This year's Luv-able and Hug-able show at gallery hanahou in New York City is bound to be a hit! And if you just can't get enough plush, join artist Jenny Harada for a Wee Peppermint Beast plush ornament workshop!

Luv-able and Hug-able
December 3 through January 9
Opening party December 3, 6-9pm (RSVP)
gallery hanahou
611 Broadway, Suite 730 NYC

Workshop: Make a Wee Peppermint Beast Ornament with Jenny Harada
Saturday, December 19, 1-4 pm
Cost: $20 (email to sign up)

This three-scoop ice cream cone was crocheted in the late 70s by Pepperknit's mom. [Via Inspire me, now!]

How awesome is this amigurumi light switch? 203gow posted it up to her blog, and although I can't read Japanese, I still totally dig it.

These wee Halloween amigurumi patterns from Lion Brand Yarn would make for fun decor projects or teacher gifts. They've offered up a happy pumpkin, a ghost and (not pictured) candy corn!

Anna writes:

Once again, we're looking for the cutest, funniest, most interesting photo of a Mochimochi Land toy. All you have to do to enter is upload your photo(s) to the Mochimochi Friends group on Flickr by November 16th. Like previous years, winners will receive cute goodies from Japan and gift certificates from Mochimochi Land, PLUS this year they will also get gift certificates from Knit Picks! To be eligible, your photo must contain at least one knitted toy made from a Mochimochi Land pattern. This can either be a pattern from the Mochimochi Shop or one of the free patterns on the Mochimochi Blog.

Kristin Rask, who runs the Plush You! show recently did an interview with Yummy Pancake, who made (among other things) this crochet Jägermeister bottle. Happy Friday!

It's been such a fun experience doing this Crochet-Along with you all! We've had some great participants who have made some incredible dolls.

If you want to start now check out the lessons here.

Giveaway Results!

The Winner of 1 signed copy of Tiny Yarn Animals by Tamie Snow:

Flickr user : SugarCoatedCreations

The Winner of 1 signed copy of Feltique by Brookelynn Morris and Nikola Davidson:
Flickr user: crissybell

The Winner of 2 skeins of Lion Brand Alpine Wool Yarn:
Flickr user: sumrsprite

The Winner of 1 copy of Lion Brand Yarn Vintage Styles for Today:
Flickr user: loves2design


The Winner of 1 CRAFT T-Shirt:
Flickr user: Ernessa_Theodora

Check out the rest of the amazing entries and post your own picture at the Crochet-Along Flickr Group Pool.

It has been a huge pleasure to this with you I really hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!
For more wicked amigurumi patterns check out my website Roxycraft and take advantage of my 50% off sale running until Sept 30th!
Enter Code "CAL2009" to get your discount.

It's Week Three of the Fuzzy Panda Amigurumi Crochet-Along! Hope you guys are having as much fun as I am!

*for last weeks lesson, "Assembling the Head", click here.

This week we're finishing up by assembling the body and attaching our heads and bodies together. This is the satisfying part!

Yay! That's our last lesson and now it's up to you to finish up your own Fuzzy Panda!

GIVEAWAYS!

• 1 signed copy of Tiny Yarn Animals by Tamie Snow
• 1 signed copy of Feltique by Nikola Davidson and Brookelynn Morris
• 2 skeins of Alpine Wool
• 1 copy of Lion Brand Yarn Vintage Styles for Today
• 1 CRAFT T-Shirt

5 Winners will be chosen from the CRAFT Crochet-Along Flickr pool at random (only pictures of finished dolls will qualify) to win a prize! Entries must be uploaded to the Flickr pool by September 28th at 12n PST and tagged with "CRAFTCALCONTEST". Winner will be announced next September 28th, 2009, 12n PST

Get More Roxycraft Patterns on Sale Now!
From now until the end of the month, enter code "CAL2009" when you checkout on Roxycraft.com for a 50% off discount on patterns!

Welcome to Week 2 of the CRAFT Crochet-Along!

*If you're new to the Crochet-Along, you can still join in! Check out last week's lesson.

Last week your homework was to finish crocheting all the bits and pieces for the head of our Fuzzy Panda ... how'd you do? This week the fun part begins! We'll be taking all those odds and ends and making them into the head of our doll. So get out your finished pieces, some stuffing, and a yarn needle, and let's get to work!

Subscribe to the CRAFT Podcast in iTunes, or download the m4v video.

Phew! That was fun! Let's see those finished heads over in the Crochet-Along Flickr Group.

Homework for Next Week

Finish crocheting all your arms, legs, and the body too. Next week, we'll assemble them together! I'll also be showing you how to use those extra eyes as doll joints!

