Merry Christmas!

My youngest aunt loved Christmas. Every December, she’d get super excited about decorating the house. In fact, every year she would recruit me to be a part of her two-person Christmas decoration squad. She actually did most of the heavy lifting; I was just the assistant whose job was to pick up the Christmas tree ornaments from the storage box and hand them to her while she did the actual decorating. She passed away earlier this year.

Every December, I try to design something Christmassy. This year, I decided to make a miniature of the person who made my Christmases special. Mingma Tenzing, my dear rock star aunt, you are deeply missed. ♥️

Merry Christmas, everyone! See you in 2022. 🙂

Santa Paws & Frosty Nose

Santa Paws and Frosty Nose are brothers. But do you know how they got their names? Like all Shiba Inus, Pawsy and Nosey are “spirited’ and loyal, with a tendency to guard their humans. But there’s one thing that sets these brothers apart: every winter, the brothers give away their treats, old toys and spare blankets to the less fortunate dogs in the neighborhood. The brothers—both of whom were adopted from an animal shelter by their human parents—know that winters are harsh for those who are homeless and every single act of kindness, no matter how small, helps. And because they have such big hearts, they are known as Santa Paws and Frosty Nose.

On cold winter nights, the brothers put on their Christmassy capes and hats and leave the warmth of their home; they go around the neighborhood carrying gifts, blankets and warm food, looking for their street dwelling canine friends. And every time they come across a cold and hungry animal, the brothers make sure he has a belly full of warm food and a warm blanket to keep away the cold. ❤️

Now, a bit about the pattern. Santa Paws & Frosty Nose stand 12cm without the hat—and 16cm with the hat—when made with sock weight yarn and a 2.5mm hook. The difficulty level for making the dog is “Easy”; for the accessory [i.e. the gift box], the level is “Intermediate”.

If you are looking for a cute, quick and easy Christmas themed amigurumi pattern that can be finished in a couple of evenings, and can be used either as decorative pieces or made as gifts, this is the pattern for you. 🎄

I hope you enjoy making Santa Paws and his brother Frosty Nose. Their pattern is available in my Ravelry shop.

Happy hookin’! ❤️

P.S. Thanks to these amazing hook ninjas for testing this pattern: Crystal Thompson, Jessica Sherman, Frances Metallo, Fiona McQueen, Véronique Flawine & Kim Coomans.

Merry Christmas!

’Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Stay warm and crochet on! ❤️

Snow Buddies

I’m super excited to tell you that my little Snow Buddies are featured in the October 2017 issue of Happily Hooked Magazine. It is a quick and easy project that requires small amounts of yarn, and is suitable for all skill levels.

UPDATE: October 7, 2018. The pattern is now available as a single download here and here.

As this amigurumi has a flat base, it can sit on any flat surface without support, which makes it an excellent desk accessory, a cute decor for your mantel or your shelf. It’s a little over 5 inches when made with sock weight yarn and a 2.5mm hook.

You can subscribe to Happily Hooked Magazine here or get a copy of this month’s issue here.

I know it’s only October but it’s never too early to start building your snowmen army. 😉

 

Happy hookin’!

I guess it’s time to bring out the tree

Would I be wrong to assume that most of you have already finished decorating your homes, ticked everything off your Holiday shopping list, wrapped the gifts, and are now proudly surveying your handiwork while enjoying a cup of delicious hot chocolate and counting down to Christmas? I, for one, have accomplished absolutely none of the above. Truth be told, my artificial Christmas tree is yet to be taken out of the storage, and I still need to figure out where the hell are those boxes containing all the bells and baubles. But I have a feeling I’m not the only one who leaves everything to be done at the eleventh nerve-wracking hour.

So in honor of all those late Kates who’re yet to dust off their Christmas ornaments, whose homes still don’t look like something straight out of a Holiday special magazine spread, those toiling to get their handmade Christmas gifts ready (or at least are toying with the idea of making a handmade gift or two), I present to you Pucci, your personal Holiday assistant.

Pucci [pronounced Pu-chhi] translates to “the little one” in colloquial Nepali. It could mean the person is younger to you in age or is slight in built. Though not necessarily a nice way to address people (in fact, it is quite a condescending term), you can get away with it if you’re extremely chummy with the person being addressed. So, to put it in a nutshell, to call someone Pucci, you either have to be on backslapping terms with that person or be ready to get your eye blackened and your nose bloodied. But our Pucci is very sweet and I promise she won’t break your nose if you call her by that name; she may accidentally misplace your house keys though. 😉

Though her resume says she’s a highly skilled personal holiday assistant, I’m not exactly sure how much help an 8 inch amigurumi can be. All I can say is that she will make your Holiday photos look good.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE PATTERN HERE

To download the pattern in DUTCH, translated by our fellow crocheter Jeannette Kemp, click here.

To get the pattern in GERMAN, visit Gabi Donner’s blog here. Thanks for translating the pattern, Gabi.

Happy Holidays!

