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.

in between

As the weather warms up here, and there are so many things to do outside, I will likely be writing here less and less. But I'm sure you're all busy too! I love this time of year, with the sunshine and rain, the fresh green leaves, and all the noisy birds. It's been exciting to introduce the outside world to Lev - last year he was really too young to do much more than pull up grass to put in his mouth. Plus, I have new flower and veggie gardens to watch and fuss over. Once things start to flower I'll have to get some photos to share.

In between the playing, gardening, visiting, and knitting I've done this past week, I did manage to fit in a bit of time to make some more kits for my Etsy shop. I've got 2 Mama and Baby bunny kits, 2 Owl and Baby kits, and a Pug kit all made up, just waiting for me to get photos. Plus, I have 6 zip pouches I sewed weeks ago. I had all this planned for a big Mother's Day shop update, and I'm glad my planning worked out for once! I'll be sure to post here when everything is in the shop and ready for you.

Anyway, with the sunshine peeping out between the showers, I think I need to dash outside for a bit of gardening. I hope you're all enjoying your Sunday in the ways you like best!

lambs!

Yesterday got away from me a bit, and I forgot all about the post on lambs from our KAL! However, I do have a freshly dug veggie garden; and the post will be enjoyed just as much today, I'm sure.

First, I have to share with you a pair of curly grey lambs by amybd. I think these cuties are going to have a lifetime of snuggles!

Next is a very sweet lamb in a cozy blue cardigan, by yarngirl69. She looks quite at home in all that pretty heather.

Here is a lovely lamb by patologica. He looks so proud of his fuzzy fleece and pretty flower pin!

This blue lamb by ilovewool looks like he's cheering on Spring! I hear you, little guy, the flowers and leaves can't come fast enough for me.

And last is this stunning lamb by corien. Toys like this are one of the major reasons I don't list any yarn brands on my pattern. If I tried to restrict what type of yarns knitters use, I might never get to see beautiful results like this!

By the way, if you'd like to knit a lamb yourself, you can download the pattern for free.

bunnies!

We had a lot of fun with the Spring Knit-Along, over on Ravelry. It's been over for a week or so now, but I thought it was a good time to show off some of the toys that were made. Today is for bunnies!

This is Blackberry Bunny, by froggyster. She looks very cozy in those fluffy pink flowers.

Next is this sweet and fuzzy bunny by stitchingdragon. It reminds me of all that fuzzy yarn in my stash, which is waiting to become fuzzy bunnies.

wrchili knit a pair of Mama bunnies in pink, and they're both so adorable and cuddly, it makes me want to knit the pattern again, in something more interesting than brown or grey.

This little bunny by bluesocks is all ready for Spring in her cherry-blossom pullover.

And the last one for today is this Scraps Chaps bunny by Je55ie, who looks like he got a little too close to the Easter egg dye!

just knitting toys

I've been thinking a lot lately about what's next. Working on Fuzzy Knits was a huge project, and I am super proud of the results, but so happy that it's done! Countless possible projects have been dancing around in my head, each trying to shout louder than the other that, "this is what everyone wants to knit next!" I think it's a little too crowded in there right now, and I just can't decide what I want to work on. Nothing much seems inspiring, in spite of the entire page of toy ideas I have written down (yes, a full page!). Everyone I ask has their own preference, and all I can muster is a lack of enthusiasm. Although somehow, while just casually thinking about my yarn stash, I think up a fabulous new idea that would be so cute!

Through all of this confusion, I've kept thinking about the stuff I really miss doing, because designing has been taking up all my time for the past year. I really miss just knitting toys for the fun of it - creating something small and cuddly with it's own personality. Something I can work away at, without writing down every detail. Changing little bits here and there, to suit the picture I have in my head. And then, sending them out into the world to be loved by someone else. As much as I enjoy having oodles of knitted toys around the house, it does make me a little sad that they will never be snuggled, chewed on, squished, cuddled up, or carried around by someone who loves them*. Or, that they might have a special place with someone older, who will look at them lovingly every day, and perhaps smile about some happy memory that the toy brings back to them.

So for the next few months, while I'm also busy with my garden and rapidly growing boy, I will be just knitting toys. The new ideas will always be there, and I will probably work on them a bit when I feel like it. But I think I have plenty of cute patterns to keep everyone busy for long enough to give me the break I need. Besides, I still have to release the rest of individual designs from Fuzzy Knits, which is quite a lot in itself!

