Stuffing For Brains

 
 
Edgar Von Schnuglehoffen, as the name suggests, is by far, my weirdest commission ever. It tops Painguin in sheer bizarreness.

This is approximately how the conversation went:
Me: [shows picture of hedgehog ami] I make things like this! But this hedgehog... I won't make again without charging an arm and a leg, because the spiny coat was [expletive deleted] to make!
Cassie: Aww! But it's so cute! What-- what-what if someone were to request a SHAVEN hedgehog?!
Me: It'd probably look like... a molerat or something.
Cassie: What if he had a frosting hat?! With a cherry! And sprinkles on top?!
Me: Well... that I could do... He might look funny, but...
Cassie: ^__^
Me: ^___^

Yes. So I made him. But I didn't have a needle small enough to fit through the beads I was going to use for sprinkles... so I used teeny, tiny jingly bells for sprinkles... which is really kind of a trade up. With such a strange creature, he needed a strange and fantastic name. During the making of, I decided on Edgar Von Schnuglehoffen.
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In a note from Edgar's owner, she wrote:
  • Edgar resides on my bedside table, just so ya know. My kitties are constantly curious about him, but I fend off their inquisitive paws. Not that I don't think he could hold his own! Mr. Schnuglehoffen is quite able to fend for himself, I'm sure. It takes a tough hedgehog to be able to confidently walk about in the buff with naught but a frosting hat that jingles. *sagely nod*

Yarn:
Caron Simply Soft: Bone
Caron Simply Soft Brites: Grape

Edgar was Brought into Existence in August of 2009.
 
There's little more majestic than the 1 Up Mushroom... as it floats on by, after being released from the "?" box it was once enclosed in. So happy that you released it from its tomb, it grants you extra lives with which you may face down the evil King Koopa... Only to discover... your princess is in another castle.

This pattern is from Ana Paula's Amigurumi World 2, though I altered it just slightly (just the spots, really, I made them smaller and put on more of them - I also made them with yarn, rather than felt).
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This guy is actually one of my most favorite amis I've ever made. He's just so... perfect. I gave him to my brother, as a gift, because he taught me just about everything I know about video games. <3

Yarn:
Caron Simply Soft Brites - Limelight
Caron Simply Soft Brites - Coconut

This 1 Up was freed from its box in August of 2009.
 
A friend of mine had a birthday and I sneakily inquired as to what his favorite animal was. He said a lion. I'm not so sure this really looks like a lion, but I love it anyway.

It's a Lion Brand pattern, which you can tell, if you're familiar with their patterns. He's clearly based on their "Amigurumi Guy" line of ... square shaped things. This was also my first foray into using FunFur ... which is insane to crochet with...
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My favorite thing about this guy is actually his adorable country heart button nose and completely bizarre color choices. Needless to say, these weren't the colors Lion Brand suggested I use... but I don't ever seem to use the suggested colors. I like crazy colors and I like brites.

Yarn used:
LionBrand FunFur - Chocolate (this was, actually, the color they said to use)
Caron Simply Soft Brites - Mango
Caron Simply Soft Brites - Lemonade

This amigurumi was made in August of 2009.
 
My co-worker/supervisor/friend was sadly transferred to a different branch (I work in a library, btw) and, as a going away present, I made her this snake dude. Her Chinese Zodiac sign is a snake, which was sort of the inspiration. It was really just kind of random. She'd just had a baby, too, and her and her husband often referred to the baby girl as like... Miss Squirmy Pants and other such silly nicknames, which is where the name came from.
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Mr. Snakey Pants was made from a pattern that comes from SA Planet, and is called Snooky Snake. The pattern is easy to follow and interestingly different. I originally bought the pattern because it reminded me of Slither from the web comic Boy on a Stick and Slither by Steven Cloud.

Yarn used: Caron Simply Soft Brites, Limelight

Mr. Snakey Pants was made in April of 2009.
 
People kept pushing to say that I could easily sell my amigurumi and a friend of mine, faaaaaaar away in another state, actually has a flea market booth. So I decided to spend some time making a bunch of little cupcakes. Because we didn't know how well they would sell, and because safety eyes can get expensive when you need a lot of them, I made the cupcakes all faceless. Here's the resulting army...
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Yarn used:
Caron Simply Soft Brites, Grape, Limelight, Watermelon, Berry Blue and Blue Mint.
Caron Simply Soft Tweet, White.

