A Hedgehog for a Rainy Day: Knitting with Amy Gaines

It was a nasty day in Toronto yesterday. It was cold and raining hard, so naturally I missed my bus and had to walk home under the shelter of an umbrella that flips inside out at the slightest breath of wind. Anyway, it was a gloomy day. When I got home I decided I was in need of some comfort, so I turned on season 2 of Grey's Anatomy and knit myself a hedgehog. I love hedgehogs. I found this adorable pattern by Amy Gaines on Etsy and voila! One hedgehog.

I was a little skeptical when I first read the pattern and saw that it is knit flat, not in the round. But the pattern is actually quite clever. You knit up a naked hedgehog, stuff him, and sew him up the back. Then you knit his spikes and sew them onto his back, so the seam is hidden. All the fiddly bits, like the nose, ears, arms, and feet are knit separately and sewn on, so it's a great pattern for beginning knitters.

Baby, it's cold outside*, so my hedgehog has a stylish scarf.

The pom-poms are a little big, but that was as small as I could get them. There are pom-pom trimmings all over my living room now..

My new hedgehog is joining my other hedgehogs for a hedgehog party.

*Baby, It's Cold Outside - She & Him: