MUTHAFUCKIN' CHEESEBURGER BALLZ

Double cheeseburgers and testicles, together. Forever.

In progress

GODDAMN SWEET TITTYCATS

GODDAMN SWEET TITTYCATS keychain set

Boob keychain

I crocheted these as a request for an archaeologist gift exchange to take place at a local dive bar. It went over well, I hear.

Crocheted and Embroidered Sriracha Beer Koozie

Ensure that you keep that cheap can of beer cold and your grubby little fingers stay warm. Sriracha beer koozie with embroidered label.

Completed Sriracha beer koozie with top off. Oh my.

Peek-a-boo

Look a little closer... Those damn bumps were such a challenge to embroider over. Pricked many a finger during the process and started over and over and over. 
LOVED EVERY MINUTE.

Teeny Tiny Crocheted String of Pearls Succulent Inspired by PlanetJune

Senecio rowleyanus, more commonly known as String of Pearls, is an "indoor plant with small, bright green, bead-like leaves that appear on long, slender stems. String of Pearls are usually planted in a hanging basket where it has space to cascade freely. String of Pearls is a succulent, and like other succulent plants, it requires little maintenance to keep it happy and healthy." -Home Guides

Another angle of the String of Pearls. I got the idea from the blog PlanetJune! 

I used embroidery thread for the plant because it's hard to find quality yarn here in Alaska that is thinner than the standard worsted weight. I'm in love with this little plant, but I made it for a friend, so I suppose I'll have to give it up.

Tiny card for a tiny crocheted succulent.

Crocheted Bloody Butcher Halloween Costume with Decapitated Pig's Head Purse

You inch your body alongside the wall, right hand forward, to avoid bumping in to anything that would give you away. It's almost completely dark inside save for a dim light emanating from the kitchen. A sudden CLANG startles you and you find your right hand clutching at your heart, trying to muffle the sound of it beating wildly inside of your chest. A metallic smell reaches your nostrils and coats your tongue as you inch toward the room. You pause as you sidle up to the doorway, having forgotten how to breath. Your right foot slides quietly forward as you peer in to catch a glimpse of the infamous Bloody Butcher.

Process:

Intimidation kept me from attempting to crochet the bloody butcher costume with a decapitated pig’s head purse in 2013. I instead ended up creating the Crocheted Crab Costume with Backpack. Again, I felt the same trepidation this year as Halloween approached. I had never before crocheted something so intricate, large, and realistic, but I was massively intrigued by the prospect of creating a gruesome scene out of soft, fluffy yarn as I had done so before on a smaller scale with the Meat: A Recurring Nightmare scene. I decided to ditch the pig head idea and instead crochet a t-bone steak purse. As I sat on my couch looking at the red and white yarn, preparing to crochet the steak, I knew it wouldn't suffice. I needed a challenge. I needed to push myself beyond my comfort zone to see what my hands could create. 

As I began to form the basic shape of the head, I was flooded with ideas to make it as realistic and creepy as possible. I needed a way to hold on to the purse without having to cradle it in my arm all night. A “metal” J-hook stabbed in through the top of the head and out the eye would do, with metal links to hook it up to the ceiling of a butcher shop. The hook is stabilized with a wooden rod and the head's roundness is kept in place from the inside by recycled paperboard and duct-tape. The pupil of the eye would be a silvery hue, to signify death and preservation in a cooler or freezer. The eye would be rolled up, as if that were his last move after he was decapitated by my cleaver. One ear would be folded over, so both sides of the face weren’t symmetrical. I sewed a zipper in to the bottom of the neck on the back of the head to hold small items. The blood dripping from the neck would show that I had just decapitated the head from the rest of the carcass. The butcher’s knife needed blood, and I played with crocheting drops and drips of red to see what it would look like against the gray. I ended up embroidering the yarn directly on to the cleaver to make it look more realistic. I wanted to wear the sausages around my neck, but I had crocheted them too large and it would sit awkwardly on my shoulders. They were to dangle off of my left shoulder throughout the whole weekend. My apron is fashioned from a pillowcase found at the thrift store that I quickly cut and sewed to suit my needs.

    

An industrial kitchen setting was the only thing left to complete the scene. I decided to ask Arlette and Kathy Lavelle of Lavelle’s Bistro if there was any possibility I could sneak in to their kitchen to take photos before they opened to the public. Surprisingly and gratefully, they said yes! My friend Sara borrowed a nice DSLR camera from her girlfriend Lou so that we didn’t have to use our iPhones. The cooks were highly amused and enthusiastic, inviting us in to the cooler, pulling out slabs of meat and various knives. We were careful not to touch anything inside the kitchen to keep things sanitary. I am thankful for all involved and the encouragement that I received before, during, and after the creation of the costume, especially from Sara, Melodee, Lou, and Heather. Without their belief in my abilities and willingness to listen to my ideas, I may never have attempted to crochet a pig’s head, let alone the whole costume. I hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them! If you have any questions or for inquiries, please contact me at iheartamicute@gmail.com.

