First, the backstory. You see my boyfriend Kevin graduated from Medical School this past June, as a member of the Class of 2015, or the Cows. You see the University of Calgary has a long tradition of giving their Med School classes animal names, and for the past three years, he and his peers cheerfully Moo'd their way through school.
So for graduation, I thought I'd give him a hand made cow.
So I searched the Ravelry pattern database using the following criteria: crochet, free, has photo, all toys and hobbies, keyword:cow; and a total of 30 patterns came up.
After some debate, I decided to go with the Spotless Cow, by Sabine Ingrao.
And he turned out great! He only took two evenings to make, and I was able to use all stash yarn, Red Heart Super Saver for the white and brown, and Red Heart Soft Touch for the rest.
I threw on some buttons for eyes, and added a stethoscope to make him into a 'Dr. Cow'.
I loved the way the pattern turned out, with the great big nose, and floppy limbs (which are incorporated into the body as you go along) this plus toy has a great feel. Plus the double thickness ears stand up tall and hold their character.
I threw a UCalgary brand on him as an added touch.
Oh, and if you are curious, I made the pillow in the background as well. You can watch the youtube tutorial here.