Last spring my son was fascinated with the Walking with Monsters: Life Before Dinosaurs series. The fascination is understandable. The first episode is full of giant sea scorpions, giant squids, and the biggest underwater pill bugs you’ve ever seen.
I got it in my head to knit him a giant squid. After a little hunting online, I landed on this “George the Giant Squid” pattern even though it cost $6. Knitting began back in late May/early June.
I really failed to document this making of this guy, but that happens. Here are some highlights:
- Some stitches were dropped in the making of the yet-to-be-named squid’s body. Also, I’m not sure what I did to totally ignore the directions to make the top of his head. Oh well. Next time.
- One is supposed to knit the arms in the round. I didn’t, because I found it extremely tedious to knit a small number of stitches in the round. I sewed the ends of the arms together
- Because of dropped stitches, there were some noticeable holes in the body. I patched these as best I could and then sewed an inside lining, which I stuffed.
- I sewed the two tentacles and 8 arms together and then sewed that to the body. There are actually seven arms. I found a straggler on the sofa after sewing them to the body. Again, oh well. Next time.
- My son insisted that I sew the mouth to the bottom of the squid where the mouth would actually be. I talked him out of this. I also ignored his request for a beak. He didn’t seem too put out by it. Next time. Oh well.
I wish I had taken pictures of the sewn lining and other stuff, but most of my decisions with this project were spur-of-the-moment decisions or fixes based on preexisting knitting/sewing knowledge.
And there’s the interesting part (to me).
I’ve been knitting for about 15 years now and sewing for longer. I don’t know everything there is to know about either craft, but I’m comfortable with them both. I have the confidence and an understanding of the language to work through things I don’t know as I come to them. I know enough to not think twice about veering from a pattern. I know what makeshift fixes I can do when needed.
I appreciate this agility.
I don’t think the confidence and agility necessarily comes from the 15 years of “experience” though. I think it’s from having a basic understanding of how knitting/sewing work, what the stitches do and how they look, etc. I think the confidence comes from practicing and tinkering and making things.
So, yay. Finished project. Confidence. Agility. Comfort.