fishie’s aquarium

I love this hat. It’s Odessa by Grumperina and it’s genius. I cast on Saturday night, finished it Sunday evening. Yarn is Debbie Bliss Pure Silk; I used the needles specified in the pattern.

This was my first time knitting with beads, and I think it turned out wonderfully. I also have a bunch of yarn leftover (see last picture) but I don’t think it’s enough to really do anything with.

My only complaints are the yarn I used was a pain in the bum to wind up (it kept slipping and tangling) and there were thick spots that look noily in the hat, and the size 6 DPNs at the end were pretty fiddly.

The issues I have are completely trivial though, and are 100% due to the yarn. There are very few patterns that I feel compelled to knit again after I’ve finished them, but this one is going to be knit over and over. The stitch pattern was amazing and I’m thinking of making a slinky Odessa-dress.

So I had subtly mentioned in an earlier post, I have been making octopus themed items for a swap. My partner has officially received, and I am officially posting.

I had a hard time not keeping these to myself.

First Crochet Project Ever: Octopus Beanie. I used the Boy Beanie Pattern from the Happy Hooker for the main body of the hat, and did the octopus embellishment free-hand with no idea of what I was doing. Came out pretty well, eh?

Second Beading Project Ever: Octopus Earrings

A little of trial and error was needed to figure out the tentacles, but I figured them out pretty well. I only needed two of the bigger beads for this project, but I could only buy the beads in sets of 14. So I figure I’ll make 6 more pairs of these and try and sell them. Hrm?

First Stenciling Project Ever: Octopus Shirt

Wheeeee!

This was a pain in the ass to get started, but it ended up not that bad! The stencil is in four pieces, with two layers, and was cut into a giant piece of tagboard. I mixed some fabric medium into normal acrylic paint, and HOPEFULLY it will hold. I still have the stencil, so I’m going to make another one for myself :3 Stenciling is cool and all, but the tagboard only seems like it will take so much more paint before it dies. Next stop: silk screening

I got a lot of knitting done on my California Trip, bought a lot of yarn, etc. But as I said, later.

I’ve been doing a lot of swapping. I’m finishing up my third swap on Craftster and SPLJ4 is coming to a close. I’ve been getting a lot more crafting done than usual, partially because I’m obligated to make things. The problem with this is, I don’t have as much time to make things for myself, and I can’t post the things I’m making because they have to be, like, secret.

Things like this:

Dragonfly Stitch marker

Lily Hot-Pad

Ginkgo Pasties (They were awesome, trust me, but I lost all my pictures of them when my computer died)

And another thing I made that I don’t have pictures on this computer right now of.

It’s a little frustrating to be so productive and not being able to say anything about it.

ARRGGG

So no more swaps for a while. I’m going to make things for myself. And/or to sell. $$$