Tentacles, Soot, Beach Glass, and Peas. And an owl.

Just a quick post-and-run today with some recent FOs for FO Friday.  (Despite my temptation to try to show you everything I finished since I last blogged regularly in May.)  First of all, I'd like you to meet Ms. Petula the Purple Octopus.  Made from my favourite ever tentacle construction pattern, I hadn't done one of these guys to-pattern-size since making my first one ever about two years ago.  I forgot how plush the tentacles feel in two strands of worsted weight worked with a big hook.  This is also the first time I'd ever attempted crocheted eyes and eyelids on a cephalopod, and I'm pretty pleased.  I've already got some skeins selected for the next one.  I think some of these guys will have to be craft fair fodder this year.  People like things with tentacles and personality-imbuing eyelids, right?

And here's the soot sprite, all sewn up and perched in a dustpan for authenticity.  I love it when I start a simple project and manage to keep it simple.  Even with the eye-creation and blogging breaks, this little guy took no time at all.  Most of the crocheted soot sprites I've seen around on the interwebs are done in eyelash yarn, but I used a fuzzy alpaca-acrylic blend for this and just...fluffed it up at the end.  Way less irritating.  (Also, I don't have any black eyelash yarn.)

In the way of non-anthropomorphic stuff, I made myself this necklace a couple weeks ago using a piece of my beach glass collection.  I think this is the first time I've ever done anything with said beach glass besides put it in a jar and admire it.  This was also my first attempt at this kind of wire-wrapping, and at incorporating beads into crochet---both were pretty much a success, which is all part of the payoff for my slowly, slowly learning to start small with new techniques.  More beads may be in my future.

I also (okay, fine, this is going back to June---last one for now, I promise) indulged my love of Happy Rainbows! by making a useless-but-fun peapod garland (with an adorable pattern by the always awesome Trish of genuine mudpie).  There was something really lovely about selecting skeins and working with the ROYGBIV spectrum like this, so my next useless rainbow project is already on the horizon.  I'm planning to start hookin' it for the Ravellenics mass cast-on later today, in fact.

I've never done the Ravel-thingie games before, and I'm not planning anything big, I don't think.  (Except the insane part of me that wants to start a ripple afghan, but I think I can avoid listening to that particular inner voice pretty easily, all I have to do is remember that I'd be working into a base chain of well over 100 stitches...)  I'm eager to get into the Olympics themselves, too.  Gymnastics! Diving! Watching people who are awesome at stuff do said stuff, while occasionally learning fun facts about various countries!

What Olympic (or Ravelympiclennic) events/projects are you guys excited about?

Ooh, and a late addition---since Paula has received him (and made the sweetest. ever. post about him over at her blog, Knit and Seek), I can also reveal my seeeecret progress object, Wendell!

Wendell is a wedding planner owl, made in Paula's wedding colours and armed with a helpful clipboard!  I haven't made an owl for ages, and I'd sort of forgotten how much I adore them.  (Well.  The parts that don't involve sewing the wings and beak in, anyway.)  Wendell was actually a team effort---my mom ended up sewing on his heart applique in exchange for my sorting through some of her receipts so she could check them off on her credit card bill.  Skills exchanges for the win!