I borrowed a knitting book by Anna Hrachovec from the library recently, and have been knitting ever since as I like almost all the patterns in the book but will need to return it soon.
I wanted to start ‘easy’, so I tried my hand on knitting little balls which would become birds. However, those where part of a bigger project and within a day after getting the book I went back to town to get myself some brown yarn to make this Moose. I thought it would be quite the challenge, but the pattern was very clear and I made good progress:
When the moose was finished, it was almost too cute to put the earlier knitted birds on…
But they were already there so I went for it.
Front:
Back:
And finally, all together - for I had made too many birds:
I’m happy how this worked out. :yay: The pattern is put together really well! And while I wanted to make the moose in the ‘right’ colours and thus had to buy new yarn, I did manage to make good use of my left over yarn for the birds AND as stuffing.
The moose and the friendly birds are so funny and adorable! I love them all.
What a fabulous library you have. I’m going to check mine for Anna Hrachovec’s books.
@salmonmac : Yes, it is great that I can borrow a book like this in our library, but part of the reason why it has such a collection is the fact that last spring about 6 local libraries closed (budget cuts) and their best books were brought to this one central library… It’s better than nothing, but compared to what we had - I can’t be happy about it, yet.
As for the next project, I went for a small knitted pencil. Perfect for knitting while watching TV. Or so I thought for I accidentally forgot a row of increases and realized it was too thin. But then again, this would be more like a ‘real’ pencil, so I finished it and then tried my hand at a new one - this time strictly following the pattern (and missing some of the dialogue).
Next, I wanted to make a tiny TV. But to be honest, I ain’t got the confidence for it yet . I know I just have to do it, but I’m dreading the part where I need to pick up stitches… I’ll get there But first I made this flying saucer, including the mini alien from ravelry which isn’t in the book.
Somehow it reminds me of KingKong
The saucer went OK, though I miscounted my increases a bit, so they’re irregular. And next time I need to try even harder to prevent the strand behind the work from having the wrong tension. It is mostly too tight, though I really tried to keep it in line with the work itself.
The gators knitted up quite fast, though I did catch some mistakes in the pattern. I’m quite happy about the way I solved it - the result does look like the picture .
I especially like the way the legs are shaped, not just sticks but with ‘paws’. The pattern really is quite clever. :cheering:
Putting it all together was quite the task though, and I’m not too happy about the attachment of the legs and some parts of the jaws. It is just too Obvious sometimes - the stitching shows. I guess I just have to keep on practising. It is explained quite clearly…
:lol: There are no bugs in the booklet, will mushrooms do?
I didn’t have enough red, so I added some pink. The yaarn thickness also differed, so I played around with needle sizes - I do think the hats turned out a bit too large though…
I’ll finallly go for the TV now. I’ll have to hurry, for the book needs to be returned tomorrow. :knitting:
[B][COLOR=“Blue”]WOW!!! ALL your projects are ADORABLE!!! The moose is by far my favorite. I will go online and see if my library has the book too! Thanks for sharing!!![/COLOR][/B]
Very cute and very clever. Well done! I guess having the book for a limited time helped to keep you focussed. I think I would have had to buy the book.
@XtopherCB: I planned to make the ‘pigs in wigs’, but somehow forgot about them while working on the other projects. I’ll definitely borrow the book again and will get around to knit the pigs. I’ll have to find some pink yarn first though
@NorthernIrelandKnitter: I think you’re quite right, that kept me focussed. I totally lost my touch since returning the book…
I finished knitting the parts of the TV:
Now I just have to put it all together, but somehow I do not make the time to do so. :wall: I guess I need another deadline, like my sister coming 'round, as it is a present for her.
I also like to note something about the book itself. Let me state first that the amigurumi (I understand the plural is the same?!) are very cute and the explination is quite clear. The patterns are quite clever. I think it is amazing work which Anna Hrachovec has done on these and it is awesome that she shares her patterns this way.
However, the publisher and/or editor and/or translator of the Dutch version of the book did not do a thorough job. There are little mistake in almost all the patterns, and I can’t seem to find “errata” anywhere. I can find them for the English version, but that is a different book altogether, even with some other amigurumi in it.
I am glad I started of with the Moose, for that one had no mistakes (or none that I noted), so I was confident to follow the patterns blindly. I became less sure with every new pattern (and more sure of my own knitting skills ), resulting in me rechecking every row of the pattern by the time I knitted the TV. As a result, I overchecked and thought there was a mistake, which turned out to be my own misunderstanding :wall:. But it is troubling how often the pattern stated “kfb” while it meant “k2tog”. Although this was an easy mistake to spot, as the stitchcount in the end made it clear.
For the TV guy especially, I think it is ellogant how the antenna is constructed, with an Icord going through the pyramid on top. But the pattern states that this can also be done for the plug, while I really couldn’t get the Icord through, no matter how I tried - even for such a thin Icord, a loop is necessary in the “blob”. For the antenna, this is provided for by using a “yarn over” 2 times. However, the description of this was for the wrong stitchcount, which gave me quite the headache to fix :hair: Only to find out that my stitchcount didn’t add up in the end either :roflhard: Oh well, it works
I’ll post a picture of the finished TV when it is ready :angelgrin:
I filled it with a carton box. Or rather, I made a right size carton box from a cookie carton and added some “beams” from carton inside for structure. Then I ductaped the whole thing and THAT is what I used for filling. I hope it will keep its shape if it ever comes to fall down (I think it can certainly take the impact and its own weight), I don’t think it can take getting stepped on though…
Also from the back, as it has a little surprise there:
Great detail
Somehow I couldn’t get the antenna to stand upright, so now it looks like it has heavy wind blowing from the front - or is speeding…
That’s adorable! Although I don’t think you’ll be able to find an outlet small enough…
I know it’s a little late now, but you may have been able to put wires in the antennae to make them stand upright(?). It might work but I’ve never tried it. It’s cute anyhow!:cheering:
. I know I just have to do it, but I’m dreading the part where I need to pick up stitches… I’ll get there 
That would be cool.
But it is troubling how often the pattern stated “kfb” while it meant “k2tog”. Although this was an easy mistake to spot, as the stitchcount in the end made it clear.
And the cord with a plug…wow!