Yes, at long last, Cthulhu is complete! I stitched the last beads on early this afternoon, clipped all the stray threads, and basked in the afterglow of the largest, most involved project I've ever done. Just look at that malevolent glare!
All those beads! He's surprisingly heavy now -- I'd estimate he has at least 50 grams of seed beads stitched down to his body.
His back is only lightly embellished, and good thing, too. The closer I got to his head, the harder it was to manipulate the needle, and I managed to snap another one! His dorsal ridge is accented with the same bugle beads that outline the veins of his wings.
I'm really proud of myself for completing this. Yes, I had to scale back from my original plan, and yes, there are some goofs, and yes, I may go back someday and add more beads, but... I beaded Cthulhu! And completed him on time! And only lost 1d100 sanity points in the process.
Cthulhu is so very close to done... Just his right leg and his back left to do! I might even finish him over the weekend.
For his leg, I did concentric rings of beads around a Czech pressed glass bead with a spiral pattern. I used those same pressed glass spirals to accent the wing tips, then outlined the veins of the wings with bugle beads. I also put bugle beads on his toes, so they weren't beadless.
It's a nice feeling to have my goal in sight at long last!
I've been pushing Cthulhu's tentacles out of the way so that I can work on his belly. I decided to make things more interesting by doing a free-form branchy design, like some sort of bizarre kelp washed up on the shore of Ryleh. I'll probably fill it in with more of the opaque green that's become the main color on his body, assuming I can get my hands on a tube or two at the Best Bead Show this weekend.
While I was editing this photo, I realized that I haven't yet taken a shot that shows his completed arms (they're sort of hidden in tentacle-shadows here), so I'll make sure to include them in the next Cthulhu update.
After last night's wild party to celebrate HP Lovecraft's 119th birthday, I found Cthulhu passed out on the dining room table. This gave me a good chance to take a photo of the work I've been doing on the top of his head. When he woke up, he was feeling a little light-headed, so I gave him a hand up, and snapped a shot of the beads on the back of his head. Even though I'd turned the flash off, he was still irritated and threatened to eat my soul, but we both know he didn't really mean it.
After reaching the end of the thread I was using to work on the top of Cthulhu's head, I decided I should really put some more work into his face, even though it's difficult and annoying. I actually made a bit of progress before reaching the end of that thread as well, and can probably do the rest of the face in one go, if I'm feeling particularly patient. I need to push onward, as there are only 5 weeks left until the retreat, and a whole lot of Cthulhu left in need of beads.
By the way, if you are a fan of Cthulhu, even when he's not covered in beads, you should probably check out the Indie Squid Kid blog, where they're having Cthulhu week!
Why is Cthulhu giving us the evil eye? Is it because he objects to being called cute? Perhaps he's offended by the fact that he's being covered in beads? Maybe he's annoyed that I stuck my needle into his hand. Most likely, he just can't help it.
The eyes probably are the most evil part about this project. If you're not familiar with this style of eye, it's a hemisphere with a shank in the back, held in place by a sort of pronged washer sort of deal. This means that the cloth around the eye had metal or plastic under it instead of plush, which makes it very difficult to anchor the needle to stitch the beads down.
Another problem I encountered while working on Cthulhu is that the thread I was using was too fine and kept breaking, so I had to force a thicker thread through the tiny eye of the needle I'm using. But at least I haven't broken any more needles -- yet.
Cthulhu's face is mostly covered in lime green colorlined size 11 seed beads leftover from a past BFAC kit. I considered using the pink-lined lime beads leftover from this year's BFAC kit, but two things stopped me: I hate them and I hate them. Ok, maybe that's just one thing.
I'm filling the rest of the face in with the size 15 beads from the first step, as they're smaller and easier to use in the tight spaces leftover in his face. Also, I got bored of using the same color. I think there will be more variety on the rest of his head and body.
Here he is, in all his plush glory, Cthulhu! And he's sporting beads upon his brow.
Why is Cthulhu being adorned with beads? Because he's (hopefully) going to be my entry in the Ugly Beaded Project contest at the Tahoe Mountain Bead Retreat in October.
When I first heard about the contest, I started thinking. While it's perfectly acceptable to submit something you already have lying around the house, I've only completed one truly ugly necklace (being a perfectionist, I'm quick to stop making something ugly, rather than trying to salvage it), and I have no idea where it was. Besides, it was ugly in a rather unspectacular way.
I didn't want to miss out on the competition, but I also didn't want to make an ugly necklace on purpose -- what a waste of time and materials, since I'd never wear it! But then I thought back to a project I've wanted to do for years -- a fully-beaded plush Cthulhu. Though the plushie itself is pretty cute, Cthulhu is a pretty ugly dude, and while he probably won't be ugly enough to win any sort of prize, he'll be something I'll be happy to have around my house long after the Retreat is over.
So far I've just stitched some matte metallic iris size 15s along his brow line. I tried to continue that down to the eye, but after breaking one needle and bending another, I decided that seam was too tough to sew beads into. Now I'm trying to decide how I want to bead the rest of the head, and what beads I want to use. Definitely lots of greens!
Well, let's see... I've barely seen the sun all week. Apparently it's been pretty hot and humid out, but I've been inside until evening every day. The evenings themselves have been very pleasant, and last night there was a huge storm while I was sleeping (I'm a light sleeper, so I woke up a couple of times to the sound of rain against the window, highlighted by the rumble of thunder and the flash of lightning). The haze in the sky is a uniform grey, like a fuzzy blanket stretching from horizon to horizon. There's none of the depth and darkness of the monsoon clouds that are probably even now gathering over the mountains in my home city of Tucson.
All waxing poetic about the weather aside, last night I tried yoga for the first time. It was a pretty interesting experience and left me feeling loosened up and even a little tingly. This afternoon I have just a little ache in my abs and back, not too different from what I have the day after a good session of dancing. I don't know if yoga is something that I'll take up, but it's always nice to try something new.
My beads remain packed up, I'll probably break them out tomorrow when I return to my MIL's place. I think we'll have a little time until she gets home, and her kitchen table is always a good work spot for me, thanks to a nice overhead light. I think next time JoAnn's has a 50% off coupon, I'll go buy myself one of those super-compact Ott travel lights for occasions like this. At this rate I doubt I'll get to all half-dozen projects that I packed, but I never really expected to anyway.
My next post will be from the exciting land of Long Island.
I know I haven't shared any Cool Things lately, so here's an awesome one that Chris and I found this week. Check out the Elder Gods necklace by somk, and then be sure to browse the rest of her gallery. She has the most awesome Lovecraftian jewelry ever, as well as some equally awesome Celtic, Norse, and fantasy jewelry. We're hoping to save up and get ourselves Cthulhu wedding rings, maybe as a 10th anniversary present. Ia Fhtagn!
Yes, at long last, Cthulhu is complete! I stitched the last beads on early this afternoon, clipped all the stray threads, and basked in the afterglow of the largest, most involved project I've ever done. Just look at that malevolent glare!
All those beads! He's surprisingly heavy now -- I'd estimate he has at least 50 grams of seed beads stitched down to his body.
His back is only lightly embellished, and good thing, too. The closer I got to his head, the harder it was to manipulate the needle, and I managed to snap another one! His dorsal ridge is accented with the same bugle beads that outline the veins of his wings.
