The Liverpool MakeFest 2016

Last Saturday was The Liverpool MakeFest and the grand assembly of Octo The Moody Octopus!

It was a wonderful day! There was so much for families to get involved with all over the Library on every floor from arts & crafts to cosplay to robotics!



We where at the back on the ground floor but still clearly visible. It was a long day but a fulfilling one; we had people stopping by who could knit & crochet who wanted to add a few rows on to a leg. We had people with craft related questions, people with mental health awareness related question. People who just wanted to know what was going on & people who just wanted to congratulate us on our efforts & how fabulous it looked.



He really does look fabulous.



He even took part in the cosplay-ing! 



As well as Octo we had embroidered bookmarks hidden around the library for people to find just as a little mood pick me ups!

We where also inviting people to make them with us & Tish from Pretty Twisted had brilliant animal badges for children to make.



Octo is currently residing at Liverpool Central Library & is going on display THIS WEEK - I will let everyone know when you can go see him.

I was sent this photo from the staff on Friday, he seems to be having a wonderful time there!



I worked out a few sums about Octo;

We ended up with 74 pieces on his legs - for now.

That is the equivalent to nearly a year & a half of knitting or crochet.

Or 518 days.

2,072 rows.

62,160 stitches

That is not including his head!

I have been emotionally overwhelmed by this project so below is the mushy thank you's!

I want to thank my team for volunteering their time to help me at The MakeFest.

My Mum especially for going to my flat to pick up forgotten items!

My Sister for travelling up from London to help.

Tish Toglet for keeping the children entertained.

My best friend Michelle for the beautiful bookmarks.

Vicky from Vix The Zebra for her beautiful bookmarks.

The MakeFest team for another fantastic event.

Hobo Kiosk for accepting all my post.

The Royal Mail postman who double checked all pieces where received.

Every single one of you that emailed, posted on social media, called, offered help, wrote letters & especially those that contributed pieces.

If you contributed a piece & DID NOT  put a return address on the envelope can you PLEASE email me an address at enquiries@girlonpurlaction.co.uk 

Its not for returning pieces.

The Moody Octopus Project; The Night Before

Tomorrow is The MakeFest.

It's the final day for submitting Moody Octopus pieces as it is assembly day.

I had a goal in mind for how long I wanted each leg & I have just gone for it in the advance sewing up! 

I wanted 96 pieces in total which would be 12 pieces per leg. Realistically we are going for 8 pieces per leg which means I have 6.5 legs!

Expecting more tomorrow too!



Am I worried? 

No.

Does it matter if we make that target?

No.

The response I have gotten from this project has been outstanding. I have learnt a lot about myself through running this project & I hope you have too.

I have had such wonderful emails/letters/posts of encouragement, luck & personal reasons of why people are getting with this project.

I've had international & domestic pieces going into these legs so I hope you find the head suitable!

Its a 42" striped beach ball - special thanks to the boyfriend for blowing it up - with cream crochet over the top so the colours show through just a touch. Was a huge undertaking in itself with a total of 5 balls of yarn used by crocheting on a 10mm hook with the wool doubled.

An yes, I did crochet plate sized eyes! 

The support pack from Time To Change has arrived, my helpers are ready to go & the next blog post I will be posting (I am crazy busy this week!) will be post MakeFest but do not worry there will be A LOT of photographs.

I'll be updating my Instagram, Twitter & Facebook accounts on the day if you want to see Octo (he has a name finally!) in advance! 

Follow the hastag's #moodyoctopus & #girlonpurl

I want to wish everyone who has donated time & effort to this project!

Sincerely, it started out as something I needed to do for this event but it has grown into so much more...

If you posted an Octo piece & DID NOT put a return address on the envelop can you please email me a postal address at:

enquiries@girlonpurlaction.co.uk 

Do not worry, I am not sending the pieces back but I do need it for personal reasons.

Speak soon!

A very happy Gemma xx

Macramé, horror knitting & branching out!

Hello crafters!

First of all I want to thank everyone who has gotten on board with The Moody Octopus project so far! If you haven't started yet then don't worry! There's still plenty of time to get involved!

I've set up a Facebook event for it here!

You don't need to attend on the day, pieces are welcome to be posted in advance! You can find the address here!

I'm thrilled to be doing this project in conjunction with The Liverpool Mental Health Consortium, Time To Change Campaign, Up For Arts and The MakeFest!

The Octopus now has a home at Liverpool Central Library after the day of the MakeFest so if you are local & cant make the day you can still view him afterwards!

Special thanks to The Merseyside Etsy Team for blogging about him too!

I am accepting suggestions for a name...keep referring to it as male. Take from that what you will!

In other news I finally have my couch! Only ordered it 7 weeks ago so finally feel like we can settle properly in our new home & no more living like students out of the bedroom!

Not my living room but my new couch!

I’ve also branched out...I’m now in comics! Well, not strictly speaking, but I am working in conjunction with two lovely chaps on a Kickstarter campaign for a graphic novel which has received rave reviews! I'm making some merchandise for them as one of the Kickstarter rewards; it is an adult comic & it is horror based so you have been warned! The artist Macro 'Sbrillo' Fontanili designed my latest logo & the knitting hedgehog.

It’s been 16 months of hard work for them both so I really hope it does well. If you like any of the old slasher films you’ll love it. I like Kickstarter as a format too; getting a product, just the same as you would via any other method of purchasing but you are directly funding a bit of someone’s dream.

It’s really gotten me in the mood for Halloween though! You can expect a big range from me this year, I have actually started planning...think I have about 30 patterns drafted.

New skill moment! I have taught myself macramé! Totally addictive...takes a while to get your head around all the knots but so worth it!

Due to popular demand I'm announcing new workshop dates over the weekend so keep your eyes peeled!

The Moody Octopus Q&A

Over the past week I have an enormously positive response to The Moody Octopus Project!

I would like a minimum of 100 pieces, this would make each leg around 1.5 metres long! If you are joining us & taking part let me know so I can say Hi, thanks & have a rough estimate of how many people are involved so far.

I have also had a lot of questions which is my bad for lacking clear explanation, so I thought I'd post them here:

* If you are knitting your pieces it does not matter if you use garter stitch or stockinette stitch as long as it is on 4mm needles. Personally I have used stockinette stitch.

* It does have to be double crochet (dc in UK terminology) or single crochet (sc in USA terminology) in crochet pieces for equal sizing purposes.

* Please weave in your ends - we wont have the time with sewing all the pieces together to sew in all the ends. Sorry I know its a pain!

* You can interpret the colour chart for your own moods no problem! Sad to say but only you will know what piece is yours once the Octopus is completed.

* I cannot return pieces once they have been submitted. Its just not fess-able due to the anonymity of the project.

* I cannot provide yarn.

* If you want to do the project for more than one week that is fine & you do not need to cast off after 7 days.

* Postal deadline is Friday 24th June

* Hand delivered deadline is the 25th June but you will need to deliver them to Girl On Purl Action table at The MakeFest at Liverpool Central Library

* I cannot collect pieces personally or cover postage costs. 

* Project Updates*

The Moody Octopus is now being supported by:

Click here...

Click here for more info...

Drop off points for those local to Liverpool:

9 Bridgewater StreetLiverpoolL1 0AR

The Crosby Tea Rooms185A College RoadCrosby L23 3AT

Don't forget if you want to you can share your Moody Octopus pieces on-line using:

#TheMoodyOctopus

If you want to get involved with this project then welcome on-board! 
You can read the original blog post here!

This project is open to everyone, everywhere!