Knit and Crochet for Spring

I can’t believe that spring is here and Easter is just around the corner! (Does it seem earlier this year? I think I say that every year when it sneaks up on me like this so soon after the snow and frost has cleared).

Although the 26 degrees in New England this morning would have you fooled, the dozens of robins on my lawn confirm spring has indeed arrived. And although it feels like I’ve just stopped making holiday items, my mind suddenly jumps to what I can make for the upcoming Easter holiday to decorate the house.

This year, I found inspiration in the April/May issue of Your Knitting Life. As soon as the issue arrived in my mailbox, I fell in love with the bunny placemat on page 68. I had to make it right then, and it just so happened, I had two skeins of leftover pink yarn I’d been dying to find a small project for. So, I got busy. You can see the results at the right.

Although the pattern calls for two skeins of the same pink yarn, I used two pinks of slightly different shades, which gives the bunny a variegated look that I think adds a nice texture to the pattern. I think my whiskers could be longer, but I’m proud of the fact that as a relatively new knitter (5 years compared to my almost 40–gulp-years of crochet) I was able to make the bunny in only one day and with only one minor error (which I caught early on and corrected).

Maybe you can learn from my mistake. Tip #1 If you don’t knit all the time, it’s a good idea to review common increase methods such as M1 (or Make 1) because sometimes what you *think* is the correct way to do the stitch is only halfway correct and halfway correct is another way of saying “wrong.” You can’t really tell by looking at my bunny from this distance, but my first couple of M1′s were not done right. But, that’s how we learn. From our mistakes. Now I know not the “guess” next time.

In the end, my bunny came out great, and I can’t wait to put it on the center of my dining room table for Easter dinner. (I”m going to use it as a hotpad instead of a placemat).

So, what are your craft aspirations for spring?

If you need a little inspiration to get you motivated, here are 9 free Easter-themed patterns at Lion Brand Yarn to get you started (registration for the pattern site is free).

Last year I made the Lion Brand Wee Rabbit Egg Cozy. In fact I made a warren of them! (pictured below) My son wanted one in every color yarn I had, but I stopped at six. This project was also a great way to use up leftover yarn., especially little balls you have lying around. Each bunny takes only a small amount.

We made a center piece with the rabbit cozies by taking a glass bowl, filling it with plastic eggs, fake grass and then placing the bunnies over some of the plastic eggs. It worked out great and definitely became a conversation starter at dinner.

So give one of those free patterns a try and see what springtime creations you can make with your hook or needles. You may surprise yourself with what you can achieve.

Happy Crafting!

Cathy

 

Amigurumi

Only have time for a little project? Try some amigurumi!

Long before amigurumi became the popular word it is today in knitting and crochet circles, I was making crocheted stuffed animals. Big, little, it didn’t matter. Just so long as they were cute.

In fact, after I mastered the granny square at age 9, my first crochet project was a stuffed owl, from a Workbasket magazine, followed quickly by a stuffed squirrel. I think what attracted me to these projects, aside from how cute they looked, was that they could be completed quickly.

Although each animal had several pieces to them (heads, bodies, arms, legs, etc), the pieces were generally small and only took a few minutes to construct. The most time consuming part was probably the sewing, but by then I was so excited that all the crocheting was done, I could see the end in a sight and it spurred me on.

When Annie’s Attic came out with those pamphlets of life-like crocheted dogs in the 80′s (where you brushed the yarn to make it resemble fur), I was all over those patterns. I made so many dogs I could’ve had a pet show!

My stuffed animal phase faded away about the same time Annie came out with all those beautiful Barbie doll patterns (the Bed Doll collections) because that became my obsession for most of the 90′s. But after my son was born, I found myself draw back to the stuffed animal patterns, so I could make him a few. Although he’s older now and the Webkinz phase has passed, he still loves the animals I made him. These days he wants me to crochet him Minecraft creatures, but with the influx of so many adorable Amigurumi patterns to my home library, I find him asking for the odd octopus or zombie just because they “look cool.”

Give it a try yourself! Two great books are available to help get you started:

Amigurumi Toy Box: Cute Crocheted Friendsby Ana Paul Rimoli — So many adorable patterns to choose from, I don’t know where to start, but I’m leaning toward making the snake first. Maybe the unicorn after that.

Amigurumi Knits: Patterns for 20 Cute Mini Knitsby Hansi Singh — My son is asking me to make just about every animal in this book, but since I’m still gaining experience with knitting, I’ll probably start with a simple pattern like the sea star.

Happy creature crafting!

Katelyn