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than me introduced me to the concept. I thought they were pretty cute, but what would you actually do with one, or a bunch? My daughter already has a population of stuffed animals rivaling that of a small city, does she really need more? How many of these little guys would I really want to make, anyway? And how many designs do there need to be?
    The answers to these questions are apparently collect them, yes, none, and millions—because the ami craze has caught on all over. People collect amis they have made as well as amis others have made. Crochetersbuy patterns and materials for them by the ton, and even buy the amis of certain fiber artists to add to their collection.
    Me? I don’t get it. I didn’t get the whole Beanie Baby thing, either. Apparently I am not wired to fall in love with animals that don’t come over and wag their tails when I call them. And since they aren’t fiber bearing, either, I really don’t have a lot of use for them.
    What I do like about
amigurumi
is that they have turned a lot of people who are not otherwise crochet lovers, into crochet lovers. Some fiber council somewhere decided that statistically, a lot of people turn to crocheting when they or someone they know is expecting a child, because crocheted baby things are so lovely. I think a lot of people who are becoming caught up in the ami craze will learn to crochet just so they can add to their collections.
    Once they have been assimilated, we will turn them into all-around crochet lovers. The
amigurumi craze
will pass someday—does anyone remember that Beanie Baby prices ran to the thousands of dollars, and now they are in the discount bin at the grocery store? And at least the
amigurumi
will always be cool because they were not mass-produced—each has a bit of individual character.
    In the meantime, someone hand me a hook and some yarn, please. I see a little lion that I might not be able to resist.

Part Two
Links in the Chain Scarf

    Past, present, future—all crocheters are linked together through our love of the craft. Make as many links as you like out of animal fiber yarn and felt away!
    Materials:
125 yards each in two colors of bulky, feltable yarn (CYCA 5, bulky). Model shown used two skeins Lamb’s Pride Bulky, 85% wool/15% mohair, one in Rosado Rose #M183, and one in Raspberry #M83. You can also go crazy with feltable scraps—this would make a great stashbusting project!
Crochet hook size N/13/9 mm, or larger. Gauge not important but you want a loosey-goosey fabric so it felts nicely.
    Make one link, then for each one that follows slip the ch through the preceding link before you s1 st it into a ring.
    Make as many or as few as you like—I did eleven, and wound up with a finished size of 2 inches wide by about 75 inches long.
    The tighter your foundation chain, the more ruffly your links will be—if you want flat links, you will have to chain VERY loosely, but I like how they ruffle a bit with a normal tension, so I didn’t get crazy.
    Link Pattern:
    Ch 36 loosely and join with s1 st to form a ring, being careful not to twist the ch.
    Rnd 1: Ch 3, dc in each ch around, join with s1 st to top of beg ch. (36 dc, counting beg-ch).
    Rnds 2 and 3: Ch 3, sk 1st dc, dc in each dc around, join with s1 st to top of beg-ch. End off after row 3.
    To Felt the Scarf:
    Felt the completed scarf by your preferred method. To felt in a top-loading washing machine, put the scarf in a zipped mesh bag and place in the washer with an old pair of jeans or two. Choose a small load size, thehottest water setting, and the highest agitation setting if applicable, and add some detergent. Do
not
let your washer move on to the spin cycle. Check on the bag after ten minutes and then in five-minute intervals, resetting the machine as needed, continue the felting process until no stitch definition can be seen. Gently squeeze the excess water from the felted scarf, then blot it with a bath towel to remove as much water as possible. Pull the scarf