Meet Ellie...

It has been so long since I have made a crochet toy, so very long. I used to make them all the time when my girls were little, but then didn't anymore.... because I went back to working full time and had less time to craft...working really cuts into crafting time, a harsh and sad reality....

But....I have been on vacation the last two weeks (glorious!) and as a result have had some serious crafting time, and with that, the little elephant that I began crocheting back in May is now finished.

Meet Ellie: 

Isn't she adorable? You bet she is. And she is all mine, currently sitting on the dresser in our bedroom, making me oh so very happy every time I see her.  

While I love to make these toys, I do tend to morph into an obsessive-perfectionist when it comes time to join all the pieces together: I count and recount the stitches between the arms and legs, find the center countless times, leave ends undone for days while I look at the toy from every angle...all to make sure that everything is exactly straight and centered.  I got this way when finishing off Ellie, so much so that Steve exclaimed "good grief, you did a great job, stop nit-picking your work". And he was right, it was time to move on, time to stop obsessing. This was last night, and today when I looked at Ellie again I loved what I saw and walked away without recounting anything....no more nit-picking.

As for my yarn choices, I used Bernat Handicrafter cotton from my stash to crochet this cutie; I am still stash busting and even resisted a trip to the local yarn sale, remaining firm in my decision to work only from the yarn I have on hand....yeah me!

On the crochet front, I now only have two projects on the go: my Color Block Blanket and my wreath. And I intend to finish these projects before I start any others; I find it a little overwhelming to have too many projects on the go at one time....