Fiber Arts Friday: Bee Kit Amigurumi

If you know me, you know I'm not a fan of kits.

A lot of people like kits... and I understand why they do.  But as an engineer, I feel that kits remove the most fun part of any project.... figuring it out.  :-)

Anyway, I've been casually looking for a Bee Amigurumi pattern for a while and not finding quite what I wanted.... but I hadn't yet progressed to the point of figuring it out for myself.

Then a few weeks ago, I was showing a friend who's new to town the craft store options we have locally.... this included stopping into one of the big box stores... and we happened to see and endcap with come cute Amigurumi kits.

This bee is one of the cutest I've seen... and while the yarn is acrylic and so much of this kit is in opposition of my goals and priorities... but it does meet my need to learn a new skill.  So I spent the $10 and brought it home.

This is a gift for Hubba who desperately wants a Busy Bee, but apparently no one actually makes one.

You can see the actual Busy Bee in an earlier scene, but I have not been able to find a clip.

Here's the finished project....

My stitching skills leave a lot to be desired, but I think the point is being made.  lol

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Huichol Deer

Happy New Year!

I was in Mexico last week.

It was supposed to be a vacation.  My first vacation since 2008!  But things with the Day Job meant I was working every day... well, every day except for one when I spent the entire day in bed because I got a nasty cold shortly after I arrived.  My SIL said my body was telling me that I need more balance in my life.  She is correct.  However, that is an entirely different post.

So, aside from working nearly every day I was away and spending a lot of time hiding off to the side trying to not share my germs with my family, I did manage some time out.

One such outing was breakfast on the beach with my Dad and Sister.  The food was delicious; the coffee, fantastic; the skies, threatening with the rain that would stay for several days; and the company was rare and wonderful.

While we were at breakfast, a Huichol girl came by with her wares.  She had many beaded coin purses and bags of varying sized as well as a handful of stuffed toys.  There was a zebra, a horse and a few others, but I was drawn to this deer.... relatively simple and plain with a fantastic rack.

The body is made with a simple, woven, wool and green felt.  It appears to be entirely hand-stitched.  The rack is made of several strands of thread wrapped around felt fabric.... obviously wrapped by hand.  Aside from the little bits of felt sticking out the top, you can not see the felt at all.  The attention to detail and whimsy captured me from the very beginning.

I'm not likely to make toys and don't have many, but I definitely appreciate the work that went into this one.

He is currently living in our guest room.  :-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!