Eggstreme Sports

Once again it is time for the school Easter Egg competition. I think my daughter has done rather well this year. This is all her own work, and the only part I have had is providing stuff, as well as my husband doing a dash into town to look for quail's eggs, as the normal eggs wouldn't fit in the canoe.

Still no knitting you will notice. There is some on the way. 
 

Pirate Noodler

The school production of Peter Pan is next week. My daughter has the part of Noodler, one of Captain Hook's crew. So I just thought you might like to see her costume. She is wearing one of my blouses, and a handmade waistcoat. I sewed it from a suedette fabric (not real suede). It was not too difficult to fit the metal eyelets. They came with a tool, and you had to bash with a hammer. (Very satisfying.) And the tie is just a really long shoelace. You might also notice that Noodler is wearing a Canadian bandana, but I am hoping that by the time she is on the stage it will give the right effect.

I told her that she looks a bit more medieval serving wench than pirate, but she was very happy with the look. You can't see the bottom half unfortunately, but we found a long pair of boots in a charity shop, to add to the costume.  

She turned down my other suggestions. You know the sort of thing: beard, eyepatch, parrot etc. Probably just as well as she has to make a quick change and become a lost boy later in the show, which I forgot to photograph. But maybe I will be able to get some photos at the show.

Thank you for the all the kind messages last week.  I am very much recovered, and back to my needles.

Wheels

I have been poorly this week, and in fact have felt too ill to knit. (Hard to imagine, I know!) So no progress with the bear, or the socks that I have started. This is my only knitting this week, which are some wheels for a specially commissioned car. I am rather pleased with them though, as they are spot on for the real car.

Easter Bunny Rabbits

Slightly distracted from my Teddy Bear (which is still slowly progressing), I've been knitting some little bunny rabbits for Easter. They are a fairly quick make, and a great way to use up any tiny scraps of wool you have left over. (Each rabbit takes less than 4g of wool.) Although I have stuck to quite realistic colours, it would also be fun to make some in really bright colours.

They are really, really very tiny (about 1 inch or 3 cms wide). 

So if you hate fiddly this is probably not for you. 
But if you like quick and cute then it is.

Did you know that a rabbit's tail is called a scut? 

My pattern tells you how to easily make a really tiny pom pom for a tail.

I have mainly been using 4ply, but this slightly thicker wool gave an even fluffier looking rabbit.

My husband looked at the growing collection on my work table, and said they really are living up to their name, and breeding like rabbits. If you want to make your own rabbits, the pattern is already on ravelry and Etsy, and will be available later today on LoveKnitting ...
 

Chinese New Year

Celebrating Chinese New Year, at the Magic Lantern Light Show at Chiswick House. Just a tiny selection of the many photos that I took. It took over an hour to walk around the park, and see all the beautiful lights. Although it was cold it was well worth it.

My daughter and her best friend (who was visiting from California). Churros to warm up on the way home.

Teddy in Progress

Teddy is still a work in progress, and writing this pattern is taking up so much time, that I have nothing else to write about. (But he has progressed a lot from Last Week.) As you can see Teddy No 1 is complete. My favourite bits of him are his head and ears, and his feet with their paw pads.  I love his little solemn face (I first of all made him with a big grin, but this was a bit spooky and had to be unpicked for this more serious fellow). The other thing that you really can't see from my photos, is that he has a slight hump, and a curved bottom.

But there are a few things not quite right, so as you can see Teddy No 2 is well on the way. Teddy 1's arms look a bit like he has been working out at the gym. So the next version is going to have thinner arms, a slightly more pronounced muzzle, and hopefully be a bit less hippy. Although I found it quite easy to buy toymaker joints on-line, these are really hard to put together. I haven't been able to do this yet (so my husband is my bear assembler), so you need to have someone with a bit of muscle to help. In fact Teddy No 1 looks like just the sort of chap you need.

WIP - No Teddy Bears Were Harmed in the Making of This Project ...

WARNING - Some of you may find these photos distressing. 

Poor old teddy, but he has been so helpful, as head is just the right shape. I have been working really hard on this new teddy bear pattern. I want him to be a perfect traditional old-fashioned bear.

I am probably not even half way there yet, as I have done the arms, and I am working out the shaping for the head panels using Eric the Bear as my assistant. On the final pattern his head will, I hope, be knitted in one piece. This is not the way I usually work, but the shape I need is fairly precise and unusual. Nothing is going to be knitted in the round, because I find working flat means I can use short rows to get extra curves and bulges where I need them. A teddy should have a bit of a round tum.

Teddy may take a few more weeks, and then there will be test knitting, so probably even longer before I release the pattern. He is going to be jointed, so I also need to check out where I can buy some toymakers joints. 

For me this is a fairly big project. For this first version I am rapidly getting through some wool that I unravelled from a pullover. My mum enjoyed helping me with this at Christmas, and although she can't really see well enough to knit now, she is a pretty good unraveller.