*Lev has a nice selection of knitted toys for his very own, so don't worry! Most especially, this particular bear is quite the worse for wear.

Fuzzy Knits, take 2!

At long last, after a year's worth of knitting, writing, editing, photographing, proof-reading, formatting, (and on and on, it seemed) the second edition of Fuzzy Knits is ready!

I've written a bunch about the individual designs before, so I won't get into them now. You can go here to see images of all the patterns. I'll just leave you with the details of where you can get it (clicking the links to follow will take you to where you can purchase the book).

The download version (i.e. a PDF file) can be bought on Ravelry and Lulu. The file you download includes the cover. This option is really nice, because you can print it yourself and keep it in a handy binder or plastic sleeves.

The printed book can be bought on either Lulu or Qoop. These two shops offer slightly different versions of the book: on Lulu the book is perfect-bound with a soft cover and full-colour photos, while on Qoop the book is coil-bound with a soft cover and you can choose between black & white or full-colour photos.

Now for the tricky part. We are offering a copy of the new book to anyone who bought the first edition of Fuzzy Knits. Because Lulu does not give us a list of who buys what, we will need to see a copy of your receipt for the old book*. You can forward that to barbara at fuzzymitten dot com. Then I will email you a PDF file of the new book. Please be patient, as it may take me a few days to get through everyone's emails.

EDIT: I’ve also discovered that if you no longer have your Lulu receipt for ‘Fuzzy Knits’, you should be able to find a purchase history in your Lulu account. So you can just copy that info into an email and send it along to me.

Also, you might notice that we updated the cover of Festive Knits. This is so the style matches the cover of Fuzzy Knits, but the content of that book has not been changed in any way.

*Please note that if you bought a printed copy of the first edition, we cannot replace it with a printed copy of the second edition. You will receive a download copy of the new book.

moving forward

Everything is slowly coming together on the second edition of Fuzzy Knits. It's only taken us, what, a year! Sheesh, I suppose that's normal for a regular published book, but it seems like ages for me. I guess with a regular book, you also get to rely on others for a bunch of the work. Doing my own editing and proof-reading is a tad scary - hoping I don't miss any serious mistakes, that everything makes sense, that you can all follow the instructions! Thank goodness Mr. Mitten has the patience to do all the rest of the formatting in the publishing software, because I don't know if I would be up to that.

I've also taken all the photos myself, with Mr. Mitten doing the photo editing. We spent all day Sunday on the 12 pattern photos, and I think they turned out pretty good. We went for a much simpler style than in Festive Knits. I just have to get a good cover shot now, and then we're ready for the first printed copy!

Of course, all this work has me thinking, what next? (seriously, folks, my creative brain never quits. Sometimes I wish it would let me have a little vacation...) I've been perusing the Knitted Toys group over on Ravelry for ages, trying to figure out what you all want to knit. I've come up with a few categories that most of the projects seem to fall into:

• very simple, usually knit in the round with minimal sewing
• very complex with lots of pieces to sew together, or complex shaping (or both)
• somewhere in between, which is where mine usually fall
• dolls, of various styles (lots of topsy-turvy dolls lately)
• sock monkeys
• food
• other (odd but cuddly) things

All this variety has me wondering what you would like to knit next? I am a little tired of the same old thing, hence the Bunny Puppet. It's cute and cuddly like my other toys, but the design is almost totally different. However, I know you all like the cute animals with clothes, and there is no end of animals that could be worked into this format (more or less successfully, although this often depends on how inspired I feel).

I had a few ideas of what I wanted to do this year, but now I'm not too sure about how to move forward from the mammoth project Fuzzy Knits turned out to be. I'd really like to take a little break for Spring planting, and enjoy being outside with my munchkin. But, I also want to keep my brain working on new things for you, even if my knitting needles take a rest. I wish I could design all the things people ask for, and all the things I think up myself, but my knitting time is so limited now... I need to figure out the best idea, if I can, and concentrate on that. So, any input you are kind enough to give me would be very helpful!

Who knows? Maybe inspiration will hit, once I've had a little time to rest. This season of change could bring just about anything...