off the hook: little crochet panda

This is Pandora (I did warn you I'd caught the amigurumi bug). 

I hooked Pandora over the summer for a brave and adventurous friend who moved away (she and Pandora are in Japan now). She's a fan of pandas. I mean, who isn't? This was my second amigurumi attempt and while she's not perfect, she is a cutie. I used the Miku the Panda pattern from Little Things Blogged. I made the ears a little differently and missed out the muzzle but it worked out okay. For the cheeks I used a pink colouring pencil (don't do what I did and use a water soluble one, then forget and add water to smudge - this panda has a serious blush going on). 

I liked the pattern a lot, but think I have some way to go in sewing on super-cute amigurumi faces. Any stitchers got some tips? 

Ooh, and don't forget, you can win a copy of Louise Walker's fab new book Faux Taxidermy Knits! Check out last week's blog hop post to enter before October!