Yesterday was an incredibly rainy day. From morning to night - even extending to today! I think it must be one heck of a storm, haha. I actually love the rain and it was a welcome change from the blistering heat we have had lately, but I know a lot of people were not pleased, haha. As long as I can get to-and-from my work and home safe, then I don't mind to see a change of pace with the weather.
I am really falling in love with amigurumi. The simplicity of making them along with the very visible progress while creating them is just fantastic. I wanted to make another amigurumi so I thought it would be fun to make a teru teru bozu! Teru teru bozu (てるてる坊主) are a Japanese folklore tradition. They are used to ward off bad weather in hopes of having good weather. People usually use these in anticipation for important events. It's more of a thing for children to do, but it's common all around the country!
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| A scene from 'Yotsuba&!' by Kiyohiko Azuma |
Growing up I watched a lot of anime (Japanese cartoons) on tv. Through the translation process to English they often cut out cultural references, so I often saw these 'ghost things' on the cartoons and always wondered what they were. These are supposed to look like little bald monks, but I always saw them as ghosts!
I found the perfect pattern at the Happie Scrappie blog. The project was a nice and short one and I'm really happy with how it turned out! The half-moon smile and button eyes were the easiest part, but they definitely gave this little one the cute, little face it deserved!
[For more information on the project, see its Raverly project page.]
I had a really fun time working with the yarn I chose. While normally I’d hate the feel and stiffness of the Craft Smart Value yarn, I love the stiff feel when it comes to amigurumi. It feels so solid and it really keeps its shape. The affordability of it is just an extra bonus. Just lovely!
I made a tiny modification to the skirt since I wanted it to be a bit longer, just added one extra line of single crochet. I think I crocheted much looser than the original pattern called for, as the skirt ended up much longer! It may also have been an effect from the stiff nature of the yarn.
I also decided to make it a cute little scarf rather than just tie some ribbon around the neck. I thought it would be cuter and it definitely is. It's a super basic mini-scarf. One row of double crochet (us), length however long you desire. At one point before the end skip 3 ch (or however many rows you need for the button to fit) to create a buttonhole before the end. Easy!
All said and done, after I spent the time to make this doll I had completely forgotten to hang it up yesterday! I know! How could I forget? Maybe that was why it continued to rain today?
