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

Showing posts with label easter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label easter. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Legs for Eggs with Leggs

......

        Spring is coming!!  :o) 

                   
              Getting ready for a        
                             
                
                               

                        
                                      
                        


My dear friend, 
Chiwaluv (of Chiwaluv Amigurumi http://www.blogger.com/profile/10814053987758155829 ) 
asked me how to make the legs/feet for the Eggs with Leggs, and I wrote this up for her.   Since Easter is getting close, I'm sharing it with anyone who'd like to make these funny little guys.  :o)    We found them to be very amusing. 


For more about the Eggs with Leggs, and their cousins, the Eggy Peeps (including a pattern), please see these posts:
And


              
                       


Note: although the available color patterns are not the same as when I made these, four years ago (!), you can still find some terrific patterns in Bernat Baby Jacquards here:
And other places.  Self patterning sock yarns would work well too, just use appropriate needle sizes to make a tightly knit fabric so the stuffing doesn't show.   Or if you're energetic, create your own stripes and patterns. ;o) 


Here are the Leggs instructions for the Eggs with Leggs.  I hope it's understandable.   It's just icord folded and stitched, but not so easy to describe how to do it.  Heh heh.  


Leggs for Eggs with Leggs

I made a 6.5" to 7" 4st icord out of orange Microspun (probably on sz 3 ndls)
as follows:

1. C/o 4 st
2. K arnd on 4 st till cord is 6.5" - 7" long. 
3. End off. 

Fold and stitch the icord into two "Y" shaped feet (using 1 icord to shape both feet - attached at the bottom of the "Y") as follows:
(I separated a length of matching yarn into two parts, half the strands in each, for sewing it together.  But thread would work too.)

1. Holding the end of the icord vertically, go up 1/2" from the end of the cord held in your fingers, run the tapestry needle with yarn or thread thru, go up another 1/2" and fold down. 
2. 1/2" from the first fold, fold up and run tapestry needle thru the fold.
3. 1/2" up from the second fold, fold down.  Run needle thru all 4 strands. 
4. Down another 1/2" (down 1" from the third fold), stitch down to the last fold and through the start of the icord (1 foot is shaped). 
 ** Do not cut icord. ** 
 ** You will continue with the second foot on the same cord. **
5. Fold cord up from last fold and run stitch thru the fold. 
6. Repeat steps 1-4 for the second foot. 
7. Sew to bottom of egg. 

Without the stitching, the folds will look like 2 "M"s with long outer legs.

           
                   

                          
                             
              

I'm sorry I don't have a better photo of the legs.  These were all given away and I didn't take any pics of the legs on their own.  :o( 

 
                   


Wishing you all a very Happy Spring!!  It'll be here soon, I promise!  :o)   
And have fun with your Eggy Peeps and Eggs with Leggs!





Sunday, April 8, 2012

Happy Easter, Happy Spring! :o)





Kickass Profile Graphics







wishing all of you joy at this wonderful time of year!

with love from
theknittycat and mr. theknittycat (anthor)








Easter Owlies Coming Soon!
(oops!  How did that Kitty Peep Ball sneak in there?)




theknittingkitty for theknittycat

Friday, April 22, 2011

HAPPY EASTER! HAPPY SPRING! and Mimi the Eggy Peep in her Hot Air Balloon


Free Glitter Graphics


Meet Mimi the Eggy Peep in her Egg Cup and ....
flying in her Hot Air Balloon!  :o)



Mimi the Eggy Peep in her Egg Cup


 

I'm so sorry that I've been so swamped with making gifts for Easter and the many April birthdays in our family, for the past couple of months, and haven't been able to post anything!  I have still to write up the last installment of my Christmas peeps, and so many more peeps that I haven't had time to post.

