Secret Valentine Exchange Part II - A Year of Giving

I received so many fun ideas back when I requested submissions for projects for things for my summer hands to do...

And I was missing the Secret Valentine Exchange and it's happy vibes so much...

Well, I decided I would run with it every month of the year until the official SVE returns in 2020. So here is my second instalment of the unofficial 2019SVE. I just got word these little critters arrived in the states today so now I can share them.

I made these little trophy head mice using a book that I'd bought a while ago: Crochet Animal Trophy Heads by Vanessa Mooncie (amazon link)

It was the first time that I had tried crochet with anything resembling a chart and I found it completely intimidating when I first viewed it. But, after my success with the school chair cushion, I began to see how the diagrammatic chart and the written instructions were complementary, and suddenly it all started to make sense.

The brown and the white cotton were leftover from my first 2019SVE project: The Bunyip Rattle. Of course I couldn't help myself and I purchased a ball of grey cotton/cashmere so I could complete the trilogy. All of the different cottons came from Yarning Place.

The eyes and nose are embroidery thread and then the whiskers are a heavy gauge fishing line.

This gift was not a suggested or requested one, but rather one that I wanted to make and that I thought I knew just the perfect person to send them to. I posted the three mice off to Jennifer aka Parrishplatz

I first discovered Jennifer's sewing way back in 2012 through the Oliver + S Flickr feed and her crazy good Halloween costumes: Parrishplatz blog

Her sense of humour is second to none and I have previously copied her felt carnivorous plants and intended to copy every Totoro and stencilled/costume gag she has ever made. The Harry Potter inspired mandrake root babies that decorated her front porch last Halloween were brilliant. Now mostly on Instagram, she's one to follow! @parrishplatz

I think I knew she was the right person to appreciate some trophy head mice!

Her cats have their own Instagram feed (@parrishkatzen) and with one cat who has cerebellar hypoplasia and the resultant "wobbliness" that that brings, I thought the idea of some trophy head mice (that the cat would never have been able to have caught herself) would be doubly funny. She's that cool that she has a disabled cat. :)

This was a really fun project and I'm delighted with the reception that the mice had - Jennifer laced them with some catnip and videoed her three cats having a great time playing with them. I have to say, in the short time between finishing them and posting them off, I had them pinned to the wall in our dining room and became rather fond of them myself. Maybe trophy animal heads is a new home furnishing trend?!