Chewie the Dinosaur

October 2014

I saw a made-up version of this at Yarndale 2014, and since the kits were selling for £6.50 I couldn't resist. Particularly as Christmas wasn't so far off, and I would love it if my little boy started to get into dinosaurs. I still think £6.50 for 3 balls of merino was an absolute bargain. There were even decent amounts left over.

George has christened his dinosaur Chewie, and he lives at the bottom of his bed. Occasionally when he glimpses Chewie's photo on my ravelry projects page he points to him and asks what he's doing out on the patio. I guess the world is a bit confusing when you're 3.

This pattern doesn't seem to have been listed on ravelry, and so I have to idea how many other Chewies there might be out there. I like to think of him as part of a herd, though.

Although undeniably cute, this wasn't the most enjoyable knit. Each spike was knitted separately, and then sewn on. Ditto the legs. As someone who hates finishing work it felt like a big ask. Full credit to my Mum for saving my sanity by offering to do the embroidery.

Pattern: Dinosaur in Merino dk by Wendy Yarns
Yarn: Wendy Merino dk
Amount: 2 balls green, 1 ball orange
Size: One size
On ravelry: here

Traktorineule

October 2014

My little boy loves tractors. He's not the first, and he won't be the last. But as I prefer to make my knitwear as appealing to him as possible so that we don't fall out, I've been scouring ravelry for this sort of thing for quite some time. If he's still into that sort of thing next year, then I might have a go at this one. I'm sort of hoping he will have moved on to dinosaurs, though. Or pirates. Or space.

The tractor chart used in this jumper is from this Finnish website, but I preferred the way it had been deployed in nupsi’s version, and so I copied that. This project was improvised, save for her notes and the chart from Novita.

This is a 4-ply jumper knitted on 2.75mm needles (and 2.25mm for the ribbing) so my gauge was probably roughly about where it should be.

George is nearly 3 in this picture, and this will fit him until he is nearly 4, I think. Based on a nicely fitting jumper of his, I was aiming for something measuring roughly: chest 27”, length 16”, sleeve seam 10”.

In my gauge, that was 104 stitches. I worked 2x2 rib for 6 grey rows, 2 red rows and then 6 more grey rows. I started the first tractor 10 stocking stitch rows up from the end of the ribbing and 35 stitches into the row. The second tractor is on row 92, and I started armhole shaping on row 105.

To make the armholes, I cast off 6 stitches twice then 2 stitches four times.

I made the neckline on row 128, by casting off the middle 35 stitches and then decreasing 5 stitches at neckline side on the next 2 rows. I wouldn't recommend that, though - I didn’t like the shape this gave me, and tidied it up a bit with short row shaping in the neckline rib. Even then, I still don't like it much, but it's wearable. I Must make something less wide next time.

The shoulder shaping started on row 148.

For the sleeves, I cast on 56 and worked in rib as for body. Then I worked even in stocking stitch, increasing 2 stitches on the 3rd and every following 8th row to 10”. I shaped the arm cap by casting off 6 stitches twice then 2 stitches four times and then 1 stitch at the start of every row until there were about 36 stitches left. At that point I decided that the arm cap looked a bit big, so speeded up by decreasing 1 stitch at each end of every row until 18 stitches were left. They seemed to fit into the armscye pretty well.

Pattern: 71. Traktorineule by Minna Metsänen / improvised
Yarn: King Cole Zig Zag in 49 Clerical (gray) and 761 Ruby (red)

Rowan Pure Wool 4-ply in Avocado 419 (green) and 454 Gerbera (yellow)

Rowan Wool Cotton 4-ply in 495 Marine

Amount: 2 Skeins of main colours, scraps of others
Needles: 2.25mm and 2.75mm
Size: 3 - 4 years
On ravelry: here

A Pair of Stockings

September 2014

These were long overdue. As an avid knitter, it was beginning to feel a bit wrong that my little boy didn't have a Christmas Stocking. As George was to have one, his cousin needed one too, as they are to spend Christmas together. Besides, I wanted to practise fair isle, play with colours and have an excuse to collect loads of Felted Tweed.

These are a knithack/mismatch of several patterns - primarily Spindleknitter's Stockings and Ho Ho Ho along with a couple of charts from The Tapdancing Lizard by Catherine Cartwright-Jones and Roy Jones and 150 Scandinavian Motifs by Mary Jane Mucklestone. A full list of what came from where is set out below.

From bottom to top: 

George

• Red hearts on blue - improvised
• Yellow bells on brown - from Spindleknitters Stockings
• Holly on green - from Spindleknitters Stockings
• White snowflakes on purple - from DROPS b21-32
• Brown reindeer on blue - from 150 Scandinavian Motifs 
• Yellow stars on navy - from The Tapdancing Lizard 
• Green trees on white - from 150 Scandinavian Motifs
• White snowmen on red - from DROPS 0-792

Gregor

• Train - from The Tapdancing Lizard
• Green chevrons - improvised
• Yellow and blue squares - improvised
• Trees - from Spindleknitters Stockings
• Yellow stars on navy - from 150 Scandinavian Motifs
• Brown reindeer on white - from DROPS 122-1
• Paper dolls - from 150 Scandinavian Motifs
• Snowmen on blue - improvised

Worked heel as per Spindleknitters Stockings. Worked in dk over roughly 72 stitches increasing and decreasing as needed to make charts fit.

Lessons I learned from making these - three colour colour work is faffy and tight and needs a lot of untangling, colour work is so addictive that it's easy to end up making a stocking so massive it'll take you forever to fill it, a stocking tapering out upwards from the heel is the shape I like best and felted tweed has the most gorgeous palate of colours ever.

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed dk in Scree, Sigh, Seafarer, Paisley, Rage, Mineral, Treacle, Clay, Pine and Herb
Needle: 3.25 mm
On ravelry here.