Lauren's Horse Purse

Another one of my favorite little kids in the whole world, Lauren, is having a birthday.... She's turning 2 years old!  I still remember shrieking loudly with joy in a Denny's when I heard the news that her mother was pregnant with her....  Someday I might be allowed back into that restaurant.  Anyway, Lauren loves blue, horses, and purses, so the choice was clear: BLUE HORSE PURSE!

I used this cool free pattern and improvised the mane/tail using a curly-q technique that I love.

The blue yarn is Caron One Pound (plucked from Niki's stash that she unloaded on me when I picked up crocheting again this year) and the rest of the colors are all Red Heart Super Saver.  I used an F hook on all the colors except for the black (it seemed thinner than the blue, so I went up a hook size so the hooves would be the right size in proportion to the legs).

The pattern called for buttons to be sewn on for the eyes.  "Pshaw," I said. "I'll use my beloved safety eyes that I have grown addicted to whilst crocheting my millions of amigurumis."  But because the pattern didn't remind me to attach the safety eyes before I stuffed and closed up the head, I forgot to put them on until it was too late.  Whoops. So, I ended up using button eyes anyway.  Lauren's two now, so hopefully she won't pull off the tiny buttons and eat them.  They're too little to be a choking hazard, anyway!

 
Because I had already used buttons for the eyes, I went ahead and sewed a tiny red heart button on the saddle.  I have no memory where that button came from, but it's been in my button collection for years now and I have always wanted to use it somewhere.  I think it makes for a nice pop of color.

The purse has two uses: You can go out on the town, looking chic.....

....and when you need a little pick-me-up, you can give it a little snuggle.

Thanks for being my model, Sonia!