Amigurumi Easter Eggs and Recording News!

I can't believe that today marks only two weeks until Easter.  Where has the year gone?  It's nice to be busy but, sheez, sometimes I'd like to go into slow-mode and take time to breathe.  Well, as usual, I had been looking at Easter items I could make for my three nieces.  They're now 10, 9, and 7 years old.  I love being an aunt and I know it won't be too much longer before I'll have to start choosing more 'mature' gifts for holidays.  Of course, M&Ms are always welcome!

This year, I found a terrific Amigurumi pattern for making colorful Easter eggs.  I worked these three up in an afternoon.  (Hurray!)  They're crocheted and you can find the pattern here at the website Petals to Picots.  I used Lily Sugar 'N Cream cotton yarn in variegated pink and variegated lilac.  My results are below resting on some Easter grass.

So, each niece will receive an egg, a tube of M&Ms and an Easter card in the mail.  I'll suggest using these as 'prize' eggs when they have their various Easter egg hunts.

As far as work is concerned, I've been super busy.  I'm just finishing up narrating the second book in the series about former Florida Highway Patrol Officer Floy Turner during her years as a Special Agent with the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement.  This one is called Behind Her Special Agent Badge: Murder, Mayhem, and Life in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.   Floy and her co-writer Sherrie Clark picked up where the first book, Behind Her Miami Badge: Undercover, the Cocaine Wars, and Life in the Fast Lane, ended.  I've really enjoyed telling Floy's 'story' in these books.  The upcoming book features her work on the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace, the crash of ValuJet Flight 592 into the Everglades, and numerous cases involving murder, drugs, and human trafficking.  This book ends just before the events of September 11, 2001.  The third and final book (which Floy and Sherrie are currently writing) will begin with 9/11.

I've also been involved in full-cast recordings with The Online Stage.  I'll post here when the recordings become available on Audible.  Right now, there are several I've worked on that are in post-production.  One is a full-cast version of Little Women.  I play the narrator in that one so it was a pretty big project for me.


I'll post here as things progress... 

Halloween Ghost Lights

I finished my usual Halloween goodies for my three nieces just in time this year.  Right after I finished, I came down with the COLD FROM HELL as I've been calling it.  I hadn't had a cold in over three years but this one has been a real doozy.  I guess it's making up for the years I missed.  Ick.    Anyway, I had finished making these cute little Halloween Ghost-A-Glow ghosts and packed them along with tubes of mini M&Ms and Halloween cards for Ava, Bailey and Taylor  -- my three favorite little people.  

The pattern was pretty easy.  It's free from Red Heart and can be found here.  These are crocheted and it's pretty much a type of Amigurumi.  Here's a pic of my three after I finished them.  

My ghost lights.

 Unfortunately, I couldn't get a decent pic of what they look like when the battery operated lights inside them are turned on.  You get the idea from this picture from Red Heart:

Courtesy of Red Heart site.

They actually put out a pretty good glow in a dark window.  Hope the girls like them.

With this darned cold, I've lost a week of recording time although I finally felt like doing some editing.  Glad I had so much already in the can because, even though I feel much better, you can still hear the cold in my voice.  Grrr...  I have two books and a short story I want to have finished by the end of November.  This will free me up for the month of December to concentrate on the holidays.   

Amigurumi 'Peep' Bunny Rabbits

I finished my little gifts for my three nieces  (now ages 7, 6, and 4) for Easter.  I found this really cute pattern that reminds me of the Easter bunny 'Peeps' that you see everywhere this time of year.  They were pretty fast to crochet and didn't involve too much 'sewing' of parts together.  (Not my favorite activity.)  I realized after taking the photo below that I should have sewn the ears a little closer together on the bunnies heads.  I've discovered though that you can play with the ears and make them stand up a little straighter as opposed to pointing left and right.  Since the pattern calls for filling the bottom of the 'body' with plastic pellets, these little guys will stand on their own.  I'm giving one of the hot pink ones to my niece who lives near me.  The other two are flying with me to Virginia tomorrow.  As always, all bunnies will be accompanied by a tube of mini M&Ms.  The pattern is actually called 'Love Bunnies' and it's by Erika Hughes.  You can find it here.  

