Amigurumi Fever

I plead guilty to being AWOL for weeks and weeks. No excuse except the business of life. The busyness of life, too. Since I last wrote I have been 
A-advancing my health by going to the gym
L-living more fully in the spiritual realm
I-initiating a new line of products (more below)
V-very much into cultivating a new relationship (no more below)
E-ever so guilty about neglecting this empty space when I have plenty of words in my head


Period.

Amigurumi are adorable stuffed creatures first designed in Japan, more often crochet, sometimes knitted. They feature tight little stitches, oversized heads, and some degree of anthropomorphism (giving human characteristics to non-humans). Beyond that, different makers use different techniques that give their creations the characteristics that they prefer.

I have promised myself for years that I would start making amigurumi. I hesitated because I knew it would take learning some new techniques and I wasn't sure I would enjoy them. A classmate from high school asked me about making them during the holidays, and I put the task in front of me more seriously. I ordered a book on making the cute little suckers and wound up with some basic instructions for the typical body parts - head, trunk, legs. I developed my own ways of dealing with other anatomical features - ears, eyes, bent limbs, tails, hair. As I began to make them, certain rules took root. I didn't want to use plastic sew-on or stick-through eyes. I liked leaving my creatures relatively unadorned and naked. I wanted fantasy colors-a person could be pink or green or orange, and so could dogs, lizards, birds, and every other creature. My people would be unisex. Some creatures would be missing body parts, just like in real life. 

Enough talk. 

I've made dozens of these now. Every so often I take out all the unsold ones and set them up on a table and they have a little amigurumi party. It makes me happy.

Peace.