After my "knitting injuries" from my far too zealous Christmas knitting, I've been *gasp* crocheting my wee peeps!  Oddly, at the moment, it hurts less to crochet than to knit!  But I have to take it slowly.  And I've been gaining even MORE respect and admiration for the amazing creations that my crocheting amigurumi-making (toy-making) friends come up with all the time, than I already HAD!  I'm finding it a lot harder to crochet ami's than to knit them !  Eeek!  heh heh 
(even though I've been crocheting other things than toys for YEARS!)  But I'm happy to be crocheting them till I can knit again.  I do have to stick with simple shapes, though.  No teensy limbs!!!  ha ha!  I tried!  ;o)   I've actually written up two posts chronicling my foray into crocheting toys but haven't yet had the opportunity to get the photos posted and finish them.  So that's something to look forward to.  ;o)  

I'll be posting more of my simple crocheting efforts soon.  I just HAD to get these pics of Mimi up right now, since my Hub and I got such a kick out of playing with her while taking them!  I hope you'll take a peek at the "Screaming Mimi" video we made.  heh heh


and Mimi with her Hot Air Balloon!



Wheeeeeeee!


Video of Screaming Mimi Taking a Ride is here!
(be sure to have your sound turned on...  hee hee)

 

I got this idea from a photo of an adorable design by "Crocheting Crab"

Who has a free pattern here


I didn't use a pattern but I've made notes of making Mimi in her eggcup so I may have a pattern in the future (you're on your own if you want a balloon like mine, though,  heh heh)

We're wishing you all a beautiful and Blessed Easter and

HAPPY SPRING!!!  :o)




theknittingkitty for theknittycat

Sunday, April 4, 2010

HAPPY EASTER!! A Plethora of Peeps! :o)

HAPPY EASTER!!


A Plethora of Peeps... 

Finally the peeps I've been working on for Easter are DONE!!  and ready for giving!  :o)

HAPPY EASTER!!  :o) Easter Eggy Peeps

Little Eggy Peeps sitting atop their wee pouch nests
if you missed my previous preview post about this wonderful self-patterning yarn
and a simple pattern it's here.

  

HAPPY EASTER!!  :o)  Easter Eggy Peeps
Lots of  Eggy Peeps and Easter Eggs and  Eggs with Leggs  :o)

HAPPY EASTER!!  Eggs with Leggs
Eggs with Leggs sitting on their little nests.  :o)
 
Easter Eggy Peeps
My favorite egg.
 
Easter Egg Pin Cushion Ring
an egg ring pin cushion for my sis. I tried it and it works GREAT!  I have to make one for myself!  :o)

Easter Eggs knitted with self patterning yarn
a basket of eggs showing the very cool patterning this great yarn makes!

Easter Eggs with Leggs
okay I love this photo!  heh heh  Eggys with Leggys!  hee hee

Easter Eggy Peeps
Easter Eggy Peeps tucked inside their little pouch nests
 

We wish you all a very Happy Easter!! 
and a joyous Spring!!


Don't you just LOVE SPRING?!!!  Yay!  Flowers and baby animals and sunshine!!  What could be happier?!  :o)

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Friday, April 2, 2010

What happens to the eggs the Easter Bunny Brings? :o)




Have you ever wondered what hatches out
of the eggs laid by the Easter Bunny?

What happens to eggs laid by the Easter Bunny... Smaller GIF















(click on the picture if it's not moving...)

hee hee

Eggy/Bunny Pattern pdf is available here.

When I made this nest (part of the many peeps and accessories made for Easter gifts), I couldn't decide which side should be the outside, because I liked the patterning of the yarns so much on the knit side, but it looked more like a basket than a nest on the knit side... soooooo... And that's how I get my ideas!  heh heh

I don't have a pattern for the nest/basket, but it is a simple circle with sides, made with two bulky textured yarns held together (in this case Bernat's Soft Boucle and TLC Amore).  See the directions for the Eggy Peeps in the previous entry.  It will be the same, up to the point where you begin to decrease.  You won't do any decreasing.  Just keep knitting around till it's the height you want, making sure it's enough to get the top to curl down (sometimes stockinette's inherent curl is your friend), and then bind off.  You don't want a loose bind off for this.  The handle of the basket is simply i-cord.  Make sure it's the length of the curve that you want to tuck it into, so it won't show.


