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.