PlanetJune by June Gilbank

The Great Dane has been on my list of AmiDogs to create for a long time, but it presented a few logistical problems:

I wanted the Dane to be a bit larger than my other AmiDogs, because when you think Great Dane, you think BIG, but trying to support a larger body on long thin crocheted legs wouldn’t be possible without some kind of wire support inside the legs, which I didn’t want.

So, that led to the decision to make a seated or lying dog. I didn’t want to make this design much more difficult to follow than my other AmiDogs patterns, so I couldn’t use the same tricks that I used for the legs on my Ring-Tailed Lemur pattern.

Finally, after much prototyping, I got it! All the pieces are really simple to make. The finished Great Dane is 10″ long (including his tail) or 8″ if you don’t count the tail, and the pattern has instructions for a single-coloured and dual-coloured dog. I’ve also included 2 different ears in the pattern, because Great Danes look so different when they have cropped ears:

…and when their ears are left natural:

The AmiDogs Great Dane crochet pattern is now available for purchase in my store. You can buy it individually, or did you know that I now have a listing for a custom set of AmiDogs? You can mix and match to create your own set of any 3 AmiDogs patterns for the same bargain price as a regular set of AmiDogs!

I hope you like him!

Wow, someone in the gaming/tech world discovered my amigurumi lemmings last week, and there’s been an explosion of interest and blog posts featuring them ever since! Welcome, gamers, to the world of PlanetJune

Please click through to see the full-size image – it looks so much better that way!

I’ve been getting so many requests to make sets of lemmings, I thought I’d address the issue here to save me answering it hundreds of times…

Click through to see the full-size image

I don’t think I could create a duplicate of all the lemmings I made – the walker and blocker would be fine, but the accessories for the other three took literally hours and hours to make each one, which would make my price ridiculously high! But if you’re interested in some walkers and/or blockers, I’d be happy to create them for you. Here’s an example of a commissioned set of two walkers and a blocker that I recently completed:

My rates are artist’s rates as I’m a busy designer and writer, and don’t have time to create all the creatures I have requests for on a daily basis. If you think my prices are too high, you don’t appreciate the time and care I put into each one of my creations. If you’re interested in one or more custom-made lemmings, please e-mail me and we can discuss it!

So that I can stay sane, I will only accept a couple of orders per month – I have no desire to become a lemming-making factory – so please let me know if you have an urgent deadline or are prepared to wait a while for your lemming(s)

Just in time for the weekend, The Moon punchneedle pattern is now available from the PlanetJune shop.

The finished moon is 5″ in diameter, and the pattern includes 4 colourways for the Moon: Purple Moon, Sepia Moon, Blue Moon, and Harvest Moon (thanks Alice for suggesting that last one!).

There are three ways to buy The Moon pattern:

• Purchase it individually for $4.50
• Create a custom set of any three punchneedle patterns for $11.25
• Choose it as your free pattern when you purchase The Punchneedle Handbook for $8.50

I can’t describe how happy I am with all the interest I’m been getting since I released my eBook – this week has been an absolute whirlwind, and it’s wonderful to see that people are finally starting to pay attention to punchneedle! Thank you so much for all the positive comments and encouragement you’ve sent me!

And thanks to Craft for their lovely write-up, and Sister Diane at CraftyPod for her wonderful review of my book!

Please let me know if you have any punchneedle pattern requests or any questions I can help you with

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about punchneedles this week! I’m not going to start selling them in my store because I wouldn’t be able to offer competitive pricing. Instead, I’ll give you some information about where you can buy punchneedles and some of the commonly-available options.

As far as I know, all the big craft stores sell at least one type of punchneedle – I have verified that Michaels, JoAnn & AC Moore all sell punchneedles. To give you an idea of what’s available, here are some of the types of punchneedle you may see, with my comments about them:

L-R: Dimensions, Clover, Ultra Punch

Punchneedles come in several styles and sizes. The basic needle (size medium) accommodates 3 strands of embroidery floss, but fine 1-strand needles and coarse 6-strand needles are also available. Some punchneedles have adjustable depth (which determines the length of the loops you punch); the most basic needles have a fixed loop length. The more expensive punchneedles may have a more comfortable grip for long periods of use, but they all work in exactly the same manner, so a basic punchneedle is all you need.

The Dimensions punchneedle is inexpensive (around $3) and not adjustable, but you don’t need an adjustable needle for miniature punchneedle, so this needle is really all you need to get started. You should find it near the cross stitch section in almost any craft stores.

The Clover Embroidery Stitching Tool is more expensive (around $12) and you can buy various-sized needle tips (you will need a MEDIUM needle for it), but it is quite short and some people may prefer a longer pen-shaped barrel.

The Ultra-Punch Needle (also sold as Cameo Ultra Punch) is the most expensive (around $18) and has an adjustable loop length. I own this needle – it is very comfortable to use, but I always leave it on the shortest loop length. You can buy it in three needle tip sizes or in a set of all 3 needle tip sizes. You only need the MEDIUM sized needle. (I’m not sure if you can buy this needle in stores; it is available online from JoAnn.com and probably elsewhere too.)

There are other brands of punchneedle too – basically, any punchneedle with a medium-sized tip is suitable for the Miniature Punchneedle Embroidery taught in The Punchneedle Handbook.

I hope you find this information useful!

With an astronomer for a husband, it seemed doubly appropriate that I make something to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing (July 20, 1969). And with my new punchneedle fixation, it seemed obvious what I should make:

I looked at source photos from NASA to make my moon design, and then embroidered it with punchneedle. I decided to use a soft purple colour scheme instead of harsh greys – four shades of purple plus white. I even got some professional advice from my resident astronomer to make sure my design was accurate before I started!

The finished embroidery is 5 inches across. I made it into an applique and attached it to a black paisley fabric (doesn’t really show in these pics, but it’s black on black and has a soft velvety texture) mounted on a padded stretcher bar frame. I love the texture of the punchneedle and how it almost looks 3D. And the purples happen to match my new shelves perfectly. I’m very happy with it – now I just have to hang it!

When I write up the moon pattern I’m going to give a choice of colour schemes (sepia tones, soft blues, etc), in case purple isn’t your thing. Any requests?

I hope you like my moon! Are you starting to see how cool punchneedle can be?! I really do love it!

Edited to add: I’ve set up a new mailing list for my Punchneedle designs – sign up if you’d like to be notified when the moon pattern is finished!