Last Look at 2011 Cthulhus - Part 3

And let's close out the month of January with our final look at the cthulhus of 2011.

In the top row we have two wonderful Cuddly Cthulhus. The one on the top left was stitched by Dorothy. That's a beautiful shade of green she's chosen!

Meanwhile on the top right Angela's cthulhu is showing off its Browncoat spirit with a classic Jayne hat.

Now I know it's not a cthulhu, but the picture on the bottom left is also a sample of one of the free patterns you can find here at Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins. Jes used purple and cream yarn to crochet the Spiral Baby Blanket for the baby girl she is expecting in just a few weeks. Congratulations Jes!!

And looking all cute and innocent in the bottom right corner is an adorable Tiny Cthulhu stitched by Carina. The hand-stitched eyes really make this one look sweet, and perhaps a little bit curious?

Once again thanks to everyone who has sent in pictures or posted a comment to let me know they're using  my patterns. It's always wonderful to see the unique touches that everyone adds to their creations!

Happy stitching in 2012 everyone!

Last Look at 2011 Cthulhus - Part 2

Well, I certainly wouldn't challenge that guy for the remote control. This top picture comes courtesy of Veronica. Those angry eyebrows tell me this little monster takes his channel surfing seriously, but what is it that cthulhus watch on TV?

I love the shades of pink and purple you see on Cat's cthulhu in the centre left picture. Meanwhile on the centre right we have a somewhat more sinister cthulhu crocheted by minimysz.

Check out those innocent blue eyes on Lia's cthulhu on the bottom left. In her comment she writes, "It came out cute!" I think she's right. Very cute!

In the bottom right is a cthulhu made by Michele, who also added a pair of legs to make him more mobile. If you zoom in on the picture you can see that the eyes are actually a larger white button with a smaller black on sewn on top. A very clever way to create a pair of eyes!

Once again thanks to everyone who took the time to post a link or email a picture of to show me what they've made with my patterns. My cthulhu patterns, and many others, are available under the My Free Patterns tab on the right side of the blog. Keep sending those pictures!

It's the Great Pumpkin, Cthulhu!

Just received an email from Hilde that included this adorable Halloween cthulhu that she stitched up for her son. Anyone else out there decorating their house with cthulhus tonight? I love his little shirt!

Happy Halloween everyone!!! Thanks for the great picture Hilde!

Cthulhu Cousins - Looking Good in Green!

It wasn't until after I had put together this collection of cthulhu cousins that I realized they were all in different shades of green. Despite being similar in colour, it's easy to see that they each have their own unique look!

In the top left corner is Psychogere's tiny cthulhu. Those red eyes are making it look pretty scary!

Rob created that cthulhu in top right that's posing with its favourite book. Rob wrote that he is new to amigurmi and that this cthulhu had some "teething troubles", but I think it turned out great.

On the bottom left is a lovely tiny cthulhu that was stitched by Chelsea. She also writes that this was her first crochet project and I think she did a terrific job.

Just below Chelsea's cthulhu on the lower bottom left is Tuome's tiny cthulhu. I love those big eyes on her cthulhu and the way it's blending in with the foliage. I may just have to use this photo as a desktop wallpaper someday.

I really like the jade coloured eyes that you see on the cthulhu in the bottom right. This one was stitched by Amanda.

Move over Johnny Depp, there's a new pirate in town! There in the middle is the Dread Pirate Cthulhu that was stitched by Emilie. I'm actually going to share a larger photo of this one, just so you can see all the detail that Emilie put into this project. Very cute! I love his little peg leg!

And because it was such a great photo, I'm also going to share this larger picture of Tuome's cthulhu. Isn't that a sweet photo?

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to share pictures of their completed projects. It's always great to see my patterns in use. If you want to make a cthulhu of your own, the patterns are available in the left sidebar under the My Free Patterns heading.

Have you made a cthulhu or one of my other patterns? Got a picture to share? If so, feel free to email me a copy at the address you see in top left of the blog, or post a link in the comments section for the pattern you used!

