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Tips & Techniques for Knitting theknittycat's Peeps and Other Toys

Sunday, March 23, 2008

HAPPY EASTER! And What Happened to Valentine's Day?



We wish all of you a Happy and Blessed Easter!



Easter has come so early this year... I was really caught unprepared!  I suddenly realized one day, a couple of weeks ago, that I hadn't  made any Peeps for Easter!!!  No Peeps for Easter?  Now that's just wrong!
So... I've been furiously knitting to get some Peeps done in time. I'm writing up a couple of patterns as I go and I'd hoped to have them up in time for folks to use them for Easter if they'd like, but that just hasn't been possible.  I'll post them soon though.
 
EGGY/EYEBALLS
I was trying to think of something less cutesy than my usual fare, to make for the older boys (teens), and I remembered seeing these clever and adorable "Which Came First" photos =LINK= from mochimochiland, of eggs reversing to chicks!  So brilliant!  Coupling that with the fact that every time I make an Elmo or Cookie, my DH and I wind up playing with the eyeballs (and I do keep threatening to make eyeballs for the boys) - and the inevitable happened...



EGGY/EYEBALLS
 











You can pretty much see how I made these from the photos... make the eyeballs from the Muppet patterns, and instead of closing them off, stuff them a bit (about a third of what you would normally) and then attach the egg yarn and start increasing again.










Okay. Now for the cutsey...
I just had to make them something cutesy too, didn't I?  That's what I DO!  :o)

I recently saw, and LOVED, these wonderful egg shaped amigurumi =LINK= and wanted to come up with my own, all-in-one-piece, knitted versions, and what better time than Easter for...


EGGY/BUNNIES!
 







Are they Eggs?













Or Are they Bunnies? 

Did you ever wonder what hatches out of the eggs that the Easter Bunny leaves?  Well, now you know.  ;o) 

And soon to come (next week I hope) - a pattern for them.  It's written and tested, but needs photos, etc. 




LAMBIES
The younger girls are getting fuzzy versions of my Lambie Peeps. Made the same way as the smaller ones, but with fuzzy yarn.  One is made with the new TLC Baby Amore, which is a very soft boucle, like the original Amore, but finer.  This stuff (both the regular and baby versions) makes a wonderful, kind of teddy bear, texture and is not difficult to work with, like most of the other furry yarns are.  NOT so easy to work with, but a super yummy texture, is the other yarn I used, Paton's Be Mine.  Lovely, soft fuzzy stuff! (sorry, no pics yet)

And... I took notes as I made the first one, and tested them on the second one, so I'll be posting a pattern for Lambies too!  TAA DAAA!  Well not "taa daaa" yet, I guess... We'd better wait till they're actually HERE to get excited!



For the older girls, I was inspired by this beautiful design =LINK= to make these ...


PETIT FOURS


And a little cake
Cute, huh?  Well, we think so, anyway!  :o)  And you can use them as pin cushions, or earring holders too!



Speaking of yummy fuzzy yarns...
I tried out a lovely new yarn from www.Spinblessing.com (same place I get all my fabulous Kinki Amibari bamboo circular needles) for a couple of the eggy/bunnies - Red Heart Baby Teri.  It's white terrycloth looking yarn with shiny, pale pastels running through it.  Just beautiful!  And not difficult to work with.. Even on size 4 needles!  My DH has put in a request for a lambie made with it (when I'm finished with Easter of course), and that should be so cute!  :o)





WHAT HAPPENED to VALENTINE'S  DAY?
As some of you know, I have some health challenges that interfere at times with me doing the important things like playing with the Peeps, and on flickr, and here.  :o)  With a rather difficult series of bouts, I haven't been able to get any posts or patterns done in a while, or pics up on flickr.  But we're hoping that I'll be able to do more in the future. (you never know)  Soooo...


HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!  A little late...



Pudgie loves being on flicker!  Nearly as much as he loves sitting on his Daddy's lap while his photos are being posted.  :o)  We tell him that he's "Famous Baby" and he smiles and smiles!  To see more photos of Pudgie and some wonderful ocean photos, check out my DH's flickr pages =LINK=



A Valentine's Day present for my DH...
This little fellow is Funghi (pronounced fun-jee, fun-gee, or fun-guy - depending on your mood).  He's a character that my DH loves, from my favorite Nintendo DS games, "Touch Detective" and "Touch Detective 2 1/2".  I just had to make him a Funghi for Valentine's Day!  :o)  No pattern forthcoming for this one - he's a one-of-a-kind, but I'll be posting the pattern for the heart soon.  It's the same as my
"Unbroken Heart" =LINK= on flicker, so named because it's made in one piece, using slip stitches to shape the top lobes (bumps), and you never need to break the yarn.  (YAY!)








We hope that you have had a wonderful Valentine's Day and a very
Happy and Blessed Easter!