Spring Collection

It has been a busy winter and I have rescued quite a few knit creatures over the past months.

The Pender Island Nu-To-Yu rarely disappoints as a repository for knit creatures in need of a new home, as this painter clown shows.

Someone put a lot of work into this clown -- note the detail and equipment he has, including paint pots, brushes, a ladder and paint splashes on his pants. He is in great shape with no stains or tears so he is ready to head out to a new home.

I actually found the carpenter partner of this clown at a children's daycare at a community church here on Salt Spring. He had brown hair and full set of carpentry tools -- clearly they are made by the same person. My plan is to surreptitiously drop the painter clown off there and let the kids wonder how this new guy magically appeared. :)

Yuletide knits

I think this knit Santa and Ms. Claus speak for themselves....a bargain at 25 cents for the pair at the Pender Island "Nu-to-Yu" on Dec. 28th. Note the wire glasses, gold detail and pom-pom hands!

I also found this snowman ornament at the post-Christmas sale at the Nu-to-Yu.

One eyed pig

Here is a funny little pig, missing an eye! Technically I think this is a crochet creature, made of cotton thread, but I figure he can join the group. :) He has a bean-bag body with long floppy legs. I got him at a thrift shop on Salt Spring Island. All he needs is a second eye and he is good to go!

Woodland Gnome

I found this little guy at the Pender Island "Nu-to-Yu", a charming cross between a thrift store and a permanent garage sale although only open 2 days a week. The keenest bargain hunters are there on Friday morning as the doors open, although I tend to be part of the Saturday mid-morning crowd, heading over after a visit to the farmers' market and before dropping by the library next door. The Nu-to-Yu never fails to hold some treasure or another, and the "fill a bag for $5" days are not to be missed! :)

The gnome is in pretty good shape although a tug of his hat reveals a badly receding hair-line and interestingly, a second face on the back of his head. This one has a rather crooked smile so I am guessing it was a first botched attempt which was quickly covered up by the hat rather than unpicked. My kids think it is cool.

I will fix up his hair line and put him up for adoption. He has a snazzy belt buckle!

C.

First prize!

It has been a while since my last post and I have been busy collecting as well as creating knit creatures.

The teddy bear I was working on is now complete -- I set myself the deadline of our local fall fair to have it done, which was today!

Here is picture of the piecing together and stuffing process. I used pure wool salvaged from a wool-filled pillow that I accidentally washed the "wrong" way -- the insides partially felted so it made a very lumpy pillow but great toy stuffing! :) It took longer than I thought to stitch the bear pieces together neatly and alot more stuffing to fill it up. The bear ended up quite a bit bigger than I thought but I am actually really pleased as it makes a very cuddly size -- my daughter can't keep her hands off him.



My goal was to finish the bear and its Fairisle-style sweater in time for the Pender Island fair on August 25. After two full days of knitting, stitching and stuffing I had the bear done but the sweater was still far from complete so I entered the bear "au naturel" to the Pender Fair. For the bear I used all recycled, natural wool -- the only new item was a shiny 2007 penny which I stitched inside for good luck. And it worked!








He won second place in the "Teddy Bear" category! I was so thrilled, plus I got some wonderful comments from the other knitters.





Next my goal was to get the sweater done in time for the Salt Spring Island Fair a few weeks later.

And today, SUCCESS! He won the first place ribbon. Again, great comments from other knitters as well as general fair attendees. It is very rewarding that he won, although the biggest reward is that my daughter has been waiting for the fairs to be over so she can hug and squeeze him to her heart's content.

Knit Clown

This is a clown that I found for my sister a few years ago -- she knits her own very cool knit creatures and I thought this could be inspiration. :) Notice his little cape.

Knit Doll

Here is a little knit doll I found in my daughter's toy box...I bought this for her at a garage sale a few years ago. The doll is in pretty good shape considering she has been played with and tossed around over the years. :)