More Henry's Tiger

My sister Helen is very skilled at presentation.    Her present wrapping puts me to shame.  Me, I wrap something in tissue and put it in a bag.

Henry will be visiting Helen and Sam this weekend.   The tiger is there waiting for him.  Helen's presentation for the tiger is really fun.

A special box with air holes for breathing.....

Helen made a special travel box for the Tiger that has air holes so that Tiger can breathe freely as he waits for Henry to open the box.

This is way more exciting than finding a gift bag with tissue spring out of it....   This is more of a mystery.   Henry is two....and is old enough to find this exciting...I think.

Tiger with the note...

There is a note Helen wrote on my behalf (good thing as my handwriting is not legible).

"Dear Henry,

 I found this lost baby tiger cub.  He needs a strong, brave boy to be his family and keep him safe so I am sending him to you."

As the Tiger goes into the box, I think he looks happy.  I am hoping that Henry and the Tiger have a good long relationship together.

The Tiger is smiling...

Helen placed Tiger so that he looks like he is reaching out for a hug.  The finished size of the tiger is small enough that little hands will have no trouble hauling him around.   I stuffed the tiger so that he would be very squishy and cuddly.

Faces on stuffed toys are really important.   When I was doing the eyes...which I embroidered...I wanted to make sure that the eyes looked friendly and not squinty.  Tiger is supposed to be friendly, not having an attitude.   When I was stitching the mouth, I made sure there was a smile.   Making a "personality" is fun.   Were this for a teenager...the face might have been a little more snarky.   Tiger's face is good for a buddy.

Ready for Henry.....

I will be excited to hear how Henry likes the Tiger.   This, after figuring out what I had done wrong and re-checking the pattern, was a fun project.   The second tiger, for Augusto, has been mailed.   I hope both tigers are good buddies to their boys.

A Tale of Two Arms

I have been knitting the "Tigers are for Cuddling" pattern for Henry.  He needs a cuddle buddy as he has a lot of changes going on in his very young life.   I finished this last night.....after having to figure out a few things.

Henry's Tiger Ready for Cuddling...

Gregory Patrick, who wrote this pattern, also has a pattern called A Boy's Bunny which I have knit several times.

Knowing that I wanted this project to be done on time to ship it to a place Henry would be, I launched into this project a week or so ago.

Everything went fairly well until I got to the arms......

The problem is really in the reading of this pattern if you aren't paying full attention.  The long arm was the result of following the directions I thought I saw.   The short arm, which I used, is the result of reading more carefully.   There is a little problem with the wording of the tail...but not one that really matters.

This makes a really cute tiger.  Don't let the many stripes prevent making your own little buddy.

The yarn I used was a Paton's Canadiana and some Willow Burrow.   I stuffed it so that it holds its shape, but is still squishy enough to be cuddly.   Henry is pretty little...and is going to have a sibling soon...so the eyes are embroidered rather than using safety eyes.   The mouth and nose are also embroidered....and I made sure the tiger is smiling.

The Squirrel is Finished!

Frontal view of the squirrel.

The squirrel is finished!

Making the tail was interesting.  I will admit that I was worried that it would not look like I wanted it to look.  It doesn't, but it is okay.

Even if you aren't interested in making a squirrel, checking out the tutorial on making the tail is worth checking out for the technique.  This is something I had never really thought of doing...and will use on other projects.   One of my grandnieces loves horses.  This technique would product a pretty snappy mane.

I did embroider the eyes..not my best job but it works.  Safety eyes would not have given me what I wanted with this project.  The size would be way too big.....and the embroidered eyes just feel as though they are a better design choice.

This was a great project for learning new things.  Will I do it again?  Maybe.

Rabbit Hole Knits really is a great resource for stuffed animal patterns.   The added bonus is that a number of the patterns are free and none are inexpensive.

Short Rows

Knit 1, Squirrel 2 from Rabbit Hole Knits - in progress

One of my friends wanted a knit squirrel.  I don't judge.   Sarah Kellner had this cool pattern that I have been wanting to try.  Picked up some cheap brown yarn and had at it.  

I got to the body shaping and was stopped because my short rowing looked....very bad.   OH NO!   Craftsy has an excellent free short row class by Carol Feller.   Saved!

Carol Feller is a good teacher.  I will also be taking her longer class on short rows as I have decided that I really want to learn how to do short rows well...and learn how to use them in many different ways.

One of the best things about knitting is that you never, never know it all.   Learning new things is good for one's head!

