Only a short update...

Today I experimented with my first amigurumi pattern away from the little peanut guy....and this is what I did!

Grim Reaper pattern...but different colours!

There are still a lot of finishing touches to be made...none of the parts have been finished off yet, and nothing has been sewn together. I still need to give him a mouth too...but I quite like him with just eyes...so I might leave that!

He is actually a Grim Reaper pattern from my Creepy Cute Crochet book, but I did't have the correct coloured wool (almond and charcoal), so I decided to just go with these colours for the time being just so I could see if I could follow the pattern...and I think it worked out!

Going off to bed happy with an evening well spent ^_^

A great day for surprises!

Today turned out to be a pretty awesome day!

Firstly, my amigurumi books that I ordered came through a day early from Amazon! I have 'The Complete Idiots Guide to Amigurumi' by June Gilbank (she also has an awesome wesbsite too... http://www.planetjune.com/), 'Creepy Cute Crochet' by Christen Haden and 'Scary Cute' by Anni Obaachan. There are some super cute amigurumi's to make in the books as well as helping to teach me some of the other stitches that I don't yet know about!

My awesome new books

Secondly, I actually had enough time on my lunch break to play a nice chunk of Okamiden. I got past the first boss battle, and am really enjoying using the DS and stylus for the brushstrokes and combat. I could have easily continued playing even for a while longer, but my battery began to die...so I will play some more this evening once it is all charged back up again!

Lastly, I had a lovely surprise from Catherine!! She gave me this awesome kit which has different sized eyes for amigurumis, and detail stuffing tool and some stitch markers!!Thank you so much for this awesome little pressie Catherine!! Really happy that I am building up this little kit of all things to do with crochet :)

So happy to have the stitch markers! I am worried every time I leave my work partially complete usually!

Last night was also super successful as I finally managed to complete my first peanut amigurumi!! It has no eyes, as I didn't have any then, and I still am lacking a yarn needle, so cannot tie off the tail to complete him, but I am so pleased that I feel like I have finally figured out what it is I am meant to be doing. I will probably attempt a more complete peanut guy (with eyes and ears) before moving onto any other patterns, just to make sure I really do know what I am doing and that this wasn't just a fluke!!

My Peanut!

All in all it's been a pretty good day! Will have a read through my books and play some more on my DS tonight I think :)

Got the right stitch - but losing count!

So with help from Catherine Woolley, I have managed to finally learn the correct crochet stitch!

I was so excited about this that I set to work on my peanut amigurumi at lunchtime today, but I was rushing and unfortunately lost count a couple of times.

Not sure how well the picture shows it, but its very squished up all on one side!
I am home alone this evening, so going to attempt this again, but slower and taking my time counting properly! And also hopefully fit in some Dragon Age II as well! I really need to finish this game as my list is still not getting any shorter of games to play.

I also need to finish a couple of classics that I never played with Gary, namely the Metroid Triology and Beyond Good and Evil. I seem to just keep remembering more and more things I need to do!! :)

All squished on the right side

So yesterday was full of awesomes

I got to have a nice lazy morning. I don't often get these as my body clock likes to wake me up before 7.30am most weekends. I went along to the Surrey Sports park with Gary in the early afternoon and sat in Starbucks having a coffee and playing some Okamiden on my DSi.

I loved Okami when it came out on PS2, in fact, it was the first game that I actually completed - which at that time was testament to how much I enjoyed it. I thought the art style was great, the levels well balanced and the characters fun and engaging. I also then completed it on the Wii. When I heard that there was a sequal coming out on the DS, I was hyper to say the least! I am already a couple of hours into the game, and am getting to re-explore lots of familiar levels >_<

I decided, I quite like sitting in a coffee house playing games. I am lucky that I don't mind sitting by myself I guess, as some people don't like doing that. But I quite enjoy being with my own company a lot of the time. I guess this is why I like little projects to be working on!

I also got to watch some basketball and hang out with friends with awesome food and watched Scott Pilgrim which I hadn't seen before. I like watching new movies and really enjoyed it. Might be tempted to add that one to the collection ^-^

I also had a great conversation today with my friend Catherine, who is the one who got me into amigurumi in the first place. I was definitely doing my crochet stitches wrong, so am looking forward to now giving it a go again but doing it right this time! Will upload more pictures of my progress as soon as I make a start on it! I have ordered a couple of awesome looking books and am also keen to try and make the katamari prince as well as a little sackboy!

Tonight, I have another lindy hop lesson..lets see what moves I learn this week!

I have too many things to do...

Fact.
I want to study and get my degree. I want to read the massive back logs of books I own, plus more besides. I want to play so many videogames. I want to learn amigurumi until I am proficient and can make any cute little animal or monster that I want to. I want to get into an industry that I love and can be happier in my working life. I want to learn lindy hop and be able to dance the night away with my fiance. I want to be able to spend more time horse riding. I want to be able to go to the gym more and get back into shape. I want to spend more time with my friends....

I need to place some kind of an order to these things, or at least, to document them...know what I have accomplished already so that I feel some sense of achievement, because right now, its just a growing list of things to do!

My current project is learning how to do amigurumi. I have just started. I am trying to make some peanut shaped animals, and have just completed my first attempt at the basic shape (though lacking a yarn needle means I am unable at this moment to complete it and tie it off!).

Fully completed, just need to tie off the tail

Just after finishing the head of the peanut

I am also playing through Dragon Age II. I am loving this game, so much more than the first one...the gameplay and controls feel alot better this time around, and I think I also prefer the storyline a little more.

 I am also currently reading 'The Wasp Factory' by Iain Banks. Its a very disturbing book, and as such, I find difficult reading in large chunks at a time.

Along with dancing every Monday, horse riding every Saturday, and going to the gym 3 times a week, I think this is enough to be getting on with right at the moment!

Oh, did I also mention I am planning my wedding too?! Ok, A LOT of things going on right now! But this is what makes life so interesting and fun, right! ^-^