Monkey Finger Puppet

I made this for a mom. She had a son in the hospital, saw one like it and asked if I could make a similar toy. This is what I came up with. I wrote the pattern for it in case someone would want one for themselves.

Monkey Finger Puppet
Body:
CO 18st in Brown and join in the Round on 3 DPNs
K 14 rows
(K4, K2tog) 3 times (15st)
K 1 Row
(K3, K2tog) 3 times (12st)
K 1 Row
(K2, K2tog) 3 times (9st)
(K1, K2tog) 3 times (6st)
Cut Yarn, stitch through remaining 6 stitches, and pull tight. Tie off and weave in ends.

Arms (2 needed):
Make I-cord with Brown (using the 3 stitches method) 8 Rows long.
Embroider with Light Brown “palms” on one end of each of the Arms.

Ears (2 needed):
Make I-cord with Light Brown (using the 3 stitches method) 7 Rows long.

Face:
CO 7st in Light Brown
Knit 4 rows
BO by K2TBL place stitch back on the left needle and K2TBL. Repeat.
This will leave a ridge for the brow above the eyes.

Nose:
CO 18st in Light Brown and join in the Round on 3 DPNs
K 9 Rows
Cut Yarn, stitch through 18 stitches, and pull tight. Tie off and weave in ends.
Using the Starting Yarn Pick Up the CO rows and pulltight. Tie off and weave in ends.

Tail:
Make I-cord with Brown (using the 3 stitches method) 8 Rows long.

To Make up:
Stitch the Face in place then stitch the Nose in place on the bottom row of the face. Take each end of the I-cord for the Ears and stitch them in place on both sides of the head forming loops. Stitch the Arms in place and the tail. Embroider the nose holes and eyes with a long strand of Black. Do the same for the mouth using a long strand of Pink.

Eeyore toy

I finally got the Eeyore toy made for my friend and I think he turned out great. I knitted each piece up with undyed sock yarn and dyed them with Kool-Aid. It was received with joy. The pattern can be found here: Just go to the bottom of the page to find the pattern.

Happy Face...

When you go to Starbucks and have something in a bag, a special something for someone, you think, "This is a great thing. I'm going to give something to someone. I must be special. All the time I spent making this special something special, just so I can make someone happy. All the worry over will this work? ... or maybe this?... or that?" Then the moment arrives and that special someone comes in and sees that special something and ... you receive a gift so much more special than that which was given. A spontaneous gift... so much better than the worry and the hope that what I made will make someone happy. The smile that takes over a face and is given to you as a thank you ... there is no gift better. I received this (See Picture) and that is awesome!!!

A Sock, a Bear, and a Note...

After many weeks I have finally finished another pair of socks for myself. The pattern can be found here: hedgerow socks as a pdf. I adjusted the pattern by adding the Fleegle Heel, which is an easy heel. I like to sock, but I hope it shrinks a little in the wash. I made it a little loose. (Gauge gets you every time!)



I was asked to make a bear for a awesome little girl I have met at my knitting group. The bear pattern: Harry Bear Pattern is an awesome pattern. I added a lot of embellishments, because I think it makes the bear look great. It turned out way better than I expected. I will be giving it to her tonight.
The eyes are something I came up with. I made seven stitches around where the eyes should be then, stitched from the corners of those seven to the center of the eye. It looked like a wagon wheel with seven spokes. Then, I weaved yarn from the center out (over and under the spokes). You have to have a odd number of spokes or the weave doesn't happen . Then, I tied a french knot for the pupil and added a highlight with some white.

Note: Dear Mr. Tommy, Thank you for making my mouse with the sack of berries. I have a lot of fun with it. All the mice and the fox are in my bedroom on my windowsill. Some of my friends have said they would like mice of their own. We have all played with the mice and loved it! I've never had stuffed animals like these before. They are the best! I think you are the best friend anybody could have in the world. I love you, Savannah

Don't that just beat all!

Please let this be the last mouse...

I have hopes. I have dreams. I want this to be the last mouse. I love making toys for the kids I know, but I like to learn new things. The kids see one toy and they all have to have the same thing, but with different colors. And I've noticed that they are keeping count on who has the latest and who has the most. I havn't been keeping track... I'm sure I'm in trouble somewhere with someone.





The little girl that got this one was very happy. I'm working on a bear right now with a blue dress. She looks great so far. So come back soon for the video.

What the blank...

I decided to try dying.
I bought a few packets of different powdered drink mixes and some dye-able yarn from KnitPicks .



I read a lot of different methods on line and came up with a reasonable way to test the waters (or dye... if you have to be specific.. gah).

I knit up a blank from the yarn, then cut a large square from a plastic grocery bag (I didn't have anything else available and it sounds more green. Recycle baby!) I placed the yarn blank in some warm water and started the mad scientist routine.


1. A little dye a lot of water
2. Place the moist yarn blank on the plastic
3. Pour the mix onto the yarn blank
4. Wrap the plastic around the yarn blank
5. Put it in a sandwich bag (do not seal)
6. Microwave for a minute
7. Let set for a minute
8. Microwave for a minute
9. Let set for a minute
10. Microwave for 2 minutes
11. Let it cool. Take out the yarn and wash it in dish soap and warm water
12. Hang up to dry.
I'm happy with the results. There will be something that comes from this experiment!!!


And, in case you need to know, that is a Dr. Horrible little pony! I found it online with some other little pony modification images. This just had to be shared! They have a Captain Hammer, too!

The Alligator & the Elephant (Alli & Ele)

Here’s a set I made from Alan Dart’s ‘Noah’s Ark’ pattern. I changed the legs on the elephant. His were very thin using drinking straws for the insides. I just added some extra stitches and overstuffed mine. I’m very happy with the picture. Blue plastic bag makes a great water edge! Almost looks too real!

