Finally getting started

Yes, I know that the month is half done, but I just finally started my amigurumi today. I've finished the first piece:


Now only six more to go! (That's not counting the final finishing, of course).

The crocheting is lot more time-consuming than it should be due to two reasons.

1. My grandmother was the one who taught me how to crochet when I was about five years old. I don't know if she never taught me the names of stitches, or if she did and my wee mind jettisoned them to make room for the lyrics of the "Fraggle Rock" theme song, but to this day I don't know most of the stitch names. I have to constantly cross-check my little crochet manual or internet tutorials against my pattern. It always takes me at least five rows before I can mentally connect "single crochet" with the motion I learned almost twenty-four years ago.

2. I've been knitting recently more than I have been crocheting, so my fingers keep wanting to do the wrong motions. I don't know if this is common among needleworkers, or if it means that I have the motor skills of an empty potato sack. Either way, it's the way I am.

I still think I should be on track to finish by month's end. I just have to keep going, and refuse any more help from my daughter. This is Bean's attempt to help with the yarn:

As you can see, she thought the inclusion of a toy would add to the artistic merit of the work. While I agreed that it was charming in an outsider-artist kind of way, I explained that it wasn't really in keeping with the amigurumi theme. Then I gave her my practice swatch to play with, and she was happy.

I hope Inky's happy with the finished product. It doesn't look like much now, but I have high hopes for the future.