Saturday, February 27, 2010

Eggy Peeps, Pretty Easter Egg Yarn, And Free Pattern!! :o)

I recently got some beautiful self-patterning yarn, Bernat Baby Jacquard, to make some socks and while looking at the socks I had made from one of the skeins, I thought that it would make wonderful Easter Eggs!  :o)  Soooo....

Chiwaluv and I were "chatting" about the Easter Eggs and Eggy Peeps, that I'm making for Easter gifts, and it occured to me that you folks might like to know about the yarn for your Easter knitting and crocheting.

I'm including notes for how I knit my eggs, plus a few egg pattern links, both in crochet and knit ....


Easter Eggs and Eggy Peeps in progress

inset is the pattern on the bottom of the egg





The one with feet (in progress - ends still sticking out and feet just pinned on) is from the
same skein as the hatching egg!




a bunch of eggs and one Eggy Bunny in progress
(the orange and yellow striped egg is made with a variegated yarn
-Red Heart Kids, I think- for a special nephew who adores those colors)

This Bernat Baby Jacquard yarn is just terrific!  From one skein, you will get lots of eggs, each different from the others.  The eggs I've made (so far) are from three different colorways, but just from one skein, I've gotten several egg designs with real variety!  :o)

I'm also making little nests and bags for the peeps.  Nothing so elaborate as last year, since I'm still quite sick, but I LOVE making these sweet eggies!

Knitting the self patterning yarn in the round creates these wonderful patterns that they were designed for, but it would be very interesting to crochet with it (or knit the eggs flat) to see what kind of patterning that makes, too!  :o)

My version of eggs is super simple.  They could be done on dpns or converted to flat but I knit them  in the round on two circular needles.  If you haven't tried two circs yet, this would be a good opportunity to try them on such small projects -  it's soooo much easier using the two circs than working with dpns, and it's much easier on your hands as well.  Of course that's just my opinion that they're easier to work with - 'cause I'm not coordinated enough to use dpns.  ;o)

Pattern Notes:
Using Bernat Baby Jacquard or other self patterning or variegated yarn and (2) U.S. sz 3 circular needles...

I make my eggs like I'm making a ball for the first half, then just add a couple of extra plain rounds to the middle (in addition to the couple of plain rounds you normally do) to elongate it. Then for the decreasing
rounds, I do two plain rounds between the decrease rounds instead of one which makes the tapered top.

Disclaimer:  These pattern notes have not been tested, so if you're unsure, use one of the patterns written by the experts that I've linked to at the bottom of this post.

1. Using two circular needles (I'm using U.S. sz 3's), cast on 6 st 
with Judy Becker's Magic Cast On
(or cable c/o 3 on 1 ndl, k acr, p/u  3 on 2nd ndl from bottom of cast on)
2. Inc in ea st (inc1, k1) arnd (12)
3. K arnd
4. (Inc1, k2) arnd (18)
5. K arnd
6. (Inc1, k3) arnd (24)
7. K arnd
Cont. in this manner, increasing 6 st ev rnd till you reach the 
diameter you want (I went to 36 stitches)
8. (Inc1, k4) arnd (30)
9. K arnd
10. (Inc1, k5) arnd (36)
11. K arnd 8 or 9 times
Start decreasing in the same way that you increased, but with an extra 
knit rnd between (decrease 6 st ev third rnd)...
Oh and start stuffing before the hole gets small!  ;o)
12. (K2tog, k4) arnd (30 st)
13. K arnd 2x
14. (K2tog, k3) arnd (24 st)
15. K arnd 2x
16. (K2tog, k2) arnd (18 st)
17. K arnd 2x
18. (K2tog, k1) arnd (12 st)
19. K arnd (only 1x to make it a little more rounded at the top)
20. K2tog arnd (6 st)
 Kitchener st closed (or close as you would normally close a ball)

Hatching Easter Eggy Peeps

Make the same as the eggs, but switch to yellow yarn (I used a fuzzy  yarn) after the first decrease round.
 (I carry the egg yarn up through the egg to make the cap in one piece with the egg, instead of breaking and reattaching it.)
Add a cap by knitting a disk and sewing it on, or in one piece as follows:

When you have decreased down to 6 st again, switch to egg yarn
rpt  steps 2-7 of the beginning of the egg pattern
Then decrease back down again as you would decrease for a ball.
1. (K2tog, k2) arnd (18)
2. K arnd
3. (K2tog, k1) arnd (12)
4. K arnd
5. (k2tog arnd (6)
6. Kitchener st closed (or use your favorite method of closing)

Flatten the shape you have just made and stitch it down with the tail of yarn.
Add a few bits of yellow below the start of the yellow rounds with duplicate stitch to make it look jagged, or you can slip some of the stitches on the first round of yellow.


