Year of Projects Update 25th November

This sofa bed afghan yarn is never ending! My third project using these leftovers is finished, and I still have 1,500 yards left across the four colours. So far, I've used the brown, cream and black in my YoP projects, so I still have a lot of purple to use.

My latest project uses Charcoal and Peat. I thought the double loop stitches would eat into my stash, but I still have nearly half a ball left!

Project: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau

Pattern: Sheep Toy by Deb Richey (free from Caron International)

Yarn: Stylecraft Special Aran with Wool in Peat and Charcoal

Hook: 4mm

Caron list this as an "intermediate" pattern and I can see why. The double loop stitch is tricky at first and even though I got the hang of it, it really hurt my fingers and I was glad to be done with it when I got to the head and legs!

The fabric you get from the double loop is even more rigid than you normally get in an amigurumi. It helps to create a really nice shape for the body of this sheep, which meant I didn't need to over stuff it.

Sewing the parts together was difficult. I am not the biggest fan of attaching amigurumi parts; I will often adjust patterns so I can avoid it where possible. In this case, it was even more irritating because I was having to sew through the thick layer of loop stitches to get at the fabric. The legs were particularly annoying because they had to be straight and even. At first they were a little splayed, but I did some tightening up under the body with my loose ends and now they sit a little better. Well enough for him to stand up, at any rate!

I've named him after our National Anthem, as it's Autumn International time in the rugby world and we were in Cardiff yesterday for Wales v New Zealand.