Little Cotton Rabbits

mini bunnies and bears, two new patterns

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earlier this year I started playing around with the idea of a mini version of my knitted bunnies. I wanted a pattern that was a little simpler to knit and construct than my regular sized animals (they are shown in the picture above for comparison), and I also wanted the little toy to be suitable for a baby or small child, so the clothes are all knitted on with no removable parts or buttons. 

The pattern started out as a boy and girl version of a bunny but as I was working on it I thought it might also be fun to also have an option for an unclothed version and once I'd fiddled around with that it also occurred to me that it might be nice to do a bear as well. So what I have finally ended up with is two new mix and match type patterns:

• There's a girl version with instructions to make a bunny and a bear, with an attached dress and striped stockings but also has an option for a completely naked toy.
• Then there's the same for a boy version, again with instructions for a bunny and bear and options for a naked version or a version wearing attached jumper and shorts.

The mini animals work out at 14cm/5^1/2 inches tall if knitted with DK yarn on 2.75mm/US 2 needles, but you can make a smaller version with 4ply yarn and 2.5mm needles, or a larger version with worsted weight yarn and 3mm needles.

They are listed on Ravelry or on Etsy and the regular discount of 15% applies if you add 2 or more of my patterns to your basket.

With Easter coming up at the end of the month I though it might be good to share these patterns now as these little bunnies might make sweet Easter gifts. If you do use the patterns please come and share your projects on the ravelry group, I love seeing what people are making from my patterns and there are lots of friendly makers there who like admiring each other's projects.

Well that's it from me today. It's the start of the school break here and Amy is back with us for Easter so I'll not have much time to pop in here over the next few weeks, but I do want to share some other Spring things I've been knitting, so I hope to be back here next week with some pictures, 'til then have a lovely weekend x

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PS: There is a chart for the little heart on the dress in the foreground over on my post about duplicate stitch and at the bottom of that same blog post I've also added a chart for the rose pattern that I've used previously on some animal dresses.

 

A perfect Sunday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The perfect Sunday morning. What would yours be like?

Mine would look exactly like the top picture and I was lucky enough for that to be part of my Sunday yesterday.

My idea of the perfect Sunday is

:: waking up when you've had enough sleep, rather than to the sound of an alarm clock;

:: padding downstairs in cosy socks and PJs to pop the kettle on;

:: taking a tray laden with brewing breakfast tea and a warm cinnamon bun back to a still-warm bed;

:: reading and knitting the morning away in bed with chill radio playing until everyone else is up and wanting some lunch;

:: pottering in the garden after lunch, tidying up the vegetable beds and enjoying the golden light from the setting sun blushing the spring blossoms on the tree;

:: making a roast dinner for family and curling up together for wine and cuddles by the fire afterwards.

It's not often that everything is in alignment for a perfect Sunday, but I'm hoping for a re-run next weekend :)

My knitting projects above are: 

'Out of winter shawl' by Tamy Gore, knitted in simply stunning 'Owl Feather' Grenouille sock yarn

A pair of simple ribbed wintery wristwarmers that I've improvised in order to let this beautiful hand-dyed neppy yarn take centre stage. The the rich earthy tones and light neps of the yarn remind me of a ploughed field in winter, so ribbing seemed appropriate. The yarn is 'Need for tweed' BFL/Donegal nep from Ocean By The Sea (the making notes on the wristwarmers are on my ravelry project page)

Reading: The Peregrine by J. A. Baker - beautiful written, evocative prose for quiet Sunday morning

 

February blues

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February might be the shortest month but it always feels to me like time runs much more slowly in February than in any other month. To be honest I'm tired of grey, dreary, overcast days and I'm so looking forward to feeling the days lengthen out and seeing brighter colours emerging in the countryside. I'll be off on a snowdrop hunt sometime later this week because those delicate little bell shaped flowers are always the first signal of a change in the seasons. In the meantime I'm cosying indoors and knitting February away. For some reason I seem to have been mostly knitting in blue for the last few months. Do you find that you get drawn to a particular colour at a particular time? I was knitting mostly in warm tones of gold, pink and mustard throughout last year but blue seems to be the colour of the moment for me, though I think I might be hitting saturation point as I have been finding myself looking at lots of lovely brown speckley yarns on Etsy. 