Happy stitching everyone!

More Cthulhu Cousins!

Apologies to Rachel, whose wintery little cthulhu somehow got left out of my final round up of 2010 cthulhus. Rachel shared a great story about this little guy too, so I'm really sorry he got left out.

The hat this cthulhu is wearing comes from the Innocent Smoothies Big Knit campaign, which Rachel takes part in. Being in Canada, I hadn't heard of this UK charity before, but as Rachel explains, "[it] involves knitting tiny hats to go on the top of Innocent Smoothie bottles. The hatted bottles are then distributed to our local supermarkets, and a small amount of the sale goes to Age UK, a charity to help the elderly."

What a great idea! We don't have Innocent Smoothies in the stores around here, but I know if I saw a drink with a little knitted hat on it at the grocery store, I'd buy one, especially if it was helping out a charity.

And now a few other great cthulhus that I've received in the past couple months...

Remember when I was asking readers what they thought of glow-in-the-dark yarns? Well, Rosemarsh Art decided to test some out on a tiny cthulhu. In the top left photo you see how her cthulhu looks in the daylight, and in the top right photo you can see his glow. Very cool, and kinda creepy looking!

In the middle photo we have a beautifully striped cuddly cthulhu from Terra-Storm. That angry cthulhu you see in the bottom left was stitched up by Ginny, and Knotical Knits created the jolly Santa-Cthulhu on the bottom right as a gift for her sister-in-law last Christmas.

Once again thanks to everyone for sharing their creations. As always, if you've made something with my patterns feel free to share a link in the comments section on the pattern you used or send me an email at the address you see in the top left corner of the blog.

Cthulhu Cousin Collage!

I'm sort of killing two birds with one stone here. Or maybe the new adage should be killing two pigs with one bird...Anyways, I thought I'd post a few more of the great cthulhus that readers have been making with my patterns and try out my new HP Photosmart Create software at the same time.

Okay, I'll be honest, I don't know if this is new software. I was checking what was in some of the folders on my harddrive and I came across this. It may have been part of a recent software update from HP, or it may be that it's been on my harddrive for years. Still, it's a neat little program that allows you to drop .jpegs into predesigned layouts, without the hassle of having to crop or rotate the photos yourself. Quite fun!

But enough about software, let's talk about cthulhus! In the top left corner is a great little cthulhu, who looks like he's wearing a Hawaiian shirt, created by Nita. Top right is a cuddly cthulhu stitch up by Helen. In the bottom left Augusta crafter stitched up a tiny cthulhu in what I think is a wonderful shade of blue. Nekochan is hoping that her cthuhu, in the bottom right, has an evil spark in his eyes. I think he does! I also like how he appears to have a backpack clip or some other type of hook coming out of his head, perfect for travel.

Finally, I'm going to give honorable mention to the blue cuddly cthulhu in the middle that was created by Raven Corinn Carluk. It's hard to tell from the picture, but he's actually a mini-cthulhu. Raven wrote, "He's DMC size 5 color works thread, done with a #3 (2.25mm) hook. The eyes are glass buttons I found at Joann's. He took about six or seven hours total to make, because I'm still new to crochet."

For a beginner project I think he looks terrific and I love the eerie quality that the glass eyes give this little monster. Plus, I don't think I'd have the patience to stitch a cthulhu with a 2.25mm hook, but the results are wonderful.

Thanks to everyone for sending in their pictures showing me how you've been using my patterns. As always, if you'd like to share your project feel free to post a link to a picture in the comments section for the appropriate pattern or send me a .jpg at the email address you see in the top left corner of the blog.

Catching Up on Cthulhus!

I know things have been a little quiet at Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins lately. I was away on vacation for a while, (more on that in an upcoming post). I've been working on a large crafty project that I won't be able to show in the blog until after the Christmas holidays, and our vacation was followed by several weeks of internet connection problems. Now the large project is finished and the internet connection seems to be connected once more, so hopefully I can get back to more frequent posting.

