I feel like this should be titled ‘Surprise Tiny African Flower Owl Out of Nowhere’ but that seemed a trifle lengthy. I have been making this behind the scenes, except an Instagram post or two.
I wanted a second baby gift to go with the c2c cotton blanket and also fancied using up some of the pretty pastel cotton yarn, last seen when making an octopus. I looked at patterns from both Heidi Bears (Etsy link) and Line and Loops (Etsy link) but settled on the smallest from Heidi Bears, the Fat Little Owl (Etsy link).
I had quite a lot of trouble with the wings. With the best will in the world, and meaning no shade, browsing through the projects on Ravelry makes me think I’m not the only one. I reattached them twice over before I said ‘that’ll do’. The first time I put them on I went way off piste and they were extended as if for a hug, or to help a plane land. I suspect that the pattern contains the word ‘pentagon’ in a place where it should say ‘square’ – but even now I’m not completely sure.
I decided to block my finished shapes this time, which I didn’t do for the dinosaur, octopus, or dragon and, truthfully, I wouldn’t do it again. It looked very satisfying to have them all blocked out in straight lines but I don’t think it made much difference to the ease of assembly, or appearance of the end result. What *did* make a difference was crocheting through both loops of each stitch – I’ve made a habit (for unknown reasons) of going only through the front loop, so my past creations have been bigger/looser than intended. I also did the long double crochets right into the centre round of each shape. This is not what the pattern instructs but I like the kind of star shaped vibe it brings, and it certainly makes the shapes very snug and less likely to leak stuffing.
I made the eyes by crocheting a ring, then making DCs into said ring until I couldn’t fit any more in, and closing off with a slip stitch. I think they look good! I never want to put buttons on a baby toy, I’m convinced a baby would detach and eat buttons as soon as look at them, if not sooner. I had no trouble with placement, either, which often bothers me. You only have to be a little bit off with eye placement to create a permanently angry looking owl (though of all the birds, owls are naturally one of the angriest, anyway).
I mentioned Instagram at the top of the post. I did start the #fibreuarychallenge and honestly felt quite overwhelmed within the first week. There were so many accounts I could follow! So many comments to leave! I don’t do social media as a rule (blogging and blog reading I consider a separate category) and trying to find time to commit to looking through posts and connect meaningfully with people was a challenge. I felt weird about not completing the month of daily posts until I reminded myself that this is my hobby, for my own enjoyment, and therefore I should stop doing any part of it that didn’t give me joy.
Wise advice, I think you’ll agree. Wise like this tiny owl.
I’ve added this to the Unraveled Wednesday linkup, with thanks to Kat for hosting.
The Crafty Yarnster 