Amigurumi for Valentine's Day and more recordings in the works

Kissy-Lips on a Stick

I've decided that any time I'm going to knit or crochet items for my three young nieces for a holiday, I should allow myself plenty of time even if that means the items are ready well before the date they're needed.  This is my 'less stress' method of doing something fun for the girls without getting into a frazzle.  So for Valentine's Day this year, I crocheted these Amigurumi Lips and put them on lolli-pop sticks.  There are only two pictured because I'm just finishing up the third one.  Just need to sew the top and bottom lips together on the ends and then mount it on the stick.  These turned out better than I thought they would.  I was concerned at first that they wouldn't look enough like lips but they have that exaggerated 'luscious' look.  I'm calling these 'Kissy-Lips on a Stick' and I'll be including Valentine's Day M&Ms with them for each of my nieces.  The pattern is available here.  It's posted in English and Spanish.  So nice of the crafter to share this with everyone.

Amigurumi Lips -- up close and personal

I'm already looking towards what I'll make for them for Easter.  So many cute Amigurumi and knit patterns for Easter eggs, bunnies, etc.   Last year I made the girls Easter chicks and bunnies the year before that.  Both were Amigurumi crochet patterns so I might look at something to knit for them this year.

On the recording front, I just finished the Edith Wharton novella, Sanctuary.  It's now in post-production and should be available in a couple of weeks.  I'll post here and on my website (leeannhowlett.com) when it's for sale on Audible.  In the mean time, I'm working on a short story that's a little different for me.  It's a sci-fi tale originally published in 1930.  Check back here for more info on this and other recordings.  Now, on to looking through Easter patterns...

An Amigurumi Pumpkin

The past couple of weeks have been kind of hectic.  I finished up hanging new blinds on all of the windows -- followed by some tedious work with a small brush with touch up paint in some spots.  The my mom had surgery for a torn rotator cuff.  It's her right shoulder and she's right-handed so this has not been fun.  The surgeon was able to repair it via arthroscopic surgery along with a tear on her bicep that he didn't realize she had.  She'd been in a lot of pain and had begun driving with her left hand, etc.  After three days in the hospital, she was sent home and has had an occupational therapist and nursing care in her home.  My sisters and I have taken turns staying with her.  We stayed overnight for the first full week she was home.  Now she's OK as far as having health care people and us going to her house to work with/check on her and see if she needs anything.  Recovery is a hard road for this type of surgery, especially for a diabetic in her 70's but considering the pain she had already been experiencing, she knows that this will get better. 

I also finished up a book for LibriVox and just began auditioning again for paying jobs late last week.  While I was at my mother's house, I began working on making something for Halloween for my three nieces.  They're now 4, 6 and almost 7 years old.  Last year I crocheted pieces of candy corn.  For this year I decided to make Amigurumi pumpkins.  The first pattern I started I ended up ripping out because it just wasn't working out.  So I switched to a simple pattern by Lion Brand called the Amigurumi Happy Pumpkin.  The pattern can be found here and it's free.  The first one whipped up pretty quickly.  I shouldn't have any problem making the other two.  I'll send these to the girls with the obligatory Halloween M&Ms.  Now I have to get back to working on items for The Humble Stitch Project.  I have a small pile of items finished for them that Linda and Duane and I had made but I started a scarf and another pair of fingerless gloves.  Between items for them and friends and family, my hands aren't idle for long.    Here's a pic of the pumpkin I finished.

Record, edit, take a break, repeat...

I have managed to take a few breaks from recording and editing.  You know what they say about all work and no play...  Linda and I celebrated Duane's birthday last Sunday with a cake, presents and some shopping.  I gave Duane some jewelry and I made her a pincushion in the shape of a cup of tea.  It's an Amigurumi pattern and I was pleased with how it turned out.  Duane sews so this is actually something she can use.  The pattern can be found here.  It didn't take very long and was fun to make.  Linda made Duane a gorgeous shawl from a beautiful variegated yarn.  I know it took her awhile to make it and she did a fabulous job.  She also made a shawl for me for Christmas.  Mine was knit from a very fine black yarn with a thread of gold running through it.  It's so delicate that it can also serve as a scarf.  I love it.

