Boo!

Boo! Where did September go?? That's what's scaring me these days, not these adorable bats! I've had this bat pattern in my "must knit someday" list for at least four years. Now that we're well into October, we're in full-on Halloween fever in our household and I decided it was time to knit a pair of these cuties!

Pattern: Boo the Bat by Anna Hrachovec (link to my Ravelry project page)
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Parrot (12 grams for one bat), Caron Simply Soft in Black for wings (also approx. 12 grams for one bat)
Needles: size 5
Mods: NONE! I've always loved Anna's adorable patterns, and they work up sooo quickly. This may inspire another temporary toy-knitting craze for me!

knit your library, vol. 18 (roly poly edition)

Wait ... what is that thing ... it can't be .... it's a roly poly! A humongous, bigger than your head, pillow-sized roly poly! LOL. This is hands down the wackiest thing I have ever knitted. My daughter loves roly polies--and when we spotted the pattern for one in Huge and Huggable Mochimochi, it had  to be knit!

Pattern: Roland by Anna Hrachovec (link to my Ravelry project page)
Needles: size 8s
Yarn: "shell" is Queensland Collection Whitsunday held triple stranded, and the pink is Cascade 220 held doubled
Mods: My gauge for the shell and the stomach was not the same, so I did have to unravel and fudge it to make it work. I basically added more garter stitch rows in between yarn over rows. And using yarn doubled and tripled meant that this project ate up 822 yards from my stash (yes!).

dragon love

Well, every unicorn needs a dragon friend right? I spotted this free pattern when looking at unicorn patterns, and just had to make it next. I love, love, love how this one came out! I like how the pattern instructs you to stuff and sew the legs, etc. on as you go--you really feel like you are making progress and aren't left with an overwhelming pile of limbs to sew on when you're done knitting.

Pattern: Tarragon the Gentle Dragon (free pattern!), link to my Rav project page
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted  (used a little less than 1/2 a skein of the red, and less than 10 yards of "Orange You Glad")
Needles: size 6 dpn's for the body and legs, and size 5 dpn's for the spikes and wings
Mods: smaller wings! I cast on 22 instead of the 30 the pattern calls for, and started the decreases at that point in the pattern. Then I knitted five rows in stockinette after the last double-decrease row. Decreased two stitches by p2tog at each edge on the next row, and then decreased another two stitches with a ssk and k2tog at the each edge of the next row (six stitches left on needle). Stopped, keeping needles live on the dpn and made second wing. Then was able to three-needle bind off to connect the bottom edge and sewed the rest together. Next time I'll stick with smaller spikes too, as the large spikes roll quite a bit.

multiple maddox

 

 

More charity knitting! This is my second Rebecca Danger toy pattern, Maddox. I'm becoming a big fan of Rebecca's work! Such well written patterns! This was another speedy knit, as far as toys go. My only tweak to the pattern was ignoring the instructions to turn the body inside out to do a three-needle bind off to close the top of the head. Instead, I used my favorite grafting instructions, an alternative to kitchener stitch that I learned in a Knitting Daily column back when Sandi Wiseheart was the editor (here's a link to the column with details of the method). I love, love, love this grafting technique. For whatever reason, kitchener stitch looks awful when I attempt it--but this method turns out perfect everytime!

 

Pattern: Maddox the Mischievious Monster 

Yarn: Red Heart (one skein completed three monster bodies and two arms--I had to dip into another skein to make the four remaining arms)

Needles: Size 6 dpn's



I love, love, love the end result! I will definitely be making more of these--they may become my go-to baby shower/big sister/big brother baby gift! What finished objects do you have to show off today? Don't forget to check out the others at Tami's Amis!

owls two ways

One of the many charity projects I knit up in November were some toys for the children of women seeking shelter at our local domestic violence shelter. I wanted a quick knit, something fast and easy, but cute and huggable. The "owls two ways" pattern fit the bill perfectly! I did, however, upsize it significantly. The pattern is essentially knitting a bag/purse in the round, from the base up--except when you sew the top shut, you create a cute owl shape. The pattern knit as written creates tiny, miniature owls. So I uppped the initial cast on to approximately 20 stitches or so to create a more adequate toy size.

Pattern: Owls Two Ways
Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun (one owl used only a third of the skein, I estimate you could squeeze three owls from one skein)
Needles: Size 9 dpn's

 

I ended up making the owls two different ways. The blue-winged owl used black safety eyes and fabric glue to attach the nose and wings. The purple owl used more rustic wooden button eyes and the wings are embroidered onto the owl. I love the white felt/safety eyes, but feel like the blue-winged owl could use some embroidered details. So if I make another owl, I'll end up combining these two different approaches!