Since I can remember, the day after Labor has always been the first sign that summer is officially over. Although in Southern California heat waves can continue well into the first week of October, deep down you know summer is gone. Nevertheless, its always been a marker for the beginning of a new season. Yesterday morning was the perfect beginning to autumn. The grey cloudy sky was a silent friend greeting me at my door as I left home to go to work today. This is the best kind of weather for me. A little gloomy weather without the madness of rain and listening to NPR. It was a great day.
Halloween is creeping upon us. The weather is a changing. The weather is a little crispier, the trees and other foliage are changing color, and the wind is picking up every so slightly bringing with it a ting of mystery. I love it. This is my most favorite time of year. It lends itself to knit/crochet, sew, craft and of course baking. Ah, baking that which bring in wonderful smells of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to ones home. This being my muse, I was inspired to make a few little additions to our household.
Amigurumi is the Japanese art of crocheting cute little creations made of a little yarn, felt, plastic doll eyes, stuffing and a whole lot of love. Amigurumis are usually super cute little bunnies, cuddly bears and adorable kittens. I, however, am particularly inclined to make out of the ordinary little creatures. It is for this reason that I love the book by designer Christen Haden, “Creepy Cute Crochet: Zombies, Ninjas, Robots and more”. This book is full of fun and unique amigurumis. Who said the Grim Reaper wasn’t cute. The thing I love about these little creature creations is that you can use up a lot of odds and ends making them.
Since purchasing the book last year I have made a few of these creepy adorable amigurumis. Permanent residents in my home are the Grim Reaper, The Devil (AKA Mr. D), and The Day of the Dead girl. I enjoyed making them, for the sheer instant self gratification. They only take about a day or two to create.
This past weekend we added two additional members to the creepy amigurumis. I made the notorious vampire, Nosferatu and the scary mythological creature, Medusa. Norferatu has a ginormous head but with a big fangy smile. Medusa, is not the color I would have preferred, but then again I was using bits of yarn I had laying around. In addition, for Medusa I use for the first time, plastic eyes. First let me say plastic eyes are inexpensive and give a nice look to the amigurumi. Totally worth the 99cent I spent on a package of six.
I think they turned out fantastic, but most importantly the kids love them and in the end that is what counts.
