April | 2010 | This Blonde Knits (& Crochets!)

One of my friends from high school recently had her 2nd baby so I wanted to send her something for her new daughter – since she also has a son and I didn’t want to leave him out, this meant that I got to make 2 toys instead of just one! I asked her what animals her son likes and she said Snakes! and that her daughter didn’t have any stuffed animals yet, but she thought kitties her good for little girls. I was excited about both options b/c I meant that I got to knit 2 patterns that I’d never done before!

For the snake I knew exactly what pattern to use, Curly Snake from the book, Itty-Bitty Toys. (I love everything Susan B. Anderson!)

This is from the section of toys using sock yarn, so I was able to use some stash yarn – Red Heart Heart & Sole in Green Envy – probably not something I’d want to wear on my feet, but it makes a pretty cute snake!! This little guy used about 1/2 skein on size 2 needles. Susan recommends using size 3 in the book, and while my gauge was actually tighter than what was called for in the book, I actually prefer this fabric. I am terrible at stuffing knit items and not having them stretch out all over the place, so I was interested in a stiffer fabric. The good thing about toys is that gauge is not all that important – so that is perfect for me since my gauge is typically all over the place anyway! 😉

For the kitty, I chose Greta the Captivating Cat – I did not immediately think to knit this cat, I was going to crochet one, but I did some browsing on Ravelry and saw this one. I already had this pattern, so it was perfect!!

I used about 1.5 skeins of Patons Paradiso doubled with size 5 needles to produce a very thick fabric! So think in fact that if I were to do this again I would go up to a size 6 needle just out of sympathy for my hands! This was a struggle to finish due to hand cramping! I have had this in my stash for AGES! Literally since I began knitting about 6 years ago. I bought it on ebay from some lady that sent to me half made up into a sweater! I had to rip her sweater out to reclaim my new yarn. hahaha This is great yarn for baby girl toys so I am already planning my next project with it – i have 6.5 skeins left!! You’ll definitely be seeing it again.

One modification I made on Greta was that I did not choose to do the 3 needle bind off on the top and then stuff the entire kitty through the small opening at the bottom. I did not think that I would be able to stuff it properly or completely, so I chose to stuff the kitty from the top and kitchener stitch the top closed. I was NOT trying to be fancy, I just did not want to get everything closed up and have to stuff poly-fill thru the tiny bottom opening all the way to the top of the kitty’s head. ;0)