CrochetSal's

As stated in my February 7th post, I DID work on that special project.

I first looked up images of a mandrake root. For those who do not know, the mandrake is an actual plant. The root is shaped like the human form, which is why long ago, people believed it had magical powers. And yes, they actually DID believe if you pulled a mandrake out of the earth, its cries would kill you. Anyway, the pictures ranged from photos of the real root, to some anatomically correct mandrake sketches. And a few 'cutesy' ones. Cake, clay...
I spent a day or two debating. Real root, cutesy root. Cutesy root won out this time.
The result, front and back (I love the cheeks--both sets!)

He (she???) stands about 10 1/2" tall, not including the leaves growing out the top of his head. What is hard to see in the picture is his nose: it does protrude, about halfway down the cheeks. I think I may take out his eyes and re-do them, they seem a little high up for my liking.

Now, for my sad news. My favourite G hook, purchased from Ron at Fancy Kitty, broke. My fault. I was trying to pull a stitch out a little to loosen it so my hook would fit through, and the hook snapped off. I was heartbroken. Not to mention frantic. How was I to finish? My hook broke! Then, I remembered the store-bought hooks sitting and collecting dust, and managed to find a G hook to finish the arms, which by then were all that was left.
Guess this means I must go in search of another hook. I have an F hook from Ron, another G hook as well, but the G has the tiniest grain where it catches my yarn. Oh, and forgot, an H hook from Fancy Kitty that I had bought for my sister in law for Christmas...it's still sitting here! And an H hook from (I believe it was) from art-in-crafts at eBay. My latest hook was a hook made from countertop material, a Graydog hook. But no good G hooks. I tell you, these handcrafted ones have spoiled me.

And...some good news. For someone! It's been awhile since I've had a contest. So, I will have a 'Name the Mandrake' contest. Boy name, girl name...unisex name...doesn't matter. Just fill out the email form below, before February 21. I'll then pick out a few names that I like and have a vote. The top winner will receive two free patterns of his/her choice, and two runners up will receive one free pattern of their choosing. Winners will be announced March 1st, and will be emailed privately, so please make sure your email address is valid.