A slight diversion (part 2)...

Last time I mentioned how I'd been led off the main road of my knitty 'to do' stuff in order to make a woolly creature for Eden Arts woolly woods exhibition. With a deadline only a week or so away it needed a quick set of pins!

better get started lots to do!

Anyway here's what I came up with, I'll build it up gradually to keep the suspense...Dayve's helped the drama with his moody lighting in the photos of little critter taking shape.

This is not the creature but in fact a knobbly/gnarly stick (knitted in a 2K 2P rib pattern in alternating blocks (the 'legs' are woollen ties so it can be secured to the tree 'out in the wilds'), it was rolled up into a cylinder and was about 18cm / 7 inches long.

Next a couple of needle-felted leaves (coloured wool tops needled onto a leaf shape I cut from pre-felt with a small bit of thread stitching for the veins of the leaves); then a small twig which was a crocheted chain, wrapped in wool and needle-felted to attach leaves to twig.

Next comes the rare green Woolly Caterpillar; a lovely varied random wool colour that perfectly matched the project meant a simple tube knitted on 4 double-pointed needles with the head made of 2 bobbles created separately and sewn onto one end; it was stuffed with wool tops so no artificial stuffing. French knots were added to give some bumby 'legs' underneath.

Finally it was assembled into a woolly creature fit to be seen by the public and with its own food source (the rare Woolly Caterpillar eats only felted leaves) so that it can be self-sustaining over the exhibition. He feels real to me now somehow (strange how you get emotionally attached to something that a week ago was just lengths of various woolly substances in a box!). Goodbye little fellow and good luck!

How he might look in the shady woods at Acorn bank!

Now where was I with that other picture I'm working on? Of course that's another story...

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