Little Cotton Rabbits

Summer days

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, we're half way through the long summer break here and have settled into a comfortable daily routine. Mornings are calm and quiet as happily Toby enjoys quite long lie-ins, so I usually have a couple of gentle hours to call my own, either reading or knitting and sometimes having breakfast in bed when the mood takes me. Once he is up we head out for a walk, usually walking around 3 miles and stopping for a picnic snack along the way. Toby is good company as a walking buddy, he so enjoys the peace and quiet of the countryside and looks all around him as we go along. He's still not keen on me stopping to take photos of things but is getting gradually more tolerant, just as long as I'm quick.

It's a wonderful thing to be able to share a love of nature and the outdoors with him, and our walks together are often the best part of the day. We've seen so much wildlife: lots of muntjac deer, a stoat, rabbits, buzzards, red kites, kestrels, storks, egrets and so very many insects, bees, dragonflies and butterflies, it's been a great year for them and I've seen such a variety. It looks like being a good year for blackberries and hazelnuts too, with a bumper crop ripening in the hedgerows and we've seen a lot of early fungi too, doubtless sprouting well because of all of the rain we've had recently. Not that I'm complaining in any way, I'm so grateful this year for the cooler temperatures and wetter weather and so is the greenly verdant countryside.

There's not much progress on anything knitting related at the moment. I've been knitting quite a few scarves from the 'Sophie Scarf' pattern by Petiteknit as it's a beautifully simple and uncomplicated knit, perfect for picking up whenever I get the chance for a few rows and putting down again when Toby needs something. As far as my own pattern writing goes I do now have a cow pattern finalised, though still in the form of scribbled notes which need a lot of work once the next college term starts in September.

I hope you've had a good month and that August is kind to you, J x

 

 

Horses, Donkeys & Unicorns

 

 

Thanks so much for all of the kind words about the sneak preview of my latest pattern, it's so lovely to think that these patterns are going to be enjoyed, I truly hope they are anyway :)

They are now ready and I've uploaded the files to Ravelry and Etsy and hopefully in the next few days I'll also have them on Lovecrafts and on my blog pattern shop (which, by the way, uses Ravelry as a supply).

There are lots of options in the patterns. Firstly there are 2 main versions:

the first comes with knitted on tights/pantyhose and shoes and has two removable dresses included, one which is worked in two colours with a stranded loops and flowers design, and the other which is worked in a single colour and has a traditional Shetland lace pattern called Horseshoe lace (well, it did seem apt).

 

and the other comes with a bare body and legs and has removable shorts and a choice of two removable sweaters, one worked in a two-colour geometric design of triangles and the other is a single coloured sweater using a textured 'cob nut' design.

 

Both of these versions have the same multiple options to make a horse, a donkey and a unicorn

 

The horse also has multiple options with a design for a plain face with a different coloured nose, a blaze on the face and a forehead star.

 

You can really go to town with choosing the yarns for the manes (especially the unicorns) and there are lots of yarn suggestions within the pattern.

 

I'll be trying my best to give each of these heads a body, though it may take me a while! So many of them remind me of horses I have loved during my life, long gone now but hopefully galloping happily across meadows somewhere in horsey heaven, miss you Amazon, Trigger, Caspian, Danny, William, Katie, Rusty and Sweep xxx

 

Horsing around

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Hello, hope you are well. I didn't mean to be away for so long, but as you can see I have been keeping busy! I have wanted to do a horse pattern for such a long time, but every time that I have made a prototype there was something that I felt didn't work, and so back to the drawing board I went. Then at the end of last year I had an equine epiphany and things clicked into place for me, resulting in a flurry of knitting activity and the beginnings of a new pattern. I have been working on it solidly now for 5 months and at last I'm almost finished with the final pattern.

So far I've knitted 33 different heads, including different facial markings for the horses, along with unicorns and donkeys too. I have to tell you that those manes do take a bit of patience, adding a strand at a time, but overall I've had a lot of fun putting this pattern together and am pleased with how it's all looking in the layout. Just a few final pictures to take for the front covers and then I'll be ready to share it.

It's so exciting to almost have it ready. I have adored horses since I was quite little, always clamouring to stop and stroke their velvety noses when out on walks and delighting in donkey rides on beaches and at farms. From about the age of 8 until my mid teens I read about horses, drew horses and dreamt about horses almost constantly. I even tried to convince mum and dad that our very small suburban back garden would be perfectly fine for keeping a horse in, with pledges that I would ride it every day and tidy up after it. Needless to say my pleas did not result in a pet horse at home but they did get me riding lessons. I then started 'working' at the stable, I say 'working' because none of us were actually paid but we turned up on Saturdays or Sundays at 8.30 am ready for a day of mucking out, cleaning tack, lead-reining small children learning to ride and grooming our adored charges. My appointed horse was Sweep, a big gentle grey who was a little bit dim and kept my toenails constantly bruised by frequently standing on my feet when I was grooming him. I was also so lucky to have two week long pony trekking trips away in Wales, we rode every day in amazing countryside and I loved every minute, even the day three saddle sores!

It's been fun looking out my old books, though I'm missing a few - the silver brumby series, by Elyne Mitchell - those were my absolute favourites. And digging out these photos has made me all nostalgic, though I don't think I'm ready to dust off my jodhpurs any time soon!

