FO: Coo and Coy for Valentine's Day

This project has been planned for a few years now and I'm so glad I finally made it up :) This is the Coo and Coy pattern by Anna Hrachovec of Mochimochi Land. It's twin birds that make a heart when put together, so what better surprise gift to make my twin girls for Valentine's Day?

I managed to make this entirely at night after my kids were asleep over the course of a few days. The body shapes are very simple and I finished one body per evening and then one more evening for the limbs and assembly.

One very cool touch of this pattern is that one of the wings gets a strap on the back, which enables you to make the birds hold wings! Isn't that cute?! lol It also keeps them together very effectively.

The feet are littles hearts, which I think just adds to the cuteness factor even if they were a bit tedious to make. For this project, I dug in my stash and came across this unloved skein of Loops and Threads Impeccable in the Rich Orchid colorway and then I paired that with Red Heart Super Saver Perfect Pink for the wings and whatnot.

I did change the recommended hair style to make my birds more girly - think pig tails. I think it turned out very cute. The only head scratching part of making this was assembling the limbs so that things looked even but still made them face the right way and mirror each other. It was a bit of a challenge, but not too bad. 

So that's my latest cute creation :) My kids loved them, but of course they fought over who got the bird with the strap on its wing. Oh well. It made for a very cute and personal Valentine's present and I hope they love them for years to come.

WIP Wednesday: Blocking, Decisions, and New Projects

Friends, I have finished the Mohn Cardigan! I managed to finish this in less than a month, which is still pretty shocking to me. I got it completely knit and seamed Sunday night and it is currently blocking. Now I just have to make my ribbon button bands and she is totally done. I finished the knitting on Saturday night, which left me with only a sock project to knit and I just didn't feel like it - so I cast on a toy!

Between Sunday and last night, I knit up this adorable bee project. Every time I look at this pattern, I smile, so I just bit the bullet and knit it up. Now I smile when I see it in person too, lol. This project definitely served its purpose of cheering me up in a hard time. I'll post all the details about it soon, but I definitely love this one :)

After my deliberations in the last post about all the projects I want to cast on, I have finally decided to go with my original plan for my Rose Street Cardigan. It's really a toss up between the two yarns I was contemplating (Knit Picks Stroll in Duchess Heather or Knit Picks Felici in Dragonfruit). I tried looking through my collection of sweaters that still fit me to see where I had a gap, but that didn't help. In the end I really go for more cool toned clothes, so I decided to go with the purple for that reason. The Dragonfruit color would go as well, but I just need to start this project, lol. Purple it is! I still need to knit a new swatch last night and get the calculations going, so this will be my main sweater project now.

With finishing my bee, I also grabbed my Jaywalker socks I cast on in December of 2022. I'm just mentally determined to get these done so they can stop plaguing me. I'm honestly not sure what it is about this project that has me never reaching for it. Is it that I've knit this pattern before? But I've knit the same vanilla sock pattern several times and that has never been a problem before. Is it that I'm not thrilled by the yarn? I just really can't say. Either way, I want this project to be done, so I think this is going to be my main focus for a short while. That's the thing with socks - when you actually hunker down and focus on getting them done, they really do go fast. I'm also knitting this with a heel flap and gusset as the pattern is written - last time I changed for an after-thought heel to avoid disrupting the striping pattern. Since then I've discovered that I really prefer the feel of a heel flap and gusset when wearing the socks, so this time I'm just letting the chips fall where they may on the striping. I'm thinking it will work out fine in this sock because the speckled sections are so wide.

My New England dress is still hanging out on my dress form thinking about what it's done. I need to finish that one too so I can move on with my life, lol. But knitting is going very well!

How are things with you this first month of the new year? Getting anything made up?

FO: Baby's First Planet

There have been so many babies in my family this year and I was majorly feeling the pressure to make them all gifts. I've made a baby gift for all of my nieces and nephews, so when my sister had her 3rd baby I knew I had to keep up the tradition. But what to make? My sister was planning a space theme for his room, which was surprisingly hard to find patterns for. In the end, I decided to keep it simple and just make my newest nephew a planet.

This is the My Own Planet Amigurumi pattern by Stacey Trock, which is a free pattern. I have a soft spot in my heart for Stacey's patterns because she is how I learned to crochet amigurumi. Her patterns are always a pleasure to work with. This was an extremely simple shape, so I was able to make this up in one evening.