Yesterday, Linda and I attended an antiques fair in St. Petersburg.  Duane couldn't make it because she's in the middle of a home improvement project in her bungalow.  The show was nice and neither Linda or I had ever been to it before.   But it was really crowded and the booths were pretty small so maneuvering wasn't always easy.  Although there were all sort of items, including types that both of us collect, the prices weren't particularly good.  I told Linda that I was mentally comparing what you would pay on eBay and other online auction sites for some of the items and online still wins.  Neither of us ended up buying anything from the show but
it was fun to go.  We were both pooped after making our way through
every booth including some extra ones located on the second level of
the venue where it was held.  We stopped for a treat at a bakery Linda
knew about nearby and that was definitely worth it.

I've finished watching all of season 3 (unedited episodes) of 'Downton Abbey' from a website my friend Shirley sent to me.  Got my fix but I'm already jonesing for series 4.  I'm actually glad I already knew about the sad parts beforehand.  Spoilers don't bother me and I was prepared.   While watching the episodes I began working on this year's Valentine goodies for my three young nieces.  I'm knitting instead of crocheting and will post later on with pics and the pattern when I have more accomplished. 

And, finally, I've begun another solo for LibriVox to work on besides my paid work.  It's "an adventure story for girls" and is called The Secret Mark by Roy J. Snell.  This author was a prolific writer of books for boys and girls.  Besides his "adventure" stories for girls he also wrote a series of "mystery stories for boys" along with "The Radio-Phone Boys' Series."  I'll be sure to post here when it's been uploaded to LibriVox.  Have to squeeze in dinner and a shower before the season premiere of 'Girls' tonight on HBO.  Been looking forward to this show, too!

I hate to paint but love the results AND an Amigurumi Angel Fish

I've been meaning to redecorate our guest room for several years now and I'm finally in the process.  I finished repainting the room yesterday so the worst part is over.  The rest will be fun stuff -- decorating, etc.  The walls in the room were white so I chose Benjamin Moore's Spring Bud -- a lovely green to cover the walls.

I'm using some yellow in the room, too, and the trim is all white with large white closet doors.  This color really pops against the white and I love the way it turned out.  Then, because I follow

the wonderful blog Young House Love, I discovered that the designer Nate Berkus was releasing a line for Target.  I would
have realized it eventually but you really do have to be fast on your feet when designers license items for Target (thank you, Sherry of YHL!)  I checked online and found that the Target closest to me had two items that I wanted for the guest room.  (Ironically, they turned out to be the same two items that Sherry of Young House Love  also purchased for her home!)   The tortoise shell, which even George loved, looks gorgeous against the green wall.  I also purchased the white urchin to place on a mahogany side table.  

I plan to hang botanical themed items and probably some of  George's nature pics to finish off the room. 


Tomorrow I'm hitting some estate sales with my buds, Duane and Linda.  I may find something else for the room then.  On Sunday, I'm attending my niece, Ava's, 6th birthday party.  My sister, Carol, always goes all out when she throws a party -- her daughter and both of her sons have reaped the benefit for their birthdays.  This year the theme is a fashion show.  Big brother Sam will be home from college to 'emcee' the show.  Should be fun.  I blogged about Ava's party last year here.  I'll probably post photos again from this year's 'do.

Oh, and, of course, I had to make something for Ava to go along with what I bought for her from the store.  This year I made her an Amigurumi angel fish.   Makes a nice stuffed toy for her bed.  The pattern can be found here.

After this weekend, it's back to work.  My next audio project is a sweet, funny and short Christmas book. 

