PlanetJune Blog: Latest News, Patterns and Tutorials

Drumroll please… You’ve waited all this time, and now, finally, the Fuzzy Monkeys pattern is available! You can order it directly from PlanetJune.com and the pdf will be e-mailed to you.

Now you can make your own amigurumi monkeys! The pattern includes full instructions to make three different types of monkey:

1. Adult Monkey with poseable wired legs and tail
2. Baby Monkey with poseable wired legs and tail
3. Adult Monkey with wire-free (child-safe) dangling legs

PS – Would you like to see PlanetJune amigurumi dog patterns? Please vote in my poll and let me know!

It seems that my amigurumi Shiba Inu is popular! I only made Ginger Jr as a one-of-a-kind gift, but all your comments are making me think about making a slightly simplified shiba and producing a pattern for it… It wouldn’t be immediate – I have several other projects I have to complete first (especially the long-awaited monkey pattern which should be complete in the next week).

So, my question to you is, would you be interested in buying an amigurumi dog pattern from me? If you’re interested, please vote, and I will do it if there is enough interest. If you’d like to see other breeds done in the same kind of style, please vote and also leave a comment saying which breeds are your favourite!

UPDATE: Thanks to all who voted… the first set of AmiDogs patterns are now available in my store!

Kari and I had a great time in Chicago. Kari made this lovely soft fleece tree scarf for me, accessorized with a Crafty Ginger tsumami kanzashi flower snap – yay! She also gave me some gorgeous grey fuzzy yarn, which I know I’ll be able to make good use of 😉

We went to the Sanseido bookstore in the Mitsuwa Japanese marketplace . If you’re in Chicago I highly recommend you check it out if you love Japanese craft books (and who doesn’t?) – they had a wide selection and the prices were very reasonable. I managed to restrict myself to buying three:

ISBN 9784529039017 (cute stuffed toy patterns)

ISBN 4277490239 (crochet motifs)

ISBN 9784277490405 (pretty patchwork)

Beautiful, inspirational books! And all 3 for only $20 🙂

How’s that for a Japanese post title! I can finally reveal the present I made for Kari (Crafty Ginger). As I know she doesn’t crochet, in honour of her lovely Shiba Inu dog, may I present Ginger (Jr):

I made up the pattern for this amigurumi as I went, although I was influenced by the photos of Soragumi‘s crocheted dogs. The finishing touches to personalise it: a spool-knitted collar in Kari’s favourite colour, with a tiny rubber-stamped shrink plastic dog tag hanging from it.

Happy Blogiversary to me! Craftybits @ PlanetJune.com is one year old today. To celebrate, I’ve made a new header (if you’re reading this through a feed reader, please click through to my site to see it). Bye-bye to the text-only header, and hello to some of the favourite things I’ve made. I’ve saved my template so I can switch in different photos whenever I feel like it. What do you think?

a look back

Wow, I’ve been blogging for a whole year… I feel like the year has flown by, but when I look back at what I’ve accomplished in the past year I can’t believe how far I’ve come in one year! Over the past year, I have:

• participated in 7 Whiplash challenges and 3 OneHourCraft challenges
  
• increased the traffic to my site every month (numbers removed because I’m not competing with anyone – it’s only the trend that interests me):
  
• published 7 original crochet patterns with more on the way, and the free Fuzzballs pattern
• written several tutorials to help out other crafters
• and made lots of new friends in the craft blog community!

…and forward

I don’t know how I’m going to top all that, but I have so many new ideas I’m going to have a good try! I think lack of time will be my main problem. But this isn’t a race or a competition – I do this (crafting and blogging) because I love to do it. Whatever happens next year, if I enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed the past year, that will be enough for me 🙂

ps… monkeys

I’m suffering from a yucky cold right now so I still haven’t finished the monkey pattern 🙁 But I’m determined to beat it soon – I’m meeting up with the lovely Kari of Crafty Ginger this weekend, so I will not be sick for that. Can’t wait to see you, Kari!

To everyone who is still waiting for the Fuzzy Monkeys crochet pattern:

I haven’t forgotten you! Life has been hectic for the past couple of weeks. I have some big personal things going on: we’ll be moving house soon; my sister just visited; and I finally got to see the hand doctor.

So, while the pattern itself has been finished for a while, I want to add some more instructions, hints and tips, and helpful graphics, so you’ll be able to make the best monkeys around 🙂

The pattern will be available very soon… Watch this space!

Fuzzballs are the ultimate in easy and cute crochet, and a perfect way to use up any scraps of fun fur, eyelash or any other fuzzy yarn you may have on hand. These tiny amigurumi are crocheted in fuzzy yarn and come in two sizes: Fuzzball and Fuzzball Mini. Let your imagination run wild as you embellish these little cuties!

Don’t be afraid of the fuzzy yarn – I have Fuzzy Yarn Tips to help you out:
• Not sure which yarns to use? Try my Fuzzy Yarn General Tips
• New to fuzzy amigurumi? Try my introduction for right-handers or left-handers

>> Continue to the pattern instructions >>

This is just a quick prototype I made last night. It’s a bit uneven and a little smaller than I’d like (the finished holder only just holds 4 business cards). But I am pleased with the basic concept – I’ll add “make a proper business card holder” to my endless list of craft ideas!