Tag: stuffed animals

The Final Final

It’s a familiar, if vexing routine. Intense stress of a difficult semester becomes condensed into the span of a few days, complete with a mountain of busy work that will never serve any purpose in the real world. Study, lose sleep, slave away on essays, and ultimately jump over another hurdle. Pause for a few weeks and repeat, ad nauseum. The relentless cycle of schoolwork and deadlines holds scant appeal these days, after a lifetime of compulsory education followed by an extended part-time approach to earning a degree. Still in the throes of this final wave of exams, I’m ready to get off this hamster wheel once and for all. This is my final round of finals.

Hard to believe that relief is in sight, at long last. Many years went by when I couldn’t even say for sure if I was a Sophomore or a Junior, graduating in 2015, 2016, or just graduating, period. Working online, separated from a physical campus by hundreds of miles, I was completely in the dark; there was no light at the end of the tunnel at all.

No one could have predicted what a crazy, twisting path lay ahead, nor how the journey might shape my life, far beyond basic intellectual enrichment. Pulling me across the country to this foreign land that I now call home, it may not be paradise and sunshine every day, but it sure is beachy-keen compared my once hermit-like existence.

Once the very last wave of grades crashes ashore, I can’t say for sure what the future might hold. Heck, I can’t even say what I’ll eat for dinner tonight! All I know is that there’s still so much more ahead, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have built my nest here in California to see it through.

That’s all to say, please forgive any blogging interruptions until graduation! Your regularly programmed posts will return shortly.

Hannah (BitterSweet)19 Comments

Beat the Heat

Summer rages on, turning enclosed cars into rolling ovens and frying the delicate petals of spring flowers to crispy brown ribbons. Temperatures on the east coast look comparatively mild by sheer numbers alone, but it’s the humidity that really beats one into submission. Dry heat is more manageable even in the extreme; it doesn’t seem to cling or weigh so heavily, adding insult to injury under the radiating sun. Spending more time out west has certainly increased my tolerance for the heat, so even though the daily highs regularly score higher than those in Honolulu lately, it doesn’t seem as insufferable as years past. Clearly, not everyone feels the same.

Some people just aren’t equipped to deal with this sort of climate, racing from one air conditioned oasis to the next, dreading any time spent out in the unforgiving elements. This guy took that inclination to the next level, craftily sneaking into the very coldest place in the house. If this heat wave keeps up, I know a few other creatures in this house, both big and small, that might tempted to crawl in there with him.

Seal amigurumi pattern from ABC Crochet by Mitsuki Hoshi.

Hannah (BitterSweet)7 Comments

Neatly Nested

Adorable and cheerful as they are, handmade softies tend to accumulate in mass amounts around here if left unchecked. Multiplying mysteriously throughout the course of a month, it seems as though they spring forth out of the ether, entirely of their own accord. There’s no stopping this home invasion, but there are certainly worse problems to worry about. When space is at a premium and not another square inch can be spared, at least this particular close-knit family of featherless fowl is happy to accommodate.

Nesting within each other like plush matryoshka dolls, no actual nest is required for them to call any place home. Luckily for them and their hosts, even the smallest spaces can comfortably contain all four, right down to the tiny eggling still waiting to hatch. No matter what, you can rest assured that it will be kept very warm!

[The Nesting Birds knitting pattern can be found on page 45 of Huge & Huggable Mochimochi: 20 Supersized Patterns for Big Knitted Friends by Anna Hrachovec.]

Hannah (BitterSweet)19 Comments

The Secret Life of Woodland Creatures

The imagination of a child is truly a precious thing. Before the ways of the world and common sense are stamped into those malleable brains, they can come up with some pretty amazing ideas, far beyond the grasp of someone accustomed to assuming the obvious answers. The greatest tragedy is that we can’t see our surroundings through such a creative lens as we grow older and “wiser.” For example, I know full well that the stoplights are set to change either at fixed intervals of time, or according to sensors that detect traffic flow. When I was much younger, however, I was convinced that it was someone’s job at every single intersection to keep an eye on traffic, and switch the lights manually. This person might also know if you had been good or bad that day, and speed up or delay the lights as they saw fit. It made perfect sense at the time, and I would always breathe a sigh of relief when the light finally turned green, proving I had been a good little girl that day.

