Friday, April 8, 2022, Issue 243: Happy Friday!

I can't wait to see my kids and grandchildren next weekend. We are combining Christmas which we had to cancel, Easter, my great-nieces first birthday and meeting my daughter (who is flying in from British Columbia)'s boyfriend! It will be a busy weekend especially since we don't like being gone more than two days at a time!

Julie Williams of Little Cotton Rabbits now has 3 sizes of her little bunny patterns! They are adorable to make and give for Easter!

Here are three of the Little Cotton Rabbits' Bunny in a Striped Sweater that have been popping up around @kimberlyreneeruss’s house. They are just waiting for their clothes!

The bunny pattern is an extensive PDF file which contains full instructions for knitting and finishing off a little cotton rabbit with a stripy sweater and shorts. The finished size is approx 23 cm (9 inches) from the tip of the toes to the top of the head (ears not included in measurement).

The pattern is for knitting flat on two needles and all pieces are seamed afterwards. Please note that this project is not a quick or simple knit. It takes Julie around 14 hours to knit and finish each of the animals that she makes and just under half of that time is spent on the finishing off. There are lots of separate pieces which require seaming and sewing and if you are looking for something fast and easy you would probably be better off finding a different pattern. That said this PDF file will give you all of the information and techniques that you need to knit the little bunny pictured.

The Bunny in a Dotty Dress is the girl pattern with stripy tights, mary-jane shoes and a dotty dress. The dress can be removed but the tights/stockings and shoes are knitted as part of the bunny.

Shown at the top is the Small Rabbit. The pattern comes with full instructions for knitting and finishing a little bunny with removable clothes which is a small-scale version of my larger rabbits. These little rabbits are designed to be knitted with exactly the same yarn weights and needle sizes as their larger cousins. Using both the larger and smaller sized patterns you can knit a whole family of rabbits.

The finished size is approx 18cm (7 inches) from the tip of the toes to the top of the head (not including the ears in the measurement).

Included are instructions to knit a dotty dress, a striped sweater and a pair of shorts. There are also 3 options for the design of the head, a single coloured bunny, a bunny with an eye patch and a Dutch bunny with a blaze on it’s nose.

The mini bunny and bear in a dress is sold separately from the mini bunny and bear in a sweater. There is an element of mix and match to these little patterns for a small toy. You can choose from 2 options for the head either a bunny or a bear. You can also personalise your toy through your colour choices and you can knit the sweater in a single colour if you wish.

The finished size is approx 14cm (5 1/2 inches) from toes to top of head (using DK weight yarn and 2.75mm / US 2 needles. Unlike Julie's larger toys which have removable clothing, these small versions have all of the clothes knitted on with no removable parts, which makes them a suitable toy for a baby or small child. All of the pieces are knitted flat and seamed afterwards and are knitted in the same DK yarn weight throughout.

I have knit nine of the little animals by Julie! I have knit 2 of the lambs, 1 of the deer, and 6 bunnies! Mostly I have used Bergere de France Ideal for the animals and the clothes. I had kits but only have one kit right now. Let me know if you want a kit made up for you.

Look what I found today! I found Jonna (Knitmatician on Ravelry)'s modified Ranunculus by Midori Hirose to be toddler size that she knit! Her Ravelry project page includes the modifications that she made for her mini-Ranunculus.

She really wanted it to look just like the “mommy” one! Perfect! I need a gift for my great-niece and although she is only turning one, I would like to knit this for her. I think that I will use Garnstudio Drops Belle for it. My sister Mary will have to consider knitting a matching "mommy" one for her daughter!

Of course, that means I will have to cast on later tonight but as all of you who have knit yourself the adult size Ranunculus, it really is a quick knit so a mini size should be that much quicker!

My sister Mary knit her Ranunculus by Midori Hirose using Garnstudio Drops Air and she knit a hat with her leftover yarn! I have knit two and want to knit another summer Ranunculus!

I plan to start a Ranunculus KAL starting June 1 to July 31 open to everyone! There will also be a Pre-Pay Ranunculus KAL that will run on Wednesday afternoons from 1 until 3 pm in 1 month blocks where everyone will be working on the same project.

