sock porn for knitting voyeurs.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Fainting in coils.

nautietentacles

You say cthulhu.
I say the fisherman's wife ain't got nothing on me.
(Especially after this weekend with my favorite tentacle wielding toy ;))


nautie1
Nautie from Knitty Spring 2006
Started: August 5, 2006
Finished: August 7, 2006
Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, Mist - Fog - Pumpkin
US 6 dpns, 4

Anne is to blame for midnite nauti-ness. This was too fun to knit... no mods except for the dpn size, wool, and stripes every 4 rows instead of every row. I did try it every row and it was just a huge mess. Every 4 rows was a good pace for me-- row 1: change color & coil shell, row 2: stuff, row 3: knit, row 4: m1.

Oh! And I picked up and knit the "head" on the inside edge of the shell instead of knitting it seperately and sewing it on.

I have a bunch of all colors left over, even this is a big toy. I'd guess I have enough for 2 more nauties... I'm glad I bought all of those random balls of WOTA just for quick obsessive knits like this (and lending them out to friends who want to learn to knit! Once an enabler, always an enabler...)

nautieswirl

The coiling wasn't perfect, but hey! Its a kids toy. (At least in this house.)

I love knitty. Every issue should have one sock pattern from Cookie and one toy, and I'd be happy. :) (Isn't it awful amy must hear stuff like this from the 376,894,097 people who read knitty? It'd drive me to drink. Or leave the house.)

nautie2

Another side pic.

I tried being all cute and hang it in the trees for pics, but its a little windy and nautie is a spinna at heart (while i'm a speakerhumper, made in heaven!)... only good pics of one side. So I took a small movie of the spin (Hosted HERE) with my digicam, uploaded it to the 1st site that popped up when I googled "avi hosting," and there you go. I dig the idea of knitting in motion :)

Reminds me I need to get my hands in motion for Jerry & Maxy's knitting in motion contest...

***

Nautie was actually a little diversion from my latest obsession, black wool thigh high stockings on black wood needles...

stock

These are the pair inspired by the Vintage Knitalong hosted by purrl... They're actually going very quickly. I have one foot and a few leg repeats on one, and started the second. I wanted to knit them both at the same time to be able to keep the size/increases the same, but really wanted to knit them in the round (I've been on a dpn kick lately)... so this is my compromise.

I'm super happy with the henry's attic lightweight yarn I dyed, its very soft. I'm knitting this at a looser gauge than I'd normally choose for this yarn (US 1.5-- 2.5mm, it is almost too holey for me at 8 sts/inch), but it makes for a really soft sock. I'm not as worried about wear with these, can't see wearing them enough to wear them out. I'm feeling a bit reticent to knit another tight gauge sock right now too, the toddler Wyvern was koigu on US 0's and is like iron, and not in a good way. So I'm avoiding and praying feet don't grow for a few weeks while I finish these :)

I used black & lilac acid dyes, and its *just* a bit interesting in tonal variation-- but I don't think you'd see it unless you look (or have a great eye!!)

Phew. One more thing! :) When I was winding the yarn for these (I split an 8 oz hank in half), I took a pic of my favorite DIY knitting "thing..."

diy

My "swift"-- toddler high chair back :) Actually works really well, the regular chair depth is too deep for me, but this was one of those serendipity discoveries that just makes me grin. The unexpected, super good things are always the best... at least they have been lately :)

What's *your* favorite do it yourself knitting thing?



confidential to indigo anon-ner: do i know you? my email's @ the bottom of this page if you want to drop me a line.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

hahahaha!! that naughtie is WAY cute! i did the same thing with the head—picked up stitches instead of sewing.

i LOVE, love, love that blackish purple yarn for the thigh hi's, and i DID notice the color variation both today and the other day. i am a huge fan of super-subtle color variations. (that's what i love so much about my endless night cashmere).

Dave said...

Cute naughtie, and great MacGyvering on that swift!!

Chrissy said...

That is super cool! It would be a great cat toy (that's what I'd make it for anyway).

lexa said...

Cool naughtie! I've never knit any toys, maybe I should start!

Black stockings are looking good! I hope to have my rpms done tomorrow sometime. Should be on my blog Wednesday at the latest! I love 'em! (Depending on how warm it is Sept 23 they may go see the Stones!)

adrienne said...

Loving the black socks!!!!!
I can't wait to see how they turn out :)

Elspeth said...

I love your swift! Ours lasted through 2 kids until we needed another chair and bought a real high chair. Sure works better than my glider, which the yarn gets stuck on!

Jennifer said...

I love your Nautie! Aren't they so fun to make?

Jerry & Maxy said...

Thank you thank you thank you for linking to my contest. My hit count has really risen. Now let's hope for more than 2 entries :).

Jerry & Maxy said...

ps - I LOVE YOUR NAUTIE! It truly makes me want to knit one! And your knee highs are smokin'!

soapy said...