Socks......Making Socks...and Making Socks

Each Christmas, I give heavy weight socks to a few people.   As I hate the rushing to the Christmas finishing line in the fall, I try to start early.   I have been churning out the socks for the folks who have finished their growing.

These are basic, top-down socks.   This is a very soothing project which requires very little thought.   I do this as I move ideas around in my mind and soothe worries that pop up.   This is also ideal bus stop knitting.   Best of all, I have a lot of people who love to receive them.  Keeping people warm is a good thing.

Rob's 2016 Socks

Using variegated yarn can make a really flashy sock.   The socks Rob will get this year are made out of some Canadiana that was being discontinued.   Seeing how these turned out, I really wish I had bought a few more skeins.  I love the pooling of the colors in this pair and find it very, very cheerful.

Raggi is another favorite yarn for these socks.  That goes only to the careful launderers....  Encore or Willow Burrow socks go to those who cannot be trusted with wool.  Rob gets Canadiana as he cannot tolerate any wool. 

Choosing the colors to suit each person is half the fun.  Last year, Elise got purple/blue socks with a bit of silver lurex...glitter rocks!   Her brother and cousins got something a little more conservative.  No matter what the color, everyone gets happy....and warm...feet.

Knitting Toys

One of the projects I never thought I would like to knit found out that I really love, is knitted toys.

The bunnies from Little Cotton Rabbits cannot be resisted.  Fuzzymitten also has patterns that are too adorable not to knit.   One must not forget Amanda Berry!  My first love was the patterns from Oliver Boliver....  

Currently, I am taking a Craftsy class from Susan Anderson and making a giraffe.   She explains things well...and usually tells you WHY she does the things the way that she does.   I have learned a lot from watching her.

These critters help use up odds and ends of stash yarn...that is one draw.  The other is watching a character come together.    Faces are important.   Faces give the animals their characters.   My first stuffed animal, Little Bear, had real attitude....and very bad behavior.  I have been more careful since then!

My very favorite of all the knitted toys I have done was from the pocket bunny pattern.  The yarn is Pipsqueak and knits up like fleece.  There is just something about this bunny....  It went to a special little girl.

The little tail was so cute.    I can't remember who the designer of this pattern is..but whoever it is is genius.   I will be making this pattern again.

I have used Pipsqueak on other animals as well.  While it is NOT the most fun yarn to work with, it makes such a cute toy that I do it anyway.

One of the things that Susan Anderson stresses is that the fabric should be knit tightly enough so that the stuffing does not show through.   That is easier to do with Pipsqueak than it is with a plain worsted yarn.

Instead of embroidering the eyes, I used safety eyes to get a slightly different look.  Choosing the right eyes was interesting as I wanted to make sure the rabbit looked friendly.

A little boy that I know LOVES elephants.  When I found the Babar pattern on Ravelry, I had to do it for him.  This was also a lot of fun.   As I was in a hurry, I only made one of the outfits.   Babar also has a green suit and bowler that can be knit.

Think about how the toy will be used when planning how to do the accessory pieces.

Babar's crown is sewn onto his head...firmly...so that it doesn't disappear when Babar and his boy have adventures.

The robe can be removed.  When I was putting in the stitches for the ermine part of the robe, I tried to be careful to keep them of a length that would not get tangled with little fingers.

Babar's eyes did get embroidered.   I am not totally happy with the way the eyes turned out...but it is all a learning experience.

Take a chance on toys.   Even adults like to get them!

Use fiber appropriate to the recipient.   Take into consideration how it can be cleaned.

Little Bear, the early toy, was given to my older sister.  She in turn gave it to our mother as a comfort in the hospital as she was leaving the world.   Little Bear did return to my sister....a job well done.

Too Many Projects, Too Little Time

Life has been interfering with my knitting.  Projects are hidden around my apartment....partially done.  One project goes back and forth to work with me.   Yet, I want to start a NEW project.  This time, I am making myself wait until at least one of the works in progress is done.

The project I want to start is a color work hat.    Why?  I really, really liked the pattern.   This will be for me.   I decided to use Knitpick's Gloss as I was really taken, for some weird reason, with the shade of gold called Masala.  This is weird as I don't really like gold..or even yellow if it is not painted on a kitchen wall (I have a love for yellow kitchens as my grandmother had a yellow kitchen in her city house.).  I choose the colors for the hat around the gold.

The hat pattern is The Plucky Knitter's Northport.  What for a picture of the color swatch!