-         Nanae Ito   

xtratuf boots for spring time!

when someone asks me, "make something for a forthcoming baby," cutesy hats and frilly boots rarely come to mind. enter the rain boots. ready for splashing, mud, and generally being a carefree child! with these boots, your babe is ensured its standing in the "hip" and "with it" crowd. pair them with a slouchy hat and buffalo check flannel and s/he is ready to hit the vintage boutiques.

Kin the Golden Poo - Japanese Good-Luck Charm!

now available in my etsy shop!

kin the golden poo is sure to bring you fortune this year, or at least a giggle and smile! measuring at about four inches (20 cm) tall, he's a golden, hand-held sized pile of good-luck!

in japanese, these charms are known as "kin no unko." kin = gold, un = luck, and unko = poo. the japanese love a good play on words, especially ones that garner a laugh! gift a hand-crocheted golden poo for your friends, loved ones, or yourself to help ring in a prosperous new year!

crustacean senstation - crocheted crab costume with shell backpack!

my very good friend and i used to laugh for hours doing crab impressions, scuttling past windows and confusing family members and our other "normal" friends. i decided i would crochet a crab costume in honor of our memories and the many laugh-until-you-cry-and-then-choke moments. 
i crocheted a scoodie, which is a scarf with a hood, and attached crab claw pockets at the end. Since i live in Alaska, it's nice to have something to keep me warm-ish while out and about for Halloween shenanigans. i made the left claw bigger than the right claw to be crab-atomically correct. *click clack*

i also crocheted a crab shell backpack which i finished in time for the second weekend out, mostly because i always seem to lose essential things such as credit cards, phone, house keys, etc. on Halloween night. i wanted a prop that would double as a purse/backpack! i sewed a zipper at the top opening to keep my treasures safe inside the shell!

i hope you like my crab costume! it was so much fun to wear!!
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finished up the crab shell backpack

*snip snap*

football player with removable helmet!

a special request, this football player will be in the tiny baby hands of a future football fan very soon! he's an ohio buckeye football player and is holding the team mascot, a buckeye nut, in his right hand. i embroidered the red, white, and black stripes on his helmet, his shirt sleeves, and pant legs. i also embroidered his hair on after searching for "how to crochet hair" on google - i'm very happy with how the hair looks! i crocheted the entire doll in my make-up-as-you-go style! my first time crocheting a human and i'm super pleased how he turned out! this is also my first time crocheted numbers and i loved it! i hope you love him just as much as i do!

 

 

 

 

billy the blue-collar bear

part 1: after working a full day at the factory, billy was ready to go home and enjoy the pre-thanksgiving preparations with his wife and two young girls. just before he clocks out his supervisor calls him into the office.



part 2: he tells billy the plant is cutting 25,000 jobs nationwide and his is one of them. starting next monday, billy won't have a job. no income, no insurance. nothing. billy drags himself to the hole-in-wall bar he frequents and proceeds to drink. and drink. "i don't need them anyway!" he yells into the empty bar.

part 3: but he can't deny reality. how is he going to feed his family, put gas in the car to take his daughters to school, to save to put them through college? college. he wants them to succeed so badly. he never got the chance after he dropped out in 10th grade. tears fall uncontrollably.



part 4: billy wipes his face and tells himself it will be ok. it has to turn out ok... he knows his little town of 15,000 bears will be devastated by the job losses. he knows it won't be ok. billy prepares himself to head home and tell his family the news. he hopes they can survive together, somehow.

truman the tiny halloween ham

dawwwww! here's the tiniest trick-or-treater for your cute overload brain explosion today. if you have apples and cheese, he might be knocking on your door tonight! 

here's truman with his very own carved pumpkin and trick-or-treat basket

streeeeeeetching to see if there are any treats inside the pumpkin

 

 

after a full night of trick-or-treating, truman counts all his candies, makes a list of how many he collected of each kind and then groups them together in plastic bags never to be touched again. oh wait, that was just me as a child. a strange, odd child. (;

panda halloween costume with bamboo purse

what's white, black, and super cuddly? a hand-sewn and crocheted panda costume, that's what! this year for halloween i decided to play into my asian stereotype - oh there were peace signs at every camera flash. i crocheted my scoodie (hoodie + scarf) and sewed my furry black and white dress with leftover white furry fabric and a black old navy tank. i crocheted my big bamboo stick and sewed a zipper around the bottom so that it would double as a purse. I used some black furry fabric for around my boots and VOILA! a squishy, huggable, and fairly warm costume for the freezing temperatures we experience on halloween in alaska. rawr.

see last year's totoro costume HERE

startled panda while nomming on bamboo

             

rawr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[insert cute panda noises]

i found a friend!

lockwood the bad puppy

meet lockwood the bad puppy. he's always getting into trouble: rustling through the trash, hiding in the newly folded laundry, chewing up slippers, and peeing on the floor. but how can you stay upset with him for long with that little face?

little lockwood the bad puppy caught chewing on a slipper!

little lockwood the puppy didn't quite make it outside!