Summer is almost gone...

Well it's been a minute since I've updated here. Way back in April I tore my calf muscle and was out of commission for a few weeks. I was literally just walking and my calf muscle snapped like a rubber band. During that time I focused on healing and a little crocheting. After that I had to focus on end of the school year things like my 2nd grade program, 4th grade and Kindergarten graduation, and just generally packing up for the end of the year. Any of you who are teachers know what the last 3 weeks of school is like (well literally the entire last 9+ weeks with graduations and testing and all... While I was out, I didn't feel much like crocheting or doing anything, really.

Anyway, I'm ready to get back to normal and be able to post here more often. I am also working on some video tutorials to post, but as with all things, one step at a time. Since school has been out, I've tried to catch up on my BAMCAL blocks (Block-A-Month-Crochet-A-Long). I'm still about a month and a half behind. Also, my color palate is not 100% to my liking. I think I'm trying to incorporate too many colors. I think it's important for anyone to use the colors that makes them happy and while the colors I chose are very pleasant to me, I'm not sure they always want to be together in an afghan. It's really a give and take relationship.1 for each of my nieces and nephew. My color palate is so varied and so are the squares that I've made that I think I may try and make an afghan for both of my nieces and my nephew.

Today I'd like to talk about amigurumi. Amigurumi is the art of creating small animals or characters by knitting or crocheting them. Now, I LOVE amigurumi creations because they are so much fun. Amigurumi make some of THE best baby shower gifts. It's a totally different principle of crochet. Yes, you do crochet in the round but its in a spiral meaning that at the end of the round you don't join with a slip like you do when crocheting granny squares in the round. Amigurumi is accomplished by crocheting in a spiral. This makes stitch markers an absolute must. I don't know about you, but I don't particularly care for counting each and every stitch. I will count some... but counting every stitch gets monotonous and tiresome.

I spent some time this Labor Day weekend at the Clothesline fair in Prairie Grove, AR. It's a Labor Day weekend tradition. While there, I noticed a lot more booths of crocheted items than in years past. Crochet has really taken off lately. Most of the booths featured amigurumi of all shapes and sizes. I saw octopus, dragons, turtles, snakes, dogs, and so many more things that I can't even begin to remember all of the them. I gleaned a lot of inspiration walking through these booths. I see lots of amigurumi in my future.

If you're new to Amigurumi, my advice is pick something that you like, and take one stitch at a time. Don't rush it and if you get stuck, there is plenty of help on sites like Ravelry.com. There are also several facebook groups dedicated to crochet. So hop on and ask questions. There is usually always someone around willing to help out.

Happy Hooking,

Chrisy