A funny Fidget Turtle for me

My back went out on me (yet again) on Monday. So, for the past 72 hours, I have been in so much pain that I literally could not walk a single step without using a mobility-assistive device like my rollator or (preferably) my wheelchair. But even with those, the pain is still excruciating, and thus I've been trying to move as little as possible.

My devices don't fit through the doors into our bathroom, so to go there, I just hang onto the door frames and/or walls.

It is not fun.

I'm scheduled for another MRI of my lower back in two weeks. So I'm just trying to survive until then. 

On the upside, I can tell that my back is feeling just a tiny, tiny, tiniest little bit better today. Thank goodness.

Anyway, I've been doing PT for my hips the past few weeks. My physical therapist loves turtles and has turtle iconography everywhere at her practice, including a pair of live turtles in a tank in the waiting room, which are so fun and relaxing to watch. So I decided to crochet some "fidget turtles" (meaning they have beads on them so they give your hands something to fidget with) as little gifts. I made three: one each for my PT, her office manager, and her student intern.

Today, I decided to crochet another fidget turtle for myself. This one (in purple) is slightly larger because it's meant to have a 3-inch mini whoopee cushion inside. It's a mashup between the Beaded Fidget Turtle pattern by Willow & Wild and the Tootie Cuties pattern by Stella Knight. 😂

The three little turtles don't have whoopee cushions inside them, alas. 

Beaded Fidget Turtles

This crochet Beaded Fidget Turtle, a paid pattern by Emily Nigro (aka Willow & Wild) is super cute and very quick and easy to make, and it requires just a small amount of yarn, 2 safety eyes, 16 pony beads, and a bit of stuffing. After you make one, you'll then want to make more in ALLLL the colors!! 😂

I crocheted it using a 4 mm hook and used a 2.5 mm hook for the bead stitches.

It even has a little tail!

This one is a gift for my physical therapist. Anyone can tell the moment they walk into my PT's office that she loves turtles, because turtle iconography is everywhere, and she even has a pair of live turtles in a tank in the waiting room. 🐢 The ambience is very calm and soothing, and it's fun to sit and watch the turtles swim or sun themselves on a rock.

BTW, my PT's name is Rey. It isn't every day that one gets to have a Jedi as one's physical therapist, eh?! She is excellent.

After I saw how adorable the first turtle for Rey turned out, I realized that I also had to make one for Rey's office manager, Hannah, and for Rey's student intern, Cheyenne. So I did. 😊 Now there are three widdle turtles for me to take to my next PT appointment, and each one is slightly different. 💜

I have also made the Beaded Hedgehog Fidget by Willow & Wild. Her patterns are always fun, well-written, easy to follow, and result in some really adorable critters. She has tons of amazing patterns to choose from, so you should definitely check them out. I'm sure I will be making more in the future!

Beaded Fidget Hedgehog

This is a great pattern for using up scrap yarn from your stash. Each hedgehog requires only a small amount of yarn (plus a pair of 8 mm safety eyes, about 68 pony beads, and the other supplies). 

For my first two hedgehogs, I used glitter pony beads that I've had in my crafting stash for at least 27 years. I originally purchased the beads to adorn some Pocahontas costumes for Halloween/dress-up playtime that I sewed for my daughters back in the 1990s. 

My daughters on Halloween in the 1990s wearing the beaded costumes.

Now, all these years later, I can give them each an adorable hedgehog made with the same beads along with a printed photo of them wearing the Pocahontas costumes when they were little. That's a nifty full-circle moment in my book! 😁

So tiny and cute!

Little hedgehog feet.

Little hedgehog bum.

The pattern also has a link to an Etsy listing where you can opt to purchase a printable "carrier" for gifting your hedgehogs, which gives them a cute finishing touch.