Little Cotton Rabbits

Lions free supplement pattern

 

 

 

 

 

Everything seems to be taking much longer than usual at the moment and since Toby went back to school it has felt like I've been really busy but not actually getting anything done. I have however managed to finish off the free Lions supplement pattern and have just uploaded it to the Facebook group and Ravelry:

New Lions supplement pattern

This pattern is a free one and therefore only gives basic instructions on converting the existing 9 inch bear patterns - you'll need either of the Boy Bear or Girl bear patterns in order to knit a complete Lion or Lioness.

If I had to guess, I expect that the boy Lion is going to be the more popular make of the two and I have had fun making a few myself during the process of working out the pattern. There should be a health warning attached though - that mane really tests the patience and is not something to tackle if you're in a hurry ;)

As always, I hope that this pattern helps spread a little pleasure and enjoyment out there, things that seem harder than ever to find and hang on to right now. Hope you're finding a little of each in your days. I'm finding mine out in the peace and tranquility of the quiet woods and have a few pictures to share in the next post.

'Til next time xxx

 

hello again

 

 

 

 

 

Hello and thanks for dropping in to visit here despite my long absence. I hope you've had a good few months and that life for you is finding a balance in these strange times.

The summer break here has been a little challenging at times, things have been difficult for Toby with all of the unpredictable happenings and changes due to covid 19, so we slowed things right down and just parcelled each day up and put it away, moving on to the next one with the hope that it would be a better one. We've had a gentle pace and a very limited routine to our days but that has helped him to settle and calm. He's enjoyed lazy morning lie-ins with breakfast in bed and our daily walks (come sun, rain, wind or storms) have been a time of meditative contemplation. As we've walked quietly together along the peaceful woodland paths, I've matched my pace to his, stopping for minutes at a time when he's in sensory shutdown and can't move, and trying to keep up with him (but mostly failing) when he is overwhelmed by the desire to run. The walks have been the highlight of our days.

There's been a lot of evening knitting time for me while he's watched his videos and played with his books and duplo, and as a result I have a lot of pattern plans on the go. I'm currently working on a set of removable shoes for the animals (for both the regular sized patterns and the small version); the badger pattern is coming together slowly and I'm also working on small versions of all of my animal designs. I've been playing around with this lion idea too, and though it's not quite right yet I hope to have this ready soonish as a free supplement to the existing bear pattern. I'll keep you posted here of developments.

In other news,

• I'm very flattered to have been nominated for Noteworthy Knitting Blog in the Crafties, 2020 which is organised by Lovecrafts. If you'd like to vote for me I'd really appreciate that, the voting link is here.
• September 3rd was my 14th anniversary of starting this blog and so I'd like to hold a little celebratory giveaway, but need to get myself a little organised here first. More news of that in a later post.
• The Facebook group has been a great source of pleasure for me over summer, I've loved seeing everyone's projects there and at the end of August we topped 3,000 friendly members. I'm pondering how to celebrate that with an exclusive giveaway over there but haven't yet worked it out, but that will be coming up too. If you're on Facebook and would like to join us and share your projects, you'll find the group here

Well, that's all the news from me, I mainly just wanted to break the silence and say Hi. Now that Toby is back at school (for his final year) I'm hoping to be able to pop in here regularly and I'll keep you posted on pattern writing progress and the giveaways.

Thanks as always for taking time out of your day to join me here, I really appreciate your visit :)

............................................................

PS: I'm sure someone will want to ask, so here's a little info about my notebooks.

I like to write all of my patterns longhand as I'm working them out, so always have several notebooks on the go, jotting down ideas, trying things out, changing them and trying them again - it's a long slow process :) The notebooks themselves are from MD paper - the pages are in a lovely paper that takes the ink well, and I like to personalise them with stickers from the wonderfully talented Nastia Sleptsova.

 

 

Sundress bodice / camisole free pattern

 

 

 

 

Hello, I hope you're having a good week.

