Flexagons and Puzzle Balls

The boys and I made Flextangles. They're kind of a little bit like those cootie catchers we all made in grade school, but a lot more impressive. After I found them on Pinterest I made one as a trial run, then Leif made one. When Quinn made his, he decided to use the four sets of diamonds to illustrate a story. Have I mentioned that I'm amazed by my sons?

These little things are absolutely fascinating. It's a folded paper tube that thinks its a kaleidoscope! Which, of course, makes me wonder if I could translate it into fabric. I can imagine how the diamonds would fit together, but I'm not sure if interfacing would make it too stiff or not stiff enough...or what if I used fusible web and left the paper inside?

I clicked over to Pinterest and did a search for puzzle balls to see if someone else had already figured it out. I found tutorials for the traditional Amish puzzle ball...and then I found this...



The book is Amamani Puzzle Balls by Dedri Uys and I don't have a copy of my own yet, but I've got it in my shopping cart to add to my next Amazon order. I still don't know how to crochet, but this is the sort of thing that's going to motivate me to learn.

There is AN OCTOPUS! (And the pattern is free on Ravelry.)  And there's AN OCTOPUS MADE FROM FABRIC!!!  I might be getting a bit giddy at this point, but these are so cute I can barely stand it.

I'm linking up to WFMW.