The Pink Elephant Show!

So I'm one of those fidgety people who's pretty much always doing something.  If I have a project in hand, this tendency looks like oh-my-aren't-you-productive-and-dedicated, if I don't have a project it looks like please-for-goodness-sakes-won't-you-sit-still!  As a result, I usually try to have some sort of hand project with me for those sitting around times.

As a kid, I made those little woven potholders, and then I did cross-stitch and some other embroidery.  More recently though I've been trying other things.  My mom is a fabulous knitter, and taught my sister and I to knit.  However, in spite of having successfully made a knitted, felted Easter basket and a single sock, I feel compelled to address the importance of verb tense.  I have knitted in the past.  I do not knit in the present, I am unlikely to knit in the future.  I finally had to conclude that there are some crafty skills with which I just don't mesh well.  It's pretty sad too, because there are so many beautiful knitted things out there.  Alas,  I was so upset by knitting that my mom had to finish my other sock.

Mom, do you hear me?  THANK YOU for the sock.  I am NOT a knitter!

In contrast, I quite enjoy crocheting.  I've been doing some other hand projects, like English paper piecing and some hand quilting on a small whole cloth quilt, but today I'm going to share some cute crocheted animals. Amigurumi are all over the web; I jumped onto the train way late, but they're so adorable I couldn't resist making some.  I have Ana Paula Rimoli's book, "Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet" which has tons of cute little amigurumi animals and fruit.  The best thing about these is that they're super easy to crochet, so they're great for when you don't have the mental focus for super-duper concentration.  I made these two a couple of months ago out of yarn I just had sitting around.

Here's Pokey the pink elephant:

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One of my favorite things about amigurumi and especially the pattern in the book are the little details and the proportions that contribute so much to their expressions and feel.  Pokey's toenails and skirt get me excited every time I see them!

And here's Ruff the spotted dog:

I love his big smile and his sentimental spotted eye.

The two of them love to play together and bounce about, but I think I'm about to give them away as presents to some small children I know.  Anyway, these are super-easy and adorable. Most are built on similar foundations, and only require the most basic of crochet skills.