Dumbo? Who you callin' a dumbo?

Dumbo Octopus by Hansigurumi
knitted in Cascade 220 wool, periwinkle and turquoise
knitted on HiyaHiya DPN's, size US 3
Ravelers see him here.

Who are we calling a dumbo?  Certainly not this little guy!  Grimpoteuthis, also known as the "Dumbo Octopus," is a pretty crafty little sea creature, hovering just above the ocean floor to find snails, worms, and other goodies.  Known for their distinguishing fins or "ears" they use jet propulsion to get around.  How's that for ingenuity?

And speaking of ingenuity, let's talk about Hansi Singh.  I can't even begin to imagine how she came up with all these adorable sea critters, or how she figured out how to knit them!  Dumbo being my first Hansigurumi pattern I was a bit nervous, there are some great looking creatures out there.  And once I got started on my eight legs (with webbing!) I was pretty much in awe of Hansi's eye.  The stitches are so well defined, especially when using Cascade 220, and the pattern is easy to follow with great diagrams to help you along.  But these patterns are certainly not for the faint hearted.  I had to use several knitting techniques that aren't in my daily repertoire; grafting, picking up stitches, M1L and M1R, just to name a few.  I had to spend some tutorial time on knittinghelp.com just to figure out the difference between M1L and M1R.  The difference is slight, and even Hansi admits only the pickiest of knitters will notice.

But I must say, I think I could easily become a Amigurumaniac (maybe I should start a group on Ravelry...).  These toys are so unique and would be a blast to collect.  Plus, with so many friends having babies or with small children they would make really unique and funky gifts.  Not to mention great learning tools.  Annabelle and I had a little science lesson this morning while playing with Dumbo.

I am excited that I went ahead and ordered the collection of four patterns from Hansigurumi, which includes the dumbo octopus, octopus, squid, and cuttlefish.  These fun little patterns should keep me busy for quite a while! Goodness knows I have plenty of Cascade 220 in my stash.  And at only $6 a skein, I can certainly pick up any additional colors I might need.  So, kudos to Hansi!  These patterns are adorable and a lot of fun.  And I think I could even get used to all the seaming that is involved because the end result is well worth the effort.  Although, in the wee-hours of this morning, I found myself emailing and surfing patterns on Ravelry rather than finishing my last eyeball!  I am a mediocre finisher at best.  On a scale to 10 I'd give myself about a 5, and that's being generous.  In the future I might cheat and use black plastic safety eyes rather than knit the eyeballs.  Certainly, the knitted one's are the best, but I so stink at placement that I really work myself into a tizzy.  Who knows what I'll do... but I do know I've got three more patterns to figure it out on!

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Crystal  DATE: 03/10/2008 11:27:48 AM HE LOOKS WONDERFUL!! I LOOOUUURRVVEE HIM! haha.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Denise DATE: 03/10/2008 01:06:45 PM Goodness, you knit fast. I love all these toys you keep knitting. I can knit the toy, it's all the sewing together that never seems right to me, I'm kind of messy putting them all together and am never happy with the end result. I'll have to stick with wearable stuff for now ;-)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Leslie DATE: 03/10/2008 03:30:48 PM A very cute Dumbo! You need to get an aquarium for all the sea creatures on your list.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jennifer  DATE: 03/10/2008 11:10:57 PM Thanks guys! Denise, I'm right there with you. Seaming is tough stuff. Stick with your wearables! That cami rocks. :-)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: jenna  DATE: 03/11/2008 07:39:16 AM Adorable! I've only knit one toy, and it was SO fussy to seam together, but you're right---totally worth it! :)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jennifer DATE: 03/11/2008 12:02:11 PM Jenna--I went to your blog and searched for toy. There I found your adorable fox from Crafty Alien. Too cute! The end does justify the means, but it seems that you end up spending as much time putting the toy together as you did knitting it!