

It is a little-known fact that Peeps’ native terrain is rugged, and in fact they are semi-arboreal.

In seriousness, one difficulty is that, like floss, thread is inelastic. This makes, in particular, the first stitch of the second round very tight. It is also difficult to see the stitches – strong light makes a world of difference! The thread twisted up as I went, though I might have been able to fix that by unrolling it from the spool in advance. I found I would make unintentional increases because the new stitch takes so little room on the previous round’s stitch that it was hard to tell last-used from first-unused. I am curious to know whether a larger hook would be easier; I think the hook I use for embroidery floss is proportionally larger.

To note: Peeps are a registered trademark of Just Born, Inc.

I began crocheting in November of 2010, during a bout of insomnia, and made piles of hearts and goldfish. However, reading about crochet done with plarn (“yarn” made from plastic bags), old cassette and video tape, and strips of t-shirts made me think yarn was boring. Ribbon was promising, but I had no projects I wanted to make with it. Futuregirl wrote about crocheting with ordinary sewing thread, and I began roaming around my sewing room. Ultimately, I picked up my box of off-brand embroidery floss and the largest of my steel hooks (1/2.75mm).

I began ambitiously with Roman Sock’s pocket elephant. Legs of three obviously different diameters and Neanderthal brow ridges caused by upside-down safety eye backings give him character. Since then I have rarely been without an embroidery floss work in progress. Recently I got all my little guys together for a family photo. Click for a larger version; patterns linked below.

Top to bottom, left to right:
mighty & ferocious dragon, penguin ornament (feet freehanded by me), tiny whale, pocket elephant, Lion Brand fortune cookie (pink; registration required), Alicia Kachmar fortune cookie (beige), fishhead (freehanded by me), mini turtle, Falwyn’s little fox.

I had to increase the size of the turtle body to match the shell, though I had no such mismatch in yarn. Contradictorily, my fox is a fat little sausage. Stitch proportion tests will be made and reported on.