If you liked this free amigurumi pattern, would you please consider making a small donation to Animal Nepal? Animal Nepal is a not for profit, animal welfare and rights organization based in Lalitpur, Nepal, which runs two sanctuaries for abused and injured homeless/working animals. This organization is also in the forefront of campaigning for animal rights. If you want to see the wonderful work these folks do, you can check out their Facebook page or their blog. You can also help them by donating here.

Thank you for caring.

P.S. The pattern was designed and written in a hurry so it is possible it may contain some errors. If you spot any, would you please be kind enough to let me know?

P.S.S. I used loop stitch to make Pucci’s hair. If you’re unfamiliar with this stitch, here’s an excellent photo tutorial by Stacey of Fresh Stitches.

Funky Donkey

Can you tell me which animal plays a very important role in the Christmas story? You guessed it right! It’s the humble donkey; the strong, silent hero who carries a very pregnant Mary all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem. So, in keeping with the season’s theme, please allow me to present to you the Funky Donkey! As you must have noticed, this cute 5 inch amigurumi donkey is based on my free pattern for Rudy, the reindeer. [In case you missed my post on Rudy, you can go here and download the free pattern.] While the basic pattern is the same, I’ve made alterations to the ears, nose, tail and added a mohawk which gives our Funky Donkey quite a badass look.

I used eyelash yarn to make the mohawk and I must say it has seriously upped the cuteness factor of our darling little donkey. But be warned, this yarn is a pain to work with. It was my first time working with eyelash yarn and I had to feel my way through since it’s practically impossible to see the stitches. Thankfully, the mohawk is just a few short rows of single crochet stitches and it gets over quickly. So if you have crocheted with black yarn in a not very well lit room and lived to tell the tale, you’ll live through this one too. 😉 If you have worked with eyelash yarn, please feel free to share your (horror) stories here. You know what they say about misery loving company. 😉

So, without further ado, here’s the free pattern for our Animal of the Month, Funky Donkey!

DOWNLOAD FREE PATTERN

To download the pattern in DUTCH, translated by our fellow crocheter Jeannette Kemp, click here.

If you liked this free amigurumi pattern—and also since ’tis the season of giving—would you please consider making a small donation to Animal Nepal? Animal Nepal is a not for profit, animal welfare and rights organization based in Lalitpur, Nepal, that runs two sanctuaries for abused and injured homeless/working animals. One of these sanctuaries—The Godavari Donkey Sanctuary—provide care and shelter to donkeys rescued from Nepal’s brick factories notorious for working their animals to death. You can meet some of the rescued donkeys, currently enjoying their retirement at the sanctuary, here.

If you want to read more about Animal Nepal and their work, you can check out their Facebook page or their blog. You can also help them by donating here.

Thank you for caring.

Merry Christmas! 🙂

Christmas Angels

Angels come in all shapes and sizes. These two maybe only 9 inches tall but they are super powerful (not to mention super cute!). That’s why this year they have been assigned the special responsibility of hovering around your Christmas tree to make sure no naughty goblin steals your Christmas gifts away. It is a very simple pattern that requires the use of very basic stitches such as magic ring, single crochet, increase, decrease, half double crochet, double crochet, slip stitch, crochet BLO and FLO. The angels are 9 inch/23cm tall when made with sock weight yarn and 2.5mm hook. The 10 page pdf pattern for these angels includes over 30 step by step photos, which makes the pattern very easy to follow. The pattern also includes instructions on how to make moveable amigurumi head and arms. These angels will make not only a great Christmas project but also a wonderful gift at any time of the year for someone who loves angels. In the unlikeliest of case that you don’t care for angels much, you can leave out the wings to make a sweet little doll for a little girl. The pattern for these cute little angels can be purchased here or here.

And before I forget, another free Holiday themed amigurumi pattern will be posted on this blog very soon. Can you guess what it will be? 😉

Happy Holidays! 🙂

Rudy, the reindeer

Christmas is only about a month away. So who gets an early Christmas gift? YOU! 😀 And my gift to you is this super cute free amigurumi pattern for Rudy, the reindeer.Made with sock weight yarn and 2.5 mm hook, Rudy is around 4.5 inches tall. As the pattern only uses basic stitches (if you know how to make a magic ring, single crochet stitch, increase and decrease, you’re set to go!) and is relatively quick to make, this amigurumi will make a great Christmas project. This is one cutie you should have around you and your loved ones during Christmas. So download the pattern and start hookin’, folks! Christmas is already around the corner.

DOWNLOAD PATTERN

To download the pattern in DUTCH, translated by our fellow crocheter Jeannette Kemp, click here.

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If you liked this free amigurumi pattern—and also since ’tis the season of giving—would you please consider making a small donation to Animal Nepal? Animal Nepal is a not for profit, animal welfare and rights organization based in Lalitpur, Nepal. It runs two sanctuaries for abused and injured homeless/working animals, besides campaigning for animal rights. If you want to see the wonderful work these folks do, you can check out their Facebook page or their blog. You can also help them by donating here.

Thank you for caring.

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Keep warm and carry yarn. 😉