Update on recording and all things yarn

I've been recording a book of short stories called Sweet Tea and Jesus Shoes by a variety of southern women writers and it's been a terrific read.  Colorful characters (some of these people could be my relatives) and great writing have made this job, well, not like a job.  Except for the editing -- then it's still a job.  I've also recorded a horror short story by Joel M. Andre.  I understand he has a pretty loyal following so I hope I don't disappoint his fans.

Work in progress

On the yarn front, I have another group of items almost ready to ship to The Humble Stitch.  Linda finished her very first piece of clothing -- a man's scarf -- and she did a wonderful job!  It's the light tan scarf on the far right in the photo.  We have 2 hats, 2 scarves, a pair of handwarmers and a bunch of squares (for Knit A Square) -- thanks to Linda and Kristen -- and I'll have a second set of handwarmers finished soon.  I think I'm going to work on another hat when I've finished this pair of gray handwarmers. 

My niece, Bailey, turns 5 later this month and, of course, I had to think of something 'Amigurumi' to make for her.  I made her younger sister, Taylor, an Amigurumi Elmo (see this post) for her birthday in May.  I decided to make a Hello Kitty using an Amigurumi pattern that I found here by Armina Parnagian.  I think Bailey will like it.  Mine is a little larger than the pattern I followed because I used a slightly heavier yarn.  She ended up at around 6 inches high. 

I've also been experimenting more with using finer yarns and thread to knit and crochet and I'll post here when I actually have something to show for my efforts.

Record, edit, repeat. Oh, and Amigurumi Elmo, too.

I'm deep into my latest book recording now so my days are pretty much the same.  Record, edit, repeat.  I like the story so that always helps.  My proof-listener, Betsie, also likes the book and that's even better.  I count on her to catch any errors I miss on my own proof-listening.  I'm recording The Distant Shore by Debora M. Coty.  Betsie says that the story reminds her a bit of Anne of Green Gables.

I did take a little time out last week to make an Amigurumi Elmo for my niece Taylor's third birthday.  He was pretty fast and easy to make.  I found the pattern for him at Sweet N' Cute Creations.  It was so nice of this crafter to share her pattern.  I didn't 'felt' him and I made his legs a little stiffer so that they don't really bend but those were the only changes I made.  He's just adorable.  I hope Taylor likes him.  She's always had a 'thing' for Elmo so I couldn't pass this up.

Back to my editing.  Oy vey...

Amigurumi Bunnies and Vintage Needles

I just finished the three Amigurumi bunnies I made as gifts for my nieces for Easter.  Of course, they'll also be receiving the requisite M&M's with them.  Just as I did with their Valentine's Day goodies, I wanted to finish in plenty of time after my hurry at Christmas to finish the Amigurumi puppies in one week! 



I have to thank the blogger at Nerdigurumi for sharing this

easy and fantastic pattern that she created.  Not only can you make these bunnies with this basic pattern but you can also make other 'critters'.  Be sure to check out her site. 

I've also been busy knitting and crocheting items for The Humble Stitch and Knit-A-Square.  I have enough items to ship to The Humble Stitch and the package will go out by the end of the week.  Right now I'm still working on the ladies drop stitch scarf I showed a few posts ago but I did finish the man's long scarf and the cabled hat to go with a beanie, 2 sets of fingerless gloves and 2 other scarves.  These are a combination of knitted and crocheted items.

As I mentioned previously, I came across some vintage plastic and bakelite knitting needles when Duane and Linda and I were roaming antique shops near where Duane lives.  I loved using them so much that I managed to buy another set from the same store and then decided to look on eBay.  I scored with 2 separate lots of vintage needles (some of which I've shared with Duane and Linda) of almost every size.  I don't know if I'll ever use metal knitting needles again.  These are a mixture of plastic, bakelite and a few wood sets.  I was hesitant about bamboo needles because I had heard pros and cons about them when it comes to speed and breakage.  I first learned to knit on a child-size set of plastic needles when I was 11 years old.  I made a few (very) simple things for my 'Heidi' doll -- mostly capes with pretty buttons as a fastener.  After I outgrew the doll, I stopped knitting and didn't pick it up again until late last year but I find it very relaxing.  I decided to 'display' my knitting needles in tall glass vases I had around the house and they now sit on my midcentury modern coffee table in my home office.   I am now officially a needle and yarn junkie.  

