so many presents...so little time!

Well I have been busy making my presents for friends and family. I have been having so much fun with learning and getting better at amigurumi that I have been putting off making presents for people. I have spent some serious time in the last week thinking what is the perfect amigurumi animal for each of my close friends or family. I think I have it mostly figured out and have something like thirteen gifts to make (most are amigurumi animals) to make in the next twenty days! so I am putting the crochet hook to the grindstone and getting busy!
...But first, I wanted to share the recent amis that I have made. I have a parakeet that lives in my room and is in my eyeline from where I lay all day long, his name is sunshine and is such a joy to watch. so I have been wanting to make an ami of a bird and started out thinking that I was making a bird that looked more like a dove for a christmas ornament, but a I went it started to look more and more like my birdy sunshine. And then as I finished I was in shock how similar they look! I am so pleased and just love my little bird!
I made a pig from a pattern by Katja Heinlein. What an adorable pig, I thought about giving him away, but just love him so much, is it normal for a thirty year old woman to be so attached to stuffed animals? Oh well, I guess i am. Anyway, the pig and the bird seem like they are getting along quite well, with piggy giving piggy back rides to the birdy :)
Next I made a tropical fish for my friend's son who loves fish and even has trained his fish to make shots with a basketball in their aquarium. Again I was very pleased how the fish came out. I have a certain process for when I start a new Amigurumi animal when I don't have a pattern. I draw rough sketch and imagine the colors and how I am going make the shapes that I am thinking of, then I start to crochet. Then it seems like the animal takes on a life of it's own and I am just trying to keep up with what IT wants to look like versus what I thought it should look like. I am a slave to the art!
Anyway I am very very much enjoying my crafts, next I have planned a turtle from Ana Paula Rimoli ( I bought her Amigurumi Two book last night as an early christmas present to myself). then Yoda, a dragon, a chicken, wall-E...plus things like dreidels, necklaces, scarfs and something a friend asked me for called 'glittens'... I am drowning in my own creative ambitions!!!! but I love it :) oh well back to crocheting....Happy Holidays!