What Once Was a Ball of Yarn...

My relationship with the art of crochet took the same course as many other happy hookers' have taken. My first memory of crochet was watching my grandmother working daily on a blanket for one of her grandchildren. Each new grandchild would receive a blanket crocheted by grandma in a selection of colors that differed from any other grandchild's blanket (mine is baby blue and canary yellow). I would watch her fingers fly as she watched television with her latest project in her lap. Her fingers seemed to have a mind of their own and I thought, "that looks pretty easy, I can do that". I asked my grandmother to show me how and she got me started on my first little crochet. I worked at it a little and, like many twelve year-olds, dropped it as soon as another folly came along. It was only many years later, specifically after the birth of my children, that I got bitten by the crochet bug - of which the only cure is to, apparently, work on a succession of crochet projects with an almost obsessive focus. My projects range from the highly practical (slippers) to the purely whimsical (a small ninja, mushroom, or pretty much anything you can't wear). Here are just a few of my latest objets d'art.

This is a baby doll that I found the pattern for in Amagurumi Two by Ana Paula Rimoli.

After making the baby doll my kids thought it would be funny if, upon opening the diaper, there was a little surprise and so - voila! - crocheted poopy!

Another great project from a crochet book, this one is from Creepy Cute Crochet by Christen Haden. This is what my daughter calls her "bed ninja" as he sits near her bed and is her "little protector". That little white thingy in his belt is a Chinese star - you just don't mess with the bed ninja!

Too cute! Lil mushroom is courtesy of Amagurumi Two and I have to admit - I made this one just for me. This was the first crochet cutie I made from a book pattern and I wanted to see if I could do it.

This mother owl and her owlette were made for my son's school project. His assignment was to create an owl and a habitat in a box. The directions sent home with him suggested a paper owl as one option. I looked at my crochet stash of yarn, saw the perfect fuzzy brown yarn, and the rest is history...