FO: nigel, the nautilus

 

finally, nigel is complete!  

he now has over twice as the tentacles, a shorter head, a tighter curl and the additional triangle flap that rests over his eyes, giving him a devious look at certain angles!  this was a very fun and easy project.  the only reason it took so long to complete was a balled up schedule. however, he got my client's squeeze of approval tonight and i am very pleased!

 watch out!  nigel is giving you "the eye"!

WIP: nautie-alien!

still working on this one.

i followed the pattern, however, my "client" has requested a few changes:  a smaller head, a tighter curl, many more tentacles and big eyes on the sides.


if you take a look at the real deal, his suggestions are very good.

he should know!  the nautilus has long been near the top of his "favorite animal" list!

WIP: noah-keet

the "client" gave me feedback tonight and so far he likes the shape of first one on the left. i personally would like to add stripes, but since i am going for cute-cute, i might just keep it super simple.

i'll just save the back-of-the-head stripes for my own personal 'keet!

_____________________________________________

noah looks like this dilute blue budgie.

Research Friday: Dopamine

ever get to the end of a row and feel that little "kick" of accomplishment and then, go on to do another row--

--EVEN THOUGH IT IS 1:20 AM ON A WORK NIGHT AND YOU ARE SO TIRED YOU CAN HARDLY FOCUS ANYMORE? yeah. me, too.

it occurred to me that just as some folk love video gaming (and by "loving" it, i mean craving it and unable to stop once they start), i am loving stitch-wrangling.

science says:

"Dopamine is commonly associated with the reward system of the brain, providing feelings of enjoyment and reinforcement to motivate a person proactively to perform certain activities." wikipedia

"A number of studies have revealed that game playing triggers dopamine release in the brain, a finding that makes sense, given the instrumental role that dopamine plays in how the brain handles both reward and exploration." discover magazine

"Pain specialist Monica Baird explains that the action of knitting actually changes brain chemistry, decreasing stress hormones and increasing feel-good serotonin and dopamine." press release log

i wonder if i am "under the influence of crochet" when i look at the wiki entries and think how cute a serotonin and dopamine amigurumi would look?

First Forays into Stranded Knitting

trying out stranded colourwork by doing continental style knitting with the green yarn and english with the blue! actually, it is not hard at all. i watched eunny's demo and just had at it.

to keep my eye focused on one line of the pattern grid at a time, i cut a skinny window in a 3x5 note card and slide it down as i go . "crimson and clover" is the name of this pattern and i found it in vogue knitting stitchionary 3.

next time, i will try steeking to see how that works. :)

----

also on the needles:

i accidentally cut a hole in some of my yarn while struggling to sew my nautie's head on his shell. argh. i'll need to tear out about 2 inches and re-knit, but i am really quite close to finishing him. (he has lots of tickly tentacles!)

i am also working on an amigurumi version of noah, our parakeet. unfortunately, the pattern i bought offline has not worked out to my satisfaction so far. i will need to tweak it--tweak it good!

i also learned how to do the tubular cast-on required by the fingerless glove pattern i mentioned a few posts ago. i used this video by interweave. i think i will start them tonight!

...

$1 yarn!

using "you never know what you might need for amigurumi" as an excuse, i picked up some gala yarn tonight at our local biglots store!

little 50 gram skeins in three different twisty colours. i got one of each for the acrylic stash. texture-wise, it's actually a soft little yarn. yay for closeouts!

so...what to do next...

i checked vogue knitting's stitchionary 2 book out from the library a few days ago and my cable-lust is through the roof! i went through and tagged a few things i would love to attempt as "dishcloth practice". but...one of my fans has quietly pleaded that i return to crocheting amigurumi ASAP. alas, dishcloths and scarves do not impress everyone--even if they have amazing cables.

i would normally jump to fulfill this particular fan's request, however, i still have a sprained wrist from the car accident i mentioned a few posts ago. i have worn a brace on it all week, but it is barely improving. knitting doesn't hurt much, but boy, crocheting snakey-style certainly does.

truth be told, i crochet all wrong. i add this funky wrist twist that no one demonstrating on youtube seems to include and i am certain any of my elder masters would warn me to STOP IT NOW. the constant twisting is simply asking for repetitive motion injury. this might actually be the perfect time to re-learn my stitch motion, since i will be heartily punished with a stab of pain each and every time i fell back to the snakey-style twist.

i have also considered trying knitting amigurumi. there is an awesome little pattern out there i would love to make:

the nautie by beth skwarecki

this pattern demands i learn how to use double-pointed needles and make i-cord, both new skills for me. it may be the perfect "transitional" project while my wrist is recovering. i will consider it...