7 years!

November 6 will mark the seventh anniversary of Fuzzy Mitten! I'm not sure how it's all lasted this long, but I'm so grateful that so many people enjoy my patterns - enough to keep me going longer than I ever expected, and hopefully for a few more years to come!

Did I ever explain how Fuzzy Mitten got started? I used to work as a gardener, at a garden center. However, being in Canada, I had a few months off over the winter. I was bored, so I started knitting little toys just for fun, and to use up bits of yarn I'd found. Each toy had it's own character, and it was very satisfying to see how many variations I could make on one basic shape. The clothes were a big part of the fun too. I'd only been knitting for a couple years, and hadn't tackled anything like clothes for myself. Tiny toy outfits were a great way to experiment with garment shapes, stitches, and yarn types.

A friend suggested I try selling the toys on Etsy, since they were just sitting around my apartment. It seemed like an interesting idea, and setting everything up, while challenging for someone who wasn't really internet savvy, was also a good use of spare time. (If you're curious about my shop name, you can read about it here). Within a couple weeks of listing my toys, knitters found them, and started asking for patterns. I was quite hesitant at first, because I didn't consider myself an experienced knitter, and certainly not qualified to be a designer.

But the interest was clear, and growing, so I thought I would try. I wrote out the instructions for all those first toys I had made: a polar bear, a squirrel, a tabby cat, a puppy, a lamb, and many others. The patterns were rough, and I needed help with a lot of things, but they were popular! By the middle of the next summer, I was so busy designing and running my Etsy shop, I realized I would have to cut back the hours at my regular gardening job if I wanted to keep Fuzzy Mitten going.

It hasn't always been an easy or smooth journey since that day, but I don't regret giving my business the chance to grow, and giving myself the chance to grow and change along with it. I've been given some great opportunities, met a lot of lovely knitters, and overall had a wonderful time designing cute toys for others to knit.

Now, as a treat for reading all of that, here is some lovely news: I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop and my Ravelry shop to celebrate it's 7th anniversary!

EDIT: The coupon code I'd posted earlier for Etsy was causing problems, so I've simply reduced the prices of all the items. I hope you enjoy trying some new patterns, or giving them as gifts to fellow knitters!
In my Ravlery shop, you'll get 20% off when you check-out.

lovey for Spring

While it's been awfully quiet around here for the past month, my knitting needles have been busy! I have a new toy design for you, just in time for thinking about warmer weather and the cute baby animals that come with it. The new pattern is called "Flat Foot Floogie" (named by my so-serious husband) and is a lovey with both lamb and rabbit variations. A lovey is not a toy I'm very familiar with, but there seemed to be a lack of cute patterns for them, so I thought I would fill the gap for you.

The pattern is fairly basic and knit flat, but with some nice shaping to keep it interesting. You will need to know stockinette stitch, garter stitch, increasing, decreasing, and how to cast-on stitches at the end of the row. There is some sewing and finishing, but not as much as my usual toys. Plus, the heads are very similar to my other toy patterns, so you could easily make other animals into loveys. I would just recommend adding 2 rows to the stockinette section of the head, to make up for the gauge difference between worsted and chunky yarn. Because thicker yarns vary so much in gauge, the pattern also gives lengths for the yarn requirements. If you're in doubt, make sure you have enough meters or yards - this matters far more than the weight.

While I designed the toy mainly for babies, my two boys (who are 4 and 2) love the test samples I knit. But they both insist the toys are better with a rattle in the head. I made rattle inserts from plastic cosmetic sample jars, by placing a metal jingle-bell inside and then glueing the lid on. However, small ones are fairly cheap to buy on Etsy (just search for "rattle insert" under supplies).

You can now purchase the pattern on Ravelry, Craftsy, or Etsy. If you buy it on Etsy, you will have to wait for me to email the download link (although I'm working on a solution to this).

holiday mice kits

With no time to spare, I've added a few Holiday Mice kits to my Etsy shop. For $10 US you get all the materials you'll need to make two 3" mice: wool yarn, stuffing, eyes, and embellishments. You'll just need the right size knitting needles and a tapestry needle. A printed copy of the pattern costs $1 extra, since I assume most people will be happy to download it and print it themselves (also saves on shipping). I hope you enjoy making or giving these little gifts!

