ready to go

The Cowboy pattern is now available in my Etsy shop and my Lulu shop. I hope you enjoy knitting him! I would recommend reading the introduction to the pattern, because there are some important instructions there. This pattern hasn't been test knit, so if you find any mistakes, please let me know so I can post the corrections here.

Now I have to get back to knitting bunnies and lambs. I have a few other commissions for next month that are for different animals, and I'm really looking forward to them. Once all my orders are done, probably around the end of April, I'm taking a break. I want time to work on new patterns, knit toys for a couple of shows I hope to get into, and do other crafty things. I want to sew myself some summery clothes, which I haven't done in years. Tunics and sun-dresses in pretty cotton fabrics, and maybe an outfit or two for my niece and nephew.

howdy

Let me introduce you to Wayne. He's a cowboy. He'll protect you from rustlers and bandits, while winning your heart with his charming smile and humble manner.

After much worrying, hair-pulling, and failed attempts, I finally have a cow pattern that I feel is worth sharing. It will be available in my shops starting tomorrow (I want to do one more proof-read before putting it out there). It's a bit of extra work, and you have to be comfortable with sewing. The spots are all knitted separately, then sewn onto the stuffed body. Not that I think you aren't capable of intarsia, but the pattern was simpler this way (even if it doesn't seem like it at first). Plus, it gives you freedom to knit as many spots as you want, and place them where you want. I think someone mentioned something about a long-horn version. I don't have time to knit it right now, but check back tomorrow for instructions for longer horns on dpn's.

The vest is a modified version of the Easter bunny's waistcoat. It looks super cute if you embroider little western-type decorations on it. I went with simple v-shapes on the shoulders and back. The pocket is just an extra little detail, not essential if you think it's too fussy. Then all you need is a little triangle of fabric to knot around his neck, and he's ready to go!

shop update

My shop update will be tomorrow afternoon, so if you're in the market for some cuteness, please drop by! There will be magnetic pin cushions, knitting bags, kits, and toys. It doesn't sound like much, but I've spent the last few weeks working on everything. Today was spent taking photos for the listings, so here is a sneak peek at everything. I don't have any more books to add the to update, but if anyone really wants one, you can get them here.

My husband has also been super busy working on a booklet of Easter patterns. It is available for sale in my Lulu shop, although this is really meant for yarn shops. I'm hoping to get enough wholesale orders to be able to make more booklets in the future. We got one printed to see what they're like, and I really love how it turned out! It's such a nice size, and seems like it will last for many uses. I wish we could have colour pictures inside too, but it was really too expensive. So now you know where most of my knitting time has gone lately! I'm planning to make a new toy for every pattern and keep them this time, in case we need more pictures in the future.

I am still thinking about the cow pattern, and how to get it to look the way I want. It's much harder than I thought, I suppose because cows really don't look like teddy bears. I also have a bunch of toys to make for Mahar Dry Goods, so I won't have much extra knitting time in the next 4 weeks. I hope you all can be patient. I really want to do the best job I can, and sometimes this takes more time than I expected.

cows again

I made my first attempt at the cow today. It's not quite done, but it already reminds me a bit of the one in the picture. Although, the eyes on mine are a little more goofy than pretty.

The Muppets was one of my favourite TV shows as a kid. I have seasons one and two on DVD, although I've only watched a few episodes of the second season. I love how wacky, silly, funny, and sweet the show is. And the puppets are always inspiring!

cows

I've been thinking about the cow pattern, and what I want the finished toy to look like. I did make one previously, but the way I added the spots could not be easily explained in a pattern. I thought maybe the spots could be knit separately and then stitched on, but I don't like the way that looks. This lead me around to thinking that not all cows are white with black spots, as you might assume from the majority of cartoon drawings of them.

There are lots of different kinds of cattle, some cute, some fuzzy, some tiny, some just kind of strange looking.

Cute Jersey cows...
Fuzzy Highland cattle...
(it's like a cross between a teddy bear and a cow)
Kingshire miniature cattle...
(widdle wee cutie pie!)
and some very strange African cattle.
(umm, those look pointy and dangerous and you guys look kinda unfriendly like)

EDIT: This post originally had some lovely photos included, but some people weren't happy with me using them, even though I had linked to their site and included their name in the photo caption. What can I say? Some people just aren't as generous with their work as I like to be.

So I probably won't go with those last 2 dudes as my models, but you guessed that already, right? I'm torn between the Jesery cow and the Highland one. Both are super cute, but not everyone will want to knit with super fuzzy yarn. I guess I still need to do some more thinking...