Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Cuteness

Lately, I've been noticing things in "my world" that are cute.

For example, I think this baby Harris' Antelope ground squirrel that I saw out in the desert is cute.


And these young Roundtail ground squirrels as well. To me it looks like they're playing pat-a-cake.


Almost everyday, the neighbors' cat drops by our backyard to visit while his family is at work.  Even though he temporarily scares the birds out of the yard, I still think he's cute.


Speaking of birds, the cute cardinal couple can be seen hopping and darting about the garden throughout the day. 


Every now and then I catch a glimpse of one of their young.


It's hard to see in these pictures, but it's interesting to note that the immature cardinals' beaks lack the orange color of adult beaks.


And, this little cutie, a Verdin juvenile maybe, whose yellow head feathers haven't come in yet.  I just  say, "aw" whenever I see it.



Lastly, the amigurumi. Amigurumi is the Japanese art of making crocheted or knitted animals.  According to Wikipedia, "Amigurumi have no practical use; they are created for aesthetic reasons. The pervading aesthetic of amigurumi is cuteness."

I hadn't crocheted in 30 years, but I picked up my old hook and yarn, and with the help of free patterns and tutorials online I made my first amigurumi, a gray monkey.


Next, with my cute grandson in mind, I made the little tan monkey...


and a Delft blue elephant pillow:


At the moment another amigurumi is taking shape here and I welcome it. With all the serious things happening in the world right now, embracing cuteness seems to balance it all out perfectly.

Linking to My World Tuesday.  Have a wonderful week!

29 comments:

Betty Manousos said...

wow they are soo pretty!!
i have never heard about that amigurumi japanese art.
thanks for sharing
and adding some cuteness to my day!

betty xx

p.s i'm loving those squirrel pictures! beautiful!!

Rohrerbot said...

I love the pics! Nice post. Okay...being a sucker for cats....that cat is cute. How could you resist a face like that? As long as kitty doesn't kill any of the cute wildlife around the yard:)

Betsy Banks Adams said...

The 'critters' are gorgeous ---but what I really love are your hand-creations of the little monkeys and elephant. LOVE those.... SO SO adorable, Diane!!!
Hugs,
Betsy

angryparsnip said...

I too have been seeing all the new little one in my yard too ! I have a very young Cardinal too, who ran in some heat problems and was cooling off, wings held out, by my studio door Mum was there watching.

Love, love, love your amigurumi !

Amigurumi are so popular Japan and can get extremely small and very intricate.
My daughter and her friend are very good at knitting these very cute and small treasures.
I am not able to knit so I am in awe of anyone who can.
There is a Japanese Movie I saw a few years ago about high school and two students who knitted.... must remember the name.

I am always amazes by your photos. No matter what I try I never get such great close-up...

cheers, parsnip

betchai said...

the squirrel playing is very cute, so much fun to look at. you always are able to catch interesting moments.

cieldequimper said...

Super sweet shots and I looooove the elephant!

Gwendolyn L said...

These are all extremely "cute" I love your sense of humor. Thanks for sharing it and the photos. Have a wonderful week.

Icy BC said...

These are absolutely very cute, Diane! I adore the monkeys and the elephant! Your grandson is blessed to have a grandma like you.

Allison said...

Ahhh! The monkeys are so cute! I've thought of knitting one many times, but always got discouraged. These are adorable... just like the critters in your yard.

DIGITAL WORLD PAGES ARCHIVE said...

They are very beautiful photos...

Janie said...

All cute, but that second pic is my favorite.

Loree said...

Perfectly true. Cuteness makes the world go round. Those amigurumi are the epitome of cuteness.

Prospero said...

Diane, for sheer cuteness, the squirrel is hard to beat. But for craftiness ( the state of being good at crafts), the amigurumi takes the cake.

Clytie said...

Cute, cute, cute pictures you have!

And your amigurumi are wonderful. Makes me wish I knew how to knit!!!

rainfield61 said...

Your heart is cute, thus the world is cute.

Julie said...

If these are not the cutest! My friend bought a book of this type of cute critter crochet, but she hasn't been able to finish the one she started...I will send her your post so she can be encouraged that it can be done!!! Love your squirrels too!!!

Silver Fox said...

The first one is so especially cute!

Gaelyn said...

All Cute! I've seen crochet animals before but didn't know about the amigurumi. The monkeys certainly show different personalities.

Thérèse said...

"Amigurumi" something new to me!
Wow!I would not like to vote on the cutest but the elephant got all my attention.

PJ van Zyl said...

they are cute

KaHolly said...

Hi, Diane, long time no see!!! I guess these are cute pictures. Those squirrels are adorable! Never saw any like that before. Stop by for my give-away!!! ~karen

tracy said...

I guess crocheting must be like riding a bike? Because those things (I can't type or spell them) are cute as pie.

Rajesh said...

The animals and birds are cute. Your creations are awesome.

Debbie Lo said...

Wow, these are great shots! I love the pic of the 2 squirrels playing and the cardinals as well.

You can't tell that you only recently picked up your crocheting after a number of years. The items you've made are just adorable. Really nice job! :-)

Lindy said...

You certainly hit the mark on cute. =) I'll be betting that Tyler Jet will enjoy the crocheted animals. Those are darling!

ladydazy said...

These are cute!! I love your blog!!

Magpie said...

I love all your versions of cuteness. The baby verdin is a little angel. I love your little monkeys! They look pretty complicated though.

Martha Z said...

Yup, all of these are cute, especially your crocheted animals.
I remember when your grandmother crocheted little bears, I didn't know it was a Japanese art form.

Diane AZ said...

Hi Martha, I still have some of her little pastel colored bears. The kids played with them a lot. :)