Crafty Kitty: Crochet a Gnome

You may recall when my current obsession with crafts, crocheting in particular, started. It's all about the writing. In my second book, Survival of the Fairest, gnomes play a significant role in the plot, and so I figured out how to crochet a simple gnome figurine. I have created a variety of these little devils and given most of them away to contest winners. The pattern I use is here:

http://bellasartes.blogspot.com/2007/08/simply-gnome-free-pattern.html

If it's simple enough for me, clearly it's simple enough for anyone who knows anything at all about crocheting (and I wouldn't necessarily include myself in that number).

I've done the standard gnome:

This is the guy who travels everywhere with me, including a 2009 trip to Holden Beach, NC:

I realized the standard gnome didn't look mean enough so I started giving him more face. This gnome is one of my favorites (now given away to a reader). He's stealth gnome. He has an attached camouflage hat:

I like that guy. I almost kept him, but it's not like I can't do another.

These gnomes are E-Z to crochet. Promise. The trick is using a stitch marker so you don't forget where you are in the pattern. Since I'm generally surrounded by talking children when I'm crafting, it's always a possibility. I weight the bottom with dried beans, which is probably a bad idea--I should probably use pellets for that purpose so the gnome will withstand any baths he might inadvertantly take without sprouting inside. So far nobody has complained.

I have also changed the colors up and made some holiday "Elf on a Shelf" figurines for some friends. This pattern would work for many simple amigurumi, like witches, wizards, and coneheads.

Jody W.
http://www.jodywallace.com/ * http://www.meankitty.com/