Cute Critters

In-between all the reading and knitting, and there's been a lot of both happening, I thought it was time to do a little writing. Or should that be sharing? I do so to encourage people to get out there and become involved in their local community. If I’ve mentioned this before, sorry ….

I go to a weekly get together with other like-minded knitters, crocheters (those people who crochet?), and stitchers. Not only is it fun to get out the house for a couple of hours, but it’s also great to be able to assist those struggling to read a pattern, or occasionally to get some help from them in return. I think the best part about the group is its mission to donate the proceeds of selling our finished goodies at local fairs to various local groups. I was also delighted to learn that some of our ladies taught the local Brownies group how to knit last year. They all did some squares and joined them into a blanket that they use to play ‘hide the brownie’ with. Not sure what that entails, but it sure sounds fun. The photo they sent in to thank the group showed them all holding up the blanket. It was a pretty impressive blanket.

Not only have I been busy doing my own stuff, which I’ll share in a bit, but I’ve been busy creating stock for our group’s next fair coming up end of May. I finished a batch of ‘one square bunnies’ at our session today, which have turned out really cute. I didn’t take a pic of the completed brood before I handed them in, but I did take some in-progress ones. I’ve got an idea to do a ‘one square’ chicken, which I’ll share once I’ve done it.

As for my own stuff, I’ve added 3 new critters to my pin cushion collection. So, in addition to the existing tortoise, ladybird, spider, octopus, sheep, and hedgehog, I’ve now done a cat, pig, and panda, which had been put up on Etsy. I’ve had a suggestion for a dolphin (but it’s just not the right body shape to fit in), a frog, and a dragon. I think I can do the last two, but I sure would like some more suggestions. Feel free to add to the list. I’m all ears ;-)

So much for good intentions!

So much for good intentions, i.e. more time, therefore more blog posts. Afraid I got all caught up in knitting Xmas prezzies for everyone. Seeing as I no longer have an income, they all got something knitted. Not a big cash outlay as I have a mountain of stash yarn, but certainly time consuming - which is something I now have in abundance.

I spent a bit of time thinking of the next project I wanted to tackle. It's been a toss-up between a new doggie jumper or coming up with new products to sell. I've ended up juggling the two instead. I was fiddling around with the original Drops pattern and decided to do a bit of a 'fair isle' cable. Imagine that the actual cables are in a different colour to the background, or better yet I'll just show you. Unfortunately, it turns out that my compensating for the looseness of the previous doggie jumper has resulted in a far too tight fit. Think I'll have to frog all the way back to the neck ribbing, and start all over again with larger needles. Lucky I've got plenty of time to do that ... lol.

On to the new designs. I was trying to come up with a collection, something cute and appealing, but a little practical or perhaps with a dash of purpose. I was trolling around looking for inspiration and came across a crochet ladybird toy from Lion Brand. It caught my eye, so I decided to whip it up to see if I liked it as a candidate for our local 'Stich, Knit, & Natter' charity knitting group. It passed with flying colours.

Once I was done, I wondered if I could put together a knitted version. A bit of fiddling and before I knew it I had a little critter all done. I liked the shape and tried to think of other animals that I could make with the same shape, and came up with my little menagerie of pin cushion critters. And so you've guessed where the dash of practical comes in by now. I can see these little guys adding a little cheer in someone's sewing room, whilst for fulling a purpose. I know I'm always looking for a pin cushion, and not just for sewing. I'm always misplacing my darning needles too. I've also found myself popping these on my desk and catching myself smiling every time I see them. Maybe they would make the perfect Mother's Day gift?

Every time I completed one, I got another idea to try. So far I've got the original ladybird, a tortoise, a sheep, a hedgehog, an octopus, and just recently a spider. I've had other suggestions of animals to add, including a pig and a cow. I'll have to try those out and see how they turn out. If you have any suggestions to grow the family, let me know and I'll see if I can do it.

Chasing cats

I'm playing around with an idea for a new product. I was thinking a knitted ball with a small bell inside would make a great baby toy. I played around with a design and whipped up a sample, sans the bell. Once I'd stuffed it I started to wonder about small hands pulling at it and what the effect would be.

I figured that a trial run would be in order, and since I don't have a small child of the human variety running around, I went with the next best thing. Well, he might as well be our little baby - he gets treated like one. Yip, I gave the ball to Milo to play with. I can report that it was a resounding success as far as he's concerned. It's become his new favourite toy. I'll let him test drive it for a little while to see how well it holds up to being tugged at, clawed, and chewed. At this rate I might market it to cats and dogs too.