Where it all began....

Ahh, I'm back. Baby is fed and sleeping. Now where were we? Ah yes. Knitting toys. First, my deepest thanks to my Aunt Jennifer who taught me to knit, several times, as I was growing up. Always patient and encouraging, even when my scarves ended up with whopping holes in them. I do believe both of my grandmothers also attempted to teach me when I was quite little. Now, onto the more recent past....

Well, it all started when I stumbled onto the Jelly Bums site. I can't quite remember just how I stumbled on it, only that it was the start of something amazing. The author, Raynor, is an amazing knitter who makes her own patterns and sells them. She also has a number of free patterns. I saw this turtle and just had to try it. My first one had me in love, even though my 'legs' turned out much pointier. I actually like them. They look like sea turtle flippers.

Two more swiftly followed and an attempt at Raynor's Sugar Bunny, into which I stuffed a rattle (a tiny plastic container of beads) for a baby toy.
After that I was hooked. I modified her bunny a bit (adding longer arms/legs, and a fluffy tail) in my second attempt which was given as a gift to a friend of mine.

It was during the crafting of the second bunny that I discovered safety eyes. These miraculous inventions are plastic eyes that look like pegs and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colours and styles. They fasten with plastic or metal washers to keep them safely on the toys. Absolutely fantastic for those of us that can't embroider. Unfortunately they are very very hard to find up here in Canada. I've found a fantastic supplier via etsy though that I've ordered from twice now and have so many eyes and so many ideas to craft that I'll never be done. :D

So, one creation led to another, and another and another....

I made this tiny whale, also from Raynor's site.

I had the crazy idea of making knitted baby blocks...because I couldn't afford the pattern I wanted to make the knit ring stacker I wanted. However one was enough, and it's HUGE. I may still go back and make a couple smaller ones for my nephew to stack.






In between all these fun creations, I was working on 3 baby blankets for gifts. Here's 2 of them. I don't have a picture of the third. I gave it to my sister though (it's huge and fuzzy soft in green/yellow) so I'll try and get her to dig it out so I can snap a shot later.

By this time I was head-over-heels in love with the most amazing man. Unfortunately he lives quite a distance away. So, I got the goofy idea to knit him a surprise gift to send with some goodies in the mail. He happens to love penguins. So I went hunting for penguin patterns. This site is what I found, and it has opened a whole world of new possibilities for me. I made a sample of the tiny penguin on the site. While cute (and about the size of my thumb), it just wasn't quite what I wanted.


So, using the knit-a-swatch-and-sew-and-drawstring-a-head-method (official technical term ;)) that the designer from Flutterby Patch had used, I created my own penguin pattern. I changed the feet and beak, added wings and a tail, and voila! Off it went and I believe he liked him. At least I know for sure he liked the candy and dates that went with it. ;)

I think this post is getting rather long, so I'll continue tomorrow with another picture packed post of past projects (say that 10 times fast!). So, until tomorrow, be safe and happy crafting.

*huggles*