Another thing I always wondered about was where the forest creatures went at night, or when it suddenly turned chilly or rainy. Did they have their own little blankets and umbrellas hidden away, to be removed from storage only when nobody was looking? Even that idea was a little far fetched for me to believe, but I had my own theories…

In the cover of darkness, deep within the woods where no one was looking, every night the animals would convene for big slumber parties. Together, they would share each others warmth and company, instantly becoming the best of friends. All would return to normal in the morning, the circle of life and survival of the fittest back into effect, but just for the evenings, animals large and small would act like family. From the birds to the mooses, it didn’t matter the species, there would be peace and community within the animal kingdom. I could practically picture it: Birds of all colors would flock to the safety of outstretched antlers, and nestle in for the evening, perfectly warm and cozy. Like a trusty mobile home, surely the moose could move to take shelter from a storm if needed, and danger could easily be outrun.

Looking through the eyes of a child, doesn’t that scheme tie up the unknown, loose ends nicely and make good sense? I’d sure like to hear you propose a better idea!

[Knit moose pattern from Knitting MochiMochi by Anna Hrachovec]

Hannah (BitterSweet)27 Comments

Cupcakes Take Over the World!

A couple of weeks ago now, I found an adorable pattern to make a stuffed cupcake on Blah, Blah, Blahhhg, and completely fell in love with it.  It seemed like the perfect thing to make for my nutritionist – She seems to really get a kick out of the knit sweets I bring her in particular.

And so it began innocently enough.  A cute little chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting, sprinkles, and a cherry.  I was so pleased with it, I began to think it might be nice to have another little guy on hand, you know, in case of birthday present emergencies?  Yeah, that’s it…

Almost as soon as the thought had formed in my head, my first cupcake seemed to almost morph over night.  All of a sudden I now I had two, the second one with mint frosting no less.  It all happened so fast, I wasn’t sure if I had even knit them.  That’s when I knew I was in trouble, and that was only the beginning… 

I woke up early one morning to the sounds of a struggle coming from the kitchen, and was horrified to discover… Not another cupcake, but something much worse.  Something that threatened the very existence of cupcakes, something so evil, so maniacal, it could only be…

The Blueberry Muffin of DOOM!!!!

I was horrified; What was I to do?  The muffin was insane, he didn’t even know what he was saying.  Preaching some gibberish that muffins were just unfrosted cupcakes, and that soon regular cupcakes would be obsolete.  After all, muffins are more acceptable as breakfast food anyway!  As I watched in terror, things only became worse by the minute.

With a hostile look in his… er.. blueberries, he swooped down upon my helpless little cupcakes, intending to destroy each offender of his plan for world domination.  Luckily I was there, and I held him off, his potential victims trembling in his wake.  Still struggling, I had a long chat with the muffin, explaining that we needed both types of baked goods in our world to be whole, that there’s no need to be sore over their gorgeous frosting because you have so much to offer on your own.

It took a while for my words to get through to him, but after a few hours of soul search in the quiet of the oven, the he emerged a changed muffin.

Now that they each accepted each other as their own, special and unique pastries, they all became the closest of friends and lived happily ever after.

Aww.

Erm, anyway.  I added an extra increase row at the beginning of the frosting so that they would puff out a little bit more, and (obviously) added little beads for sprinkles.  With the muffin, I just supersized the pattern – Which came out a LOT bigger than I had intended – And added random bits of chunky blue yarn for the blueberries.

Just remember… Friends don’t eat friends!

Hannah (BitterSweet)10 Comments

Clowning Around

Another attempt out of The World of Knit Toys. I like this one a bit better, as it was much less frustrating to shape. It was just knit flat and then stuffed and sewn together, very simple and fairly rewarding.

I didn’t like how they gave it that ugly embroidered mouth, so I left it out, but under-stuffed it a little to give it a little kisser. Oh, and I decided to omit the bottom fin, since it would just get in the way / look funny, or you would just never even see it.

My little cousin absolutely adores the movie Finding Nemo, so I’m thinking that I’ll save it as a birthday or holiday gift for her.

Hannah (BitterSweet)1 Comment