I have a wonderful dear friend who collects turtles. I decided that she probably didn't have any like these so I made them for her birthday. The box will go in the mail today.
The pattern at http://www.geocities.com/lindaslists/turtleph.htm is the same one that I used back in 1999 to make potholders for my mother for her birthday, as well. It's made with two strands so it's a bit stiff to work with. I really like the versatility that you can get with the colors because of the dual strands though. I think I could've probably used a bigger hook and made them a little bigger than they turned out this time. The bodies are about 5.5 inches across. That seems a little small for a really usable potholder.
I made a bunch of them in both styles, so after the birthday gift I have a few left over that I'm going to send to someone else special who could probably use a boost about now. I do hope they all find useful lives in happy homes. :)
01/03/2008 Addendum: I was at my mother's over the weekend and we were looking at the turtle potholders that I'd made her back in 1999. She suggested, to make them more functional, finding a way to attach or incorporate a round silicon potholder. She pointed out that the holes in the pattern of the crochet are just large enough to result in a terrible burn if a finger slips through.
