Looky what I learned how to make!

When my grandmother passed away I inherited her crochet and knitting needles. She had taught me a couple of basic crochet stitches many, many years ago and I promptly did nothing with it. Now that I'm older and feeling more crafty, I really wanted to put her needles to good use and, I suppose, feel a connection to her now that she's gone.

Similarly, my friend Sabrina also inherited her grandmother's needles but she's been doing the crochet/knitting thing for much longer than I have. She even gave me a great fuzzy scarf several years ago that I still use regularly. Well on my last trip out to the bay area several weeks ago she showed me these great crocheted animals she's been making called amigurumi. This is an amigurumi octopus she made me, which her hubby said is appropriate for me because I'm a multi-tasker :)

Well, I'm a sucker for cute. Sabrina re-taught me some crochet stitches (thanks, Miss Sabrina!) and then I was off to decipher the foreign language that is crochet patterns (work 6 sc in first ch. *2sc in next sc, sc in next sc around...huh?!). With the help of some books and Sabrina's suggestion of YouTube lessons, I eventually got it. And looky what I made!



I am so stinkin' proud of my crafty self ;P They're a little rough around the edges, but I think not bad for my beginner efforts. I made the elephant first because he's all one color and I wasn't sure yet how to switch yarn colors mid-project. I gave him to my sisters because the college they went to has an elephant as a mascot. Then I made the penguin for my mom. Sabby's made the penguin for her hubby and a friend of ours and it's a perpetual big hit. I also finished a turtle last night that I haven't taken pics of yet.

This is my newest obsession and I can't wait to make more! Have to get more plastic eyes from the store today and I think I'll be attempting a giraffe next. I think my grandma would have been proud, albeit a little critical too of the aforementioned rough edges, haha! Then she would have told me how to make it better. I like to think she's smiling down at me as I'm working on these.

Miss you, grandma.