I had this really neat skein of Lion Brand Mandala Ombre I picked up in a thrift store a while back and I knew it would be perfect for this project to add some interest. The previous owner had wound off each color into separate balls and the biggest one I had was the darker blue color, so I made that my main color. You knit most of the main planet, then you stop and make the ring, then finish the planet and tuff it all. Pretty cool, but I ran out of the main planet color where I stopped to make the ring. 

No problem! I just used the lighter blue from the ball of yarn to finish it up. Because of the marled nature of the yarn and it's a planet, I just call it a topographical difference, lol.

Since I had the different colors of yarn that all matched, I decided to switch colors in the middle of the ring. The pattern just uses one color for the planet and one for the ring, but why not have fun with yarn when you can, right? It was a very easy change to make. I also put a rattle inside this to give some interest for the baby when he gets bigger, and the more I think about it the more I think this planet is the perfect baby toy. It rattles, it's compact, the ring is perfect for little hands to grab and chew on. It's washable, lol. All good things.

In the end, this is what yarn I had left, so it worked out great. I really liked this yarn - it was very soft and stitched up great.

And I was able to bring this with me to the hospital to give to my fresh little nephew :) He was born on May the 4th, so space is definitely going to be the theme of his life. I'm glad I could keep up the tradition I've made of making something for my newest little family additions. I hope this little guy enjoys his planet as he gets older.

Summary:

Yarn: Partial skein of Mandala Ombre by Lion Brand - $0.50 (thrifted)

Pattern: My Own Planet by Stacey Trock - Free

Notions: Jingly Cat Toy - $0.25

Time: 2 hours

FO: Hungry Snake

When my first nephew was born, I had no children and a lot of free time so I used to knit and crochet him all kinds of toys. My sister had another boy a year after my kids were born and that poor guy has hardly anything I've made him at all. So this year for his 4th birthday, I wanted to make him something he would really like that was made by his favorite aunt :)

This is the Sleepy Snake and Mischievous Mouse pattern by Anna Hrachovec of Mochimochi Land. This is another pattern I've had for years and always wanted to make up but just never took the plunge. The snake is essentially a double layered tube sock with a snake head and the construction is pretty interesting.

Once you have 2 snakes that are kissing, you shove the smaller snake inside the bigger one and then stuff the head and seam it together. I was working with stash acrylic yarn again and I ran out of the main color in the middle of the lining snake, so I switched to the blue from the mouse. The glory is that no one will ever know but me because that piece is completely hidden inside the outer snake. I used Red Heart Super Saver in Spring Green and Burnt Orange for the snake.

I deviated from the pattern for my snake and made him awake. I used embroidery floss and embroidered a chain stitch for his outer eye and then used a it of yarn in the center. I think it came out well without looking too creepy.

Next came the mouse :) This guy was so easy and I completed him in about an hour. I used I Love This Yarn in Soft Blue and Gray. Embroidering his eyes and whiskers took the longest, honestly.

The coolest part about this toy is that the snake can eat the mouse. Since the snake body is all ribbing, he's like a tube sock. You can shove the mouse down his throat to eat it.

And this gives you the tell tale lump of a snake who's just eaten. Cool, right? What little boy wouldn't love this? 

I had so much fun taking pictures of this project lol.  This was part of my nephew's birthday present this year and I'm happy to report that he loves it, which is always nice when making a toy for a kid.

My kids liked it so much they have asked for their own ever since I finished, lol. They both had fun pretending the snake was eating their hand. All in all, this was a fun project and I'm happy that my nephew has something that he knows I made for him that he can play with for a long time.

Summary:

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Spring Green and Burnt Orange, I Love This Yarn in Soft Blue

Pattern: Sleeping Snake and Mischievious Mouse by Anna Hrachovec

Time: 2 weeks

FO: Dolly for Daria

Now that I have a niece of my own, I had to make her a fancy Christmas gift :) I made hers first since I had to ship it out and get it to her in time for Christmas. She's still tiny with very few (voiced) opinions, so this was basically a case of "what pattern do I want to make?"

This is the Nightfall Doll by Susan B. Anderson. I bought this pattern when it was released in October of 2021 because it was just adorable and I knew I would make it someday. Enter a new niece and I knew it was time :) I loved the purple color scheme of the example doll, so I hunted my stash to find something similar. I used I Love This Yarn in Grape, Vanna's Choice in Beige, and Everyday Soft Worsted in Snow White - all acrylic and all leftover from many other projects.