Alli:

Ele:

This was a hard pattern to come up with. I made each shape separately, then hooked the loops together with a crochet hook (around the black Pentagons)and stitched through the loops between the white polygons. Here's the pattern, I you want to try it.




Knitted Soccer Ball by Tommy Smith

Black Pentagon (make 12):

CO 5 sts and join in the round

K 1 row (If you used the Long-Tail Cast On Skip this row)

KFB into every stitch [10 sts]

K 1 Row

(K1 YO K1) x5 [15 sts]

(K1 KTBL K1) x5 - this twists the YO from the previous row

K 1 Row

Cut yarn leaving a long tail. Using a tapestry needle and the tail from the beginning Cast On, thread through remaining live stitches on the needle. Do not pull tight this will be removed later.

White Hexagon (Make 20):

CO 6 sts and join in the round

K 1 row (If you used the Long-Tail Cast On Skip this row)

KFB into every stitch [12 sts]

K 1 Row

(K1 YO K1) x6 [18 sts]

(K1 KTBL K1) x6 - this twists the YO from the previous row

K 1 Row

Cut yarn leaving a long tail. Using a tapestry needle and the tail from the beginning Cast On, thread through remaining live stitches on the needle. We will call this the safety yarn. Do not pull tight this will be removed later.

Finish:

To finish, place a Black Pentagon in the center of 5 White Hexagons. Using a crochet hook, pick up one loop from the edge of the Black Pentagon (at the end of your last stitch) and pick up one loop from the edge of a White Hexagon. Pull the loop from the White Hexagon through the loop from the Black Pentagon. This will leave the loop from the White hexagon on the crochet hook. Now hook the next loop on the Black Pentagon and pull it through the loop on the needle. Continue this until 3 loops from each color have been captured. Pick up another White Hexagon and continue the procedure for 3 more loops. Repeat until the Black Pentagon is surrounded with the 5 White Hexagons. Use the long tail to secure this loop. The safety yarn can be removed from the Black Pentagon.

Using the diagram below, connect all your pieces. Remove the safety yarn when the Hexagon or Pentagon is fully attached. Before you finish the last row, stuff with filling.

I won’t say this is an easy pattern, but knitting should challenge you sometimes!

Here's the Nurse Mouse. I have made 2 of these and this one is the better of the 2! I was trying to balance the mice and turn them to show the 360 view. It was raining and I was in a hurry... So you get the falling mice babies view...

Got a Soccer Ball coming real soon. Maybe even today, if I can get some computer time at work... :o)

Castle Mouse

Video of the latest Mouse from Alan Dart's pattern. I got a new camera. It's a Flip.
I have been impressed with it so far. Back to the mouse: I used a bamboo skewer for the pole and I put a gold bead on the end. The pattern on his shirt is stitched in after the fact. This was my third time doing that method and I still need practice, but it still looks nice. I now have another request for the Nanny mouse. So pictures or video will soon come!!!

Mom's Sock (with the Fleegle Heel)

I got this yarn on a trip to Stitches South. It was free! Universal Yarn hosted the trip and they had prizes for everyone. This is Universal Yarn Bamboo Sock . I got it free but the price online is cheap, and I have enough to make a set of footies.

Mom liked them a lot. It's so good to see someone enjoy a pair of hand knit socks. She was surprised by how good they felt on her feet.

The pattern was a standard sock design: size 2 needles, loosely CO 64 ( I used long tail and size 3 needles for this) , make 2 inches of 2 x 2 ribbing and start the pattern. The pattern is a odd basket weave I found in a pattern book that worked for 64 stitches. Then the good part:

The Fleegle Heel!

I am so impressed with this style of heel that I don't think I will ever knit a different style. I have been so frustrated with the Short Row Heel and I never liked the Heel Flap. I have finally found the heel for me! It is comfortable and there are NO HOLES!!!!!!
Now I have to find the best toe and I can settle back and be happy with my socks.

A Spider For My Brother

I'm not sure why he wanted it, but I'm always up to a challenge. You can't see it clearly in the photo: there's a heart on the Black Widows back instead of the usual hourglass. It was a final change that I jokingly suggested and he said it would be cool and different.
I put pipe cleaners in the legs to give them the ability to pose And the eyes are beads I sewed in with standard thread. I warned my brother that this wasn't a kids toy (may cause choking hazard.)
The picture was taken by my cell phone and edited with picnik. Its a free photo editing site one of my youth kids told me about. I like it.

The Mice

The Mice are from Simply Knitting. I was asked to make one that was brown with white spots on the back. I hope this is what was wanted. I'm very pleased with the Princess. The different colors are perfect and the little rose was a great addition. The bow on her tail was a suggestion from a friend. I have more mice (a prince in armor and a nurse with babies). I will post them soon!

This is a rhino for a great friend of mine. I recycled a sweater from Goodwill and I used a pattern from The World Of Knitted Toys. by Kath Dalmeny. Her patterns are knitted flat and I just don't like knitting that way. And the patterns turn out huge. So, I used size 2 needles and It turned out great! 

The Bear -Yellow

This little yellow bear is a patten from Jean Greenhowe's Toy Collection

I made it for a wonderful frriend of mine.
I do believe she liked it!

This wasn't a hard knit. I just had to adjust for knitting in the round. instead of knitting flat and sewing together.

I finally got done with the frog princess! It's an adaptation from Alan Darts pattern in Simply Knitting. I just love the toys.

New Knitting Online Comic

find more here:The Knit Princess