The Little Hedgehog

I love crochet toy patterns by Son's Popkes. I think I previously wrote that I'd found her Realistic Hedgehog design and had decided to crochet it for James's birthday. I did it! Funnily enough, when I was searching for the photos below I found a lovely picture of James holding Flims (last year's crocheted hedgehog toy) right next to them. James loves Flims.
I don't tend to put photos of the boys on my blog or Instagram now they're not babies, I didn't mind so much then as all babies are much of a muchness (to me anyway...). I think the British school system can be hard enough as it is, imagine being a teenager and your friends/enemies having access to your family photos. There was a lad in my year group who could be a bit snarky and a friend of mine really hated him for his often cutting remarks (year 10/11), anyway, I remember another friend had been to his house and stolen a photo of him with chicken pox from a family album. Why? I don't know, teenagers are weird... Long story short, last day of school started very early as angry friend and I laughingly sellotaped photocopies of this photo to lampposts all the way to school and then all around school. Yes, my moral character was exceptionally underdeveloped age 16. My point here is that this type of private and entirely innocent (but cute to parents) photo, for some children anyway, is easily accessible and can be put to malicious use. 
Also, I have no idea why my text has changed font!!! 

Here he is, called 'Spics', after James's wildly inaccurate spelling of the word spikes which he used once to describe his favourite animal (the hedgehog). Every morning I come into the living room to find James settled in his Lego corner with Flims and Spics watching on. Flims and Spics turn up in all sorts of places, generally wherever James has settled for a time during the day, sometimes he builds a den, sometimes he prefers to sit and build his machines. Flims is small enough to fit in a pocket and often ends up out and about with us, something which brings James a lot of happiness. I remember my Nana and Gramps sometimes took us out and about and would let us bring a special toy along, I vividly remember riding a miniature steam train holding Bobo (my special toy), probably the reason I'm more easy-going about letting the boys bring a cuddly toy out with us. I do worry about losing them though! Oliver once left Ginger, his toy cat, in the post office and we only noticed at bedtime - he was distraught. Rich found her in the end after I swore he'd not brought Ginger along earlier. We never do trust my memory (as a family), I always forget things!

Anyway, the pattern was a good one, they always are. Lots of diagrams and clear instructions meant that despite the loop stitch which was tricky at first, I was able to get through the making in time for James's birthday.