Blue

I finished my hat for my friend!  It was a Navi hat!  I really like the way that the yarn I dyed worked out.  The hat ended up looking kind of pixel-y which worked really well since Navi is from a video game and all.  Anyways, here he is with his brother as Link at Comic-Con:

 

Here are some more images where you can see the hat a bit better.  I used some thin wire to hold the wings up, which worked quite well.

I recently got an itty bitty crochet hook and some embroidery yarn and tried my hand at making an little octopus!  It is super cute!  It made my hands hurt a lot to use the little hook, but it was worth it!  And then I turned it into a key chain!  Woo!

Also, I finally started to make Jake the Dog for my sister!  Hopefully I will finish it within the next two weeks.

Work Slowness

Both yesterday and today the program I use at work has been down.  This has resulted in me getting paid to knit, read books, and drink tea.  It's a pretty good deal.  Anyways, I figured since I had so much free time, I could post about my at-work project.  I basically just started this project because I wanted to try out a new stitch.  I found this one in a book I got from the library.  My current plans are to turn it into a tubular cowl that will wrap around twice.  I have a long way to go.



Knitting, book, and appropriate mug of tea!



Yarn Science!

A friend of mine requested that I make him a hat.  One of the specifications was that it go from blue to white.  So I took this as a great opportunity (and excuse!) to try some yarn dying science!! 
I got the beginner yarn dye kit from KnitPicks as well as some nice white wool and then I set up a lab in my kitchen and got to work!  I first separated some yarn out into 6 equal pieces and then loosely tied them together.  The thought was that I would pull out the sections at different times, and then the ones in the dye the longest would be the darkest.  I first soaked the yarn, made a dye bath, and then started to dye. 
This method worked out terribly.
The yarn in the dye pot got all tangled up and everything basically ended up being the same shade of blue except the one I pulled out after about 1 minute. You can see the results below.

Soak that yarn!

Now soak it in dye!

ermmmmm....

oh boy....

Ok, so I needed a new method to create a gradient from blue to white.  Luckily there is this thing called the internet and it showed me a different way to achieve my goal.  Method 2 involved rolling the yarn up into a ball, not soaking it in water, and then just sticking it straight into the dye.  So the idea is that the color gradually soaks up into the middle of the ball.
This method was much more successful as you can see!

After soaking for about 5 minutes

Yay!

There is actually a gradient!  It is still not quite what I wanted since it is a bit splotchy.  But this hat has a due date that is coming up rather quickly so it will do!

I am currently working on three projects right now as well as this hat.  I am still working on my 2nd Finn the Human, I am making (yet another) octopus, and I am knitting up a cowl at work during breaks.  But I have been finding myself rather busy this summer, so progress on all three of these projects is slow.
More post when I have finished them!

Balls

Narwhal complete!  I had originally planned for my narwhal to be a little longer and thinner, but it wasn't until I was about halfway down the tail that I realized that he was going to be pretty short and fat.  I didn't want to pull out my work, so I went with it.  I showed the finished body to my boyfriend, and he ended up dubbing it a "Narball", which was very appropriate!  (I also hummed this very appropriately themed song all week while I was making this).  Ultimately, the narball ended up being quite cute, even if his body is a little out of the ordinary.

I also made another Katamari!  I finished it in about a day!  Weekends are awesome!

La laaaaaa

la la la la la la la

Katamari Damacy

doo doo doo!

Song!

Look out! It's a Kraken!!!

Though, I have to say, this is probably the least threatening kraken I have ever seen. I mean,come on, look at how adorable it is!

Dawwwwww!

^__________^

So cute!

 My narwhal project (which is also very cute of course) is almost complete!  I just have to add it's horn and then I will post pictures!

Finished Octopus Hat

I figured it was about time to post pictures of the finished octopus hat since I actually finished it about two weeks ago.  I apparent had a brain fart when decreasing the top of the hat because it ended up way pointer than I wanted it to.  Fortunately, I was able to turn this around by folding the top down and securing it with a button (one of the many new buttons I recently obtained).  The button I picked fits the hat perfectly and I am kind of glad I goofed up, because I quite like the look of it.

 

I am currently working on two projects.  One is a stuffed Kraken (progress shown below).  The other is another Finn the Human, which I will be slowly making during my 15 minute breaks at work.  Speaking of work, my first two weeks have been good and I have found that I still have a decent amount of time for knitting in the evenings, which is very nice!

New Job and New Projects

I'm starting my new "real world" job this next Monday.  This has positives and negatives to it:
Positive: More money = more yarn.
Negative:  Less time to actually knit
So, there may be a decrease in the number of projects finished per month now. :(

Speaking of projects, I am currently super into octopi!  I keep making little stuffed octopi...

 

Woo!

And am finishing up my intarsia octopus hat (I am not looking forward to sewing in all the loose ends O.o).  After that I have plans to make a stuffed Narwhal, and then perhaps a Kraken from the same book I got the stuffed octopus pattern from.  Stay tuned!