First off, I thought I'd show a few more of the terrific critters that fellow stitchers have been making with my Tiny Cthulhu and Cuddly Cthulhu patterns. (Check out the left sidebar for the free patterns).

In the top left of this post you see the awesome and fiery maroon cthulhu created by Miss Crafty. I really like the button eyes on this one. I think they really suit the colours of yarn that were chosen.

And speaking of great eye choices, these stitched eyes that Amber J. used on her cthulhu are giving him a look of wide-eyed innocence that I'm sure will easily lure victims into his clutches.

Someday I should do a post that just shows all the pictures readers have sent me of their cthulhus posing with cats because there are a lot of them. What is it about cats and cthulhus that draws them together? You know, I have yet to be sent a picture of one of our cthulhu cousins posing with a dog. Why is that? Perhaps cats just have more of an affinity with evil that draws them to the dreaded cthulhu? This latest instalment of Cats & Cthulhus comes from crocheter Sam B. and looks quite cheerful.

SuziQ put together this Cuddly Cthulhu. Aww, isn't she pretty in pink? I don't know, maybe that bow is making her angry.

Now here's a more traditional Cuddly Cthulhu courtesy of Elizabeth. In her message she mentions that this was her first time making something beyond blankets and scarves, and I think it turned out great! Elizabeth was inspired to make the Cuddly Cthulhu for a friend who's hard to shop for, but happens to be an H.P. Lovecraft fan.

I guess it's only natural that over time the Tiny Cthulhu would evolve legs and learn to walk on the land. This latest link in the evolutionary chain was created and captured on film by Belruel.

Not to worry though, I still find the legless Tiny Cthulhu absolutely adorable as well, especially this fine little cthulhu crocheted by Sam. (That's a different Sam than the one who made the cthulhu posing with kitty above.)

Wait a minute, this isn't a cthulhu! I was incredibly happy to receive an email from Michelle B. who completed this Smiley Bone as a Christmas present for her sister-in-law. While I get lots of pictures of cthulhus (thank you everyone!), I don't often see pictures from people who have crocheted the Bone cousins using my patterns. Thanks Michelle, he looks wonderful!

Once again thanks to everyone who sent in pictures of the things they've been making. If you have a picture you want to share you can post a link to it at the bottom of the pattern you used, or send me an email at the address you see in the top left of the blog.

There are plenty more great cthulhus pictures that readers have sent me which I'll try to post over the coming weeks/months. I'm also hoping to get up some pictures of projects that I've been working on lately. That's right, crafting is happening, I just haven't had a chance to blog about it...Stay tuned everyone, and thanks for visiting Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins!

Dressing Up Ctlhulhu!

Craftster user Mutant_cat has been making some great little cthulhus that I couldn't resist sharing. I'm considering these the grandchildren of my Tiny Cthulhu pattern because they were made using the Baby Cthulhu pattern created by Giulia, which was a variation of my Tiny Cthulhu pattern that added legs. So I'm proud to consider these little guys members of the Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins family, especially since they are such snappy dressers.

Mutant_cat made her little cthulhus using a very thin crochet yarn so that they would come out smaller than the pattern intended, standing only a couple of inches high. Tiny Thor looks adorable, and I love the details including the little wings on his helmet.

You can check out more pictures of Mutant_cat's cthulhus in her original Craftster posts here and here. I just love how there's a hole in the back of the vest so that cthulhu's wings can poke through!

Check it out, Villain Cthulhu even has a little monocle on his right eye, so you know he's evil! And are those bunny slippers I see on the Sleepy Cthulhu? I really do admire the thought and detail Mutant_cat put into these tiny creations.

The Last Cthulhus of 2010!

And we're back! Apologies for the extremely long delay in new posts here at Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins! A new job, a broken home computer and numerous other things have been keeping me away from the blog for far longer than I intended. During that time I've still been crafting so I'm hoping to get back on a regular posting schedule and show readers some of the things I've been working on.