Anyway, I'll be back with news as soon as the patterns are in finished form, though next time I'm here will be all about the bluebells which are glorifying the woods right now, see you soon, J x

 

Happy Easter / Spring :)

 

 

Thank you so much for all of the kind comments and messages from the previous post. As a couple of you rightly said, the rough patch will pass and Toby will be a little more calm and settled once again - hopefully soon. Anyway, I do really appreciate all of the kindness that you sent my way, thank you again for that.

This little bunny was made as a thank you gift for someone who has been very kind and helpful to me, but she has had quite a long and drawn-out journey from the northern hemisphere to the southern (what on earth is going on with the postal services at the moment?). At last however she has arrived safely and happily just in time for this special time of year.

Whatever your plans, whether you're celebrating a festival as part of your faith, delighting in the beauties of nature as the seasons change or simply enjoying a few extra days of free time to call your own, I hope you have a lovely weekend with plenty of peace and small pleasures. My plans include setting my alarm for 6am tomorrow and heading out with my breakfast in my rucksack for a quiet dawn walk on my own with my camera, hopefully to get some pictures of the blackthorn blossom which is decorating the hedgerows so beautifully at the moment, J x

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Just in case anyone wants to know:

The bunny is knitted in Camarose Snefnug yarn (one of my current fluffy favourites) with clothes in Krea Deluxe organic cotton. The lace dress is from my 'textured dresses pattern', the colour-work dress is the one that comes with the lamb pattern, and the basket is from my toy bags pattern.

 

More spring signals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although the trees are currently still skeletal and bare-branched, there are a few more signs that spring is just around the corner. Last summer the old plum tree in our garden had to have a heavy pruning because some of the branches were creaking badly and cracking under the weight of the plum harvest, but even so it is currently delighting both me and the bumble bees that are emerging from hibernation with it's blossom. It is such a beautiful herald of the change in seasons. There are catkins everywhere and daffodils too and I'm looking forward to going out with my camera next week in search of those, and hopefully the first of the blackthorn blossom.

Thanks for all of the comments on my winter mice giveaway post. I've notified the winners and the mice are both packaged up and currently travelling to their new homes, one in the North of England and the other a little further away in Tasmania! I will be having more giveaways later in the year so I better get on with making some more animals and also finishing off my horse pattern, can't wait to share that with you in the spring :)

Hope you have a good weekend coming up. See you soon, J x

 

Anniversary giveaway no. 2

 

 

 

Well, this is a little later than planned, but here is my 2nd giveaway for my special anniversary year.

There are two prizes in this giveaway: two little mice all snuggled up against the cold wintery winds that we have here this week; one in a removable dress, cardigan and scarf with knitted on stockings and shoes and one with removable sweater, shorts and pom-pom scarf.

The first prize winner gets to pick which of these 2 mice they would like, and the second prize winner gets the remaining mouse.

The prize draw is open to anyone, anywhere and I will post out the gift-wrapped prizes in sturdy cardboard boxes via Royal Mail track and trace postage.

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To enter the draw:

As usual I'll use a random number generator to pick the two winners, so to be in with a chance of winning one of these two mice please leave a comment on this post, you can simply write enter, or if you have time to spare tell me about something that is making you happy at the moment.

Important note: Only comments left on this post will be counted in the draw If you are reading this on a blog reader or an email then the actual post is here: https://littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk/my_weblog/2023/03/anniversary-giveaway-no-2.html 

I'm not able to add in comments sent by email, left on a blog reading service or on any location other than this blog post.

Can I also please ask that you only post once in the draw in order to give everyone a fair and equal chance. Thanks for your kind understanding of these conditions of entry in this free prize draw.

I'll draw the two winners on Monday March 13th 2023 and will update this post with the winner names.

Please also note I am reversing the flow of the comments whilst comments are open so that people can immediately see whether their comment has posted (new comments will be first) and so your comment number will be constantly changing as more new comments are added. Once the draw has closed on monday I will change the flow of comments so that they begin with the first one left on the post and end on the last one - this will be when your comment will be allocated the unique number for the draw.

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I had fun making the scarf for the mouse in a sweater and thought I'd share how I did so in case you'd like to make one too:

I used two 4mm DPNs (double pointed needles) and bulky yarn to knit a 4 stitch i-cord (i-cord tutorials are easily found on your tube) to a length of around 35cms / 14 inches (enough to fit around the neck of your animal with sufficient dangle left over). Then I made 2 small pom-poms using a fork - it's handy as you can thread a strong cord through the tines to tightly tie the middle of the pom-pom before cutting the edges and freeing it from the fork. After cutting I trimmed them to make neat balls, then lightly steamed them over a pan of water to encourage them to full poufiness.

 

 

 

 

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Edited to add: Comments are now closed, 2pm, Monday 13th March

Here are the winners, I've emailed both and am waiting to hear back,  J x

203  Bernice said...

Oh Julie, such a sweet little chap to give away. Yours was the first blog I ever started to follow and after all these years, it's still my gp to read. Thank you for sharing your creative genius. It is always a pleasure.

March 06, 2023 at 01:11 PM

 

1009 Cathy Bodini said...

My happiness , at the moment, is because my bestie is soon flying over to visit me for 5 days.

March 06, 2023 at 09:05 PM