Guilty Pleasure Saturday

This weeks Guilty Pleasure…. Amigurumi

I know what you are thinking… What the ?>$! is that???

Well let me give you the Wikipedia description: Amigurumi (編み包み, Amigurumi^? lit. (Knitted, stuffed toy)is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. Amigurumi are typically cute animals (such as bears, rabbits, cats, dogs, etc.), but can include inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features. Amigurumi can be either knitted or crocheted. In recent years crocheted amigurumi are more popular and more commonly seen.Amigurumi are usually crocheted or knitted out of yarn. The simplest designs are worked in spirals. In contrast to typical Western crochet the rounds are not usually joined. They are also worked with a smaller size hook in proportion to the weight of the yarn in order to create a very tight-looking fabric without any gaps through which the stuffing might escape. Amigurumi are usually worked in sections and then joined, except for some amigurumi which have no limbs, only a head and torso which are worked as one piece. The extremities are sometimes stuffed with plastic pellets to give them a life-like weight, while the rest of the body is stuffed with fiber stuffing.

The pervading aesthetic of amigurumi is cuteness. To this end, typical amigurumi animals have an over-sized spherical head on a cylindrical body with undersized extremities

My description : a cute little dust collector that I make from yarn that can sometimes cost a good deal of money! Ami’s are my relaxation. I can usually complete one in less than a day and my little dog just loves to eat them when I’m not looking. So not only do I get some enjoyment but so does the dog!

I was introduced to Ami’s one day a few months ago when I browsing Etsy.com I can across a crocheted lion that was inspired by a favorite Japanese Anime of mine. I just had to make one of these little guys for myself! But I decided maybe I should look around for some free patterns to start me off before spending money on a pattern that could be beyond my very limited crocheting abilities. imagine my surprise when I found a ton of free patterns on the net and most of them I just had to have! My first Ami was a Moogle, yes a Moogle, it’s a little guy from on of my favorite video games, just go along with it Ok! He was very easy to make and was finished in just one nights worth of work. And from there I went on to make a number of little crocheted Ami’s fro the free patterns and I even went back a purchased a few patterns from the Etsy Sellers. Now most of the little guys have found new homes, a number of them inside my dog but that’s another story!

Well I’m not sure if the Ami’s are a Guilty Pleasure of if the oh so beautiful yarn that I keep buying is the real guilty pleasure. I have started a nice collection of yarn that is taking up room in the house and some of it has been a bit pricy. So pricy I hate to use the darn stuff! Hand Dyed, Wool, Cotton, Mohair. Wonderful to touch, sinful to buy, and down right a pain in the neck to try and work with! All that fuzz can sometime get in the way!

Oh well, I guess it could be worse… I could be one of the many adults that try to hang onto there youth and watch cartoons every day of the week.… oh wait… never mind!

If you are interested in trying some Amigurumi take a look at the link to the right listed under Crochet & Amigurumi. Let me suggest my most favorite site… Roman Sock, here you can take a look at some great original Ami’s and find some free patterns to download. But be forewarned! These are not for the beginner! The patterns on this Blog are very adorable and most are very detailed, you might want to save this one for after you have tried a few simpler patterns!

 

More Guilty Pleasures!

Guilty Pleasures…. we all have them, some of us, more than others!

Art!

I could not create quality art if my life depended on it, but I love spending a couple hours every week searching the net for some more amazing art!

Right now I am loving digital art, art that has been made entirely on a computer or enhanced by the computer has me totally fascinated! I don’t have a clue why I enjoy it, but I do and that’s all that matters!

Now you might be thinking… She quilts so art to me must all be quilting related… wrong! not that I don’t like art quilts, there are some beautiful art quilts in the world today, but they are not my favorites! A couple of months ago I was on the Illustration Friday Website looking at some digital art link when I came across a Blog called FridayEve, with art illustrations by Steve James. his stuff is just amazing! His digital art to me reminds me of some of the amazing digital animation we see today only better! Some illustrations of fantasy characters and a number of portraits you will be defiantly be able to spend some time checking out his Blog! It is very high on artwork, and low on written post so you can spend all our time with the beautiful art!

Another favorite is at Duda Daze – silly little works of art, by Diane Duda. The name says it all, it is silly little works of art that you cant help but smile when you see them!

For you quilters out there, one quilter/artist can be found at the Feathered Fibers blog! Carla is a amazing quilter, as well as being the artist of the Feathered Fibers comic. You can see some of her comics on her blog, so check them out! She also makes some amazing jewelry with beads and her freeform scarf’s always make me wish I was more creative!

Another big favorite quilt artist, would have to Rebecca Barker. Her artwork, all containing quilts or quilting of some kind has been seen in quilting books, on greeting cards, and prints to hang on your wall!

Is Art a guilty pleaser??? Well I do feel guilty when I look at it instead of working, and I do enjoy looking at it from afar, so in my mind… Yes! It is indeed a Guilty Pleasure!

Is It Thursday Already???

Today was a nice lazy day, I am ahead of schedule on quilting so I decided that I would be a couch potato this afternoon. Or in my case a Day Bed Potato! The day bed is located in the “game room” . So I lounged all afternoon, and played a couple of video games. Yes I play Video games, I know I’m a adult I should be out of that faze by now but honestly I just don’t think that is ever going to happen! This got me to thinking about a Blog I read last year (sorry I do not remember who’s it was so if you now please let me know) This bloger had posted a list of her guilty pleasures, so I thought I would do the same. I started to make a list of them only to decide that I have way to many to post all at once! So fo now I’ll just post the one about video games!

Guilty Pleasure #1

VIDEO GAMES!

I got addicted on Video games back in the… well lets just say I was a bit younger than I am now and my brothers were the owners of both a Atari and Coleco game systems! My first game was a Strawberry Shortcake matching game. Really simple and girlie. But as time went on the games changed as did the systems we played them on. When the brother got a Nintendo System I quickly became addicted to Mario Brother and The Legend of Zelda ( is still a favorite! ) Well it wasn’t long after the Playstation came out that I just had to have one! I become a fan of Crash Bandicoot And latter The Jak & Daxter Series. However It wasn’t long before I was introduced to the dreaded Final Fantasy Series. Yes, if you have nothing to do for the rest of your life become a Final Fantasy game player. My addiction started with game seven, my most favorite of all the series. I tend to have to purchase the new games in the series the day they come out. I even have the new releases of the “old” Fantasy games that have been released on the Nintendo DS. Now I haven’t got desperate enough to purchase a Playstation 3 yet, I just don’t see paying $400.00 for a game system when right now only a handful of the games interest me. Oh and one more thing… lets not forget the little bookshelf in the game room that houses my strategy guides for most all my games! no they re not Cheat Books, they are Strategy guides! and I don’t use them until I have played a game beginning to end at least once. then I go back with the Guide to find stuff I might not have found the first couple of times!

Now you now a little bit about one of my Guilty Little Pleasures!

and just so you know I didn’t slack off all day, I did quilt another T-Shirt quilt made by Doloris M. This one I am guessing belongs to someone that works at the local Curves Gym, Enjoy!