Cheezombie Test Knit

I was so lucky to test knit something for Cheezombie. The same designer who did the Slug, which is probably one of my favourite knitted toys. So feel very priviliged to be allowed to test knit another pattern for her.

And now, without further ado, meet Mr. Clam:

Fishies

Ready for another pattern?

The idea for these little fishies came from my 6 year old boy when he looked after our neighbours kitten. He loved little Cookie and always found new ways of playing with him. I explained that he could use a piece of grass or string and the cat would chase it. And that's where he started to get creative and I started using my knitting skills.

These fishies are easy and fun to knit. They take about 15 minutes, even for a beginner. Like all my patterns, they're very easy to follow and full of photographs to help explain.

And they're not just for the cat. You can make several of them and use them as decoration. Or you can turn them into a fishing game with a fishing rod and a bit of velcro.

The ideas are endless!

Oh and before I forget: you can buy them directly from my blog now. Thanks to Ravelry, the most amazing Knitting Community!

Magpie Patterns

I'm so excited! I've been approached by Amy from Magpie Patterns who told me she was a huge fan of my Pitter Patter socks, quote "I love your Pitter Patter Sock pattern (I found it on Ravelry) and have knit about a dozen pairs of socks using it."

And now she is offering MY patterns on her online pattern store!

She also did a small feature on my patterns on her fantastic blog! I've become a regular reading of her blog, because like me, she doesn't exclusively concentrate on knitting but more of all sorts of interesting crafts. And she has some amazing ideas and posts. And every thing looks so professional on her website, which is why it's even a greater honour for me to be featured on her website and blog. I definitely need to work on my photographs.

So where do I go from here?

Well, I'm working on several ideas at once. I've got some fun little Catnip Fishies coming, for all the cat fans out there. With special thanks to my 6 year old boy for the idea.

I've been working on a pattern of different New Zealand Birds. I'm concentrating on them being an easy and quick knit, yet look cuddly and cute and especially baby safe. They've been quite a bit of work though because I want them to look perfect!

A good friend of mine had a baby girl and I wanted to knit some pretty little booties or socks with a very special luxurious fingering yarn. However, the two patterns I tried didn't turn out nice at all. The problem is that the yarn I'm using doesn't hold the stitch definition very well. It contains cashmere, baby camel and silk. So I've been experimenting with different stitches and ideas. It was also very interesting trying to remember how small baby feet can be. Luckily there are quite a few sites out there with information on different sizing. So watch out for some baby socks!

FO: Slimy Sea slug

I finished this a while back but never got round to taking pictures of it. I have this little rule you see: my 6 year old isn't allowed the toy until his mum has taken pictures of it. And today, finally, I remember to take it to the beach and I even remembered to take the camera along (last time I left my camera at home and only had my crappy iPhone camera with me).

So without further ado, here's the Slimy Sea Slug:

There's a little story behind it. Last year we had toxic sea slugs on our beaches and needless to say our curious little boy was fascinated by them. Every time we were at the beach he spent ages looking, in the hope of spotting one. And unfortunately for him, lucky for me and for all the other beach goers, he never found one. So when I came across this gorgeous Garden Slug pattern, I just had to knit it.

I also had the perfect yarn for it, dkKnits in Times Square. This is probably my favourite yarn colour ever, it is the right mix of different colours without it getting too colourful. Here are my socks I knit with it. The pattern is called Maeby by Feministy, an amazing designer.

Unfortunately Becky from dkKnits had some serious health issues last year and can't stir her dye pot anymore due to the vinegar fumes. It's a real shame because not only did she love dyeing and even had an cool customized hand-dyed yarn club, but I thought she was extremely talented at it too. She had a such a creative vibe. And on top of all that, she's always been so friendly. I never suspected what she was going through until she told me. And she's sending me a big box of yarn that she custom-dyed for me last year. Can't wait to get it!

Anyway back to the slug. The pattern is fiddly and easy. And yes, you can use fiddly and easy in the same sentence. You see, although knitting tiny things are always fiddly, if you have a pattern that explains it so well and has pictures in it, so you can't mess it up, you end up being very surprised at how easy it all was. The whole slug only takes a couple of hours to knit and that includes the fiddly little bits.

The body is all knitted in one piece. And the only thing that needs to be sewn on are the lips. So really it's a very easy pattern and I'm definitely making more of these.

Perfect yarn + perfect pattern = perfect slug.