So last Christmas, (yes, you read that right. I procrastinate,) I was telling my mother-in-law that I wanted to crochet everyone’s gifts that year, but couldn’t think of  anything to make her. She had an immediate suggestion! She showed me a picture online of a frog she loved.

(Disclaimer: I didn’t make the frog in the above picture.)
I rather liked him, too, but was nervous about making him. It’s one thing for someone to ask “Make me something minion-y” or “make me an elephant!” Those things give me creative reign, and if it doesn’t come out exactly as I wanted it to, that’s ok because they’d never know.

This, however, was an entirely different story.

But she liked the frog so I endeavored to try!

Aaaaandd… I screwed up. Kinda.

I spent the entire time thinking about how it was coming out all wrong. First, the head was wrong because I couldn’t get the eyes to be bulbous enough. Then, the torso was wrong because the neck was too thin and the collar didn’t have enough poof. Then, the legs were wrong because what was meant to be a bend came out as a chunky thigh. In short, I had no idea how to replicate this frog, and could find no similar patterns anywhere. Overall, my stalling due to perceived failure made the project take months longer than it should have, especially with all the pulling out and re-crocheting I needed to do.

And how did she feel about the finished product?

With a smile on her face, she told me it was the best looking thing I’d ever made.

I’d be inclined to disagree with her if they didn’t say the customer is always right. The jacket’s removable, so I can craft her seasonal jackets and ones of different color whenever she likes! (Although it looks no good without the jacket on.)

Looking at the pictures side-by-side, (or top-by-bottom?) it’s clear which one is better, but I’m glad that my creation at least got the point across. Now I just really need to work on figuring out how to get quality pictures!