Wheee! I can finally post the delightful little hodgehodge since its delightful recipient has now received it.

It all started on New Year's Day. Our traditional New Year's Day involves a leisurely afternoon-into-evening gathering at my mom's along with whichever assorted other family members happen to be in town. No dress up, no presents – just hanging out, chatting, being goofy.

Out of nowhere, my goddaughter chimes into the conversation: "Aunt Frances, ask me about hedgehogs." Ummmm, okay -

"What part of the world do hedgehogs come from?"

"Do they prefer to be alone or with friends?"

"What kind of noise do they make?"

"What do they like to eat?"

Answered, answered, answered, answered. Followed by, "Aunt Frances, ask me more about hedgehogs."

This conversation went on for the better part of an hour. It was awesome. The kid knows everything about hedgehogs. She's obsessed. But does she have her own pet hedgehog? No, she does not. Seeing the wheels turning in my head, her mom looks at me and firmly says, "No. Absolutely not. No hedgehogs."

Apparently two jobs, two kids, a cat, a dog, several extracurriculars, and a house to maintain is quite enough juggling for one family. I get it!

So I did the next best thing. I found this pattern, the aptly named Hedgehog, on Ravelry and got to work. I actually had almost everything I needed already in my stash of leftovers, from the moose and this shawl. Because I couldn't find black beads that were big enough and yarn wasn't shiny enough, I decided to buy safety eyes, which were surprisingly impossible to find locally so they came from Amazon.

I finished this little fella on our March Break trip, so he played in the snow and toured around with us a bit.

Here he (she?) is at Wheeler's Pancake House, a delightful learning and eating experience for all things maple should you ever find yourself in Lanark County, Ontario.

Hodgehodge is ready for the snow with a jaunty sparkle scarf.