Kit in grey and blue

baby orangutan kits

I've listed 8 kits for the Baby Orangutan pattern in my Etsy shop. There's only a few because they take a lot of time to put together, and I sell them at cost (since I can't get the yarn wholesale). You'll get enough yarn to make 1 toy: it's a lovely soft single-ply wool. It's not too fuzzy, but should brush up quite nicely to give your toy the right look. You'll also get enough fingering weight yarn to knit the rucksack, and a vintage button from my stash. There's a lot of fun colours to choose from! I also included precut kerchiefs, since the toy in the pattern photo looked so cute that way. The fabric is unfinished, so you might want to finish the edges with a bit of hand-sewing or fray-stop liquid.

These kits include a copy of the pattern, since I no longer sell patterns in my Etsy shop. If you've already purchased the pattern, just let me know, and I'll refund the price from the cost of the kit.

new toys

I finally got myself organized enough today to get a bunch of toys listed in my Etsy shop. These are mostly toys that have not sold before, or have been waiting around since last winter (when somebody decided to arrive early). This time I decided to list clothes separately, to give my customers more choice in how the toy will look. As well, these will probably be the last toys I knit for sale for a long time. If you want one, you might want to be quick like a bunny, as three of the toys have sold already!

Bianca

pdf pattern sale changes

With everything we have to do before our new baby arrives, keeping up with email has gotten to be quite a chore. In order to give myself a bit of a break, I've decided to stop selling patterns on Etsy. However, my Etsy shop will stay open for selling toys, kits, and other odds and ends when I have time to make them. It's always been a bit of a pain selling PDF patterns on Etsy, since I have to list them individually, email them on time (hoping that the email address provided actually works!), and try to keep up with which ones are sold out.

Instead, we'll be switching pattern sales to Ravelry (my website already has a handy link to my shop there). You get to see a lot more info about the patterns, a download link is emailed to you as soon as you pay, and you never have to worry about a pattern being sold out. Besides all this, Ravelry is a great resource and community, and well worth exploring if you love to knit and crochet. Because I won't be able to offer the discount pattern bundles there, we're going to reduce the price of most patterns (excluding a few which are already cheaper there).

Unfortunately, we'll still have to sell our printed books through Lulu (the printer), since Ravelry only does PDF patterns. I know this might be a bit confusing, but the book pages on Ravelry do link to my Lulu shop, if you prefer a paper copy of the books.

I plan to get this done tomorrow (Feb. 23), although it will take me an hour or so to change all the pattern prices on Ravelry. Hopefully this change won't be too confusing for you, and will free up my time to answer your questions and contribute to Ravelry discussions.

pookies now available

Can you knit just one of these cute critters? 

The pattern is now available on Ravelry and Etsy (the difference in price is due to fees, but you don't need a Ravelry account to buy the pattern there, and you don't need to wait for me to email it!).*

Here are the main details. Pookies are bean-bag animal toys in 3 sizes (3", 3 1/2", 4"). To make a set of 3 toys (one of each size), you need 50 g each of 3 colours of worsted weight yarn. However, this is a great project for using left-over yarn. The toys are completely knit in the round, on 4 mm DPNs or circular needle (your choice). The ears and hood are knit separately, then attached to the toy. The pattern gives instructions for 5 ear styles: mouse/hamster, bunny, puppy, kitty, and bear. Other materials required are polyester stuffing, ¼ cup dried beans or plastic beads per toy, 3 pairs of 9 mm safety eyes, black yarn to embroider the face, tapestry needle, 2 stitch markers.

If you're a member of my Ravelry group, I would love some photos and feedback on the pattern, since these toys are very different from my other designs.

Happy knitting everyone, and I hope you all have a great day!

*I won't be listing the pattern on Lulu, because their fees are too high, and we're going to move away from selling anything but the books there.

stuff in the shop

Okay folks, everything is in the shop! (except the stuff that sold already. Maybe you better get over there ;-)

holiday shop update

Tomorrow will be my big holiday shop update. I've been working like crazy over the last month, in order to have a few things for you. There are kits, zip pouches, and even some toys! I'm going to try to get everything listed by early afternoon (Montreal time), but I'll make a quick post in the usual places once everything is up.

Here's a little peak at what will be available.

 

cozy elf tuque

We finally found a few hours to get this new hat pattern ready for you! You can buy it on Ravelry, Etsy, and Lulu. I don't know if the photos do the hat justice, as it is adorable in person, and so cozy and comfortable to wear. It's a simple design, but doesn't take much yarn, so go ahead and use some yummy fiber in a beautiful colour!

The hat is knit in the round, and you can easily use either double pointed needles or circular, depending on which you prefer. I've written it for 6 sizes, from infant to adult, so you have plenty to choose from. I also decided to include many sizes because the yarn you use can affect your gauge (I had that issue with the adult size). If it's a yarn new to you, it might be worth knitting a little swatch to make sure of the finished hat size.

