New beaver amigurumi + Ham’bear’gur 2.0

Hello friends, I’m back as promised with not one, but two new amigurumi figures to share with you. Well, technically, one is new, and one is a reboot of an old favorite.

The beaver figure is from a pattern by Planet June, made with a 3.00mm hook and my favorite amigurumi yarn, Phildar Phil Coton 3, in two shades of brown, black for the nose, and a scrap of white for his tiny choppers. He’s small – about 11cm in length from tail tip to toe, and 9cm in height.

I scoured the Internet for a good beaver pattern before settling on this one. Most of the patterns I found were cartoonish, which didn’t appeal to me for this project. June’s pattern is a tad more realistic, and I felt I could customize it. My favorite parts are his rounded posterior and oversized feet, perfect for keeping one’s balance on a muddy riverbank.

While making this sweet fella, I got a Wiki run-down of beaver facts that I never knew, but now, am glad I do. It turns out that beavers are the second-largest rodent, after capybaras. Beavers, who are family-oriented critters, are also engineers of freshwater ecosystems. They reliably go about their semi-aquatic business, fully unaware of the myriad positive habitat and climate impacts they have.

I was inspired to make this figure after reading a friend’s blog post about the untimely demise of a local beaver the writer had been admiring. It broke my heart, so I made something, as I sometimes do to work through sadness.

Believe it or not, I finished another figure just this afternoon – a twin of a teddy bear/hamburger hybrid that I first made almost six years ago. The teddy bear and the hamburger are two great American classics rolled into one charming little figure. I shared the first Ham’bear’gur figure in a 2019 blog post (see it here). Recently, I gave the original figure to my friend’s mom, who lives in Iran. I hope it brings her joy.

This 2.0 Ham’bear’gur is identical to the first, with one exception: instead of yarn sesame seeds on the top bun, I sewed tiny seed beads, using a thin beading needle (see above). It was a pain in my (bun?), but worth it. The seeds are hard to see in these photos, but they really pop in person. Again, I used Phildar cotton yarns and a 3.00mm hook for the buns, patties, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. Everything is stacked and sewn with cotton thread, piece-by-piece. The face is completed with safety eyes and a bit of black for the muzzle.

I hope I can make another figure before the summer ends. On my “wish-to-make” shortlist are a chenille Clydesdale horse, a musical UFO, and a raven. I have no idea when I will actually get to all these, but I have the supplies ready for all of them, so the only thing stopping me is the mountain of work I have to do before the fall semester begins.

About two weeks ago, at the height of the last heat wave, I took my twice-yearly train ride south to Busan and enjoyed some time with Bodhi and friends at an animal rescue event. Bo and I stayed a couple of nights and ambled around Dongbaek Island, which delights with a beautiful panoramic view of Haeundae Beach and the East Sea.

At the venerable age of 13, Bodhi amazes me with his stamina and willingness to walk just about anywhere I go. Even my vet remarked last week that he’s amazing for his age. Bo has had a few health scares in the recent past, though, including a surprise bout of ataxia that we treated. Since then, it has been slow and steady, going at a pace that is comfortable for him, but not stopping yet. I know I don’t have forever with my best buddy, but I do know that as long as he doesn’t hesitate to walk with me, all is well.

My next big trip will likely be in January to February 2026, back to California for three to four weeks. I can’t wait to get back to the States for a visit. After I have stabilized in my new job role, travel in general should pick back up again, at least a little bit. I’m long overdue to revisit some of my favorite places in Southeast Asia, especially northern Thailand.

That’s all for now, but I’ll be back soon to share which amigurumi I have decided to make next. Will it be a horse, a raven, or an alien? Until then, be well.