Jane: I love crochet!

Bruce says this crowd of amigurumi I've made is a testament to how long the winter has been. Well, maybe. It's also a testament to how much I've been enjoying crochet, and especially amigurumi!
Lots of reasons I enjoy this so much, besides the usual--you know, it's nice to be doing something with your hands while you sit and rest, it's a break from reading, I've always enjoyed crochet, it's in my blood (look at the afghan my Grandma Hoffman made for me in the photo above . . . )

Besides those reasons, crocheting amigurumi is a cheap to free hobby. I use yarn from my stash and inexpensive acrylic yarn that I often pick up at thrift stores. The patterns I've found on the internet and in books.

The mouse and strawberry were made from patterns in Amigurumi! Super Happy Crochet Cute. I found the mushroom pattern online--there are tons of amigurumi makers who are also bloggers and online pattern sharers.

Have you ever seen an amigurimi like this one? It's from a pattern in Amigurumi! too. Robbie insisted I make it! Very fun--this fish shows how adaptable crochet is to very artistic yarn creations--it can make 3-D rounded shapes like the fish head, long odd shapes like the bones, and textured shapes like the tail.
I finally finished a project I've been working on for a while, also from the Amigurumi! book. Eli thought I should make this Punk Bunny. He stands 15" high at the ears, so it was a lot of crocheting. But I had everything I needed in my stash except the black plastic eyes, which I ordered from an on-line crafting store.

I should crochet a skateboard for him!
Eli took this picture of Punk Bunny with the TV remote.
I'm going to take a break from amigurumi for a while. You crochet them with a very tight stitch, usually using an F hook for regular worsted (which usually takes an H or J) and I could feel my right hand getting tight--oh no, carpal tunnel syndrome from crocheting!

I may get back to a granny square afghan I started a year ago--found the beginning of it down with my yarn this week.
These are made with a standard hook-to-yarn ratio, so won't be as hard on the crocheting hand. Still, I may take a break and read for a while instead. Any book suggestions?