Pattern from Kelli Ronci's Kid's Crochet.

Cupcake army was completed in April of 2009. (As of October '09, however, none of them have actually sold.)
 
Come mister tally man, tally me stitches.

One of my co-workers, who is a joy to work with and so much fun to be around, had a birthday come up when I didn't have too much other stuff to work on. So I asked her what her favorite animals were, she said a cow and an elephant (she's Hindi). So I looked through my favorite site, Lion Brand, and found this great pattern for an elephant.

This was the result:
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I almost think the name is my favorite part about this guy, a play on Harry Belafonte, in case you didn't pick that one up. :) He's just a sweetheart and my co-worker really enjoyed him, so I'm glad. (Apparently her daughter was a big fan, too!)
 
Yarn used was Caron Simply Soft, Grey Heather.

Harry Elafonte was made in April of 2009.
 
Easter rolled around and I wanted to make my first holiday themed ami. I actually found the pattern for this egg somewhere on the internet, and I don't really remember where anymore. The pattern was a bit wonky, though, it had a few errors in it. The basket, though, I made up the pattern for.
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I had this grand scheme that I was going to make eggs in all different colors and little baskets to go with them, doing little ribbons in complementary colors. Like most things when I'm crocheting, the ideas are often grander than the outcome. I only made a couple eggs, in the end (which I don't think I ever even photographed) and I think I only made the one basket. But I am in love with the basket I did make. In fact, here's a close up of it!
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Those stitches are so awesome... they so resemble an actual woven basket. At least, to me. This is the same texture I use for cupcake tops and the reason I really like working in the back loops only.

I know this yarn is the same as the yarn used for the hedgehog, but I still don't remember what brand or color it was. :/ Sorry! The yarn for the egg, however, is Caron Simply Soft Brites, Rose Violet.

This egg and basket were made in April of 2009.
 
So, for the friend who requested the hedgehog, she also requested a turtle. This particular guy was made from a pattern on the Lion Brand website. You can tell what I make for this friend because it's often hot pink. She also was given a hot pink cupcake, but I never got a picture of it.
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I really liked this guy. He was a breeze to make, just took a while because he's surprisingly large. In the end, he kind of reminded me of a Mario koopa, but, clearly, isn't.

Yarn:
Caron Simply Soft Brites, Watermelon
Caron Simply Soft Brites, Limelight

Turtle was made in March of 2009.
 
So... one of my best friends, who I am willing to do quite a lot for, requested a hedgehog after flipping through Ana Paula's book, Amigurumi World. Her favorite colors are black and hot pink, so I made the hedgehog in this bright pink color.

At the outset of making this hedgehog, I had no idea how very difficult it was to make the spiny coat for him. It's a very long process (and Ana Paula even mentions it in the book) and it's tricky, because you have to crochet the "spines" into an already completed object. So it's difficult to get the hook into the holes and then get the yarn through it. I declared I wouldn't make another for anyone without being paid to do it. (This guy was free, like most of the things I make.)
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I was kind of sad when I finished and noticed that he's totally lopsided. The left side, in all cases, is lower than the right: the ear, the eye, the arm, even the spines go down lower. But once I noticed it, I quickly realized that the uniformity in the lopsidedness just made it look like he was tilting to the side and requesting a hug, so it made him a little cuter. ^__^ In the end, though, I was very proud of him, because he was such a challenge and turned out rather well, despite everything.

He was made with Caron Simply Soft Brites, Watermelon and some... off white/beigey Caron simply soft yarn. ^_^;

Mr. Hedgehog was made in March of 2009.
 
I honestly can't remember the pattern I used for this little guy... all I remember was that it was entirely in Japanese and I just luckily was able to figure out a way to read it based on the layout of the numbers. (I don't read Japanese... at all.) Most Japanese patterns use stitch diagrams, this one did not. I'm really not totally happy with the way it turned out, but it's still obviously a Mario star. At least, I hope it's obvious. ^_^
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This star was made in March of 2009.