Theme Knitting: Amigurumi

When worlds collide, awesomeness ensues.

NINJA!

I'm of course talking about my favorite online store - Think Geek - and my favorite hobby - knitting.  Think Geek has come out with a knitting kit - for a knitted NINJA!  It's an amigurumi ninja knitting kit, complete with yarn, felting, needles, thread and stuffing!!!  

For those who don't know, Amigurumi is defined by wikipedia as: 

the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. The word is derived from a combination of the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll. Amigurumi are typically animals, but can include artistic renderings or inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features.

Does not produce dark matter.

I haven't quite attempted amigurumi quite yet.  The closest thing I've done is the Crochet Coral Reef program (which landed me in the Smithsonian, in case you haven't heard! :) )  I do have a couple amigurumi projects in my ravelry queue, including Lief and Astrid from this season's Twist Collective, and Nibbler from Futurama.

No formaldehyde necessary.

There are whole pattern books dedicated to amigurumi.  People will knit or crochet anything in amigurumi - animals, landmarks, pop culture items, food.  One of my personal favorites is the amigurumi knitted dissected frog entitled "Biology 101."  The person who designed this must be brilliant.  This kind of pattern requires knitting math (not always easy, especially when it comes to symmetry and gauge), an artistic eye, and a knowledge of anatomy/biology. 

I have this pattern if you want some!

Another good use for amigurumi is making "food."  One book has a whole bevy of fruits and vegetables that can be knitted or crocheted.  I've seen cupcakes, cakes, salads, fish, meat, and even sushi!  It's great for kids who like to make believe - especially playing "store" or in a playskool "kitchen."  They're easily washable, soft, and made in the USA (or wherever you are) so you don't have to worry about Chinese plastic! 

In other knitting news, I finished both the blankets for Amy and Emily and have sent them on their way.  Right now, I'm making a Snapdragon Tam to go with the flip-top mittens I made a couple weeks ago.  I'm also making an "Emily" capelet by Ysolda Teague for my grandmother. I figured it would be apropos as I'm named Emily Elizabeth after her. 

Ohhhhhhh, freak out!

Le freak, c'est chic.

Ok, I admit it, I've been freaking out a little bit, which is kind of why I haven't published a blog post in almost a month. It's been absolutely crazy around here.  We lost the recompete for the project I'm on, I was preparing to roll off, then I got rolled over to be a sub on the new contract, all of my old contract colleagues rolled off, new contract folks have been rolling on, the contract wasn't in place, but then it was.  Then clients rolled off and new ones are coming on.  It's stressful, especially since my project has such a steep learning curve. Quite a few people are speaking without having observed enough.

I have been knitting, though!  And spinning!  I haven't finished a lot of my knitting because a lot of the things I've been working on are larger projects with long repeats. I'm almost done with Amy's blanket, but will be moving right along to Emily's.  I've got a couple of commissions coming down the pike, including some for my friend Stacey's daughter, Kerah.  I was able to quickly hammer out some fingerless gloves for Abbe (recipient of the pink socks).  I had made a similar pair for myself with some leftover grey simply soft and I love them.  They're comfy and airy while still being warm.  I made these out of some leftover Berocco Vintage that I had used to make Kerah a pair of legwarmers.

I finally gave my mom the socks I made her for her birthday.  She loves them and has said she wants to put them in a frame.  I told her that she better wear them and that I could always make her a new pair.

Oh, and last but not least, I'm in the freaking Smithsonian!!!!  My favorite piece is up front, when you first walk up, and I found two of my other pieces on the front side as well.  All in all, I found 5 of my 11 pieces.  I need to go back and look again to see if I can find the rest.  Jennifer said they used all of the pieces in the reef.

I'm going to leave you with one of my favorite de-motivational posters, very pertinent to what I've been dealing with lately:

You spin me right round and babypalooza 2010

Ok, first off, I take responsibility for the awfulness of that title.  It's just too early to come up with something wittier than a 1985 one hit wonder.

But it does fit the post.  I had my second, and final, spin class last night and guess what!?!?!  I made yarn!!!!  It's really pretty and I think I can actually use it. :)  I got some "barber pole" sections, and they look really cool.  I made about 29 yards, so have to spin a bunch more before I can actually make something more than a bookmark, but that's fine.  Now that I've got the hang of this spinning thing, I think I'll alternate it with my knitting.  I'm not anywhere near buying a wheel yet, but spinning is definitely something I want to continue to improve.

In other news, last Wednesday I received two baby shower invitations for the same day.  One is in Alexandria for my best friend Amy, the other is in Katonah, New York for my best friend, Emily.  Unfortunately, my superwoman underwear doesn't allow me to be in two places at once, and since my company party is that evening, I'll be attending Amy's shower.  Of course, this means I am attempting to knit TWO baby blankets in the next month.  I could've done it last year when I was unemployed, but with a full time job and a few jam packed weekends, I don't know if I'll be able to get them done in time.  Luckily, I'm using the same pattern for both, one in dark blue, one in dark green.

I've also been working on these snapdragon flip-top mittens. I've gotten one done and am partway through the cuff of the second.  The cuff pattern is a little challenging, but as long as I keep to the instructions, it's fine.  I need to put buttons on them to keep the flip top in place.  Believe it or not, this is the first time I've ever done I-cord (the i stands for "idiot"...no really....look it up).  As the name suggests, it was ridiculously easy.


Anyway, off to work for another intriguing week of use case reviews.  I know you're jealous.  You can admit it.