See you then!

Welcome Crochet-Alongers!
Today marks the first week of our Fuzzy Panda Amigurumi adventure together. I'm Tamie Snow of Roxycraft.com and I'll be your guide for the next month while we learn some fun new techniques for your amigurumi.

So if you haven't signed up yet, it's never too late. Just comment and introduce yourself and you're in! We'd also love it if you would join the Flickr group so you can share pictures of your finished projects with us and other CALers!

This week we're going to start with the basics. I have some fun video tutorials on youtube that should help you get started.

Don't forget, Tuesday September 8th at Noon is Lesson #1 in our Crochet-Along with Tamie Snow. You'll learn how to make this adorable Fuzzy Panda Amigurumi! Check out the list of materials and download the pattern today. Also, join the CRAFT Crochet-Along Flickr Group to upload your photos and to join in on discussions. We'll be hosting random giveaways to participants who upload photos in the Flickr group. You'll be able to win a signed copy of Tamie's book, Tiny Yarn Animals, Feltique by Brookelynn Morris, CRAFT T-shirts, and Lion Brand Yarn.

Download the Fuzzy Panda Amigurumi pattern in PDF format (Note: Pattern was updated on 9/2 with diagram).

By Meara O'Reilly, projects intern

When I started interning at CRAFT magazine, my skills and interests tended more toward soldering and sawing than knitting and sewing -- but I was ready for a crash course! Of course I'd knitted a few scarves growing up, and taught myself to crochet just by messing around with yarn, so I thought learning how to knit objects would be cinch!

I'd had a great time knitting the hyperbolic baby pants from CRAFT Volume 06 and was really excited about learning how to mold different shapes and build my stitch repertoire, so the reversible Chicken-and-Egg knitted puppet (also from CRAFT Volume 06) seemed like a logical next step.

By the time it came down to finishing the project, though (to show it off at the CRAFT booth at the Craftaluma fair in Petaluma, Calif.), I was running around 24/7 helping my sister get ready for her wedding, so time got a little tight! I actually stayed up all night knitting the chicken-and-egg the night before the fair, desperately trying to finish it up (a memory my poor hands will not forget soon!).

But on the bright side, I will also never forget these basic stitches and tips that I learned, courtesy of a few benevolent YouTube mavens:

Welcome to our first CRAFT Crochet-Along! This month, we hope you'll join the fun as we learn to make this Fuzzy Panda Amigurumi from our friend Tamie Snow of Roxycraft. As you know, Tamie is also the author of Tiny Yarn Animals and created this Fuzzy Panda pattern just for us.

The first lesson with Tamie starts in exactly 1 week, on Tuesday, Sept 7th at Noon PST. Find out how to get the pattern and the list of materials after the jump!

Love Momiji is hosting a fun Momiji doll couture contest. Momiji are Japanese message dolls, like the ones shown above, and each one has an opening in its base for a secret message. The contest rules are pretty broad, allowing for maximum creativity. They're looking for one-off, fabric Momiji dolls using a combination of crafty methods: weaving, printing, knitting, embroidery, whatever flavor you choose. Entries will be judged on "overall wow-factor as well as skill and craftsmanship." The deadline is October 30th. The ten finalists will be exhibited at Royal /T in Los Angeles, and the winner will be featured in Selvedge magazine. All the details you need, including templates, are at Love Momiji's contest page. I love this line: "Our aim is to create a catwalk of exquisite Momiji dolls which show off the skill and flair of textile artists around the world."

Even though we all know the leaf doesn't turn Mario into a Tanooki, perhaps he is saving it for a friend. This little Tanooki Mario Amigurumi made my Friday. Via Sprite Stitch.

Today is a big milestone with our CRAFT Pattern Podcast's 100th pattern! Do-do-do-dooooo! (That's a horn toot, by the way.) To celebrate, Anna of Mochimochi Land has created for us a new pattern called "Weeeds". This little knit duo popped up in the backyard garden and look how adorable they are!

If you like these patterns, you can check out the adorable ones she has in her shop. Also, bookmark the Mochimochi Land blog where Anna shares news on patterns, tips, and lots more!

Download the Pattern PDF | Subscribe in iTunes

Huggable elder god. she has sweet red eyes, 4 face tentacles, arms and legs as well as wings.

So cute you don't mind going insane or having your soul ripped out for devouring.

The bow is what seals the deal for me. Hello Kthulhu amigurumi (and photo) by trinlayk (thanks, Marc)!

Finger puppet maven Stacey Gordon made this bedazzled tampon finger puppet. It has left me without words.

