Last night, I decided to try my hand at something other than afghans.  I was perusing through some other crochet blogs trying to get some inspiration for my next project when I came across a few sites with the most beautiful crocheted animals.  I’ve always seen these and have always wanted to make some.  Truth be told, I’ve been extremely intimidated by them.  I’ve become so comfortable (and so good) at making all sorts of blankets, trying more difficult patterns as time goes on… but in my 15+ years of making afghans I’ve never stepped out (other than the sad scarf that marked the beginning of my crochet career).

So, I purchased a little book at my local craft store and decided to make some animals to go with my animal print afghan (found here).  I figured that after years of making afghans, I had enough skills to start making a baby elephant – I was wrong.  From the minute I started reading the pattern, I was thoroughly confused! *cries*  My attempt at making the body became a 2 hour journey with way too many restarts.  When I was finally done, this is what emerged:

I don’t know if this is right!  I have nothing to compare it to.  However I find 2 problems with it. 1 – I can visibly see where the stitches increase and decrease.  2- The shape doesn’t entirely match the picture.  I have never been so lost.  So I talked myself out of starting over and decided to try my hand at the head.  This is what came of that:

Again, visible stitch increases/decreases and not exactly the same shape.  Could it be the way I’m stuffing it?  I ended up so frustrated that I put it down and continued on with my Dr. Who marathon.  ((So sad that David Tennant regenerated into a new Dr)).  So today, I’ve decided to watch a few youtube videos and get a little assistance.  It feels a little like cheating to me, since everything I learned was self taught by books and trial and error.  But it seems that the older I get, the less patience I have with my projects.

Any tips from my lovely readers would greatly appreciated.  For now, I’ll keep chugging along and see what the final product looks like when I’m done. *wish me luck*