Followers of the blog may remember that back in August 2017 I went on holiday to Wales with friends, and crafting happened. My friend Emma had her first try at crocheting a square. It didn’t go exactly according to plan*, but I saved it to use as part of something else so Emma and I could collaborate on a critter.  It turned out to be my first completed project of 2018.

Emma’s first attempt at a square. I’m not making fun – nobody can expect to be perfect first time at something new!

Emma’s piece became the critter’s nose.

Tried embroidered eyes instead of crocheted. I think they’re less rigid and more expressive.

The feet are based on a pattern from Edward’s Crochet Imaginarium by Kelly Lord.

I don’t really have words for how much I love this book. It was a random gift from a good friend.

It’s a genius mash-up between a make-a-monster flip book and crochet patterns to make the parts.

Also learned to do loop stitch on the right side of the crochet from the Imaginarium.

A little bit fox, a little bit hedgehog, a little bit cassowary.

A little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n’ roll.

The forest critter on her way to her new home.

She already blends in with some of Autumn’s other toys.

Cuddling up to Emma and practising getting comfy with baby equipment. I think she’s got the hang of it.

I made the feet following a pattern from the Imaginarium (see captions above for details). At one point I read the pattern and found a bit where I thought, Why are you doing that? That can’t possibly work.** But I trusted the pattern and learned how to get the crochet to bend in a way that I thought was impossible. I love it when that happens! I’ve barely scratched the surface with this book, so I imagine I will be using it a lot more*** for the Travelling Monsters project.

This forest critter has become a welcome-to-the world-present for Emma’s baby daughter, Autumn. I hope they will be lifelong friends!

Have you got any samples or tryout pieces you could turn into something else? I’d love to see the results!

* Emma successfully crocheted a square on her second go.

** You can work into slip stitches. Who knew? Not me.

*** If you want to see other creations from the book, look for #edsflipbook on instagram, twitter, etc…