Another Knitty Nautie!

Say that five times fast! I finished up my Nautie. I've dubbed her, Julsey. What a fun, fast knit! I see many more of these in my future. I'm also thinking, couldn't this pattern be modified to make a snail? Hmmmm.... Great pattern, Beth!

More details on my blog.

Contest results

Kellie won the drawing for the stitch markers!

Kellie, drop me an email with your address and I'll send them out.

Sexy bobble Nautie

Hi, Here is sexy bobble Nautie looking for the ladies. OK, maybe I would add more bobbles to make them look less like little blue flowers next time. He's still pretty cute though (I think he'll do OK)... Took longer than I expected, luckily it was raining all weekend here in CT. More photos. Kellie

Contest

Ok folks, here is the prize:

A set of no-snag stitch markers! They are made of real shell, crystal, glass pearl, and bubble beads. They are very light, so they can be used on small needles and will fit on larger needles up to about a US 10.5.

TO ENTER:
1) Just post a reply to this topic before April 25th at noon, EST
2) You must be a member of this KAL (your name appears on the sidebar).
Feel free to join us before the contest deadline if your lurking!

I'll randomly select a winner Tuesday night.

more nautie goodness

this is my next nautie. i like the coil of my first one, but i thought i'd try something a little different. i've gone for more of a conical (?) shaped shell. it's great, but the yarn i'm using isn't as thick as the first one so there is some stuffing showing through. oh well

So far so good...

This is where I'm at with Nautie. I'm using Cascade Fixation. The face will be some solid color I have yet to determine. Needles are size 4s. I like the pattern well enough but... I think I should have used a thicker yarn for this project. I'm sure to make another so I'll have a chance to improve. Using cottonballs is cheap but I'm wondering about the washability of such a thing. My kids play the heck out of their toys so I know this little gal is gonna need a bath sooner or later.

Another angle:

Nautie in progress

Hello all, here is my nautie so far, he is being knit with some Malabrigo I had leftover so he is sooo soft and cozy. I love this pattern, it is a really fun project.

CONTEST!

Coming soon!
The first (and maybe only) nautie contest!

You must be a member of the KAL to play, so if your lurking and not, join this weekend!

okay...

Maybe i am just really tired..but i think i am messing up the nautie....i start it and it looks fine..i split the i cord and then start adding and growing my little nautie...i check it and it is showing purl stitches instead of knit after i start knitting in the round..
Can anyone help? I feel like a goof for asking because it's not like i havent ever knitted anything before...but HELP!!!!
thanks!

Nautie progress

Here's the one I've almost finished. The eyes are still missing. I'm supposed to have a bag of craft eyes lying around somewhere but I can't find it.



Here's my first experiment with a patterned shell. This is a chevron pattern with purl rows in between. Perhaps I should be using smaller needles with this yarn as the stuffing can be seen. My first finding in the pattern experimentation is that yarn-over increases are a big no-no as they leave holes through which you can see the stuffing. I'm using "make-one" increases instead.

I have some crappy pictures of Nautie on my blog

I finally started Nautie this weekend and got a few rows done at least. I was pretty busy, so I didn't get to do much. I posted some blurry pictures of the little guy on my blog. It's http://magicknits.blogspot.com

I liked how the yarn is creating a stripey pattern for the shell too. I'm pretty happy with that. Happy Nautie making!

stumpy baculite

This is one of the first nauties I made; I increased every row instead of every 4 rows. Christie reminded me of it when she said she was considering a baculite that increased every other row.

I think I started this one from the wide opening and decreased toward the point. I hadn't figured out the face yet, either, so it's a little lumpy. Yes, I eventually gave it eyes :)

Picking up stitches for the face is totally cool. Anything that eliminates a seam is awesome in my book.

Fun fact: I read that nautiloids in the Ordovician could have up to a hundred tentacles. Me, I get kinda bored with I-cord after 8 or so :)

From Gamma's House

This is what I have done, from knitting off-and-on at Gamma's the past couple days. I think I'm on the last of the 29 repeats-bit of the curliness. Don't remember. :p

So what should I name it? I'm sure some of you recognize the green and yellow yarns there...I thought perhaps Nautie needed it worse than the scarf did...

