Life is too short not to give into temptation.
It seems that I have raised my child to believe the same thing.
She used to want a grey kitty. Now she wants this one and she says he doesn’t need a body or arms and legs. He is perfect just the way he is thank you. They watched Shaun the Sheep together. It wasn’t at all weird.
I love this yarn.
I’m lying. It was totally weird that Ellie watched TV with a disembodied (pre-embodied?) cat head. But the heart wants what it wants.
I’m working on the Rabbit and Mystery Patterns. And a couple little things for my sadly neglected toy shop.
But what I WANT to be doing working on the Cat. Because, seriously, this is some of the nicest yarn I have ever touched.
So very soft.
SpinSpanSpun, spun and dyed it just for me. Luscious.
One other thing I’ve been thinking about lately. Dish Rag Tag. The response to my little survey was Enthusiastic, but not Overwhelming. So I think we’ll have a race with 10 teams of 10 (100 total knitters).
To those of you who have never heard of Dish Rag Tag: Welcome new readers! For the past four years I have run a dish cloth knitting relay race with the help of Priority Mail to pass the baton (box) from knitter to knitter across the United States! You can catch up the rules in this post from last year’s race.
I should start working on the Official Pattern of Dish Rag Tag.
But what I WANT to be doing is working on the Cat.
Did I tell you I’m working the pattern for the Ravelry Knitted Toys group’s Mystery Animal KAL in July?
This the only hint you’re getting.
I think my official title is ‘Guest Designer.’ If it wasn’t, it is now. Sign up and play along!
She hasn’t even had her coffee yet.
Memorial Day is past. Summer is almost here.
Today there will be two posts. Each post will have a question. I’m asking this question first, because the other one tends to distract people.
Since you last heard from me, we took an impromptu trip to Atlanta. Michael had to go up for a Thing and Ellie had packed the stroller so I could push her to visit Gran and Pop. I figured it would be faster (and less strenuous) if we all just rode in the Jeep together. The extra knitting time to finally finish the first of the New Guys was a bonus.
Long Tall Bunny takes a nap.
He’s 16″ tall in bulky yarn and stuffed to be floppy. Knit in the round with minimal seaming, the only tricky bit might be the grafting at the top of the arms and legs. His ears have short rows, but there is nothing to them if you trust me blindly and do exactly what the written directions say.
Think he’s cute? Wait until you see the cat.
Who’s up for a test knit? The pattern should be ready for you on Friday. I would LOVE to have all notes in by June 20 – Rabbit probably takes between 6-7 hours to knit. You’ll need about 170 yards of a bulky yarn (Prototype Rabbits are in Sprout) to make one like the picture. But if you want to try him out in worsted, that would be great! I’d like to know how big he turns out. Test knitters who complete the project and send me notes in a timely fashion will receive a copy of the finished pattern and (since this guy is more work than my usual) a modest thank you package for your time.
I’ll need five knitters. As always, Faithful Readers, y’all get the first grab.
**Test Knitter Slots are filled! If you didn’t get a chance to test the Rabbit, there are more critters in the Yarn Miracle pattern queue!**
Itty Bitty Vultures will be in the shop later today. Probably.
I did so want to have a finished prototype to show you this week! But I’m not quite there yet.
But I can tell you that Susanna is our lollipop recipient!
And I can tell you that the Middle Eastern Cast on wins the Crazy Easy toe-up cast on award (thanks for the tip, Beth).
I can also tell you that while I have decided to recommend a toe-up cast on in the pattern, I am going to write the directions for the regular way with a seam. It isn’t critical to the pattern so I don’t want anyone to read the directions, panic, and then not try the toy. My Favorite Trick remains awesome, but not worth the explanation if a seam will do.
In other words: I wussed out.
All that wasn’t for nothing, the M.E.C.O. is going to be invaluable for a future pattern – and I’m not even going to tell people that’s what they are doing until it’s all over. I’m so tricky.
I have SO MANY IDEAS. And not enough time for them.
And all of these. (Since I’m wishing.)
I’ll take one of each in worsted please.
I’ve been struggling a little searching for yarns for the new batch of patterns I’m working on. I’d like to feature all the animals in two yarns (worsted and bulky) per pattern. I’d also like to highlight yarns from ‘independent’ spinners as well as a more commercially available yarns. Can you think of a better reason to try new yarns? This is harder than you would think – especially since I am mindful of the living conditions of the animals (and worms) that produce the fiber I use.
I came across this post this morning and thought to share it. She has a lengthy list of happy farms and spinners at the bottom that is going to be invaluable.
Also, if anybody has a “kind fiber” tip or if you spin or dye fiber and you know where it came from, share away!