A Stuffed Moose Head???

Yes.

You heard correctly...

That patchwork piece of knitting I was working on:



Bucky is the November Challenge over in the Laughing Purple Goldfish Designs group on Ravelry. The pattern is available for free this month to all participants. Come and join in the fun!

(The fully tested version will be available for sale in December 2012)

I want to see a reindeer version.

Can you imagine it?

Instead of a wreath hanging on your front door this Christmas - you could have a Stuffed Reindeer head!

How awesome would that be???

It could even be Rudolph with his shiny red nose...

Shortie Shorts are FINISHED!

Wow.

These shorts took me so much longer than I anticipated they would...

Mostly because I had to drop down from a 3 mm hook to a 1.9 mm hook in order to get gauge.



I'm happy with the way they came together though.

A little tricky to photograph them, because with the shaping worked into them, they don't really sit flat.

But you get the idea...

Free Pattern available online from DROPS Design... Click here for details

A Baptism Gift...

Had a Family Baptism to attend over the weekend, so I worked up a Baby Girl version of Callipo the Very Naughty Monkey...

(pattern available here)



This time I used cotton from Bendigo Woolen Mills - love the softness of the pinks - but the original is still my favourite, with his black and white stripes...

And another Oops!

So last week I was busy unraveling this jumper...

It came apart beautifully, and I was loving the variation in the colour.

Then I washed it.

I was feeling lazy, so I popped it into the washing machine.

I made sure that the skeins were tied in plenty of places, so there would be NO tangling...

But then I must have had a vague moment - and I put it through the wash on a regular cycle.




Not GENTLE.

Not DELICATES.

Not the WOOL cycle.

Just regular.



And you know what happened, don't you?

It felted. Oh YES. It felted.

BIG TIME!

(and I might have said a rude word when I opened the washing machine)

Oops!

I thought I was being so clever the other day...

Charlotte had this little purple top.

And on the front of this little purple top was a bow.

(as you can tell from the photo above - we're a bit too curious about the camera... so instead of sitting still for a photo, we just come closer and closer to the lens!)

It looked gorgeous when it was new... but with every wash, the bow just bunched up more and more... until it reached the point that it was just a weird blob on the front of her top.

So I took it off.

 I'd been meaning to do it for ages, but somehow the simple task kept evading me...

Anyway.

I did the right thing - and used a seam ripper, instead of just gouging at it with a pair of scissors... or using my teeth!

Yet somehow I still ended up with a hole - Aaarghhhhhhh.

(I like to believe that the hole was there under the bow anyway - maybe from all the pulling? Hey! I tell myself what I need to hear)

So here's the top (minus the bow).



And here's that pesky little hole... on the yoke, just above the seam...



Add some buttons:



And here's THE FIX!



Don't tell anyone, but I was actually going to stitch buttons all the way along the seam - but I was bored after the first three...

Spoiled again!

Remember my Little Birdie from a couple of months back?




I made him for the Designers Challenge Group over on Ravelry... and he won SECOND PRIZE!

There were lots of adorable entries in the competition - you can see all the others here - although you might have to be a Rav member to view them.

And my prize yarn arrived in the mail the other day.

Two scrummy skeins of Cascade Alpaca Lana D'Oro...

Preparing for November...

As you know, in my group over on Ravelry, we have a new challenge each month...

(Anyone is welcome to join in the fun - just pop on over.)

At the beginning of the month I offer a pattern for a particular project. Everyone makes their items, then posts photos when they are done. I choose my favourite - and the winner tells me what to design for the following month...

I've had so much fun working on these designs... and I'm really EXCITED about the upcoming November Challenge...

In the top photo you can see my swatching...

And in the photos below I have started on the piece... trying to avoid tangles!





So, I want to know what you think it is...

Because I think NO ONE will be able to guess correctly...

Go on and prove me wrong! I'd love you to!

And as a clue: here's a sneak peek of the sketch.