For the Love of Crochet

I started crocheting when I was 11 or 12 years old when I learned to make granny squares in
Girl Scouts.  I loved that I could simply take yarn and a crochet hook and create something.

Mama bird feeding those hungry little ones

This fuzzy bunny was quick and easy
 and fits over a plastic egg

This week I share my love for amigurumi which is the Japanese art of crocheting small stuffed objects. Animal designs are most popular, but there are also plenty of patterns out there for dolls, food, household items...pretty much anything you can imagine.

To get started I recommend the Lion Brand Yarn website where they have lots of free patterns. All of the projects shown here I've made from the instructions on their site (lionbrand.com).


These cute little things are easy to make and are a great project for people learning to crochet (they also have knitting ones too but I've yet to learn knitting.  Anyone? Anyone?)

Our Weenie

Another thing I love about this crochet technique is that it's pretty quick from start to finish and doesn't drag on for months (unlike the "Quilt in A Day" project that took 2 years to complete--a blog for another day).










One potential problem is that you might fall in love with your creation. Take Weenie for example.  He was meant to be a Christmas gift but is now our family pet.  He's quiet, doesn't eat a lot and is incredibly low maintenance.   Who wouldn't want a pet like that?  We couldn't bear to part with him.