Seeing Stripes...

Making a crochet zebra look authentic is quite a challenge.  Lucky for me that my characters are not supposed to look authentic!  They just need to look cute and be easily identified as the animal they are meant to represent.   The fun thing about 'Giggles' is that they are intended to look goofy, silly, colorful and happy.  I invite anyone making these little critters to let your imagination run wild and make something unique!

While I intended the arms to be striped, they turned out to look more checkered.  Interesting.  I did single rows of single crochet on the arms and used 2 rows together on the stripes of the body.  I must remember this in the future.  That checkered effect may come in handy on a different project some day.

I love the googly eyes on this one!  He's a bit cross-eyed on purpose.  It just adds to the 'giggle' factor.

However, I'm just not quite satisfied with him.  Let's see if I can make him look better.  I'll shorten the ears and change the arms.

                    Hmmm,  still not exactly what I want.  Think, think, think!    Oh, I know!

There's just nothing like a big toothy grin to elicit a giggle from even the most somber being.  Leave a comment and let me know which one you like the best!

The pattern for this guy can be found here at Ravelry or at Craftsy.com

Gorilla, Gorilla.....

Whew!  This guy really gave me a challenge.  The challenge was to keep him simple enough to be easily done and detailed enough to make him resemble a gorilla.  I repeated the pattern in full twice to be sure my pattern was correct, and repeated different parts of the gorilla several times before I was satisfied with the result.  The giggle criteria was finally met.  He has all the whimsy of my original 'Giggles' and the features of the wild that we expect in a jungle animal.  And with his silly grin, we couldn't help but smile.  'We' refers to my hubby (Mr. Loving) and I.  Mr. Loving is my main 'Giggle' critic and advisor.  His specialty is the 'cuteness factor', and no Giggle pattern get's published without his final approval.  He also helps with the pictures, as photography is not my gift.   Oh, and did I say he is also my main admirer?! Thanks, Loving, for your help and encouragement.   I don't know what I would do without you!

A Mischievous Menagerie...

     The invasion of zoo animals continues!  My goal is to design a new amigurumi pattern each week.  Is that too lofty?  Perhaps, but I think I'll still give it a try.

     The stripes on this little guy make him quite handsome!   I hope his friends don't tease him too much for looking a bit like a bumble bee.  ;-)    He looks so cute and innocent, but I do believe he has a mischievous streak.  And I know some of his friends are little pranksters!  I hear strange noises in the night and I suspect this gang may be responsible.

     I'm not sure I trust that Lion and Elephant to behave themselves.  Things may get interesting around here!

Here's a Happy Little Hippo for you!

In keeping with my crocheted 'Giggles' characters, this week I have created the cutest little hippo!
The ears and nose were a little tricky and required a couple of redos, but I am satisfied with the end result.  I really love the color combination on this one!  The pattern can be found here at Ravelry and on Craftsy by searching Hippo 'Giggles' Amigurumi.   So, I now have 3 jungle animal 'giggle' patterns published.  What should I design next?

Wacky, Lovable Lion 'Giggle'

Another silly little 'Giggle' has emerged from my hook this weekend.  He is wacky and lovable and was re-done several times before I was satisfied with him.  Every amigurumi teaches me new things.  This guy taught me several things and almost made me give up!  Putting on the mane was quite a challenge.  I actually removed every strand at one point and started over.  There were also several re-dos on the facial features.  Finally he made me smile, and I knew he was done.   All my 'Giggles' must meet smile or giggle criteria!

So....What do you think?  And what should I attempt next?

This pattern can be found on Craftsy and Ravelry.  Check out my patterns there and leave me some feedback!

Blessings!

Reny

Bathroom Set..... Now a contour rug?

I'm so glad I decided to go ahead with
two colors on this.   I'm afraid  the Mandela effect
would have been lost with just one color.

Finished the seat cover over the weekend.  It turned out great!  But now I think I need to make a contour rug for the toilet.  That may be a greater challenge.  I'm afraid there is no end to what I could make for our tiny bathroom.  Window valance, shower curtain, but it would be easy to overdo it because the room is so small.

This rug looks a odd shaped because of the angle.
Still working  on my photo skills.

Finished!

Finished my bathroom rug!  WooHoo!  I like the way it turned out.  Now to figure out a way to make it non-slip.  Next bathroom project will be a seat cover.  I'm thinking of doing a Mandela type pattern, but all in one color to coordinate with the rug.    It should be interesting to see how it comes together.

Here is the finished rug.

The blue rounds are actually a darker blue than the pic shows.  I love the scallops around the edge!

Blessings!
Reny

So Much Yarn......So Little Time!

Well, I've been quite busy the past week with several projects.  I have planned for some time to to crochet a new rug for my bathroom.   I was set on making an oval rug and finding the right pattern has been a challenge in itself.   While this pattern is close to what I wanted, I had to tweak it in several ways to make it suitable for the spot where it will live.  Of course, I started this rug from my yarn stash, but have made 2 trips to the yarn shop already for just the right accent color.  But I believe the finished rug will look great with my brown and blue decor.

Not quite finished, but coming along!





Another project I have been working on in my mind for some time, but am now getting ready to publish as a pattern is this cute little 'Elephant Giggle'.      His trunk is actually posable.  I have it twisted for this pic to show that.    It's amazing how much time and energy goes into even a simple pattern. ( I do try to keep my patterns simple so that even a beginner can make them).  I must have remade those ears half a dozen times to get the effect I wanted.    In keeping with the design of the original 'Giggles' he had to be small, (he's a little over 4 inches tall), colorful and cute enough to elicit at least a smile, if not an outright giggle.   I don't know how many different patterns I will make, but I do have a few more ideas swirling around in my mind.

Road Trip Scarf

     The first time I saw this scarf on Pinterest, I fell in love with it!  I love the open weave of the stitch, the unique scalloped border and the dainty flowers with the added twisted braids on the ends.  While most triangular scarves are worn with the point in the back, this one is designed to wear the point in the front with the two ends wrapped around the back of the neck and draped to the front as well.
   
     I finally got around to making my own.  I just happened to have a remnant of yarn, so I got to work.  As often happens when I try to use up some of my stash on a project,  I didn't have enough to finish, so had to go buy more.  Luckily, Walmart still had some to match.

                          Many thanks to Zooty Owl for sharing her design and free pattern.