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!

wesley the piglet crochet pattern posted!

dearest fellow hookers:

wesley the piglet in panda costume (with bonus lucky bamboo) pdf pattern has been posted to etsy! click here to be whisked away to my store to begin your magical crochet journey. this will be my second crochet/amigurumi pattern of all time. if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or finished product photos, send them my way to iheartamicute@gmail.com!

wesley the piglet in panda costume

meet wesley the piglet in panda costume (with bamboo!). he's so shy the only time he feels confident is when he's wearing a big, scary costume. try not to startle him; he might maul you with his paws!

wesley is so happy to have met his new friend, take-chan

wesley + take-chan = friends forever

he's a little self-conscious when you take his hood off

panda for a day

come back soon! *wave*

a friend asked me to crochet her a panda and i immediately thought to myself, "a panda? how normal." thus wesley was born. the pattern has been written, i just have to transform it into a spiffy PDF to put on my etsy store: www.iheartamicute.etsy.com! i'll be sure to post when i'm finished! and stay tuned for more wesley costumes in the near future!

 

truman the ham's ham: olympic weightlifting

truman won a gold medal in weightlifting at the 2012 london olympics! weightlifting is a test of pure physical strength and determination and truman surpassed the judges' expectations! go team usa! now that truman has conquered the world's greatest sports competition, what will he attempt next?

truman is so honored to have been chosen to carry the olympic torch!

getting pumped to lift the bar (enticed by some peanut butter)!

i'm so thankful to have made it this far!

climbing up to the podium to receive his GOLD medal! he can't wait to sing the national anthem while one tear slowly rolls down his face as the camera pans in closely to capture this heartfelt moment.

eating aforementioned gold medal

truman: a ham's ham

meet truman. he's a badass hamster that loves to show off his muscles, his manly skills, and masculine characteristics. he'll be participating in various manly activities via crocheted art. cheer him on!

walton the dancing beaver and his log friend

walton is a little odd, so the other beavers say. he mumbles to himself, doesn't like to share, and swims around in circles with his big, flat tail. but really, walton is just a sweet little woodland creature that just wants to be left alone. sometimes, he jumps up on the finest log around and does a little boogie for no one in particular. if you happen to see walton the next time you're camping, leave him be and you just might get to see his dance.

*beaver pattern by amy gaines. log pattern by i ♥ amicute.

walton. just dancing for no one in particular. having fun all the same.

 

nom nom nom

tadaaa!

waving at the geese flying by overhead

my very first pdf pattern!

bradley the big poo is my very first pdf pattern! he feels so lucky to be the chosen one. if you want your very own big poo to cuddle with, travel with, to be your confidante in times of trouble, now you can crochet yourself one! see my etsy listing here.

timmy the XL broken condom hat - adult size!

timmy grew up! he now is able to rest on adult heads, too! if you are someone that originated from a broken condom, you can blame timmy. but how could you shake your fist at him for long with those adorable long eyes and cute, mischievous smile?? 

click here for the link to the original timmy the broken condom newborn baby hat!

little timmy and XL timmy playing in the alaskan sunset.

timmy the broken XL condom hat for adults!

timmy reminiscing about the good times - like when he broke.

friends.

an amineko named pezgato

hi. i'm pezgato the amineko. i enjoy gnawing on fish bones, kneeling on cushions, trying out new yoga positions, and finding new places to take naps. life is good for me. my owner generally leaves me alone, and i entertain myself with things they drop onto the floor. sometimes i puke on the carpet. it happens. a cat's life is good. 

*here's the pattern i used: LINK TO AMINEKO PATTERN

ami = crochet/knit
neko = cat

just lookin' in. wondering if it'll be comfortable to nap in.

it'll do.

zzz...

i enjoy napping on books.

lounging. it comes easy for me.

amineko is kneeling politely.

the cat bus coming to a bus stop near you

totoro slept through his alarm this morning and nearly missed the cat bus! good thing he has his spinning top! 

this was a personal challenge as well as a commissioned piece. little by little, i pieced the bus together over the course of several months. i didn't use a pattern and this design is all my own. i used stills from the movie as a reference and let my hands and mind do the work! i especially love the mice headlights. i couldn't leave those off, of course!

this totoro and cat bus combo will soon be adopted by a blue-eyed soon-to-be three year-old! they're nervous to move into a new home, but so excited for a new play-mate!

click here to see my handmade and hand-crocheted totoro costume!

totoro + cat bus

hopping on just in time!

view of opposite side

view of cat bus when he's flying overhead

riding along

here totoro is peeking out the door to make sure he doesn't miss his bus stop!