In the Maker Shed:


Finger Puppet Friends Kit

While we're cranking away here at headquarters on the next issue (Volume 18) of our sister publication MAKE, themed Robots, I can't help but to Flashback to Beth Doherty's iconic Cro-bots from way back in CRAFT Volume 01. The design is simple enough that there's plenty of room for personalizing your Cro-bot to reflect your unique style. Here is the front and back of Beth's finished Cro-bot:

It's so much fun to see how peeps modded the Cro-bot. Here are 8 Cro-bots created by crafters and posted to Flickr. Clockwise, from top left, the Flickr peeps (and bot creators) are: beliael, disco smurf, knitbitch, tattis cuties, luv2stitch, craftapalooza, thebodee, and RunnyCustard:

Here is the Cro-bot project in our Digital Edition so you can crochet your own little robot army.

And you can still pick up a back issue of Volume 01, our Premier Issue, in the Maker Shed.

Tamie will be at Maker Faire as a vendor at Bazaar Bizarre and will be doing a demo at the CRAFT booth on "Making Successful Amigurumi". Stay tuned for more info on that and all the craft demos at Maker Faire later this week!

I first saw Howie Woo's work on Neatorama, but then quickly spent way too much time on his site checking out all his killer (get it?) crochet projects, from dynamite to ray guns to cigarettes. This guy has talent! And a wacky sense of humor, which is a mighty fine combination IMHO. (Be sure to check out his homemade videos!)

This Canadian native describes his work as "crochet creations inspired by life's fun oddities," and if his blog is to be believed, he's a crochet newbie who hasn't even been crocheting amigurumi for a year. Dude, did I mention he's got talent?! His work has inspired me to pull out my Visual Crochet how-to book and give learning to crochet another chance!

Beth Doherty (gourmetamigurumi.com) is a perfectionist with limitless patience, the ideal combination for creating highly detailed and inspirational amigurumi. CRAFT featured Beth back in Volume 01, along with one of my favorite images to ever grace our pages (Lydia and Punk Bunny):

The life and feeling that she infuses into yarn and embellishments is amazing. The time and effort she puts into each of her pieces is clearly apparent. In that same issue, Beth shared a pattern for her adorable crocheted robot, the Cro-bot:

Here is the Cro-bot project in our Digital Edition so you can crochet your own little buddy. We also ran a great little interview with Beth on Craftzine in 2006, showcasing more of her incredibly cute creations.

We checked in with Beth recently to see what she's been crafting, and this is what she shared:

"The past few years have been a difficult haul. Last April, after a week-long hospital stay, I was diagnosed with epilepsy and complicated migraines. But I feel OK about this, because, finally, I knew what was wrong with me. It took a few more months to get my meds right and I am still becoming accustomed to the new reality.

Last November I decided that I was ready to work in my studio again. I had recently received a nice royalty check for my book and blew most of it on all sorts of supplies I was lusting after. Wool felt, lots of calico, ceramic beads for stuffing, sequins, a mini craft iron, a brand new printer, and drawing supplies. More artillery for the craft arsenal, my husband's nickname for my studio. It was fantastic."

"Unfortunately the week my shop went back online was the same week that the market took its first awful crash. Making really detailed, finished 'gurumis is my first love. But I haven't been able to sell much of anything. So I feel kinda irresponsible spending a bunch of time on finished pieces."

"This turns out to be a mixed blessing. Instead of making amigurumis, I have been focusing most of my time on developing patterns for my Etsy shop and making my website into what I hope will be a valuable resource for others to improve their own crafts. As it turns out, I really like this stuff. After my book was finished, I felt burnt out and wasn't sure if I would ever enjoy instructional work again. But writing directly for my audience without intermediary editors and publisher is very freeing. I can provide fellow crafters the detailed patterns they have been asking for without worrying about page count. And I can't tell you how rewarding it is to see what others do with the designs."

"And I am excited about the amigurumis I make with the leftover time. Because there is no pressure to make things quickly, I can add all the detail I want. I have been sewing clothes for them and spending more time on embroidering their expressions. I watch my dolls develop their own personalities. It really does feel like we are equals in this process. They tell me who they want to be and we create together."

Thanks, Beth — we all hope you feel better and better every day! Beth's site GourmetAmigurumi is a wonderful source or inspiration. She offers tips and techniques, and often posts her creations in progress. It's always neat to see how they start and how they end, all full of life.

Also, check out her Etsy store for patterns, and her Flickr stream for tons of eye candy. (And of course you can still pick up copies of the classic CRAFT Volume 01 in the Maker Shed while they last. They will not be reprinted.)

Kathy of Kat Knits has a free knitting pattern of Grumpasaurus, a cute grumpy knit dinosaur.