October Challenge - Finish THAT Turtle

In my recent blog post when I came around to carding with felt, I alluded to having some (or many) crafting items that are still considered work in progress (or WIP). One such item, for which I have no excuse, was a little amigurumi turtle that I started in June 2009. Yea - I have many projects where I am ashamed to state out loud when I started something ;)

I was showing a friend how to crochet, which included learning how to read a pattern and following the instructions. He decided on an amigurumi pattern due to its bite-size nature (in comparison to a blanket which takes forever), 3-D aspect, and its complexity (which included learning how to sew parts together). So I crocheted one with him to show him how to get started. Half a turtle shell later, he went home and started on his crochet frenzy. I showed my friend in total one turtle shell, and one leg. So for the longest time, Todd, the non-existing turtle that I had already named, comprised of one shell, one leg, and a partially finished head! Kinda macabre...no?

So when Kathy gave us our October Challenge to try to finish THAT project, the guilt immediately wafted up from the box of unfinished crocheted items. Todd was whimpering from the bottom of the box. The most challenging part was finding the right pattern. Back then I didn't bother printing the pattern out, since I was going to finish it in two evenings. Or so was the plan.



In case you wanted to see the seams, here is Todd's underside:



One year, four months later, I finished three more legs, a tail, and prided myself in sticking the safety eyes together with the project - so I had them at hand. If I had misplaced then, I would have sewed him some cute button eyes on...



While I sewed on his last limb, it occurred to me that Todd didn't have a home. But then I remembered that one of my other dear friends has a mom that loves turtles of all kind. Big, small, breakable display only, huggable and squeezable stuffed animals - you name it. She has a collection. And since I had the pleasure of meeting her this summer, I am going to send Todd across the Big Pond to join the already established turtle home.

Now, Todd, be good and remember to say "Guten Tag, Ich heiße Todd und möchte gerne hier wohnen." (Hi, my name is Todd and I would like to live here.)