Update 03/12/14

Pattern notes for Leggs for "Eggs with Leggs" now available here:
 
If you want to crochet eggs, I would think it's the same premise except eliminate half of the knit plain rounds.  So you'd increase every round till reaching your desired diameter (like making a ball), crochet around several times without increasing,  and then decrease every other round to taper.

And here are free patterns from the experts... 
Littlecottonrabbits' pattern includes really beautiful fairisle ones!
(I don't like to do colorwork, so I LOVE self-patterning yarn!!)

Jean Greenhowe's free pattern (knit flat)
http://www.jeangreenhowe.com/Images/Novelty_Eggs.pdf

Littlecottonrabbit's free pattern knit flat with fairisle instructions for pretty colorwork!
http://littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk/free_knitting_patterns/

Curlypurly's, purlbee's and emmyknits, in-the-round on dpns free patterns
http://www.curlypurly.com/eggs.html
http://www.purlbee.com/knitted-easter-eggs/
http://emmyknits.wordpress.com/2009/04/11/easy-knitted-easter-eggs/

And here's a couple of crochet patterns that I found, too!:
http://knittingcrochet.suite101.com/article.cfm/easter_egg_crochet_pattern
http://www.thecraftytipster.com/amigurumi-egg.html

I bought the yarn here:
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/productdetail.jsp?pageName=search&flag=true&PRODID=xprd561154


Spring is coming! Yay!

 

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Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Little Limbless Pocket Lambies Part One...

A Lambie Thank You to Snuffykin...

For all the very hard work she did on the weloveamigurumi swap, and for being the sweetie that she is,
I sent snuffykin this wee limbless Pocket Lambie named Laddie  (see snuffykin's awesome creations here)


Laddie atop his grassy hillock (pocket) and wearing his flowery garland

 


Laddie inside of his grassy hillock (pocket) 



 
Laddie in my hand (he's a wee fellow)



 
The back of Laddie's flowery garland

 


The page I sent with wee Laddie


You can see that he is wearing the original "grassy" garland that I made for him in this group of photos,
I made the "flowery" one after and sent them both.  :o)



and here's Laddie with his two cousins, inside and atop their grassy hillock pockets



Apologies for the crummy group photos... I didn't have all of them together for long enough to take decent photos.
The first one on the left is Mitzy, who went to my Mum-in-law in Scotland for UK Mother's Day,
the middle one is Laddie,
and the one on the right is Mitzie, who stayed home with us as my dear Hub's Easter Peep

Yes, it's Mitzie and Mitzy... I liked the name!  ;o)

I'll post more pics of Mitzy and Mitzie when I put up more of the Easter Peeps.  :o)

More peeps pics (but no new ones other than these) on my flickr pages http://www.flickr.com/knittycat

HAPPY SPRING!!  :o)

Don't you just LOVE springtime?!  :o)   

Flowers and Birdies and Baby Animals!!  :o)  Amigurumi Heaven! 

      


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Saturday, April 11, 2009

HAPPY EASTER! HAPPY SPRING!

HAPPY EASTER!  HAPPY SPRING!

 

Here's a preview of the peeps I made for Easter ...  I'll put up more shots of them soon.  I had such fun making these limbless peeps!  And I had some wonderful yarn to play with, sent to me by my friend, Romana, of YarnCloud Yarns (www.yarncloud.com)!  The textures and colors were exciting and fun!  I loved putting together the various color schemes for each of the basket/peep sets.

 

More about this soon... (well, we can hope, can't we?)






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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!