In my last post I showed the grey bear I made for my new grandson. I intended on having that bear and two more for the other grandkids done by Christmas. As usual, I overcommitted myself and didn't get them done. Today, however, I finished the bears for Jameson and Olivia.
The cream one on the left will be for Olivia and the tan one of the right is Jameson's.
I used CrochetObjet's Chunky Benji pattern. Since I had already made one of these, I decided to modify the pattern a little. The pattern calls for you to make the body with holes left for where the legs and arms go. After completing the body and head, you go back and pick up around the holes and crochet in the round to the end of each limb. I found this a bit annoying, having to rapidly rotate the body to crochet around. For these three bears, I reverse engineered the leg and arm patterns and made them first. Then when I got to the places where the holes were to be made, I attached half of the limb stitches as I crocheted the row. After a few rows, I went back and sewed the other stitches to the body. It worked out rather well.
My only worry was that I might run out of yarn before I could finish. With the first bear I made back in August, I only had inches of yarn left. Luckily, I had plenty. Here is what was left of the cream and tan yarns. Pencil and stitch marker included for size reference.
This Sunday I am taking a Knit to Fit class with my LYS. During the class I will make a Felix Pullover. The yarn for that is purchased and ready to go. This should be a quick knit. I'm using Bulky yarn and US 10.5 needles.
I am also slowly working on my Candy Corn sweater. I have the front and back pieces finished and the first sleeve started. There's no rush for this. Just as long as I get this done for next autumn.
A few weeks ago I also cast on a Cumulus Blouse. I have some Drops Melody that I thought would be nice for that. It's working up very fast on US 10.5 needles. The gauge is altered to accomodate the yarn.
Lastly, a Pressed Flowers Shawl is on the needles. In April I will be going to NashFest with a friend and her sister. They attended last year and made matching sweaters for the event. This year they decided a shawl would work. Since I'm tagging along I'm joining in the knit along.
That's all for now. Time to get a glass of wine and pull out some knitting.