I hope I've given you enough time to knit one or two before the cold weather arrives wherever you are!

holiday sale updates

A few things today:

You know what, we'd really like you to have our books -- they make very nice presents! This is why between now and Christmas the printed versions of both "Fuzzy Knits" and "Festive Knits" are 25% off on Lulu.

I'm hoping to have a new hat pattern to release soon, maybe by the end of the week? I should be able to get the rest of the photos today, and then it just needs formatting (really wish that publishing software was easier to use). Like the books, I will probably offer it for a special sale price for the holidays, so save a little time in your knitting schedule!

I plan to have a big Etsy shop update of gift items next week. I have several toys to list, and plan to sew a few zip pouches. I'm also thinking of making kits for gift-giving. These would be for my Holiday Mice pattern, and would include yarn, stuffing, and notions for 2 mice, plus the printed pattern. A rough price estimate is about $10-12 US, plus shipping. Is this something many of you would be interested in?

wee woodland wuzzies

The new pattern is now available! In the end, we have called it "Wee Woodland Wuzzies" which is a combination of your suggestions, Mr. Mitten's, and a slip of the tongue by me (I had meant to say "Fuzzies" but the alliteration was just too good). You can purchase it on Ravelry and Etsy, and I will add it to Lulu later today (we're on our way to a birthday party, and I've run out of time this morning).

The pattern includes instructions for 6 woodland animals: a squirrel, a mouse, a hare, a hedgehog, an otter, and a fox. The finished toys are about 3" tall, so they're great for little hands, or as decorations. They are all based on the same body pattern, with different heads/ears/tails. Each toy uses small amounts of worsted weight yarn*, so they are great for any scraps you have left from other projects. The patterns for the hat and scarf are also included, and they use fingering or sport weight yarn (if you don't knit socks, hit up one of your knitting buddies for a bit of left-over yarn).

I hope you enjoy this addition to the Fuzzy Mitten family!

As with any new pattern, there may be a few mistakes I've overlooked. Please let me know if you find anything, so I can make corrections to the pattern. 

*I’ve used worsted yarn for the toys because it is common in Canada and the US. The toys could easily be knit from DK, but you would need to go down a needle size for both the toys and the accessories

alpaca pattern is ready!

Finally! Finally the Alpaca pattern is done and ready for you. We're very sorry for the delay, but there is still a little bit of summer left for your alpaca toys to enjoy (if you get knitting right fast)! Although, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, I guess you have plenty of time.

So here are a few details about the pattern. Like most of my toy patterns, this one is knit flat and seamed (although you could try to knit it in the round). The knitting techniques include knit, purl, several increases and decreases, and simple lace. You also need to make the hair, but that's pretty easy (there are diagrams in the pattern). The toy is made from worsted weight yarn, and the clothes from fingering weight. Because of the long neck, this toy is 9" tall, a bit bigger than my usual toys (but the other small clothes will still fit her).

You can find the pattern on Ravelry, Etsy, and Lulu*. If it's sold out on Etsy, I'll try to add more copies as soon as I can. Thanks so much for all your patience, and I hope you enjoy this new toy!

* The pattern costs more on Lulu because their fees are much higher than the other two sites. I will soon change all the pattern prices there, although the books will remain the same price at all my shops.  My hope is that Ravelry will make my shop public, so I can stop using Lulu for PDF sales.

kits and pouches

My Etsy shop update is finally done! You can find kits here, and zip pouches here. I know the Mama and Baby bunny kits are a bit pricey, but there's a lot of stuff in them! I half thought to separate the Mama and Baby supplies so the cost would be more reasonable, but since the patterns come together, it made sense to sell the kits together. As always, the patterns are sold separately from the kits because so many of you already have the patterns (saves us both the trouble of a Paypal refund).

I'm really happy with this batch of pouches too. I usually want to keep at least one, and this time that turquoise with brown dots is really calling me (good thing I have more of both those fabrics)! However, I am running low on nice fabric, so it might be a while before I have a chance to sew some more.

puppet kits

 The Bunny Puppet kits are now available for purchase on Etsy. I'm trying something different this time, which will hopefully save me a lot of time. There are 3 kinds of yarn available for the kits, with one listing each. You just need to send me a message with the yarn colour of your choice. As each colour is sold out, I will update the listing. However, this means that I can only list one kit at a time. If you don't feel like checking back all the time, you can subscribe to my shop updates (there should be an link at the bottom right of my shop page, under Shop Tools,  which says "subscribe to shop feed").

I will do my best to keep on top of things, but I may be away from the computer sometimes (I do need to sleep!), so I ask you to be patient.

