Just Hatched

The children are well, healthy, etc. Geoff is working, but keeping a relatively philosophical and calm approach to crunch mode. The chickens have not even pretended to be hens. No eggs. The cats destroyed yet another throw pillow... note to self: do not bother with area rugs, decorative pillows or "fine" furniture. Steve, the parakeet, enjoyed last night's "Nature" episode: "Parrots in the Land of Oz." He discovered why parrots, like himself, may be Australia's toughest survivors.


As for me, well, I am still afflicted, with my yarn disorder. I've added dish cloths to my repertoire. Those are fun to make... small and quick and a fun way to play with different stitches. This morning I took Max and Maria to the park, and while they played I paid bills organized my purse filed my nails diffused a bomb wrote to my representative started an owl. Remember, in 2004, I played with some blue yarn I picked up in Oregon and I fashioned a cute little bunny for baby Maria? Well, I decided to try and create a new critter and an owl seemed like a good candidate for my simple design and method.


Basically, I just do a stitch that goes around and around, increasing slowly until I create a small pouch. After a bit I decide to decrease, so that I create a neck, and then I increase to create a head. I don't count stitches. I just kind of eye ball it, until it looks like something.


I chose to turn this inside out for the nubby appearance, rather than keep this chain stitched look. I should have been more careful and patient with the ears... counting could have helped. They came out a bit wonky, which is alright, because I was too anxious to see it finished to worry about physiological accuracy. What I did was just continue to decrease the stitches, then make little flaps for feather tufts... those cute points that look like ears. Maria helped me fill the owl with fluff, before I sealed it closed with one last row of single crochet stitches.


I made 2 wings by making 12 single stitches, for each wing, and then going around to make it a suitable size. I attached them using the same yarn. The beak is wool felt, with a blanket stitch. By this time I was totally smitten with my feathered friend. Alex helped me decide on wood button eyes, which I set on black wool. I think I could have made the circles larger to help the eyes pop a bit more... ah, but that's nitpicking, because all in all I think he's dear.


He's a H00T!


It was fun watching Maria become a believer. She kept checking on me and asking me what I was making, and it was a long time before she had much confidence in my plan. We both agreed it could be a cat or a pig, and of course it's about the same thing I did to make her bunny. Don't worry, I won't quit my day job... no, wait! This is my day job! I am so totally lucky.