We're deep in the school summer break here and Amy is back home with us at the moment so I've not been getting much computer time. It's lovely having Amy back here and we've been enjoying walking in familiar places in the afternoons, family dinners and watching films together in the evenings. It's so good to spend some time with her again after 21 weeks apart because of lockdown.

Well, I'm popping in very briefly today because I have a free pattern supplement to share with you. While I was working on my recent bags, baskets and backpacks pattern I had an idea for a new dress bodice (you'll see the similarity to the bag handles). It's taken me a while to write this up and I cannot guarantee that the pattern is error free as my brain isn't getting much concentration time so it's had to be worked on whenever I can fit in the time. Hopefully it will be coherent enough to follow and will give all the necessary details.

The free supplement will work with either the regular 9 inch sized animals or the newer small 7 inch size. You will need to use it in conjunction with one of the existing dress patterns - either one that is included in an animal pattern or one from the dress collection patterns ('seasonal dresses', 'textured dresses' or 'small dresses'). Work the skirt part up to and including the waist decrease from one of those patterns and then use the free bodice pattern to create a new sundress option.

Also included are brief instructions on using the bodice to make a little camisole/vest top, which makes a cute little pyjama set when combined with the shorts from one of the boy patterns. Pictures of both the sundress and the camisole in both sizes are above. The pattern is free to download from either Ravelry or from the Facebook group.

I hope you enjoy using the new free supplement and it gives you lots more options for creating outfits for your Little Cotton Rabbit animals, happy knitting, J xx

 

 

Bags, Baskets and Backpacks

 

 

Before I started the Little Cotton Rabbits Facebook group it hadn't occurred to me how much people like to give their knitted animals accessories. Seeing lots of projects there with little shoulder bags and backpacks started me thinking that it might be nice to have a range of bag accessories for my animals, and so here they are.

There are 5 little patterns within one, though lots of extra options within that so that you can customise each bag or basket:

• A backpack/rucksack with a gusseted flat bottom so it can stand on it's own, a front flap to keep any treasures inside secure and the option of fastening the flap with either a strap and loop or a button and buttonhole.
• A basic basket that can be made in 3 different styles depending on the type, length and attachment points for the handles.
• A little shoulder bag which can be made in colour-work or texture.
• A shopping/market bag in a choice of 2 different open-work patterns
• A cross-body/handbag in either a 2 or 3 colour tweed pattern or a honeycomb texture pattern.

The pattern is up on Ravelry and over on Etsy too if you're interested in giving it a go. As always I am excited to see what people do with these and as they knit up quickly I'm hoping they'll be good fun to knit.

Well, I'm off to do some housework (reluctantly, I'd definitely rather be knitting) and get things ready for Amy coming home tomorrow. It's been 4 months since I last saw her and I've missed her so much, it will be lovely to have her back here for the next few weeks. Hope you have a good weekend in store too,  J x

 

happy Summer

 

 

Just popping in briefly to wish you all the very best for a happy Summer (or Winter if you're in the Southern hemisphere). The school summer break has just started here and although Toby had only been back at school for a few weeks and with shorter days, he had begun to settle into a routine, so there's a new one for him to adjust to now. Not that he'll be complaining, as he definitely would choose a long lie in each morning :)

I'm looking forward to next weekend when Amy is coming home. I've not seen her since the beginning of March and although we've texted almost every day I've missed her so much. I'm so grateful that she was able to stay with her boyfriend's family during the lockdown, it's definitely helped her cope with these trying times.

The summer break from school is 7 weeks long, so I might not be here very often during that time, though I do hope to pop in now and again and I'm also hoping to hang out on the Facebook and Ravelry groups too, so maybe see you there. I'll will be back soon though with news of the latest pattern which I finished off earlier today and is currently in testing. Can't wait to share it with everyone - it's for accessories and there's a sneak peek in the picture above at the basket that's included. I'm so pleased with how it's turned out and the bunny twins Charlie & Coco have had fun testing out how many strawberries they can fit into their baskets (these bunnies and their clothes are knitted from my small rabbit pattern and the new small clothing patterns for the dress, sweaters and dungarees).

Well, wishing you a happy weekend, hopefully I'll be back next week with some new pattern news, J x