amigurumi!

Because Dan's mother is super accommodating and sweet, I have learned to crochet. Along with being a great teacher, she has about a billion books on the cutest sort of crocheting patterns imaginable: AMIGURUMI!!! They are tiny, adorable, Japanese-inspired crocheted dolls. My first project, which is nearly done, is a little octopus from the book, Tiny Yarn Animals, by Tamie Snow. It is full of the cutest patterns, and it actually took a while to decide on a pattern. I eventually chose the octopus because he looked the easiest of all the patterns (most simple... Just one big ball for a body and eight little balls for legs/tentacles). Oddly, even following the pattern, my legs are different sizes... But it is the first project! After this, I'm sure my projects will be a bit more uniform. Also, next time, I know to stuff the animals until NO MORE WILL FIT! My poor little octobaby is only half stuffed, but now I know.

One thing I would really like to make is little rosettes/floral doilies to make into pins/headbands/etc. I was going to start with a hat as a project, but my lovely ex-boss, Anna, already made me a great little (well, with my head size, huge) purple crocheted hat.

I think that one of the best, cheapest ways to improve your wardrobe is to learn to make some of your own wearables, and me learning this new technique is going to be a great hobby/way to maximize my wardrobe. I'm also going to, at some point, work on crocheting jewelry- yeah, you can do that!