My second attempt at chrocheting

So, leaving everything to the last minute as per usual, I decided to crochet my friend a giraffe as a gift for her new born baby girl. I decided to make it 10am on Tuesday and was due to see her 3pm on Wednesday! To all the people who crochet I'm sure that would not seem like a challenge but it was to me, I'm not too quick at crocheting and I'm not good at following patterns.

I found a free pattern on http://www.coatsandclark.com/Crafts/Crochet/Projects/BabyChild/WR1729+Little+Crochet+Giraffe.htm and used this as a basis to my pattern. I found a gorgeous giraffe on http://www.flickr.com/photos/djonesgirlz/3951110811/, and used this as the inspiration for my giraffes nose and legs. With the help of a really fab old book that I inherited from my mum I was armed with all the examples of stitches and increasing and decreasing that I needed for reference and I was ready.