octagonal optometry

As it turns out, I have another blog post in me for this year.  Another final one, before the year 2022 is finished, and before I leave you all, my lovely readers, to your own devices, and to perhaps catch up on my many a blog posts that you may have missed over the last 4 years. 

Oh my, I have just had to check, and I have been writing my regular, monthly blog posts since 2019.  Whilst we are getting sentimental, please indulge me.  I have been writing my blog posts since 2014, which means that 8 years have passed since I started writing blog posts about my crochet endeavours.

I have to say, 8 seems to be a significant number for this post.  The title is a little telling as to its crochet content, or at least for me, now that I know.  The letter is also a perfect occasional if a little coincidental occurrence. 

This month’s blog is about Octopi. 

Crochet octopuses family galore, to be precise.  And, you guessed it, there is eight of them. 

Their origin story starts with my work.  Someone asked me to help them make a baby octopus following a youtube video, that they have seen online.  Well, of course I agreed.  I have been spreading crochet and getting some really good feedback.  It has been my mission to share what I know about how crochet helps mental health and wellbeing and I feel I have been finally able to share this more and more at my current place of work.  I am connecting my two passions, my passion for mental health and my passion for crochet, and not just in my personal journey.

This seems to be another good reason to stop now.  I have been enjoying writing and sharing my crochet stories for at least 3.5 out of these last years, at the same time looking for a little more.  And in the last year, as those avid readers may have noticed, my posts have become less detailed and less philosophical, simpler, more about only the item and its story. 

And as much as I have still enjoyed sharing my creations with you all, I do feel I have not had the proper time to dedicate in recent months, neither have I had the resources left to market them on my social media. 

It is time to say goodbye – at least for now.

I am pleased to be able to complete the year with only a few missed months in 2022.  I am absolutely delighted to say that I still have at least three projects on my hook at any one point, and that crochet, even if less frequently, will always be a part of my life. 

You are welcome to visit and follow my SOCIAL MEDIA pages HERE, HERE, HERE and YouTube HERE, to keep up with my antics.  Alternatively, visit my Ravelry store HERE.

Feel free to comment and get in touch, but please be patient with me.  I will get back to you as soon as I am able.

68 blog posts later, I am ready to take a little brake from writing.

But I digress.

Octopi!

I would prefer them to be spelled Octo-pie, as a sweet little nickname.  So, back to the story of these little beauties.  Someone asked me to help them make one.  We did.  I absolutely loved it, it was done so quickly and they came out so cute.  Not only that, but as you can see in the YouTube Video below, there is an option for the mama!  Ooming and aaarhing about colours, material, etc, I have left it a while.  Then I found the pattern online again, and found the MAMA pattern on Etsy and bought it, they are just too darn cute not to make!

CROCHET PATTERNS : Olivia & Paige the Octopus Moms and Their – Etsy UK

Originally, I wanted to keep them.  Make them for us, grown group of friends, as a representation of our family of friends we created.  That did not motivate me too much, because, we are, after all, grown people who no longer play with toys… 

And THEN

I remembered I make toys for kids also.  And that I have three beautiful little people in my life who I have not only made toys before, but whose birthdays happened to be coming up and I happened to have a trip planned to see them.  And that, now that really motivated me!  My eldest niece saying a while back: “Aunty crochets things for me” still melts my heart when I remember my sister telling me. 

It made me happy. 

It is how I want to be classified.  It is how I want to be remembered.  It is how I want to be thought of and connected with crochet, as I always think of my nan when I see a crochet doily.  I still have a bunch of hers, that I will always treasure, and it will always make me feel close to her.  Especially now that I will not make new memories with her, the memories I have are all the more important.  And so are new memories I am able to create with my nieces.  So that statement made my heart sing and dance.  

So I cooked up the new presents idea, and a family of octopi was born:

Originally I wanted to go out with a bang in the form of the long awaited fourth rainbow blanket introduction.  However, I find it quite poignant that my last blog post of 2022, of the 4 years of intense crocheting and crafting and creation shared with you, is about families.  Mamas and babies and a teenage octopus, made as my gift to the new generation of our family.  

And with that, I’ll see you around!

THANK YOU for reading!

and

THANK YOU for all the support over the years!

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2 Responses to octagonal optometry

  1. Ian Chadwick says:

    You’re the best. It may be your last blog post, for now, and it’s great to focus on new challenges. The joy everyone gets from your crochet, each project somehow embodies your beautiful soul, is appreciated and loved by us all, as are you.

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