Before I start posting my own creations though I want to show off some fantastic cthulhus that others have been making with my patterns. I know it's quite belated, but these are the last few cthulhu pics that I received from readers in 2010.

First up, in the top lefthand corner we have three wonderful cthulhus from Sophie. If you click the link you can see some larger pictures of each cthulhu and check out the wonderful details she's added to give them character.

Ruth is a frequent stitcher of my Tiny Cthulhu pattern, whose works I've shown on the blog before. She's now taken to creating what she calls a Cthulhu expansion pack, which includes cthulhu dressed as a Battlestar Galactica Cylon and this adorable little chef. He may be cute, but I'd hate to think what he'd serve me for dinner!

Above are two button eyed cthulhus created by Takanno, who stitched up a bunch of Tiny Cthulhus for to give to friends as Christmas presents.

I'm torn about this little blue guy, created by Eva and Mat. On the one hand, I think the eyes make him seem very sinister. On the other hand, I think the little legs make him seem too cute to ever contemplate anything sinister. He was created as a secret santa gift and I hope the recipient liked their surprise.

I'm always struck by what a difference the eyes can make on the appearance of an amigurumi pattern. Above Valentina has added eyelids around her safety eyes, while in the picture below Ohmie has stitched a cthulhu in nearly the same colour, without the eyelids. It really seems to change the tone of the cthulhus face and would be a great way to add character if you are making a whole family of these guys.

We now move on to look at a few cthulhus made using the Cuddly Cthulhu pattern. First up is this cuddly pudgy cthulhu that makm stitched as a Father's Day present.

Below are a terrific pair of cthulhus that Jennifer says were her kid's "favorite [Christmas] present this year!" Wow, cthulhus for kids, fathers, friends and secret santa gifts. Who knew cthulhu could be the present that's good for everyone and every occasion?

And we close out 2010's cthulhus with this cuddly blue cthulhu created by Carol. She mentioned that she's a long-time reader of Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins and finally found the time to make a cthulhu for herself. It looks like he'll be a great companion while she works on other crafty projects.

Once again, thank you to everyone who has posted a link to show how they've used my patterns, emailed me a jpg of their creations, or left a comment on the blog saying they enjoyed using my patterns. Even when I haven't had the time to post anything I've still been reading all the comments, checking the email account linked to the blog and trying to answer as many questions about the patterns as I can. It's really rewarding to see that people are still using and enjoying the free patterns that I've posted here.

So, as always, if you've made something using one of my free patterns, feel free to share the news by posting a picture link in the comments section for the pattern you used or sending me pictures at the email address you see in the top left corner of the blog.

Happy stitching everyone!

Corrections to Cuddly Cthulhu Pattern

I wanted to let everyone know that I've corrected some problems with the head portion of the Cuddly Cthulhu pattern.

I was remaking the Cuddly Cthulhu a few days ago and realized that the head instructions were less than accurate. Some lines were missing causing the head to come out much stubbier than I had intended. Following the directions in the pattern will now result in a cthulhu head that looks much more like the one in the sample picture I've posted here.

The head directions have now been changed from Rnd 8 onwards to the end of the head.

Sorry for any inconvenience this edit causes. If you prefer the cthulhu with a stubbier head, work the head directions, omitting rounds 8,9,10,11, and 18. And as always, feel free to post a comment or send me an email if you have any question.

Are You Looking for This?

I'm guessing there's more than one person that has found themselves at Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins looking for this pattern. Craftzine recently showed a picture of this adorable guy along with a link to my blog, but this is not a pattern of mine. Giulia is the designer of this pattern. She created it by modifying my Tiny Cthulhu patttern to give it legs and you can find her free Baby Cthulhu on her blog Amigurumi-Love.

Giulia has made a wonderful design here and she deserves credit for her work. I'll definitely be making one of these someday to add to my cthulhu family. And to everyone who arrived at Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins by mistake, I hope you stay awhile and take a look around. Check out the My Free Patterns list in the left sidebar and maybe you'll spot something else you like too.

