Say Hello To Señor Squid

Señor Squid was hanging out on the ocean floor and he was feeling kind of bored. 

Swimming through the inky depths wasn’t much fun and he wanted to see the sun.

He said good bye to his tentacled friends and quickly began to ascend. 

He waved hello to sea snails and avoided passing whales. 

Being eaten for dinner wasn’t part of the plan.

He swam and swam until he found a patch of clams.

They pointed him to a seaweed grove hidden in an underwater cove. 

He kept swimming after a nap even though he didn’t have a map.

He passed sharks, submarines, and fish as it was starting to look like he’d get his wish.

The water was brighter now and he was far from where he began. 

He’d reached the surface and was only just a little bit nervous.

With one eye above the waves he decided to keep being brave 

because the beach was within his reach.

Soon he touched the sand and gave the land another scan.

There was an octopus with an umbrella and he looked like an interesting fella. 

They said hello and got to know each other in the sun’s glow.

At this time, I walked by solo and they asked for a photo.

After the shot, Señor Squid let me in on his plan. 

I was only too glad to show him around as I picked him up from the ground. 

Between seeing the sights and the city lights, 

Señor Squid became a good friend and I’ll be sorry to see him descend.

When I cast on for Señor Squid, I’d just finished another project and was in the mood to make something fun and frivolous. The yarn had been wound and waiting for months along with the pattern, Inkling the Squid by Cate Carter-Evans. Then, once I started I just couldn’t stop. From the tip of the mantle to the last tentacle tip, I knit and assembled the whole thing in 8 days.

Knitting the squid was definitely fun, but also really finicky once I got to the tentacles. There were 2 strands of yarn at all times, an ever increasing number of almost-tentacles, and DPN’s sticking out all angles. Would I knit it again, knowing what I do now? Of course. The challenge of corralling DPN’s, seaming things just so, and learning basic intarsia was part of the fun. 

Oh all the things I’ve made during #yearofmaking, I’m most proud of Señor Squid. Knitting him required me to take my knitting skills and knowledge to another level of patience and detail. Looking forward to taking that step again with Horatio the Nautilus and Opus the Octopus. 

The Pattern: Inkling the Squid by Cate Carter-Evans

Yarn: Done Roving Yarns Frolicking Feet - Chartreuse (Body) and Knitted Wit Gumballs Fingering - Carbon (Underbelly and Tentacles)

Needles: 2.5 mm 

Dates: April 25 - May 3, 2015

@Ravelry

Wander the Web 45

 Inspiring, fun, thought-provoking, and crafty links to round out the week and jumpstart your brain.

Love this adorable lake house

See the world by drone

Knit in Public Bingo

Frozen Coconut Limeade

I can definitely relate to this.

Check out these fun knitted ideas for conductive yarn

Wander the Web 36

Fun and interesting links from the week.

Bears on Stairs

New York Subway Driver Portraits by Janus van den Eijnen

What I’ve Learned from Indie Publishing by Tammy Strobel

Chineasy

Corg Life

Need a little blue, green, or purple eye candy?

Shear Joy

Take A Stab At Needle Felting

One of the local yarn shops is closing down and having quite the clearance sale. Looking through was little was left, I found some felting needles. My first stab at the craft was over a year ago. That first project was a heart and it even looked like a heart, but not the cute puffy heart, like these, that I imagined. The disappointment of not being immediately good at needle felting has faded and I’m ready to try again. 

I have wool and enough needles to last me though several projects. The only thing I don’t have to a foam mat to work on so I don’t destroy my fingers or the kitchen table. While I gather up the rest of my supplies, I can’t help thinking of what I want to make. The only wool I’m willing to sacrifice to the learning process is a combination of blue, yellow, and green. Besides from felted balls, fish seemed like the only thing that would look good with that mottled combination. My mind went blank after fish. To the internet! 

After much searching through the halls of the internet, I’m still not sure what else to make with that wool but I do have plenty of ideas for other projects. Tutorials were easy to find and the best ones were usually videos. They made it easy to see just how to wrap the wool and where to stab it to make the right shapes. They showed how and where to join different pieces to make larger pieces. Watching the tutorials and seeing people actually make something got rid of a lot of the mystery of needle felting. 

The following videos are three of my favorites because of how informative and just plain cute the finished pieces are. 

A nice overview of how to make different shapes and how to combine them to make sculptural pieces.

Simple tutorial for making a cute little felted mushroom. Seems like a good beginner project.

Another simple project that combines a sphere and some logs to make a cute little bunny.

Wander the Web 20

Walking on the beach during low tide, especially in December, never gets old. 

Enjoy the cute that is Goats in Sweaters

Faces in Things finds faces in the strangest places.

Architecture in Ginger Bread

Astronaut extraordinaire Commander Chris Hatfield does an AMA (AKA: Ask Me Anything)

Dr Whoodles: You can’t wear this Dr Who scarf but you can eat it. 

Peppermint Marshmallows!