Great Nautie! Love that black yarn and that swift cracks me up.. I have one just like it! Don't use it any more but it's a great replacement!

Acornbud said...

What a cute little knit. I love your nautie! Great colors, too.
Pretty clever swift idea, too!

Karen said...

Naughtie is so cute. Thigh Highs, are you a crazy woman? And here I think 6" is a long enough leg, I just couldn't imagine.

Anonymous said...

nautie is sweet. i'm totally adding it to my list of toys that i want to make but probably never will. or the list of toys i'll start and never finish. ah well.

Stacey said...

nautie is great! I love cookie's patterns - I will get around to making one of them these days! The stockings are coming along fast - you are brave using black needles and black yarn!

Anonymous said...

A Cthulhu Nautie- I love it!

Melissa said...

Love the toddler chair swift! :)
The naughtie is too cute. Layla would love one of those. The black yarn is gorgeous!

Rhonda the Stitchingnut said...

Oh that is a nautie but nice report on sudden toy madness. Cute ... I think I know someone I could knit that for!

Wow, long black stockings? But will you have the ambition to knit the 2nd one when you're done with the 1st?
I'm impressed!

Suzie said...

I love your Nautie!!! BTW, I just finished my first pair of RPMs! I'll have them on my blog tomorrow!!! Thanks for such a great pattern.

Wendy Merganser said...

Wait. Do you mean to say that the way to wind yarn is not to hold the skein in one hand while winding with the other and watch it get more and more hopelessly tangled until you end up staying up until 4 am trying to sort it all out? Because that's the way I've been doing it....

Wonderful naughtie! I'm inspired by all that coiling goodness.

April said...

i need to get me a chair like that, it would probably be a lot cheaper than a swift.

i *love* the socks.

Alyson said...

Look at me, I've a sharp eye!

You are hauling some serious ass on those stockings - I bow to you.

My favorite cheat is the ol' dental floss threader/bead threader trick. Before, it was the standby: the boyfriend-as-yarn-swift. (He didn't care for that cheat, as it made him look very "not butch" to stand there holding out yarn - and it somehow always happened that I wanted him to do that in public, with some really offensive unmanly yarn, like fuschia-and-lavender silk.)

Zonda said...

What a cute nautie!! Love it! Thanks for the hint, so you don't have to sew it on. Your sock is looking great! :)

Sherry W said...

Nauties rule and yours is cute!
Did you see the Nautie KAL I hosted? You may want to look at the other cuties everyone made.

My favorite DIY thing are DPN point protectors made from elastic and rubber 'caps', like Stitchkeepers, but cheap. I wrote upa tutorial before I moved and never posted it. I guess I should finish that up!

monica said...

Love the naughtie. My kids were so happy when I got a swift, they wouldn't have to hold the yarn anymore. A lampshade loosened up works pretty well too.

Birdsong said...

Didn't you just love making this? I made one back in June and kept me entertained the whole way... I'm with you on the toy patterns being in every issue. Thigh stockings are coming along just fab.

Bridget said...

not only do you knit great socks but it's fun there are always the little references I get excited about, now it's the cthulhu (lovecraft scard me so much as a kid - the only writer to do so!). Can't wait to see how the thigh highs turn out.

Jenny Raye said...

First--are you insane!?!?! Black yarn and black needles!!

Second--hey, I have one of those toddler chairs! Thanks for the swift idea.

Third--my cheapy/free knit idea. Hmmm. I had Mr Fix-it get a long 2x4 and place two nail 36 inches apart. I use it to wind yarn of unknown length into hanks of known length. The nails have heads, so I have to make sure that I wind loosely. Should find some finishing nails to replace the ones I'm using.

Karen said...

That is so cute! I made a bunny once and had a lot of fun with it. I want to make that dinosaur one of these days just because it's so cute.

b1-66er said...

not all the world loves knitting ... this from a company that bronzes baby shoes ...

"Only $34.95 for bronzing any pair of baby shoes up to 6" long (no knitted booties please)."

Anonymous said...

Your nautie turned out terrific! (and so fast--you're shaming me into getting back to mine)

I can't believe how much progress you're making on your stockings, great work!

Anonymous said...

cute nautie!

My fave DIY knitting trick is to use those little foam net sleeves from around Asian pears and peaches and such as a yarn bra. Works like a charm when I've got something that wants badly to become a tangle.

Chris said...

Very cute Nautie! Indeed, it definitely reminds me of Cthulu. :)

Hmm, favorite DIY knitting thing... Ok, I have this great bag from Walgreens that holds all my notions - it's actually a makeup bag, but for under $10 is way better for notions than most of the dedicated notions bags I've seen for a lot more money.

Carola said...

Your cthulhu/nautie is so beautiful! I tried to tackle this pattern but didn't get the instructions, how embarrassing. I have to try again because your result is fabulous.

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