Coincidentally, one of yesterday’s Elf makers just released a new knitted toy pattern of her own!
Meet mmmmm, aka Mr. Mighty Munchie Mouth-pouch Monster!
Aren’t they hilarous? This is an original pattern by Joan De Lurio available as a pdf from Ravelry or Etsy for $5.
Joan, aka Giolou, has tested tons of patterns for me over the past two years, so she really knows her stuff when it comes to pattern construction, and toys in particular.
Nice job Joan!
December feels like the fastest month of the year to many of us, I’m sure. Luckily, some of us are getting a little extra help this year from a few diminutive friends.
Sparkle sparkle! No one can accuse lisamarykay1’s Elves of not getting into the holiday spirit.
Giolou whipped up some fraternal twins, Winey and Limey, to help her out for the holidays. They may have stubby appendages, but they look ready to lend plenty of moral support!
Hannah’s duo has “Christmas tree radar,” and set up camp under her tree while her back was turned. These guys are ready for the 25th!
Something tells me that many more elves elves are on their way. Thank you very much to Giolou and Hannah for testing!
I’ve found myself using the “magic loop” method of circular knitting for my latest project.
The circumference of the project is probably big enough to use a small circular, but I’d never used magic loop before and I thought it was about time to give it a try. I found that after casting on and figuring out what I’m doing, it was very easy, and it seems handy for avoiding gaps in your knitting if that’s a problem for you with dpns.
I have to thank Lesley at Knit New London for getting me started with it. You can see a video on how to knit with the “loop of magic” on knittinghelp.com.
As of now, there are three more days until Halloween. It takes less than a day to make a Boo or two, so it’s not too late for spooky knitting!
As promised, here are a few more of my favorites from Ravelry:
I’m astounded by this Giant Boo and mini Boo from lisamarykay1.
(Check out her amazing toy designs too!)
Wouldn’t it be nice if real bats had the same colors as melissa85148’s Boo?
And finally, these Boos from yarnpr0n win for most Halloween-y!
New Boos are being added to Ravelry all the time (we’re now up to 111 projects), and they are all so cute. Great job, everyone!
Six days is plenty of time to knit up a bevy of Boos. Here are some of my favorites from the 99 projects on Ravelry:
A super color-combo Boo from MsEllaneous is ready to save the day!
This hanging Boo from emoliver makes me giggle..
Is your Boo smaller than a stitch counter? This one from Intertwinement is!
Thank you to these knitters for sharing your photos! (If you’re knitting a Boo but aren’t on Ravelry—or even if you are on Ravelry—please share your Boos in the Mochimochi Friends Flickr group!)
I’ll post a few more of my favorite Boos next week!
Hannah of BitterSweet just posted a photo of her adooorable Pundit Babies!
(Is it just me, or is that elephant looking just a little bit nervous…?)
Hannah was nice enough to test the pattern for me when it was still in development. Thank you Hannah!
On Ravelry this week, I spotted an ad for kits to customize your Sheldon (a free pattern by Ruth Homrighaus) that are now available through Knit Picks. It’s just such a clever idea that I had to share.
With the two kits, you can disguise your Sheldon as a variety of animals, including a bumble bee…
or you can give him a variety of occupations, such as “pirate,” with their costumes kit.
I’ve never made a Sheldon myself, but these are very cute and funny.
By the way, the career costumes are designed by Brooke Higgins, but there is no pattern credit for the animals kit on the Knit Picks website, though—anybody know who designed them?
Update: Turns out the animal costumes were designed by Ruth Homrighaus herself. (Thanks, Stefanie!)
I’m so happy to already see a handful of completed Boos over on Ravelry! Since I released the pattern less than 48 hours ago, I guess that proves just how quick of a knit he is. Super!
Three bats in particular are very special friends, because they were made by three of my awesome test knitters, who were a big help to me in polishing the pattern.
First is this little cutie by Mikkers.
Her Boo loves to commune with colorful flowers. What a romantic…
Kountingsheep used acrylic yarn to make her bat, whom she named Yahtzee!
Isn’t he stylish?
Because she was knitting with acrylic yarn, which behaves differently from wool, Kountingsheep slipped one stitch at each end of the bat’s wings, and she also used an iron to “kill” the acrylic and stop it from rolling. A great tip!
And finally, a bat from Bonney, my mother-in-law! John, my father-in-law, was nice enough to take some artful photos of her adorable Boo.
Thank you to Mikkers, Kountingsheep, and Bonney! You are all Boo-rific. (And I am in the mood for terrible puns, apparently.)