Anyway, two pairs of socks have been finished, the top ones are Fair Isle Flower Sock by Candice DeWitt knitted mostly in Eden Cottage Hayton 'tarn' and below are a pair knitted from Helen Stewart's Fragment sock pattern in Madeline Tosh twist light yarn 'well water' (I've added both as projects to ravelry if you wanted links to yarns etc.)

The pair I'm currently making are from the Kia sock pattern by Dawn Henderson. It's a lovely rhythmic and relaxing pattern, perfect for knitting when you just want something undemanding to occupy your hands and soothe your mind from a busy day, and it's generously shared for free (though if you use the pattern you could buy Dawn a ko-fi to thank her).

In other news I've had some interesting visitors in the garden. With the weather being colder last week, and there being less food out in the countryside towards this end of winter, we've had flocks of finches swooping in to the bird feeders (mostly gold and green finches); the squirrel has been doing his best acrobatics in his attempts to loot some of the bounty and we've also had a few rather exotic visitors moving into the area from London. This is a ring necked parakeet - and she's not alone as one morning a flock of 12 or so flew over and I'm now regularly hearing their raucous calls echoing around the neighbourhood. My favourite garden visitor though has been this cheeky fox. I always know when he's around (usually appearing in the hour before sunset) as the chickens go berserk with squawking and when I look out there he is running up and down outside of the run trying to get in. As soon as I go out he runs down the side of our house and leaps through a narrow gap in the fence to our neighbours garden and there he stays in the hope I'll go back inside, every now and then popping his head through the gap to check if I'm still there. I'm very happy to have him in come and visit because he's beautiful and such a character but I'm not sure my chickens are as pleased the have him around!

 

Some thoughts...

 

 

Since I was last here there has been a lot going on in the knitting community; a lot of discussion, a lot of confusion and a huge amount of emotion - all of it centered around racism. There have been a growing number of voices who have had the courage to speak and share personal experiences and who have really fuelled discussions with their raw honesty. They must now be exhausted by the amount of focus that this has brought them - both in dealing with negative comments/abuse and with the volume of people wanting to talk further, ask for advice or to just show support.

If you're a regular ravelry user or use instagram to follow other knitters or designers then you will no doubt have already come across this on-going exploration of racism in the knitting world. I have nothing insightful to add to the discussion, I am still grappling with my own uncomfortable feelings that a community that I receive warmth, friendship and support from, and am an active part of, can make others feel unwelcome, excluded or persecuted merely on the basis of their skin colour.

I'm not writing here in order to instruct you on your own choices or actions, I have absolutely no credentials on that front, and I'm not writing about this to invite debate or discussion - there are other forums for that, if that is what you wish to take part in. Instead I simply wanted to share some of the resources that I've been reading and have been finding helpful with my own thoughts. If the thought that the knitting world is not as cosy and safe and loving to some as it is to others troubles you too, you might want to explore what steps you can personally take to be a part of change. Taking the first step could begin very simply with searching out more information and reading some of the personal accounts with empathy.

When each of us takes an individual step towards making the spaces that we share (whether they be on-line or physical spaces), as welcoming and friendly and representative to everyone who would like to enter them, collectively we will form a more diverse, dynamic and creative community.

So, a few links that I've found helpful (and I know these are very limited but lots of you who visit here have previously said that you don't use instagram, and if you follow the links you'll find more links...):

Reading Assignments - some background to why this is being talked about now, by Hunter Hammersen

Racism and inclusion in the yarn community, Ravelry

5 initial ways you can be a better ally to people of colour, by Savonne Anderson

Black people do knit article by Jeanette Sloan

POC designers and crafters list by Jeanette Sloan

Resource list by Louiselynda (this is quite comprehensive)

 

Thanks so much for reading x

(The picture above is an old one, but it seemed apt)

Easing into the new year

 

 

 

Thanks so much for all of your kind wishes for the New year. I hope that 2019 has been good to you so far and that you're doing better with any resolutions or plans for the year ahead than I am!

