the Akamai Knitter

In an effort to busy myself while I rest my knee, I decided to take out my jewelry pliers and bend some wire. (Did that just rhyme?) I just started a subscription to this magazine and decided to try one of their projects. Here’s what I made.

It’s great getting back into the groove with the jewelry. I really missed my tools. The only thing I disliked about this project was making all those jump rings. That was really tedious. I don’t own a diamond saw so I use my flush cutters instead.  (I know this is probably all gibberish to those of you who don’t work wire. Bear with me.)

I did tweak the design a little bit by putting a jump ring around the s-hook. I think this will make the bracelet a little sturdier. Otherwise, the jump rings might slide right off the s-hooks.

I’ve been wearing it around the house and it’s very comfortable. It doesn’t snag on anything, not even the sweaters I’ve been wearing. We all know how important this is to us knitters. And yes, it’s been just a little chilly here at night. No teasing! ;-)

My knee is doing great. I plan on spinning up a 2 oz batt today. That should only take me about 45 minutes, so it won’t be very hard on the knee. If I start to experience any pain, I’ll stop. Cross your fingers, okay?

Finally, Blogless Michelle sent me a picture of the seahorse I made for her new baby with the new baby himself. Isn’t he sweet?

Happy Friday, everyone! Have a great weekend!

Much of my time this weekend was devoted to stealth knitting, but I did manage to finish a project that I can share.  It’s Chubby the Fish!

Chubby the Fish

Pattern: Chubby Fish (Ravelry link) by MyGurumi

Yarn: Red Heart Classic

Hook: E / 3.5mm

Started: November 11, 2008

Finished: December 21, 2008

Chubby the Fish!

This would have been a quick project if I hadn’t lost steam once I finished the body. But i did and it ended up taking over a month to finish.

I really love MyGurumi‘s patterns. Her signature eyes are really cute and very child friendly. The patterns themselves are well written and easy to follow.  I plan on making more of her fun creations.

I’d really like to make a companion seahorse in the same turquoise color, but I have obligatory knitting to do. Do you find that when you absolutely have to get a project done, you absolutely don’t feel like working on it? My inner rebel springs to the forefront when I have deadlines. So far I’ve been successful in beating it down, but it’s been quite a struggle!

Finally, I thought I’d share my second mini tree. My mom rescued this from her office before it hit the trash. The reason it looks so disreputable is that the boys (cats) think it’s their new toy. You don’t even want to know how my other tiny tree has been faring.

mini tree!

Happy Holidays, everyone! Please drive safely!

I had a birthday last month and I was blessed with many fibery treats from a couple of very good friends.

Not only did Megan give me some gorgeous French Angora to play with, but she also made me a very special Romney batt.

romney birthday batt

Then Jen gave me three different braids! That’s right! Three!

Gaia and Butterscotch

On the left there’s Rambouillet and on the right there’s Merino.  I’ve already thrown the third braid on the wheel. I forgot to take a picture of it while it was braided, so here it is in a ball.

mud pie

And here it is on the wheel.

mud pie single

I’m spinning it up into a 2-ply laceweight yarn. I’m thinking it might make a nice Honeybee Stole. We shall have to see how it looks once it’s plied.

All this fiber has really helped me get my spinning mojo back in gear, but I still found time to make another amigurumi toy.

she-devil cat

She came out looking a lot different than the original pattern due to the fact that I used different eyes. This was not by design, I just didn’t have the eyes called for in the pattern. So instead of a pure devil, I have a cat/devil type thing.

I also left out the mouth, because I just couldn’t figure out what would be an appropriate type of mouth. I think she looks fine without one, but what say you?

Finally, I want to thank everyone who expressed their concern over my silly statement in my last post. I’m going through a rough patch, but I’m more then positive it’ll pass. Especially with all the good friends I’ve made in the blogosphere. :))

Happy Friday, everyone! Have a fantabulous weekend!

My crochet hook has been busy whipping up even more amigurumi fun. The latest are two seahorses. Although I used the same hook size for both of them, the difference in yarn size produced one tiny seahorse and one large seahorse.

seahorses!

These were fun to make and a bit challenging. The body is made all at one go, then you have quite a few tiny bits to make and sew on. The designer uses her own stitch in certain spots so that took a bit of figuring out to do. It wasn’t hard, but it took my sleep deprived mind a few moments to wrap itself around it.

I think it’s also best that you’re familiar with reading a crochet pattern before doing this one. It’s not exactly cryptic, but it does border on it at times.  All in all, I wouldn’t recommend this pattern for a beginner. But that’s just my lone opinion. :)

I personally like the little guy on the right better. He just has a cuter face.*

lookie the cute face!

I also made miniature Lingering Garden pendants to be used for earrings.

Lingering Garden Pendant and Earring Set

I had a hard time with the first earring because the components were so much smaller. After much sweating and swearing,  I got it done. Thankfully the second earring went much smoother then the first.

Lingering Garden Earrings

They’re a lot lighter then they look. In fact, when I wore them I hardly noticed them at all. I’m really looking forward to making more.

Happy Friday and Happy Halloween everyone! Here’s a picture of the coastline down by Waimanalo for your viewing pleasure!

oahu coastline

*For more details check out my Ravelry project page, which I’ll update right after I post this.

So far it’s been a busy week, but not too busy for for pumpkins.

pumpkins!

Pattern: Amigurumi Pumpkin

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft (yes.. acrylic.)

Hook: Size E/3.5mm

Started: October 26, 2008

Finished: October 26, 2008

teeny tiny pumpkins

These were super fun and super fast to make. They’re only about an inch high and an inch wide. They’re the perfect instant gratification project for this time of year. They’ve been sent off to decorate my mother’s office.

These are going to have to be an indicator that fall is here, because here in Hawaii the signs of fall are subtle. Although we have had more rain and it has gotten slightly cooler, there’s not that much of a change in weather. Acornbud pretty much covers all the signs of the season change. Otherwise, you sure can’t tell when you first look out the window that autumn is here.

ko'olau range

Happy Wednesday everyone! Friday couldn’t come any sooner.