It's a Rhinoceros!

I've been working on this for the past couple of days off and on. I've been really busy in between the stitches.

This little pattern is from the first Pica Pau book by Yan Schenkel and it's so cute. I used a two ply worsted weight which is about the same size as a lightweight or a number three yarn. I split my yarn because I have all the colors in worsted and practically none in any other weight. 

He turned out a little smaller than the pattern at 11-1/2 inches tall. The book yarn instructions make him 13-1/2". But I prefer my animals around 8 - 11" tall. They are just so much cuter and easier to handle with my limited display spaces. You can make them any size just by changing your crochet hook and yarn weight. I used a c/2 hook on this one.

Got my little Rhino done isn't she/ he cute? My colors were muted and my pink wasn't showing up too well so I did a little trick to bring out the color. I use chalk on a Q-tip to darken the pink flowers so they would show up.

I wanted to show how cute the undies are underneath the outer pants. You can do patterns in crochet but they are not going to be straight up and down because crochet has a lean to the stitches whereas knitting doesn't. I love the embroidery on the shirt too. 

Another animal I am in love with! I will do more Pica Pau animals but I have to finish a little baby boy pattern first. His name is Bo and he's Lula's little brother. Also I've been working on some bugs... More to follow.

Splitting Yarn for Meerkats

Aren't these just the cutest things you've ever seen??? I'm in love with them. They are from a pattern design by M J Carlos of Hello Yellow Yarn. I got the pattern from https://www.amigurumi.com/ . It's also included in the book Zoomigurumi 8. I can make one of these in a day so the pattern's quick and easy to follow.

I recently had a dilemna where I needed DK or light worsted weight yarn for a pattern and all I had was a few fingering weight skeins (not in good colors) and worsted weight. I can't just go out and purchase a whole new wardrobe of colors in different weights when I need them and dk or lightweight yarn is not plentiful in the stores near me so I decided to split my 4 ply worsted into 3 ply and 2 ply yarn to see which one gives me the right gauge for some of my amigurumi patterns.

I took the left over 1 ply and doubled it for some 2 ply yarn which may be fingering weight??? I need some dk yarn for a project that needs to measure out at 8 inches when finished and I know for a fact that worsted will make it 11 to 12 inches and that's way too big. I don't want to make toys that big.

I have a little bit of arthritis in my hands and crochet really makes them sore for days, especially the tight stitches in amigurumi. I alternate with knitting to give my hands a rest and I wear compression gloves that are fingerless. Every little thing helps.

I just finished a doll pattern that was suppose to be much smaller but all I had was worsted medium weight yarn and I absolutely hated making this doll. She's so big and ugly at that size. And she took me 4 days to make. My hands were so sore by the time I was done with her. Worsted weight yarn on a dk weight pattern will come out disproportionate. It always comes out too long for me. 

So, I started splitting yarn when I made the meerkats and they are the perfect size. I used 3 ply worsted and 2 ply worsted. The 2 ply gave me the exact size it would have been if I had used DK light worsted yarn. They are 8 and 9 inches tall. The smaller 2 ply meerkat is the perfect size the pattern was written for. 

Now I'm pretty confident that I can live without DK yarn and just use my stash of medium 4 ply worsted and come out with the right proportions. Now I can make some of those Pica Pau animals that I've been wanting to make but thought I had to wait for enough lightweight yarn colors to start. It's a good thing to know you have no limitations on your yarn. Now I love all kinds of yarn and I'm pretty sure I won't be intimidated by a pattern just because I don't have the "right" yarn. 

Give it a try and expand your yarn stash by splitting your heavier yarns if you've been wanting to make some of the smaller projects. By the way... did I say love those meerkats? I can see about a half dozen of them in different colored sweaters, can't you?

Monkey Monkey!

 Another pattern from Little Cotton Rabbits and Julie Williams, the monkey girl is sweet as can be and I just had to make her for Valentine's Day. Her little dress looks like it has little hearts on it to me. I loved working this pattern.

I used a dark red for the dress and I made a few changes. I almost didn't buy this pattern because I wasn't liking the face so much but I decided to make a few changes that I liked better. 

The first thing I did was make the ears bigger. I wanted my monkey to have big ears. I also used plastic eyes and a contrasting plastic nose on mine. I tried to shape the head a little fatter and I made the mouth a little different. I'm also getting better at lining up the pattern seams with the mattress stitch. Love that little monkey tail!

I've been so busy making animals that I almost didn't want to take the time to take pictures of them. I've downloaded a few free patterns to work on too, bought a couple of amigurumi books and gotten other patterns from artists to work on between making these patterns but I'm pretty much determined to make at least one of every Julie Williams animals for my zoo. 

I've figured out that I can make a boy and a girl from just one pattern and just use my previous clothes bodies and patterns in different colors for them. I haven't made the 7" dolls or the mini ones yet. 

Sweet Little Foxy Girl

 I've done about 11 animals so far and this is the second one from Little Cotton Rabbits patterns by Julie Williams that I made. 

More intarsia work on the foxes faces. Also, there is a supplement to the pattern that lets you make them into deer, antlers included. I had a little trouble with the size of my yarn. It was a little coarse for this gauge. It's a Hobby Lobby brand called Yarn Bee and most of it was not this coarse but this color was so I won't use that yarn again. Don't like it at all.

Next fox will be made with a softer thinner brand of number 4 weight worsted. She's a little bigger than the rest of the animals in this series and I had to completely re-do her feet and socks altogether. They looked like balloons in this yarn.

I have many more colors and softer yarns now but I only had a few to work with back then. I don't like HL's Yarn Bee yarns and I don't really like the RH Super Saver brand either. They are too thick and coarse compared to the other softer brands. But I do like the RHSS colors so I will use a smaller needle with that yarn if I really like a color. I won't buy Yarn Bee again though.

She still turned out pretty cute and I made her a little yellow cardigan to go over her dress but I might make her a green or pink one. I love playing with the different colored yarns and these animals have mix and match outfits.

I love making the clothes. I could make a whole wardrobe for each of them. The sweaters are so much fun to make and Julie Williams has patterns for shoes and purses for them too. I've made a few other patterns up from other makers but these are my favorites so far.