I knit so much Thursday that somehow, I lost feeling in the pad of my right ring finger :p. It's like just now coming back.

I had to finish

I couldn't leave my Nautie without a face.


Come on over to blog to read about Grandpa Nautie's Day Out!

I HATE I-CORD!

I hate i-cord. it just never turns out as neat as the rest of my knitting. It took forever to knit those tentacles!

Anyway, enough complaining

here's my first completed nautie -->
it isn't the best picture of him, but the ones with better angles, etc all have other projects in them.

i wanted bright colors and boy is he bright!

i'm going to start a more pastel-ish nautie for myself tonight.
this was just too much fun!

Binding off the shell

I'm binding off the shell now. I don't think I'll get to the body this weekend, so some of you may finish before me!

I was thinking that it would fun to dye some self striping Nautie yarn for the next Nautie. The thickness of the stripe would change as the stitch count increased, but it could still be neat. I'll post details if I do it.

Hi!

I'm a french knitter and I'm 19.
(Sorry if there is lots of mistakes, I hope my english isn't too bad)
I have been knitting since last autumn and I really like it!
I have a bachelor's degree in science so I knew and love Nautiles!
When I saw the Nautie pattern on Knitty, I knew I will knit lots of them.
Here is the beginning of my first Nautie. I will knit the face in blue yarn.

HELLO!

Hello!
Introductions first, I suppose.
I'm Megan. I'm 24 and have been knitting since last summer.
In order to support my knitting habit, I work as a substitute teacher while I volunteer at the local zoo as a docent.

I am a science geek at heart so Nautie was right down my alley. I saw it on Knitty and made a mad dash for my stash.

My first Nautie is in a pretty rainbow yarn with a bright blue face. He is almost finished (pictures tomorrow hopefully), all i need is the i-cord pieces. He is intended for the 3 week old baby of a fellow science geek who also happens to be an old friend. I can't wait to ship him to his new home and make one for myself!

I was surprised at how easy it was to coil once I got a hang of it. i wasn't quite sure where exactly to place my m1 and include the coiling stitch so half of this first one is twisting a bit while the other half seems to have straighter lines. I love experimenting with the patterns the first time around! (why is it so hard to actually stick to a pattern????) I'm also horrid at sewing and seaming so i picked up stitches for the face instead of making separate pieces. To my relief, it worked swimmingly!

I suppose that's it for now since it is waaaay past my bedtime.

Happy Knitting! Cheers!
Megan

veritas' dreams of the nautie

i now already have two requests for nauties, without even making one for Me yet!

step 1. in my plans is to get some stuffing. need that stuffing, right?
step 2. get some lovely, cheap and nasty acrylic.

step 3. hope to all that is holy my misaddressed knitting needles i got from ebay show up.

then it's time to nautie away.

big ones small ones ones as big as your head.

Progress

Here is progress on my Nautie:



Just a few more increases to go on the shell.

BTW, if you forget to bring your stuffing to knitting circle, cosmetic cotton balls from the pharmacy work fine!

Mango here!

Reporting for nautie! Hah, that's so much fun to say...*ahem*

Well then...hi, I'm Mango, young'n at 16.5 years on earth and six years on the needles. My Gamma taught me to knit, twice actually, and my favorite thing about my personal knittyness is that I am an ambi knitter. Yup, both "normal" styles with both hands. Hurrah! And I love knitting with DPNs. Love it. Apparently, this is kinda abnormal. Whatever. I've been a fan of Knitty since I stumbled upon it one boring summer...I think it might have been during the "Sex and the Knitty" issue, actually...how odd. I frequent the boards, well, lightly stalk them, under the same identity here and am easily recognized by my (stupid) blond kitty Spaz, featured in my avatar.

