Happy Lunar New Year, everyone! Gong Xi Fa Cai, Gung Hay Fat Choy!
As a kid, I really looked forward to this time of year. Because it is customary for all married relatives and friends to give children red envelopes stuffed with money, this was a very profitable time of year for me! My mother would clean the house from top to bottom and set up a little New Year’s table, decorated with beautiful flowers, oranges, pomelos, “good luck” candies and cakes… She would even put on her old records (remember those?) of festive holiday music. Everyone would just be a really happy mood, getting ready to celebrate the start of a fresh new year!
In honor of the coming year’s zodiac sign, I present my little snake to you! I never considered making a gurumi snake, (thinking that I could never make a cute one) but I was suddenly struck with inspiration earlier this week and here is what I came up with! I wanted something with a pop of color, since a plain, single color snake didn’t seem so interesting to me. I felt the color red would have made the snake too “Christmasy”, so I settled for a nice festive orange instead! Perfect, since oranges and tangerines are ubiquitous during this festive time of year! I think this snake adds a cute and unique touch to all the New Year’s decorations in the house.
The tricky part of making this little guy was coiling his body just right so that his head pops up in just the right place. After I coiled it, I did pin it in a couple of discreet places for it to hold it’s position. Just sew those spots together with some yarn and your snake should stay upright and coiled indefinitely! The free pattern can be found HERE!