"He's Mr. Ed"

When I was a very small child (like, 4 or 5), one of my favorite things on TV were the re-runs of the Mr. Ed show. It wasn't that I was so horse-mad, but I liked the idea of an animal that could talk (and really deeply hoped that out there, there were some who really COULD).

(Of course, later, I learned it was all done with peanut butter).

I don't remember any of the plots or the jokes or really anything much beyond the fact that Wilbur was played by Alan Young (who, later on, was the voice of Scrooge McDuck, using what was probably closer to his natural accent) and the sound of Ed's voice.

So when I saw an amigurumi pattern for a "Mr. Ed," I kind of wanted one.



I made it pretty much as directed by the pattern. I had played with the idea of doing felt eyes (akin to the ones I do on the Little Ponies) rather than the crocheted ones, but in the end, the idea of a toy entirely made of yarn kind of appealed to me, and so I made the eyes as directed in the pattern. I think the only thing I did differently was that I didn't make the "lining" for inside of the hooves to make them flatter (the pattern directed you to glue cardboard inside the sole of each foot, which would then necessitate gluing on the horseshoes, because it's too hard to sew through material that's been glued). I left that off and don't think it caused any problems. (And I like the idea of the horseshoes.)

I used just plain old Caron Simply Soft for this and I think it turned out well. The cheap acrylic yarns really are pretty good for amigurumi because of their sturdiness and the fact that they take the "structure" better - they give a more sculptural result than a softer yarn would.

I like the big knobby feet and the slightly "awkward" appearance.

And for scale:



Fluttershy doesn't quite know what to make of Ed: "You're not like any pony I've ever met."

But Lyra does:



"Nice advanced sitting technique, dude." (I know Lyra has not yet spoken in the series, but somehow, I hear her voice as being not unlike that of Spitfire - a little low-pitched for a female, and kind of "casual")