March has been a relatively easy month for me. There was some early stress over a friend, but mostly because I was feeling helpless. The anxiety doesn’t like when I can’t fix something. So I made something, even though it wouldn’t change any outcomes. I felt better. Life was good. Then yesterday happened. Abby caught the stomach bug that’s been going around. Then I caught it… Both of us have been home sick today, and it’s been miserable. Abby is doing so much better; I have not. I thought writing this post would be easy, but I’ve slept most of the day away, so I’m frantically typing at the last minute.
Sara, my friend previously mentioned in the first post, started taking progesterone shots at 16 weeks. Her first child, Liam (who’s three days younger than Abby), was born a couple of weeks early. They wanted to prevent the same thing with Baby Roman. At 29 weeks, she started having contractions and went to the hospital. They were able to stop them, and she came home with another medicine to help keep them at bay. I had to do something. I don’t handle worry well.
About a week later, I discovered an article with some probably dubious science about crocheted octopi being good for premature babies. The tentacles remind the babies of an umbilical cord, or something like that. Also, they’re just really, really adorable. So I told her I was making her one. Orange is her favorite color. I found some bright orange yarn at the store. I came home with it and a new hook, because I’d lost my hook again.
I’ve tried crocheting stuffed creatures before, but it didn’t go very well. I don’t know why not. Maybe it was me. Maybe it was a bad pattern. Maybe the stars weren’t aligned 
correctly. The world will never know. This pattern looked simple. So, I did it. And, I learned two very important things. Thing 1, USE A STITCH MARKER!!! I lost my starting stitch somewhere around Round 9. The pattern went a little wonky after that. I almost ran out of yarn while I was working on the tentacles. I had two inches left over, and that was mostly because I changed how I was crocheting the tentacles while I was making them. I had to use only a small part of the second ball to make the bottom of the octopus. I named him Otto. Sara adores him. Thing 2, I remembered why I quit embroidering, and it was really hard to embroider once the octopus was stuffed. The eyes and mouth took much, much longer than they should have. All in all, it took me about 8 days to finish Otto. Most of that was waiting because I didn’t have everything I needed.
Literally, the day after I finished Otto, one of Sara’s friends, had Baby J quite a bit early. I didn’t know this woman. I didn’t know her family. They don’t even live in the same state as me. That whole can’t-sit-still-must-do-something thing kicked in. I made another octopus. Sara named this one Ollie. I happened to have a green ball of yarn on hand, but only one. I used a smaller hook because I didn’t like how open Otto was. Ollie is definitely more of what I was thinking. I used a stitch marker and embroidered as I went. Ollie was finished in four days and it took a few more to get him mailed. Baby J’s mother loved him! I loved that she loved him!
If you want to make your own, they’re super easy, follow the instructions at this link. I highly recommend using a stitch marker and embroidering the face on as you go. I embroidered Otto and Ollie’s eyes at rows 9 and 10. I went over them twice. I started left to right, and then went back over it from right to left. All with one strand of yarn. I did not split it. I like the big bold effect. I crocheted the mouth the exact same way across rows 13, 14, and 15. I knotted the yarn on the inside and, if it was real long, trimmed it.
- Yarn: I used Peaches and Crème in Hot Orange (Otto), Rosemary (Ollie), and Black for the embroidery. I ran out of yarn with Otto and had to use part of a second ball. I had leftover yarn with Ollie.
- Hooks: Otto was crocheted with a 3.75 mm hook. I thought the stitches were a little spaced out, so Ollie was crocheted with a hook, 3.5 mm hook.
- Fiber Fill: I bought a small bag from Wal-Mart. It’s going to last awhile. I used both more than I expected and less than I expected.Stitch Marker
- Stitch MarkerYarn Needle
- Yarn Needle
I loved making these octopi. They were quick, simple, and easy to do. The adorable factor is off the charts! I’ve already started a third and fourth. I think I have five or six more on my To Make list. I’m hoping I’ll be able to get some made in my free time to donate to the local hospital.
April is going to be a little tight. I signed up to write for Camp NaNoWriMo, though I’m not entirely sure what I’ll be working. I’m also not sure how I’m going to juggle writing and crafting. In the past, everything has been put to the side for Camp and NaNo. Not this month. Because in April, spring has sprung. I have three projects I want to attempt. Two of them are a little higher on the list. One involves wires, and the other involves this pretty, pretty yarn:
Creating Peace 