New LibriVox project and other updates

I've started working on my newest solo for LibriVox.  I chose a young adult or teenage book called The Girl Aviators and the Phantom Airship by Margaret Burnham.  This book is the first in a series advertised as the 'Girl Aviator Series' and is aimed at teenaged girls on up.  I was happily surprised that these were not already in the LibriVox catalog but, of course, LibriVox always welcomes additional readings of any Public Domain books.  After I finished the last two books I recorded, Peggy's Trial and Camp-Fire Girls in the Country or The Secret Aunt Hannah Forgot, I donated the copies to Project Gutenberg since these books were not yet in their catalog.  I received a very nice thank you email from them and one of their scanners/proof-readers will be uploading these books to PG's database as he finishes them.

I've also continued with my knitting and crocheting for charity.  I finished the cabled hat that was a 'work-in-progress' in a previous post and I've also made some more squares for the Knit A Square project. They have posted a wishlist for the coming year which will be very helpful for me and my knitting friends when we decide what to make other than squares.  In addition to my charity knitting and crocheting, I've been busily at work on a new Amigurumi project.  I'll post more about it with pictures when I'm finished.  Oh, and when Duane and Linda and I were out antiquing near where Duane lives, we came across a shop that had a bunch of old and vintage knitting needles.  Some were even made of bakelite.  Duane and I have both bought some of the old plastic ones and I love knitting with them.  They're so light and smooth.  I haven't tried bamboo needles which I know that many people praise for the same reason.  I just love the idea of using vintage needles.  Apparently this dealer has more needles and has been putting a small bunch out at a time.  Great for us since we can check back to see what's new in style and size.

In the mean time, I'm waiting for responses to various auditions I've sent out for audiobooks for pay including several that will be recorded for Iambik.

Edit, edit, edit and Amigurumi cupcakes

I've been really pushing the past few days to catch up on my editing for my LibriVox book, Camp-Fire Girls in the Country.  I managed to finish recording all of the chapters and now I'm busily editing them to finish this book up so I can decide on my next LibriVox project.

In between bouts of editing, I've been working on crocheting Amigurumi cupcakes for my nieces for Valentine's Day.  Unlike the dogs I made for them for Christmas, I did not want to have to hurry to have these finished in time.  As it turned out, they were pretty fast to make.  This pattern is a larger size -- like a 'big' cupcake or a muffin.  There are patterns for much smaller ones using smaller hooks that I'd like to try but they would take longer to make and I'm a little crunched for time right now.  Overall, I'm pretty pleased with these.  I made one chocolate one and two vanilla.  All with pink icing, of course.  Instead of threading beads or sewing thread on the tops for decoration, I decided to use these buttons I came across at Michael's.  They're heart shaped strawberries with sparkly stones set into them.  The girls love anything that sparkles.  Since these are firmly  sewn onto the tops, they should be able to withstand being played with.  I had to explain this concept to George.  He thought they looked great  but (after squeezing them first), he asked what the girls were supposed to do with them.  (Insert rolling of eyes here.)  Play with them and pretend they have real cupcakes that they're making, serving, etc.  I assured him that I was giving them Valentine's Day M&Ms to go with them.  That part he understood -- something sweet to eat.

Now, it's back to editing and getting this book into the catalog... 

Back to work after a fun Saturday

Yesterday, Linda and I took Duane to lunch and supplied cake and presents for her birthday.  We went to several of our usual favorite places to shop including Kaleidoscope where we all made purchases.  Duane bought a set of bookends she had been eyeing, I bought a beautiful trapunto style pillow with the outline of a chandelier and Linda bought a fab pink mid-century serving bowl and she finally broke down and bought the last of the three tile top tables that she had wanted.  This one has a black iron frame and the top is composed of black and green tiles.  Very pretty.  After hitting a few more shops, we had lunch at Mikey's and then headed back to Duane's for chocolate cake.  A fun day.
              

