Hello there! I finally got round to taking some photos of the snake I crocheted Angus for his birthday. Here he is in all his garish, rainbow-striped glory.
He was completed at 11.30 pm the night before Angus's birthday - nothing like cutting it fine! I wish I'd had another week so that I could have made him longer. He measures 83 cm from nose to tail, which is fine, but a little longer would've made him more snakey.
I call him Mr Snake. Angus wanted to name him "Angus". My children display a staggering lack of imagination in the naming of their toys. We have many bears called "bear" and rabbits called "bunny" and our dolls go by the names of "pink baby", "blue baby", "big baby" and the like. Actually, "Mr Snake" isn't all that creative now I come to think of it...
As you can see, he has a few, err, imperfections, which I like to think add to his overall charm. This project was a detour from my crochet comfort zone of granny squares and it challenged me with crocheting into the stitch, increasing and decreasing, and working in the round. I don't think his tail should be quite so bumpy - something clearly went awry there!
I used an acrylic yarn that I got free with this book. It is not nice to work with, squeaky and inclined to split - honestly, if you were trying to learn to crochet with that yarn I wouldn't blame anyone who gave up. But it was free and sitting there needing to be used and I'm loathe to go out and by more yarn for a little project when I have a pile of it sitting there. Also, a toy for a four year old which will be dragged around the house and garden and go in the washing machine and dryer needs to be robust. Now was not the time to get precious about which particular blend of cashmerino yarn to use, much as I might have wanted to.
The pattern is from Baby Crochet by Lois Daykin. I fell in love with this snake when I saw it here on Elizabeth's blog Mrs Thomasina Tittlemouse about a year ago. Sadly, the book now appear to be out of print, but Elizabeth very kindly offered to photocopy and send me the pattern so that I could still make the snake. Thank you so much Elizabeth. The kindness and generosity that exists within the blogging community never ceases to delight me.
And most importantly, Angus like Mr Snake very much, which is all that counts.
So nice!
ReplyDeleteI think his tail makes him look like a rattle snake so that explains the bumpy tail. My little boy is equally unimaginative about naming his rabbit he has called it his name too x
ReplyDeletehe is lovely....x
ReplyDeleteHe looks fab, I'm sure he'll be much appreciated. They're quite fun to photograph aren't they!
ReplyDeleteWell, I think he looks great. He's bright and cheerful. His head reminds me a little bit of ET, actually. My kids don't have great naming skills either; my son always called everything what it was: his stuffed elephant that he sleeps with at night is called, simply, Elephant. My daughter names her dolls after family members; we have "Baby Daddy," "Baby Mommy," and "Baby Grandma." Thinking about it now, I'm not sure if she realizes we have actual first names.
ReplyDeletePerfection is not needed in home made hand made stuff I think Gillian, it's the fact that it's made with sheer love and the delight of giving and having Angus appreciate it :o) It's such a pity about the yarn that CK uses, I would of thought she might have chosen a decent, non squeeky and splitty acrylic at least! Never mind, he's a great Mr. Snake who will be loved for years I am sure x Penny
ReplyDeleteLove him, he's so fun and stripy!
ReplyDeleteI was always very detailed with doll names, they all had middle names and surnames too!
http://ahandfulofhope.blogspot.co.uk/
I literally love Mr Snake!
ReplyDeleteMy boys have always thought up bizarre names for toys and pets. Skarloey the cat is a case in point. Sam had a teddy that he called Mr Charlie Chester, which was a bit of an eye opener as he was only three at the time...
Leanne xx
I'm sure Mr A Snake will be cherished for a very long time, he is made with love after all.
ReplyDeleteI thought his tail looked very rattlesnakeish?!
Lisa x
He is so cute and colorful! I'm sure Angus is having lots of fun with him!
ReplyDeleteLovely Mr.Hiss you've got! ;-)
ReplyDeleteLove Mr snake, he's gorgeous! My kids are not very imaginative when naming their toys either, usually its their best friends names! xx
ReplyDeleteWell done, it looks great!!
