Christmas Elephants - My Christmas Rush

I am being a bit ironic calling this my Christmas rush, as I have not had many orders this year. Not all bad though, as it has given me time to get on with my husband's present. All will be revealed at Christmas, if I can get him to do some modelling. But I was really pleased to get this order for some personalised Christmas elephant decorations.

I would still like the elephant to become the new fashionable decoration for Christmas. I did see some felted elephant decorations in a shop recently, so maybe the word is spreading.

These elephants are now on the way to Canada, and I was really happy to add the personalisation of names embroidered on the back. It is nice to think of another family building up their collection of Christmas decorations. I can't wait to get mine out this year.

So if you fancy making some Christmas Elephants for yourself, you can find the pattern in ravelry, Etsy or LoveKnitting. Or if you would like me to make some for you, although they aren't listed in my shop, but just send me a message.

Just a reminder that there is still plenty of time left to join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for December. Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I would love to see what you have been working on this month.

"Traditional Christmas Elephants" ... Again

I try not to repeat things too much, but it seems the right time of year to remind you about  "The Traditional Christmas Elephant". I published this pattern in the Spring, as I just couldn't wait, but I think now is the time of year people start thinking about making Christmas decorations. (You can read more about my ideas then here.)

For my new decoration I wanted to make something that had not been done before. You can find the pattern on Etsy, LoveKnitting, or Ravelry.
   
The pattern contains instructions for both large and small elephants. They have a felt backing, and my pattern contains photos and instructions on how to put the elephant together. You can also make it with or without the coloured seat section.  These elephants are a fairly quick make, so if you were looking to give the decorations as gifts it is ideal, as they are handmade and personal but not too time-consuming. You can use up oddments of wool that you have left over from other projects.

My other reason for repeating the pictures is that I have put the actual elephants in my Etsy shop. I have taken the opportunity to add a few other knitted items and relist some patterns that I had let drop out of the shop.
 

I am busy working on a new pattern. I am very excited about it, but this doesn't seem to have translated into getting on with it. It is one of those patterns that the family have scoffed at - "you just can't make one of those out of wool". Ha, they will see. I have the whole thing worked out in my head, but I need to get on and knit it and write the pattern. I would also say it is something that is iconic, and I think people who like them, really like them. If you want to have a guess in the comments please do ... but you will never, never, never get it.

"Heigh Ho says Anthony Rowley ..."

These little frogs are knitted from my new pattern. They are made from small amounts of 4ply sock wool, and I think are a great way of making something cute from those little bits of leftover yarn. (Well I think they are cute, and hope you agree with me.)

I have been working on Mr Frog for quite a few weeks, and I don't know if I am getting slower or just more pernickety. The frogs legs were the main worry, as you can see from the photo above they are long, but frogs' legs are really, really long when they are extended. I have spent quite a while looking at frog anatomy pictures. (Be warned if you type frog legs into google you come across a lot of French cookery pages.) I wanted him to be just right, so his front and hind legs are the right length, with the right number of joints and toes. So you can keep him as a swimming/jumping frog, or if you want him to be permanently sitting I explain how to fold his legs and secure with a few extra stitches.

The frogs are photographed in my friend's garden. I have been cat sitting, so each day frogs and camera have come with me. It is a really beautiful pond, and has some real frogs and newts in it, although I haven't been able to photograph them. I did think it would be rather cool if knitted frog could come face to face with a real one.

Like most of my patterns the pieces are knitted flat, with some short rows to get curves. You will need some doublepoint needles, as there are just a few rows of icord knitting. I have used black beads for the eyes, as I thought they looked realistic, although you should use safety eyes or a knitted knot if giving the frog to a child. The speckles on the frogs are also made with french knots. The pattern is available on ravelry and Craftsy, and will be in all the other usual places later today.

Water Lily

Vintage Tractor Pattern

I can finally announce the winner of my "guess the next pattern" giveaway. Thank you to everyone who entered. I loved all of your guesses, and even if you were not right, perhaps you have given me some new ideas for other vehicles. I particularly like the idea of a snow plough, so you never know, maybe that will be what I work on next.

So we put the names of everyone who said tractor (and there were quite a lot of you) into a hat and the winner is Janet of Yellow Pink and Sparkly. I have sent you a message, so if you let me have your address (I won't publish it) through my comments box your Christmas Heart Decorations will be on their way to you.

Tractor before the mud guards are attached.

I think the tread pattern on the tyres were a bit of a clue. You might also have seen this post about my visit to the North Devon Show, where looking at the Vintage Tractors first gave me the idea.

This has been quite a tricky pattern to write. There has been unravelling, and a bit of frustration. Sometimes it is just like that, and for other patterns everything seems to just fall into place first attempt. The tyres took a lot of work, and I have had to devise my own codes for the cabling. It is a bit complicated, but I did feel that the cable on the tyres to give a deep tread was a really important part of the design. The other bits that caused me a bit of grief were the mud guards. They had to be big enough to curve over the back tyres, but also not so big as to be floppy. 

I also dithered over whether to add the chimney or not. This was partly because I thought it would need to have wire to keep it standing straight. But by making it not too big there is no wire, just wool, so this would still be safe for a child, and I think it does add something.

My two prototypes are for sale in my Etsy shop. My hope is that someone will buy them for a retired farmer, who wants to remember his many happy years on a tractor. 

The pattern is already available on ravelry and Etsy.