We did have a lovely Christmas with Amy back here. Every time I opened the bathroom cabinet I smiled at the sight of 4 toothbrushes inside rather than 3 and it was nice to have her company curled up on the sofa in the evening and to see her so animated as she talked of her adventures so far. Toby was definitely pleased to see her too, he got very excited and playful when she arrived back and they had lots of lovely tickles and cuddles over the two weeks. She'd lost a bit of weight and arrived here with a stinking cold so I made sure to feed her up in the hope that it will help her immune system function a bit better throughout the next term. And she was so pleased with the new bedroom. It's not easy to know how someone will react to having their old, familiar comfy space obliterated and I wish I'd taken a picture of her face because it was an image of utterly delighted surprise, which is just what we were hoping for. After 2 weeks she was itching to get back to uni though, which I'm pleased about because it shows how well she has settled in and is enjoying being there, so I dropped her back last Monday and we spent the afternoon looking at some properties so that she can start planning where she's going to live for her second year. It's a much more complicated process these days and the contracts are 20 or more pages of legalese, so it has taken most of last week to read through and make a list of questions, which the Uni housing team have been really helpful in answering.

Anyway, after a delayed start I'm hoping to get back to knitting activities this week. I did treat myself to a long lie in yesterday - tea and toast and sock knitting in bed on a Sunday morning is, in my opinion, as good as a holiday and so I'm feeling refreshed and ready to get to work on pattern writing again. I have lots of ideas rattling around my head, so it will be good to get some of them down on paper and free up a bit of brain space. I'm very much looking forward to being able to share them with you.

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The socks pictured are being knitted from Helen Stewart's Fragment pattern, published in issue 4 of Laine magazine, with Madeline Tosh Twist light yarn in 'well water'.

 

December P & P

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you find that the start of December is all about planning and preparation? It certainly feels that way here and although we don't have a huge Christmas celebration, we do like a quiet, cosy family day with good food, a roaring fire, some fun and a glass or two of something to warm and cheer. So, I have lots of lists floating about at the moment, lists for food and drink shopping; last minute presents to buy and wrap; tasks that need doing in advance so I can relax on the day,  and if I don't write them down then no doubt I'll be remembering all the things that I've forgotten some time between midnight and dawn on Christmas morning.

There has been some sock knitting going on in between the list scribbling (sock pattern and yarn details here). Apart from the top border it's been easy, un-demanding knitting that I can do in the quiet of an evening without using too much brain power and so perfectly suited to this time of year. I had hoped to have my badger pattern ready for release before Christmas but it's clear to me now that's not going to happen - there's still too much to do on it and no longer enough free time in which to fully concentrate. I'll keep you posted here with progress in the new year, once I have time to call my own again.

Part of our preparations this year have been putting the finishing touches to Amy's room. When she moved out in September to go off to Uni it was a very scruffy, tired-lilac coloured, out-grown bedroom with a well worn carpet and walls that bore the pen, make-up and sticky finger marks from the growing-up years. H has worked so hard over the last 2 months, painting, laying a new floor, putting up new lights, moving shelves and generally transforming it into a bright, peaceful and relaxing space fit for a uni student to unwind in between busy term times.  Hopefully she'll love it as much as I do and I can't wait for her to see it next week when I go and collect her.

The added benefit is that I get to use her new room while she's away during term times. Because of Toby's dedication to bi-phasic sleeping* I've spent the last 2 years sleeping on a sofa bed in our living room (for years prior to that it was H who was the one sleeping downstairs but we swapped when he had a bad back and needed the firmness of the bed upstairs). It means that H and I can alternate, so that one of us gets unbroken sleep upstairs while the other is on wakeful night duty downstairs. The arrangement works out for us and means when Toby is up roaming the house at night we can encourage him to lie in a bed and watch a video or two (which calms and relaxes him) and then he'll gradually drift back off to sleep. I do know that standard sleep therapist advice frowns upon screen time before sleep, but our experience over the last 17 years has been that without it Toby becomes increasingly agitated and we get meltdowns - which are a lot more stressful for us all and delay a return to sleep even further, so we've been flexible and find that watching videos in the night is the lesser of two evils.

Anyway, the plan is to ease Toby out of coming downstairs when he wakes, first by there being no bed to get into when he does come downstairs, and then by gradually shortening the length of time he spends downstairs in the night. Hopefully over time we'll eventually be able to encourage him to spend the whole night in his own room, that's the long term goal anyway :)

Right, I'm off to jot a few more things on my lists. I hope your season of planning and preparation is going well. See you soon, J x

 

*Sleep disorders go hand-in-hand with autism with bi-phasic or multi-phasic sleeping patterns being the most common. Bi phasic sleeping is where the person goes to sleep for 3-4 hours, wakes for 1-2 hours and then sleeps again for 4-5 hours. Research suggests that bi-phasic sleeping was the norm for most people prior to the industrial revolution and there are many descriptions noted in historical literature.