Much as Bridget the Elephant and all her friends in the menagerie were first created for my newly born son, Edward, I think that Edward's Menagerie: Birds was made for me. In the decade since I first designed Sophia the Flamingo these huge characters with their knobbly knees and crooked beaks have never stopped making me smile. They are bold, bright and beautiful and most are relatively quick makes, which make them perfect for gifting. I've had a canary, peacock and cockerel on my kitchen shelf for many years and they bring a big splash of colour into the room and proudly show-off my love of crochet. Birds by their very appearance were always going to be a bit more fiddly than the original Edward's Menagerie mammals. That gawky yet somehow elegant avian character lends itself to small rounds and detailed shaping. I knew it would be more of a challenge with new shapes, big features and bright colours - but what I didn't know was that it could take TOFT off in a whole new colourful direction. The introduction of our first six brightly coloured yarns with which to hook up the first birds ten years ago has now expanded to include 18 more, making this book my most colourful yet with a tremendous 36 colours used in the 50 projects.

If you are a complete beginner to crochet and Edward's Menagerie, then start with the Level 1 bird Ernest the Canary, who just uses the double crochet stitch and one simple colour change. In Edward's Menagerie: Birds the projects are arranged by difficulty, not only into levels, but also within that level, so you can progress through the pages onto those that require a bit more concentration and new techniques such as loop stitch. The patterns in this book are designed for you and your friends and family to enjoy and are for personal use only. I love seeing photos of your menagerie birds; make sure you share them using the hashtag #edsanimals, so that I can enjoy looking at them, and you can see everyone else's, too. It has been an absolute pleasure to revisit and expand my Edward's Menagerie aviary and I know that these bird patterns will bring a lot of joy not just to you when you are making them, but also to anyone who happens to see you doing so.