Bears!

[pixiecrinkle]

I saw this teddy bear pattern in Vogue Knitting and I'm thinking of doing some as Christmas gifts. I think this may be the cutest bear I've ever seen, especially for knit patterns.

The problem: they look all cute and small, but they are nearly 2 feet tall! And the yarn they call for would make each bear cost upwards of $60. So I'm thinking of doing them in a lighter weight yarn and making them smaller. I'd rather do them out of something more washable than luxury alpaca, since they'll be going to an infant and a toddler. Plus, I'm not sure about small children and allergies and animal fibers.

So I've got to brush up my math skills. I found a shop in a suburb that carries this brand of yarn, so they'll hopefully have the pattern, and I can pick it up tomorrow.

Right now, my goal seems to be to get all my gift stuff done early, so I can make myself a fabulous sweater to wear for the holidays. And right now the one that's winning is this one. Not that I've ever made anything approaching that level of detail (or, to be honest, a sweater that fits), but somehow, I have this blind confidence that it'll turn out fine. We shall see.

Comments

[wonderfroggy.livejournal.com]

Those bears are super cute but I can't believe how tall they are! How many balls of yarn does it call for?

I like the sweater too, pretty!

[pixiecrinkle.livejournal.com]

Well, now, I can't find out where I originally found the information, but I think they call for 4-5 balls (that cost $16.00 each!!!). And I'm not sure I want baby puke on alpaca. :-)

[wonderfroggy.livejournal.com]

I remember looking at a pattern for a baby scarf and hat made out of cashmere. My friend's mom priced it and it would have cost close to $100 for the set!! Insanity! I vote for some nice soft acrylic that you can throw in the washer.

[pixiecrinkle.livejournal.com]

I drove out to the 'burbs this afternoon and picked up the pattern, and the store had Plymouth Encore on 20% discount, so I got the yarn for at least 2 bears, the pattern, some yarn for something I'm designing in my head, 2 pairs of needles, and my sister's afghan pattern for less than what the recommended yarn for one bear would have cost. Yay!

[wonderfroggy.livejournal.com]

That's awesome! I'll be curious to hear how hard the bears are to make... They look like they would be a really cute present.

[pixiecrinkle.livejournal.com]

The pattern doesn't look that bad. It calls for a circular needle, but since I'm doing them so much smaller, I'll have to use dpns. Essentially you start with the body, then have various parts on stitch holders as you move on.

I think it's going to be on of those things that looks really hard when you see it in progress but that's deceptively easy to do.

[masterbetty.livejournal.com]

What yarn store did you go to? I just taught myself to knit a couple months ago and I've been looking around for good knitting stores.

[pixiecrinkle.livejournal.com]

Okay, LJ hasn't been emailing comments, so I just saw this. I went to Temptations in Dublin. It's at 35 S. High Street in downtown Dublin. It's kind of a yarn store/antique shop mix and they had lots of yarn I haven't found elsewhere locally.

My favorite is Wolfe Fiber Arts on Fifth Ave in Grandview. They have tons of stuff. The other one I've been to is The Yarn Shop which is at Kenny and Henderson, but they were closing early the day I went, so I didn't get to take a great look around.

[masterbetty.livejournal.com]

I'd heard of Wolfe's, and been past the Yarn Shop when we go to the Pepperidge Farms place, but I haven't heard of Temptations. I'll have to check it out. Thanks!

Also, I am local, and none of my friends knit, so I signed up for your Stitch-n-Bitch group. Sounds like fun!

[pixiecrinkle.livejournal.com]

Cool!!

[pixiecrinkle.livejournal.com]

Forgot to add--if you are local and in need of knitting friends, I've just started a local stitch n' bitch. Our first meeting will be later this month. Go for all the details. :-)