Ack! An Evil FO

They said it couldn't be done . . .nay it shouldn't be done.  But did I listen? No, I tarried on and hooked till my wee fingers were sore.  Terrible wing instructions?  No worries.  I hooked and unraveled till I got it just right.  And then slowly the thing began to take shape.



First it looked like a green bowling pin--an evil bowling pin with beady eyes and evil eyebrows.

Evil Bowling Pin?

Then it grew tentacles and legs.  And the horror of its evilness became evident.

Bowling Pin with Tentacles?

While it sat unarmed, I felt a wee bit safe . . . just a little.  And then it happened: the thing grew arms!

Cthulhu

Oh horror of horrors! Now it was ready to fill the house with its evilness--well maybe not the whole house; perhaps just the computer area.


Say hello to Cthulhu.  Isn't he frightening in all his wee little cuteness! Ha!  My hubby just loves him to pieces (and he's waited such a long time for it).

Cthulhu protecting the computer--and hubby

His purpose: to protect the area in and 'round the computer and all things therein. Hurray for evil FOs! ;)

Wingin' It

Literally I winged it.  I made it up as I went along. Remember my cute amigurumi of cthulhu from last week?  Well I managed to finish his wings, but I improvised my way through it.


So here's the scoop:
Step 1-gather your supplies: yarn, hook and 6" pipe cleaner.  I recommend using one that is the same colour as your yarn (I used yellow 'cuz it was all I had on hand--it was that or brown).

Supplies

Step 2-make a slip knot and then work many sc around the pipe cleaner.  I got about 20 sc (you may get more or less).  Then bend your pipe cleaner about a quarter of the way along.  Make sure your stitches face inward. Also, make a small bend at each end to keep your stitches from falling off the pipe cleaner.

Working sc around pipe cleaner

Step 3-Slip stitch to the 6th sc (I actually cut my yarn and joined again at 6th sc).  Work a sc in the next 3 sc.  (3 stitches).  Turn your work.

Attaching work to sc along pipe cleaner

Step 4-increase 1 sc in first stitch, then work a sc in each sc.  Before turning work, work a sc from the pipe cleaner (6 stitches)
Step 5-now comes the improvisation.  Continue working each row, increasing and attaching your work to the sc along the pipe cleaner.  Now depending how the fabric is looking, you may need to increase an extra stitch, stop increasing or perhaps even decrease.  The goal is to create a somewhat smooth fabric between the bent pipe cleaner sides--one that resembles a triangle.

Incorporating sc on pipe cleaner as the wingspan increases

Step 6-once you've worked across and created a triangle, you can work the points of the wings. I used groups of 5-6 stitches and made an inverted triangle.  I worked decreases on every other row.  Once one point was completed, I slip stitched down the triangle and worked another point using another 5-6 stitches. 

Finished wing

It's not perfect but it works and resembles the designer's original creation.  Hope this helps anyone else attempting the pattern.

Cthulhu Who?

He's not done --not yet.  Almost.  I'm working on the curly tentacles and there's an arm I have to finish.

Work in Progress

As for the wing, I'm not not sure how I'll work them.  Over on Ravelry, every comment complains about the wing instructions and how impossible they are to understand.  I may have to wing it (sorry for the bad pun, but it was unintentional).  Here's to inspiration, creativity and invention.

Diversions

So I've managed to overcome my addiction to Facebook. I still check it to see what family and friends are up to, but for the longest time there was always a game or two to idle the time away.  For the last few years, Restaurant City has been "the time suck".  Not no more.  Something else occupies my time.  

Pinterest 

Every heard of Pinterest?  OMG, it's the ultimate time suck!  But it is sooo much fun.  Basically its a virtual bulletin board.  You can "pin" pictures, how-to's and such from the world wide web and "pin" them on your virtual board where you'll always have access to the original link.  This is handy if, like me, you could be on different computers and can't access bookmarks left on another machine.

Someone's Pin List

Whatever your interests, you'll find something: crafts, art, decor, gardening, people . . . the list is endless.  And if you find an individual who shares the same interests, you can follow their boards and pins.  You can also follow a particular business or artist--very neat!  Check it out, but only if you dare to idle away hours upon hours . . . 

And Now for Something Different

Some knitting going on--mostly at naptime and mostly on my sock.  There are a few inches left to go.  My sock is almost done--almost.  But I won't bore you with any pictures since it'll be hard to see any changes from last week.

New Crochet

Meanwhile I've taken up my hook to work on a green critter.  Its something my hubby had requested in the summer.  When visiting Toronto we saw a crocheted cthulhu selling for about $20 in a comic book store.  I told hubby to keep his money'cuz I'd be able to make one for him that would be bigger and quite possibly better looking than the version at the comic book store. I already had a nice green acrylic-cotton blend in my stash (Bernat Baby Cakes--leftovers from a watermelon cardigan I made a while ago).

Close-up of Cthulhu's Head

So here I am several months later bringing to life an unspeakable ancient evil . . . should I be a little scared?