First attempt at crocheting amigurumi...

Or crocheting full stop. I can vaguely remember we may have done some crochet in primary school, but I don't think I was any good at it then, nor (or maybe because of that) was I very interested in it. But after (re)kindling my interest in knitting, crocheting seemed like a logical next step. So I bought a general how-to book, googled some free patterns... and found out about amigurumi.

If you don't know what amigurumi are, have a look at the wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amigurumi). They require little yarn and are relatively quick to make, plus there are many free patterns out there. And they look so cute and cuddly!

To decorate the bathroom, I'm trying to implement a seaside vibe and I thought some knitted/crocheted sea creatures and shells might work well. They are more quirky than any bought piece of decoration, and because of the yarn they may bring a warm and cuddly tone to a room that is otherwise quite clean and cold due to the tiles and blue & white colour scheme.

I searched for a project easy enough for a complete beginner, but one that looks nice enough to remind myself I want to make more of these. Also, I didn't have stuffing or eyes etc, so when I came upon this pattern, it was love at first sight: http://stumptious.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/free-crochet-jellyfish-pattern/

I used dk yarn in 2 colours of blue and a 4 mm crochet hook. The tentacles were especially fun to crochet, curling up into a neat spiral without me doing anything fancy!

It took me about 3 hours (in 3 separate sittings) and I made at least one mistake I'm aware of and didn't correct. But even though he's slightly ill proportioned, Johnny the jellyfish (he prefers to go by John) is now hanging happily in the bathroom, reminding me he wants more friends around...