The pattern includes 3 different design options - the body can be a plain solid color, have stripes, or have this cute colorwork. You can see which I went for :) I always want to make more colorwork, but being a tight knitter, I'm not very great at it. You can see that I started out much tighter and was able to loosen up as I went. It wasn't so obvious while knitting it, but the stuffing showed the truth lol. I still like it though.

My favorite moment in making this was the hands. You make the whole body and then pick up and knit the arms, then switch colors to make the little hands. I forgot to bring the hand color with me the morning I finished the first arm, so I just put the opening on some of my extra dpns as stitch holders while I knit the other arm to maximize my time. The result was this ninja wizard, lol. Not quite the cuddly appearance I was going for, though.

I added a jingly cat toy to the stomach to add a little more interest for my 2 month old niece. I hope this becomes a toy that grows up with her and she enjoys through the years.

 

FO: Patty the Platty

This was a case of me just finishing all my Christmas gift making and wanting to make something frivolous. I came across this pattern in my stash and it was just so adorable and I had no deadline makes actively going, so I decided immediately to cast it on :) Isn't she cute?

This is the Platypus with a Skirt pattern by Barbara Prime of Fuzzy Mitten Designs. I just love her animal patterns - they are always so classic and just look like what an heirloom toy should be to me. Her animals have jointed arms and legs and the look of them always reminds me of Calico Critters with their clothes and accessories.

This was an entirely stash project - the brown yarn is Vanna's Choice in Taupe, the gray is vintage Paton's Canadiana in Gray, and the purple is Serenity Sock in Purple. I cast this on just before New Year's and I finished it over the course of a month.

The bill was one of the more challenging appendages I've attached in a Fuzzy Mitten pattern and it took several tries at repositioning it to get it placed correctly. Then I stitched in the bars to make the bill shaped like it should be. It was fiddly, but we got there in the end and I'm glad I made the effort to make her look like she should.

Her little dress is so cute with a lovely textured stitch all over. The mini buttons have been in my stash from making other Fuzzy Mitten clothing before - they came in a big pack of various colors and they are handy to have around for this purpose. The purple yarn was chosen because it's one of the only sock yarns I had that I only have one skein of and therefor it would not work for a full pair of socks, plus the color looked very good with the body colors I had chosen.

So that's Patty the Platy :) I think she's just adorable and she was just the project I needed at the time to get back into making silly things just for fun. Sometimes you just need a palate cleanser that doesn't need to fit anyone and it's only purpose is to be cute, you know? If you need a project along those lines, I definitely recommend any of Barbara's patterns. They never disappoint.

FO: A Teddy for Teddy

Back in April, my sister had a baby :) When I was about to leave for the hospital while she was in labor, I grabbed all the stuff to make this adorable bear. When my first nephew was born, we had several hours of waiting around for him to make his appearance, and I was able to make this bib for him while I waited. This time I wanted to make a bear for my little buddy and grabbed my pattern and yarn and hit the road. But I had only been at the hospital for about 15 minutes when my new nephew was born. Wouldn't you know? Because I was actually prepared to sit and wait, lol. Anyway, my nephew's name is Teddy, so I thought it was a great opportunity to make him his own first teddy.

I used the Teddy Bear Bookends pattern from Stacey Trock's Modern Baby Crochet book. I've always wanted to make this pattern up, so this felt like the perfect opportunity. Interestingly, the bear turned out much smaller than I anticipated - I'm used to Stacey's animals being about 10 to 12 inches tall and this guy is about 8 inches - but that's only because I didn't read the pattern description since it's clearly noted in the book. It works out great though because he's the perfect baby size as he is.

I used stash yarn for this since I was grabbing in a hurry (plus I have soooo much yarn). The brown is Caron Simply Soft in chocolate and the cream is Red Heart Soft Solids in off white. I was able to make this bear the night after my little buddy was born in just a few hours - it was much faster because it was so small.

Just look at that cute little face :) I think he will serve my nephew well by the time he is big enough to appreciate him.

Here he is at about a week old - unsure of my gift.

Clearly he appreciates my offering, lol.

It was so nice to make a toy again and to know it was going to a very special little person. I hope he enjoys it for years to come! Welcome to the world, Teddy!

FO: Little Giraffe

So after making Christmas gifts for about 2 months straight, I wanted to make something frivolous for no reason, lol. 

