Mr. Monkey -- My First and Only Attempt (So Far!) at Amigurumi

Amigurumi is, as you may have guessed, a Japanese words that means crocheted or knitted stuffed animal or doll. "Ami" means to crochet or knit, and nuigurumi is Japanese for "stuffed doll". Put them together and you have something like this.

It was while perusing crochet pins on Pinterest that I was first introduced to amigurumi. I couldn't say it then, and I can barely say it now. Admittedly, I was intimidated by what I saw. After reading  few patterns I thought, "No, that's not for me!" Even though some of the crochet critters I saw were really adorable.

"Hoo, hoo, I'm cute!"

Nothing can make me change my mind like love and an adorable little almost-two-year-old who loves monkeys. My daughter R's toddler son D. is crazy about Curious George. When a friend introduced me to an amigurumi monkey pattern, I knew I had to make it for D. And, truth be told, the pattern wasn't all that difficult.

Crocheting the monkey required lots and lots of small rounds for very long arms and legs. Only for D would I have put forth such effort. Since then, I've said "no more!", but I'm weak when to comes to cuteness in small packages. Here's Mr. Monkey, who is now happily living with his best friend D.

Mr. Monkey -- my first amigurumi attempt.

Sitting comfortably on his crochet afghan after a long morning of play.

 "Never say never" is what I always say. While I'm not inclined to try amigurumi again soon, it's very possible a cute little face will look up at me, melt all my resolves and get me started on the next crochet critter.

Have you made any amurigumi, and what have been your amigurimi experiences?