wool

Double octopus

| davinabehinjones

In honor of World Octopus Day, which is today, October eighth, I thought I’d share my latest octopus creations with you all.

This summer I had a double order for my needle felted octopuses; one blue-ringed and one two-spot. It was amazing getting this order. These two are some of my absolute favorite pieces to make.

It was, however, also intimidating.

I had never completed a needle felted octopus in only a single month before.

These projects are time-consuming and full of incredibly painstaking details. I often need to take breaks to ease the strain on my hands and wrists. And this time I had to make another one immediately after the first!

I wasn’t even certain I could do it. I was considering messaging my client to let them know I’d need more time to complete their order. But part of me wanted to challenge myself, just see what I could do. (They were not completed within a single month, by the way. It took two months, but that is still a record for me.)

The importance of hand stretches and exercises before and after working really hit home. I also gathered new aides to help keep my wrists and hands healthy: a wrist warmer/brace, a customized needle holder shaped to my own grip, and new and better thimbles.

These two look great together! (Move the slider to switch between the two octopuses.)

Every time I work on a piece of a kind that I’ve made before, I try my best to improve my technique and make it my very best effort. This time I paid extra attention to the shape of the mantels and how the siphon gets tucked up inside.

I also added extra textures (bumps) to the mantel of the blue-ringed octopus. All octopuses have the ability to make ridges and bumps all over their bodies, of course, but I had never attempted more than simple “horns” on the eyes on occasion. This time I wanted to give that extra dimension to this blue-ringed oddling.

Here’s a slide-show of the blue-ringed octopus. Just use the arrows to flip through the pics.

Another slide-show, this one of the two-spot octopus. You can see how many suckers went on each octopus.

I am so proud of these octopuses. I love how they turned out!

If you’d like to see some behind-the-scenes of how these two were made, head over to my Patreon page, Familiar Oddlings on Patreon, where you can join for only a dollar.

Thank you for reading!

Peacock Spider – Maratus elephans

Image | | davinabehinjones

Back in July 2019 (can we even fathom how long ago that was??) I took a vote from my patrons over at my Patreon page. It was decreed I’d needle felt a bowhead whale — AND a peacock spider. I made the bowhead a while back, but this guy has been languishing in my studio far too long. I am profoundly proud to finally announce his completion!

Peacock spider males are famous for their incredibly colorful abdomens, which some can unfurl like a banner for their mating dances.

He is a Maratus elephans specimen. Yes, the name is referencing the elephant-looking design on his flashy abdomen. The blue is sort of shaped like an elephant face with a trunk down the middle with ears off to the sides.

Photo of a maratus elephans from the website peacockspider.org (so many amazing photos!)

Real peacock spiders are tiny – some species are as small as 2.5 mm! My sculpture is about 135 mm long, or 5.5 inches.

He is needle felted wool over a thin wire armature. All his joints are easily articulated and even his display flaps can be folded down. His eyes are plastic hot glued in place.

The legs took hours and hours. There are so many, many, many legs.

↓ Move the slider to make him dance ↓

To get a peek behind the scenes of how I made this guy, join my PATREON!

You’ll also get other cool benefits, like a chance to win your own needle felted oddling and vote to decide on what I make next!

Head over to my PATREON page to become part of the team

https://www.patreon.com/familiaroddlings

Want to take this guy home with you? He’s available in my etsy shop: Needle felted Peacock Spider – Maratus elephans

Lorises don’t make good pets

| davinabehinjones
Needle felted wool on wire armature with plastic eyes.

Lorises are adorable little primates with huge soulful eyes. Their round furry faces have “sad” eyebrow markings. They have tiny hands with five fingers, just like a human baby. They even at times appear to be asking for a hug or a tickle.

But they are not.

Loris doesn’t want your hugs.
Loris in distress

YouTube videos of these sweet faced animals lifting their arms and bearing their armpits have gone viral. We want to sweep the little darlings up in a cuddle. But most people don’t know that these critters are venomous and the arm lifted pose is in fact a sign of distress. They lift their arms to lick their inner elbows, where a special gland secretes venom. Their next bite is serious business!

The venom is only one reason why keeping a loris as a pet is a bad idea. They are taken illegally from their natural habitats in destructive ways, their teeth are removed in painful and often lethal procedures, and they are kept in small crowded cages. The stress of bright lights and transportation often kills them. And even if they survive the process of becoming a pet, once in human care, they are almost certainly malnourished. A diet of insects and tree gum is hard for humans to cater. Neither are they suited to human schedules – they are nocturnal and need solid chunks of sleep during the day. They also have complex social lives and need a mysterious combination of space and companionship that science is only just now starting to unravel.

If all those reasons aren’t enough, consider the fact that the pet trade is threatening the wild population of these animals.

I know what you’re thinking.

But they are so cute!

I know, I know.

We want to cuddle one, just one!

I hear you.

What if I told you there was a way to cuddle a loris and keep it in your home without harming it while ALSO helping lorises in the wild?

Watch my video below to find out how:

 

Lorises need to be free.

Please visit The Little Fireface Project to learn more about these amazing denizens of the forest and how to help them.

Help a loris.
Thank you!

Bentley the dog

| davinabehinjones

My aunt has an adorable Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Bentley. Last time I visited her house, I was struck by his silky charm and started needle felting a portrait of him, but somehow the project got interrupted and the piece languished in my bedroom for over two years.

Now, here he is completed! And just in time for my aunt’s birthday as a gift from my mother.

He is made from needle felted wool over pipe cleaner. His eyes are plastic. He is only about 4 inches long and 3 inches tall.

My aunt called my mother after she received him in the mail to tell us she loves her miniature Bentley.