November 2019 – amiguruMEI

This is my second time taking part in an amigurumi “book tour”, and I’m so honoured that Ngoc Anh, also known as Khuc Cay, of @lespetitesmainsdekhuccay, reached out to me a few months back to see if her wonderful book could hop over to my world and hang about for a bit.

If you haven’t already heard, Sweet Crochet Friends is the latest must-have amigurumi book from Tuva Publishing (I love how thick and beautifully-printed all their books are).

Featuring the sweetest designs from amigurumi artist Ngoc Anh of Bordeaux, France, the pages inside this book will have you thinking and re-thinking over which project you’d jump onboard with first. Simply because — you’re spoilt for choice!

Can you see what I mean?

It was love at first sight with the koala. And then I thought, hmm maybe a lamb would be even cuter! I picked out some yarn, and then started making the first few rounds…of a girl head — because I couldn’t stop looking at Nana the Fall girl. I had to change my mind again. Finally, I settled on…

Lily the lamb! I made slight changes to her boots and gave her a little bag to frolic around with. I love her so much! The only thing was, I couldn’t get my bobble stitches to look as bobbly as Ngoc Ahn’s!

Lily the lamb was a joy to make. And I love her customisable she is! I gave her yellow rain boots, just in case, you know, there are puddles to plod around in.

I also love how she blends in perfectly with my newly handpainted split-colour background. So sweet! (If you want to see how I painted this background, find me on TikTok @amigurumei — I have a tutorial video uploaded!)

Lily the lamb in all her 2.5mm crochet hook goodness. I love how she is almost the same size as the rest of my daydreamers! I used a combination of Kartopu Organica Yarn, SMC Catania, Gazzal Organic Cotton and La Mia Mercerized Cotton from Hobium Yarns. I was actually running out of Kartopu Organica shades, but miraculously found some in our local Spotlight store! Hurrah!

By the way, this is sweet Anna, Ngoc Ahn’s lovely little daughter. She is featured prominently in the book, and for good reason too! She is so, so adorable and looks very much loved. Plus, she looks like she loves amigurumi! It is certainly a dream if I could ever get my boys to sit still for a photography session with my dolls!

Here are some close-ups of my favourite other characters from Sweet Crochet Friends:

Which would you make first? You can ORDER SWEET CROCHET FRIENDS HERE ON AMAZON.

The book would make a lovely Christmas gift for a budding amigurumi enthusiast — there’s more than enough step-by-step photos to help you if you’re new to some of the stitches/instructions.

Thank you so much dearest Ngoc Anh (did you know? Her nickname Khuc Cay, in Vietnamese, translates to Buche de Noel — Yule Log Cake!) for hanging about with me here. I am so happy to be a part of this circle of wonderful amigurumi artists, and I’m so happy to have found a new friend!

Please check out more of her wonderful work @lespetitesmaindekhuccay on Instagram (make sure you spell that right!) I can type it in one go now…but I don’t think I’ve got the pronounciation down right just yet! Ngoc Anh also has a collection of other beautiful patterns on her Etsy store, under the name TitesMainsdeKhuccay. I remember first discovering her work through the Amigurumipatterns.net Prehistoric-themed amigurumi design contest. I couldn’t take my eyes of her lovely little baby triceratops!