Earlier this year I was commissioned to make 5 squids. They are based on an illustration designed by a group of animation students who graduated this year from Teeside University in Middlesborough, UK. The Squid is named after my brother Sam as he was one of the group that used this squid as a mascot for the team.
I had previously crocheted a squid like this using yarn that I had lying around in my forever growing yarn stash. The only difference was the size. The size of the first squid was determined by the type of yarn that I had to hand, but with the 5 shown in this post the size had to be consistent. So I began writing my first proper crochet pattern and headed to the Phildar shop!
The actual head was not really a problem to figure out but the fins on top of the head were a little more tricky. I got there. The part of the squid that I did struggle with were to longest tentacles with pink ends. There was a lot of unravelling. I used a much smaller hook than I did for the original squid. I have realised that yes, often with amigurumi a larger hook can be used than stated in the pattern (with the appropriate weight of yarn of course) however, what mush have happened here was perhaps the proportions were different. As I didn't have the original to hand, and I didn't write a pattern, I may as well have never encountered Sam the Squid. It felt like starting from scratch.
I do love making amigurumi but 5 of the same thing, one after the other became tedious. I did wonder at the beginning what would be the best way to keep the project interesting (not boring so my mind begins to wonder from the task- enter gremlins). I decided to do all the heads, then all the tentacles instead of making one complete squid before moving on to the next. On reflection, although it sounds like the way with the potential to be more efficient, it was bloody boring and unsatisfying not to have that finished piece for such a long time.
Having the parts separate made it visually hard to gauge how progress was going. I could count how many tentacles I'd done but seeing them just in a bag and not sewn to a body made little sense. If I did this again I would make each complete amigurumi one by one.
It really felt like I was chasing a carrot on a stick. That joy of finishing a piece has become an essential part of the mindful crafting process. Taking that away made it very hard to concentrate. Arguably I need to practise my mindfulness skills!
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