Forays into Taxidermy...

Ok, don't worry, I'm not actually stuffing dead animals in my free time (that would really stink the condo up!). I am, however, venturing into knitted and stuffed animals. As I might have mentioned before, several of my girlfriends are either pregnant, already have kids, or are in the process of trying. I like to give knitted gift to my friends (mostly because I think they appreciate them), and not knowing the gender makes it a bit more difficult to pick out an outfit or item. But toys, now those are always very gender-neutral, and very adorable!

My first attempt was this very cute elephant that I came across in one of my magazines. Other than having to knit four little legs, two ears, a head, and a body, it went along pretty quickly and relatively smoothly (I thank my attempts at socks and mittens, which require knitting in the round, for the ease of this project...). Once I started putting the stuffing it, it really started to come together, and in no time at all, it looked like an elephant (mainly due to the trunk).

I got really excited about knitting these toys and have since purchased a couple knitting books, which I feverishly flipped through. I have already found my next project, a pink hippo, but I'm not quite sure just yet who the lucky recipient will be. I'm sure more animals will be on the horizon (I've got my eye on an adorable penguin, but that's more for myself...). There are even reversible ones that feature two animals in one! I think I will have to try that one out after the penguin... and then the giraffe....and the lion....and the monkey, oh my! You can see how this is now going to occupy a lot of my time!

Our niece Ava received the elephant this weekend. I hope she likes slobbering on it...