Thursday, August 30, 2007

cris the critter

I always have such good intentions for keeping trains of thought going and connecting one thing to another on the blog... oh, well. I'm easily distracted, I guess. So here we are, just a few weeks behind schedule, with the latest installment of Felted Animals that You Didn't Imagine You Might Want to Knit, But They're Kind of Cute So What the Heck?

Please meet Cris.

cris2

She is a felted & stuffed version of Condyluria cristata, the star-nosed mole. Please note that she has exactly 22 tentacles around her nose and 5 claws on each foot, just like her real-life cousins in the wild (I-cords are a mole's best friend). Read all about the amazing world of star-nosed moles here.

For those of you who find moles kind of icky (I know not everyone gets as geeked on wildlife as I do), I hope that you don't find Cris too freaky. She is a sweet and snuggly little mole, but she's the terror of earthworms and other underground wigglies. If you're a grub, you better watch out. Those tentacles can grab 14 grubs per second. Felted grubs, I mean (should I make some felted grubs for her?).

Poor Cris has been sitting around my house for weeks waiting to be stuffed and sewn shut. I don't know what it is about a needle & thread that can make me procrastinate for so long. I can pick up the knitting needles 1,000 times to start a new project before I'll pick up the needle & thread to finish one.

I'm glad she's finished though. Cris's body is made from Lamb's Pride worsted, which makes her very fuzzy and soft. Her nose, claws and tail are made from Cascade 220. She fits nicely into the palm of your hand or a large pocket, and would make an excellent good-luck charm while spelunking, digging holes, or exploring an underground steam tunnel. Hopefully I'll get to take her on an underground adventure some time soon!

Our next animal for felting will be selected by Les, who had his birthday yesterday. If he picks a cute animal that other people might want to knit & felt too, perhaps I'll publish the pattern. But as for Cris... if you really want to knit a star-nosed mole, I'd be glad to write up the pattern and put it on the blog - she was not very hard. But somehow I am not expecting a clamor... we'll see. It would be fun to see a rash of stuffed star-nosed moles all over the internets!

cris3
off to find a wiggly treat

22 comments:

  1. brilliant, seriously brilliant... the star nosed mole is so stinking crazy looking, I love this!

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  2. Oh. My. God.

    Love. Love. LOVE. LOVE. LOOOOVE (Why can't I get the font to grow on these damn comments!)

    free pattern, please???

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  3. that is great! i have the same needle/thread thing... i have to force myself to sew buttons onto a project before casting on another.

    i love the icord tentacles... awesome!

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  4. Too CUTE!! I love it! :)

    I HEART Cris!!! Pattern pretty Please? :)

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  5. Gorgeous. Write up the patttern ASAP. Polly

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  6. Your little mole is so cute! I love the tail!

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  7. Yay for the mole! Awesome!
    This is so exciting... ok so I'm stuck between a Flying Squirrel and A Neuse River Waterdog. Oh, this is so tough!

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  8. of COURSE you should make her some felted grubs to eat ... and while I can't see myself making one I do think that she's seriously cute!

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  9. Chris didn't scare me like the photograph of the "real" one you wrote about awhile back! You are so talented!

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  10. I'm sure there are a few 'live' ones running around my yard...

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  11. Cris is so cute! Right now I prefer the stuffed version to the real-life one. ;) 14 grubs per second???? That's a little scary.

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  12. that is probably the sweetest thing I've ever run across on the internet! ummmm, yes! it is!

    grubs - yes, make some grubs. you probably make cute grubs, too.

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  13. The mole is fanastic! I love his little pink nose and fluffy looking body!!

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  14. I know my husband will go nuts over this! It's fabulous. Oh, and I loved your moth nursery pictures too.

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  15. Cris is so adorable. I'll be watching for the pattern. And I agree, (cute) grubs would be adorable.

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  16. I don't know what's cuter, her butt or her tentacl-ed nosie!! :)

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  17. Love it! There must be a lot of grubs out there to even encounter 14/sec. My daughter's favorite knit toy so far is Nautie from Knitty. I think Cris would make a good companion.

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  18. Cute! It's funny, i had a dream the other night that someone had something grow on their finger that looked like this moles mouth/nose. bizarre yes but i AM pregnant. :)

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  19. how did i miss
    saying this
    is the cutest
    thing ever!?!
    you amaze me!

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  20. this is absolutely incredible!! so cute, snuggly, and, well... star-nosed. :) i completely and utterly love it. you are a genius!
    xoxo

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