Giving Back

My Local yarn shop is the best. Really. Robyn, the owner, always puts a ton of thought into her window displays. Every season is welcomed with an imaginative, fantastic idea. There was the Valtentine’s display with sheep wearing heart-shaped sunglasses and chocolate boxes filled with little yarn-balls, the yarn-bombed bike, the Christmas tree made of yarn. It’s always a lot of fun to see what she comes up with next, and more often then not the knit-night group is also involved in the planning and creating of the necessary pieces. It’s so much fun to let your imagination fly and to see it all come together.

For this year’s winter display, Robyn is starting this wonderfully thoughtful campaign. She has asked her customers and friends to knit up a collection of Polar Bears. She provides the pattern and the yarn, you simply pick them up at the shop and knit it up. It’s a very easy quick knit. This collection of bears will grace her Holiday window display, after which she will donate them all to a children’s charity.

I find it is a great idea. It rallies this wonderful community of knitters, because ultimately we all knit for the love of the craft, but at the same time we always want our pieces to bring joy to someone. And in this case, they certainly will. I cannot wait to see the finished window display.

A favorite toy, another try

It's always been important to me that I teach my children a love of reading. Books are such a special way to learn about the world, but also escape. My kids' library is quite extensive, and we keep adding to it. It's fun to research books, and watch them get lost in the stories.

One of my favourite childhood reads  is "The Velveteen Rabbit". It's such a heartwarming, charming story. At the moment, Aidan is in superhero mode, so this particular story does not appeal to him too much, but I am hoping that maybe when Sienna is older she will learn to love it also.

In the meantime, as sort of a preparation, I thought I'd give her something to love, cuddle and play with. When I first started getting serious about my knitting, one of the projects I attempted, was a bear for Aidan. It was certainly ambitious at that time, and the result was a toy resembling a pig more then a bear. (you can read all about it here).

But that was a few years ago. I felt ready to give it another try. A little stuffed animal for Sienna. Are you familiar with the "Bunny girl in a dotty dress" pattern by Julie Williams? It's absolutely adorable.

It is a very clear pattern, with lots of photographs to clarify the instructions. If you are not a fan of seaming however, stay away, because the majority of your time will be spent doing just that. But it will be worth it in the end! 

Now I only hope that she will be loved and squeezed but those chubby adorable fingers, and that she'll be a constant and cherished companion.

Now...for names....any suggestions?

Ravelry page

Knitting to stay sane

I’ve had to deal with a few health-issues lately. Nothing serious, just unpleasant little trips to the emergency room. In any case, there was some pain involved and to keep my mind (and hands) preoccupied I finished a few knitting projects. I am introducing one of them here.

I am a big fan of “the purl bee”. They have tons of great ideas and I thought that the baby rattle is adorable and a great gift idea.  So this is what it looks like:

It’s rather large, but this is my first try. I will invest in some smaller needles and thinner yarn, but overall I am pleased with the result.



Winnie the....Oink?

We all have that one favorite toy from childhood, that best friend we carried everywhere, whom we confided secrets to and without which we could not sleep. I remember vividly how my sister had this pink blanket that never left her side. I myself had a little grey elephant that has miraculously survived, crossed an ocean and now sits perched on a shelf in my son’s room. There is something comforting about a child’s favorite toy and with this in mind I decided to knit one for my son.

When I first started knitting I made simple things for him, cubes, balls, a little car, straightforward patterns, but now I’ve felt ready to attempt a more complicated item. A bear perhaps? I started looking for patterns, and my first thought was Debbie Bliss. I love her patterns, she has modern, stylish clean ideas, and exactly the type of knitting I like. So, pattern in hand I began. It looked really promising once all the individual pieces were finished.

I started sewing the pieces together, filling the bear. Once the head was attached to the body and the face was also completed I proudly showed it to my son, who promptly asked: “Why a cochon (pig), mommy?” Needless to say, I was completely deflated. I stuffed him in a bag and did not touch it for another week. Then I decided that regardless of whether the project somewhat failed, I should finished what I started, so I out it all together. Here he is:

What's the verdict? There is something a little .....piggish about him, I agree. Maybe at some later point I will give it another try.

For now, I will concentrate on finishing Maria's bolero, it's almost done, and and least with that I know I'll be pleased with the end result. Practice makes perfect, right?