FO: Irma

Have you ever had a project that you've intended to make for a long time but just never got around to it? While packing to evacuate for Hurricane Irma, I planned several projects to kill the time I might have during and after the storm hit. The lions and birds came first, but I knew I may have more time on my hands then just those toys would fill. So I deliberately packed coordinating colors of yarn (that I was able to use for all the projects) and grab my Super-Scary Mochi Mochi book as well. I never want to be caught without a project, and what better opportunity to make the pattern that made me buy the book? So after making my other little critters, and after quite a bit of debris clean up, I cast on my dream monster. I call it Irma :)

This is the Hurly-Burly pattern from Super-Scary Mochi Mochi by Anna Hrachovec. The whole book is filled with cute/scary monsters (mostly cute) like werewolves, little witches, rats, etc. I like a lot of the patterns, but the Hurly-Burly pattern is what made me buy the book. Want to see why?

Wait for it...

Almost there...

Just tuck those legs all the way in...

And you have a different monster :) Isn't it great?! The monster eats itself, lol. I just love it. I'm a bit partial to the orange and yellow side - aren't her pigtails cute?

I love how both sides have stripes but on the purple side they are half the size. It's a cute touch. The stripes look particularly neat on the back:

Like a bull's eye, right? I also love the arms and legs - they are so cartoony and cute.

The only change I made from the pattern was to put the eyes a few rounds lower then the example, and I really like the result.

And the yellow back - see how the stripes are wider? This was a very straight forward pattern as long as you don't mind keeping up with the stripes. I decided to go with the colors she uses in the example mostly because I couldn't figure out any other colors at the moment I was packing and I already knew I'd be bringing these. The yellow is Red Heart With Love in Daffodil, the orange is a mystery thrift store acrylic, the dark purple is I Love This Yarn in Grape, and the light purple is a mystery acrylic I've had since high school and no longer know what it is, lol.

I love the individual touches of each side with their hair - see his little stubble hair?

And her pigtails?

And the feets.

And for the girl.

I'm super thrilled with how this turned out, and having this made up has given me great ideas for this year's MochiMochiland Photo Contest :) At the moment, this is sitting on a shelf in my sewing room and it makes me smile to look at it. And what better name than to call it after the storm that made it possible?

FO Friday: It's An Egg ... wait ... It's An Alligator!

I gave a little hint at this project on Wednesday - so here is the big reveal!

I was looking around on the Itty Bitty Knits group board on Ravelry and I saw that they were having a knit-along for the month of March. It was for the Egg to Alligator pattern by Susan B. Anderson. The pattern is from her newest book, Topsy Turvy Knitted Toys, which I already had on hand, and since it's such a quick and small project I decided to join in just in the nick of time! I'm thinking it's an appropriate Florida Easter toy, lol.

Look as his cute little face!

For my alligator I used Vanna's Choice yarn in kelly green for the body and Red Heart With Love in Lettuce for the ruffle.

And here is where this little guy gets really cool ... See that little pocket of white in his belly?

He flips into an egg! I can't help it - I just love these reversible toys. The egg is made of Everyday Soft Worsted yarn in Snow White and there is a little bit of poly fil in the head and tail. The face is embroidered on.

I'm so glad I found out about this knit-along. I was able to make this guy up over the course of 3 days and I just love it :) Not that I need a group as an excuse to make a toy, but I think the knit-alongs/crochet-alongs are a nice little extra motivator. You get to see other peoples versions of the same thing and it makes for fun conversation in the groups.

So that's my big reveal for the week :) Head over to Tami's Amis' Blog to see what pretty things others have made!

Knitting Update: My Reversible Duck/Bunny!

After finishing my Wee Ones Elephant last weekend, I needed another project to keep me busy while my air conditioner was installed. I decided to troll around the Spud Says Blog Ravelry page because I knew that Susan B. Anderson had designed a bunch of cute free patterns for them when she ran the blog. I found this mini reversible toy and decided it would be the perfect quick project!

Awe look, it's a duck :) But it doesn't stop there! It also becomes...

A bunny! This little guy is only about 3.5" tall and it is actually two toys that tuck up inside each other. How cool is that?!

See? You just push the head up as you roll the hidden animal out and the other disappears inside.

This is the Mini-Reversible Duck to Bunny pattern. I used Cascade 220 Superwash in Daffodil and Orange for the duck (left over from my giraffe) and Aran for the bunny. The pattern didn't have wings for the duck, but I knew mine needed some so I used the directions for the feet and made them in yellow, but I decreased once at the end before I kitchener stitched. Also the bunny didn't have a tail! So I used the scraps from tying off the aran color and made a little pom pom. Now they are complete :) Their eyes and the bunny's nose are done with black embroidery floss. 

Everyone I have showed this to has loved it. It's gotten such a great response because it's reversible! This project was quick and easy and just so cute. I happen to have Susan B. Anderson's newest book Topsy Turvy Inside-Out Toys where all of the projects included are reversible, so this project really made me excited to make one of the patterns in this book!

This is my first knitted animal that wasn't assisted by a Craftsy class and I am really pleased with how well it went. I definitely feel confident that I can tackle other knitted toy patterns now :) Plus I can flip this guy back and forth in the meantime, so how can that be bad? :)