It's hard to get more frivolous than a random toy you don't need (plus you don't have children), isn't it? I loved the Little Giraffe pattern by Susan B. Anderson back when she released it in Making magazine last year, so when she released it for sale as an individual pattern I snapped it up. She was advertising kits that included the pattern along with come of her new yarn line to make it up in, and the color combinations were lovely, but I already had two of the exact colors she used in a different yet equivalent yarn - perfect! My giraffe is made using Cascade 220 Superwash, so it is still a superwash wool toy - making it a little extra special to me since I always use acrylic. As soon as I finished my Christmas gifts, I cast this on.

The pattern is completely seamless, so it has you start with the garter stitch bum - isn't it cute? Then you move up to the point of the legs, make the legs, then resume knitting them into the body. I've made some of Susan's seamless toys before, and it can be a bit fiddly, but they come out so neat and smooth in the end it's definitely worth it. You also don't end up needing to keep track of a bunch of little pieces as you go either, which is nice.

Next you start the color work, which was what I was most excited to do. I've done only a little color work before and those pieces always turned out too tight across the floats, so I wanted a small project to practice on now that I know a bit more about what to do. It's not perfect by any means, but I'm pretty happy with how this color work lays. After about halfway up the body, I added a white nylon stocking with poly pellets in it to give him some weight. I definitely recommend adding the pellets because I don't think he would really sit right without them - he wants to lean forward a lot as it is, so without that extra stability I think he would always tip over. I also always put the pellets in nylons and tie it closed because I'm paranoid about them coming out and a baby eating them. I want these toys to last and be safe. So you knit the body, then stop to make the arms, then knit the arms into the body and close it up.

My one complaint about the color work is that the pattern changes in the middle of the tummy. Suddenly two of the circles are right on top of each other and every time I see it it looks like a mistake, but this is the way the pattern is written and how everyone else's look too, so I know it wasn't a mistake. If I made this again, I would adjust that just for my own sanity, lol. It's cute just the same though.

Next you make the head from back to front. I love that the color work continues there - such a cute touch. You stop again to make ears and horns, then knit them on as you go. The final touch is to embroider the now and eyelids (he has eyelids! - look at them!). I love the eyelids and think they look great with his slouchy body shape.

It took me a few weeks before I could embroider the nose since I had to dig out black yarn and I was moving at the time. Technically the pattern only has a nose, but I thought he looked a bit overly sad so I added a little smile :)

Isn't he so cute? He is in an honored spot on my étagère so I see him everyday in my sewing room. I really love how classic Susan's toy designs are, and I plan on keeping this for when I have kids. I've now made 2 giraffes designed by her, lol. And I'm no huge giraffe lover, I just thought they were adorable designs and had to make them. I also love the hug-able size of this guy - I know it's hard to tell from the photos, but he's about 10" tall. This is definitely an heirloom toy, and I'm so glad I made him up.

Summary:
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Aran and Smoke Blue (leftover from this and this)
Pattern: Little Giraffe by Susan B. Anderson
Notions: fiber fill, poly pellets, white knee high nylon stocking

Hurricane FO: A Pair of Birdie Rattles

After making my Lions on Saturday night, I had to get situated for another project on Sunday night (when the worst part of the storm passed through). When packing my yarn, I deliberately chose colors that I could use on multiple projects for multiple babies. Next up were a couple of birdies!

This is the Sweet Tweeter! pattern from Modern Baby Crochet by Stacey Trock of Fresh Stitches. I just love her books, and I love this pattern. It's so simple (and quick) to make, but babies seem to love the shape and they make for a fun opportunity to use bright colors. This one is for a particular little girl, so having already made a pink one I wanted to make this different and chose purple. I used I Love This Yarn in the hGrape colorway for the body and Red Heart With Love in Daffodil for the beak.

And of course I added a rattle :) Rattle all the things! I haven't seen the baby this one is intended for in a while, but I'm hoping she likes it.

Since the storm was still raging, I settled in to make my second bird rattle of the night. This is where I had to do a lot of starting and stopping as well as crochet by candle light and/or flashlight, lol. Our power kept going on and off while I was making the body of this birdy, but I was undeterred.

This is another bird intended for a baby girl, and I just love this color so I try to fit it into projects wherever possible. I used Red Heart With Love in Jade for the body and the same Daffodil for the beak.

And this has a rattle as well :) Don't you just love their little faces? I used 10 mm safety eyes for both birds, and I like to put them a little closer together then the pattern calls for.

And here are both birds just after I finished them :) This picture was taken by candle light and with my camera flash, lol. I hope the little ladies I made these for like them and have as much fun shaking them as I do!