It always feels good to complete a project — and when the project is a long-awaited one for your grandkids, well, it feels even better!  These “Crochet Creatures” have been a long time in the making, I confess.  There is a LOT of crocheting here!  Some of it rather complex, too.  Nothing mindless.  Sarah and I fell for the book of patterns — Beetles, Bugs, and Butterflies by Lydia Tresselt — because the bugs are freaking adorable!  And they have removable parts so you can turn the caterpillar into a butterfly by sliding the wings onto her body.  There are leaves and cocoons to crochet too.  

Oh what fun, we thought!  Sarah was happy to let me take on the intricate sets of wings (And I nearly cried after I completed the first wing pieces and discovered that I actually had to make a back and front for each piece ! Twice the work! But it did make for sturdy wing sets that look good on both sides).  She crocheted bodies and leaves and cocoons.  We both made the little caps.  I did the sewing up and finishing.  It was a lot of meticulous work.  But my granddaughter Evelyn was an especially enthusiastic and relentless cheerleader (“When can we PLAY with them?!“).  So, now they are done — our Barbies of the Bug World!  

Evelyn and Coco have enjoyed playing with them — and I had a lot of fun with the photo shoot too.  And now I am going to slide the book onto a high shelf in my studio where it won’t find its way into little hands — because in addition to the butterflies there are darling mites and exquisite beetles and the most adorable snail who would make delightful companions to the butterflies, of course ….but I need a break from crochet!  And I have quite a bit of Summer Knitting to do yet 🙂