Crocheting Cactus Families and Farm Animals

 I had a request to make a cactus family for a baby shower. I used several cactus patterns from the book Whimsical Stitches by Lauren Espy.

I made a daddy saguaro cactus, a baby barrel cactus, and a mommy prickly pear cactus. After looking at the little grouping, I decided it needed a little color. I added a cactus bloom to the mommy cactus. Now, it is finished.

A friend saw the picture of the cactus family and asked if I could make one for her family. She wanted all of the cactus in one pot. I didn't want to go out and buy a terra cotta pot, so I crocheted one. Her cactus family has two cactus kids.

Another friend asked for a hen & chick and a pig. The pig pattern is adapted from the Whimsical Stitches book.  The chicken pattern is from Amigurumi Space.

I could not understand why she laughed so hard when I delivered her farm animals. It turns out she wanted the succulent plant called a hen and chick.

Ooops! I have four crochet projects I am currently working on. It may be a while before I attempt to make this plant.

My mother-in-law has asked for three crochet dogs. I have just about finished the first of the three. I still need to add the eyes. It is going to be for a toddler, so I need to crochet the eyes instead of using plastic ones. I am still trying to decide if I want the dog to be awake or sleeping. I found the pattern on Ravelry. It is called The Dreaming Beagle Oskar by Marivan Crochet.

One of my unfinished projects is this elf doll. I love the way the head turned out! I found the pattern by Julie on  Heart & Sew.

I finished the body and legs but really did not like the way they looked. I am going to find a different body pattern for this head. I am not in a hurry because I have until Christmas to finish it. This was the first time I have tried to make curly hair. I think it looks so cute.

What is on your hooks or needles?

Custom Crochet Horse

I love to crochet. I started crocheting in February and started selling pieces by April. Recently, a friend asked if I could crochet a horse doll to match a picture of her friend's horse. I didn't know if I could do it, but I gave it a try. 

The picture I was given.

I searched for horse patterns and found this one on the Free Amigurumi Blog. 

It looked pretty close to the picture I was sent, so I decided to use it. I changed the pattern on the face to match the picture better. 

I tried to make the far back leg pattern match.

Overall, I think it turned out pretty close to the picture.

After I finished it, I realized it was missing something.

I added a blue saddle blanket to complete the look. The saddle, saddle blanket, and the bridle can all be removed. The neck is not quite as stiff as I would have liked, but I did not want to use any wire inside because this horse is being given as a baby shower gift.

What do you think? Is is a close match?