anna knits - octopus tea cozy 2

I finished my second Octopus Tea Cozy today! This was a custom order for someone who saw my first cozy on Instagram. Again, I knitted a large cozy for a six-cup tea pot (which is why it looks a bit awkward on my 2-cup tea pot!). I made the octopus first, then the tea cozy, then sewed the octopus on as if it was a pom-pom, and then embellished the bottom of the cozy with crocheted seaweed. This time I only put pipe cleaners in the first two tentacles of the octopus rather than in all eight legs. It helped with attaching the octopus, and looks a little cleaner (I think).

You can read about the patterns I used for the octopus, tea cozy, and seaweed here.
You can read (and watch a video) about how I assembled the octopus here.

Interested in ordering your own Octopus Tea Cozy? Email me for details: annaknitsetc@gmail.com. Please allow six weeks for completion.

anna knits - knit octopus 2 + grafting

Pre-assembly octopus:

Post-assembly octopus:

It's my second knit octopus! Like my first, this guy is also going on top of a sea inspired tea cozy for a custom order. 

If you look closely, you may notice that I attached the head to the body/legs a little differently this time. Instead of hastily sewing the two pieces together, I actually read the pattern's directions, and grafted the head to the body as to make the two seams invisible. In other words, I took the first stitch row (before the end row) of the head and attached it to the first stitch row (before the end row) of the body, allowing the end rows to fold inside. 

Ok, so it is a kind of hard to explain. For that, I posted a video on Instagram showing my process. Let me know if you have any further questions!

anna knits - knit octopus 2

I am in the midst of knitting another pink/green octopus. I hope to finish this weekend, and will follow up with more images.

In the meantime, check out this awesome video about octopus camouflage. I didn't know they were masters of disguise!

anna knits - octopus tea cosy

At the beginning of the summer I was asked to make an ocean inspired tea cosy. Well, it took me the entire summer, but I've finally finished! Enter the octopus tea cosy; modeled after a design on Ravelry by the user Cephalopot. It fits a large, six-cup tea pot.

For the octopus, I used this pattern by Hansi Singh via Ravelry. While the pattern calls for worsted weight yarn, I opted for Kambgarn sport / 5 ply yarn in Rosebloom and Glacier Green, which I had bought in Iceland (read about my trip here!) with size US2 double pointed needles. This of course made the octopus smaller and more delicate, which I liked. You can see more pictures of the octopus, including execution pictures, here.

For the tea cosy itself, I used this pattern by the blog Cast On Cast Off. It is a modified ribbed pattern, which I thought kind of mimicked an ocean rock. I knit it with Cascade 220 Heathers in Dark Charcoal, color no. 4002, which has a nice color variation going on, making it look more earthy, or rock-like in this case.

I then embellished the tea cosy with a seaweed design made using tambour crochet. You can learn how to tambour crochet here. I used a left over green yarn that I had gotten second-hand, so I don't know its specs.

While this project took me a while, it was a lot of fun to knit. I like knitting amigurumi (see my pug, bulldog, tea cup), and the tea cosy itself was quick and easy. Tea cosies are great because you are encouraged to be creative. I'm currently brainstorming ideas for my next tea cosy, so let me know if you have a fun idea!

anna knits - amigurumi octopus

The process:

Read about the knit pug here.

Last week I gave you a sneak peek of my amigurumi octopus. I had some time this weekend to put all the pieces together (it took longer than you'd think) and voila! Here he is.

I used this Octopus pattern by Hansi Singh via Ravelry. It is a great pattern, with detailed pictures to supplement the instructions. It is worth the $6. Instead of worsted weight yarn, I used sport / 5 ply yarn - specifically Kambgarn  in rosebloom and glacier green - with size US2 double pointed needles. This way, the octopus came out a little smaller and more delicate. The only downside was I was unable to double up the pipe-cleaners which fill the legs, making it less moveable.

I am planning to attach the octopus to a large tea cosy I am knitting; something I first saw on Ravelry. I'm not sure it will work out exactly as I envision it, but I'm optimistic!

anna knits - amigurumi sneak peek

Sneak peek of my latest amigurumi:

I just have to assemble all the pieces, and then I have a special surprise for this guy. Stay tuned!

Learn about the Icelandic yarn I used for the project here. 

anna crochets - tea cup pincushion

Finished my tea cup pincushion! I don't have any pins to put in it, but it is cute to look at.

I used leftover Rowan Cashsoft Yarn from my knit pug project with a 3.75mm hook. 

Here are the pieces before I sewed it all together:

The pattern is a free download from Lion Brand Yarn which you can find via Ravelry here. I was lucky to find a series of youtube videos explaining how to make this project. Here is the first video:

And here is part 2, part 3, and part 4. 

crochet, etc. - tea cup pincushion

I found this free pattern for a Tea Cup Pincushion from Lion Brand Yarn via Ravelry, and I am excited to give it a try.

The only amigurumi, which is a japanese term for a crocheted or knitted stuffed toy, I've ever made was this knitted pug, which I was very happy with.