neu jahr glück schwein - new year's lucky pig

in germany, the new year has several lucky things you can pass around or hang up in your house.   those little red and white mushrooms, chimney sweeps, dice, and pigs, sometimes pigs with wings.   i spent this new year in the hospital, not so lucky.   better than spending Christmas there though which was my other choice.   nothing major.   had to have my nose fixed so i could breath and stop being sick all the time.   i am grateful for that.

anyway, while i was in, i thought it might be nice to do something for the nurses that had to work over the holiday.   i took my crocheting yarn and hooks with me for something to do.   my roomies thought i was funny because i took 20 or so balls and almost that many hooks.   i was prepared for any crochet emergency!   i did get a patch done for my pants as well.   fairly productive hospital stay.

back to the pigs.   i had seen this super simple pig on e-bay and figured i could figure it out.   i did.   the nurses loved them!  it's like giving a person luck for the new year.   most put them on their keys.   maybe it will keep them from losing the keys this year?

  chain 4, then several, 17 -20, triples until you circle back to where you started and can join them together to make this circle.  sorry about the bright pics.   my flash is serious about letting it's light shine.

after you join the circle together, chain 2.   your going to make the snout now.

then reach into the same stitch and yarn over, bring it though, yarn over and pull through both.   i think this is a half double.   i am still learning.   do the half double twice in the same stitch and chain 2.   attach your chain 2 in the same stitch

see that cute little nose?   now chain inside the stitches so you can travel around the circle to make the rest of the pig.

 for the ear - chain 4, do a half double in the second stitch from your hook and in the third stitch from your hook.   

then attach it in the next stitch after where you started.

stitch one in the circle after your ear and chain 10 to make the little hanger.   the one i saw didn't have a hanger.   you could sew it on something or pin it guess, but i like the hanger.   leave it off if you don't.   after your chain 10, attach it back in the same stitch.

  stitch around until you are across from your snout to make the tail.   i love this curly little tail.   the one i saw didn't have this curly tail.    it's just so dang cute.

chain 6, in the stitch next to the end stitch, pull a loop through the stitch and through the loop on your hook, chain one and repeat the same again in the same stitch - pull through the stitch and your loop and chain 1 x 2.   do this in every stitch all the way back to the base and attach in the same stitch you started in.

 now stitch inside your circle down about 3 or 4.   you need enough room for 2 legs on the bottom.   otherwise you have a legless pig, and that's just sad.
i chained 3 and did a half double, (pulled one through, yarn over and pull through both), then chain 2 and attach all in the same stitch.   put a couple of stitches between and make the other leg the same.

then i just pulled it up, cut it off and weave in the ends

 i didn't feel the need to tie tiny knots for eyes.    mine are so tiny, that i did'n have buttons or google eyes small enough either.   i just used a marker.   if you used larger yarn and hook, (i separated off half of my cotton string and used a tiny 7 hook) or just did another round of triples to make the circle bigger, you could do that.    buttons would be really cute..

that is my version of lucky pigs.   i am so using this basic circle to make other animals now!   imagine the possibilities!