As I sit here on the couch, I can’t help but heave a sigh as the monitor makes it clear that my delightful, energetic child is going to skip this nap. At times like these, I feel a strong connection with a moment from Mike Birbiglia’s comedy special on Netflix, The New One, in which he talks about having a kid. In a completely deadpan, expressionless whisper he tells the audience, “It’s the most joy… I’ve ever experienced.”

What was I going to talk about? Oh yeah. Whimsical creatures. My crochet adventures have not stopped just because of my quilting is on blast. How many adventures can one have at once, you ask? As many as you want. Everything is an adventure, right? cough Nap skipper cough. I have been consistently working on new designs, and now have in my menagerie: Hugo Hare, Bartlett the Giraffe, Leonard the Elephant, Betty the Rhinoceros, and Penny the Hen.

Hugo and Penny were both originally designed for specific clients (thanks guys, you know who you are!) and the others were the product of delighted experimentation. I will periodically have versions of these up in my shop depending on whenever I feel like making or changing them, but I also make these to order.

My style is pretty cartoonish, I love floppy limbs and exaggerated features, while still keeping the shapes very recognizable. Any color is fair game! Variegated yarn is my favorite to work with, since you’re never sure which color in the yarn is going to end up where. The length of each color section of yarn also dramatically changes the finish, as you can see in the difference between Bartlett and the others! Bartlett was made in a yarn with longer color sections, whereas the quicker changes in Leonard and Penny make for a more mottled look. I am currently working on a pattern for an anteater, a kangaroo, and a seahorse! Do you have a favorite animal? Are there any animals you’d like to see? Let me know! I’m game to work on a design for any goofy critter you can think of.