Etta by Alison Green for Berroco and knit using Berroco Summer Sesame is a top down circular yoke summer top with a subtle lace pattern which is charted.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Bust: (32½, 36½, 40½) 44½, 48½, 52½, 56½ {60½, 64½, 68½}“ / (82.5, 93, 103) 113, 123, 133.5, 143.5 {153.5, 164, 174} cm
Length: (20½, 21, 21½) 22, 22½, 22¾, 23 {23½, 23½, 24}” / (52, 53.5, 54.5) 56, 57, 57, 58.5 {59.5, 59.5, 61} cm
Shown in size 36½“ / 93 cm. Recommended ease: 2–4” / 5–10 cm positive ease.

YARN
Berroco Summer Sesame (100 grs): (2, 3, 3) 3, 4, 4, 4 {5, 5, 5} balls #5237 Mint

NEEDLES and NOTIONS
16” / 40 cm and 32” / 80 cm circular needles, sizes 4 / 3.5 mm and 6 / 4 mm or size to obtain gauge
5 stitch markers
Waste yarn to hold stitches

GAUGE
21 sts and 28 rnds = 4” / 10 cm in
St st with larger needle

WIPs and FOs

My Hello From My Colours Crop by Jessie Maed Designs is moving along. This is how far I’d knit by last Sunday of the yoke.

This is how far I’d progressed by Monday afternoon.

By yesterday afternoon I had knit about an inch of the chart for the longer body which I am doing instead of the cropped length. I am really happy with the SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock in Natural and a Party of Five in Spring Fling that I am using. I have been using tthe colours in a different sequence bbeccause I am using five contrast colours instead of four.

Instead of only working on my other knitting WIP, I am one the three learning how to spin with Paulette! So far I have not been able to get a handle on it! Karen and Linda were having better luck. I was having trouble getting the fibre to draw through the orifice and onto the bobbin. Much of what is on these two bobbiins kept getting more and more tightly spun in big clumps. I was using the Ashford Corriedale Sliver.

Despite not having much luck using the Ashford Corriedale fibre so far, I managed to do a little better with the Ashford Montage Blend of mill ends of Corriedale, Merino, Silk-Merino and Alpaca-Merino.

One step at a time and practice, practice, practice!

KNIT GROUP AND GALLERY

The current Knit-Alongs are the Any Sweater / Shawl KAL and the Knit Any Project: our everlasting knit-along to encourage and support you to knit which is running from January 1 to April 30, 2022. I will get a thread started soon!

Remember to post photos to the finished object (FO) thread when you finish a project during the Knit-Along so that you will be included in the next draw! We will also add the option of posting your finished project to Instagram using the #sue2knitskal so that I can find them!

Rosemary (@coolknitsbyrose) finished her second Ranunculus by Midori Hirose. She used Noro Madara.

Beverley decided to step outside her comfort zone to knit a pair of ribbed socks for a friend. Yarn is Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20 in Frosted Lilac.

Michelina (@a.wanderer.and.her.wool) knit this beautiful Waiting for Rain by Sylvia McFadden (@softsweater).

Marie (thecatsmom) crocheted these Flower Dishcloth by Coats Design Team using stash yarn.

Ann (annvanwagner) knit this Sheila's Brush Cap by Christine LeGrow & Shirley A Scott from their Saltwater Gifts book.

A batch of super cute and squishy child sized toques knit by Brenda (@bmallat42) in Malabrigo Rasta!

Sarah (@fathatknits) finished this fabulous Easter dress for her granddaughter using one of my few patterns on Ravelry, Simply Sweet Georgia!

Allyson (@Allyson Potter) bought herself an Ashford Sampleit Loom. She made the sample scarf from the included book but since hers ended up not long enough, she is making it a wall hanging.

Here is Sandi (sandima)'s March gnome! Pattern is Gnome Pun Intended by Sarah Schira.

Happy Friday, Happy Knitting, Crocheting and Crafting! Keep calm and keep on knitting and making!