ReplyDeleteOh wow mr snake is fab! x
ReplyDeleteEvery home should have one! :) x
ReplyDeleteYou made me laugh, my children are totally unimaginative with names too and we have lots of rabbit, monkey and bear toys. The dolls are all called baby! Love your snake x
ReplyDeleteLove him! The colours are great especially the eye popping blue eyes xo
ReplyDeleteMy daughter either didn't name them or stuck with the name on the box! Mr Snake is great and full of character. x
ReplyDeleteMr Snake is wonderful! I love how colourful he is. I chuckled about your kids and naming their toys! My wee one actually names everything including the tv, table car etc as well as all her toys!
ReplyDeleteM x
Oh he is a very snakey snake, love it and as usual wish I could crochet, Jo xx
ReplyDeleteHe's lovely and looks perfect to me!
ReplyDeleteYes, same here on naming toys - KP's elephant is Ellie and her pink pig is Piggy. Her favourite cuddly toy is a red and white panda which was mine and was named as Nicola by me and the name has stuck - so none of us very original. Wish I could crochet - the bump in the tail, just adds more character, like Slinky Malinki.
ReplyDeleteJune
He's great Gillian. Imperfections are not a big thing, they add to his charm and we would never finish anything if we deliberated over every little thing. Well done.
ReplyDeleteLove Mr Snake, especially the tail, to me he looks like possible rattlesnake material with that kink in his tail. My brother and sister were equally rubbish with pet names, we had Blackie the cat, Tanny the (tan) calf and the teddies were Whitey bear and Bluey bear. Never forget when I got all smarty pants and said well that pink bear must be pinky bear to which my four year old sister took a tone of great huffety-ness and said no, that is FAIRY bear ( in a tone indicating what a complete moron I was)! mel x
ReplyDeleteMr Snake is great! One day I too will learn to crochet.
ReplyDeleteMr Snake is awesome!!! You did a great job.
ReplyDeleteMr Snake is ssssuper! Well done you! He looks sssssplendid! E x
ReplyDeleteI like Mr. Snake!!! Well done Gillian ;D
ReplyDeleteFabuloussssssss
ReplyDeleteHe's great! You're clever! My children too lack imagination when it comes to naming things...
ReplyDeleteHi There, So cute and the nicest I've seen!!! Love the colors!!! Have a great week!!!
ReplyDeleteLove
AMarie
Fab snake!!! Love him and I am sure he will dragged around the house with joy!! You had me giggling about the names yours have for their toys. Mine are equally as creative!! Xo
ReplyDeleteWhat a brill pressie- so colourful- a very 'Snazzy' snake:)
ReplyDeleteHello, I enjoy reading through your article. I like to write a
ReplyDeletelittle comment to support you.
my webpage: benefits of coenzyme q10
Oh he's a lovely colourful snake. Sarah x
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of snakes (even the word makes me queasy) but I think I could cuddle that one!
ReplyDeleteWow!!! So impressive! I love the lumpy bit... looks like he's had a spot of lunch!!
ReplyDeleteMr Snake is fabulous Gillian! Bet Angus adores him. Mel x
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteMr Snake is fab! And I really love his name... simple, direct and to the point. He is what he is! x :)Hazel
ReplyDeleteWonderful. I was just the same when naming my toys, I still have Pinky and Growly, so named becuase they're pink and growl. I haven't attempted any crochet such as this yet, you've done a fabulous job.
ReplyDeletehe's lovely, is he a rattle snake! I'm just imagining a rattle in that tail there! Heather x
ReplyDeleteI'm in love with Mr Snake! Having found out this afternoon that I'm going to be a Nursery Class Teacher from September I'll be on the lookout for all sorts of colourful knitted things for my classroom! He's fantastic, thank you so much for sharing him with us.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words about Ofsted. We now have the local authority EYFS Moderators in tomorrow to look at all the children's profiles and records. It's full on - thank goodness for half terms! I did find my camera and the voice has returned although I'm now suffering with my sinuses. Double thank goodness for half terms! x
Ooh, he's handsome! I imagine Angus thinks he's perfect so why worry about perfect stitching, as you say. Not that I'd noticed any imperfections, just the lump in his tail, which I'm hoping means he hasn't swallowed some small creature whole!
ReplyDelete