Progress on a Bear

I know that I've mentioned this to you all before... but I REALLY LOVE Jean Greenhowe's patterns. If you love to knit softies, and haven't seen her work yet - do yourself a favour and check out her website.

The patterns are incredibly well written - very clear with lots and lots of detail, and the softies themselves are beyond adorable. If you'd like to see a sample, there is a page full of free patterns here.



So I've been working on a very special bear. It's a gift for my brother and his wife, who are expecting their first child in around seven weeks.

If you've been following my blog for a while, then you'll know that my dear Mum passed away a couple of years ago... at a very young 58 years of age.

Well, I've reclaimed the yarn from one of her cardigans... and I'm using it to make this bear for my brother's baby. Mum would have been SO involved in this whole baby thing if she was still here, and I mean REALLY involved - she would have been all over it. Her baby is having his own baby. I really feel sad for my brother that she can't share this experience with him.

But in this teeny tiny way, Mum can still be a part of it all.

The yarn itself is pretty fine, so I've worked with two strands held together as one and 2.75mm needles. I probably could have even used three strands of yarn... but it's done now:

 

Pop back tomorrow, and see how he comes together!

In the meantime, you can take a look back at this bear from a few years ago.