PlanetJune

I watched the Westminster dog show on TV last week, and now I have about 20 ideas for dog breeds that I’m itching to design for the AmiDogs range! I was delighted to see that a beagle won Best in Show for the first time ever (yay Uno!), but of course I’ve already designed a Beagle…

So here’s the first dog for AmiDogs Set 3: a Siberian Husky (or is it an Alaskan Malamute? You take your pick!)

The grass is wishful thinking on my part - winter is almost over, isn’t it?

Woof!

I’m especially happy with his pricked ears and white-tipped tail. Hope you like him

Thank you to everyone who requested a shrinkydinks ring tutorial! I hope this will answer all your questions. Please leave me a comment if you have any questions etc, or link to pictures of your own rings!

I’ll answer some questions from the comments on my previous shrinky rings post before I get started, and add more hints and tips throughout the tutorial.

Shrink plastic, for the uninitiated, was originally marketed as a toy for kids. It starts life thin and flexible. You draw on it and then bake it in the oven, and it shrinks to become about 1/3 of the starting size, but 9 times as thick. This thickness makes it strong and hard. It will not bend after baking, so if you try to pull your ring open, or stand on it, it may snap, but it is strong enough to withstand regular use as a ring.

The last step (bending the ring into shape) is the most difficult, so I highly recommend that 1) you read through all the instructions before starting, and 2) practice on a blank piece of shrink plastic so you can get a feel for it and test your size and bending technique before putting too much effort into your design!

Full tutorial instructions are after the jump…

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I received an e-mail from a potential customer yesterday:

I writes you because I would like to make the fuzzy bears because my daughter finds him(it) very beautiful. I wanted to buy you the model but regrettably I have not paypal. you would have another method of payment to give me. I can for example if you give me your banking coordinates to be made a transfer.

I replied back with my alternate payment options (cash, cheque, money order), and received this in response:

Thank you for your answer. To be able to make the payment on-line, I need your IBAN address, or your N of account as well as the coordinates of your bank.

Giving this person the benefit of the doubt (sounds like English isn’t their first language), I replied back again to reiterate that they may also send me payment by mail. I then received another reply:

I understands that it you frightened we never know what can arrive. But I promises you that my attentions are not bad. I ask you for that because I have a paypal nor credit card and the only means for me to pay your model which I wish enormously remain the on-line payment from my bank to your bank. I shall send you the proof of payment by email. I can so tried to make the payment if you give me only the IBAN.

Now, there is a chance that this person is genuine, but by this point I strongly suspect that this is a personalized phishing scam! This is a far cry from the standard random spam e-mails claiming the sender will give you a million dollars for helping them to move money into the country - someone has gone to some trouble to e-mail me directly, even using details of one of my patterns (fuzzy bear) to sound more genuine.

I just wanted to warn other people who sell online to beware this kind of scam. Never, ever, give out your bank account details!

I’ve been making more shrink plastic rings, and I’ve refined my method so I can produce these:

Click for larger version

I really like how they’ve turned out. And there’s also the added bonus of watching the long strips of shrinkydinks wiggle about as they shrink

Would anyone be interested in a tutorial on how to make these? Let me know in the comments… UPDATE: Thanks for all the requests! Here’s the tutorial

I’ve wanted to try making shrink plastic jewellery for months, but I found some lovely rubber stamps yesterday that are only 3/8″ long, so when the stamped images are shrunk they are beautifully delicate.

I made this prototype ring in just a few minutes, to test the concept. It’s not perfect - I’m very inexperienced with stamping so I didn’t quite get the positioning I wanted, and the length shrunk slightly more than I expected, so the ends of the ring don’t meet on the inside, but I think the idea has promise:

What do you think?

I’ll try to make a better one, and then I’ll give you a close-up of the stamped design once I’ve perfected it…

I often get asked how to make colour changes when crocheting amigurumi, so I’ve put together a tutorial with some instructions and tips so you’ll be able to keep your stitches neat when changing colour.

Colour Changes in Amigurumi Tutorial >>

This huge parcel came in the mail for me, all the way from Texas! It’s a very generous RAOK (Random Act Of Kindness) from a fellow Crochetviller:

I love the colours and I’ve never seen any of these yarns before (we don’t even have Hobby Lobby in Canada) so I’m really pleased - thank you to my Fairy Godmother! I am already planning what to make with some of this…

If the sight of rats upsets you, look away now…

Squeak!

Squeak squeeeeak!

Want to make your own? Pick up the pattern from the PlanetJune store, and get crocheting!

I often get asked where to find eyes for amigurumi making. They can be called variously animal eyes, safety eyes, or craft eyes, and can be difficult to locate. If you aren’t lucky enough to find them in your local craft store, there are plenty of online sources.

I’ve started a list of online sources that have been recommended to me and I thought others might find it useful. If you know of any more, or have any recommendations to share, please let me know and I will add them to the list.

Eye Sources >>

Happy Chinese New Year! The upcoming year is the Year of the Rat in the Chinese zodiac, so I decided to design a rat of my own (thanks Jean for the suggestion). I know this won’t be to everyone’s taste, but try not to scream too much…

Click for larger image

My sister Dawn says he looks just like an agouti rat. He’ll be making his way to the UK soon to live with her. She used to have a pet rat, so I know they are actually friendly and intelligent animals.

Kung Hei Fat Choi! Happy Year of the Rat!

PS - If you’d like to crochet your own Fuzzy Rat, the pattern will be available shortly…