Day 28 - 4/23/15 - Almost done with the body

I completed the rounds for Jake's body.  I need to stuff and do the decrease stitches.  I'll post photos after I stuff the body.  It's still pretty much looking like it did a couple days ago.

Day 27 - 4/22/15 - Not a whole lot to give

Boy work beat me the heck down today.  I had nothing to give but I managed to bang out about 10 stitches - which is all I need to do for today.

Day 26 - 4/21/15 - more Jake

Just did a few rows on Jake today.

See you tomorrow.

Day 25 - 4/20/15 - Beginning Jake the Dog

I abandoned Totoro because the gray that I chose was too dark.  I'm going to have to buy some lighter gray so in the meantime I've decided to start my amigurumi Jake the Dog by Lucy Collin.

Birth Photo

Amigurumi Jake is going to be fun and I get to learn a new stitch - I got halfway through the body.

More tomorrow.

Day 24 - 4/19/15 - Baymax is Done! Gray Totoro is Begun!

Boy there's nothing like the feeling of completing a piece.  Especially when you are going to give it to someone.

I got to complete Baymax today.

Sewing on the fingers was surprisingly easy.  They ended up looking a lot better than I was expecting.  They're a simple 7 foundation chain, 6 single crochet, and fold in half.  I used the "front" tail to sew up the finger.

I decided to flatten the end of the arm and sew it together prior to attaching it to the body.  In looking at how the arm naturally laid on the body, I sort of tucked one end of the arm end under the other and sewed them so that the join to the body would be as flat as possible.  Baymax in the movie had a very smooth arm to neck join.

The legs were more uncooperative than the arms.  I first attached a leg, I thought carefully, but the darned thing was almost sticking out at 90 degrees from the body.  The legs are supposed to sit fairly straight from the bottom of the body, hence the flap.  I then carefully undid the join and redid the leg.

The second time I really just forced the thing to where I wanted it.  I didn't care if it cooperated or not.  I did the sewing around where I was forcing the leg to sit.  This ended up working very well as I got the legs to sit about as straight as they can with the stitches the way they are.

And there you go - Baymax done.

I wanted to pose Baymax with Trini.

And here is the Craft Card that I devised.  This will go on every piece I make, with a born on date and a signature.

And just because I guess I must be ADD or something, I started the Gray Totoro that I'm making for ME!

About Hook Sizes

I thought that Stacey had said to use a 5.0 mm hook to make her ball monster.  I went ahead and made that monster and thought that it had worked well.  Then I realized that I didn't stuff the ball monster firmly at all, so the holes weren't showing through.

I translated this experience to baymax and used the 5.0 mm hook.  Well, as you can see it left some big-ol holes!  It's a white monster with white stuffing, so I'm ok with the surface, and Amy loves it of course, so I'm not beating myself or anything.

So when Lucy Collin said to use an E (3.5 mm) hook for Totoro I kind of flipped - it's so small!  I decided to favor the center and go with a 4.0 mm hook, which looks much tighter (see photo) but isn't unwieldy.

I sure hope that when this is stuffed it looks nice and tight.  I'm feeling pretty comfortable with the 4.0 mm hook.

Day 23 - 4/18/15 - Baymax Parts Finished

Making my yarn bag prepared me for the flap.

I did a BLO row after the initial increases.

I spent today working on all the parts for Baymax.  I finished late so I decided to assemble it tomorrow and start my Totoro.  I'll discuss that tomorrow.

Day 22 - 4/17/15 - Baymax and Shaping

Hooty Hoo!  Today I completed the head and the body for Baymax.  I'll present some thoughts soon but first the photos.

I used both tails (head and body) aligned together to attach
the head to the body.  Only used the outside loops.

Shaping Shaping Shaping.  Looking for the perfect look.

The only bump in the neck join.

Isn't he adorable?

Holes are a little big.

So my typical modus operandi (sic???) is to spend a lot of time and care on stitching the animal.  When it comes to putting the toy together I would hurry and do a not very good job of it.

With Baymax I decided to really take my time and get the toy I want.  The fact that Baymax already exists gives me something to shoot for when it comes to shaping.

I stuffed the body and head and worked the stuffing a lot.  I rolled the body and head back and forth.  I wanted it to be nice and stiff but not rigid.  Once I was happy I started sewing the head and body together. When I was about 2/3 through I added some more stuffing for the final touch.

Once the head was sewn on, I worked the stuffing like crazy.  I am happy with where it is.  It looks like he's gazing at the stars...

Day 21 - 4/16/15 - Baymax Body

When I have been crocheting for a while and have proven to myself that I am committed to creating crocheted wonders and have doing it for many months with better and better results, I may just have to treat myself to some super hooks.

Trai Crochet Hook Set - Laurel Hill

Yummy!

And only $100!

Aren't they beautiful?  I like the look of the grip and smoothness of the finish.

However I have my bamboo Susan Bates set coming in - probably today.  I've really bonded with the Bates Wood Handle hooks as they feel a lot better in my hand.  When you're crocheting for hours that's a lot of hand work.

Well, it's nice to dream, but it's also very helpful to have both of your feet firmly planted on the ground.

Well I had a good time - crocheted for at least an hour and a half.  Got over halfway through the body (the closed part at the bottom is the bottom of the body).  These 3 weeks (it's only been 3 weeks???) have seen me go from very insecure and unsure about where I'm going to a point where I know exactly where the hook goes next.

My increases and decreases are off the hook.  I hope you can see from the photos the beautiful spiral pattern created by the increases at the bottom.

It's hard to see in the photos but there's a really nice spiral that the increases create.

Now it's time to finish the body and stuff and attach the body and head.

Day 20 - 4/15/15 - Baymax Body

Today was an emotional day on a level I've not experienced in a while.  My wife Patti's boss was leaving and she was all upset, so I was all upset.  There was a very crazy vibe and I think it was me.

So I got home so tired that I couldn't even make the Leadership call tonight.

Yet somehow in this I managed to get through the increase section of Baymax's body.

And as a bonus I figured out what I was doing wrong with the head.

After you do an increase, the next stitch is a bit more snugged up against the stitch you just finished then if your were just crocheting a single crochet row.  With the head I was skipping the stitch after the increase so it was throwing my count off.  Fortunately I don't think that the head is damaged, The back of the head is a bit more puffed out but I don't think it will matter once it's stuffed.

See you tomorrow.

Day 19 - 4/14/15 - Baymax Head

Hello.  Well I'm generating a buzz with my Baymax.  There is much interest at the office.  Can't wait to crochet some more!

And by the time I got home I was absolutely exhausted.  All I did was finish Baymax's head:

I was having an issue with this head in that I kept messing up my count.  I'd get to the end of the row and still have stitches to do.  I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what I'd been doing.  The head is fine, but I was doing something wrong.

Good night.