Cthulhu Cousins Caught on Film - Part 2

The cthulhus over at Being Ruth are not only breeding like rabbits, they're surrounding the rabbits! I figured that Ruth deserved to have two pictures shown since she and her boss have made a seriously large horde of cthulhus for their friends and co-workers. Click the craft time category link in the right sidebar of Ruth's blog to see even more of their cthulhus.

I also like the completely baby safe cthulhus you can see in the picture below.

The eyes have been stitched onto the baby cthulhus and it gives them a bit of an anime character look. Plus, I'm terrible at stitching features onto my amigurumis so I'm always in awe of other people's skill when it comes to doing this.

I think it's always interesting how changing the eyes used makes such a difference in how the cthulhu looks. Consider this cthulhu created by Penguin_Poet (above), which is pretty similar in shape to this one (below) created by Morgan, yet the two different eye types give the amigurumis a completely different character.

Below Traci combined the head from the Cuddly Cthulhu pattern with the body from the Tiny Cthulhu pattern to make this cranberry cthulhu as a desktop buddy for one of her friends. I really like how the eyes match the body here. You'd think that making them a similar colour would cause them to blend in too much, but it actually makes for a rather striking cthulhu.

And there you have the most recent additions to the Cthulhu Cousin family. If you missed it, be sure to check out the pictures from Cthulhu Cousins Caught on Film - Part 1. Thank you once again to everyone who chose to share pictures of how they've been using my patterns. Each cthulhu seems to come out with his or her own character and it often gives me inspiration for creating new patterns.

If you've used one of my patterns for something and want to share the results, post a link in the comments section somewhere on the blog, or send me a .jpg at the email address in the left sidebar. I usually try to make a post about the recent additions to the cthulhu family every 3 or 4 months. Whenever I find myself with a good stockpile of pictures to show.

Cthulhu Cousins Caught on Film - Part 1

I'm in the middle of about 3 long term projects right now, which is why you haven't seen too many posts around here with an I Made This tag on them. In the meantime, I thought I'd take some time to catch up on displaying some of the things you've made. Thanks once again to everyone who has sent in pictures of projects they've completed using my patterns. The cthulhu family is certainly growing. So much so, that I'm going to split this post over two days so that we don't suffer from cthulhu overload.

Kit was the first person to send me a picture of a completed Cuddly Cthulhu. It appears that this one has penchant for raiding the fridge. His favourite treats; raspberry jam and root beer.

This second Cuddly Cthulhu, in the traditional green, was sent in by Mandi. A special thank you to both of you for these photos. It's great to see this pattern in action and I appreciate all the positive feedback I've received from readers about it.

Now with something a bit less traditional, JulianaK gives us the Creamsicthulhu made using my Tiny Cthulhu Pattern. I'm not normally a fan of orange, but this is a really beautiful yarn. And the cthulhu looks so delicious you could eat him up on a hot summer day!

There's something about the eyes on the side of the head that make Fuchsoid's cthulhu seem just a little bit scarier than the other cthulhus. That's scary in a good way though!

Hmm, I think this cthulhu has been raiding the fridge even more than the one that Kit made. I wonder what he's been snacking on? Tiffany made this cthulhu by blending the wing design from my Tiny Cthulhu with the cthulhu pattern that's available in Christen Haden's Creepy Cute Crochet. She also added some tiny legs to give him his relaxed, lazy stance.

Moving from extra appendages to none at all, David sent me this picture of his bright green cthulhu. I think it's the large eyes that make this one seem way more cute than manacing.

Amazing work everyone! I always love to see the variety of cthulhus that can be created from a single pattern. If anyone else out there wants to share picture of something they've made using one of my patterns post a comment on the blog along with a link to your photo or send me the photo at the email address in the left sidebar.

Tune in the next time I post to see the second installment of Cthulhu Cousins Caught on Film.