the Akamai Knitter

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.

Has it seriously been over a week since I updated? Talk about losing blogging mojo. The main contributing factor has been another Fibromyalgia flare up, but we won’t touch that subject because it’s boring and stupid and it makes me cranky.  Another thing that has caused this lapse is my decided lack in accomplishing anything of significance, but on Monday that changed.

noro socks

Pattern: my own, for details see Ravelry

Yarn: Noro Sock – Color No. 185 Pumpkin (yeah. it says pumpkin)

Needles: Size US1 / 2.25mm

Started: September 12, 2008

Finished: October 20, 2008

noro sock detail

It’s such a relief to have these socks behind me. The battles were epic. Well. Maybe not, but it sure felt like it. I’m telling you now, stay away from this yarn. There are knots. There are weak spots. This is a migraine in a ball.

The sad thing about this yarn is that the colors really rock. If only they could dye up a better base yarn,  I’d be in sock heaven.

Now I just need to get my ass in gear and mail them off. Did I mention that I’m an infamous procrastinator of posting packages?

I think it’s time to pet the cat.

pet the sammy.

Happy Wednesday everyone! I’m off to bend wire to my will.

This month I took a couple of classes from Janice Berkebile, a teacher from Seattle, at The Bead Gallery. The first class was called Acorn Caps and we made bead caps.

This is the bead I worked on in class.

aquamarine acorn cap pendant

And this is the pendant I worked on over the weekend.

freshwater pearl acorn cap pendant

I think I’m going to antique the pearl. I’ll be sure to take an after shot of the pendant if I do!

The second class was called Lingering Garden and we made another pendant.

lingering garden with purple pearl

I think this is my favorite of the two classes. I love the Asian influence in the piece. I plan on making matching earrings.

There is something so satisfying in bending and hammering wire to my will. I’m not really sure how to describe it, but I do enjoy feeling like a mini-blacksmith with my little hammer and my little anvil. Chris knows that which I speak of. ;-)

Don’t worry though, I haven’t completely abandoned my fiber. I just haven’t got much to show for my efforts as of late. It seems dividing my time between hobbies means I get less done each week.

Happy Tuesday everyone! Thanks for reading!

In one of my last posts, I showed you all a picture of Summer Meadows.

bad bad photo

I didn’t notice until later how off the color was. So I’m reposting pictures of the same yarn to give you all a more accurate rendering of how it looks.

Summer Meadows

What was I thinking? The first picture is nowhere near what the yarn looks like. I blame it on sleep deprivation. Yeah. That’s my story. I’m sticking to it.

Moving on.

I finished plying Thermograph.

Thermograph by Spunky Eclectic

It’s another 3ply fingering weight yarn. I received it through the Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club, meaning I did not pick this out myself.

So. Not. Me.

Luckily, I have a pretty good idea as to who will give it a good home. So it’s all good.

I’m still beading my little heart out. (Ha!) And because I’m so inarticulate today, here’s a sampling of what I’ve been doing.

heart earrings

bell flowers

artsy shot of heart bracelet

There are more here and they’ll most likely end up in my Etsy shop sometime this weekend. Speaking of weekends, maybe I’ll recover from this incoherent lapse by Monday.  Once again, I blame the sleep deprivation. :)

Happy Friday everyone! Thanks for reading!