When my mom was growing up she had pet guinea pigs (a family fact you'll find in my book, Stitch Love), but when I was growing up I always had pet hamsters.
A few of my hamsters met with untimely ends (there are some good stories here!), and once my dad even revived one of my little pets. There was no mouth-to-mouth, but he did do some compressions and held that little guy until he came back!
Even with all my hamster tales, I decided to have a guinea pig, a Gleeful Guinea Pig, in Stitch Love. Not wanting to snub my tinier furry friends, I included a hamster embroidery pattern in embroidery gallery and right there on the cover. I also suggested that you could take the same pattern, shrink it down, and have a hamster.
The process is pretty much exactly the same as what is in the book, just smaller. When I made my little hamster, I printed the pattern at 50%. That's 50% of the full size download patterns (the link is in the back of Stitch Love under "Using Templates"). The circles for his head and bottom are 5 or 5-1/2 inches (a cereal bowl is perfect!).
I made the face, ears, and feet a little larger than 50%, tracing them directly from the book. In hindsight, I'd probably go smaller and make them a true 50% also.
And are you ready for this?
I'm a little behind on the trend, but my hamster is a perfect size to play with Tsum Tsums! He's just a bit longer, but as you can see, he stacks just like the rest! Being a hamster (and squirrel!) fan, you know I had to have Chip and Dale. Chipmunks are like, right in-between.
I picked them up on a recent trip to Target. My little sister and I decided that we needed them in our lives, and undoubtedly she'll be swiping my hamster friend...just like my other sister took the guinea pig!
Here's the fun part...after I made a mini guinea ham, I knew that I just HAD to make more. And the latest have a theme that I think you might just love. If you haven't picked up Stitch Love yet, this is a great time!
I really love yozr ideas and especially your book! Thanks for showing them! :)
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Germany,
Rike
Gah! I love them all!
ReplyDeleteI just picked up Stitch Love from my local library today - can't wait to get into it :)
ReplyDeleteAdorable! And I love the story of your dad reviving a little pet guinea pig - what a hero!
ReplyDeleteI finally received my very own copy of Stitch Love this past Saturday. It was waiting for me by my door, and I didn't even wait to go inside to read it. I plopped right down on the ground and read it from cover to cover. My neighbors must think I am crazy, for every page I turned to I screamed "CUUUUUUTE!" Mollie, I have admired your work for quite some time now, but this book takes the cake! I just cannot get over how adorable and fun each and every creation is and I am super excited to try my own hand at them. I plan on making the darling frog and lily pad game first for my small nephew and niece to play with when they come visit. Thank you for sharing your passion and creations with the rest of us!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness. Thank you! I truly love making and sharing these things, and when I hear that you all enjoy them like I do...well, what could be better? I can't wait to see your frog game!
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