Happy Easter/Spring

Isn't this cute?
So is this!

Mini Reversible Bunny Duck by Spud and Chloe free pattern available at www.spudandchloe.com/blog

Yarn: From my stash. The yellow and orange are Encore, the white is an unknown which hopefully will not felt. I had it stored with my acrylics if that means anything. I tried felting a piece and I couldn't do it.

I couldn't resist making this adorable toy.

Rylea's Shower

The shower for my expected great grand daughter, Rylea, was held last week. What fun!!! My daughter made this "cake" from diapers, washcloths, leggings, and anything else you can imagine.

And, of course, I had been knitting!

This is Arabesque from the pattern book, Baby 'V', by Cabin Fever. The sweater was a fun knit with short row shaping for the neck and a mock cable, easy to remember pattern, if you can count rows!
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn, Dream Baby
Needles: Sizes US 3 and 5

One of my grand daughter's favorite books as a child was Is There An Elephant in the Kitchen? so I had to make Elephante by Susan B. Anderson; besides it was so cute. (Available on her blog, http://SusanBAnderson.blogspot.com.) I dug around in the basement and found the actual book we read to Kristin over and over again. It used to be pink, but it was in the back seat of my car for some time and faded to this funny orange color. She loved it!
Yarn: Ella Rae Baby Cotton. I used only 4 colors rather than the 6 in the pattern.
Needles: Size 4 US

For some reason I felt like knitting bibs and washcloths. The one above is Puddles by Elaine Fitzgerald found on her blog, Down Cloverlaine. http://DownCloverlaine.blogspot.com. The one below is another duck pattern I found somewhere free on the net-sorry, I lost the pattern.The yarn for that one is KnitPicks Cotlin.

The bib below is from Comfort Gifts for family & community by Carol Anderson of Cottage Creations. The yarn is Sugar and Cream.

I've misplaced the pattern for the sheep washcloth, also, but again it was a free pattern from the web.(Sorry, I don't know how to turn the pictures when Blogger rotates them.)

This is Stork from Leisure Arts book, Baby Washcloths to Knit.

This is Baby Feet Cloth by Rhonda K. White available at www.knittinknonsense.com/babyfeet.

The other washcloths and bibs will be posted when the patterns have been published. I've been test knitting patterns for Elaine Fitzpatrick, Down Cloverlaine.

Mister Ben

What fun he is! But I didn't expect him to be so big. I used the needle size recommended in the pattern thinking it would be all right as I'm usually a tight knitter, but wish I'd gone a size or even 2 smaller as the stitches were quite big when I stuffed him. After I put on the first ear, I had done it much too low, so while taking it off, I accidentally cut a yarn on the monkey which I then had to repair (just by using duplicate stitch over several stitches on each side of the cut.) When I told my husband I'd had a disaster with my monkey, his comment was, "the whole monkey is a disaster."
Pattern: Mister Ben by Two Old Bags
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: Size 4-double point and 15 inch circular

CiD's Critters

Every time I knit one of CiD's critters I marvel at the ingenuity of CiD's talent in developing these critters. The shaping is easily done, the patterns are well written, and on most of them, there is little finishing. The Big Belly Bear is an exception to little finishing. To see all her patterns and locations to purchase them check out her new blog, http://CiDdesigns.blogspot.com.

Fiber Trends Playful Penguins

Isn't he cute? He does have eyes, but they are black and brown and don't show up very well.

Pattern:Fiber Trends Playful Penguins.

Yarn: Ella Mae. The fur is Eskimo

Needles: Size 11, 16"circular and a set of double pointed needles.

This is a good pattern to practise intarsia. The triangular base is knit, then stitches are picked up with black on one edge, the base stitches are continued in white, and with black, stitches are picked up on the other edge. It is knit back and forth, black, white, black while doing the shaping. It is joined at the neck and the head is knit circularly. The wings are each knit in one black and one white piece and the beak and feet knit. Finishing almost took longer than the knitting, sewing the two wing pieces together, the beak and feet stitched together and all pieces sewed on before felting.

More Critters!

Kitty Kat was made from a pattern by a local designer, CiD Hanscom. Her pattern is available at Amazing Threads in Maple Grove and I don't know where else she may have them. A new one is just about ready and is Felted Fifi, a poodle designed somewhat like the Kat. Kat was made with Cascade 220 as the base yarn and Lang Angel as the fur. The legs and tail are all I-cord, unstuffed except for the paws and knit into the body so there is no attaching separately.

The squirrel is a

Fiber Trends pattern. I used Cascade 220 as the base yarn and the tail is Gypsy-found in the clearance bin!

Both were fun to knit!

Critter Weekend

This weekend I've been knitting "critters". The Fiber Trends alpaca/llama was an UFO from long ago. I know I dug him out to finish the black feet, ears and tail in February and then he was felted. Since then he has sat on my laundry room cupboard waiting for nose, eyes and stuffing. I have no idea what yarn I used-when I worked on him in February I couldn't find the yarn I had used to knit him, so used some Bemidiji wool which was close in color.
The penquin was also an UFO. The pattern is from the English magazine, "Simply Knitting" February 2006, so that was when I started him. The label is gone from the yarn and I don't remember what it was. I checked at the yarn shop yesterday but they no longer carry it. It was knit with the eyelash alone on size 6 needles. This is the first thing I have knit from this magazine and there were some mistakes and incomplete instructions, so don't know if this pattern was the exception or the rule. They do not publish errata. I pick up the magazine each month at Barnes and Noble and most months there is a free gift with it. Last month was a needle case, one month was a circular needle and the last one was a copy of "Simply Crochet". I like the instructional pictures throughout the magazine, illustrating a technique used in that pattern.

The cute cat is done except to be felted, but she is waiting to be felted along with Fiber Trends squirrel I'm working on now.

Why do you love to knit?

This quiz came in the mail in an advertisement from White Birches and I added a few of my own.

• It relaxes you.
• It lets you express your creativity.
• It challenges you.
• It gives you pride and a sense of accomplishment.
• It earns praise from your friends and family.
• It allows you to give unique and personal gifts.
• It lets you create fabulous fashions.
• For the sensuous feeling of the yarn as it flows thought your fingers.
• For the excitement of seeing a new pattern develop.
• For the camaraderie of other knitters.
• For the pride in seeing the accomplishment of a new knitter.
• For the friendly, inspiring atmosphere of a yarn shop.
• For the satisfaction of making and giving things to people in need.
• It gives me something to do with the "yarn" I spin. (Thanks, Qoe)
• It gives me a break from studying. (Thanks, Dawn)
• Its something my oldest daughter and I can do together. (Thanks, Dawn)
• All of the above.