Crochet meets toy animals

I went up the mountain yesterday to catch up with my bestest friend from High School, who was staying, with her husband and her three sweet girls, at her parents place up there. I might come back to that later, but for now, because I know that I have kept all those of you who made courageous guesses about my next crochet project anxiously waiting for the result (that makes one person – who made a courageous guess that is, who may or may not be anxiously waiting), here it is.

Herman the Tortoise for my nephew. I don’t think crocheted toys are necessarily going to become my next “thing” - the therapeutic value of crochet seemed to get lost in all the fiddling about with small parts, and it was all I managed to make for Christmas (and it actually wasn't finished quite in time for Christmas) because it was really quite time-consuming. His mouth is a bit lop-sided, and the astute might notice that one leg went on upside-down, but that's all part of his charm I decided. (It's navy, not black, too.)