Please note that all the kits are for size small-medium puppets only. It was just much simpler this way! If you would really like a large kit ($10.50 plus shipping) send me a message on Etsy, and I'll see if there's enough yarn left to make you a special listing.

bunny puppet now available

A very quick post to let you know that the Bunny Puppet pattern is now available! You can purchase it on Ravelry, Etsy, or Lulu. I had to make a few last minute changes, but it should be all good now. Please note that this pattern is intermediate level, and knit in the round. If you've made mittens, you shouldn't have any trouble. If you find any mistakes, please email me (barbara at fuzzymitten dot com) so I can update the pattern. I'm a bit short of time this morning, so I'll try to write more about the design later!

silly duck, new edition

If you've noticed that it's been a little quiet around here, that's because we've all been down with colds for the last week and a half. Nothing like having the whole family sick at once! Anyway, we're on the mend, and managed to get a little work done over the last few days.

Finally, the new edition of the Silly Duck pattern is ready! You can find it on Ravelry and Etsy (if it's sold out, don't worry as I'll list more copies as soon as I notice). You can also get it on Lulu - there was a problem with the cover editor over there, so click the preview link below the cover image to see what the pattern looks like.

Here's the tricky part: if you bought the old pattern, and want a copy of the new one, there are 2 options. 1) If you bought it on Etsy, just email me, I will look up your receipt, and send you the new pattern. 2) If you bought in on Lulu, you need to forward your receipt to me, because I don't see who buys patterns on Lulu.

It is quite different from the old pattern, which is why I couldn't post part of it here on the blog, like with the Mouse and Panda. The beak is now knitted, so you don't need to worry about finding felt or doing any hand-sewing. The feet are now much more duck-like, as is the body shape. The whole toy is knit flat on straight needles, except for the hat which is knit in the round on dpns. If you've been wanting to learn how to use them, though, a little hat might be a good place to start.

I used Elann's Bamboo Fusion for the main colour of the duck, and I think the shine of the bamboo makes the knit fabric look just a bit like shiny duck feathers. The beak and feet are in plain worsted wool, and the hat and scarf and knit in a bit of variegated wool I had in my stash (I don't remember the brand).

Somebody is cranky, so I have to go. I hope you all enjoy the silly pattern!

holiday sale

I just had a sudden inspiration to offer you a surprise New Year's sale! Until January 7th, my Well Dressed Bunny pattern, as well as Clothing Bundles 1, 2, and 3 are all $2 off! Those links are to my Lulu store, but you can also find all those patterns on Etsy, and the Well Dressed Bunny on Ravelry. Happy knitting!

(Edit: the listed prices have been changed to the sale price, so you don't need to worry about sale codes or anything like that)

I hope you are all enjoying the holidays, and maybe even a well-deserved break from work (I know I am). We had a good visit with our house-guest last week, and even managed to get out to see a movie thanks to free babysitting. This week should be a little more laid-back without any holiday preparations to worry about. Although, we are officially on a diet from all the sweets and rich food (we might make an exception for New Year's eve celebrations). Lev is enjoying the new toys and books he received from relatives. We got him a shiny red sled, but he wasn't very happy in it the first time we took him out. Hopefully we get some fresh snow and less-cold weather this week, so we can try again.

I have completely failed at getting any photos, though I intend to try a little harder this week. It's just so discouraging when our house isn't very sunny (especially in winter) and I find our camera too clunky and heavy for fun snaps. The only photos we have are some portraits of Lev, which we took to send out to our families. Hopefully this goofy smile makes up for the lack of other photos!

lulu issues, again

We just realized that the Lulu pattern store is not working, so don't go there for patterns. If you're looking for something, please use Etsy or Ravelry. I know I don't have all my patterns there, so I will add a few others to the Etsy store for now. I also have a few printed copies of the books to add. Hopefully things will be fixed soon!

shop update

In case you missed the notice on Facebook, or don't check up on Fuzzy doings over there, I had a nice little shop update last Friday. There are still several kits and zip pouches, so go check them out! I love the kitty print fabric so much, I nearly kept one of those pouches for myself. But Mr. Mitten reminded me that I have half a dozen knitting bags littered around the house, so I put it up for sale after all.


In other news, I was working on the very last pattern for Fuzzy Knits this morning. Woo hoo! A few days of knitting should get that critter done. Then it's just a matter of kicking someone in the butt to get everything formatted (I really love him, but he can procrastinate with the best ;) Oh, and take all those photos (though the photo editing takes twice as long as actually shooting photos)! Hopefully we can get all the individual patterns updated soon too, but those are more work.