Amigurumi Oggle

First of all let me say that I'm really not that 'in to' owls. I know they keep popping up on this blog but I have an excuse for each appearance. Honestly. I know some people are obsessed with owls and collect them but that really isn't 'me'!
I came across that first 'Abraham owl' pattern by accident when I first found all this wonderful stuff on the internet. When my colleague Sarah saw the owl I made on the blog she told me how much her wee son, Henry (whose cot quilt was the subject of one of my first blogs), loved owls. I immediately set about making an Abraham Owl for Henry out of more 'boyish' fabrics (blue and white stripes etc). You can see 'Henry's owl' on my Flickr page. Henry loved this owl and carried it around while 'hooting'.
Last week was Henry's 'naming' party, so I decided to crochet an owl as a little token gift. I searched on the web for a cute owl crochet pattern. There really wasn't a lot of choice, in the end I found one that was really simple and that I could improve on. I'd had a very busy week so only started the owl on the morning of the party. Good job he was quick and easy!
He is really just 2 triangles and 7 different sized circles. The original pattern didn't have a base and was therefore much more triangular (and less cute). Also I was worried that he would keep falling over! So I crocheted a round base and double crocheted it to the body (making him almost a version of Abraham Owl!).
I was very pleased with this cute little owl and so was Henry. He has now discarded the original owl in favour of this smaller, cuddlier version (he is only about 4" high) . Henry's auntie Irene was very taken with him and gave him the name Oggle. She wants one too and is even willing to learn how to crochet to get one! Good luck Irene.
The pattern had an unusual name 'Amigurumi'. I had come across this a few times looking for owl patterns (I really don't spend a lot of time doing this!) and finally looked up it's meaning. It is a very specific type of Japanese crochet. Cute animals or figures with slightly enlarged heads made from a tightly tensioned double crochet. The really important things is that they are CUTE. So I think little Oggle deserves his name. Here is a link to a lady who specialises in Amigurumi and produces books of patterns http://www.amigurumipatterns.blogspot.com/. And, of course, plenty of Amigurumi inspiration on Flickr. I might try and write up the improved pattern for the owl at some later stage, so that you can all have a go!