Oh, yes! There *is* something better than a monkey. A monkey in a hat!
I got a review copy of
Creepy Cute Crochet from the publisher
Quirk Books (which happens to be a Philly company just down the street from me ... hi, guys!). Within 24 hours I was holding this monkey in my hot little hands.
I'd totally been avoiding
amigurumi. It seemed like a whole other skill to learn, so many other books to buy, and a time sucker for time I don't have. Plus, I'm totally intimidated by the awesome
crochet animals people have sent to me.
But this book made it look so easy, that I couldn't stop myself. Most of the creatures/characters in this book are made from the same basic head and body pattern and customized with embellishments. Everything is laid out in detail and the patterns are simple and straight forward.
Don't be fooled into thinking that it's just the same old thing page after page, because it's not. Christen has achieved something that every designer strives for, a cohesive line of designs that work individually and as well as in a group. She is a master of boiling a character down to their essential parts. Just look at how she turns two black circles, two black triangles and a black yarn mouth in to the cutest and creepiest Nosferatu. It's sublime! (Please excuse my crap photo of the shiny book page.)
My monkey in a fez is maximum cute for minimum work. I'm especially proud of the fez tassel (it's braided!) and the felt eyes. I'll definitely be making many more of the characters in this book. And, with this AMAZING
tutorial for making and attaching yarn hair on Christen's blog, the corporate zombie might be next.