Critters for Christmas

Knitting has turned me into "one of THOSE people" - the ones who are planning for Christmas in October. Well, to be honest, I bought the patterns in July but I'm just now casting on.


I miss the days when I didn't think about Christmas until, say, the week of Christmas. It was an awesome thing to realize that I had seven days or so to balance my checkbook and scour the stores in a fast, but satisfying, buying frenzy. There was just something more festive about it.


Planning for Christmas makes it seem like a chore.


On the other hand, I love giving hand-made gifts to my family and friends. Not everyone appreciates them, but I like the process of picking out something I think the person might like and creating it from scratch. I think it has more value than some mass-produced piece of plastic that a gajillion other people are also going to own on December 26th.

This year, for the first time, my niece and nephew are getting hand-made gifts for Christmas. It's tricky with kids. They could be really bummed out with the present (think about Ralphie in the bunny suit) because it's NOT that mass-produced piece of plastic. However, I hedged my bets and had the kids pick out the patterns that they wanted.


Enter my very best resource for knitted items for kids: Morehouse Farm Merino.


Morehouse Farm makes some of the loftiest, loveliest merino yarn you've ever seen. You know it's from the farm because, occasionally, there'll be a bit of hay or something stuck in the fiber. But even better than their yarn are their patterns and kits. Sure, they have the traditional hats, scarves, sweaters, etc. but where the real treasure lies is in their Critter Knits.


Pretty much any animal you can imagine has been made into a Morehouse Critter - dogs, dragons, chicks, and geckos abound. They might be scarves or purses or hats but, however they're knitted up, the one thing they all are is CUTE.


My niece chose the pink poodle scarf and my nephew the gecko. While I love the merino wool, it's not really practical for two little, messy children so they're getting theirs made from lovely, washable acrylic. I picked the loftiest acrylic I could find because I was worried that the pattern would lose it's shape so the gecko is being made with Vanna's Choice and the poodle will be made from Waverly by Bernat.


So far the gecko is coming out beautifully. I'm actually surprised at how well the acrylic is knitting up and how much I like the hand of the finished fabric.  I'm really looking forward to seeing their faces when the open their presents on Christmas day. I'm sure they'll be happier than Ralphie was.(At least I hope so!)

- Alex

The Basics

Sorry for the darkness last week. Sometimes life gets complicated at Chez Ooo! Shiny!

In contrast to the complexities of life, today I'd like to talk about the simplest thing in the world... a knitted little stocking cap. I am just enamored with this FREE pattern from Lion Brand. It's called the Bunny Slope Hat. I have knitted it 3 times now (once because the first one was "lost" after a trip to the grocery store) and aside from the monotonous weaving-in of the loose ends from the color changes, it couldn't be a better way to get some instant gratification.

As you can see, the green cap has been worn and worn and worn again.

Along with having used a basic pattern, I also chose to use a workhorse yarn for these little hats. Spud & Chloe sweater yarn (superwash 55% wool/45% organic cotton) is just the perfect weight and warmth for this sort of project. Luckily, I have used this yarn for a lot of other projects so my stash is full of remnants that were the perfect amount to get the job done. Now, I will admit to having purchased a skein here and there to get my color scheme the way I wanted it though!

Thing 2 modeling his green hat and 4th of July pajamas for me today.

From what I have seen on Ravelry, a lot of folks are taking creative license with this pattern. Stripes are wider or smaller, less color or more color, and there is even one hat with an enormous pom-pon that is seriously cute.

Back when I was searching Ravelry for a the perfect hat pattern to match a new coat, I was surprised at how many didn't suit a little boy. So many were either too girly or too mature for a preschooler. I think it was the colorful stripes that finally sucked me in on this one. And, it's amazing to me that the simplest little projects seem to garner as many compliments as the complicated ones when we are out and about! This pattern is definitely worth a try.

So, for today, I'm keeping it short and simple. Tomorrow... who knows? ;)

–Cassandra