When I got home late in the afternoon, I finished a pair of slipper socks I knitted for my mother's birthday.  The pattern was very easy but I will NEVER use this type of yarn again.  It's called Red Heart Light & Lofty and, boy, was it a pain to work with.  It is incredibly soft and thick so the slippers feel great -- I tried them on before washing and drying them -- but this yarn has a tendency to split and I ended up with too many stitches, etc.  Ick.  I'm also including a gift certificate to one of my mother's favorite department stores with the slippers.    



Now, I'm concentrating on making more squares for the KasCare knit (or crochet) project to make blankets for orphans of AIDS.  My friend Barbara gathered together all of the squares we had finished last Friday and we had enough for one full blanket (60 squares) and most of another one.  I gave her the ten squares I had ready to go so now I'm back to making more.  I crocheted a quick one last night and I'm about halfway through another.  I've also been looking at more of the Amigurumi patterns that I mentioned a couple of posts ago.  I may make Amigurumi cupcakes for my three nieces for Valentine's Day.  There are so many cute patterns for these that it's hard to decide which one(s) to make.

Today, I spent quite a bit of time in my recording booth.  I need to finish up my latest LibriVox solo, Camp-Fire Girls in the Country by Stella M. Francis.  I had fallen behind on my self-imposed schedule due to catching a cold that knocked my voice out of commission for about 2 weeks and then the holidays.  I recorded 6 chapters today so my next step is to edit, edit, edit.  I also recorded the weekly poem for LibriVox.  This week it's "O Hollow! Hollow! Hollow!" by W.S. Gilbert, from the opera Patience.  That's one of the things I love about the weekly and fortnightly poetry readings -- you never know what someone is going to suggest.

I'll have an update on happenings at Iambik Audiobooks very soon -- probably this week.  We're starting to gear up again after the holiday season.  There is one book coming out that I mentioned in a previous posting that's a collection of crime stories by different authors.  I read a story for that one called "Bits and Pieces" which definitely fit the genre.  We also have another collection coming up and some more solos.  I'll post here when they've been published. 

My litter of Amigurumi puppies

While participating in the knitting and crocheting activities for the past few weeks, I've visited various websites for pointers and tips on how to do both.  It had been so long since I'd done either that I was grateful that there are so many websites and videos with tutorials from everything on how to cast on stitches to making sweaters, blankets, etc. 

During one of my searches, I came across the most adorable crocheted items called 'Amigurumi'.  Apparently, these originated and are popular in Japan and some are based on various Japanese cartoon characters.  Many of the patterns have been posted freely on the Internet along with instructions on how to make them.  I fell in love with this puppy and decided I would make three of them as stocking stuffers for my five, four and two year old nieces for Christmas.  Here's the site with the pattern I used. Amigurumi Puppy pattern.

I found the supplies at my local Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store last week.  Even though the information on the pattern clearly states that they are approximately 10 inches high, I thought they would be smaller.  (Something that could be accomplished by using thinner yarn and a smaller hook.)  You may also notice in the picture on the pattern that the puppy appears to be mostly white.  The pattern called for Lion Brand Yarn -- Chunky in a color called 'Fisherman'.  Fisherman is definitely a cream but I decided to follow the instructions to the letter. 

If you Google 'Amigurumi', you'll find tons of sites with information about the craft.  It even has it's own Wikipedia page here.  Well, anyway, I'm pretty happy with the way the puppies look.  It would have helped to have more time but I was determined to finish them for this Christmas.  I finished them today and now I have a ton of other things to do in a very short time  -- mostly wrapping presents and cleaning for company. 

You can change the colors, of course, for any of the patterns but the only one I changed was the color of the collar.  I also added a little 'charm' to each collar with the first initial for each of my nieces.  (Two of them are sisters and this will help to tell their puppies apart.)  There are tons of other adorable items to make but I've told my friends to please 'slap me silly' if I ever start doing something like this a week before Christmas again.  I hope the girls like them.  Now, I have to get busy wrapping presents.  My evening is all planned.