Oh yeah, and I'm a nerd. Big time. Was in Science Olympiad for three years, and will be giving one of these to my former Fossils coach. Have a couple of molds of these guys somewhere, I believe. Or was it a cast? I never get those two straight. Eh.

Will be starting the, oh...six little buggers I have planned tonight while at my Gamma's house. She's got some stash she wants to vacate the premesis...

Nautie ideas

Since the use of stitch patterns came up, I just wanted to point out some ammonites that may be interesting models. You geologists and paleo geeks know that ammonites and friends evolved some really crazy shell textures and shapes. I was thinking of these guys on my walk to work today and how I could perhaps make different shell textures in knitting.

Perhaps alternate purl and knit rows?

Don't forget the heteromorphic (partly curled) guys:



In the Cretaceous ammonites went nuts with external and internal shell development. Maybe as a defense from sea reptiles?





Bobbles?

Internet explorer users

Whoops, sorry IE users. I don't use IE usually and I just noticed the sidebar wasn't showing properly in IE. It should be OK now.

BTW, if you don't like your name/nickname I posted on the sidebar, drop me a comment or an email and I'll fix it.

Back to knitting my Nautie!

Aloha!!!

I finally figured out how to add the button! Yahoooo!
Now I need to begin my Nautie!
I have two nephews and one son of my very own and I am soooo excited to make them some stuffed animals that are fun like these...I just wanted to say hello to everyone!
Thanks for the hint about the pattern..I will get back in a few days and let you all know how they are coming along!
Aloha!
Rachel

Hello from Iceland

I'm Eyja and I haven't been much on the Knitty-boards so far, except for the occasional lurking. I'm a manic knitter, and while I rarely make stuffed animals, something about Nautie appeals to me. I'd love to try making a few versions of nauties experimenting with different pattern stitches and get rid of some of my yarn stash while I'm at it.

Hi everyone

Hello to all you nautie fans out there. When I saw that there was going to be a KAL for the ammonite pattern on knitty, I knew I had to join. I'm a geologist and I work for my state's geological survey. Paleo has always been my love. I've always been fascinated by dinosaurs, but my real love is moroccan fossils, especially ammonites, orthoceras, and the thousands of species of trilobites. I also have a passion for knitting. When I saw nautie, I knew I had to make some. Me and my coworker already have acrylic yarn sitting around the office, so on our breaks, we're going to knit up some of the cute little ammonites.

Thanks for letting me join. Can't wait to see how everyone's nauties turn out!

KnittingMagicGirl
http://magicknits.blogspot.com

errata

I've already heard about an error in the pattern! For the face, you should be decreasing three times each row, and the number of stitches between decreases will always get smaller. After 7 stitches you have 6, then 5, then 4, then 3, etc.

The error is that the "knit 5" and "knit 4" lines were duplicated, so it looks like your stitch count should go up. It shouldn't - just keep decreasing smoothly. I notified the editor; hopefully they'll correct it soon.

UPDATE: it's now fixed on the Knitty page.

Button!

We have a KAL button from LaBean! Thank you! He's over on the sidebar!

Hello, hello

I thought I'd say hi to everyone!

First, I'm Sherry, or lunastrixae on the Knittyboards. I've never hosted a KAL, so if you have any suggestions for the blog, corrections or want to make a button, please feel free!

Second, I love Nautie because for many years I was a part time educator, docent, and fossil preparator at a local natural history museum. Pretty much I helped clean and restore fossils, mostly from the Cretaceous, and spoke to kids and adults about geology, dinosaurs and cool dead things. The most recent project of mine was to help mount a fossil crocodile skeleton at my old university.

Third, I also grew up in Ithaca, the same place as the designer (Beth) of Nautie! Neat, huh?

Finally, I have a stash of worsted weight yarn bits, and I plan on starting my Nauties tomorrow. I'm sure once they are spotted by my museum pals, I'll be making tons of them.

Enough about me, what are your 'nautie' plans?

Welcome!

Welcome to the Nautie KAL! The blog for fans of knitted Ammonites and Baculites!